MWC doesn't stack up

The Mountain West Conference, for years desperate for inclusion in the Bowl Championship Series, saw once again over the weekend that it just doesn't stack up — talent wise — with teams from the big-time college football conferences.

Consider: The University of Miami had six of its players selected in the first round of the NFL draft, while the MWC — all eight teams combined — had none. In fact, the MWC schools didn't have a player selected in the second, third or fourth rounds, either. It wasn't until San Diego State's Jeff Shoate was picked in the fifth round that a player from the league was selected.

In all, seven players from MWC schools — for an average of less than one per — went in the NFL draft's seven rounds this season. Utah, the outright conference champ last season, failed to have a player selected. Ohio State, by comparison, had 14.

Granted, it was a down year for the MWC as far as the draft is concerned. The league has averaged 10 NFL drafted players per season in its five year history. Still, it shows that there is a disparity in the NFL-caliber talent between schools in the BCS leagues and the rest of Division I-A football. The MWC, after all, is arguably the best of the five non-BCS leagues. If anything, the NFL draft speaks volumes about how well the MWC teams do in getting the most out of their abilities against BCS competition considering the talent differential. Just two MWC teams last season (BYU and Wyoming) failed to finish with a .500 or better overall record.

In any event, the MWC will continue to battle for respectability, this season — and likely come up short on a national scale. With the majority of the teams breaking in new quarterbacks and with numerous holes to fill, Utah looks like it may be the only school capable of making a dent in the national rankings in 2004.

With spring practices completed, here's a brief look at each MWC football team entering the summer months in last season's order of conference finish:

UTAH

2003 Record: 10-2 overall, 6-1 MWC (1st)

Starters returning — 17

Key players — QB Alex Smith, WR Paris Warren, DB Morgan Scalley, OL Chris Kemoeatu, KR/DB Bo Nagahi, DL Steve Fifita

Key losses — RB Brandon Warfield, TE Ben Moa, DB Dave Revill, DL Josh Savage, LB Ray Holdcraft, DB Arnold Parker