In bowls, MWC is no slouch

The Mountain Westfinally got something big to hang on its head. We're just trying to figure out if it should be a beanie, a cap, helmet, crown, tiara or bonnet.

The Mountain West won the ESPN Bowl Challenge Cup, going 4-1 and posting an 80-percent winning record in post-season play.

It would have been perfect, if Air Force had been able to keep a flight plan going just a little longer against Cal.

So, in this land of a TV black hole, where the football teams play in relative obscurity, hidden from the eyes of most of the nation's football fans and media, the league did accomplish something noteworthy and it did get some run.

The next conference in line for the honor was the mighty Southeastern Conference (7-2, .777), where LSU took Ohio State and its two-time title losers to the woodshed. The SEC versus Big Ten Redux.

The third conference in line was the Pac-10, a league beset by a lot of injury issues at USC, Oregon, Cal and UCLA and ended up cannibalizing one another in league play.

The Pac-10 teams went 4-2 for a bowl win percentage of .667.

The Big 12 took up the fourth spot at 5-3, followed by the Big East (3-2), Big Ten (3-5), Conference USA (2-4), Atlantic Coast (2-6), WAC (1-3) and Mid-American (0-3).

Amazing what the ACC gets done without it's own officiating crews.

Now, I'm not advocating that because the MWC won this ESPN bowl challenge, that it is in any way, shape or form in the same footing as the SEC or Pac-10. But it's something, a nugget, a nibble at a little respect.

Bowl games are a different animal. They play out differently than regular season games or what you usually see in the heat of a conference chase. Some programs are very good at bowls. Utah's found a fit. Some are not. Anyone impressed with Georgia Tech? Or, do you realize Bronco Mendenhall nearly has one-fourth of all BYU bowl wins?

The Utes and Cougars could have easily lost to Navy and UCLA. On the other hand, they could have ended in convincing two-touchdown victories.

So, the league should be grateful that from a black hole, they got some pub.