Who Will Crash the BCS Party?

Over the past several seasons, there has a smaller school that has crashed the big boys' BCS party.  Those teams have been Utah (2004-05) from the Mountain West, Boise State (2006-07) and Hawaii (2007-08) from the WAC.

Utah trounced Pittsburgh, Boise clipped Oklahoma, and Hawaii was housed by Georgia.  All in all, not too bad for the little guys.

The question is, are there any teams that have the potential to crash the party this season?  The answer is yes.

There are two teams that can step up and carry the mantle for the BCS busters.  They are Brigham Young and Fresno State, but let’s begin with the Cougars.

BYU is coming off an 11-2 record (8-0 MWC) last season and defeated UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl.  Their schedule stacks up extremely well for an undefeated run this season. 

The only thing that could hold them back is a relatively weak non-conference schedule. They begin the season with Northern Iowa at home.  From there, they travel to Washington, a lower tier Pac-10 team.

The Cougars then return home for a rematch of last year's bowl game.  They will take on UCLA, which looks to be their toughest out-of-conference game.  Their last non-conference game is against Utah State.  If things hold up, it looks like you can pencil in four wins right there.

In conference, BYU looks to roll to another undefeated finish and their second straight Mountain West title.  They appear to have only two tough games in conference.  The first is on Oct. 16, when they travel to Fort Worth to take on TCU.  That is a tough matchup for anyone in the country.

The next is the last game of the season on Nov. 22.  Here they will play in-state rival Utah.  If they can win those two, then an undefeated season is very likely.

As for Fresno State, they look more appealing in the role of party crasher.  That is because of a very tough schedule, but that is the status quo of the program.  They say that they will play anyone, anytime and anywhere, and this season looks like it.

The Bulldogs begin their quest with a visit to Jersey to take on Rutgers.  But it doesn’t get any easier from there because Big 10 powerhouse, Wisconsin, comes to town.  They follow that up with trips to Toledo and UCLA.  How’s that for a tough start?

If Fresno can win all four games, they will be well on their way to a BCS game and may be in the National Championship conversation.

This is because they will only have two real tests when WAC play begins.  Both games happen in November beginning on the seventh when they get Nevada at home.  This will be tough because the Wolf Pack and their “Pistol” offense are capable of putting up a lot of points quickly.

The final test closes out the regular season.  On Nov. 28, Fresno travels to take on Boise State. A hard way to close considering the Broncos are nearly unbeatable on the “smurf turf.”  If they can finish undefeated the BCS should come calling, maybe even for a January 8 date.

The stories of the BCS busters are great and exciting to follow.  Whether or not it will happen this year is unclear.  Fresno State’s schedule is extremely hard and BYU’s not so much. 

All signs point to a big boy party in this year’s BCS, but then again it is college football.  Regardless of the outcome, it will be a joy to watch this season unfold.