College Football: Will Moving To the Big East Help TCU?

We all know that TCU had a legitimate argument for being part of the conversation in regards to which team should be the No. 1 team.  After all, they went 13-0 and won the Mountain West Conference.  They beat the Wisconsin Badgers in the Rose Bowl and looked like a team that could beat almost anyone.

TCU has played in the Mountain West Conference, and that has left them with a pretty easy schedule year in and year out.  They play teams like San Diego State, Air Force, BYU and Wyoming.  It’s definitely not the strongest conference in college football, and it’s been a big reason why TCU hasn’t been able to be considered as part of the BCS equation.

Moving to the Big East will give TCU a shot at making the BCS each and every season because the Big East is a BCS conference.  The Horned Frogs will have to take on teams like West Virginia, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati in order to win the conference and earn a shot at the BCS.

If TCU continues to play the way that they have in the past two seasons, there is no reason to think that they won’t be able to capture the Big East title and earn themselves a shot at the overall BCS title.  The competition in the Big East is going to be tougher than what TCU has been used to, but they can keep winning as long as their head coach, Gary Patterson, stays with the team and recruits well.

The Mountain West has lost a very good team and one that brought attention to the conference.  Granted, they may not be too sad that the team that dominated them for the past few seasons is leaving their conference, but they will miss the notoriety that the Horned Frogs brought to the conference.  Now someone else can set up at the top of the conference in their place, and it will be a different Mountain West.

TCU isn’t the only school that is going through some of the realignment that we are seeing on the college football landscape.  Some of the other schools moving from one conference to another include Nebraska (to the Big Ten), Colorado and Utah (Pac-10) and Boise State (Mountain West).  These moves are generally happening so that the schools will be better marketed and get more than what they are getting out of their old conferences.

But also, as in TCU’s case, some of these teams are positioning themselves for a shot at the BCS title and making their chances better.  It’s a wise move for their football programs (as well as for some of their other sports programs), and hopefully it pays off for those schools.

So in the end, the move that TCU is making should be a good one for their football program and for their school. It should also benefit the Big East, as it brings a pretty strong school into the conference and one that could bring in some BCS championships.  Hopefully, the move works out for the school and the conference, and TCU will finally get what it thinks it deserves, and that’s a BCS title.