Neverending Mountain West region college football thread

[CaliforniaKid]

Like I was saying before... The actual secret of the Boise State Broncos success is the blue field.

It's a territory kind of thing... Never lost a WAC game there. Ever... 10 years in the WAC. Think about it..

If you take that away, we will lose..

[wrendog]

Congrats to Auburn! That was a fun game.

Would be cool to see TCU (or Stanford or Ohio State) play Auburn now. If we can't get a true playoff right now, an and one would be the next step...

[Evo5Boise]

Meh, the 4th Quarter of that game was about the only exciting part. Neither team really showed me much.

[Cirrus]

If given the chance to play Oregon or Auburn on a neutral field, I think Boise State and TCU would've beaten both of them, had they played like they played tonight.

I don't think they played badly at all, except for the slippery field which couldn't be helped. Just because their defenses showed up and the game wasn't 63-47 doesn't mean they played badly.

But I'd like to see TCU play Auburn. The +1 solves everything and is all we need.

[CPVLIVE]

Originally Posted by Evo5Boise

Meh, the 4th Quarter of that game was about the only exciting part. Neither team really showed me much.

Originally Posted by BoiseAirport

If given the chance to play Oregon or Auburn on a neutral field, I think Boise State and TCU would've beaten both of them, had they played like they played tonight.

The fact the teams weren't sharp underscores the absurdity of playing a 'championship' game some six weeks after finishing the season. Sitting around on your a$$ for 35/36 days will do that - for me it calls into question the legitimacy of the game. Auburn - the finest paper champion money could buy.

[bunt_q]

Why does everybody assume that teams "aren't sharp" or somehow are not playing top notch just because a game is low scoring and fairly evenly matched. Does the old mantra "defense wins championships" not apply to college football? Why is a stripped football attributed to a rusty QB and not an aggressive defender doing his job?

TCU won unimpressively against the weakest team in the BCS this year and folks are going to question Auburn's win because it was close? Absurdity! I found that to be a heck of a satisfying championship game.

[andyroo]

I'm not so sure the field was slippery. Nike made new shoes for TCU Oregon and Boise. All three teams had trouble with slipping, most notably tcu. there were reports that players were pissed that they left their old shoes behind and went with the new nikes...

[Evo5Boise]

The Mountain West Conference board of directors today announced that a 2011 football matchup between TCU and Boise State will be played at Boise State.

Additionally, the Broncos conference game against San Diego State has been moved to San Diego. The dates for the entire MWC schedule are expected to be released around April 1.

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by Evo5Boise

The Mountain West Conference board of directors today announced that a 2011 football matchup between TCU and Boise State will be played at Boise State.

Additionally, the Broncos conference game against San Diego State has been moved to San Diego. The dates for the entire MWC schedule are expected to be released around April 1.

Plus, they announced no expansion much to the chagrin of Aggie and Spartan fans everywhere.

[Evo5Boise]

Originally Posted by wrendog

Plus, they announced no expansion much to the chagrin of Aggie and Spartan fans everywhere.

Thank the lord!

[bunt_q]

Aggies are Utah State, I get that. But who are the Spartans?

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

Aggies are Utah State, I get that. But who are the Spartans?

San Jose State... They were the other team said to be the other expansion target for the MWC.

[bunt_q]

Gotcha. Yeah, nothing for the MWC to gain there. Utah State kicking themselves for not accepting when they had the chance? Is Hawaii confirmed now?

[Wasatch_One]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

Gotcha. Yeah, nothing for the MWC to gain there. Utah State kicking themselves for not accepting when they had the chance? Is Hawaii confirmed now?

Utah St. has a decent bball program and their football team has been improving over the past few years with their new coach.

I wouldn't go as far as saying the MWC wouldn't gain anything with the addition of USU. USU is probably on par with a Wyoming if not a little better from an athletic perspective (yeah, nothing impressive.) However, they are a research institution and probably have a better academic situation than many other MWC schools.

[TonyAnderson]

Originally Posted by wrendog

Plus, they announced no expansion much to the chagrin of Aggie and Spartan fans everywhere.

I definitely chagrined. And because it makes me feel better, I will blame San Jose St. for being a lousy counterpart, assuming they had to add two teams. Thanks alot!

In reality I don't think the Mountain would have been totally against adding USU, but I think they have enough bottom-dwelling football teams as it is. Wyoming, UNLV, New Mexico, Colorado St., and even San Diego St. have traditionally been at the bottom.

There's a lot of hope under Andersen though. The guy can flat out recruit.

[Cirrus]

Utah State might have been worth invitng just to keep the SLC market involved. I have to think SLC has been the MWC's most important base in recent history, so losing both Utah and BYU must really sting for reasons beyond football.

But yeah, nothing to gain with San Jose State. UTEP is probably the best remaining immediate option. It's the only game in town in a respectable-size market, and fits the geography.

But if I'm the MWC, I'm not too worried about the long-term future because I expect the Big 12 to break up in less than a decade. At some point, I think Texas will decide to go independent so they don't have to share revenue with a conference. When that happens the Big 12 will break up. Oklahoma and A&M will go to the SEC, and Kansas and Mizzou will go to the Big 10. That will leave 5 remaining BCS teams in search of a home, and the MWC will be perfect.

[bunt_q]

I got so excited to see activity in the college football thread...sad!

That makes for a mighty large conference. Let's say the MWC picks up a few Big 12 leftovers... Texas Tech, Iowa State, K State, whomever.

Is there anything left out there, in the MWC, Big 12 leftovers, even WAC, that makes sense for the PAC?

(Other than Hawaii - a no brainer for the PAC to me, and insane to pretty much everybody else!)

[Cirrus]

The plan I outlined above would give the Big 10, SEC and MWC all 14 teams exactly, which is well within the realm of the possible.

*But* I forgot about BYU, which I expect would want to rejoin that new larger, more BCS-like MWC. That would be 15. Still less than the 16 that would have happened if Texas had gone to the Pac, but getting up there.

I think the Pac will stay at 12. Hawaii would probably cost the conference more than it brought in, and I don't see who else could possibly fit. They'll never take BYU.

[BoiseAirport]

Here's what I wish could've been for the MWC:

1. Utah
2. BYU
3. Hawaii
4. Colorado
5. Colorado State
6. Air Force
----------------
7. Boise State
8. TCU
9. Kansas
10. Kansas State
11. Fresno State
12. Nevada

Making the MWC a 12 team BCS conference with a conference championship game.

Wyoming, New Mexico, San Diego State to the WAC. For a 10-team MWC I would have the above, but take out Hawaii and Nevada and put them in the WAC.

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by BoiseAirport

Here's what I wish could've been for the MWC:

1. Utah
2. BYU
3. Hawaii
4. Colorado
5. Colorado State
6. Air Force
----------------
7. Boise State
8. TCU
9. Kansas
10. Kansas State
11. Fresno State
12. Nevada

Making the MWC a 12 team BCS conference with a conference championship game.

Wyoming, New Mexico, San Diego State to the WAC. For a 10-team MWC I would have the above, but take out Hawaii and Nevada and put them in the WAC.

That's a solid league. Too bad it wasn't able to happen.