Don't Look Now, but TCU Opponents Are Now 5-0 in Bowl Games

They don't play in a tough conference.

They don't have to play great teams every week.

Their non-conference schedule is not hard enough.

They wouldn't last in a major conference.

TCU's schedule has been picked apart by almost everybody associated with college football.

Mel Kiper epitomizes the thinking of the national mind when he said on ESPN recently, "I said all along I thought Cincinnati's schedule was more impressive than TCU's. I was raving all along about the job Gary Patterson has done until I looked at the schedule of TCU and thought Cincinnati's schedule was much tougher...I thought TCU was a team outside of the elite group looking in until I saw their schedule."

That seems to be the common theme with the uneducated college football fans like Mel Kiper. TCU opponents are now 5-0 in bowl games after Clemson's 21-13 win over Kentucky with only Air Force to go.

TCU has faced (and won) at Clemson, at Wyoming, at BYU, at Air Force, vs Utah, and vs SMU. All six of those teams are proving to be much better than originally thought before their respective bowl games.

The bowl season started off when Wyoming (a TCU "cupcake" win) was 13.5-point underdogs against Fresno State (a Cincinnati "quality" win). Wyoming won on a neutral site 35-28.

It doesn't look like that TCU win at Wyoming (which is one of the most difficult places to play due to the high altitude and winds) wasn't a very easy win. It also doesn't look like Cincinnati's 28-20 close win at home to Fresno State looks very good.

The MWC continued their success with BYU putting a stomping on Oregon State 44-20 in a game that wasn't even as close as that score.

TCU played at BYU in a revenge game for BYU and still won decisively 38-7. But that was considered just another easy win against a non-BCS conference team.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati got praised for beating a "very tough" out of conference opponent in Oregon State 28-18. Advantage, TCU.

After BYU, came Utah's dismantling of Pac-10's Cal. Utah was considered another "easy conference opponent" after TCU beat them 55-28 in a game that was even worse than that score shows.

Then came the "joke" of TCU's schedule, SMU. SMU was considered by many to be the second-worst team on the schedule behind Texas State before the season started. Even before the bowl game, they were considered a fluke team.

Nevada (who is Boise State's second toughest opponent on the schedule) was a two-touchdown favorite over SMU. SMU jumped out to a 31-0 halftime lead and ended up winning 45-10. TCU held that dynamic offense to 14 points in a 39-14 win. SMU should be considered a joke no longer.

Now, most recently, Clemson was playing in a game who many thought was a trap game. They're disappointed after losing in the ACC championship and playing against an almighty SEC conference team. Clemson avoided the slow start and won 21-13. Clemson is considered one of the toughest places to play, and TCU went to their stadium and won. But is that not a good enough win, either?

TCU opponents are stealing the show in the bowl season this year. The MWC is now 3-0, which improves their bowl record to 11-3 in the past three bowl seasons including this year, which is tops in the NCAA.

Included in those 11 wins are teams from the SEC, ACC, Pac-10, and Big East. They have not only played the best conferences but also have beaten them.

The question is, when will they get respect?

Everyone was so quick to anoint Texas to the national championship game after winning the Big 12. Why? When you look at Texas' schedule, only one team they have beaten went into the bowl season ranked, and that is a disappointing Oklahoma State team that Texas played without their two biggest playmakers, Dez Bryant and Kendall Hunter.

Texas has played their share of bottom teams, as well as TCU. They played a Baylor team without their star duel-threat QB Robert Griffin (Baylor was 1-7 without him).

They also played Colorado, who is a team that even lost to Colorado State (Colorado State was winless in MWC play).

For all of the talk about the Big 12 being the superior conference to the MWC, there is not much fact to back it up. The Big 12 last year only won one bowl game.

Last year was supposed to be one of the strongest years in Big 12 history. Now this year, in a down year for the conference, they are still being overrated by the majority of the country.

There is only one reason that Texas is in the national championship over TCU, and that is reputation. TCU has played a stronger schedule and played better against that schedule than Texas.

If TCU beats Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, they deserve at least a share of the national championship, just like USC got in 2003.

Everyone knows there needs to be a playoff in college football, but since it's not looking like that is going to happen any time soon, it's time for people to stop throwing TCU and the MWC under the bus.

It is time for people to change their ways of thinking, and put the MWC right up there with the best conferences in college football.