Why they will succeed and earn the bid: Their prolific offense led by QB Dan LeFevour will put up plenty of points and allow them to hang with most opponents. Not to mention Ontario Sneed and Justin Hoskins at the RB position who combined for over 1,000 yards and 16 TD's last year. Along with LeFevour's #1 WR coming back in Antonio Brown.
Why they will fall short in their attempt: Plain and Simple, its their defense, its nothing short of awful. Though they will be better this year, they still lack a good bit on that side of the ball still.
#2 Fresno State
Big Games: at Rutgers (9/1), vs. Wisconsin (9/13), at UCLA (9/27), at Boise State (11/28)
Why they will succeed and earn the bid: They, like TCU, have it set in place for a run. They return almost every skill position player from last year besides Clifton Smith, but they are deep at the RB position as it is. Tom Brandstater will need to be as consistent and throw even better this year if Fresno wants a chance to perform on the national stage.
Why they will fall short in their attempt: they face a tough schedule in the beginning of their season, and will need to win both and at worst one if they intend on banking on a big season. If they can make it through that tough stretch, then they should be fine as the WAC is definitely on a down year.
#1 BYU
Big Games: at Washington (9/6), at UCLA (9/13), at TCU (10/16), at Utah (11/22)
Why they will succeed and earn the bid: Max Hall and Harvey Unga are the cornerstones of this offense and will have no trouble scoring points. This team is as loaded on offense as they are on defense and will pose a problem to any BCS team they approach. Also, Hall brings his top 4 receivers back with him.
Why they will fall short in their attempt: Well their lone challengers seem to be UCLA and Washington, while they aren't high caliber Pac-10 teams, they still can give the Cougars problems. Also, their hardest conference opponents are at home when BYU plays them, making it more convincing to the committee, but posing a much tougher challenge in the end.
So there they are, your 2008-2009 BCS Party Crashers. Now will they dominate and rise to a #1 ranking? Probably not, but they still can make a run at the Top-10 and earn the bid to a BCS bowl, which really isn't that bad of a consolation considering theyre in non-BCS conferences.
So what are your thoughts on these teams? Will any of them compete on a high level in your opinion? Feedback is welcome.
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