Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

OVERVIEW: For the first half of the season, the Mountain West has proven that it is the best non-BCS conference in the country. Currently, it has more bowl-eligible teams than any other non-BCS conference. It has more ranked teams, more undefeated teams and more teams above .500 than any of its non-BCS brethren. The Mountain West has set itself up for its first BCS bowl berth since 2004 and a possible national championship should BYU have a perfect season and voters see fit to reward it.

OFFENSIVE MVP: BYU quarterback Max Hall is not only the offensive MVP of the Mountain West, but he's the midseason MVP of the entire non-BCS/Independents. Hall has been precise and accurate while leading his team to six straight wins this season. He's among the nation's best in total offense and pass efficiency and is even being mentioned as a Heisman candidate.

DEFENSIVE MVP: TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes has been a beast this year. He has 29 tackles for the Horned Frogs this season, but in the backfield is where he really excels. He has 12 tackles for loss and seven solo sacks. He also has two interceptions -- one he returned 24 yards for a touchdown -- and a safety. He is one of the reasons TCU has the best defense in the country.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Mountain West's top two teams -- BYU and Utah -- are in for some rough sailing during the final half of the season. Both will face the upper echelon of the conference before squaring off with each other at the end of the year. The Cougars and Utes have more to lose with a loss than any other team in the conference so both teams are going to get the best games from teams such as Colorado State and TCU. If they can both make it unscathed to Nov. 22, then that game will decide a BCS bid and a possible national championship berth.