Deseret News | Reader comments: MWC holding own vs. BCS teams

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MWC holding own vs. BCS teams

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Workinglate | 2:19 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Good news for MWC, so far at least. I'd like to see them develop and maintain a better record in the bowl games, which I'd speculate isn't near as good vs BCS teams historically as this season has been. Once the MWC teams do that on some sustained basis, they the conference will be taken more seriously. That, and having strength top to bottom in the conference, which also seems to be an improvement this year as compared to previous years, will give the conference more respect outside the region (as well as a better TV contract - sorry Craig T.)

Cougar fan in St. Louis | 7:10 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Two comments. (1) This way of looking at wins may understate things since some BCS teams also beat a lot of other teams in their same conference. (2) Sagarin also rates conferences, not just teams, and whatever the system's flaws it is at least unbiased. The MWC comes in 7th place. The WAC still comes in below that ...
1 SOUTHEASTERN
2 BIG EAST
3 PAC-10
4 BIG 12
5 ATLANTIC COAST
6 BIG TEN
7 MOUNTAIN WEST
8 I-A INDEPENDENTS
9 WESTERN ATHLETIC
10 MID-AMERICAN
11 SOUTHERN
12 CONFERENCE USA
13 COLONIAL
14 GATEWAY
15 SUN BELT
16 GREAT WEST
17 BIG SKY
18 SOUTHLAND
19 PATRIOT LEAGUE
20 SOUTHWESTERN
21 IVY LEAGUE
22 MID-EASTERN
23 BIG SOUTH
24 OHIO VALLEY
25 PIONEER
26 I-AA INDEPENDENTS
27 NORTHEAST
28 METRO ATLANTIC
29 ***UNRATED***
(google this file for the reference: fbc07.htm)

MWC | 7:24 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Isn't it amazing the WAC is horrible but has two ranked teams. MWC looks stronger than some BCS conferences and has no rank teams.

Comments continue below

Spicy McHaggis | 8:40 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Thanks to the Utes. Utah has the best BCS record in the MWC.

Way to go Utes! | 8:45 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Way to represent the conference. And way to go Wyoming too! NO mention of BYU in that article...step it up cougars!

MWC teams | 9:27 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

It is easy to see why the wac has teams ranked and not the mwc. The wac has teams like Hawaii and Boise State that play games on ESPN 3 to 5 times a year. Yes it may be sunday or tuesday or friday or thursday but followers of football will watch those teams play.

Let me just state Arizona is not a BCS team. Baylor is not a BSC team. Stanford is not a BCS team. Kudos to mwc teams for beating those teams but obviously it didn't impress the pollsters. Texas is a BCS team and they embarrased TCU.

I get so sick of this BCS team lingo. Utah and Boise State were BCS teams. So if Duke and Ole Miss are BCS teams then shouldn't UNLV and New Mexico State call themselves BCS teams because their conference had a bid. There are only 8 BSC teams a season.

I agree the MWC is deeper this year. But you can pooh-pooh the TV fiasco all you want. It is hurting your national exposure. How many people get the MTN and how many of those people that get it vote for the top 25.

Schedule | 9:29 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Look at the leaders of the WAC and see why they are ranked. BSU biggest win, 4-3 Wyoming in Boise, but loses to 2-4 Washington, currently 5-1. Hawaii, don't even go there. Patsy schedules give great opputunities for some. But BYU's loss to Tulsa is as equally pathetic. Maybe BYU joins the WAC.

BYU | 10:13 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

BYU never schedules tough non-conference opponents...i think they are still hoping they can go undefeated and be given the national championship because no other team will be undefeated...

they prob don't know about this system called the BCS...they wont let that happen again...you have to play good teams and win...

somebody should let them know...

BCS conferences | 10:20 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

All I have to say is that if any team from the MTN West was to join a BCS conference they would be in the bottom half of that conference( Yes even the Big East)... guaranteed.

utes? | 10:21 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

way to win those non conference games utes, too bad no body really cares and the mwc still stinks. So if the utes are so good then why can't they win within the conference. BYU or Air Force will take home the only prize that matters in a bad conference, which is the conference title.

SeattleCougarBlue | 11:00 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Hey Mr. Schedule, what polls are you looking at that show BSU as a ranked team? I don't consider a team to be "ranked" unless they are in the top 25. As far as I'm concerned everybody between 26-50 are all tied for 26th. So BYU is right there with BSU and UCLA... and Utah.

Magnus Ver Cougarson | 11:15 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

yes The Utes stomped UCLA(Check)
Yes The Utes beat Louisville(Check)
take in to consideration this too..
K.O.ed!!! By by the Beavers (Check)
Bullied by last place Rebs 27 to Zero!(Check)
Scoring "Zero" at UNLV can be done by any
team anywhere! Hofstra can score zero at UNLV.
West High can score zero at UNLV.
Pop Warner teams can all score zero at UNLV!
We could get some guys together and score zero
at UNLV! The two horrible eggs layed by the Utes
cancel out any good they accomlished with their
wins over Louisville(4-4) and UCLA. Put down the
naddy light Utah fans and cross your collective fingers and pray your resume' of ugly losses is
not expanded in Ft. Collins Saturday.
Cougs take care of business like they should and the "Crimson Rehab program" will be again on the outside looking in eating crow nuggets, own words almondine and a large slice of humble homemade pie.
GO...................COUGS! (1st place Cougs!!)

Dixieute | 11:17 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

I am with you let BYU join the WAC and the MWC and Wac will both be stronger!!!!!!!

Texas Cougar | 11:22 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

To "MWC Teams"-

I'm afraid your definition of "BCS teams" is not the same one assumed by the author of the article. The article is referring to teams that belong to conferences with automatic BCS bids. Only six conferences (ACC, SEC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 10) get automatice bids. Therefore, teams in those conferences (yes...even Duke, Baylor and Arizona) are BCS schools.

As odd as it seems, if Duke went undefeated one year, they would play in the national championship. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for teams from mid-major conferences anymore. Its a messed up system, but we all buy into it by watching the BCS games and participating in the hype.

Jim | 11:36 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

The chart showing the MWC with 7 wins against BCS conf foes and the Pac-10 with only 6 is very misleading. The MWC record against BCS teams is 7 wins and 8 losses. The Pac-10 is 6 wins and 3 losses. This data gives quite a different take on things - it isn't the number of wins, but the percentage of wins that really counts.

Also, as noted above, most of the MWC wins are against conference bottom feeders (two of the wins are against Arizona, for example).

You should write a follow-up article which would give a more accurate assessment of the MWC.

irondori | 11:46 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

BCS schools are only playing .500 against other BCS schools this year. Pretty sure that's how well they did last year, too!

Excuse me? | 11:54 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

I wonder if "MWC teams" and "BYU" ever watch college football.

First, A BCS team gets BCS money from BCS bowl games regardless of how terrible they are based on their conference affiliation. Stanford and Arizona are a BCS teams because even if they don't win a single game they get significantly more Bowl money than most conference champions of non-BCS conferences. UNLV and New Mexico State don't bring in several million dollars a year by losing. BCS conference teams all do. Granted once every now and then a non-BCS school hits it big rewarding their conference (e.g. Utah & Boise State).

As for BYU not scheduling difficult teams, that comment is so out of touch with reality it's pathetic. BYU and Utah have consistently lead the MWC (and many of the mid major conferences) in scheduling difficult games. Wasn't it BYU that played #1 USC during three of USC's best years in history even when BYU was having down years? Get your facts straight.

Boise State and Fresno are the only other non-BCS teams to consistently play (and beat) top programs and that's only been a trend within the last 5 years.

TucsonUte | 11:55 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007

I think it is great the MWC has this type of record but until the BCS let's the MWC be with them--it is meaningless. MWC loses players every year to BCS, not because they MWC football is bad but because those players get more exposure playing in the PAC 10 and other BCS conferences, which in turn helps those who want to make it in the NFL.

It stinks being on the outside looking in.

JB | 12:08 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

"BYU | 10:13 a.m. Oct. 25, 2007
BYU never schedules tough non-conference opponents...i think they are still hoping they can go undefeated and be given the national championship because no other team will be undefeated...
they prob don't know about this system called the BCS...they wont let that happen again...you have to play good teams and win...
somebody should let them know..."

You have no clue. Since 2000 BYU has played teams like Florida St, Virginia, Cal, ND, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, USC, Boise St, Boston College, UCLA..Future games against UCLA, Arizona St, Notre Dame, Washinton, and Florida State..

Utah | 12:14 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Utah should never schedule such tough conference opponents....i think they are still hoping they can go undefeated and win a national championship because no other team will be undefeated...

How are they ever going to get any respect and enough wins to play in a BCS game if they lose at home to AFA 20-12 and at UNLV 27-0. They should follow BYU's good example and win those types of games...

somebody should let them know...

JB | 12:22 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Good Comment Jim! I was thinkin the same thing!

to Magnus | 12:29 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

quality wins say a lot more about a program than one bad game...

quality wins say a lot more about a program than scheduling teams like Eastern Washington

Zoobies are thanking their lucky stars right about now that Utah had such horrible luck with all the injuries and ended up losing 2 conference games...because now Utah has righted the ship and BYU knows if they can get lucky enough to not lose, then when they get spanked by Utah they will still brag about being conference champions.

We will all know who the better team is, but you can have the conference championship this year...that is if you dont choke before than...or after now that you have San Diego State after Utah...

Bronco's recruits | 12:38 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

I think things are going to change for BYU in a big positive way over the next few years and the Cougars will reach a level afterwards that exceeds even LaVelle's best seasons. Bronco is attracting better and better talent into his program and has done a much better job in his approach to recruiting than any previous BYU coach, yes even (dare I say it?) LaVelle. Soon we will see his program really start taking off and all other teams in the MWC will be left far behind. The effects of this transformation are already being seen during this season, which is supposed to be a rebuilding year. When that happens BYU will be invited to join a better conference and will make the move.

Hey Cougarson | 12:44 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Who did byu beat this year???
UCLA loss
Tulsa loss.

Seriously if beating pathetic teams make BYU the best their standard is pretty low.

Cougarson(The Viking) to ute | 1:28 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

BYU scheduled EWU & Michigan Scheduled App.ST. It is tough to get anyone to agree to a date with BYU(in PROVO). It's not been a friendly place for visitors. BC escaped at home last season in OT and looks to have made a wise choice considering their undefeated season and #2 ranking. You'll not see the (UTAH Community College rrrrrr University) raising this type of fear in anyone. Even fair Utah fans know that it's BYU who's scheduled the tougher non-conference games over the years. I.E. #1 Ranked MIAM, Notre Dame #6, Penn St., Texas and Eric metcalf, Texas A&M, (all victories BTW). Look Ute Nation(@ least thoes with internet access not in jail) Win Saturday and we'll talk until then continue to fall back on 2004 and ignore what Janet Jackson(your strength coach) says"What have you done for me lately?"
Magnus Ver Cougarson "The Viking!"(Eater of Utes)...MmmmGood BUUURP!

MWC | 2:15 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

BYU will never be in a better conference than the Mountain West because they don't do sporting events on Sundays. For example, all of PAC-10's track meets are on sundays and they wouldn't change it so a new school could play too. BYU has to stay in a conference where they are the big dog because otherwise they wouldnt' get the special treatment they demand.

I think it has already been said. Most of MWC's BCS wins are against the bottom feeders. Arizona, Baylor, Stanford are pretty bad this year. Granted BYU beat an Oregon team that was ranked 8th in the Pac-10 last year, and UTah be UCLA, who also lost to ND. A few wins are not enough to compare yourselves to the teams that people care about, people as in national media.

BLUE WAVE | 2:30 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

IT'S NEVER BEEN ABOUT HOW BAD THE MWC IS.
IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BCS.
THE ONLY THINGS THAT MATTER ARE BYU AND
ANYTHING THAT COUNTER TO THEM.
C'MON CRAIGY "T" RENAME THE MOUNTAIN WEST
BYU AND THE MOUNTAIN BAND OR
JOHN COUGAR MOUNTAINCAMP.
WITH A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP THIS YEAR
WE'D HAVE WON THE TRIPLE CROWN ALL THREE
SPORTS THAT MATTER!
IT'S A BATTLE FOR 2ND PLACE NOW! A FIERCE
BATTLE FOR SECOND!

BCS Busted | 2:40 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Yeah...the Cougs need to beat patsy BCS teams like UCLA! The BCS is illegal, it is in violation of anti-trust laws, but no one wants to challenge it b/c they are scared of Kurt Herbstreit.

The REAL Magnus | 2:50 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Ha ha... I just found out Magnus is a Telemarketer at Noni Juice.

Idiots | 2:53 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

BYU's future schedule is riddled with big names. Will they be great when the games finally roll around? Who knows. Get off this EW whine. It was a replacement game to allow Utah State to play its necessary WAC games. No one was available on tht date. USU is just a couple of plays away from having a pretty good year, but its still O fer 07. Still no one whiles about Utah having played them. If you're going to talk trash, at least get your facts straight. Go online and look at BYU's future schedules -- as well as Utah's. All MWC teams have been scheduling top schools. Yu win some and you lose some, but for heaven's sake enjoy the ride. The EW game was scheduled just a few months ago.

LB Sand | 3:03 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

This article misses one important fact of why the MWC teams are not respected for their play, NO ONE CAN SEE THEM PLAY! Unless you live in a MWC city (and are eligible to receive access to THE MTN), you have no way of seeing any of their games. I am not purporting that any MWC team is good enough to be considered a BCS bowl team this year. True both BYU and Utah have had embarrassing losses and quality wins, but so has USC, Michigan, and scores of other teams from the BCS conferences. The real reason people are talking about teams from the WAC instead of the MWC is the lack of exposure. Compare how many games BYU or Utah has had televised nationally this year versus Boise State.

Anonymous | 3:06 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

To magnus,
You remind me of the comic book guy from the simpsons. If it wasn't for that loss to unlv, you would have nothing. What would byu do if they lost their quarterback in the first half of a football game against Oregon State?

#1 in MWC | 3:14 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

I forgot. Which team is in first place?

Is it the one with most conference victories, or the one with the emptiest stadium?

Nevermind, I think I'll just google National Championships...

B "Why" U | 3:18 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Cougarson - if BYU is such a tough place to play then why did they rename it recently to Rice-Eccles South. They Utes seem to have done well there.

Schedules | 3:33 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

So BYU plays only patsies and Utah only plays only national powerhouses?

2008 non-conference schedules
Utah
Weber State
Utah State
Oregon State
Michigan
BYU
UCLA
Washington
Arizona
Nevada

Weber State and Utah State in the same year? Are you kidding me? Utah plays tougher teams than BYU? Utah fans be embarrassed.

To Anonymous | 3:46 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

BJ wasn't exactly lighting it up before he got hurt against Oregon State.
And BYU would have put their back up in, just like you did. Only ours would have done better in the second half than Grady did, not because he's good, but because Grady is no good. And don't throw UCLA at me. He had 1 bad game, 2 bad halves, and one pretty good game. If he was good, why would they put a less-than-100% BJ in against UNLV?

To Jim and JB: | 3:54 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Here's the fallacy in your arguments - you all whine about the non-conference scheduling of teams like BYU, etc. but let's look at the BCS conference teams non-conference schedules:
The Pac-10 has played a grand total of 9 games against other BCS schools (less than 1 per team), the Mountain West has played 15 (nearly 2 per team). Other BCS schools are always scheduling at least 1 to 2 games per year against 1-AA schools and rarely playing ranked teams so they can pad their records with 50 point blowouts. The mountain west teams do the best they can to try and schedule competitive games, and if they can continue to win ~50% of their BCS games then they're doing all right. (~75% would be much better though and every year we have a few real close calls).
Go Mountain West!

Shmutton | 3:59 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

One thing nobody points out is: What is the
schedule of some of the top ranked teams? How
many of those games are at home(especially othe more
difficult ones)? Take a look at Ohio State,Texas,
Boston College, Georgia, any big-name or high ranked
school and see what their schedule is and WHERE those games are played and it is almost a joke!
If Utah or BYU had a schedule identical to Michigan
and lost to Eastern Wabash State Tech Institute
like Michigan, would they get ranked again that
year? NO WAY. It is all about MONEY folks, not fair
play,legitimacy, and the student athlete.

Uncle Buck | 4:06 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

How many of Texas' games are on the road this year?
How about Wisconsins' schedule? NICE! Those teams were ranked quite high at one point, and no their schedule isn't coming back to bite them. Take a look back at their schedules every year, and you will see that they typically play 4, yes four, road games each year; Georgia typically does the same thing. These teams also play 1 or 2 patsy teams each year(like eastern washington). So like Uncle Buck said, it's all about the "dough, serious dough". This isnt about what is fair or right.$$$$

Frankenberry | 4:10 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

The sad fact is that after BYU won the glass in 1984,(which they're still cashing checks on btw) the powers that be have tightened their scrutiny of non-elite schools. As BYU proved in '97 by winning FOURTEEN games; and Utah proved in '04 by going undefeated and beating a totally unworthy Pitt team in the Fiesta bowl; and Boise State proved last year by beating a VERY worthy Sooner team and ending up as the ONLY undefeated D-I team in the country, teams from the MWC or the WAC or any other non-elite conference will have to win the AFC west to get any real recognition. Pity. Our games/rivalries are no less important to us than theirs are to them. This is why I root passionately for all our conference teams when playing outside the conference. GO U/Y/AF/CSU/UNLV/WYO/TCU/BSU/UH ETAL!

rebuttal to To Anonymous | 4:19 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

It was 7 to 7 at the time and they lost their main running back Asiata as well, grant it utah's defense was fairly lackluster in the second half. Tonga is pretty good but not as good as Unga, byu would have to work without him as well. that is a fairly tough scenario. They should not have brought in BJ in the second half of the unlv game, grady was doing enough, he is not great but it was sufficient and it was turnovers that were killing them.

Gretzky | 6:03 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

time for hockey...at least there is no silly BCS to deal with...only CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFF at ALL levels of hockey...

Jim | 7:24 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

To "To Jim and JB"

The point I was making was that it is appropriate to give the full record (wins and losses) when making any comparisons.

BCS schools do not have to play many BCS teams in their non-conference schecules because they play all BCS teams during conference play. Besides, if BCS schools mainly played other BCS schools in non-conference play then the MWC would complain that they never have a chance to upgrade their schedules because the BCS schools schedules would be full. You can't have it both ways.

by who? | 8:05 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Amazing that everyone seems to forget that the Y beat a bad Michigan team to win the National Championship. Paper cougars.

who-tah? | 10:12 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Yes yoot fan keep trying to make yourself feel better by constantly putting down BYU's NC while at the same time jumping up and down in your cage over your "big win" over an awful Pitt team that would have finished in the bottom half of the MWC. Some current Sagarin ratings for U:
#40 BYU
#54 Utah
#129 Eastern Washington
#149 Utah State

U should be happy... | 10:17 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

that U get to play BYU every year to help improve your image. Nationally prominant program? Yep, that would be BYU.

gocougs | 11:16 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

Utah was the first team to bust the BCS, and they've never been back! About the only thing that the Ute fans can cheer about this season is their LUCKY win over UCLA. Other than that, it has been pretty disapointing for the Utes. On the other hand, although BYU has lost some games they should have won, they have played strong in every game. They lead the MWC, and are on their way to another MWC championship! Utah fans, if you are going to talk trash about playing week teams in the preseason, well then why doesn't your Utes schedule some better teams? Oregon State? Louisville? Sure, UCLA was ranked hi, but now look where they are at. Look at your own pathetic team before you start rambling your mouth about other teams. Do you think your quarterback will be able to make it through the entire season this year?

Let BSU in to the MWC | 11:22 p.m. Oct. 25, 2007

I wish that BSU would join the MWC. Not only would that help strengthen a weak MWC (besides BYU, Air Force, and occasionally TCU), but that way all of the annoying BSU fans that believe their team walks on water will be shut up. I would really like to see BSU have to play BYU, Air Force, Utah (just to see Utah get beaten), TCU, UNLV, and New Mexico.

Vegas | 2:16 a.m. Oct. 26, 2007

BYU will play in Vegas again.

MWC Champs again.

MWC does not need BSU.

Realism | 8:58 a.m. Oct. 26, 2007

Believe it or not - Bringing Boise State (and Fresno State and Hawaii) into the MWC will only strengthen the conference. And it would help the TV situation. Think of how this move would impact ESPN's deal with the WAC (can't miss LA Tech and SJ State on a Sunday night, right?). Having 12 (not 16) teams and a conference championship would be one more step to becoming a conference worthy of an authomatic BCS bid.

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MWC holding own vs. BCS teams