Bern’s-Eye View: Mountain West Best Bets Week 4

By Taylor Bern

Friday, Sept. 19, 2014 | 3 p.m.

No intra-conference games this week and it’s the last time that will happen this season, so soak it in. The weekend starts with Hawaii trying to get the Mountain West to 2-0 against Colorado this year (Colorado State) and the marquee game is probably the one involving another Pac-12 team.

Two weeks ago, San Diego State had then-No. 17 North Carolina on the ropes at home only to blow it in the fourth quarter. Now the Aztecs are back with another chance for a victory against a Big 5 Conference opponent at Oregon State.

Elsewhere, Fresno State and New Mexico are each looking for win No. 1 before they meet each other next Friday night in Albuquerque and Utah State prepares for a road game without quarterback Chuckie Keeton.

How will those games play out? Here are the picks:

Note: UNLV picks will appear in the live blog on the day of games.

SATURDAY

Hawaii (plus-8.5) at Colorado

11 a.m., Pac-12 Networks

• This is the Rainbow Warriors' first trip to the mainland, and kickoff is at 8 a.m. Hawaii time. Honolulu Star-Advertiser beat writer Stephen Tsai said their practices usually start at 7 a.m., so perhaps the start time won’t be a major factor. But that, plus all of Hawaii’s injuries, is enough for me to run to the other side.

Pick: Colorado — Win

Florida Atlantic (plus-3.5) at Wyoming

1 p.m., Mountain West Network/Campus Insiders

• The Cowboys led No. 2 Oregon 7-0 after one quarter last week, which is something. And Wyoming’s total yardage allowed (556 yards) doesn’t really seem that bad if you’ve watched UNLV this year.

Pick: Wyoming — Loss

San Jose State (plus-10) at Minnesota

1 p.m., Big Ten Network

• The Spartans get running back Jarrod Lawson back after a two-game suspension. That should help a running game that’s been anemic, but I don’t think it will be enough.

Pick: Minnesota — Win

Utah State (plus-2.5) at Arkansas State

4 p.m., ESPN3

• The positive side to Chuckie Keeton’s knee injury for the Aggies is that they found a capable backup last time around in Darell Garretson, who went 6-1 as a start in relief of Keeton last season. Utah State doesn’t think Keeton is done for the season this time, so it could be just a spot start for Garretson. He’ll be out to prove himself once more, only this time with some experience giving him confidence.

Pick: Utah State — Loss

New Mexico (minus-3.5) at New Mexico State

5 p.m., ESPN3

• The Lobos will get their first victory of the season Saturday. They should savor it, though, because there likely won’t be many more this year.

Pick: New Mexico — Loss

Southern Utah (plus-18.5) at Fresno State

7 p.m., Mountain West Network/Campus Insiders

• The Bulldogs did themselves absolutely no favors with this brutal schedule. They were not equipped to deal with Big 5 teams USC, Utah or Nebraska, and now it has me doubting whether they will even be able to run away from a bad Division I-AA team.

Pick: Southern Utah — Loss

San Diego State (plus-10) at Oregon State

7:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1

• The Aztecs have had a week to stew on their would-be victory against North Carolina. It's fitting that the next opponent is another Big 5 team that SDSU very recently should have defeated. Oregon State scored 20 points in the fourth quarter last year for a 4-point victory. Maybe the Beavers can do that again, but they’re not going to win by double digits.

Pick: San Diego State — Loss

Louisiana-Lafayette (plus-17) at Boise State

7:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network

• The Broncos’ defense should be good enough to take care of this one handily.

Pick: Boise State — Win

Last week: 5-3

Season: 18-10

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.