DOMINANCE
HOW YOU FEELING THERE COACH?
Welcome back Rick! I was at the game Saturday and there really isn't much to say that the score didn't already cover. It was an old fashioned beat down.
The offense looked great as usual, and after a weak showing last Saturday in Seattle the defense stepped it up and proved that they are better than what we had thought. It was a great game all around.
There is talk of a let down after such a big win in the upcoming game against the Cowboys. I don't see it happening. I think this team is focussed and will come out firing against Wyoming. I will be there at LES to witness what I am expecting to be a lop sided victory for the Cougs.
Who are the 6 power conferences this year?
Is it really the six that have been designated by the BCS as being deserving of the automatic birth into the championship series bowl games?
Is the Big East really a better conference than the MWC or the WAC? How about the ACC? How about the PAC Ten that went 0-4 against Mountain West teams on Saturday?
As bad as some of these conferences are playing the potential is there for some of the teams that win their respective conference championship to get to a BCS bowl game unranked. In 2004 Pitt was ranked #19 for hells sake. How were they more deserving of the payoff than the 18 teams that were in front of them.
Here's how I would rate them (at least this year):
1. SEC- I think they are the best football conference. They pull in the best athletes and over the years have had great success. They need to travel a little more outside of the south to prove their worth, but I still would give them the nod as being #1.
2. Big Twelve- Another great football conference. With teams like Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri being members of their conference I think they are pretty solid. They have cellar dwellers like any other conference but they are real strong at the top. My #2.
3. Big Ten- This is where I think the conferences get a little overrated. I don't think OSU is worthy of the pub that they have been given. The Utes proved what type of team Michigan has, and the rest of the conference is descent but not great by any means.
4. MWC- Yeah, that's right. I said it. This is where I stray from the conventional thinking. The MWC has had good success this year against the BCS opponents that they have faced. They have two teams in the top 25 as well as a TCU team that is about to break in. The cellar dwellar of the MWC (UNLV) just knocked off what many people had predicted to be the second best team in the PAC Ten, ASU. With TCU, BYU and the Utes at the top of the conference playing good football, as well as the Air Force Academy, the conference is strong. If you want to argue otherwise, please do. Up to this point in the season though the MWC has owned the PAC Ten. The record is proof of that. Not to mention a win by the Utes in the Big House. I will be interested to see how TCU fairs against Oklahoma.
5. Pac Ten- USC is the cream of the crop. No question about it. In my opinion and nearly everyone else they are more than deserving of the #1 ranking that they have received. But aside from them, who does the PAC Ten have. Oregon maybe? Every other team sucks and most of them have been beaten by a MWC opponent. (Washington, UCLA, Stanford, ASU, Arizona, soon to be Oregon State) Washington State is no good, and CAL just lost to a weak Maryland team. How good is the Pac Ten? My #5.
6. This one is hard for me. I am going to say the ACC, but I could be easily swayed. The Big East is lousy, so I won't even consider them, but there are a few good teams from the WAC and Conf. USA that are making some noise. I think ECU, as well as Fresno State and Boise State are as good this year as most of the teams in either of the two remaining "power coferences."
This is just my opinion, based on what I have seen so far this year. I very well could be wrong in my way of thinking as some of you will probably try to point out. Either way, if you have an opinion of who and why, lets hear it.
5 comments:
I agree witht the analysis for the most part. I think the MWC doesnt get a whole lot of props even though they are fielding good teams this year. with their dominance so far of the pac 10, the media will tout that as a down year for the Pac 10 rather than a good year for the MWC. what needs to happen is that several teams need to finish the year in the top 25, BYU, Utah, TCU and possibly Air Force could do it. Then, we need to win all the bowl games we go to. In the upcoming years MWC teams also need to go play big programs, such as Utah and Michigan this year. UCLA was a good try, but they sucked last year, and this year. Utah goes to Notre Dame in 09 I think, so that trend needs to continue. Also, the worst thing for the MWC but the best thing for the Utes, would be to beat BYU in SLC. the Mt. West would do well to have an unbeaten team, as well as several in the top 25.
I still think the ACC is the best conference....mostly becuase their basketball programs are so good. Not to mention UNC's beatdown of Rutgers....yep.
to SittinDeadRed- glad you left a comment! the blog was actually something i just started last week just as more of a scrapbook than anything else! so it's mostly stuff about my brothers and the o-line and my dad and his RBs, but you're welcome to check in... to be honest, when i saw there was a comment by someone unfamiliar, i got that nervous feeling- only cuz when it comes to the football side of my family, there are people who know us and support us and then there are those who... not-so-much (u know how it is...) Later!
Dr. P-
I think when it comes down to it, you and I probably agree more than we would disagree, other than we perceive a few things differently. You tend to see a shade of red where I might happen to notice blue.
I think if both the Cougs and the Utes go into the final game undefeated that it won't matter who wins. The conference will still receive a lot of recognition and one of the two teams will bowl most likely in the valley of the sun. The loser should still be ranked in the top 25 going into the Las Vegas bowl.
I would love to see as many teams from the MWC finish in the top 25 as possible, especially if its the Cougs that come out on top. I have a feeling though that the quality of play by the four mentioned teams might turn out to be problematic when they start beating each other.
I know that you are high on the Ute win there in Ann Arbor and are down on the Y's schedule (even though they are nearly identical). As I see it though the convincing win that the Cougs got over UCLA did more for the conference in terms of national recognition than the 2 point victory the Utes pulled out over the Wolverines. Check out the interview Rome did with Bronco if you don't believe me.
I won't hold it against the Utes for playing a piss poor Michigan team. They can't control the quality of the team that shows up after they have made the schedule. On paper Michigan looked like a tough opponent.
Likewise, I won't hold it against the Cougars for agreeing to a home and home against what was at the time a good UCLA program. Washington hasn't always been this bad. BYU was suppose to play the second half of a home and home with Alabama but they backed out.
I guess my point is that the Cougars have played and continue to try and play quality opponents.
I like the idea of scheduling good programs. BYU matches up against Florida State as well as Arizona State this next season. Both of which traditionally are good football programs. Who knows what caliber their teams will be though when they line up against the Y. That's out of the Cougars control.
Good for the Utes playing Notre Dame. I enjoyed watching the Cougars beat them in Provo. When do the Irish come to RES?
My dear brethren and sisters... just kidding, I learned my lesson from the "Lord's team" comment.
Ok so here is the deal, I think the rankings are pretty solid that were posted, unfortunately all of our views are from a biased view. The MWC is getting very little love down here in the valley of the sun. ON the radio they act as if the PAC 10 is choking rather than that the MWC is good. I guess once again that is a biased point of view, so who is right? I do like that some of the big talking heads on national airwaves are giving props to BYU. At the beginning of the season they were talking Fresno State, East Carolina and then BYU, but with the lopsided win on Saturday against a weak but still legendary school BYU has been the first team out of their mouths when they talk about BCS busters. In fact I think it was Colin Cowherd (my favorite talking head) that said that BYU may be as tough as anyone in the nation outside of USC who could probably compete on Sundays. I don't know if I would go that far, but I think BYU is up there for sure. THe SEC has the athletes, but QBs are poor except for Tebow. Anyone notice the offensive explosion at the Auburn Miss St game? 3-2? What a miserable game. I wonder if that was the first 3-2 game in history. Anyways college football rocks and I actually like the BCS system in some ways because it causes mass debate. Rocky Long from New Mexico said recently that TCU, BYU and Utah are as good, as big and as fast as PAC 10 schools, I guess that once again is a biased view.
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