Then there are the near-wins that could have padded the MWC's record even further. Colorado State lost in the final minutes to Colorado 31-28, then lost to Cal the following week by six. UNLV was leading Wisconsin for much of the game before losing 20-13 in the final minutes. BYU was within three of UCLA late in the game before losing by 10.

With its seven wins against non-conference BCS opponents, the MWC is not only better than four fellow non-BCS conferences, the MAC, Sun Belt, C-USA and WAC, but nearly has as many wins those four have combined (eight).

How about the WAC, which has claimed to be on the same level as the MWC, if not better, especially after Boise State's BCS bowl win over Oklahoma last season?

This year, the WAC is an abysmal 0-12 against BCS conference teams.

"We're gaining some respect nationally, but the only way to gain respect is by winning against these other conferences," said Whittingham. "You've got to win these type of football games."

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MWC non-conference overall record

2007 17-15 *

2006 19-21

2005 15-17

2004 18-17

2003 24-18

2002 18-27

2001 20-18

2000 18-20

1999 22-13

* 3 games left, plus bowls

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Non-conference BCS wins

ACC 9

                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Big 10 9
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Mountain West 7
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Big East 7
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Pac-10 6
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Big 12 5
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    SEC 5
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    MAC 4
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    Sun Belt 2
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    C-USA 2
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    WAC 0
                                                                                                                    

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E-mail: sor@desnews.com