NASHVILLE -- BYU has once again been predicted to be one of the top non-BCS contenders for the upcoming 2008 football season with Athlon Sports ranking the Cougars at the No. 14 position in its preseason Top-25 poll.
Athlon Sports predicts Bronco Mendenhall's Cougars to win the Mountain West Conference for the third consecutive year, and have selected 11 BYU players as All-MWC performers. In 2007, Athlon Sports led all other preseason football magazines in prediction accuracy.
"BYU should be the best non-BCS conference team in the nation this year," says Athlon Sports senior editor Mitch Light. "The Cougars are absolutely loaded on offense, and with Bronco Mendenhall's background, you know his team will be good defensively, even though they will have a lot of new faces on that side of the ball."
Offensive lineman Ray Feinga is named Third-Team All-America and First-Team All-MWC. Joining him on the first team are quarterback Max Hall, running back Harvey Unga, wide receiver and kick returner Austin Collie, tight end Dennis Pitta, offensive lineman Dallas Reynolds and defensive lineman Jan Jorgensen.
Punt returner Bryce Mahuika is named Second-Team All-MWC. Center Tom Sorensen, linebacker David Nixon and punter CJ Santiago join the All-MWC Third Team.
Nashville-based Athlon Sports is a 41-year-old integrated media company. It remains a leader in sports prediction accuracy and creating the most sought-after preseason content online and in magazines at newsstand. The company serves business-to-business and business-to-consumer clients as a publisher, content provider, and Sports Marketer through its portfolio of websites, sports magazines covering eight different sports and seven college football conferences, direct marketing, and events. Athlon Sports exports its brands internationally in 33 countries.