How Does BYU's Vegas Bowl Win Over Oregon State Impact College Football?

BYU beat Oregon State last night 44-20. What did we all learn from last night’s game? What does that mean for BYU, Oregon State, the Mountain West Conference, and the PAC-10?

Not much.

The bowl season is a tradition in college football, and a part of that tradition is trying to extrapolate conclusions based on the results of bowl games.

Why?

The college bowl system is the most backwards system of postseason play in all of sports. Even the Salem Witch Trials laugh at the absurdities and backwards logic of college football bowls.

Add to the ridiculous nature of the bowl system itself the have-have-not system of the BCS. This turns every low level bowl game between automatic qualifying conference and non-automatic qualifying conference teams into a protest game against the establishment of college football.

Major college football experts would have people think, before the start of the bowl games, that if the non-automatic qualifying conference team wins it means the BCS is wrong, and if the automatic qualifying conference team wins then the BCS is right.

Of course, no matter which team wins, there is little to no change in the system of college football.

The anti-BCS crowd will use BYU’s victory over Oregon State as another piece of evidence against the asinine nature of the BCS. They will make the argument that BYU and Oregon State both ended the season in second place in their conference (Oregon State ended in a tie for second place in the PAC-10, although they finished lower due to tie-breakers); therefore, the Mountain West Conference must be better than the PAC-10.

This argument doesn’t hold water.

The BCS crowd will counter with excuses. The wind helped BYU win. This argument is hard to justify, did the heavens hold back the wind every time BYU touched the ball? The officiating favored BYU. While it is understandable for PAC-10 teams to miss their homer officials, both teams ended the game with an equal amount of penalties called against them.

Yet, these arguments are incredibly credible compared to the typical fallacies that BCS and automatic qualifying conference usually use. The automatic qualifying conference team didn’t have any motivation to play. It seems this argument is used far too often to explain an unexpected outcome. What, have football players magically transformed themselves into thespians? Do they need to have a drive and motivation in order to get into character?

The motivation argument is stale from use, but the new vogue argument of BCS supports is: Any team can play one game against an automatic qualifying school, but they can’t play a full schedule in a BCS conference. Wow! So you want teams from non-automatic qualifying conferences to have less money, be at a recruiting disadvantage, play games at neutral sites or on the road, and still discredit them when they beat a bigger name school. That is like asking someone to juggle five chainsaws blindfolded, seeing it, and then scoffing at the juggler because you don’t think he can juggle ten.

The arguments of both sides are normally ludicrous and hardly stand up to scrutiny; however, the arguments just reflect the system they are commenting on.

The reality is that teams like BYU, Utah, TCU, Houston, Boise State, Fresno State, and Air Force could compete just fine in the automatic qualifying conferences. Teams like San Diego State, UNLV, Idaho, and SMU would struggle if they were in a BCS conference. Yet, teams like Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Washington State, and UConn would struggle in the Mountain West Conference.

There just isn’t a huge difference between the average non-automatic qualifying conference team, and an average automatic qualifying conference team.

It didn’t take BYU beating Oregon State to prove that.

Or Utah beating Alabama.

Or Boise State beating Oregon.

Or Houston beating Oklahoma State.

Or TCU beating Clemson.

It doesn’t matter though because both sides, much like the current political landscape, have bunkered down to their separate ideologies. A college football fan is either pro-BCS or anti-BCS and there isn’t any room for a sane middle ground.

There are too many instant reactions in college football. Oregon State is a good football team, and they were beat by a better BYU football team in Las Vegas. No excuses, and sadly due to the current system of college football there cannot be any conclusions drawn from the game.

Until there is a change in college football’s postseason—arguments will try to decide what should be decided on the football field.

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The Big Podcast Episode 35: 2009 College Football Bowl Preview

Predicting every single college football bowl game...

Here is an outline of what hosts Jake Stowell and Mark Welling talk about in this week's podcast.

• Predicting the winner of every single college football bowl game.
• Give an insight about each of the bowl games.
• Both Mark and Jake pick five teams they feel are locks to win their bowl games.
• Enjoy the variety of different, and absurd bowl names.
• Give three bowl games that are must-watch.
• There are two BCS bowl games which will be blowout this year, and two look to be instant classics. Which are which?
• Even with five undefeated teams Texas vs. Alabama does seem like the right national championship game.

Download here (Right click and save as) or listen with the player below.

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The Current BCS System Makes Any Scenario for The Rest of BYU’s Season Seem Bleak

The bye week is here—or as it is better known—the worst season of the year for any college football fan.

While BYU fans will be depressed that there is no game this weekend, the bye week came at the right time for the BYU players. The Cougars are fighting off nagging injuries, and they are also awaiting the return of the deep threat receiver McKay Jacobson. BYU will also use the bye week to make some needed changes in both offensive and defensive schemes.

The bye week is just one example of an element in college football which is looked upon differently by players and fans.

The remainder of the BYU season is an interesting problem for BYU fans. What hope does the average BYU fan have for the rest of the season?

Before the start of the season there are three major goals for any BYU team. First, make a BCS bowl game. Second, win a conference championship. Third, beat Utah.

While many inside the BYU football program would argue that they put the conference championship ahead of the BCS birth, it is hard to imagine a scenario in which BYU could make a BCS game without winning the conference. So if the team makes the first goal, then they will surely have the second.

After two embarrassing home losses not only is the football players left wondering what went wrong, but BYU fans are searching for answers also. This season is it clear the BCS is out of reach for BYU, but BYU could still fulfill their second goal of a conference championship.

For BYU fans it might be counterproductive to cheer for a conference championship this season. Why? Under the current BCS system it is more important for the conference to have some type of BCS representation in a bowl game than for BYU to win a mediocre conference.

At 6-2 there is little for BYU fans to cheer about. Looking ahead there is also little to no upside left in the season. Here are a few scenarios for how the rest of the season will play out for BYU.

Scenario One—BYU loses to Utah.

In this scenario it doesn’t matter what other teams do. BYU would still play in a bowl game, most definitely the San Diego County Poinsettia Bowl. Yet, the season is a waste from the point of view of any BYU football fan.

Beating Utah is now an absolute requirement for any redemption this season for BYU.

Scenario Two—BYU wins out, and TCU loses to Utah.

This is the scenario in which BYU would get a piece of the conference title. It really is like winning a battle and losing a war for any BYU fan. There would be joy over another conference title; however, it would mean the Mountain West Conference would fall further behind in their hopes of securing an automatic BCS bowl berth in the future.

BYU would most likely not go to the Vegas Bowl. The Las Vegas Bowl has indicated that they want to select a team other than BYU this season. Their reasoning is they don’t want the bowl game to turn into the BYU bowl (although looking back at what BYU did for the Holiday Bowl, maybe having BYU and a sellout crowd every year is a good thing?).

BYU would go to the San Diego County Poinsettia Bowl, and face either a terrible PAC-10 team or a bad WAC team. A game where there would be nothing to prove, and everything to lose.

Scenario Three – BYU and TCU wins out (sadly the best case scenario).

While BYU fans will celebrate another victory over the Utes, but BYU will finish second in the conference. TCU will play in a BCS bowl game. The conference will get more national attention, and the entire conference will be pulling for a Horned Frog victory.

BYU will be stuck in either the Las Vegas Bowl or San Diego County Poinsettia Bowl. Both bowls would be played before Christmas, and both would most likely feature a PAC-10 team who is barely bowl eligible.

In other words the rest of the season for BYU, minus the Utah game, would be games in which there is nothing to gain for BYU. The Cougars would be favored in every other game they play this season, and would have to win the games simply to save face.

This is the best case scenario because there is a slight glimmer of hope for a decent bowl game. If BYU goes to the Poinsettia Bowl they could be paired with a jaded Boise State team.

This would occur if TCU is the only non-automatic BCS conference who is invited to a BCS game, and the PAC-10 get two BCS bowl berths. This would leave a slot open in the Poinsettia Bowl, and leave Boise State looking for a place to play. The Broncos would make a second straight trip to San Diego, and play the second best team in the Mountain West again.

The Poinsettia Bowl would be arguably the best non-BCS bowl game again for a second straight year, and both the WAC and MWC conference would benefit from the exposure.

This game would also give BYU one final chance to gain redemption in the eyes of the national media, and also demonstrate that the BCS was correct in taking TCU over Boise State.

Scenario Four—BYU loses to Utah, Utah beats TCU, Oregon wins out, Cincinnati and Boise State lose (worst case scenario).

There is still a chance for Utah to make it back to BCS bowl game. If this scenario plays out it might require many BYU fans to check into grief counseling, and many will have to be talked off of ledges.

Utah could fly under the radar, win-out, and be the first non-automatic qualifying team to have a loss and still make it into a BCS bowl. If this scenario plays out Utah would be the highest non-automatic qualifying team, and they would finish ahead of the Big East champion. The Utes would be guaranteed a BCS bowl.

BYU on the other hand would go back to playing in the Poinsettia Bowl, against a terrible opponent. BYU would then be three BCS bowl games behind the hated Utes. If this scenario played out truly Provo would turn into Ernest Lawrence Thayer’s Mudville, and the mighty 2009 Cougars would have struck out.

It is a long shot for BYU to get a bowl game which would mean anything. The Utah game is the only thing left which matters for BYU fans.

The current BCS system has made the rest of BYU’s regular season, outside of the Utah game, pointless. No longer can fans from a non-automatic qualifying conference simply cheer for their team to play well. Now fans must think about what their team can do to help out the conferences future.

Fans must now cheer for hated rivals to play well every week. There is no more bitter salt for the wounds opened in BYU fans than to force them to cheer on the Horned Frogs for the remainder of the season.

The BCS system might force BYU fans once again to ask themselves is it better for BYU to win, or for Utah to represent the conference in a BCS bowl game? Only in a BCS world could a team actually be penalized by beating their rival.

Just another example of how the BCS is ruining the regular season of college football.

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Mark's Thoughts: After BYU Loss...Now What Happens?

With the bar set so high with the expectation of a perfect season, now what happens after a loss?

The Horned Frogs kicked BYU's butts. It was that simple. TCU looked faster, stronger, and more focused during last nights game. A shell shocked BYU team left the field last night with their heads down. Now the important question needs to be raised, now what? This question can be asked to all members of the football team, coaching staff, and even fans. What is left to look forward to this football season?

The goal going into this season for BYU was to make it into a BCS bowl game. To accomplish that goal, BYU knew that they needed perfection. BYU decided to schedule down, and give themselves the best chance of going undefeated during the season. The advantage to scheduling down was the ability for BYU to win every game that they played, the disadvantage was that even one mistake during the season would be devastating.

After the loss to TCU does BYU still have a chance at going to a BCS bowl game? There is always a chance, but realistically NO. BYU is going to be hurt by the computer element of the BCS rankings; however, BYU was planning on the human polls counteracting the poor computer ranking. BYU is going to fall a long ways in the human polls this week. (Even having a chance of falling completely out of the polls altogether.) BYU has a long shot scenario of making it into the BCS that would roughly included: Utah beating TCU and winning out until the BYU game, all other undefeated non-BCS teams losing, BYU winning out and beating a top ten Utah team decisively to end the season, and the Big East/ACC continuing to struggle and their champions being unranked. In that scenario BYU would have a chance of climbing into the top 15 in the BCS ahead of a BCS champion giving themselves an automatic bid. This is a possibility, but it doesn't look likely.

Plus, could BYU handle a BCS bowl bid this year? BYU's secondary was exposed. The entire season people have wondered how BYU would fare when they faced a team that could pass the ball. Last night BYU finally ran into a team with the ability to consistently pass the ball. The majority of the time BYU's secondary wasn't within ten feet of the receivers making the catch, and TCU exploited Howard attacking him all night with more talented receivers. The real problem for BYU is TCU is not a great passing team. Before last nights game TCU's Dalton had ZERO passing touchdowns, but he had two against BYU. Dalton could have had more if TCU's receivers didn't drop easy touchdown throws. If BYU was facing one of the many quality passing attacks from the Big 12 the game would be ugly.

Also the offense has struggled the last 11 quarters. What happened to BYU's offense after the bye week? BYU had one good quarter against Utah State, struggled against New Mexico, and was shut down at TCU. The play calling has been terrible! It seems that BYU forgot that the best offense player on the field is Harvey Unga. After not running early against New Mexico, BYU went away from the run against TCU. With only 14 carries, Unga averaged almost four yards a carry, but was left on the shelf for most of the game. Hall has lost his rhythm, and has tried to force many throws in the last three games. Hall has four interceptions and two fumbles in the last three games. TCU was the first team that was able to apply pressure to Hall, and Hall looked unable to respond.

With a single loss BYU no longer controls their own destiny. TCU is now in the drivers seat for the conference championship. Utah, also controls their own destiny and would be in the conference drivers seat with a win over TCU. Bronco Mendenhall has the task of keeping his team from getting down on themselves, and to motivate them to reset their goals to winning another conference championship. While all the players have been saying the right things, that the conference championship has been the real goal and they don't worry about the BCS, it is clear that was merely a talking point. Of course all players knew they had a chance to play in a BCS bowl game, or knowing that they had a shot at playing in a BCS title game. Now Bronco needs to refocus them for the rest of the season.

Coach Mendenhall said all of the right things after the game. He acknowledge his own fault in getting the team ready to play, and took the blame off of the players and other members of the coaching staff. He now needs to sell the team that they need to prove this loss was a fluke. That by winning out the remainder of their games they have a chance to not only win another conference title, but they have a chance (however long the odd may be) of getting back into the BCS.

It might be easier to sell that message to the players than the fans of the team. BYU fans have been expecting a BCS run since BYU beat UCLA in the Vegas Bowl last year. Now BYU needs help to get back to the Vegas bowl. Even if BYU wins out, the Armed Forces Bowl might be the best bowl offer they receive. The Armed Forces Bowl is a big step down from the Fiesta or Sugar Bowl. With a very bad home schedule remaining, it will be interesting to see if some fans decide to stay home instead of gutting out the cold for the remainder of the season.

BYU should be able to win every game they have left on their schedule, but it won't be easy. UNLV next weekend could prove to be a trap game for BYU if they aren't recovered from the TCU beat down. UNLV has the talent to play with any team in the conference any weekend. I think Bronco will have BYU ready to play, but if not they could have their hands full with a good Rebels team. Even getting by the Rebels, BYU still has three tough road games. They play Colorado State, Air Force, and Utah all on the road, and none of those are going to be easy wins on the road.

Yet, when all is said and done, BYU just needs to beat Utah!

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Mark's Thoughts: The Economics of College Football

Why was the Oregon State win over USC so satisfying?

I was thinking about the USC vs Oregon State game for the hundredth time this morning, and smiled again thinking about it. I have never hated USC at any point; in fact, I think Pete Carroll is a very classy coach and Steve Sarkisian (former starting QB for the 1996 BYU Cotton Bowl team) is one of my favorite players ever. Yet, there was something about the game on Thursday night that was very satisfying to watch.

One element that made this game satisfying to watch is the current economic crisis that we face in America. Law makers are making the news circuit rounds telling citizens about a $700 billion bailout program for the banking system and Wall Street. Just hearing the number 700 billion is meaningless. Virtually no American can even comprehend that amount of money. Sure cable news stations will keep telling us how many things you could buy for that amount of money. (My favorite is the fact that for that amount of money every man woman and child in the US could have 2,000 McDonald's Apple Pies. I really want to meet the person that came up with that number, because they must love McDonald's.) Even with that money taken away from us (The American tax-payer) and given to corporations to buy their bad debt, there is no guarantee that it will fix the United States economy.

(Not to get too political, but...)
I view the current crisis as if we were out at sea on a coal driven steam ship during a hurricane, and the ship just ran out of coal. There needs to be a decision made on the ship for how we want to ride out the storm: do we start breaking down pieces of the ship to fuel the fire or do we let the engines stop and hope that everything takes care of itself. Either way, there is no guarantee that the ship will survive the storm, and either way it will take damage. Also, the facts remain that the Captain should have avoided putting us in the storm, brought more coal to power the ship, or better yet provided a more modern ship, than a coal-driven ship, for us. Yet, in the middle of the storm those facts don't matter. The simple choice remains destroy part of the ship to save the whole ship or keep the ship whole and let the storm play out. I would prefer to start breaking down the ship to feed the engine and give myself a fighting chance to survive the storm. It might not work, but I trust my own hands that I can see, rather than the "invisible hands" of nature. I believe that work will be rewarded, and that there are calmer seas on the ocean to be reached.

Even with the hope of the better days to come, the anger of the present situation remains. Why do these companies, who already have the most resources, need to get all the advantages in the current economic system?

USC is that elite corporation. USC is the AIG of college football. They are four deep at every position with high school stand-outs. They have future first round draft picks everywhere on their roster. They have two or three Heisman Trophy candidates every year. They are in a conference that fiscally rewards them regardless of whether they play well or if they don't. They are the national media darlings, before the game ESPN analysts were saying USC might be the best college football team ever. They gave Oregon State no chance to win the game, and were looking ahead to JANUARY and speculating about who USC would play in the National Championship Game. (ESPN's Herbstreit kills me when he won't speculate on "BCS Busters" until they have 8 or 9 wins (although he wasn't afraid to speculate about Fresno State or East Carolina "His BCS Busters") but Herbstreit is more than willing to speculate about the National Championship game in September...hypocrite!) With all of the advantages that USC has in college football today it was good to see them go down to Oregon State.

It was great to see Jacquizz Rodgers, the 5' 7" Oregon State running back, pile up 186 yards on the ground against the supposed best defense in the country. Oregon State coach Mike Riley said, "I guess they have about five first-round picks in their front seven, but our guys blocked them OK tonight."

To witness the Oregon State's defense shutout the Trojans in the first half and only giving up 10 yards to USC's talent running back Joe McKnight was really amazing.

Seeing a sea of orange storm the field and seeing the Trojans in their white uniforms to flee the field was extremely satisfying. Seeing this scene was especially satisfying due to the "Main Street" class that Oregon State fans had when interacting with the USC players. While I can't speak for every fan, the fans that passed USC quarterback Mark Sanchez on his way off the field stopped to share their thought with him. Instead of taunting Sanchez fans would pat his shoulder pads/his back and say things like, "good game," or "keep your head up." Whether these comments were sarcastic or not, it still shows the "Main Street" values and class of those fans.

Mark Sanchez's reaction going up the tunnel after the loss was the best example of the elite mentality at USC. In disgust over the outcome of the game he threw his mouth guard against the wall. That level of frustration is very understandable considering what had just happened to the Trojans on the field. Yet, the more interesting thing was the fact that Sanchez didn't even give a look back to see where his mouth guard landed. Instead an equipment manager raced around on the ground grabbing and caring for mouth guard, which must have been as fun for that equipment manager to pick up as someone's used gum. Sanchez didn't think about the consequences of his action, because he knew that it would be taken care of for him. That is what happens when you play at USC.

The fall of USC shows just how close the non-BCS schools are to the "Mighty Elite BCS" schools. Just as the current economic crisis shows how close the average American is to the elite businesses in the US. The national media will continue to prop up their flawed BCS system. The claims will still be made that the "Elite BCS Programs" would destroy any team that the non-BCS teams could offer; however, another lesson the current economic crisis has taught is just because something looks good on paper doesn't mean it means anything in reality. There is a reason games are decided on the field by players, and not by analysts in studios.

The USC's of the college football will get second chances. If USC puts this game behind them and wins the rest of their games they still have a chance to play in a BCS bowl game or even the National Championship Game. The national media will complement how they overcame adversity or giving excuses for the loss calling it a "fluke." Yet, the non-BCS schools don't get a governmental type hand out from the national media if things go wrong. In the current college football structure if a non-BCS school drops a game regardless of circumstances the best they can do is play in a lower bowl game, and most likely drop out of the polls completely.

That is why I smile thinking about the Beaver's victory on Thursday, because they rose up by themselves and proved everyone wrong. Just as Utah did in 2004, Boise State did against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, and Appalachian State did at the Big House last year; Oregon State proved they could stand up and do the unthinkable. Sure Oregon State is in the PAC-10, and they are part of the establishment that is building up the paper giants like USC; however, Oregon State is much closer to the non-BCS teams than they are to the BCS elite. In this time of crisis it is nice to smile and say, "GO BEAVERS!!!"

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Week 5 Mountain West Football Predictions

TCU has a chance to make a statement this weekend, and establish themselves as the best non-BCS team...

The Mountain West Conference could make a huge statement this weekend if TCU could find a way to beat Oklahoma, and if Colorado State could get a win at California. The chances of that happening don't look good. With BYU having a bye week, and Utah playing Weber State at home this might be the week that the Mountain West takes a step back. This will be due to teams outside of the state of Utah, from the Mountain West Conference, playing tough competition and in-state rivals. Although, a good showing this weekend from the Mountain West teams would cement their place as a top conference in college football this season. Here are the prediction standing from last week/to this point/head-to-head in the season:

Mark [Last Week 8-3(.727) 29-16(.644) Head-to-Head 1-1-2]
Scott[Last Week 8-3(.727) 29-16(.644) Head-to-Head 1-1-2]

After talking, Scott and I decided to come up with a tie-breaker instead of allowing ourselves to tie in the head-to-head competition some weeks. We will declare a game of the week, and the score from that game will be the tie-breaker that week. Here are the predictions for week five:

Bowling Green @ Wyoming 2PM MT The Mtn

Bowling Green is better than their 1-2 record.  After beating Pittsburgh on the road, they gave the ball up five times dropping a game to a good Minnesota team.  Then they had to go on the road and play Boise State and lost.  Boise is a tough place to play; however, Bowling Green was able to move the ball against the Broncos.  Neither Wyoming or Bowling Green has proven that they can hold onto the football, but Bowling Green has proven to be more successful.

Bowling Green 21 Wyoming 13

I pass on this one…ok, I guess I get paid to write something so here we go…Wyoming is not very good…lucky for them neither is Bowling Green. Wyoming actually moved the ball ok against BYU, if they could just hang onto it. I would imagine that Wyoming will try to run the ball more. Their backs have looked pretty good. Their defense has looked decent as well.

Wyoming 17 Bowling Green 16

Colorado State @ California 4:15 PM MT

Colorado State has taken a step forward beating Houston at home; however, Colorado State is going to have a lot of trouble against Cal this weekend.

Cal 38 Colorado State 10

Does another MWC team use a Pac 10 team as their personal punching bag again this week? I don’t think so. Sure the Pack 10 is down, and sure Cal lost to Maryland, who lost to Middle Tennessee State (by 10!!!), but I think Cal wins this game. CSU had a great win last week against Houston. They are young, but they are improving each week. Steve Fairchild has this team going in the right direction; they just need a little more time in order to compete on the road.

California 35 Colorado State 17

#24 TCU @ #2 Oklahoma 5PM MT

TCU's defense is really really good.  TCU has only given up 200 total yards once against SMU, and only allow a team one offense score a game.  Yet, they haven't taken on an offense like Oklahoma.  The Sooners lowest scoring game this season was 52 points.  They have also had a bye week to prepare for the Horned Frogs.  They also remember that the last time that TCU was playing at OU they won 17-10. If this game was play in Fort Worth I think the Horned Frogs would win, but the Sooners at home is hard to pick against.

Oklahoma 21 TCU 10

Do you think Oklahoma has forgotten about being embarrassed 3 years ago at home by TCU…well, probably. Not sure that is going to be real motivation for either team, except that TCU knows it can go into Norman and come away with a victory. Oklahoma has looked deadly this year. This is the first real test that TCU will face this year, and will tell a lot about how good they really are. One thing we know is that TCU’s defense is solid. I’m not sure they can stop Oklahoma’s high-powered offense.

Oklahoma 27 TCU 13

Weber State @ Utah 6PM MT

It will be close...maybe for the first minute of the game.

Utah 42 Weber State 3

I smell another blowout, although I do like Weber State’s running back.

Utah 52 Weber State 10

Idaho @ San Diego State 6PM MT

Wow, talk about the great pillow fight!  This could the first game were there are more players on the field than fans in the stadium watching them.  In fact, Scott and I might be the only people in the world thinking about this game this Saturday.  The coaches and players for each team don't start caring until halftime.  Idaho is no Cal Poly, the Aztecs get the first win of the year.

San Diego State 17 Idaho 14

This is almost too painful to think about. Chuck Long better win this game or else he might not be coaching much longer at SDSU. Makes you wonder what would have happened with this team if they could have held on and beat Notre Dame…actually, no, not really.

San Diego State 24 Idaho 13

New Mexico @ New Mexico State 6PM MT ESPN360

New starting QB for the Lobos might be a blessing in disguise.  Porterie hasn't been able to lead the Lobos to where they want to be this season.  The injury will force the Lobos to play control football on the ground, and rely more on their defense.  Look for New Mexico to handle the Aggies of New Mexico State.

New Mexico 21 New Mexico State 10

New Mexico lost their starting QB for the year, which means that they will rely heavily on Rodney Ferguson to carry the load. Last year New Mexico State’s QB threw for almost 500 yards. If he can get close to those numbers again this year, New Mexico State comes away with the W. I’m not sure if Gruner can make enough plays for New Mexico to win.

New Mexico State 31 New Mexico 28

Nevada @ UNLV 6PM MT The Mtn

UNLV has a soild core of young players.  The passing duo of Clayton and Wolfe complement Summers.  The Rebels defense has proven they are good enough to provide enough stops to get a win.  Nevada has faced tough competition  the past two weeks, and will have a tough time getting a win at UNLV.

UNLV 28 Nevada 24

I’m sorry, but I am still not sold on UNLV. They have definitely exceeded expectations this year, but I think their luck runs out on Saturday. Once again it is going to come down to the last minute of the game. Nevada has a decent run defense and if they can stop Summers from running over them and force Omar Clayton into beating them, I think they win.

Nevada 24 UNLV 21

#25 Fresno State @ UCLA 1:30 PM MT ABC

Was UCLA's win over Tennessee a fluke?  Were the Bruins still shell shocked after suffering a beat down in Provo when they lost to Arizona?  This game will go a long way to show just how good the PAC-10 is this season.  Fresno State hasn't been impressive this season. Losing a winnable game to an overrated Wisconsin team, and needing overtime to beat Toledo.  Yet, the strength of the Bulldogs is on the defensive side of the ball.  That will cause problems for UCLA.

Fresno State 13 UCLA 10

What happened to UCLA?! Neuheisel and Chow were supposed to come in and awake a sleeping giant. I guess this is what happens when you are on your third string QB. I don’t care who you are, if you are playing your third string QB and your two best running backs are injured you are going to struggle. The most shocking thing about UCLA is how poor their defense has looked. Fresno State looks to be a decent football team, almost beating Wisconsin but then almost blowing it against Toledo (55-54 in OT). Not sure which Fresno team is going to show up. I know I am going to regret this pick, but I think UCLA plays more like they did against Tennessee and they come away with the victory.

UCLA 21 Fresno St 17

#22 Illinois @ #12 Penn St. 6PM MT ABC

This is the first real test for Penn State. Illinois runs a very athletic spread offense that will cause problems for Penn State's defense. Illinois also has experience playing tough games on the road this season with a visit to Missouri under their belts. Illinois plays for redemption this weekend.

Illinois 35 Penn State 24

You just don’t come into Beaver Stadium at night and leave with a victory. This is Penn State’s first test this year after breezing through their first 4 games. Illinois’ offense has looked solid, and Juice Williams is showing that he is more of a QB than most people expected. The problem for Illinois lies on the defensive side of the ball, where they are struggling to gain their identity. Penn State controls the game on the ground and comes away with the victory. *side note…if you want to see one of the best football crowds in the nation, look no further than Penn State…it is an awesome sight to see.

Penn State 27 Illinois 20

GAME OF THE WEEK
#8 Alabama @ #3 Georgia 5:45 PM MT ESPN

It is tough to win on the road in the SEC. Alabama has really turned around the program, and is ready to take the next step to regain their elite status in college football. What they need to prove is their ability to win on the road. It isn't going to happen this week for Alabama.

Georgia 17 Alabama 10

Has Nick Saban already turned the Crimson Tide around? I’m not sold on the idea yet. Georgia has arguably the best team in the country and can beat you on the ground and through the air. John Parker Wilson must have a career day if Alabama is going to beat Georgia.

Georgia 35 Alabama 21

#9 Wisconsin @ Michigan 1:30 PM MT ABC

Michigan is coming off a bye week, and a very disappointing loss to Notre Dame. That bye week gave Michigan a chance to correct their problem with holding onto the football. They moved the ball well in every game this season, but have committed too many drive killing mistakes. They get an over rated Wisconsin team at home, and a chance to be the team to expose them. Big win for the Wolverines.

Michigan 28 Wisconsin 10

Whenever you play Wisconsin, you are always in the game. Wisconsin loves to play “Big 10 football” (power running game and tough defense). As a result they don’t score a lot of points. Michigan finally has a starting QB and if they can hold on to the football, have the potential for a big play or two. Wisconsin hasn’t beaten Michigan in Ann Arbor since 1994. Rodriguez finds a way to win.

Michigan 24 Wisconsin 17

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The Wife's Outburst: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of College Mascots

What are the five best and worst mascots in the NCAA...

The Sept. 2, 2008 "Daily List" on SI.com ranked the top 5 college mascots:
1.  University of Georgia--UGA VII
2.  University of Colorado--Ralphie
3.  St. Joseph's University--the Hawks
4.  Stanford--Tree's
5.  Florida State--Chief Osceola
(http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/scorecard/daily_list/2008/09/top-five-college-mascots.html)

Um...yea.  I don't agree with this list.  Here is my list of the 5 best and 5 worst mascots in college in no particular order.

5 Best College Mascots:

1.  LSU--Tiger: I was a tiger.  I used to live in Slidell, Louisiana.  The school I went to was also the tigers, and their school colors were green and white.  They picked their colors from Tulane and their mascot from LSU.






2.  University of Alambama--Crimson Tide: Did you know that a Crimson Tide is a particular type of algal bloom found in the Gulf of Mexico?  Good name for a school that is on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.  The only thing that doesn't make sense is how do you associate algal bloom with an elephant?  It is the coolest mascot and the only school the have an elephant!




3.  Youngstown State University--Penguins:  Penguins are synonymous with love; however, their mascot doesn't look very loving.  He looks very menacing, but warm at the same time.  His eyes say, "Don't you dare cross me!" Yet, his cute scarf and fins are begging for a hug. Currently in the Missouri Valley Conference, Youngstown (0-2) is last.  Maybe because they are synonymous with love, they can't win a game??  Keep a look out for them on Oct. 4 when they play Southern Utah.




4.  BYU--Cougar:  What kind of cougar fan would I be if I didn't include BYU in my top 5?  Look at the cougar on the prowl.  The cougar fits well in with the Rocky Mountains.  

5.  Xaviar University--Blue Blob: Foster's Home of Imaginary Friends is one of my favorite shows.  When I saw that their mascot looked like Bloo, I had to include Xaviar in my top 5 mascots.  Look at the resemblance!!



5 Worst College Mascots:

1.  George Mason--Gunston:  Apparently George Mason just gave their mascot a name.  They never classified what it actually is.  It looks like a cross between a bear and a dog.  As you all know bears are the number one threat to America; therefore, Gunston is a threat to America.  He may look cute and cuddly, but on the inside he is a human killing machine--very deceptive.




2.  Wichita State Univeristy--WuShock:  What is this guy?  He looks like Frankenstein gone wrong.  This is scary.  Maybe this was the first Frankenstein, but the yellow just looked wrong and not scary enough so the scientist decided to change him to green??



3.  University of California-Santa Cruz--Banana Slug:  So apparently banana slugs are real.  I don't know if I would want to be a slug.  They are slimy, gross bug-things.  Can the UCSC students not eat salt for fear they will shrivel and die?  Maybe this college has the lowest intake of salt in the nation.



4.  Trinity Christian College--Trolls: When I saw this, I thought it was a Disney or some other cartoon character.  Maybe the girls basketball team rubs his tummy for good luck? Imagine if your mascot looked like this troll?  




5.  North Carolina School of the Arts--The Fighting Pickle:  This school and any other school who has food as their mascot needs to be shot!  So is it illegal to eat pickles here?  Mark had me google this and get multiple verification that this is legitimate.  Yes, it is.  I found it on multiple websites.  No wonder this school has no athletic teams.  Nobody would take you seriously if you were a fighting pickle.

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Mark's Thoughts: What if BYU Was In a BCS Conference

Exploring how a BYU/any High Mid-Major team would handle playing in a BCS conference...

On Friday I was critical of Kirk Hirbstreit's comments in regards to the Mid-Major conferences. That he was trying to use Hawaii's lack-luster performance in the BCS bowl last year as a reason to keep the Mid-Major teams out of the BCS. Logic that is very flawed considering that the Mid-Majors are 2-1 in BCS games. After I wrote the article on Friday, my buddy Scott made a good comment about what he thought about Herbstriet.

Then he made this statement, "With that said, it has to be pointed out that strength of schedule is a big issue. BCS conference teams have a much harder schedule than non-BCS teams. Don't get mad but this is true...BYU played 2 "tough" BCS teams...Arizona was near the bottom of the Pac 10 at 5-7 and UCLA wasn't much better at 6-6 (6-7after BYU beat them in the Vegas Bowl)."

While I will concede that Scott is correct about the overall strength of schedule of BCS versus non-BCS conferences. This made me think about the what would be better for BYU. To play a lower level of talent, and always have a top record, in the top Mid-Major conference, or if they were to enter a BCS conference and play a BCS team schedule? Are the teams really better in the BCS conferences, or does the title given by the national media just make them better on paper?

To examine how BYU(I am using BYU, but I believe this would apply with any top level Mid-Major team)do in a BCS conference I took the lowest team in the conference and kicked them out and inserted BYU. Also, since this is the land of speculation, I would assume that BYU's campus would be moved and inserted to the location of the school that I kicked out of the conference. That way there wouldn't be any reason to factor in traveling across country if they were in different conference. I then took the final record for each conference and compared that to the final results the last three years in that conference to see where BYU would end up at the end of the season.

ACC - Duke
August 30 James Madison W - Easy win at home
September 6 Northwestern W - Another cake win at home
September 13 Navy W - Navy is improved, but BYU would handle them at home
September 27 Virginia W - A tougher game but at home BYU would take care of Virginia
October 4 at Georgia Tech W - Momentum would carry BYU to fifth victory
October 18 Miami W - Getting Miami at home would be the difference in a close game
October 25 at Vanderbilt W - Another win able game for BYU
November 1 at No. 23 Wake Forest W - This would be a challenge, but a win
November 8 North Carolina State W - Another victory at home.
November 15 at No. 9 Clemson L - Clemson's defense would shut down Cougars at home
November 22 at No. 17 Virginia Tech L - It would be close, but VT is tough win on the road.
November 29 North Carolina W - Cougars would crush at home to end regular season.

If BYU were to take Duke's spot in the ACC a conservative estimate would be a 10-2 overall record, and a 6-2 conference record. Over the last three years that would place the Cougars in second place in the conference; however, most likely outside of the conference championship game.

Projected finish:
2nd in Conference
Ranked #18
Bowl Game: Peach Bowl

Big 12 - Baylor
August 28 No. 23 Wake Forest W - Wake Forest at home is a win
September 6 Northwestern State W - Easy win at home
September 13 Washington State W - lower level Pac-10 win at home
September 19 at Connecticut W - Road win for Cougs
October 4 No. 4 Oklahoma L - There goes home win streak. Oklahoma would be lose at home.
October 11 Iowa State W - Rebound win for Cougs at home
October 18 at Oklahoma State L - OSU matches up well with Cougars, and play tough at home.
October 25 at Nebraska W - Tough win, but doable against Nebraska
November 1 No. 6 Missouri W - I think Missouri is overrated, Cougs win at home.
November 8 at No. 11 Texas L - Texas on the road tough loss for BYU
November 15 Texas A&M W - Break between tough games
November 29 at No. 12 Texas Tech L - Cougars end season on tough road loss

In the place a Baylor the schedule gets much harder. You could call me a homer for my pick of BYU over Missouri; however, you could call me tough for picking OSU over BYU. Overall if BYU were to take Baylor's spot in the Big 12 they would finish 8-4 overall and 4-4 in conference.

Projected Finish:
5th in conference
Ranked #24
Bowl Game: Cotton Bowl

Big East - Syracuse
August 30 at Northwestern W - Northwestern would be an opening win
September 6 Akron W - Start the home schedule with a win
September 13 No. 22 Penn State W - Penn St would be winnable at home
September 20 Northeastern W - Easy win for BYU
September 27 No. 25 Pittsburgh W - Another favorable matchup at home
October 11 at No. 8 West Virginia L - West Virginia might be underrated not going to happen on the road for BYU
October 18 at No. 19 South Florida W - Overrated South Florida team
November 1 Louisville W - Another favorable home matchup for BYU
November 8 at Rutgers W - Would be tough win
November 15 Connecticut W - Another good home victory
November 22 at Notre Dame W - I think the Irish will be down again this year, win for BYU
November 29 at Cincinnati W - Cougars end the season with a win on the road.

If BYU enters the Big East, they would be among the top teams in the conference. A strong season would come from a favorable home schedule. BYU would finish 11-1 overall and 6-1 in conference.

Projected Finish:
Tied for 1st with West Virginia or 2nd outright in conference
Ranked #7
Bowl Game: A chance at a BCS bowl game. If not, Gator Bowl.

Big Ten(Really Big Eleven) - Minnesota
August 30 Northern Illinois W - Easy
September 6 at Bowling Green W - Easier still
September 13 Montana State W - Another no brain victory
September 20 Florida Atlantic W - Really this schedule is just sad
September 27 at No. 2 Ohio State L - Ohio St on the road would a tough win for Cougars to pull off. They would be well rested for this game going in though.
October 4 Indiana W - Another cake game at home
October 11 at No. 20 Illinois W - An overrated team
October 25 at Purdue W - Purdue would be a tougher task on the road, but winable for BYU
November 1 Northwestern W - Another win at home
November 8 Michigan W - It is going to be a long year for Michigan. A young O-line will be the fault of many lopsided loses.
November 15 at No. 13 Wisconsin W - Over another overrated team
November 22 Iowa W - Finish year with victory at home.

The Big Ten(Really Eleven) is down this year. Plus Minnesota's schedule to begin the season is laughable. This would be a favorable conference for BYU to be in. They would finish 11-1, and 7-1 in the conference.

Projected Finish:
Tied for 1st in conference (Ohio St winning the tiebreaker)
Ranked #6
Bowl Game: BCS Bowl, or if shafted from an at large pick, the Citrus Bowl

Pac-10 - Stanford
(Washington was the low team last year, but since BYU is playing them this year Stanford works for the sake of argument)
August 28 Oregon State W - Good opening day win for Cougars
September 6 at No. 15 Arizona State - L Arizona State looks good, and it would be tough to beat on the road
September 13 at TCU W - Cougars have TCU's number
September 20 San Jose State W - Easy home victory
September 27 at Washington W - tough place to play, but winnable game for BYU.
October 4 at Notre Dame W - Irish down, BYU wins
October 11 Arizona W - Another victory at home for BYU over U of A.
October 18 at UCLA W - UCLA a train wreck this season.
November 1 Washington State W - Good home win for BYU.
November 8 at No. 21 Oregon W - Ducks tough at home, but BYU would be up for challenge
November 15 No. 3 USC L - USC is stacked and would provide challenge for BYU, even with game being played at Lavell Edwards Stadium.
November 22 at California W - California in rebuilding year, BYU ends season with W.

Pac-10 would provide some challenges for BYU, and it would be tough to knock off USC; however, they would finish in the upper half of the conference. Record 10-2, 7-2 in conference.

Projected Finish:
3rd in conference
Ranked #11
Bowl Game: Holiday Bowl

SEC - Ole Miss
August 30 Memphis W - Opening day win.
September 6 at No. 23 Wake Forest W - Winnable road game for BYU
September 13 Samford W - Easy Win
September 20 Vanderbilt W - Conclusion of easy portion of schedule.
September 27 at No. 5 Florida L - First true conference test would give BYU trouble
October 4 South Carolina W - Game at home equal win for BYU.
October 18 at No. 24 Alabama L - Another tough in conference road game
October 25 at Arkansas W - Only in conference road win for Cougars
November 1 No. 10 Auburn L - Hard fought loss at home
November 15 Louisiana-Monroe W - Easy win
November 22 at No. 7 LSU L - A big loss, it is hard to go into LSU and win
November 28 Mississippi State W - Big win for Cougars

SEC football is different than any other BCS league. It would be tough for BYU's depth to take the pounding a SEC season would provide. They would finish 8-4, and 4-4 in conference.

Projected finish:
6th in conference
Ranked: #20
Bowl Game: Chick-Fil-A Bowl

BYU probably wouldn't go undefeated if they were to play in any of the BCS conferences. Yet, in most conferences they would be playing for the Conference championship and an automatic birth into the BCS. The SEC would be the only conference I believe the Cougars wouldn't be able to compete at a high level. The Big 12 would be tough for the Cougars, but they would be in most games that they play.

The argument that merely because a team is from a BCS conference therefore they have a more difficult schedule than a Mid-Major, just isn't true. The Big East, ACC, Pac-10, and Big Ten(Really Eleven) are all riding past success to justify not scheduling tough non-conference schedules. The top team in all of those conferences might be better than any Mid-Major team, but a top Mid-Major team would finish in the top of all of those conferences. The Cougars playing in the Mountain West Conference are taking an all-or-nothing approach to the BCS. The schedule this year is favorable for BYU to go undefeated to make the BCS; however, one loss and BYU is most likely going to the Las Vegas Bowl again. Even if BYU played in the SEC, they would still be going to the Chick-Fil-A bowl, a superior bowl to the Las Vegas Bowl.

Would they be able to maintain this level of play every year in a BCS conference? The first year that they would play in a BCS conference would be the worst year that BYU would have in th conference. They would get BCS money every year in the program, and would start to get the BCS recruits every year also. Plus, every conference would benefit from bringing a team like BYU into their conference. BYU substituted for any of the lower teams in the BCS conferences would improve those conferences.

Are the schedules for BCS conference really more difficult than Mid-Major schedules? In most conferences they are more difficult; however, not nearly the gap in difficulty that the BCS conferences want people to think. The excuse that BCS teams can have a very weak non-conference schedule because their regular season is so difficult is a fallacy. It is just another way that the BCS conferences keep control of college football. The difference between the top teams in each conference is really much less than many commentators want college football fans to believe.

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Mark's Thoughts: Olympic Gymnastics Judges

Judging the Judges(A happy Birthday to me edition)...

What does it take to be an Olympic Gymnastics judge? When you think crooked, lying, shifty, and self-serving; you think of politicians. Bill Clinton for example. (Another August 19th birthday, happy birthday Mr. President) Unless it is an Olympic year, in which case gymnastic judges take center stage. Think about these soulless men and women. Before them are mostly sixteen year old girls, (unless they are judging China's sub-16 or Germany's plus-33 gymnasts) who have dedicated their entire lives to competing at this level. They have been removed from normal life either voluntarily (US gymnastics) or for the betterment of the country (Chinese gymnastics). They perform amazing, other worldly performances, only to have to stand and wait for a score that is only partly based on the routine they performed.

Judges seem to base their scores on many different factors. Some judges base their scores on feelings towards the gymnasts nationality. This Explaining the Eastern-European/Eastern-Asian judges uneven scoring. There are judges that base their scores on where the competition is being held. This accounting for the major judging errors occurring in favor of the China in this year's Olympics. Then there are the judges that merely take money or have person vendettas that influence their scoring. In other words, the average gymnastic judge would say and do things that would make Simeon Cowell blush. The odd thing is the sport is built on the idea that controversy will occur, and that is one of the appeals of the sport. The soap opera like judging system keeping people watching waiting for the next disaster to take place.

This strict and unfair scoring system leads to more emotions from the gymnasts. The only thing the gymnast can do is try and perform their routine perfectly. They know that any little error in the routine, and they will be bashed to pieces by judges who are looking for opportunities to take points away. So when mistakes do happen the emotions and tears come to the surface of the gymnasts, making for great drama. Even when the gymnast perform their routine perfectly it still isn't a guarantee they will do well in the standings. The scores are based so much on the difficulty rating that gymnasts can make multiple mistakes/fall and still score better than a flawless routine at a lesser difficulty.

How can we stand for such injustice? Good thing this type of thing only happens in gymnastics every four years. Oh...wait. That's right we follow the BCS. It has all the same elements. It rewards teams with lesser records because they play "more difficult" competition. The rankings are filled with bias from coaches in the same division who are looking to inflate the difficulty of conferences to save their jobs; to sports writers that have school colored glasses on. (Dick Harmon is a great example of this) There is also the influence of ESPN over the voters, and the decision makers of the BCS. Why do they do it this way? They do it for the money. They want to build the drama during the regular season. If you have a system designed to help some and hurt others, it drives people to watch the polls more from week to week. It causes fans of the schools cheated in the BCS process to speak out. They know the system they have will cause controversy and that is why they follow it. It creates the drama that people crave in sports.

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