The WAC

Poor Mountain West Conference. This is the glory they were seeking when they shamelessly, secretly, broke away from the WAC all those years ago. Below are a couple of articles about the great play of WAC teams this season. B.J. Lisko of Salem News in Ohio writes an article about the amazing Boise-Oklahoma game, and then goes on to highlight the conference.

But on to my main point. WAC football is the most exciting football in the nation. In particular, Boise State and Hawaii are two of the most action packed teams to watch in the country. Every year I subscribe to DirecTV/ESPN College Gameplan so I can see Hawaii and Boise State a few more times than I normally would, and it’s worth every penny.

Take a look at the bowl games up to this point. Without a doubt, Boise State and Hawaii rank among the most remarkable performances. Boise, obviously because they proved their worth and dropped a Sooners team that if a call or two had gone their way, wouldn’t have even had to play the Broncos in the postseason. Remember, this is the same Sooners team that was pegged to be national champions by nearly every preseason magazine in the country before losing quarterback Rhett Bomar. They managed a pretty good year with Paul Thompson under center, and even had star running back Adrian Peterson in the starting lineup for Monday’s game. He ran for just 77 yards — 25 of them coming on one play in overtime.

Hawaii’s performance on Christmas Eve showcased the talents of the best college quarterback in the country, Colt Brennan.

Brennan broke the single season record for touchdown passes this year, and he did it in fewer pass attempts than previous record holder David Klingler — not to mention Brennan didn’t play in the fourth quarter of seven of Hawaii’s contests.

The Warriors gunslinger completed 72 percent of his passes for 5,549 yards and 58 touchdowns.

Watching a Hawaii game is kind of like watching someone play a video game when the defense is on easy mode. They go shotgun, five-wide about 90 percent of the time, and move the ball down the field with remarkable efficiency. Hawaii dropped Arizona State in the Hawaii Bowl, 41-24. Brennan didn’t have a touchdown pass in the first half of the game, then after throwing his first, a fan said, “Colt, how about one more?” Colt replied, “How about three?” It’s exactly what he did.

Okay, so UH never runs a "five-wide", but it's still a good article. Lisko also looks forward to next year's Boise at Hawaii matchup.

Regardless of their losses, Boise gets star runner Ian Johnson back next year, which will certainly be enough to have them competing for its sixth-straight WAC title. If Brennan stays at Hawaii, that matchup will most definitely be a showcase game next season and likely decide the conference.

Regardless of your allegiances, or whomever you root for, I have been saying it all along. Give those mid-majors, especially the WAC, a chance.

Amen.

Jimmy Watson of the Shreveport Times in Louisiana also writes about the WAC's ability to, dare I say it, Play UP.

"With all due respect to BYU's national championship season, that was the finest moment in WAC history," WAC associate commissioner Steve Macy said. "Karl (Benson, WAC commissioner), Jeff Hurd and I were talking about the stage that this was played on with so much at stake -- that's what makes Boise's victory bigger."

This 2006-07 bowl season has definitely been stellar for the WAC, which finished with a 3-1 record in the postseason after going 1-2 last year. Hawaii stomped Arizona State 41-24 behind quarterback Colt Brennan's 559 yards passing and five touchdowns. Brennan brought national attention to the WAC by setting the NCAA record with 58 touchdown passes.

San Jose State won the upstart New Mexico Bowl 20-12 over the Lobos, while Nevada narrowly lost its MPC Computers matchup with Miami 21-20. The WAC very easily could have been 4-0 in bowl play with three wins over BCS teams.

...

"The WAC gained a lot of respect with Boise's victory," Louisiana Tech athletic director Jim Oakes said. "We were a few points ahead of the Mountain West entering the bowl season. I feel sure we'll finish ahead of them, even though they also went 3-1."

The only MWC win against a BCS team was BYU's 38-8 victory over Oregon, which was 4-5 in the Pac 10. Meanwhile, C-USA went 0-4 in bowl outings and looked bad doing it with losses by Rice, East Carolina, Tulsa and Houston.

It would be easy to make a case for Boise to play for the national championship game, since the Broncos and Ohio State are the only remaining undefeated teams.

"We were 13-0 and beat everyone on our schedule," Broncos quarterback Jared Zabransky told reporters after his team's 43-42 overtime victory. "We're deserving of a chance at the national title."

That may be so, but it ain't happening this year. Benson doesn't believe that this bowl season was an aberration for the WAC.

"We've been on the verge of this position before -- and Boise stepped up and produced this year," Benson said. "This shows that the system works for the WAC and we were able to take advantage of it."

Macy said that the game between Boise State and Oklahoma was filled with a lot of highs and lows for the WAC contingent watching the game in a suite high above the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl field.

"That was the best game I've ever seen, and it bodes well for our entire league," Macy said. "It showed that the WAC can go in there and compete with anyone. We made a point."

Making the same point in two consecutive years would make an even longer lasting statement.

Already looking forward to next year! GO WARRIORS!!!!!