This summer, the theme of college football was not who would step up and replace departed players or who would win the major conferences. The talk and hype, instead, revolved around conference realignment. Which teams would be good fits in this conference? What needs to be done in this conference? And when will this school join its new league?

Now that it’s all over and the season is only a few days away, there are some clear winners and losers. And looking at the Western Athletic Conference, it’s hard to find too many positives.

It began in June, when No. 3 Boise State, the prized jewel of the WAC, accepted an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference starting in the 2011 season. Fresno State and Nevada then accepted invitations to follow Boise State to the Mountain West. Their entrance dates into the conference have not yet been announced. But when they do go, it will leave just six teams in the WAC.

‘I think there’s probably a lot of questions all around the country (about our conference),’ Idaho head coach Robb Akey said Monday in the WAC coaches teleconference. ‘Nobody knows what in the world’s going to happen. We have no idea.’

The six teams left in the conference are Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, San Jose State and Utah State. Hawaii is the only one to have earned a Bowl Championship Series birth, but suffered a 41-10 thrashing against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl following the 2007 season. New Mexico State and Utah State have not gone to a bowl game over the last five years, while the other four remaining WAC teams have combined for just six bowl appearances in that time span.

Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada, on the other hand, have combined for 14 bowl appearances in that period, including Boise State’s two BCS bowl wins. For those three schools, it’s onto a MWC that appears to be on its way to becoming a BCS-caliber league.

And for Boise State head coach Chris Petersen, the possibility of acquiring an automatic BCS bid is a major factor when it comes to all of the conference realignment.

‘There’s no question about it,’ he said. ‘I think when you’re changing leagues and doing those type of things, that’s what everybody would prefer and like. If that happens, great. If it doesn’t, we’ve been fortunate the last few years to finagle another way into those games. But I think everybody would like that to happen.’

But for the six remaining WAC members, that possibility is almost purely a fantasy — unless the conference dissipates and its teams join BCS leagues.

All six head coaches said they weren’t concerning themselves with what the future holds for their conference. They said they addressed their players about it briefly during camp and have turned focus solely toward the upcoming season.

‘There’s a lot of changes, I think, coming in college football, and we really can’t concern ourselves with that,’ first-year Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes said. ‘What I have to do is just coach the team I’ve got, play the schedule that we have, and all the other stuff will work itself out. The more games we win, the more interest we create in our program, the better off we’re going to be.’

The Hawaiis, Idahos and Louisiana Techs will try to ignore what the future holds for their programs. Instead, they will try to focus on the upcoming season and what could be one of their last as conference opponents.

‘I was taught a long time ago, my momma told me, ‘Don’t worry about those things that you don’t control,” Idaho coach Akey said. ‘I don’t get to express an opinion. Nobody’s going to ask me or our players about who’s going to come into the WAC or who we end up playing. But I do know this: We get the opportunity to play every single one of them next year, and we can pay attention to it at that point in time.’

Games of the Week

No. 3 Boise State vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech

Monday, 8 p.m., ESPN

Landover, Md.

This is the marquee game of college football’s opening weekend, and as always when Top 10 teams collide, it has some major national championship implications.

Boise State starts the season with the highest ranking in school and conference history. Many believe if the Broncos can stay unbeaten, they could be the first non-BCS school to break into the national championship game in the BCS era. But a loss here all but eliminates that possibility for Boise, based on their weak conference schedule.

Virginia Tech has some big names returning in the backfield in the likes of quarterback Tyrod Taylor and Heisman Trophy candidate Ryan Williams at running back. The Atlantic Coast Conference championship looks like it will either go through Blacksburg, Va., or No. 13 Miami, and should the Hokies take the ACC crown, a win here could be the difference between a BCS bowl appearance and a national championship game.

No. 6 TCU vs. No. 24 Oregon State

Saturday, 7:45 p.m., ESPN

Arlington, Texas

Just like the Boise State-Virginia Tech matchup, this Top 25 game pits an upper echelon mid-major against a major player in a BCS conference.

TCU navigated its way to a BCS bowl for the first time last year but managed just 10 points in a 17-10 loss to Boise State. Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson insists the loss is behind his team and they are starting anew this season. TCU’s road back to the BCS starts with this matchup and could end here as well, as the Beavers are the only team on the Horned Frogs schedule ranked in the Top 25.

The Beavers are in the midst of a seemingly wide-open Pac-10 race after NCAA violations rocked Southern California this summer. Oregon State’s offense, led by the Rodgers brothers (Jacquizz at running back and James at wide receiver), will need to figure out how to put some points on the board against a solid TCU defense.

zjbrown@syr.edu

 

Published on August 31, 2010 at 12:00 pm