FB: TCU and Utah Ranked in USA Today Coaches' Poll

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The Mountain West Conference has two football teams ranked in the Preseason USA Today Coaches' Top 25 poll. TCU is the MWC's highest-ranked team at No. 7, while Utah is tied with West Virginia at No. 24. This is the second straight year that multiple Mountain West teams have appeared in the preseason Coaches' poll.

Defending MWC champion TCU closed out the 2009 campaign with an appearance in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl after posting a 12-1 overall record, including a perfect 8-0 mark in Conference play. The Horned Frogs finished the season ranked sixth in the final Associated Press and USA Today Coaches’ polls, giving TCU its second straight Top-10 finish, and third in the last five years.

Utah enters 2010 tied at No. 24 after defeating California in the San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl to conclude the 2009 season. The Utes, who hold the nation’s longest bowl win streak at nine games, earned a third-place finish (6-2) in Conference play in 2009 and ended the year with a 10-3 record overall. Utah concluded last season at No. 18 in the final Associated Press and USA Today Coaches’ polls, respectively.

BYU also received votes in the poll and is listed at No. 28.

The 12th season of Mountain West football kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 2, as Utah hosts Pittsburgh. The Conference’s other eight teams open action on Saturday, Sept. 4.

2010 Preseason USA Today Coaches' Poll (first-place votes in parentheses and total points received)
Rank	Team (first-place votes)	Total Points
1.	Alabama (55)	1,469
2.	Ohio State (4)	1,392
3.	Florida	1,245
4.	Texas	1,240
5.	Boise State	1,215
6.	Virginia Tech	1,052
7.	TCU	1,051
8.	Oklahoma	1,035
9.	Nebraska	1,001
10.	Iowa	952
11.	Oregon	940
12.	Wisconsin	778
13.	Miami (Fla.)	728
14.	Penn State	508
15.	Pittsburgh	492
16.	LSU	476
17.	Georgia Tech	455
18.	North Carolina	445
19.	Arkansas	438
20.	Florida State	374
21.	Georgia	312
22.	Oregon State	263
23.	Auburn	260
T24.	Utah	169
T24.	West Virginia	169
Others receiving votes: Cincinnati (12-1) 135; Houston (10-4) 76; BYU (11-2) 66; Arizona (8-5) 65; Mississippi (9-4) 48; Clemson (9-5) 44; Stanford (8-5) 41; Connecticut (8-5) 40; Notre Dame (6-6) 38; South Carolina (7-6) 38; Washington (5-7) 26; Missouri (8-5) 23; Navy (10-4) 12; Oklahoma State (9-4) 11; Boston College (8-5) 10; Michigan State (6-7) 10; Arizona State (4-8) 6; California (8-5) 6; Texas Tech (9-4) 5; South Florida (8-5) 4; Texas A&M (6-7) 3; Northwestern (8-5) 2; Temple (9-4) 2; Central Michigan (12-2) 1; Mississippi State (5-7) 1; Nevada (8-5) 1; Northern Illinois (7-6) 1; SMU (8-5) 1.