College Football 2011: Are These BCS Conferences On The Rise Or Decline?
It is a very common misconception that there are only six BCS conferences.
The reality is that there are actually 11. It says so right on the BCS website.
"The media and others often misuse this term. All 11 conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision are 'BCS Conferences.'"
The confusion comes from the rules on automatic qualifiers. There are six conferences who are automatic qualifiers. Their champions get BCS Bowl bids, regardless of rankings.
However, for the sake of this list, we will go off of the BCS's definition of what a BCS conference is.
Here are the 11 BCS conferences, and whether they will be on the rise or decline during the 2011 college football season.
Sun Belt Conference: Steady
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When Florida International is the school that represents your conference, it's hard to be proud of the direction the conference is heading.
Last season, the only teams in the conference to finish with a winning record were Florida International and Troy.
Florida International won the conference with an overall record of 7-6.
However, it's hard to be on the decline when it's already the least competitive conference in college football.
Mid-American Conference: Steady
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The Mid-American Conference feels like it's off in it's own little world.
As a whole, the conference did very well in 2010. Six teams finished with positive records. Miami (OH) and Northern Illinois both posted double-digit win seasons.
Despite this, no teams cracked the top 25 in the BCS rankings.
Although the conference plays well, I would expect more of the same in 2011.
However, I wouldn't put it past Northern Illinois to poke its head into the top 25 during the season.
Mountain West Conference: Steady
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When TCU announced that they will be moving to the Big East conference in 2012, all the validity that the Mountain West Conference gained over the last few years vanished.
With TCU gone, only Utah remains as a team that has competed with top schools over the last few seasons.
Then, Utah announced they would be leaving immediately for the Pac-10 conference.
Utah finished the season ranked 19th in the nation. However, they were crushed in the Las Vegas Bowl by Boise State, with a final score of 26-3.
Then, the MWC gained all of that validity back.
Luckily for the MWC, Boise State is coming to town. Its addition will help with the loss of Utah.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Conference USA: Steady
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The only real appeal for the Conference USA is out in Central Florida.
Every year, it seems that the Knights are on the edge of the Top 25 in the BCS. This year, they finished right at the 25th ranking.
Other than that, though, there really isn't too much the conference has to offer at this time. Tulsa is good for a surprise every now and again.
It's not getting any better, but it's not getting worse either.
Western Athletic Conference: Decline
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The crack on Boise State is that they don't play in a competitive conference. We heard this time and time again when they were on pace for undefeated seasons.
For those who use this argument, here is something to consider.
In 2010, Oregon was considered a top team. They play in the Pac-10, which put two teams in the top 25.
In 2010, the WAC had three teams in the top 25: Boise State, Nevada, and Hawaii.
Unfortunately for the conference, Boise State has made the move to the Mountain West Conference. The loss takes the top team away from the WAC.
Big East Conference: Steady
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The Big East is still a conference that really is looked down on. I tend to wonder why this is.
Sure, last year they had no teams with double-digit wins, but six of the eight teams in the conference finished with winning records.
It's actually one of the most competitive conferences in college football in terms of inner-conference play.
For now, they should remain steady, but with the addition of TCU in 2012, the conference should be on the rise soon.
Big 12 Conference: Decline
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It feels like it was just yesterday that the Big 12 was in the discussions with the SEC as the best conference in football.
What happened?
It feels like Texas has dropped off the face of the earth. Missouri was just slightly above-average, even with the best quarterback entering the NFL Draft. Oklahoma State always wins a bunch of games, but never seem to be at the top of the BCS rankings. Oklahoma finished at 7th in the BCS, but it felt like they were barley noticed.
The fact that Nebraska has left doesn't help, either.
Oklahoma may have one of the best teams this upcoming season, but that doesn't change the fact that it seems like the Big 12 has fallen off the map.
When Texas meets Oklahoma this year, it will surely be a good game. However, it won't compare to a Big 12 matchup from four years ago.
Atlantic Coast Conference: Steady
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It's really hard to predict what's going on with the ACC right now.
Virginia Tech started off the 2010 season losing against James Madison. Then, they go on to win the conference.
Florida State took a noticeable step in the right direction, but it's still early to tell how things will work out.
Miami finally ended the Randy Shannon era, so maybe they can start winning some games again.
Maryland, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and North Carolina State are all solid competitors.
It just feels like the conference as a whole is stuck in a rut. There is potential for the ACC to become a top conference again, but it's hard to tell whether or not it will happen at this point.
Pacific 10 Conference: Steady
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They just had Oregon post one of the most dominating offensive seasons of all time. It's a performance that will likely be repeated in 2011.
Stanford also finished 4th in the BCS rankings. Andrew Luck has decided to return to the team, so they could be in store for another great year.
Beyond that, it's hard to find very much to like about the Pac-10.
The addition of Utah may be beneficial, but I can't see it helping too much.
The violations at Southern California have halted what looked to be the team to beat for years.
Beyond that, there just isn't much to love.
However, since they have two of the top teams from last year looking for repeat performances, there shouldn't be any fall off.
Big 10 Conference: Rise
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Over the years, the Big 10 has gained a reputation for not having the speed to keep up with the rest of the college football world.
Apparently, they didn't care.
The conference has now added more power to their punch, with the addition of Nebraska.
With the addition of Nebraska, it means the Big 10 would have had four teams ranked in the top 25 last season. Those teams were Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Nebraska.
Keep in mind that the Big 10 also has programs like Penn State, Iowa and Michigan, who had slightly down years.
Whether or not they have the speed doesn't seem to matter. The Big 10 is on the rise.
Southeastern Conference: Steady
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It's hard to be on the rise when you are already at the top.
What is there to even say about the SEC? They are the most dominant conference in football.
The defending National Champions, Auburn, are out of the conference. They had the company of five other SEC programs in the BCS Top 25.
The teams that didn't make it in the rankings are still highly prestigious schools, like Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.
At some point you have to hit a ceiling. The SEC is at that point.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
