Brigham Young has won 10 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the country, to highlight a winning aura the Mountain West Conference hopes will enhance the league's national image.

The Cougars have won an MWC-record 12 straight home games, fourth longest among Bowl Subdivision teams, and during the streak they have outscored opponents by an average of 26 points a game.

BYU, the preseason pick to win its third consecutive MWC title, has won a record 16 consecutive conference games. The Cougars haven't lost since dropping the 2005 season finale to Utah.

This season, BYU is looking for more - a berth in a Bowl Championship Series game - but will be challenged by Utah and Texas Christian, which have their own ambitions.

"It's clear, though, that this is the Mountain West's year," said Dennis Dodd, college football columnist for CBS Sports. "BYU, Utah and TCU all have shots at the Orange Bowl. One of them has to come through. Obviously, BYU is the favorite."

The MWC recorded 24 nonconference wins last season, marking its highest victory total in five years. It was 24-16 in nonconference games, including a 9-10 mark against BCS conference opponents.

And, for the second time in four years, the MWC had the best winning bowl percentage among the 11 conferences that make up the Bowl Subdivision. The MWC claimed the 2007-08 Bowl Challenge Cup after sending a league- record five teams into postseason games and finishing with a 4-1 record.

The Bowl Challenge Cup was created by ESPN in 2002. To win, a conference has to have the highest winning percentage with a minimum of three teams playing in bowls.

"Mountain West Conference football teams position themselves to compete on a national level every year by playing strong nonconference schedules," said Javan Hedlund, MWC associate commissioner.

"Local, regional and national media pay attention when you win those perceived difficult games, and the Mountain West has proven it can do that, especially in postseason bowl games."

Forgive and forget?

Wyoming coach Joe Glenn vows his team's meeting with Utah this season will be just another game and that all the ill feelings that surfaced last season between the coaches and schools have been buried.

Glenn and Utah coach Kyle Whittingham seem content to let bygones be bygones, but there's no telling what kind of reception Wyoming fans will have for Utah when the teams meet Oct. 11 at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie.

A quick refresher: Before the game in Salt Lake last year, Glenn guaranteed a victory. But Utah went ahead 43-0 in the third quarter, then tried an onside kick, which miffed Glenn enough that he made an obscene gesture toward Whittingham and the Utes bench. Utah won 50-0.

Glenn apologized to his team and fans and was reprimanded by the conference. Whittingham said the onside kick was a bad decision.

The coaches claim the rift is over. But will rabid Wyoming forgive and forget?

"Fans are what they are," Glenn told the The (Salt Lake City) Deseret News. "They'll probably have a little fun with it, but I'm over it."

Thursday night blues

In the past three seasons, Texas Christian has gone 1-5 in Thursday night games. The Horned Frogs' two critical MWC games this season are Oct. 16 against BYU and Nov. 6 at Utah. Both are on Thursday night.

They know the fight song

Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, Colorado State's Steve Fairchild and New Mexico's Rocky Long are three of 17 coaches in the Bowl Subdivision to be coaching at their alma mater. The others:

Charlie Weis Notre Dame

Brady Hoke Ball State

Mike Gundy Oklahoma State

Dave Wannstedt Pittsburgh

Mark Snyder Marshall

Phillip Fulmer Tennessee

Ralph Friedgen Maryland

Randy Shannon Miami

Tom Amstutz Toledo

Rick Neuheisel UCLA

Chris Ault Nevada

Frank Beamer Virginia Tech

Paul Wulff Washington State

Pat Fitzgerald Northwestern

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas

For BYU players Max Hall and Jan Jorgensen, nothing much happened in Las Vegas during MWC media days.

"It's always great to come to Vegas, and it's fun talking with players from around the conference," Hall said. "Vegas is great, but there is not a lot for us Mormon boys to do here."

Jorgensen was a little more direct.

"To be honest, Vegas isn't that fun for a BYU boy," he said. "While everyone was talking about clubs, gambling and drinking, I am listening to Max talk about his wife and how we have nothing to do here."

Air Force tight end Travis Dekker had even less fun than Hall and Jorgensen in Las Vegas. Dekker spent an afternoon studying for an astronautical engineering test that was administered by a tutor the next day.

He said it

"Ideally, the last game of the year comes down to the conference championship. If you could write the script, that's how you'd want to write it."

Utah coach Whittingham, on his team's Nov. 22 showdown against Brigham Young.

Compiled from wire reports and the Mountain West Conference.