WAC Weekend Recap, Week 11

Things went very well for the Broncos when it comes to poll watching and impressing voters. At the same time, the opposite is true for the pesky Horned Frogs. Narrowly beating San Diego State by 5 at home (when 27.5 point favorites), giving up 35 points, and seeing Utah (their signature win) go down in holy flames at the hands of Notre Dame was exactly what TCU did not want to happen. The Broncos jumped back in front of them in the coaches' and AP Polls, and narrowing the gap considerably in the BCS Standings. At the same time, the Cal Golden Bears gave us the blueprint on how to beat the Oregon Ducks. If only they had an offense to go along with the defense that they played, Oregon may have lost as well (they only scored one offensive touchdown the entire game. That is unheard of). Arizona and Oregon State, I hope you took notes. Thank you Cal. Also, Virginia Tech keeps winning and that is good for Boise State. Too bad they are only ranked in 3 of the 6 computers. If they win the ACC, the Broncos will be in great position to pass the Horned Frogs in the BCS Rankings. According to BCS analyst Jerry Palm and ESPN writer Mark Schlabach, that may happen anyway. With all that said, let's get recapping the weekend action, including my inspired upset special pick!

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at New Mexico State Aggies
My prediction was LA Tech wins 35 to 21
Final score: Bulldogs 41, Aggies 20
The Aggies still suck and even when playing a decent WAC team, they get blown out at home. Honestly, this was a pretty easy game to pick. The Bulldogs now need to win their next two games two become bowl eligible. I don't think that is going to happen as they have to face Nevada at home. The Aggies have no shot at a bowl, so they are playing for absolutely nothing. But they can always play the spoiler against the Wolfpack and the Rainbow Warriors.

Utah State Aggies at San Jose State Spartans
My prediction was Aggies win 31 to 17
Final score: Aggies 38, Spartans 34
I said that Utah State should be able to win this game even if they decided not to show up. Well, that exact thing happened. It was a close game, but the Aggies pulled it out in the end. There really isn't that much more that I need to say about this game because no one cares about either team. Let's move on.

Nevada Wolfpack at Fresno State Bulldogs
My prediction was Nevada wins 45 to 35
Final score: Wolfpack 35, Bulldogs 34
This was by far the best game of the weekend. The Bulldogs outplayed and out gained the Wolfpack, but somehow found a way to lose. Running back Robbie Rouse was yet again a beast and ate up 217 yards on the ground. (He will be tough to stop this Friday in Boise.) In fact, Fresno State had the rushing yard advantage with a total of 250 to 245. They did lose two fumbles, which the Wolfpack cashed in and ended up winning the game. These are the next two teams that Boise State plays, and they better be ready. I will be there this Friday when Fresno State comes rolling into town.

Virginia Tech Hokies at North Carolina Tar Heels
My prediction was Virginia Tech wins 31 to 27
Final score: Hokies 26, Tar Heels 10
The Hokies continue their tear through the ACC, having now won 8 straight games. This is great for Boise State, as I have mentioned. Tyrod Taylor was a complete monster yet again, tossing the ball for 13 completions, 249 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Nobody (except Boise State) can stop him. North Carolina made it interesting and actually had a 10-9 lead at halftime. But Virginia Tech came out after the half like gang busters and completely stifled anything the Tar Heels through at them. The Hokies have one more road test on Saturday at Miami. North Carolina will host in state rival North Carolina State as well.

Utah Utes at Notre Dame Fighting Irish
UPSET SPECIAL FULFILLED!!!!
My prediction was Notre Dame wins 31 to 28
Final score: Fighting Irish 28, Utes 3
I cannot stand anything Notre Dame. I frankly hate everything about them. Yet I found myself rooting for them to beat the highly overrated Utah Utes. It worked. The Irish completely exposed them for the absolute frauds that they are, and at the same time diminished TCU's win over them last week. The worst part for the Utes, they couldn't stop a Notre Dame team that was quarterbacked by an inexperienced freshman. Yikes. This was huge in that voters are now finally realizing that Utah sucks, TCU's win over them is not that spectacular, and they quickly vaulted the Broncos back in front of the Horned Frogs. There are now rumors that Utes Coach Kyle Whittingham is going to bench starting quarterback Jordan Wynn for back up Terrence Cain. Utah plays next week at San Diego State (who nearly upset TCU, by the way), and we sure hope that they can continue their slide. How Utah is still ranked is beyond me. Notre Dame hosts Army on Saturday, in a game that I hope they lose. It's time to get back to hating the Irish, but still being thankful that they beat Utah!

Record coming in: 43-12
This week (including Boise State's win over Idaho): 6-0
Total: 49-12

Make sure you keep checking back in for more info. on Boise State and their upcoming opponents. Go Broncos!

Just when we thought it was over...

Alright, we thought the crisis and mass hysteria was over, avoided, done, and in the past. But then the Salt Lake Tribune delivered this snot-bubbler to the ribs of the college football world (note: a snot-bubbler is a term that I coined. It is used in football to describe when a defender hits the guy with the ball so hard and ferociously that it forces snot to bubble and blow out his nose). Actually, Colorado State had reported the story two times via Twitter in the early hours of Wednesday morning, only to delete the posts claiming that someone had hacked their account. Anyway, what is important is what the article says; BYU is leaving the Mountain West to become independent in football and will rejoin the WAC in all other sports. Holy Bill of Rights Batman!!!!! No where else is reporting that this is a done deal, just that there is heavy momentum swinging the Cougars that way. Even ESPN has not officially confirmed the move. Stay tuned, it could happen any second. What does this mean and what could happen because of it?

Here is what I think will happen if BYU's move is completed and becomes official: Well, Boise State will be kicking themselves for joining the Mountain West. Without BYU, they aren't that much better off than they were in the WAC. TCU is still there, which is nice, but my bet is TCU finds its way into the Big 12 when all is said and done. It could take a year or so, but it will happen, they are too good and carry too much prestige with their name for it not to happen. Goodbye Horned Frogs and then the Broncos are really in it deep. The Mountain West could try and invite Fresno State and/or Nevada, but both schools along with the everybody else in the conference just signed a contract to stay in the WAC for the next 5 years, and it has a $5 million buy out clause (source: ESPN's Andy Katz here ). This does not look good for the Mountain West Conference. The Broncos will rejoin the WAC. You can quote me. If BYU leaves, Boise State will be back pedaling faster than a cornerback trying to defend Titus Young on a deep post route. Karl Benson, the WAC's commissioner will gladly welcome the Broncos back, and then bellow a huge sigh of relief. Then the Western Athletic Conference can renegotiate their TV deal with ESPN, of which the Broncos are a huge pawn to have back on their side. The WAC is not only preserved, but is better off with BYU competing in all other sports and against 4 to 6 WAC football squads a year (source: same ESPN Andy Katz article mentioned earlier). That's not too bad of a deal for the once not-so-flashy Western Athletic Conference. However, if Fresno State and Nevada somehow get an invite and decide to pay the price to leave the WAC, I think Boise State and TCU will both stay, for now at least. This will make the Mountain West about equal to what it would be if BYU stayed. We will see.

In the eyes of the Cougars, they are getting shafted. It boils down to the fact that they are getting only $2 million in shared revenue from the Mountain West TV deal, plus their bitter rival, the Utah Utes, are joining the soon to be Pac 12. BYU is feeling upset about the lack of money and that they didn't get the invite to join Utah as a package deal (something I think should have happened anyway, but that is another story). Think of it this way, BYU-TV already exists and there are so many members of the LDS church inside and outside of Utah that would pony-up big bucks to order a TV package to see all of BYU's games (a la Notre Dame). The revenue would increase exponentially. All of these things are what good would come from BYU going independent.

However, there are far more undesirable things that would take place. BYU does not have the prestige or pull or uniqueness that Notre Dame has and therefore will have a harder time garnering national attention while on their own. Scheduling would be tough, not impossible, but tough. The biggest set back is one that I think, on its own, could compel BYU to remain in the Mountain West. It consists of three letters: BCS. Notre Dame has a deal with the BCS gurus that if they finish in the top 8, then they get to go to one of their bowls. That royalty-like treatment is due to the Irish's national pull and following, history, and prestige. The Cougars would not get anything close to that kind of deal or promise. They may be left out in the cold all together. I guess if they finish number 1 in the nation then there would be no choice but to include them, but that is unlikely to happen. The entire goal of all non-automatic qualifying schools is to bust the BCS and get into one of their bowl games. BYU has been on the precipice of doing just that for a few years counting. All that would end if they went independent. Have fun playing in the papajohns.com Bowl, or the new Yankee Bowl or whatever crappy game invites you.

That is a lot to loose if you are BYU. Surely the risks outweigh what there is to gain. But who knows, they may just do it because they are pissed about the Utah thing and the money thing, but I think it would be a huge mistake, and I am not alone.