Mountain West Is on the Outside Looking in

Time to Give the Mountain West Conference Its Due

On Saturday, the Mountain West Conference proved once again why it deserves an auto bid to the BCS. Wyoming, tied for seventh in the MWC, went into Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium and handed the Vols a 13-7 defeat. The win improved Wyoming’s record to 4-6. The loss dropped the Vols to 3-7, ending any possibility of a postseason bowl game.

The win also raised the conference’s record against BCS Conference foes to 9-5. It was another message sent by the MWC in a season full of statement games.   

MWC teams have pulled off big wins over supposed better programs all season long. In fact, the MWC is 6-1 this year against the Pac-10.

The victory parade started on Aug. 30 with a Utah win in the Big House, 25-23. Other victories include UNLV @ AZ. St., UNM over Arizona, TCU over Stanford, BYU @ UW, Utah over OR. St., and UNLV over Iowa St. The biggest win of all was BYU’s complete demolition of UCLA, 59-0, in a game that wasn’t that close.

But it appears as though no one is listening.

The question now is, has it even made a difference? Judging by the polls, the answer is a resounding NO! 10-0 Utah is still behind 4-5 one-loss teams in each of the major polls. For a conference that is clearly better than the Pac-10, ACC, and Big East, that is a real slap in the face.

Even worse, if they were in the Big East, they would be in the top five at minimum.

For 9-1 BYU, who is 4-1 in their last five games against the Pac-10, they get to watch two-loss teams move ahead of them each week. For 8-2 Air Force it is even worse. Every two-loss team in the Big East and the ACC is ranked. Yet Air Force hasn’t even cracked the Top 25.

Even 7-3 South Carolina and 6-3 Oregon State are ranked in the Top 25.    

The worst news of all for the MWC: If BYU beats Utah on Nov. 22, a very real possibility as BYU has won the last two years, the MWC will probably miss out on a very lucrative BCS invite.

What would be their prize, you ask? Watching three-loss champions from the Big East and ACC get invited to participate in a BCS bowl—also very real possibilities.

Let’s not forget, the MWC won the Bowl Challenge last year by finishing 4-1 in their respective bowl games.

Once again it all comes down to the Haves and Have Nots of college football. It doesn’t matter that the MWC has earned the right to have its Champion playing in a BCS Bowl, even if their Champion is 11-1.

All that matters is, they are on the outside looking in.