Non-BCS teams that have crashed the BCS party have been very successful. In 2004, the Utah thrashed the Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl, 35-7, following a decent schedule that included Texas A&M (who went to the Cotton Bowl) and an opening ranking of #19. In 2006, Boise State played in arguably one of the best college football games EVER after beating Oklahoma, 43-42, in an overtime thriller in the Fiesta Bowl, but not before beating Oregon State and Utah earlier in the season. After Hawaii made a mockery of the BCS by fattening themselves up with a cupcake schedule before being exposed by Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in 2007, Utah made it back in the BCS picture in 2008 by beating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, 31-17, and scheduling Michigan and Oregon State. There's a good handful of teams who can actually turn the trick this year, provided that everything goes well.
CONFERENCE USA
The Conference USA might have lost its firepower when Cincinnati, Louisville, South Florida, and TCU all left during the great realignment of 2005, but it gained a title game and great teams such as UCF, Tulsa, and UTEP to name a few. Last year, East Carolina captured the hearts of everyone as an early BCS buster after beating Virginia Tech and West Virginia to shoot up in the rankings. Even though they couldn't finish that dream, they did win the C-USA title and went to the Liberty Bowl. This year, look for the Pirates to be competitive but Memphis could wind up winning the Eastern Division.
Conference Rank: 9th out of 11
EAST
1. Memphis Tigers
2. East Carolina Pirates
3. Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
4. UAB Blazers
5. Marshall Thundering Herd
6. Central Florida Knights
WEST
1. Houston Cougars
2. Rice Owls
3. Tulsa Golden Hurricane
4. SMU Mustangs
5. Tulane Green Wave
6. UTEP Miners
C-USA TITLE GAME
Houston d. Memphis
10+ WIN TEAMS
Houston
BOWL TEAMS
ECU
Houston
Memphis
Rice
Southern Mississippi
Tulsa
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Case Keenum (QB from Houston)
-Last year he had over 5000 yards and 44 touchdowns, sure call it the system but if he can duplicate those numbers...
TOP GAMES TO WATCH
1. ECU @ West Virginia (September 12)
2. Virginia Tech @ ECU (November 5)
3. Rice @ Houston (November 28)
4. ECU @ Memphis (October 27)
5. Texas Tech @ Houston (September 26)
MAC
This is not the Mid-American Conference of ten years ago. Back then, Marshall was dominating the conference with players like Randy Moss, Chad Pennington, and Byron Leftwich while the other teams were in awe at this juggernaut. Now, the conference has gone through different shades of parity, making it hard to predict a winner each year. Who would have thought that Ball State would go undefeated in all 12 games of the regular season? Who would have thought that Buffalo would emerge out of the doldrums to not only receive a bowl bid, but win the MAC title game against Ball State? Who would've thought that Buffalo would have one of the most sought after coaching candidates (and I'm not talking about the Bills)? This year, the best QB not named McCoy, Bradford, or Tebow is Dan LeFevour and if that holds true, expect Central Michigan to win the MAC.
Conference Rank: 10th out of 11
EAST
1. Miami (Ohio) Redhawks
2. Buffalo Bulls
3. Ohio Bobcats
4. Bowling Green Falcons
5. Akron Zips
6. Temple Owls
7. Kent State Golden Flashes
WEST
1. Central Michigan Chippewas
2. Ball State Cardinals
3. Toledo Rockets
4. Western Michigan Broncos
5. Northern Illinois Huskies
6. Eastern Michigan Eagles
MAC TITLE GAME
Central Michigan d. Miami (OH)
BOWL TEAMS
Ball State
Buffalo
Central Michigan
Miami (OH)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Dan LeFevour (QB from CMU)
-An injury derailed any chance for the Chips to win the MAC last year, but if he's healthy he can be one of the best pure QB's heading to the draft.
MOUNTAIN WEST
The Mountain West last year was dynamic to say the least. BYU, TCU, and Utah all got ten wins or more last year while serious talks of breaking up the BCS were very rampant. This year, expect more of the same, as all three teams are dangerous and the games between them will not be anything short of a knockdown, drag-out fight.
Conference Rank: 6th out of 11
1. Brigham Young Cougars
2. TCU Horned Frogs
3. Utah Utes
4. UNLV Rebels
5. Colorado State Rams
6. Air Force Falcons
7. San Diego State Aztecs
8. New Mexico Lobos
9. Wyoming Cowboys
10+ WIN TEAMS
BYU
TCU
Utah
BOWL TEAMS
BYU
TCU
UNLV
Utah
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Austin Collie (WR from BYU)
-Last year, he had 100+ catches and 1500+ yards all with the experienced team they have, expect more of the same
TOP GAMES TO WATCH
Oklahoma v. BYU (September 5th in Arlington, TX)
Utah @ Oregon (September 19th)
TCU @ BYU (October 24th)
Utah @ TCU (November 14th)
Utah @ BYU (November 28th)
SUN BELT
Ever since its inception in 2001, the Sun Belt has been the conference that one forgets about but makes a lot of noise anyway. Despite nearly sacrificing good seasons for mediocre ones by playing numerous money games, it shows that it some times works to the advantage. North Texas won the first four Sun Belt titles and got to the first four New Orleans Bowls from 2001 to 2004. In 2004, Troy defeated Missouri in front of a national television audience and got to the Silicon Valley Classic, the first time the Sun Belt sent two teams bowling. In 2007, who would've thought that Alabama would have lost to TWO Louisiana teams, as ULM defeated one of the most storied collegiate football programs of all-time. In 2008, Arkansas State gave Texas A&M a scare while ULM nearly beat Arkansas, while the conference reached argeements with the Independence, St. Petersburg, Motor City, and Papajohns.com Bowls in order to take an additional good team. The message has been simple...the Sun Belt may still be the "littlest brother" but is still making noise and great strides, nevertheless.
Conference Rank: 11th out of 11
1. Arkansas State Red Wolves
2. Florida Atlantic Owls
3. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
4. Troy Trojans
5. Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks
6. Florida International Golden Panthers
7. North Texas Mean Green
8. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
9. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
BOWL TEAMS
Arkansas St.
FAU
PLAYER(S) OF THE YEAR
Cardia Jackson (LB) and Greg James (S) (from ULM)
-Ok, maybe I'm biased, but check these stats...Jackson recorded 127 tackles last year, and James is the NCAA's active leader in interceptions with 13.
WAC
The Western Athletic Conference has been one of those strong conferences that love passing games and to put up points, but they have also had good teams to compete for the BCS. Boise State has always been a threat in years past until finally cracking the code in 2006, and coming close in 2008, while Hawaii got in in 2007. Heck, Fresno State is a good team that normally plays a tough schedule and nearly snapped USC epic winning streak in 2005, if not for Reggie Bush having a career game and a behind-the-back fakeout play. There's no deny this though, Boise State will be ready to defend their conference crown on the coolest turf of all...the blue turf!
Conference Rank: 8th out of 11
1. Boise State Broncos
2. Fresno State Bulldogs
3. Nevada Wolf Pack
4. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
5. Hawaii Warriors
6. Utah State Aggies
7. San Jose State Spartans
8. Idaho Vandals
9. New Mexico State Aggies
10+ WIN TEAMS
Boise St.
BOWL TEAMS
Boise St.
Fresno St.
Nevada
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kellen Moore (QB from Boise)
-As a freshman, he threw for nearly 3500 yards, and had an undefeated regular season...what more can you ask for?
TOP FIVE NON-BCS TEAMS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Boise State (v. Oregon)
-Pros: not in the Mountain West and one BCS opponent, Cons: will playing a 13th game tire them out?
BYU (v. Oklahoma [in Arlington, TX], Florida St.)
-Pros: experience and at home v. TCU and Utah, Cons: tough schedule including Oklahoma
East Carolina(@ West Virginia, @ North Carolina, v. Virginia Tech)
-Pros: beat WVU and VT last year, Cons: a grueling schedule
TCU (@ Virginia, @ Clemson)
-Pros: a great defense and the BCS opponents are winnable, Cons: BYU is out for revenge
Utah (@ Oregon, v. Louisville)
-Pros: decent schedule, Cons: the experienced starters are gone and on the road @ BYU and TCU
Austin Collie (BYU) was drafted by the Colts.
ReplyDeleteMy bad, thanks for pointing that out! I still have BYU as the Mountain West Champs and as a BCS buster, but now the player to watch is Harvey Unga, their running back. Thanks again for the comment, you enjoying the other stories?
ReplyDelete