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I just read an interesting idea pitting the winners of the MWC and WAC in a kind of championship game with the winner getting an automatic BCS berth. I think the idea is interesting. My biggest problem with the idea is that this type of set up basically suggests that the MWC and WAC are comparable conferences that should share a BCS berth. Not to knock the WAC too hard, but they just aren’t as good as the MWC. That’s why the teams in the MWC left. In fact, if Boise State were to move to the MWC, then you might as well call it the MWC automatic BCS berth, no? Which other team in the WAC will be able to beat the MWC champion?

Sure, at the end of the day, the possibility of an automatic is probably better than not getting to a BCS game. However, something about the idea just doesn’t feel quite right. Even if a game between TCU and Boise State before a BCS game would be a lot of fun to watch this year.

I was reading another article that had a similar theme and was extremely well written. I started to write a comment, but then it started to get so long that I decided to just write my own article.

In essence his article mentioned the Utah Attorney General’s anti-trust lawsuit against the BCS that should take place sometime this summer. To fully make sense of what I am saying you will need to read Jeremy’s article as well as the comments. Hopefully it will make some sense either way.

Do I think the BCS is unfair, absolutely.
Do I think this lawsuit will result in a playoff, or even a better system, no.

But, this is the best laid argument I have seen. Every other attempt to take down the BCS has been nothing more than a cryfest about how our team got left out and we should have gotten in, blah blah blah. The huge factor that continues to grow is that the Major BCS schools, meaning the ones that consistently have a title shot like USC, are saying we need a playoff.

What that says to me is that this is no longer simply a question of who should play in a BCS bowl, but that it has sincerely become a question of crowning a TRUE national champion. That is the argument that has needed to be raised to create change.

Let’s face it, the big conferences and networks are going to get their money one way or another. What I have really started to take issue with is declaring a national champion when there is a legitimate case for multiple other teams. If any major sport were to simply pick two teams based on polls and they played one game to determine the Super Bowl Champion, or the winner of the Stanley Cup, then there would be outrage. Why is college football the only exception to the rule in the world?

Of all the sporting events in the world, from pee wee sports, to the high school, to professional sports, and even to the Olympics, there is a playoff in place. Sure there is debate over what teams should make it, but now that I think about it, when was the last time you heard a country cry about not making it into the World Cup, or even the playoffs in major US sports? There is a system in place that makes sense and ultimately crowns a true champion.

While there will always be people making excuses about why their team didn’t win or why their rival did. However, there is no legitimate argument to take away their title.

Now the idea of sending the 11 conference champions plus 5 at-large bids to a playoff is completely stupid to me. There is no even remotely decent argument that the conference champion of C-USA, WAC, Ivy League, MAC, or even in some years the MWC champions have any place playing for a national champion. Last year evidenced that even the BCS conferences don’t always warrant a BCS bid. There is no reason to make it even that complicated.

I have written this before, but it could be very simple. You take the top 8, or 16 though I prefer 8, and put them against each other with their ranks as seeds. Add the Cotton and Holiday bowls, or others if you prefer, to the original 4 BCS bowls. They rotate yearly through first round games and the seminfinal games. Then you pick an entirely separate place, picked just like the Super Bowl and most leauges’ all-star games for the National Championship.

This creates even more money to spread around, and the major conferences would still get their cut because their teams would be the ones making it regularly. At the same time, smaller conferences would have just as much chance. There would be no argument that smaller teams don’t deserve it, because they would HAVE to schedule better teams to get ranked in the top 8. Going undefeated would not be enough for a non-BCS school.

I really don’t understand why they make it so complicated. Everyone in the world knows it is about money and nothing else. Don’t give me the time argument, because the national championship is already more than a week later than it used to be.

This may not be the best answer, but it seems like a legitimate one for me.

With the conference tournament really starting today, it merits a few moments to consider what BYU stands to lose, and in turn gain, in the tournament.

In short, I really don’t think the outcome of the tournament will have a tremendous impact on BYU in terms of the NCAA tournament. Of course losing to Air Force in the first round would not be a good thing, but how likely is that to happen. Beyond a first round loss there really is not much damage to be done. Losing to San Diego St. would not be a huge upset, nor would losing to UNLV in their home invitational. Losing in the championship to anyone else would not be terribly tragic either.

In terms of what good can come of it, I also feel it is limited. Lets just say that BYU beats AFA, then either San Diego St. or UNLV who are pretty comparable, and Utah in the championship. All that may do is move BYU up one seed, two at the most. So instead of being an 8-9 seed they are a 7-8. There really is not a huge difference in the long run.

The biggest thing BYU could gain from the tournament is getting on a roll. It is insane how good they are when they get hot. With a shooting team like BYU it cannot be overlooked how important getting on a run can be. When shooters get hot it is hard to stop them. Playing three quality games in a familiar, if not friendly, arena could do wonders for helping them go into the big dance with some momentum.

Either way, I am excited for the tournament to start and the madness that is march to commence.

The end of the regular season gives me cause to reflect on the events of this year all the way back to the end of last season. The biggest decisions that affected how this season played out were made shortly after the season when Trent Plaisted decided to declare for the NBA Draft, and Lee Cummard decided to stay.

There is no way that anyone could possibly know what would have happened if those choices were changed in anyway. All we can do at this point is look at how those decisions have played out.

First, we’ll consider Plaisted. He was drafted number 46 by the Seattle Supersonics, now the Oklahoma City Thunder, and was immediately traded to the Detroit Pistons. He ultimately signed with Angelico Biella in Italy until he suffered a season ending injury in December.

While there is no telling how his fate would have changed had he stayed at BYU, at the time, I think he made the right choice to enter the draft, and I still do. There is no way you can forecast an injury, and with a full season of development he may very well have cracked into an NBA roster next season.

Now lets consider Cummard. Many so called experts felt he had a good chance to be drafted, but there is little reason to believe he would have gone much higher, if at all, than Plaisted did. The risk you run of staying another season is you may get injured, or you may not have a very good year, and your stock could drop.

While Cummard did not get injured, he did not have quite the stellar season he probably would have hoped for. He obviously did not show that he is a superstar team leader, but that is not all bad. In this day and age of egotistical superstars, there is more need than ever for roleplayers that are willing to do the dirty work.

I look at Lee as more of an Adam Keefe type player. Someone that you know will work their butt off, scrap for rebounds, and in the vein of Robert Horry, may just hit a game winner for you when the game is on the line. He is not an up and down emotional player, but rather someone that will consistently give you all he has. He will probably never put up 20 points a game in the NBA, but he may just be the difference maker in a series like Robert Horry, Steve Kerr, or Jeff Hornacek.

There is no way to know what would have happened if Lee had entered the draft last year, but as a diehard BYU fan, I would just like to personally say thank you to Lee for all of his hard work in his time at BYU. He has been a huge part of building a foundation of success at BYU that will hopefully last for years to come. Best of luck in the Las Vegas Invitational, and the Big Dance, and here’s hoping you find much success in the NBA, you deserve it.

Please forgive my lack of posting at this critical time of the basketball season. I would tell you why the site has been down, but my brother handles that. I’m just happy to be writing again. It helps me to deal with the long distance between me and most BYU sporting events. Though I am stoked for the game to be played in Dallas this fall against one Oklahoma. It should be fun.

On to the story at hand. I realize it is only a share of the conference title, but it is nothing to be ashamed of. It says a lot about the program that Dave Rose has established to be so consistently good. Its not like we are Memphis playing in Conference USA and we just tip toe through the conference tulips every year. The conference as a whole has gotten progressively better, and BYU has stepped up to the plate.

There were a couple of missed opportunities, namely against Wake Forest and Arizona St, but they put up a good fight and gained some respect despite the losses. Now the focus turns to the conference tournament and the Big Dance. I never know what to expect when it comes to this time of year, and I hate to get my hopes up, but I feel that this is the best team we have had in recent years.

In a lot of ways I think we were better off without Plaisted. In the past teams were able to focus on him, or one other single player and that pretty much shut us down. Now there are so many more options, and this is much more of a team. It will be far more difficult to shut the whole team down. Between Jimmer, JT, Lee, Jackson, and Miles it will be nearly impossible to keep them all down.

I am really looking forward to the next couple of weeks. On a side note congrats to BYU for cracking into the AP poll for the first time this season. It is well deserved, and hopefully one more step in the right direction.

This game was billed as one of the most competitive bowl games of the season and it certainly lived up to that description. It was a close game right to the very end, and was extremely enjoyable to watch.

What blew me away yet again, was how fast TCU’s defense is. It is amazing how quickly they can recover when they make a mistake, and how quick they get across that line. There were a couple of plays that would have gone for touchdowns if their defense wasn’t so fast. I was at the game when they played BYU and it was surreal in person.

Their offense was obviously not clicking all the way, but they got it done when it mattered and won the game.

While I am not a TCU fan, it is always good for the conference when one of our teams beats a quality opponent and Boise St was certainly that. This just reaffirms to me how great it would be for the conference if Boise St. were to join the Mountain West.

I would detail all of the reasons why, but I have already done that in this blog. All I will say at this point is that if the Moutain West consistently had 5 (BYU, TCU, Air Force, Boise St., Utah) 4 of which could easily be in the top ten in any given year then they would have to be given serious consideration as an addition to the BCS.

I know the Mountain West won’t join the BCS for at least a few more years, but seasons like this, and the addition of a quality team like Boise St., would force the BCS to at least consider adding the Mountain West.

While BYU’s season left something to be desired, it has been a great year for the conference, and though I know it would help the conference in the long run, as I true BYU fan, I have to hope that Utah loses to Alabama. Here’s hoping for another great year in the Mountain West next year.

I know I am not the only one that is sick of BYU playing in Vegas, and I know that it won’t be official until tomorrow, but we all know what is going to happen. Honestly, I could probably live with it if the Pac-10 could send a decent team, but no, we will either be stuck with a 6-6 Arizona St, or what appears to be the case, a weak Arizona at 7-5.

I realize that the game will sell out thanks to BYU, but don’t they want a compelling game at least? Apparently not as they have let Cal, the number 4 Pac-10 team get away because another bowl wanted a local team. So we get stuck with a crap team instead of a decent matchup.

How can the MWC allow their teams to get screwed out of decent competition? The Bowl is only concerend about money, but the conference should be concerned about showcasing their teams, and playing a team that is barely bowl eligible, even if they are from a BCS conference, does nothing for gaining credibilty.

We had a good year for the most part, and it will likely end with a win over a third Pac-10 team, but what good is it to bust your butts all year to end up with little to no national respect. If the Mountain West wants to be taken more seriously they need to get in some better bowl contracts where the competition will be better, and the teams will have something more to play for. Until that happens, they will continue to be looked down upon, and be forced to play inferior opponents.

I don’t know if there is anything I hate more than losing. It just sucks no matter what. It doesn’t matter if the game is close, or a blowout. It doesn’t matter if you got beat or you lost(there is a difference). It doesn’t matter if it is any other team, or your rival losing just sucks.

So how was I rewarded on this day that could have been so beautiful? I was rewarded with a blowout loss, that we lost, to our biggest rival. I really wish I knew what was wrong today. I am a firm believer that no one person is to blame for any one loss, but it is hard to overlook the game that Max Hall had today.

Let me first say I am a huge Max Hall fan, and was thrilled when he was named the starter last year. I also believe he is absolutely on the same level as Graham Harrel, Sam Bradford, and Colt McCoy when he is on, but there is no doubt he was very off today. Throwing five picks, three of which led directly to touchdowns, is unacceptable. I am sure he would be the first person to admit that, and that he is beating himself up more than anyone else could, but it was just embarassing.

The saddest thing was that most of them weren’t even close. He was misreading plays like crazy all night long. I have just decided that even though he is a Junior, this is only his second year, so he was just getting the rest of his “sophomore slump” out that was left over from the TCU game. He will definately bounce back and come on strong next year. It’s just sad to already be looking to next year before Thanksgiving.

At times like these it is always fun to look back and think about the ups and downs we have experienced as fans. In thinking about The Holy War I can’t help but recall some of my personal experiences.

There have been plenty of memories I don’t want to remember to include getting beat in 2004, and lets just say I still hate the numbers 34-31. But lets focus on the good memories.

My first good memory was of the game in ’98. I remember watching the game and enjoying the clang of the goalpost. When I went back to school on Monday my teacher told us he had been sitting in the endzone right at eye level with where the ball hit the goalpost. It was a beautiful weekend.

Despite the short time that has elapsed I have very fond memories of the last two years. I don’t think a detailed description is necessary to any true BYU fan, though I believe video can be found on this website if you have forgotten Beck to Harline, or Austin Collie still being open down the sideline.

My fondest memory was Lavell Edwards last game as head coach, and my first ever BYU-Utah game. The season was less than stellar, but that final game was one for the ages. I was stuck sitting with opposing fans because my friends that bought the tickets attended school there, but luckily they were decent fans and we enjoyed teasing each other all day.

The game started quite sad with an early pick six that I am sure Mr. Doman would like to forget since it was his first start. Luckily the game got better. The fourth quarter neared an end with a touchdown catch by my neighbor at the time, Matt Nichols. I’ve never hated my neighbor so much. Luckily, Doman redeemed himself with an unbelievable fourth down pass near midfield, which was vaguely similar to a catch made last year. Then top it all off with a beautiful touchdown to end an historic career.

It is all of the memories that we as fans have that make a rivalry worth anything. Especially in college where the players come and go so much, it is the fans that are constant, and it is the fans that make it great. I look forward to hearing many other people’s stories making this rivalry even deeper for me.

So no matter what the teams’ records are, this is always one of my favorite weeks. There will be more analysis this week than there is information to analyze. “Experts” will start discussing facts, numbers, records, shoe sizes, and anything else that may possibly affect the outcome of this game.

Even the most passive fan that has never watched a game of college football in their life will have an opinion. Everyone with access to a computer will have a comment to make on someone’s blog, if not their own. Most of these comments will be completely stupid and have no basis in fact, or even theory, but why should that matter?

Both the coaches will avoid any direct questions about matchups, game plans, or even pre-game traditions. The players will be as quarantined as possible in this day of constant information bombardment. When a reporter does get a hold of them, anything they say will be on the other teams wall within minutes; as if they needed more inspiration.

Moreso than maybe ever before this game is huge. Should one team win they will definitely be in a BCS bowl for the second time. Should the other team win, they may be able to squeeze through the backdoor as the first one-loss, non-bcs school to make it to a BCS bowl game. Were it not for a huge BIG 12 South game being played between Texas Tech and Oklahoma, this might be the game of the week.

Oh man I love this week. The success of an entire season coming down to one single game. Even in the most lopsided of years, anything can happen in the “Holy War”, because we all know what religion can get people to do. Bring on the heathen university to the North!

GO BYU!