A Mountain into a Molehill

If Chip Kelly, Mike Gundy, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer were to die in a fire. Today, preferably. College football would carry on as always.  It may seem sometimes like America treats its football head coaches like fucking lords of the manor. They're feted like kings and princes, reporters hang on their every word as if they were commander in chiefs of great armies.  A world in which university presidents defer to football coaches, a world in which blue chip recruits are fanned by wood nymphs and satyrs with palm fronds while trainers take turns meeting their every need (more ointment Sir?) a world, in short, called The United States of America. 

Only in college football does 10 + 2 = 10  and 10+ 1 = 10, 12-2 = 12,  10 - 2 + 2 = 12, and if both the Big Ten (+ 2) and The Big 12 (still 10) were to expand to 14 schools, they would still call themselves the Big 10 & Big 12. Just in case, someone should take out a trademark on Big 14 and Big 16. It's a brand and there's only so much you can do when you presumptuously label your conference as "Big" followed by a number. The face of college football is changing rapidly, and no where is it more apparent than in the Mountain West Conf.  The MWC was the victim of its own success, progress and the unrelenting selfish greed that drives college football. 

I never get tired of laying out the chronology that has shaped college football into its present form. The Univ. of Texas started up its own sports network, "The Longhorn" designed primarily to broadcast Texas Longhorn games worldwide. This move scared and pissed off all of their rivals in the Big 12. After a chorus of harrumphs, grumbles and some insistent whining coming from Waco, Tx.  Empty threats, empty promises on top of speculation and rumour followed. The backstabbing had begun, the Univ. of Nebraska knowing that to act first would be the best course of action, contacted the Big 10 about switching its athletic programs immediately. 

Missouri also made overtures to the Big 10, while Texas A&M slapped on some cherry red lipstick and sent the SEC a secret love letter. With the collapse of the Big 12 seemingly imminent (think SWC) rumors floated around that the PAC 10 (now 12) would soon expand to 14 teams. U. of Texas, Texas Tech, U. of Oklahoma & Oklahoma State began secret discussions with the PAC 10. To their credit the PAC 10 (now 12) schools came to their senses, realizing that they really had nothing in common with those rednecks, sodbusters & bugeaters from the Big 12. The PAC 10 didn't say no, they didn't say yes and they never said maybe. 

As the Big 4 from the Big 12 cooled their heels, a counter attack led by Baylor ( and that whiny knobwasher Ken Starr) and Texas A&M (et tu?) started to broil in the Texas sun. "Put a sock in it" warned Ken Starr. Legal action was threatened and that was enough to derail the Big 12 Westbound express. In the meantime, Nebraska had gone ahead with its plans to dump the chumps and was invited to join the Big Ten (now 12) With a 14 team league not really feasible, the PAC 10 (now 12) left the rogue four from the Big 12 holding their dicks and instead invited Colorado and the Univ. of Utah to join their league... Colorado?

The WAC is (or was) the past and future of college football, they were the first league to expand to 16 teams, and the first to prove that such a scenario simply won't work. The 16 schools were divided into four quadrants, with two quadrants paired up to form a division. For football, the two divisional champs would then meet in a conference title game (the Silver Bowl) that determined what shitty bowl game either one would be invited to. The Big WAC was cumbersome and cliquish, spanning five time zones, thousands of miles and more than a handful of dialects and accents. With few natural rivalries to build on, attendance and interest dropped off throughout the conference.   

Dissension started to creep through the hardwood floors, Billy Tubbs the head basketball coach at TCU put it best "We didn't join up in a 16 team league just so we could play a round-robin with Tulsa, SMU & Rice" Increasingly, this arrangement was not satisfactory to most of the old guard WAC schools. In 1998 after three years and faced with increased travel costs and lagging revenue, BYU & Utah hatched a plan, by which half of the WAC schools would secede from the WAC. The irony of course being that BYU & Utah had been instrumental in both the establishment of the WAC, the expansion of the WAC and now the betrayl of the WAC. 

Five were in, Air Force, BYU, CSU, Utah & Wyoming, those five then determined who else would join their new boy's club. San Diego St. got the nod, there was some debate about letting New Mexico and UNLV join the league (BYU was against UNLV joining and UNM's lack of football success almost kept them out) Rumor has it that New Mexico was the last school voted in. Longtime WAC member UTEP was shunned (the school's minuscule athletic budget and piss poor football program were cited as reasons) as was Fresno St., due mostly to the presence of Jerry "Tark the Shark Tarkanian, a man known to play loosey goosey with NCAA rules. 

The new conference needed a name, some that were bandied about were The Big Mountain Athletic Conf. (or the Big MAC) The Mountain Pacific, The Rocky Mountain Pacific, etc. before the powers that be settled on The Mountain West Conf. Starting in 1999 the MWC consisted of eight schools, adding TCU in 2005 and Boise St. in 2011, before the BCS raiders hit and damn near burned the village down to the ground. The thought of their instate rivals, the Univ. of Utah joining a BSC league while they were stuck in the MWC was more than the envious Zoobs of BYU could take. (after all we have a national title, Jim McMahon, Steve Young... blah, blah, bleh" 

The Cougars who have a television network of their own,(BYU-TV) worked out a plan whereby they would dump their men's & women's sports in the WAC, and  test the BSC waters as a football independent (much like Notre Dame) It was a solid plan, that may have worked if they hadn't back roomed the MWC by cutting secret deals with Utah St., Boise St. and San Diego St. (Boise St. was set to join the MWC in 2011, but was willing to renege on that deal and stay in the WAC in return for a home and home football series with the Cougars) San Diego St. was ready to jump ship and rejoin the WAC with the same arrangement as Boise St. 

MWC commissioner Scott Thompson got wind of this and pulled off a brilliant pre-emptive strike by plucking Fresno St. and the Univ. of Nevada from the WAC. Suddenly the WAC package didn't appeal to BYU at all, but having burned their bridges with the MWC, BYU now had to scramble and find another league for their non-football programs. (The West Coast Conf.) Here's some more irony (and with BYU there's always irony) In 2013, the college football independent ranks will grow by two as both NMSU and the U. of Idaho will go that route following the demise of the WAC, which was killed off by BYU's heavy handed meddling. 

With Nebraska & Colorado gone, The Big 12 (now 10) decided to patch things up and continue on as before. The league would go with 10 schools in 2011 and then add two more in 2012. Funny thing though, things weren't really patched up, resentment and distrust had taken hold and in 2011, Texas A&M stunned everyone by jumping to the SEC. Ken Starr and his Baylor cronies threatened legal action (naturally) but the barn door was wide open and Missouri quickly snuck out and into the loving arms of the SEC. Now what do you do?, well for starters The Big 12 (still 10) nabbed TCU from the MWC and then convinced West Virginia that they were a natural for the Big 12 (still 10)

The Mountaineers dumped the Big East, a move that would set off yet another round of back stabbing. Through it all BYU sulked at being ignored by yet another BSC league (had they stayed in the MWC, The Big 12 probably would have gone with them instead of West Virginia, in my opinion)

Both TCU and West Virginia join The Big 12 (still 10) in 2012, plans are in the works to add two more schools (Houston, SMU or god knows who!) BYU hasn't figured out how to make BYU-TV work with the Big 12 and there's a chance that they never will. However, BYU does look very smart for not pulling the trigger too soon on joining the Big East.

Boise State on the other hand seemed to have cold feet about the Big East. The Broncos were unable to find a conference for their non-football programs and were considering staying put in the MWC until the Big East reminded them of that nasty $5million dollar payout if they reneged on their commitment. Ultimately Boise St. dumped their athletics programs in the Big Sky. San Diego St.  seemingly had no such worries. The Big East is starting to resemble a cross between Misfit Island and the sixteen team WAC, sign up at your own risk, I would say. It's become a refuge for "has beens" and "wannabes" seeking a seat at the table with the big boys, this situation is fubar.

Mountain West Conference 2012 season Preview

For New Mexico:  the worst case scenario 1-12, best case scenario 4-9, most likely scenario 2-11

San Diego St. and Boise St. are the hicks from the sticks who actually bought the Brooklyn Bridge, they'll depart the MWC for the Big East at the end of this year. San Jose St. Univ. and Utah St. Univ. will join the MWC in 2013. Neither school in on the 2012 schedule for UNM, which is just as well, Logan, Ut. is no picnic. 

Boise St:  At 1-1, the Broncos lost their season opener against Michigan St. 17-13 and then regrouped with a win over Miami of Ohio. Joe Southwick is their new Qb. and the verdict is still out on him. Boise St. plays BYU next, a win and Chris Petersen has them back on track, a loss and the season could spiral downward. There will be no gimme MWC title for the Broncos this year, both the U. of Nevada & Fresno St. will have a say in that. I see Boise St. finishing with at least three losses this year. 

How UNM rates: stranger things have happened, but UNM winning would be beyond strange

Fresno St:  2-1, beat Weber St., played Univ. of Oregon tough and jumped all over  the Univ. of Colorado 69-14. New coach Tim DeRuyter took over from Pat Hill and has the Bulldogs back on track. In the WAC Fresno St. was Boise St. before Boise St. showed up and started winning all those titles. Fresno St. was the original BCS buster (remember David Carr?) 

How UNM rates:  poorly, Jim Sweeney once tried to score 100 points on UNM, if this Bulldog squad can post 69 on Colorado of the PAC 12, just think what they can do to UNM.

San Diego St.:  2-1 Wins over Army and North Dakota St. mean very little, Rawkylawng (pronounced as one word) Will not take you to the BCS promised land. In all likelihood, this is Long's final season at SDSU. Rocky was handed a finely tuned Corvette and now he's bumping it around on dirt roads like it's some old Ford pickup truck. The Aztecs moving to The Big East makes as much sense as anything else in college football today, but it's still an ill advised move.

How UNM rates: they don't play each other this year and probably never will again

Univ. of Nevada: 2-1, a one point loss to South Florida is their sole setback.  Cody Fajardo is dangerous passing or running the ball, especially more so when he runs and runs and runs. They open MWC play with a road game to Hawai'i, where they haven't won since 1948. (their losing streak on the islands is second only to Japan, who last won there in 1941) If the Wolfpack can pull this off, their confidence will rise and nobody, and by nobody, I mean Boise St. will stop them.

How UNM rates: forget about it!

Air Force Academy: 1-1 , a tough loss to Michigan showed that Air Force.... wait for it, is a force to be reckoned with. Air Force heads into this week's game with UNLV ranked No. 1 in the nation in rushing. Averaging 387. yds. per game. Sr. Qb. Connor Dietz can and will throw the ball with remarkable accuracy if need be. 

How UNM rates: UNM can't stop the pass, can't stop the run, can't beat Air Force.

Hawai'i:   1-1, since we last saw them, they've added an apostrophe to their name and are no longer called "The Fighting Rainbows" Norm Chow is the first Asian-American head coach of a major college football program. Former Lobo Qb. Stump Godfrey transferred to Hawai'i, but left after never having played a game for the Warriors. Any team that plays Hawai'i on the road gets an extra game added to their schedule as a reward or punishment, depending how your season is going.

How UNM rates: get a suntan, stay healthy and come home in one piece

Colorado St. Univ.:   1-2  Well at least the Rams finally beat instate rivals Univ. of Colorado (as everyone has this year) unfortunately they lost to North Dakota St. and San Jose St. Colorado State enters Saturday night’s game against Utah State (2-1) ranked last in the Mountain West and 110th nationally in rushing offense with an average of just 95.3 yards per game. The Rams have sorely missed star running back Chris Nwoke, who is healthy after missing two games (both losses) 

How UNM rates:  I like our chances, it's time to put the pedal to the mettle and beat these mountain goats.

Wyoming:  0-3,  So. Qb. Brett Smith was key to the Cowboy's turnaround last year, so when he went down with a concussion injury (due to a late, dirty hit along the sideline against Toledo) Wyoming's chances went down with him. The Cowboys played U.Texas much tougher than the Lobos did losing by a score of 37-17. Without Smith they couldn't even get by Cal-Poly. Their next game is against winless Idaho.

How UNM rates: it all depends on whether Smith plays or not, if he's in the Lobos are out

UNLV:  0-3, has lost eight straight games dating back to a 38-35 win over Colorado State last October. And the prospects of snapping that losing streak any time soon appear pretty bleak. UNLV led 14-0 at half time, against Northern Arizona before the Lumberjacks scored 17 unanswered points for the upset victory. 

How UNM rates:  The Lobos have their number, this is the team that UNM actually matches up with. I'm going out on a limb and marking this down as a Lobo win.