With Boise State leaving the WAC, things have definitely opened up for the other teams in this conference. Of course, what we have to remember most about last season is that it wasn’t the boys from the Blue Turf that won the conference: the Nevada Wolf Pack (Current WAC Odds: 2.15 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook) did. Sure, Nevada has its own problems this year replacing a stud signal caller in Colin Kaepernick, who felt like he was playing in Reno for at least seven years, and the likes of Vai Taua and Luke Lippincott are gone from the backfield, but Head Coach Chris Ault almost always fields a competent side. After dealing with four straight hellacious road games to start off the season (including a trip to Boise), Nevada plays six of its last eight games at home with those two roadies at New Mexico State and Utah State. There’s no excuse for the Wolf Pack not to win this conference.

Head Coach Pat Hill always has his Fresno State Bulldogs (2011 WAC Lines: 3.50 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook) ready to take on anyone in the country, and this season, he gets to face Cal, Nebraska, Ole Miss, and Boise State out of conference play. The problem here is that this team just plays too many games on the road (seven to be exact), and it’s stuck with the extra road game in conference this year. Games at Nevada, Idaho, and Hawaii won’t be fun to say the least, and unless Hill’s defense can rank a whole heck of a lot better than No. 83 in the nation in scoring like it did last year, the Dogs are in trouble.

The media has selected the Hawaii Warriors (Current WAC Odds: 2.50 to 1 at 5Dimes Sportsbook) as the favorites for the WAC this year, but we just aren’t so sure that it is justified. WRs Greg Salas and Kealoha Pilares were both 1,500+ yard receivers a year ago, and RB Alex Green rumbled for nearly 1,200 yards and accounted for 19 scores. QB Bryant Moniz is back in the saddle, and he is surely going to throw for over 5,000 yards once again this year, but this Hawaii defense is just woeful at times. Parlay all of that with the newcomers that have to slot in on offense and the road trips to Nevada, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, and San Jose State, and the makings are there for a 5-2 or 4-3 mark in conference play.

2011 Odds To Win The WAC @ 5Dimes Sportsbook (as of 8/28/11):
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Nevada Wolf Pack 2.15 to 1
Hawaii Warriors 2.50 to 1
Fresno State Bulldogs 3.50 to 1
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 7 to 1
Idaho Vandals 17.50 to 1
San Jose State Spartans 19 to 1
Utah State Aggies 22 to 1
New Mexico State Aggies 36 to 1