With the final appeal by USC against sanctions resulting from the Reggie Bush Incident (RBI) denied by the NCAA on May 27th, the BCS came out today and stripped USC of their 2004 national championship. Duh, some of you might say, this happened over a year ago. Actually, it didn't. After sanctions were handed down last June, USC mounted an appeal of the case, one which took almost a year to complete. Initially, the BCS remained mum on the subject as they were content to allow the appeals process to run it's due course. The AP Poll said that regardless, USC was their champion and that they would not revote. Only the Football Writers Association of America, arguably the 3rd highest ranking MNC selector, opted to immediately vacate USC's crown they had awarded for that year.

"The BCS arrangement crowns a national champion, and the BCS games are showcase events for postseason football," BCS executive director Bill Hancock said in a statement. "One of the best ways of ensuring that they remain so is for us to foster full compliance with NCAA rules. Accordingly, in keeping with the NCAA's recent action, USC's appearances are being vacated.

So where does that leave us now? The BCS has elected to have the 2004 national championship remain as vacant as Detroit real estate, as has the FWAA, and the AP still lists USC as their champ. All of this makes things about as awkward as Father's day at the Schwarzenegger house.

I KNOW I said I'd never bring the subject up again, because my opinion on the matter has been known for many years and many of you think I talk about it ad naseum. But the fact of the matter is this: given the tremendous ambiguity of MNCs in CFB in the past, a national championship in FBS is simply too big a void not to be filled. Who cares about the BCS and the AP? Their are 30 something different selectors in a given year and other teams got some votes. Even Miss America has a runner-up. Why the hell not?

As first reported on AOL Fanhouse, the Horned Frogs will leave the Mountain West to join the Big East in all sports, beginning July 1, 2012. The Frogs first season of Big East football would be the 2012-2013 season.

By some estimates, TCU will be located an average of 1,140 miles from the other Big East football league members.

The move comes amid estimates that the Mountain West will not gain automatic-qualification status in the BCS during the next evaluation window, due in large part to the departures of both BYU and Utah. According to BCS spokesman Bill Hancock, teams that leave a conference take their performance during the evaluation period with them to their new conferences.

In this decade, TCU has been a member of the WAC, Conference USA and MWC.

Additional reports indicate that the Big East has also extended an offer to Villanova to become the conference's tenth football member. The Dallas News reports that Villanova"seems to be dragging its feet about a decision", a move that would bring the school up from the FCS division to FBS. Villanovais currently a member of the Big East in nearly all other conference sports.

If Villanovadoes not join the Big East for football, then the University of Central Florida is expected to receive a formal invitation to join for the 2012-2013 season.

BYU's best-case scenario is for the Big 12 to expand and call the Cougars. But even then, BYU would need the fit to be right (no Sunday play, use of BYU-TV). BYU's mission, the bigger picture demanded by its sponsoring religion, dictates the facilities on campus receive significant usage. The Big 12 is an ESPN conference and it understands the need for a presence in the West since ESPN's WAC is now injured, Colorado is gone, and competitively the Pac-10 might be headed for a renewal with rival Fox.

With only ten confirmed members for 2012, what are the possibilities of BYU joining the Big 12?

While often considered a "small" school, the Cougars would instantly become the third largest member in terms of enrollment behind Texas and Texas A&M, according to Wikipedia. BYU also brings a string of football sellouts to what would be the fourth largest stadium in the Big 12.

BYU also sports world-class broadcast television facilities, which the Big 12 has already indicated its member schools are free to use at their discretion.

BYU definitely has a passionate fan base. It's not nearly the size of, say, the Longhorns fan base, but at one point the Cougars owned five of the ten largest television audiences in ESPN football history. To put it simply, BYU football brings in viewers. And after spending years relegated to the low distribution .mtn network, BYU is looking to bring Cougar football back to the masses.

Adding BYU to the Big 12 would bring the conference to eleven teams, which also opens the door to further conference expansion. By adding the Cougars, the Big 12 would have the perfect opening to pursue TCU or Arkansas. And the addition of the Salt Lake City market would effectively draw a line in the sand against the Pac 10's television plans.

Sound off, guys, should the Big 12 pursue BYU?

Reports claim that BYU is leaving the Mountain West Conference and will become a football independent, starting in the 2011 season. The expected announcement, which is said to be pending the approval of the LDS Church, might (might!) make the Cougars "the Notre Dame of the west." MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson is pretty much speechless.

In a pre-emptive move to keep Boise State committed to join the MWC, the Mountain West will expand to include Fresno State and Nevada, both from the WAC.

With the departure of Nevada and Fresno State, the WAC is left with just six members for 2011, two less than the NCAA requires. The only plan - for now - seems to be for the WAC to sue both Nevada and Fresno State.

Ironically enough, the reports claim that the Cougars were to join the WAC in all non-football sports, but - with only six confirmed members for 2011 - the WAC does not have enough members to be recognized as a conference by the NCAA. In other words, BYU may have single-handily destroyed the WAC by leaving the MWC... only to find itself headed back MWC in all other sports.

What does this mean for the MWC and BYU as it relates to the BCS? Fanblogs alum Ben Prather sounds off.

Utah becomes the fourth team to change conferneces this summer, joining Colorado in the PAC 10. Colorado is set to join in 2012 and the date for Utah has not yet been announced. The PAC 10 originally planned to set the expansion field by the end of the year to be implemented change for the 2012 season. They might move up the date to 2011 now that they are way ahead of scheule and Nebraska is already leaving the Big 12 in 2011.

If the move is in 2012 Utah and Bosie State will count for the MWC in the next BCS automatic qualification determination for 2012 and 2013, and the MWC will be very close. If the move is in 2011 Utah will count for the PAC 10 and the MWC will be not as close.

All I am saying is its about darn time! I have been shouting out for the need for this for, well since I found Fanblogs.com in 2003. Actually before that too, I just can't document that as well. Boise State should fill our shoes well in the MWC. Maybe we can meet in the Rose Bowl, if the ducks alight just right.

(Say in 2012 Utah winning the PAC 10, Boise State earning an automatic qualification as the highest ranked non-AQ winner and the Big 10 going to the NCG. By contract the next time the PAC 10 or Big 10 champion goes to the NCG and a team from outside the BCS earns an AQ that team is going to the Rose Bowl.)

This should just about wind down this years expansion hoopla but more changes appear to be on the horizon for next year. For now I think we all have enough expansion fatigue to let the dust settle a bit.

Except maybe the WAC inviting a few FCS teams. They can do that whenever they want and no one would really notice. Except maybe the fine people of Montana.

Now I go back to celebrating, until the realization that Utah's performance the next few years will be a referendum on the claim "undefeated team like Utah and Boise State in the MWC or WAC would have three or four additional losses if they were in a BCS conference" sets in.

For the record, now that Utah is in a BCS league my disdain for the BCS is not tempured. I still hate the BCS as passionately as ever. The logic just lines up more with Kansas State fan's reasoning. But that is a topic for another day.

Here's a quick what we know, what we can surmise....

- Colorado is officially joining the Pac10. It's unclear as to whether the Pac10 intends to hold at 11 teams, but we should expect the Pac10 to seek to add at least one additional member. For years the argument against expansion centered around the round-robin schedule format and - with 11 schools - that format is officially out the window for college football. Adding one more school would give the conference the option to conduct a CFB championship game in some of the largest television markets in the country. Does the Pac10 stop at 12 (Texas??) or expand further with Big12/MWC/WAC teams???

- The Big10 will have 12 teams with the addition of Nebraska. Will they stand pat at 12 teams or expand to 16 as had been rumored?

- The SEC has said that they will not sit idly by if the Big10 expands. Sports Illustrated has confirmed that the SEC has held discussions with Texas A&M. Is that prelude to further SEC expansion? Who, in addition to the Aggies, are on the SEC radar?

- The ACC & Big East seem to be awfully quiet. Are they targets or could a merger be on the table for the two conferences?

- The MWC will not offer membership to Boise State at this time, setting themselves up to be the home of any Big12 refugees. Is the MWC destined to become a BCS conference by default?

DISCUSS!!!

A lot of buzz the past few days over the looming sanctions to be taken out on USC for the Reggie Bush Incident (RBI). Although the hammers over at the NCAA know how to stretch a plot out better than the producers of Lost, sports talking heads are beginning to mumble about what they think will happen. Most believe that some if not all games that Reggie Bush participated in could be vacated. If any games during the 2004 season were involved, that could lead to USC being declared retroactively ineligible for that title. Most seem to believe that will be the case, and should the title be vacated, these writers have an idea who should be elevated to that lofty status: Auburn.

Clay Travis over at The Fanhouse lays out his case:

"First, keep in mind that Auburn finished 13-0 and No. 2 in the country in the final 2004 poll. That season USC defeated Oklahoma 55-19 to win the BCS title. Both of those teams, USC and Oklahoma, started the season 1 and 2 and Auburn, which wasn't expected to be as good as it was behind Jason Campbell at quarterback, began the season ranked 17th in one poll and 18th in the other. Even though Auburn ran roughshod over the SEC and everyone else in the regular season, outscoring opponents by a total of 401-134, the Tigers were left behind by an unjust BCS, finishing third in the final BCS standings."

"In most sports the voting doesn't matter, but in college football it's integral to the final champion; the reason we all watch. Sure, voting for a champion is a flawed system, but in 2004 it still represented a legitimate way to crown a champion. It's how we ended up with split champs in 2003. If USC gets hit with sanctions, the BCS will reclaim its trophy and the rest of us -- that sorry lot of us who are college football die hards -- will be left with nothing to show for the entirety of the 2004 season. That's a much bigger wrong than retroactively rewarding a team that deserves a championship."

Kevin Scarbinsky over at the Birmingham News, urges Auburn to step up ever more slightly and even implore the University of Alabama model:

"What should Auburn do six years later? Please. That’s easy. Accept it. Celebrate it. And never, ever apologize for it. In other words, Auburn should follow Alabama’s lead. After all, the Crimson Tide has a lot more experience with the national championship thing. Alabama hasn’t filled a trophy case and built a statue for every national title that everyone from the Dunkel Index to Dunkin’ Donuts has tried to throw at it, but the school has said yes more often than not."

Then we had Jay Coulter over at Auburn blog Track Em Tigers:

"Would a better late than never title change things for the players and the fans? Not really. Most Auburn people I know feel quite comfortable believing Auburn was as much the champion of 2004 as USC. When you don't meet head-to-head how can you think otherwise? With four first round draft choices on that team, you have to believe Auburn would have had a shot.Being formally recognized for something you plainly deserve is always nice. But let's not kid ourselves. A belated national title can never make up for the injustice. It's like the guy that serves 30 years in prison only to be released after new evidence is presented exonerating him. It's great when it happens, but it would have been a million times sweeter had it happened during the trial."

Then there was yours truly, oh, about two years ago:

"So, are we just to vacate the 2004 season from the MNC roles, or is Miss First-Runner Up going to get a chance to wear the crown? Maybe conference championships can be successfully vacated over the years, but not so with MNCs. Know and understand this: NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE TOO IMPORTANT IN OUR SPORT TO BE LEFT VACATED. It is one void that will always be filled."

Keep in mind, the results still aren't in. No one's fate has been decided. But if this scenario DOES go down, what's the fair thing to do?

At first glance, it would seem to reward teams that played a tougher schedule rather than padding their record with cupcakes. The change would also give bowls more flexibility to create the most interesting matchup, potentially boosting revenues for struggling bowl committees.

Matt Sanderson, co-founder of Playoff PAC, told the San Diego Union Times that the rule could allow bowls with open slots for at-large teams to select power-conference teams with 6-6 records over smaller-conference teams with winning records.

Sanderson points to this season's GMAC Bowl, which took 9-3 Troy as an at-large team. Under the revised rules, the GMAC Bowl could have offered the at-large slot to 6-6 Notre Dame.

While the new provision still needs an OK by the greater NCAA, most rule revisions that make it out of committee are approved.

Suffice to say... no one wants to see a bad 6-6 team stink it up in a marquee bowl game. The reality is that - with new bowls coming on in Yankee Stadium and the Cotton Bowl - there are going to be 70 teams in bowl games this year. If a bowl needs to dig deep and get an at-large team, I would prefer them to create the most interesting game they can.

No disrespect intended, but I would *much* rather see a hypothetical 6-6 Southern Cal as an at-large against Alabama, for example, over a 7-5 Louisiana Monroe.

Just sayin.

A Salt Lake City TV station is speculating that sources may be indicating that Utah could possibly be invited to join the PAC-10 at some point in the near future, and that Colorado might defect from the Big 12 as well. Again, this is pure speculation, but what else do we have to hold onto during the dead season between NSD and spring drills? Now much of this folly hinges on anticipated moves that a Big 10 expansion might bring, so keep that in mind. Should the Big Ten go to divisional play, that would leave the PAC and the Big East as the conferences left out in the cold, and we know that the traditional Rose Bowl participants are monkey see, monkey do.

The PAC's TV contract is expiring soon and the gold standard now is to have a conference championship game, especially if you ever hope to attract SEC-like money. But why let the Big Ten choose first? With only three independents out there and little chance of landing Notre Dame, the prime reason might be that the ripple effect will only be a east-coast, west-coast thing. Poaching teams from another conference is going to be like a game of musical chairs, but in the end, smaller teams may get a seat at the adult table of established conferences and larger teams may scramble to be moving on up to the east side..

The Mountain West may lose Utah, but would it pick up another team, merge back into the WAC, or fold, with members falling where they may? What about MWC stablemate BYU? Why wouldn't the PAC look to draft BYU instead of poaching Colorado from the Big 12? Seems that BYU doesn't play any sporting events on Sundays, for religious reasons, and the PAC-10 homey don't play dat. Alas, greener pastures with the Denver TV market might be in the sites of new commissioner Larry Scott. If Colorado did make the jump, and being landlocked by oh, say 1000 miles, could a conference name change be forthcoming? Maybe The Big PAC-12 with Ocean Front?

And why no respect for the Big 12? Seemingly, they're mentioned more often for losing members than the Democratic National Convention. Missouri to the Big 10(11)12)? Now Colorado to the PAC? Someone check the seams from when they welded those guys together from the old Big 8 and Southwest conferences. Does no one like playing with those Texas boys besides Arkansas? Regardless, teams must give at least one year's notice of departure, so for football, that means if they declared by sometime this summer, they wouldn't actually play in the new conference until the 2011 season.

And how'd you like to be the scheduler for that?

Yeah, yeah, I know. We had our obligatory post-season playoff discussion just last week. But no sooner are the last comments made on that thread than the US Justice Department finally answers Senator Orin Hatch's request to consider anti-trust legalities with the current state of the BCS. What Hatch got was a definite-maybe that the DOJ will consider the matter carefully and that the Obama administration may possibly look into whether or not consumer protection laws are being violated by the current BSC fiasco arrangement.

Quick history lesson here: The Sherman Anti-Trust act is the legislation most often quoted that governs over monopolies and such, and the one you will be hearing ad nauseum. Not to be confused with the Sherman anti-tank round, although the end results may be similar. Even you non-attorney types should know a little bit about it. It's been used to break up the likes of Standard Oil and many a early 20th century railroad, not to mention Ma Bell in the early 1980s. Another quick history lesson: On the campaign trail, Barack Obama threatened to "throw his weight around" concerning moving CFB towards a playoff if he was elected president, but that may now be hollow sentiment, especially coming off light weights being thrown around in gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey and a certain senatorial race in Massachusetts. And lastly, Hatch had filed the inquiry after the 2008 season when undefeated Utah was left out of BCS contention and his constituents were left with a bad taste in their mouths for the second time in four years.

For the record, I'm for an eventual playoff and I think most fans are, too, but it's highly doubtful that anyone wants to be made to do it at the point of the gun. Naturally, when you're dealing with over 120 public and private institutions and a large faction of athletic conferences, not to mention 140 years of precedence, change can come real slow. Like national debt payoff kinda slow. But also for the record, I think there is a strong possbility of the government having a case, were they to decide to pursue it. Alas, I can understand the defenses that the BCS and the Old Guard are going to present, too. I'm both sides of the coin.

The main sticking point of a possible DOJ case might be the uneven way that the BCS money is distributed. BCS conferences get more than the mid-majors--which seems unfair on it's surface. But the big boys are the ones who bring in the cash. And it's that 100+ years of name recognition that facilitates that end. Who had heard of Boise State outside of 7 years ago? Look at CFB like a business. It can take decades to build up your brand to become a household name. The final arbiter is the TV ratings and the millions it brings in. People vote with their viewership. And who's going to win out, prime-time programming or Leave it to Beaver reruns on Univisión?

So the ultimate downfall of the BCS may be their attempt to spread that wealth around, seemingly in line with the notions of the current administration--but maybe it didn't go quite far enough. Originally seeking to only match up the #s 1 and 2 teams in a de facto one-game playoff, the BCS drew the line in the sand and divided the haves and the have-nots--a bold notion in itself, but made the mistake of trying to share with the have-nots both some glory and some money. Is no good deed to go unpunished?

Granted, the money that the BCS brings in would pale in comparison to what a playoff would generate, and maybe there might be some inequity to it, but it's better than the old bowl system, which was really stacked on the side of the heavyweights. Alas, those days are gone forever. There's no way that CFB would go back to the old bowl system if the BCS, under pressure from the government, simply disbanded rather than morph into some sort of playoff. That would just be patently absurd. But what is fair, both with participation and revenues?

Forget about any populist sentiment you may have for just a second. The teams are still matched up by POLL rankings. It's still a beauty contest. Theoretically, any team has a chance to win it all, but they're still going to have to be elected to the homecoming court. Cinderella nobodies have won MNCs in the not so distant past. Miami in 1983 and BYU in 1984 come to mind. But typically, consistent national rankings over decades for established programs are what give them the consideration over the johnny-come-latelys in the polls. Maybe Boise State and Utah are establishing themselves right now. I wouldn't deny that, but I don't want government fiat replacing good old-fashioned hard work and boot-strapping

We can all remember when Miami and FSU were nobodies, and can see how far they've come--but over decades, not instantly. They earned it. I've said for years that the stars of mid-major conferences have to do more than moan and whine about their status. It's hard to respect your Mountain West or WAC schedule when stacked up against a SEC or Big 10 one. That's why you have to load your OOC slate with BCS teams. Boise played Oregon last year, and plays Virginia Tech and Oregon State this fall. That's the way to do it. Play anyone, anytime, any where. If I was an AD of a top school, I'd call up BSU. Tell them you'd agree to a two'fer with them: two games at your house and one on the Smurf Turf--provided it's an September game.

My gut feeling? This is all just a warning, with nothing to come of it--for now. Polling data would suggest that such a move would widely be seen by average citizens to just be government meddling, and that the weight of the blame would fall on the president, something he doesn't need at the moment with his own popularity fading faster than a 14 point 1st quarter Auburn lead. Let it keep evolving. It's getting there. I think a big push from outside might be disasterous. It gives us a little bit more to talk about though--until national signing day.

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Date/Time/TV Bowl Site Matchup Saturday Dec. 19 2 :30 pm ET ESPN New Mexico Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Albuquerque, NM University Stadium Wyoming vs. Fresno State Saturday Dec. 19 8:00 pm ET ESPN St. Petersburg Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks St. Petersburg, FL Tropicana Field Rutgers vs. Central Florida Sunday Dec. 20 8:00 pm ET ESPN R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks New Orleans, LA Louisiana Superdome Southern Miss vs. Middle Tenn St Tuesday Dec. 22 8:00 pm ET ESPN MAACO Bowl Las Vegas Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Las Vegas, NV Sam Boyd Stadium BYU vs. Oregon State Wednesday Dec. 23 8:00 pm ET ESPN San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium Utah vs. Cal Thursday Dec. 24 8:00 pm ET ESPN Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Honolulu, HI Aloha Stadium SMU vs. Nevada Saturday Dec. 26 4:30 pm ET ESPN Meineke Car Care Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Charlotte, NC Bank of America Stadium North Carolina vs. Pitt Saturday Dec. 26 5 :00 pm ET ESPN Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Detroit, MI Ford Field Ohio U vs. Marshall Saturday Dec. 26 8:00 pm ET ESPN Emerald Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks San Francisco, CA AT&T Park Boston College vs. USC Sunday Dec. 27 8:15 pm ET ESPN Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Nashville, TN LP Field Clemson vs. Kentucky Monday Dec. 28 5:00 pm ET ESPN AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Shreveport, LA Independence Stadium Texas A&M vs. Georgia Tuesday Dec. 29 4:30 pm ET ESPN EagleBank Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Washington, DC RFK Stadium Temple vs. UCLA Tuesday Dec. 29 8:00 pm ET ESPN Champs Sports Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Orlando, FL Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium Miami vs. Wisconsin Wednesday Dec. 30 4:30 pm ET ESPN Roady's Humanitarian Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Boise, ID Bronco Stadium Bowling Green vs. Idaho Wednesday Dec. 30 8:00 pm ET ESPN Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium Nebraska vs. Arizona Thursday Dec. 31 2:00 pm ET NFL Network Texas Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Houston, TX Reliant Stadium Missouri vs. Navy Thursday Dec. 31 Time TBA ESPN Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Fort Worth, TX Amon G. Carter Stadium Air Force vs. Houston Thursday Dec. 31 12:00 pm ET CBS Brut Sun Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks El Paso, TX Sun Bowl Stadium Stanford vs. Oklahoma Thursday Dec. 31 5:30 pm ET NFL Network Insight Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Tempe, AZ Sun Devil Stadium Minnesota vs. Iowa State Thursday Dec. 31 7:30 pm ET ESPN Chick-fil-A Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Atlanta, GA Georgia Dome Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee Friday Jan. 1 11:00 am ET ESPN Outback Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium Auburn vs. Northwestern Friday Jan. 1 1:00 pm ET CBS Konica Minolta Gator Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Municipal Stadium FSU vs. West Virginia Friday Jan. 1 1:00 pm ET ABC Capital One Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Orlando, FL Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium Penn State vs. LSU Friday Jan. 1 5:00 pm ET ABC Rose Bowl presented by Citi Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl Ohio State vs. Oregon Friday Jan. 1 8:30 pm ET FOX Allstate Sugar Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks New Orleans, LA Superdome Florida vs. Cincinnati Saturday Jan. 2 12:00 pm ET ESPN2 International Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Toronto, Canada Rogers Centre South Florida vs. Northern Illinois Saturday Jan. 2 2 :00 pm ET ESPN PapaJohns.com Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Birmingham, AL Legion Field Connecticut vs. South Carolina Saturday Jan. 2 2:00 pm ET FOX AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Arlington, TX Cowboys Stadium Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss Saturday Jan. 2 5:30 pm ET ESPN AutoZone Liberty Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Memphis, TN Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium East Carolina vs. Arkansas Saturday Jan. 2 9 :00 pm ET ESPN Valero Alamo Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks San Antonio, TX Alamodome Michigan State vs. Texas Tech Monday Jan. 4 8:00 pm ET FOX Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Glendale, AZ University of Phoenix Stadium TCU vs. Boise State Tuesday Jan. 5 8:00 pm ET FOX FedEx Orange Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Miami, FL Dolphin Stadium Georgia Tech vs. Iowa Wednesday Jan. 6 7 :00 pm ET ESPN GMAC Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Mobile, AL Ladd Peebles Stadium Troy vs. Central Michigan Thursday Jan. 7 8:00 pm ET ABC BCS National Championship Game Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl Alabama vs. Texas

The 2009 college football season will be capped by exciting college football bowl games, including the 2009 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the 2009 Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona, the 2009 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, the 2009 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida and the 2009 BCS National Championship Game in Pasadena, CA.

The best college football teams from the major conferences, including the Big10 conference, Big 12 conference, Pac 10 conference, ACC conference, Big East conference, SEC conference, and Mountain West conference will face off in college football bowl games throughout December and into January.

If you're looking for updated matchups, odds, insights, betting lines and online wagering for the college football bowl games, please be sure to try BangTheBook.com.

Officials from the SEC have already confirmed their participation to The Birmingham News. Under the terms, the Gator will get "at least" the sixth pick of bowl-eligible SEC teams. The pick position could vary on a year-to-year basis, but more details would be announced once the Big 10 announces its bowl agreements next week.

The Gator Bowl is also in final talks to become part of a broadcast deal with ESPN, leaving CBS, in a move that could signal the end of the exclusive broadcast window that has been previously negotiated for the Capital One Bowl.

With the Cotton Bowl moving to January 2nd, the result of the Gator Bowl agreement means that all three non-BCS games on New Years Day will feature SEC vs Big 10 matchups.

With the end of the ACC / Big East relationship in the Gator Bowl, the ACC and Big East have signed an agreement with the Champs Bowl which will essentially recreates the conferences past Gator relationship in Orlando.

Under the terms to begin with the 2010 season, the ACC will send its #3 selection to the Champs Bowl to face the Big East's #2 selection or Notre Dame. The Champs can select Notre Dame once over the four year agreement if the Irish have seven wins and are within two wins of the #2 Big East school.

With the Gator Bowl now aligned with SEC, the Independence Bowl finds itself as odd-man out in the SEC bowl mix after 15 years with the conference. Instead, the Independence Bowl will look to sign a new bowl matchup between the ACC and Mountain West.

And they failed.

Using the emulated BCS automatic qualification standards the WAC leads the MWC from 2006-2008. 2008 was the only year in the past 3 where the MWC outperformed the WAC. Currently the gap between Boise State and TCU is roughly equal to the value of the MWC having a second team in the top 25. This week will help shape how they rank in the third criteria, average ranking of all teams in teh BCS computeres.

Top:
TCU handled their historic SWC rival SMU, as is the norm this decade. Few questions were answered in this game and TCU remains as big a question mark at this point this year as Utah was at this point last year.

Utah was off so we gained little new information, hough Oregon continued to redeem themselves.

BYU handled their instate rival Utah State by the exact score Utah beat them to open the season. Like the weekends for TCU and Utah we know about as much as we did last year.

Middle:
Air Force looks to have lost the commander in cheif trophy to Navy again this year. The possibility remains that Army could surprise everyone and claim it, adding a loss in the MWC only remaining OOC game of the regular season.

CSU lost a close battle to a surprising Idaho team.

UNLV got destroyed by Nevada, who looked like they spent the first four weeks looking ahead to this one game.

Bottom:
SDSU prevented New Mexico State from upending two MWC teams in as many weeks.

Wyoming also secured a win in a close game at Florida Atlantic.

New Mexico showed up and got payed by Texas Tech.

Summary
The MWC is 5-9 vs. BCS opponents. This gives them a PCT of 0.357, less than the 0.400 required by their own standards for a BCS automatic qualification.

Their 6-4 record over the WAC should give them a slight lead in the BCS computers for the third criteria, but prevent them from being anywhere near warranting a BCS automatic qualification at this time.

So what now?
The MWC's case for this season will ride on whether they can again get 3 teams into the top 25, or one into a BCS bowl. TCU could make for an interesting race with Boise State, but more than likely Boise State would have to lose one to open the door.

If Boise State goes to a BCS bowl, this would give the WAC 3 years of BCS participation to the MWC's 2. If they are selected over an undefeated TCU, who beat them in last years Poinsettia Bowl, this would help atone for Boise State being left out for Utah in 2004 and 2008, a team they have beat the last three meetings.

Utah can not lose to both TCU and BYU and getinto the top 25. A loss in the final week to Utah likely puts BYU out of the top 25 as well, unless they beat TCU first. The only way three MWC teams finish ranked is if they split and all beat every other MWC team.

Not much more will change until the bowls are announced. At that time I will continue with round 6, followed by the final count after the bowls.

Top
TCU secured another win in the MWC's marque game of the week. Clemson is a solid team but at this point looks to be close to Georgia Tech who could not manage Miami. TCU climbs into the top 10 in Coaches Poll and narrowed its gap behind Boise State in all polls.

Utah got some credibility back when Oregon manhandled California. A solid win over Louisville did not hurt. Losing RB Matt Asiata for the season might limit their ability down the stretch. Utah should be ranked in the top 25.

BYU handled their first conference game by ending CSU's undefeated season. Their loss to FSU looked more critical with FSU's loss to USF. Oklahoma has not faced any stiff competition since BYU and their game against Miami this week could bring some clarity to this picture. If Miami wins big it could indicate that BYU looks to be behind TCU and Utah again this year.

Middle
UNLV lost a road trip to Wyoming in their conference opener. This raises questions about where these two teams stand, as Wyoming had been looking like a team the MWC would rather keep solidly in the bottom by OOC play.

Air Force took care of business against SDSU.

Bottom
New Mexico lost to their in state rival New Mexico Statein what looks like a sinking ship.

Summary
2-0 vs. BCS opponents is never a bad week. While this season has taken a step back from the levels achieved by the MWC in 2008, it is still better than where they were any year prior. All in all, i'd say the MWC has not lived up to their claims in 2009, and will need a good showing in the bowls to change this.

So far the MWC is 5-8 vs. BCS opponents. The MWC's proposal required conferences to maintain a record above 0.400 to determine automatic qualifications. With one game remaining this will require a win for this year, or a winning record vs. BCS opponents in the bowls. From 2006-2009 the MWC is 27-32. The MWC would have to lose the next 8 games to fall below 0.400 over a four year window.

Preview
Week 5 features the last round of significant OOC play before all teams settle into the conference schedules. Only one OOC game remains after this week (Army at Air Force). Anything worse than 2 losses would be bad for week 5, but 5 games will be close and one loss appears certain.

This week starts with BYU vs. Utah State on their traditional Friday game time. This game is held on Friday because the LDS church has general conference this Saturday.

Air Force will play Navy in a game that should determine the Commander in Chief trophy.

New Mexico faces Texas Tech in the MWC's last regular season game against BCS opponents. New Mexico is not Houston.

UNLV travels to Nevada to face their in state rival, who will be hungry to regain credibility at their expense.

Wyoming gets to travel to Florida Atlantic for a chance to build their claim to join the middle of the MWC.

TCU hosts rival SMU in what should be a solid win.

SDSU hosts New Mexico State, who would love to secure two consecutive wins vs. MWC opponents.

CSU travels to Idaho for an unexpected battle of 3-1 teams. Could the Vandals be a challenger for Boise State this year? The winner of this game might even get a vote or two in the ORV section of the polls.

Utah plays the mighty BYE, who manages to play dozens of teams each week.

For a MWC fan this weekend was devastating. While not the end of the world, the MWC's bite has failed to live up to its bark in week 3. The top of the MWC, its alleged strength, took serious loses and the middle and bottom did nothing to mitigate these losses.

While last week was a minor set back, this week set the MWC back beyond the gain for BYU's upset of Oklahoma and started to cut into the credibility from Utah's Sugar Bowl win.

Top
BYU hosted FSU as a 7 point favorite and lost 54-28. As a result, a chunk of their turf will now reside in Tallahassee. They also drop from the top 10 to near #25. Somehow they got a bit of a USC effect and remain above the team that beat them in the coaches poll. This year BYU's defense began shifting their focus to increase speed. This game showed they still have a lot of work to do here.

Oregon was favored to beat Utah by 4 and covered with a 31-24 win. Utah struggled in the second quarter to get any kind of momentum but managed to close the 14 point gap in the second half. This game made both teams look like they had some serious work to do before going into their conference slate.

TCU came out sloppy against Texas State and allowed them to stay within 14 until TCU went on a 21 point run in the fourth quarter. I can only hope they were looking towards this weeks game at Clemson.

Middle
UNLV scored one of the bright moments for the conference by coming back to beat Hawaii 34-33, helping to verify that the middle of the MWC is better than the middle of the WAC.

Air Force won their first conference game against New Mexico 37-13. Frankly, if New Mexico wins a game in conference this year it will be bad for the conference. They took this spot from SDSU this year.

At the start of the season CSU and Nevada looked like it might be a good test for CSU, but Nevada has struggled mightily since then and the 35-20 win by CSU is diminished. This does solidify their place in the middle of the conference, which was questionable to start the year.

Bottom
SDSU lost their road trip to Idaho 34-20. Apparently the bottom of the WAC is competitive with the bottom of the MWC.

Wyoming was shut out by Colorado 24-0, and Toledo put up 50+ on them? Wyoming is almost right with New Mexico

Summary
The MWC went 0-3 against BCS conference members. While last week brought the middle into question, this week took a bite out of the top of the conference. The MWC has lost the credibility it earned the opening week.

It appears the MWC was enjoying a housing market like bubble which has now burst. The result is that rankings, like housing prices, have restored to their proper market value.

I compared this years week 3 simulated BCS standings with those of the past 2 years. The non-AQ conferences went from 2 to 4 to 4 teams in the top 25 while the MWC went from 0 to 2 to 2. The MWC appears to be near where it sat last year after TCU lost to Oklahoma, which is still far better than they were any year prior.

They will need to finish strong and have a solid bowl season to avoid being dismissed completely.

Must wins
The MWC only has 3 out of conference games this week and really needs to win them all to gain credibility.
2 out of three will maintain the current meh. None of these games will come easy.

TCU travels to the much anticipated game against Clemson.

Utah hosts Louisville in the only game between the Big East and the MWC this season. This game will draw far too much attention in the MWC vs. Big East debate, no matter how the game goes.

New Mexico host in state rival New Mexico State in a largely one sided rivalry. New Mexico is way down as they break in a new coaching staff and should make a game of it. A win here would reduce how bad New Mexico, the likely bottom of the MWC, is perceived.

Conference play
Undefeated CSU is getting a few points in the polls and could make a significant jump with a win over BYU, at the cost of knocking BYU out of the top 25. Getting a fourth team into top 25 striking distance would be a huge plus for the MWC.

Air Force and UNLV should handle SDSU and Wyoming respectively.

Closing
The next installment will be next Tuesday night with the final regular season installment the following week, as only one game out of conference remains after that point.

Once bowl schedules are announced an installment will follow, and the concluding installment will come after the bowls are finished.

P.S. TE and WEA, we need some more SEC and ACC threads. What gives? ; )