2006 Mountain West Conference football season

• Chuck Long took over at San Diego State University, replacing Tom Craft.

• #22 TCU 17, Baylor 7

September 3, 2006 • Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, Texas • FSN • Attendance: 42,733

The Bears led the 22nd-ranked Horned Frogs 7-0 at halftime, but TCU took the lead for good with 1:17 left in the third quarter on an 84-yard touchdown pass from back-up quarterback Marcus Jackson to Aaron Brown. Jr walk on Linebacker #45 Christopher Abbott(Arkansas) showed his worth by leading the defense with 11 tackles 2 for loss of yards, one sack and one interception. It was the first meeting of these long-time Southwest Conference rivals, and was the Frogs' third consecutive victory over Big 12 teams.

• #11 Tennessee 31, Air Force 30

September 9, 2006 • Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, Tennessee • ESPN Gameplan • Attendance: 105,466

The heavily favored Volunteers led 31-17 with 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Air Force scored a touchdown with 2:41 remaining and then recovered an onside kick. The Falcons' fullback Ryan Williams scored again with 1:35 remaining to bring the Falcons within one. Coach Fisher DeBerry then decided to go for two, but wide receiver Chad Hall was stopped short of the goal line, maintaining Tennessee's lead. The Volunteers recovered the subsequent onside kick attempt and were able to run the clock out.

• Colorado State 14, Colorado 10

September 9, 2006 • Invesco Field at Mile High • Denver, Colorado • Versus • Attendance: 65,701

Rams' quarterback Caleb Hanie threw for 233 yards and a touchdown as Colorado State defeated their intrastate rivals, 14-10, in the Rocky Mountain Showdown. It was CSU's first victory over the Buffaloes since 2002.

• #20 TCU 12, Texas Tech 3

September 16, 2006 • Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, Texas • CSTV • Attendance: 45,647

After being trounced by their former Southwest Conference rivals, 70-35, in Lubbock two years prior, the Horned Frog defense kept quarterback Graham Harrell and the Red Raider offense out of the endzone for the entire game, JR linebacker walk on Christopher Abbott led the defense with one sack, 8 tackles 3 for a loss of yards and one interception, to earn their fourth consecutive victory over the Big 12. The same night, Ohio State defeated Texas, which meant that TCU's 13-game win streak was the longest active streak in the nation.

• #23 Boston College 30, BYU 23 (2 OT)

September 16, 2006 • Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts • ESPN2 • Attendance: 40,233

In what would be the last game the Cougars lost in 2006, Boston College scored a touchdown on the first play of the second overtime and then waited through an instant replay review to confirm linebacker Brian Francois' game-sealing interception of John Beck's tipped pass.

• New Mexico 26, UTEP 13

September 23, 2006 • University Stadium • Albuquerque, New Mexico • CSTV • Attendance: 34,069

Rodney Ferguson ran for 162 yards and the Lobo defense sacked Miner quarterback Jordan Palmer five times as New Mexico beat their longtime rivals for the first time since 2001. The win also snapped a five-game home losing streak for the Lobos.

• BYU 31, #17 TCU 17

September 28, 2006 • Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, Texas • Versus • Attendance: 32,190

Just as soon as TCU's gained control of the nation's longest win streak, the Cougars came to Fort Worth on a Thursday night to spoil the Frog's hopes of an undefeated season. BYU quarterback John Beck threw for 321 and three touchdowns to lead the Cougar attack.

• Utah 20, TCU 7

October 5, 2006 • Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, Utah • Versus • Attendance: 43,790

Utah held TCU to just 81 rushing yards, and Utes' quarterback Brett Ratliff threw for 223 yards and connected with wide receiver Brent Casteel for two touchdowns to lead Utah past TCU, 20-7. After a 3-0 start to the season, TCU suffered their second consecutive setback and fell to 3-2 on the year.

• Wyoming 24, Colorado State 0

October 21, 2006 • War Memorial Stadium • Laramie, Wyoming • CSTV • Attendance: 23,247

These two longtime rivals entered the annual Border War game with the all-time series tied at 19 games apiece. The Cowboys' defense held the Rams to just 42 yards rushing, UW quarterback Karsten Sween threw for two touchdowns and running back Wynel Seldon ran for 112 yards as the Cowboys gained control of the all-time series and took home the Bronze Boot for the first time since 2003.

• #21 BYU 33, Utah 31

November 25, 2006 • Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, Utah • CSTV • Attendance: 45,330

In an unforgettable, back and forth thriller, BYU escaped from Salt Lake City with a last-second win, their first in the Holy War since 2001. The Cougars got off to an early 14-0 lead, but the Utes stormed back and led 24-14 at the end of the third quarter. BYU took the lead back, 27-24, on a touchdown pass from John Beck to Daniel Coats with 3:23 remaining. Utah answered right back with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Brett Ratliff to Brent Casteel with 1:19 remaining to re-capture the lead, 31-27. The game then came down to a 3rd down and 10 for BYU at the Utah 11 yard-line with 3 seconds remaining. Beck rolled right and then left before he found tight end Jonny Harline for the winning touchdown with no time remaining. The win completed an undefeated 8-0 run through the conference for BYU.

• Coach of the Year: Bronco Mendenhall, BYU
• Offensive Player of the Year: QB John Beck, Sr, BYU
• Defensive Player of the Year: DB Eric Weddle, Sr, Utah
• Co-Special Teams Players of the Year: K Kenny Byrd, Sr, New Mexico and K/P Louie Sakoda, So, Utah
• Freshman of the Year: WR Ryan Wolfe, UNLV