So much for the MWC getting stronger: Utah headed to Pac-10
Posted by Anthony Stalter (06/17/2010 @ 8:52 am)
When the Mountain West Conference added Boise State to its ranks last week, it was one step closer to finally earning an automatic BCS bid for its champion.
But then Utah had to go and ruin the party.
ESPN.com reports that the Utes are likely headed to the Pac-10, as an announcement about their decision should be forthcoming. Along with recently added Colorado, the Pac-10 (which would have 12 teams if Utah officially joins) can now implement a conference championship if it so desires.
It’s hard to criticize Utah for the move. They’ve wanted the opportunity to play for a national championship for the last couple of years and never had a realistic shot at that goal playing in the MWC. But a move to the Pac-10 would at least give them the opportunity to play for a national title as long as they were crowned conference champions.
But while the move makes total sense for the Utes, it leaves the MWC in a bind. One of the reasons why the Mountain West doesn’t receive an automatic bowl bid for its champion is because the average computer rank at the end of the regular season for all the teams in their conference is so low. Adding a consistent winner like Boise was going to help in that area, but losing Utah (a team that hasn’t had a losing record in the last seven seasons) hurts the MWC from getting closer to its goal.
It’s going to be interesting to see how Utah fares against the likes of USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Oregon and the rest of the Pac-10. But it arguably would have been more interesting to see how quickly the Utes and their MWC partners could gain an automatic BCS bid.
Boise State’s move to the Mountain West breeds better competition
Posted by Anthony Stalter (06/11/2010 @ 4:30 pm)
Boise-State TCU every year? Sign me up.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been vocal about how expansion could ruin tradition and rivalry in college football. If Texas and Texas A&M split when the Big 12 eventually falls apart, that’s not good for the sport. To think a rivalry so enriched in tradition would evaporate because conferences want to increase revenue should make most fans sick. (Although it’s rumored that both programs will join the Pac-10 now that Nebraska has accepted its invitation to join the Big Ten.)
But count me in as someone who loves the Mountain West’s announcement that Boise State will be joining their conference in 2011. Assuming Boise, TCU, Utah and BYU continue to stay relevant, the Broncos’ move promotes competition without ruining any traditions in the process.
WAC fans certainly have come to enjoy their annual Boise-Fresno State matchups, but it’s safe to say that outrage isn’t about to ensue because the Broncos are heading to the MWC. At least, not like there should be outrage if Texas and Texas A&M leave the Big 12 for separate conferences. For as good as the Boise-Fresno games have been over the years, obviously that rivalry pales in comparison to UT-Oklahoma, Michigan-Ohio State, Alabama-Auburn and yes, UT-A&M.
The good news is that even though Boise is moving on, it can still schedule Fresno State on an annual basis if it wants. In fact, the Broncos need to schedule as many tough non-conference opponents as they can in order to have a remote shot at one day playing for a national title. For years they’ve been criticized for having a weak slate of games, but in moving to a better conference, that argument can be disputed. Let’s see what happens if they run the table playing the likes of TCU, Utah, BYU and Fresno in order to force the BCS to make a decision about whether or not they’re worthy to play in a title game. The BCS has always had a built-in excuse for keeping Boise out of the national championship when the program was playing in the WAC, but starting in 2011, it won’t be quite as easy to put down the Broncos’ schedule.
This is one of the rare cases where I think expansion makes sense.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
