Pokes Win! Holy Cow!

				1		2		Total
		Air Force	25	24	49	Final
		Wyoming	23	35	58

It took over a month but Wyoming finally won a basketball game. The Cowboys now avoid finishing last in the Mountain West after avoiding the sweep by the Air Force Falcons. With the 58-49 victory the Cowboys finally reach the 10 win mark with one regular season game remaining.

Some unusual suspects stepped up tonight to give the Cowboys the win in front of the home crowd. Ryan Dermody hit four treys for 12 points and the lone senior on the squad stepped up big on Senior night. Daylan Harrison had his best conference game by hitting three treys and had 12 total points. Desmar Jackson had a rough night shooting put still put up 12 points and dished out five assists.

Tom Fow had 17 points to lead the Falcons while Grant Parker had 14. The Falcons jumped out the gates quickly and led most of the first half. As the second half rolled on the Cowboys crept before finally taking the lead with 10 minutes left in the game.

The Cowboys will finish up the regular season on Saturday when they travel to Las Vegas to take on UNLV. The Pokes will meet Air Force again on Wednesday in the pigtail of the Mountain West Tournament which is also played in Las Vegas.

AWARDS

Cowboy Joe: Dermody stepped big in the second half with 12 points and got a win on Senior night.

Cowboy Low: Adam Waddell had two points and two rebounds. The big fella just isn't healthy right now and can't go full speed on his ankle. Hopefully he can get some rest on the weekend and get ready for the tournament.

Cowboy Foe: Tom Fow led all scorers with 17.

Preview: Bottom of the Barrel

Air Force at Wyoming
Arena Auditorium
7:30PM
TV: The Mtn

#8 hosts #9 as the two teams with the worst records in the Mountain West square off on Tuesday night. The Air Force Falcons (9-18, 1-13) travel to Laramie to take on the Wyoming Cowboys (9-19, 2-12). While Cowboys are ahead in the conference standings the Falcons have the edge this season in the head to head battle. The Falcons won 70-63 over the Cowboys on January 30th in Colorado Springs.

After that win the Falcons have lost seven in a row while the Cowboys are stuck in a eight game slump. The good news is that one of these teams while have their first win in over a month. These two teams are set to face off in the pigtail game of the Mountain West Conference as well.

Desmar Jackson of Wyoming is a star in the making and is coming off career best 31 points in Saturdays loss to Utah. The Falcons play team ball and will try to sweep the Cowboys by playing their disciplined style of ball.

Loss to Air Force: UGLY

The Air Force Falcons (9-11, 1-6) had lost six in a row and have been win less in Mountain West play since March 5th, 2008. Until now, thanks to a disappointing performance by the Cowboys. The Pokes (9-12, 2-5) also remain win less on the road this year and will probably finish the year the 0-11 on the road after the 70-63 loss. Air Force was the closest thing to a gimme game on the road this season and the Pokes failed.

The Falcons run a very well disciplined offense that controls the ball and waits to find a shot. Imagine that a well disciplined team from a Military school. Wyoming played uninspired ball on the road and failed to be aggressive and get to the basket.

On Wednesday nights win the Pokes did a great job of limiting their three point shooting. Long range shooting is not this team's forte and they seem to forget that fairly often. The Pokes went from 5 of 22 from behind the arc for a disappointing 22%. Just because your opponent is hitting three pointers doesn't mean you match them - play your game. Ryan Dermody is the big culprit here - Derm's played 20 minutes and took eight attempts but only hit on trey.

Desmar Jackson was the lone bright spot for Wyoming with 21 points on 10 of 13 shooting and six rebounds. This Jackson's second consecutive game leading the team in scoring and putting up 21 points. Djibril Thiam nearly had a double double with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

Evan Washington led the Falcons with 23 points and 7 assists in a career best game. Michael Lyons added 16 and Grant Parker had 12. The Falcons hit 11 of their 25 three pointers including their first three.

Next week the Cowboys host the UNLV Rebels on Wednesday and on Saturday the Pokes travel to Fort Collins.

AWARDS

Cowboy Joe: Desmar Jackson has another 21 point game. Glad he is making the most of his minutes.

Cowboy Low: Ryan Dermody can't make a basket this year. Well I guess did he did make one.

Cowboy Foe: Evan Washington had 23 points to lead all scorers.

Preview: Wyoming Cowboys at Air Force Falcons

Wyoming Cowboys at Air Force Falcons
1:30 PM MST
TV: The Mtn

The Wyoming Cowboys (9-11, 2-4) will be looking to extend one streak and break another when the head down to Colorado Springs on Saturday to face the Air Force Falcons (8-11, 0-6). The Cowboys are looking for their first winning streak since November after defeating the Utah Utes on Wednesday. Standing in their way is a winless record on the road this season and scrappy young Falcons squad. Will the Falcons get their first conference win in 23 tries or will the Pokes grab their first road win? Let's see who has the advantage.

Wyoming is without their leading scorer Afam Muojeke for the rest of the season but others are stepping up to fill that role. Adam Waddell has been playing his best ball of the season recently and his coming off a 13 point 22 rebound effort. Waddell did injure his ankle on Wednesday and is questionable for this weekend. That would leave the Pokes very thin inside as 7-3 Boubacar Sylla is the only other center on the roster and has not been impressive so far this year. Freshman Desmar Jackson has been a spark plug off the bench for the Pokes and put 21 point in 20 minutes against the Utes.

Wyoming uses a full court press that forces lots of turnovers but have struggled on defense and allow a league high 74 points a game. The Falcons have been riddled with injuries all season but are nearing full strength. The Falcons run a slow and deliberate offense that hasn't managed more than 54 points in their six conference losses.

Senior Grant Parker has appeared in the last two games for the Zoomies after missing 10 games with a pelvic injury. Parker leads the team with 15 points and 5 rebounds a game. Evan Washington and Tom Fow are the only other Falcons to average double digits in scoring this season. Parker could give the Pokes trouble inside if Waddell is unable to go for the Cowboys. Seven players have missed a total of 43 games for Air Force this year.

Wyoming swept the season series last year while Air Force took both 2008 meetings. Elevation shouldn't be a factor as both teams are used to playing in the thin air of the Front Range.

	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	STK
WYO	9-11	77.3	74.7	9-6	0-5	W1
AFA	8-11	60.2	62.8	7-4	0-7	L6

Mountain West goes for 4-0.

The Air Force Falcons take on the Houston Cougars in the Armed Forces Bowl. Here is an embedded video of the LIVE game.

Go Bolts!

Watch live video from www.obostontv.com on Justin.tv

Mountain West Matchups

Here are the other matchups in the Mountain West this weekend.

Air Force at #19 BYU
1:30PM MST
TV: CBS College

This is my matchup of the week in the Mountain West. Air Force boasts a stellar defense and BYU has a potent offense. The Falcons nearly knocked off TCU and forced Utah in overtime earlier this season. I say that BYU shows it weakness on defense and Air Force comes out of Provo with a win.

San Diego State at #23 Utah
2:00PM MST
TV: Versus

San Diego State was one quarter away from winning their fifth game of the season before the Cowboys went on a tear. Now they must defeat Utah and UNLV on the road if they want to earn a bowl bid. Utah is looking to redeem themselves after getting by TCU last week. I'd love for the Aztecs to get the win but it probably won't happen.

Colorado State at New Mexico
4:00PM MST
TV: The Mtn

Not much reason to watch this one unless you like watching bad teams. New Mexico is winless but have been showing signs of life in recent games. CSU is coming off a bye week and hasn't won in two months. Hopefully the Rams won't win and get hot just in time for the Border War.

ESPN Game Day heads to TCU

#4 TCU hosts #16 Utah this Saturday and ESPN College Game Day will be there for the ride. Well they will be there before the game (game is actually shown on CBS College). This is the third time this season (and second time in a row) that ESPN has followed a been to a Mountain West game. This ties them with the Big 12 for most appearances this season.

TCU needs to win by a decent margin if they hope to keep their BCS buster hopes alive. An impressive win followed by some key losses by other teams may be enough to get the Horned Frogs in the title game. That is a very slim chance but you never know what will happen in college football.

Game time is at 5:30pm MST.

Other Mountain West matchups this weekend:

#22 BYU heads to winless New Mexico.

Hopefully BYU will blow out the Lobos in a similar fashion to the win over the Cowboys last weekend. The Lobos have been playing better as of late but this one shouldn't be close. Max Hall should have a field day throwing against the New Mexico Secondary.

Noon MST

TV: The Mtn

UNLV heads to Air Force

The Rebels still have a bowl berth possibility but by only the thinnest of margins. The Rebels (4-6) need to upset the Falcons (6-4) at home this week and then beat San Diego State in their final regular season game on November 28th. The Falcons have a stingy defense and will give UNLV problems. The triple option of AF should enjoy working against the Rebels 111th ranked run defense.

4:00 PM MST

TV: The Mtn

Mountain West Mondays

Recapping all the Mountain West Action over the weekend.

TCU @ BYU

This was the game of the week in College Football. It was a great game unless you are a BYU fan. The Horned Frogs jumped out a 21-0 lead and never looked back. The only bad news is that TCU beat BYU so bad in the 38-7 win that it knocked the Cougars out of the Top 25 rankings. The win vaulted the Froggies to #6 in the BCS standings.

Box Score


San Diego State @ CSU

A tale of two halves here. CSU looked like they finally going to a win and break their four game losing streak when they were up 21-7 heading into the half. Ryan Lindley and the Aztecs took to the air for 459 yards and six touchdowns as they roared back with 35 points in the second half to end up winning 42-28. A promising start to the season has been derailed for Rams.

Box Score


Air Force @ Utah

Past games have been very close and this game didn't disappoint. The Utes had problems all game long with 6 fumbles but only losing two. The Falcons forced a 16-16 tie with a 48 yard field goal that sent the game into overtime. Utah ran for a TD in their first possession of OT then the defense stepped up and smothered the Falcons on a 4th and 2 to earn a hard fought 23-16 victory.

Box Score


UNLV @ New Mexico

It really doesn't matter who coaches the Lobos - it is the same result. The Lobos are now 0-7 following the 34-17 loss to the Rebels. You never know what will happen but chances are pretty good now that New Mexico will finish with an 0-12 record this season.

Box Score

Whats happening?

Here is the scoop on what we'll be doing each day this week. So make sure you check in everday. Or why don't you just become a follower of Cowboy Altitude so you can check the updates easier? :)

Monday - Mountain West Mondays
Recap of all the action in the MWC

Tuesday - Pokes in the Pro's
A look at former Wyoming players in the NFL and NBA

Wednesday - Wyoming vs Utah Preview
Previewing the upcoming game in Utah this weekend

Thursday - News from around the MWC
News from all the league

Friday - Preview all the MWC match ups
Predictions for all the Mountain West games this weekend

Weekend - Travel and Family
I'll be traveling to Colorado this weekend to be with family. I'll attend the CSU-AF game so I'll be doing some scouting for the Bronze Boot game. Will be able to update the blog via the blackberry stay tuned for recaps and analysis.

Great MWC Matchups this Weekend!

While the Pokes have the weekend off you can tune in and scout the competition. You can preview the Cowboys upcoming opponents for the rest of the season by watching just three games this Saturday.

Game of the Week

#10 TCU @ #16 BYU
5:30pm MST
TV: Versus

ESPN College Game Day is making big news by coming to Provo. This is only the third time the GD crew has been in attendance for a game hosted by a Mountain West team. The fact that ESPN can't even broadcast the game makes it even more impressive. Best game in College Football this weekend.

TCU has their BCS dreams on the line. A loss here will sink the Horned Frogs and the MWC. The Cougars are looking to return the favor at TCU ruined their season last year.

Prediction: TCU 27 - BYU21


Air Force @ #19 Utah
2:00pm MST
TV: Versus

Air Force has one of the top defenses in the nation. Will they be able to stop the Utes and their powerful offense? Utah will become the third MWC team to become bowl eligible with a victory. These games have been close every year and don't expect anything to change.

Prediction: Utah 17 - Air Force 10


San Diego State @ Colorado State
2:00PM MST
TV: The Mtn

The Cowboys better study this game and figure out a way they can beat the Aztecs and Rams if they want to play in a bowl game this year. CSU has lost 4 in a row and is win less in the Mountain West this year. The second half of their schedule is much easier now and they need this victory at home.

Prediction: CSU 31 - SDSU 21


UNLV @ New Mexico
6:00PM MST
TV: The Mtn

This game is all about pride. If New Mexico wants to try and get a win this season this is their best chance. UNLV need this win to try and stay with the middle tier of teams in the Mountain West.

Prediction: UNLV 37 - New Mexico 17

Making the Rounds - 10/21/09

Making the Rounds: New from around the Mountain West Conference.

As seen on Mountain West Connection.

Air Force: The Falcons want to add some balance to their offense.

BYU: The Cougars still have the loss to TCU from last year on their mind.

Colorado State: The Rams can relate to the Aztecs state.

New Mexico: Greg Barlow will be handling coaching duties for the Lobos this weekend.

San Diego State: The basketball arena has a new name and a new scoreboard.

TCU: The Horned Frogs have a new Athletic Director.

UNLV: The Rebels want to try something different in the red zone. Scoring.

Utah: The student group support MUSS keeps growing at Ute games.

Wyoming: The Cowboys and Cowgirls are getting ready for the start of basketball season.

Mountain West Standings - 10/18/2009

Mountain West Conference Standings
(updated 10.18.2009 at 12:26 AM PDT)

Overall - W L

TCU Horned Frogs 6 - 0 * #8
BYU Cougars 6 - 1 * #16
Utah Utes 5 - 1 #18
Air Force Falcons 4 - 3
Wyoming Cowboys 4 - 3
Colorado St. Rams 3 - 4
San Diego St. Aztecs 2 - 4
UNLV Rebels 2 - 5
New Mexico Lobos 0 - 6

Conference - W - L

BYU Cougars 3 - 0 *
TCU Horned Frogs 2 - 0*
Utah Utes 2 - 0
Air Force Falcons 3 - 1
Wyoming Cowboys 2 - 1
San Diego St. Aztecs 0 - 2
New Mexico Lobos 0 - 2
Colorado St. Rams 0 - 3
UNLV Rebels 0 - 3

* = Bowl Eligibile
# = BCS Ranking

Mountain West Mondays

Mountain West Mondays

Welcome to the first installment of Mountain West Mondays. We will use this section to get you caught up from news all around the Conference.

So all of the news on Monday will relate to the other nine teams in the Mountain West.


Wyoming at Air Force
Air Force shutouts Wyoming at home 10-0. Defensive battle for both teams. The Falcons solidfy themselves as the #4 team in the Mountain West.


Box Score


Colorado State at TCU
TCU shows what their offense can do when the field isn't covered in snow and it's 15 degrees out. The Horned Frogs are now bowl eligible and still undefeated this season. TCU 44 - CSU 3.

Box Score


BYU at San Diego State
The Aztecs came out and surprised the Cougars with their tough play. This one had the possiblity of being a huge upset before BYU settled down and won their sixth game of the season. The Cougars are also bowl eligibile. BYU 38- SDSU - 28.

Box Score

Utah at UNLV
Amazing stat: both teams totaled 327 total yards on offense. Bad news is that the Utes put 35 points to the Rebels 15. This game was essentially over in the first half.

Box Score


New Mexico
The good news is that Lobos achived something they haven't all season: they didn't lose. Unfortunately they had to wait for their bye week to accomplish this feat. When they do face UNLV this weekend they be without head coach Mike Locksley who can been suspended without pay for 10 games for punching WR Coach J.B. Gerald.

Locksley says he used "poor judgement". Really? I guess he was just trying to take after Tom Cable.


MWC RECAP VIDEO

Falcons shutout the Cowboys

Falcons shutdown Cowboys

It took nearly 45 minutes for the Air Force Falcons (4-3, 3-1 Mountain West) were able to get on the board in a 10-0 victory over the Wyoming Cowboys (4-3,2-1) at home. Erik Soderberg kicked a 29 yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead in a sloppy game by both teams. Four minutes later Jared Tew ran it in from 17 yards out to conclude the scoring for the Falcons and the game. The Falcons have now won four straight over the Cowboys.

Neither team had much luck moving the ball as tough defense and penalties bogged down drives all game long. Wyoming was flagged 10 times for 71 yards while Air Force was penalized 13 times for 125 yards.

Tim Jefferson got the start at QB for the Falcons but was mostly innefective. Coach Troy Calhoun put in Connor Dietz for the second half and was able to get the Falcons in rhythm and grab the victory. Calhoun had been mum all week on who would start at QB for the Falcons.

Jared Tew lead the Falcons with 27 carries for 105 yards. Air Force totaled 269 yards for the game with only two coming through the air. The Falcons defense held the Pokes to 174 yards for the game.

Wyoming was never able to break inside the Falcons 30 yard line. Their only scoring threat came on a 47 yard field goal that was blocked with time expiring at the end of the first half. QB Austyn Carta-Samuels was 14/31 for only 76 yards and one interception. David Leonard continued to be one of the top targets as he grabbed a team leading seven receptions for 36 yards.

The Cowboys defense held Air Force offense in check for most the game. Brian Hendricks finished with 23 tackles and John Fletcher added two sacks.

Air Force had two other chances to score but failed on 4th and Goal situations in both halves.

Air Force travels to Utah next week while Wyoming has the week off.

Wyoming vs Air Force Preview

Wyoming vs Air Force Preview

Series History: Air Force leads 24-20-3

Last year: Air Force 23 Wyoming 3. Air Force forced five turnovers on the road and their defense stifled any hope of Wyoming starting the season 2-0. Dax Crum (seen above) was 7 for 19 for 72 yards and an interception. He is now buried safely on the Cowboys depth chart.

Point Spread: Air Force by 10.5

Wyoming: The Pokes are winners of three in a row and the offense has put up 30+ points since true freshman Austyn Carta-Samuels has been named the starting QB. Coach Christensen has this team believing in themselves and isn't afraid to play the young players who are willing to play hard.

Air Force: The Falcons boast the nations 18th best defense and tops in the Mountain West. Have lost three games by a combined 13 points. Their running game is as potent as ever with six players with over 100 yards rushing so far this season. Coach Calhoun hasn't decided who still start the game at QB for the Falcons. Tim Jefferson was #1 before an ankle sprain took him out four weeks ago. Connor Dietz has filled in nicely in his absence. Jefferson has the better arm while Dietz is a much stronger runner.

Why Wyoming will win: Team morale is sky high after two come from behind victories and then a solid victory at home last week. With all the veteran leadership on defense the Cowboys are familiar with the Falcons triple option offense and know how to stop it. The Falcons have never seen the Cowboys spread offense in person and will have a hard time bottling up Austyn Carta-Samuels. The Falcons have a number of injuries to their linebacking corp that help the Cowboy passing game.

Why Wyoming will lose: Air Force is generally considered the best team in the Mountain West after the Big 3 (BYU, TCU, UTAH). After a three point loss to TCU last week the Falcons are ready to win again. Wyoming has never started with a 3-0 record in conference play.

Final thoughts: This game will tell us a lot about the rest of the season. If Wyoming can pull out a victory then they control their destiny as they fight for a bowl berth. If they lose it could be a tough stretch as they face Utah and BYU after the off week.

Prediction: Wyoming pulls out a hard fought game and escapes Colorado Springs with a W.

Wyoming 23 - Air Force 17