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After the BCS served the MWC yet another rejection last week, it is now time for the MWC to move on. Forget Orrin Hatch, slick attorneys, long-winded PowerPoints and frequent flyer's miles to Washington, and get your helmets back on. It's 2009 now and time to go back to the field to make your case.
What exactly is the Mountain West looking for? Attention? Respect? Inclusion? BCS money? A shot at the National Championship? Whatever it is they are seeking, it will be theirs for the taking in 2009.
For the first time ever, nothing is off the table for this non-BCS conference. All they have to do is win. Earn it on the field. It's that simple.
One of the biggest challenges the MWC struggles to overcome with their current argument is the lack of injustice. After all, they received a BCS berth and the lucre that comes with it. What are they missing? A National Championship?
Let us be honest.
Utah had a terrific 2008 season. But Utah did what great defensive teams typically do: win often but win close. Winning close has never been popular with the pollsters who make up two-thirds of the BCS.
As a result, even at 12-0 with several impressive victories, Utah never came close to cracking the top five, let alone the top two.
Was Utah robbed? Not really. Clearly the voters undervalued Utah throughout the season but truthfully the Utes really had not done anything to markedly distinguish themselves from the other top teams. That said it is hard to make a case that Utah was unfairly kept from the National Championship Game.
It was not until Utah mercilessly disposed of a Crimson Tide team that went virtually untouched in the SEC regular season, that Utah rightfully joined the crowded I-Got-Left-Out-Of-The-National-Title throng.
The point is however, that at least Utah had the chance to showcase their program on the big stage against a national powerhouse. While the MWC may cry foul they should also be sure to thank the BCS for at least giving them a shot.
That never happened before in the BCS. And while Utah may feel slighted, they now have been to two BCS bowl games in the last five years. What other Western programs not-named USC can say that?
So with little to complain about in the first place, 2009 gets even better. The way 2009 is shaping up, the MWC will have the chance to get everything they have been fighting for—without having to beg or sue for it.
The 2009 schedule provides the ideal balance of a challenging but palpable schedule for the formidable triumvirate of Utah, TCU and BYU. Challenging enough that there are no limits.
The opportunity is there for the MWC to get whatever it desires—a legitimate shot at the Crystal, the potential for a one-loss BCS berth, or even the remote possibility of two BCS berths. They will just have to play for it.
That's not much to complain about. In fact, is it really all that different from the Pac-10 or some of the other BCS conferences? Honestly?
To remove the BCS glass ceiling, at least for 2009, two critical things must take place within the MWC, both of which occurred in 2008. First, the top three teams Uta |
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