Don't Take The WAC Lightly: Conference Stronger Than Years Passed

The college football season is just under a week away and schools are ramping down their team practices and going into "game ready" mode. 

The Western Athletic Conference is no different as teams get ready for what could be the strongest battle in recent memory. 

Of course, Boise State is the team to beat, but watch out for Colin Kaepernick and Nevada, Ryan Mathews and Fresno State as well as Greg Alexander and Hawaii as those teams will be hot on the heals of the Broncos.

So, I got a chance to talk to ESPN College Football Analyst Bruce Feldman and got his thoughts on the aformentioned Kaepernick, Boise State head coach Chris Peterson and Fresno State head coach Pat Hill.

Todd Kaufmann: I wanted to start off with a question about the Western Athletic Conference in general. It seems like they continue to be one of the most underrated and underappreciated conferences among the non-BCS schools, but they continue to beat teams from BCS conference schools. 

Why does this conference continue to get such a lack of respect nationally?

Bruce Feldman: The easy answer is to keep winning especially big out of conference matchups like Oregon-Boise State, Fresno State-Wisconsin, and Nevada-Notre Dame. That's what has gotten a lot of folks talking about how the Mountain West Conference is better than the Big East.

It's also important to be competitive even if you lose. It stung a lot when Hawaii got hammered the way it did by Georgia in a BCS bowl. Losing 38-31 would have been acceptable but not getting mauled like that.

The other thing that will be important is for the bottom half of the league to develop. Right now it feels like Boise State and everybody else with one or two decent teams after Boise State since Fresno State has stepped back a bit in the past few seasons.

TK: Speaking of the teams in the WAC, Fresno State, Boise State, Hawaii, and Nevada continue to be the front runners in the conference and they continue to be "that" mid-major that no one wants to schedule. 

With as good as these teams can be, is there any chance that the PAC-10 or Mountain West could expand to bring on these four teams and really make themselves a powerhouse conference?

BF: I think the Pac-10 has been resistant to too much change, and while it's possible that it might at some point invite two other schools (my guess would be Utah and BYU) it would probably not have enough cache to rival the SEC or Big 12 or ACC because while the very best teams are competitive, the perception is the mid-level and bottom teams are not.

TK: Talk about Chris Peterson of Boise State. Here's a guy that takes over for Dan Hawkins, who departs for Colorado, and really hasn't missed a beat since then. Are you surprised at the kind of success Peterson has had at Boise State?

BF: He has proven to be a great coach and has got one of the best young staffs in the country. Both coordinators are highly respected and the staff is excellent at evaluating talent that fits their scheme.

Look at Kellen Moore as an example. They beat only an FCS school from Washington for him, and in his first year as a starter he has a phenomenal year. Wide receiver Austin Pettis was a guy who most people didn't know about because he was hobbled for much of his prep career. They zero in on him and he's a budding star.

TK: Another coach that has really turned a school around is Fresno State's Pat Hill.  A guy that has believed in the "Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime," mantra through his years in Fresno. 

There seems to be a lot of excitement around this year's team with freshmen Ebahn Feathers and Derek Carr (brother of former Bulldog David Carr). Is this team better than years passed and could they surprise in the WAC in 2009?

BF: Not sure yet on Fresno. Will the defense be a lot tougher up front? That is a big question to me. The other thing that I think has hurt Fresno State in the past few seasons is all of the turnover on the offensive staff.

It's hard to develop kids when you've had so many different offensive coordinators.

TK: One guy getting a lot of play in the WAC is Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick.  As a sophomore, he comes up just 150 yards shy of throwing for 3,000 yards and as a junior he can only get better. How good is this 6'6" junior and can he keep the Wolf Pack in the hunt for the WAC title?

BF: Kaepernick is one of my favorite players to watch. He is so dynamic. I think he could be a star in the NFL if he keeps developing. His story about being a skinny baseball player, who Nevada jumped on and now is reaping the benefits with, is one of the better ones out there.

If their pass defense can make a big jump this year, I think they have a shot to crack the top 25, but the secondary has to step up.

TK: Last question for me and that's on a few of the games that are being played outside of conference.

Out of the big games, who is the most likely to come up with the upset? Nevada opens in South Bend against Notre Dame, Fresno State travels to Camp Randall to take on Wisconsin in week two, and Boise State opens at home against No. 10 Oregon. 

Of those three games, what's the biggest game to their respective school and who's more likely to win their game?

BF: If Boise State wins it's not going to be an upset although of those three I like their chances best. My biggest concern there would be how that defense holds up missing two good defensive tackles against a potent ground game and 240 pound LeGarrette Blount? Should be fun because I think Boise's offense will score on them a lot too.

Big thanks goes out to ESPN Senior Writer Bruce Feldman for his time. You can purchase Feldman's newest book "Meat Market: Inside the Smash-Mouth World of College Football Recruiting," by clicking on the link or you can also view his first book "Cane Mutiny: How the Miami Hurricanes Overturned the Football Establishment."