For the first time in the Mountain West Conference's 10-year history, three of its teams are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

While much has been made of the rankings and Bowl Championship Series-busting potential of No. 11 BYU, No. 17 Utah and No. 24 TCU — all of which are 4-0 — the strength of the conference goes beyond the top three.

Air Force, which returned only eight starters from last year, is 3-1 for the second consecutive season. Colorado State is 2-1, with its only loss to unbeaten Colorado. And, perhaps most notably, UNLV is 3-1. The Rebels, whose only loss came to Utah, already have exceeded their victory totals from each of the past four seasons.

"I expect to win, so I'm not surprised," UNLV coach Mike Sanford said. "I'm one of those that I can't coach unless I expect to win every game. ... I think people on the outside are surprised, but I'm not." UNLV upset then-No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 13 and then defeated Iowa State last Saturday.

"Without a doubt, those guys have made a dramatic improvement down in Las Vegas," Utes coach Kyle Whittingham said.

Conference commissioner Craig Thompson said the league is as strong top-to-bottom as it ever has been. But he added that could end up hurting the league's chances of sending a team to a BCS bowl because teams could beat up on each other in conference play.

Etc.

Air Force leads all Division I-A teams with 16 sacks. Senior defensive end Jake Paulson has seven — the most of any Division I-A player. ... UNLV quarterback Omar Clayton has thrown 139 passes without an interception, the third-best active streak in the nation.