Can we all agree that the Mountain West Conference deserves BCS status?

[SoxFan]

Last year, MWC teams won the Poinsettia, New Mexico, Las Vegas, and Texas Bowls.
Right now, Utah is leading Alabama in the Sugar Bowl in the 4th quarter.

Regardless of the final outcome, Utah has shown that the second tier conferences aren't so second tier after all. Throw in Boise State's Orange Bowl win a few years ago, and it shows what a load of crap the television-driven BCS really is.

[leeroysphitz]

1. I don't agree to that. n/t

[SoxFan]

2. I, for one, am sick of watching 6-6 Big ten teams every December

And that goes for the SEC, too, and I am an SEC fan. Good teams from the WAC, the Mountain West, Conference USA, and the Big East get shoved aside so we can watch yet another mediocre game involving someone like Notre Dame.

[gratuitous]

3. Only if we agree that the Big 12 isn't

Except for one fluke win by Texas, the Big 12 has been stinking up the BCS bowls for YEARS.

[SoxFan]

4. Big 12=Overrated

Media darlings who coast on their reputation from the 1970s.

The best team in the State of Texas might not be the Horns, Aggies, or Red Raiders. It just might be the Horned Frogs of TCU.

[RoyGBiv]

8. TCU should be in the Big XII

Let Baylor go play in the minors or something.

[SoxFan]

13. TCU and/or Arkansas

Arkansas would be a much better fit in the Big 12. You have the traditional SWC rivalries with the Aggies and Longhorns, and road trips to Stillwater, Norman, and Lawrence are a hell of a lot easier than Gainesville and Athens.

Baylor seems tailor-made for Conference USA. Same goes for Vandy, quite honestly.

[RoyGBiv]

9. Fluke win?

Please. And since 1998, the Big XII has won 2 national championships, not one, which by itself isn't exactly a horrible record.

Prior to this season they're 6-8 overall, of course, which isn't good.

The Big XII has been a disappointment in BCS games, which, sad for me to say, is heavily weighted toward OU's lack of contribution. Four of those 8 losses belong to one team, OU. They've been in three championship games prior to this year, only one of them deserved. (Of course, Ohio State and FSU have the same record in championship games.) They seem to have some sort of block with it, sorta like OU had playing OSU for years. They'd kill everyone else, then have trouble with OSU, even when OSU sucked. Then, you'd notice, their bowl game opponent would play them like OSU played them.

[leftyclimber]

5. Oh hell yes.

And I'm a Pac-10 girl. But the BCS is a load of sh*t.

(Okay, we got hosed in 2001, so I'm biased. But the BCS is still a load of sh*t.)

[elleng]

6. I'm no expert at all,

and daughter attends WVU. But I believe its all about *** guess what *** $.

SO if our system could become honest, the matters about which you argue could change.

[RoyGBiv]

7. Maybe ...

They need to show more consistency. Year to year, they're all over the place, and they spend most of their season playing teams that end the season with lackluster records.

Utah played an amazing game tonight. This is only the second game I've watched of theirs this year, the other being against TCU. While Utah beat them, it was not a pretty win, and no dominance was shown.

Utah would have more of a claim to status this year if they'd played someone other than TCU. It's not entirely their fault. They're trying to make their schedule tougher, and Michigan was supposed to be that tough game that let them shine. But, Michigan sucks wind this year and was hardly a test of anything.

Not to take anything away from Utah's win tonight, but frankly I don't see them surviving something like the SEC gauntlet all season long.

That said, three teams in the MWC don't get the props they deserve because of all this: TCU, BYU, and recently Utah.

[elleng]

10. The Final Outcome

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/01/03/sports/AP-FBC-T25-Sugar-Bowl.html

[Robeson]

11. Yes. What I noticed from that game, is that they had athletes.

Growing up in the South, I'm bombarded with SEC propaganda, but the players on Utah's team were built. Their secondary guys looked like linebackers. They looked like they'd stack up with anybody.

[SoxFan]

14. They out-SEC'd the SEC

Utah showed up with a nice defensive effort that combined speed and quickness with an ability to smash through and pressure the QB.

They still are a bit pass-happy, which you expect from MWC teams, but most SEC teams are more pass-oriented.

[sasquatch]

12. Hell they already do better that all of the SEC(Vanderbilt excluded) in the classroom

:hide:

[pokerfan]

15. Playoffs

Take the eleven conference champions: ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, CUSA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-10, SEC, Sun Belt, WAC.

Add five at-large teams to make it sixteen. Three weeks of home field games to get it down to two. Higher seed gets home field advantage. Then play for the NC at some predetermined location.

It's not rocket science, people. :shrug: