Liberty Bowl can take a hike

Is there a chill in the room?

The press box at Rice-Eccles Stadium was frosty Saturday night. It wasn't unlike a wedding in which the bride's parents are divorced. Both have every right to be there, but that doesn't necessarily make it comfortable. There to see Utah beat Colorado State were Craig Thompson, commissioner of the Mountain West Conference; Steve Ehrhart of the Liberty Bowl; Roberta Stokes of the Orange Bowl; and Alan Young of the Fiesta Bowl.

Each has an interest in Utah, which is tantalizingly close to going undefeated. That's why the BCS bowl reps were hanging around. But things got complicated when Ehrhart went on the attack by voicing his intention of holding Utah to its contractual obligation to play in the Liberty Bowl.

Sounds like marriage trouble to me.

Liberty Bowl officials won't admit it, but the evidence is as plain as the barbecue sauce on their rib-loving Memphian lips: Things would be just great if the Utes lose Saturday at Wyoming. A loss next week against BYU would be fine, too. Either way, they would then be out of the BCS picture.

History says waiting for a loss works. It happened in 2001 when BYU was clamoring for a BCS bowl invitation. But the Cougars fell out of favor in the BCS standings, then lost before getting the chance to call the Liberty Bowl's bluff. Same with Texas Christian of Conference USA in 2003. In 1998, Tulane, also a C-USA team, simply got snubbed by the BCS.

At issue is whether the MWC must honor a contract stipulating the league champion plays in the Liberty Bowl. If a BCS bowl came calling, the payout would be approximately $13 million more than the Liberty Bowl's.

For several weeks, both the league and bowl have been quietly watching the Utes, but Saturday Ehrhart brought the matter into the open.

Again. The MWC is talking about negotiating a buyout, but the Liberty Bowl is saying if Utah gets a BCS bowl invitation, it wouldn't release the Utes/MWC from their contract.

You would think the parties had worked out a buyout clause after the close call with BYU, but no. Nobody is saying exactly why. It's probably because a price couldn't be agreed upon. In 2001, the Liberty Bowl wanted a whopping $3-4 million to make its contract go away.

So here they are, the Utes still hoping for a lifetime opportunity — even though they are slipping in the BCS rankings — and the Liberty Bowl pointing to the contract.