Horton, others scoff at polls

Don't expect UNLV coach Jeff Horton to lose any sleep over the fact the WAC media poll has the Rebels picked to finish seventh in the eight-team Mountain Division this year.

"Number one, who cares?" Horton said when contacted at his office Tuesday afternoon. "And number two, the media poll won't have any impact on what we do as a team this season.

"The only poll that matters is the one at the end of the season. At the end of the year, we can look back and see how accurate it was."

Hawaii coach Fred vonAppen, whose squad was picked to finish sixth in the Pacific Division, agreed with Horton's assessment.

"I have no interest in preseason polls," vonAppen said. "I don't think they're relevant. They might turn some people on, but not me. I'm not going to develop an eating disorder over it."

Colorado State (318 points) was a runaway choice to win not only the Mountain Division but also the WAC championship game. Wyoming, picked to finish second to the Rams, and Rice, tabbed to finish fourth, also received first place votes.

BYU, trying to bounce back from an uncharacteristic 6-5 campaign, was picked to win the Pacific Division over instate rival Utah. Last year's Mountain Division winner New Mexico was targeted for third.

"I don't care if we're ranked first, second or ninth," Utah coach Ron McBride said. "It doesn't bother me. It's not what you're ranked at the beginning, it's where you go out at the end."

McBride can at least take some solace that the Utes already are listed as 3-point favorites by the Imperial Palace for their Nov. 21 showdown with the Cougars in Salt Lake City.

What time is it?

BYU coach LaVell Edwards was surprisingly chipper at Tuesday morning's media session for someone who had flown halfway around the world the day before.

"Bon jour," Edwards, who arrived in Las Vegas at 10:30 p.m. Monday night on a flight from Paris, greeted reporters.

The 68-year-old Edwards was asked if he might have any interest in being commissioner for the new breakaway eight conference.

"Nah, I've got enough problems," he said with a smile.

One of them could be BYU's preseason schedule. The Cougars' first three games this season are at Alabama, Pac-10 favorite Arizona State in Provo and at Washington.

"Obviously, one of our big problems is the schedule," Edwards said. "But if we can get through those first three games without a lot of injuries, that should help us for WAC play."

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