Craig Thompson, the biggest fly in the Bowl Championship Series’ chardonnay, has this dream. All six big-time BCS conferences know it. He wants his Mountain West Conference sitting at the same $20 million per game bowl table at the end of every season.
Unfortunately, Utah’s departure to the Pac-10 and Brigham Young’s strident march toward Independenceville have left the commissioner a couple more paces from the door, barely close enough to knock.
He and his league have one chance, and it comes Monday night.
Boise State officials are claiming their third-ranked Broncos’ game against No. 10 Virginia Tech in Landover, Md., is the biggest game in school history. Guess what? It might be the biggest game in Mountain West history too.
For the Mountain West to become an automatic qualifier for a BCS bowl in the 2012 season, it must rank in the top six nationally in three categories over the 2008-11 seasons: one, its highest-ranked team must be in the top six; two, strength of conference according to computers; three, adjusted Top 25, meaning the percentage of teams ranked.
Boise State joins the MWC next year, and the Mountain West can use the Broncos’ numbers this season for BCS qualification. With BYU and Utah out of the picture, it would bolster the Mountain West for Boise State to go undefeated this season. If it did so, it could reach the BCS Championship game.
If the Broncos lose to Virginia Tech, the rest of their games won’t carry much interest past the Idaho-Montana state line.
“It’s very important,” Thompson said. “That statement will be made. It’ll be a barometer. I’ll be a huge Boise State fan on Monday.”
The Mountain West, consistently the Mount Everest among the foothills that are the five smaller non-BCS conferences, is on the cusp of automatic qualification. It’s in the top six, obviously, with its highest-ranked team and in adjusted Top 25 with Boise State and No. 6 TCU ranked among its proposed 10 teams.
However, it’s seventh in strength of conference, right behind the Big Ten. Utah and BYU aren’t ranked this year, but that’s an anomaly. The potential additions of Fresno State and Nevada can’t make up for that.
“It’s harder,” Thompson said. “No question. We replaced one of the two. We’re still down one. Either a third team in the Mountain West must get in the Top 25 or the rest of the league has to get into 40-50-60 ranking. We can’t be in the 80s, 90s and 100s.”
That’s the anchor dragging down the Mountain West. Yes, it has giant killers. But for every David, it has a Darlene.
In Wednesday’s preseason RPI rankings, here’s how the proposed MWC looked among FBS schools: Boise State third, TCU ninth, Air Force 40th, Fresno State 52nd, Nevada 53rd, Wyoming 63rd, UNLV 78th, San Diego State 96th, Colorado State 104th and New Mexico 118th.
The MWC cannot have three schools ranked below Weber State. People knock the Big East and the ACC, but give them credit.
“They don’t have the bottom that we have addressed,” Thompson said. “We need a 12-0 team, a couple 10-2 teams and everybody else 6-6.”
They could get another 12-0 team. In another massive contest, TCU must beat No. 24 Oregon State on Saturday. Then TCU must later beat BYU and Utah on the road. Two 12-0 Mountain West schools with Air Force sneaking into the rankings?
That would help, but it won’t matter if Boise State flops on the national stage. It’s a 2-point favorite. It’s on Monday night. The Mountain West will have its name called all night.
What it will be called afterward is up to Boise State.
BYU’s departure puzzles MWC chief
Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson, below, isn’t so much angry at Brigham Young for leaving the conference as he is scratching his head about it.
BYU announced this week it would become an independent in football. It said it has multiyear agreements to play Texas, Boise State and Utah; BYU also will play five Western Athletic Conference teams in 2011, and four in 2012.
“It all comes down to BYU’s schedule,” Thompson said. “What are the other eight going to be? Utah State? New Mexico State? Idaho? Louisiana Tech? San Jose State? What’s their strength of schedule going to be?
“That’s what hurt the WAC compared to the Mountain West. The Mountain West champion trumped theirs because of strength of schedule.”
Thompson also questions reports that BYU’s agreement with ESPN will pay the school $4 million a year. Mountain West participants in a BCS bowl will make about $4.5 million.
“Why pay if you don’t have to?” Thompson said of ESPN. “What else is BYU going to do?”
John Henderson, The Denver Post
