Knudson: Where Does the MWC Rank Going Forward?
FacebookBy Mark Knudson, The Mtn. Insider
January 12, 2011
The longest college football season ever is finally over.
The Southeastern Conference won their fifth straight national title, with Auburn beating Oregon from the Pac 10 in the title game.
Every conference had its moments, and moments they’d like to forget (except for the Mountain West Conference, which won the Bowl Challenge again and whose only loss came to a team that will join the Conference next season.)
So how do we rank these conferences looking ahead to 2011?
It’s clear that the superiority still resides in the SEC. That’s not very debatable after a fifth straight national championship. So if the SEC is No. 1 going into next season, where do the others fall?
2) The Pac 12 is adding Utah (a big plus) and Colorado (nothing to brag about) to a group that already has powerhouses Oregon and Stanford – and you can expect a bounce back from perennial power Southern Cal. There was a big drop off after those top two this past season but it’s reasonable to expect improvement from UCLA, Arizona, Cal and Washington, too. The league will be deeper next fall.
3) The Big 10 (12) adds Nebraska to a group that had a great regular season but collapsed in the post season. New divisional alignments and a championship game should just add to the fervor in the upper Midwest.
4) The Big 12 (10) takes a step backwards to a ten-team league that will feature Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and very likely a bounce back from Texas, but will be so-so after that. Can it be that this league will be looking forward more to basketball season from now on?
5) The MWC has clearly established itself as one of the top five conferences in the country. Adding Boise State to the group of TCU, San Diego State and Air Force solidifies the spot. TCU vs. Boise State in the regular season next year will be one of the marquee match ups of the season. Expect improvements from the lower half of the league next fall, too.
6) The ACC remains a hoops-first league with some okay football thrown in. Virginia Tech is the best of the bunch in football, with Miami and Florida State struggling to recapture past glories. Everyone else is waiting for tipoff.
7) The WAC still has Hawaii, Fresno State and Nevada. Three teams that are better than anyone in the Big East.
8) Conference USA can anticipate a bounce back season from Houston with Case Keenum coming back, and there are a couple other teams like SMU and Central Florida that aren’t too shabby. Tulsa lost their coach, but that’s a program that just seems to keep chugging along even after losing a coach.
9) The Big East was called “an embarrassment to college football” last season by ESPN’s Lee Corso. Pitt is in shambles. West Virginia may improve after next season and conference champ UConn is best known for women’s hoops. No way this outfit should have automatic qualifier status, even when TCU moves there in 2012. Football is not their game.
10) The Mid American Conference. Honestly, not a big difference in this league and the Big East.
Still more changes to come the following year before the BCS does another evaluation, but this much is clear: No matter how much shuffling goes on, the Mountain West Conference has clearly established itself as one of the top five college football conferences in the country. No one who knows anything about the game would dispute that.
Gimme my play-off system!
ALL TIMES MOUNTAIN
