Just real quick, taking a look at the mid-season (at least for me being halfway through my schedule) Mountain West standings.

In the Mountain Division, Utah State (4-2, 2-0) leads the way, followed by Boise State (3-2, 1-1) and Air Force (2-3, 1-1). Colorado State (2-5, 1-2) is next, followed by New Mexico (3-2, 0-2) and lastly Wyoming (1-6, 0-3).

In the West Division, #12 Fresno State (5-0, 2-0) sits on top, followed by Hawaii (3-3, 2-0) and UNLV (2-3, 2-0). After that is San Jose State (3-3, 1-1) and Nevada (1-5, 1-1) and in last place is San Diego State (2-4, 0-2).

Some surprises thus far. San Diego State has really fallen off this year, along with Nevada. Hawaii and UNLV are actually showing signs of life early on. #12 Fresno State is just a beast. Looking at their schedule, Fresno State has won 28-7 at Nebraska, 24-17 against FCS NW, 31-14 against Tulsa, 14-0 at Colorado State and 34-10 against New Mexico. Really, there aren't many true tests the rest of their schedule. Based on record, the best remaining opponents for Fresno State are Boise State (3-2) in week 9 and San Jose State/Hawaii (both 3-3) in the last two weeks of the season. Their other remaining opponents are 2-3, 2-4 or 1-5. There is a chance Fresno State very well could sweep the table and go 12-0. Thankfully, Fresno State dropped off my cross-divisional schedule this year, so I was able to avoid the Bulldogs until, at the earliest, the Mountain West conference championship game.

As for the Mountain Division, thanks to the wins over San Jose State and Nevada, I already have a one game cushion over Boise State and Air Force. Wyoming is terrible, and Colorado State isn't really all that good either, so those should be two more wins I can reasonably expect. New Mexico, my next opponent, seems to seriously have fallen off the map this year. The Lobos were undefeated deep into the season and even crashed the BCS last season, but this year they seem to be having some troubles in conference, especially getting blown out by Nevada by 27 points.

If I can get the wins over New Mexico, Colorado State and Wyoming, that'll just leave UNLV, Boise State and Air Force to deal with on my schedule and just Boise State and Air Force to contend with for the Mountain Division title. In years past, even going 7-1 wasn't enough to win the title. This year, even at this point, I would expect 6-2 to be needed to claim the division. 5-3 may be possible, but it would be too close, especially with Boise State in the chase. 5-3 may require some tiebreaker luck at the end of the season. If I take care of business against New Mexico, Colorado State and Wyoming, that'll get me to the minimum 5-win plateau. Then I could conceivably afford to go 1-2 against the trio of Boise State, Air Force and UNLV and still potentially be sitting comfortably in first place.

The one thing looking up for me is Boise State's loss came to Hawaii and they still have a road trip to Fresno State on the schedule. Air Force might be tougher. Their loss came against UNLV, but they avoid Fresno State, only having to deal with Hawaii and San Diego State (who they beat) in cross-division games. Probably the biggest game of the schedule between two Mountain Division teams outside my own games, will come on the last week of the season as Boise State and Air Force meet each other in their season ending games. That could end up being the deciding game on whether we have a shot at the conference championship game or whether Boise State or Air Force will be in the running for it.