Back when recruiting was relatively equal (pre BCS), the teams that won consistently got rewarded with more fans, more funding, and ultimately the better recruits to keep the winning cycle going. The "BCS" has taken away all fairness in that consistent losers like Duke now have a marked advantage over teams like TCU, BYU, Boise State and Tulsa simply because they are "members" of the BCS.

Each year the separation in financial and recruiting advantages grow exponentially between the six scumbag conferences and the five of us "little guys" so to speak. Any time even the best of the non BCS schools hangs with the worst of the BCS schools it should be seen as a moral victory. So when we smack down or just beat any BCS school, each and every non BCS school should have the right to talk trash. We're like the ghetto poor kids fighting back against the spoiled rich kids even though they try to keep us down. We shouldn't even be close to the Big East or ACC in a given year for example, but we try. That's why the Boise over Oklahoma, Utah over Pitt, and TCU over Oklahoma wins for example are that much bigger. It's the haves losing to the have nots.

Well unfortunately, the outnumbered CUSA, MAC, and Sun Belt conferences have all been pretty much beaten down for the time being. The ACC, Big East, Big Ten, SEC and Big XII have all made sure those three other conferences get out recruited year after year by flashing those BCS dollars and exposure all over the place. That leaves the only place open for the have nots to try and make a stand is out west. I feel one of the reasons that the Mountain West and WAC have been able to persevere in spite of the BCS BS is that it's essentially two against one out west. It's the Pac-10 vs. the WAC and MWC. (Of course the Big XII steps in too now and then).

There are plenty of talented players in the western and Rocky Mountain states but the Pac-10 can only fill so many spots. Meanwhile the other big conferences are recruiting primarily in Texas, Florida and the East Coast. If a playoff or an upheavel in college football is truly going to happen, the WAC and the Mountain West have to keep winning year after year. And the biggest games they can win are against the Pac-10. The more times San Diego State beats Washington State, the more the perception swings away from the BCS aura out west. And the west is where most of our schools recruit. I know TCU and New Mexico heavily recruit Texas but even then most of their non Texan rosters seem to consist of kids from west of Texas rather than east. Of course East Coast fans won't care about the SDSU vs. Wazzou game, but they won't even give the Pac-10 their due anyway. But anything we can do to show recruits this is big time football no matter what BCS fans might say is a step in the right direction. If the MWC and WAC become as irrelevant as the other three non BCS conferences have become, there is no hope for any change in the future. The BCS schools will just say see how bad they are and just increase their advantages exponentially until we all just look like Louisiana Monroes.

Unfortunately the WAC and MWC have to root for each other against the BCS west. I think the most important games for the MWC this year are TCU @ Texas, CSU @ Colorado and the whole Pac-10 slate (Utah @ Oregon State, Arizona @ BYU, Cal @ Colorado State, BYU @ UCLA, San Diego State @ Washington State, UCLA @ Utah, San Diego State @ Arizona State, New Mexico @ Arizona, TCU @ Stanford, The Las Vegas Bowl, The Armed Forces Bowl).

And that is my rant. BEAT THE PAC-10!

don't forget that San Jose State faces Stanford again

the Spartans beat the trees last year in one of their best seasons ever

USC has both San Jose State and Hawaii scheduled as future OOC opponents, so they'll get their shot at the Trojans.

I have to admit ... I have never met more "non BCS school" friendly fans in the world then some of the posters on here. I feel like most people here root for the little guys as well as long as they aren't playing their school. It's just frustrating on the Mountain West message board when Big East or Pac-10 fans come over to remind us Mountain West fans how inferior our schools are. So props to all of you!

Heck, I still root for UM, meaning University of Montana, of course.

IMO, the solution lies in reforming pro sports - which is as likely as to happen as campaign finance reform. Pro sports have become another example in supply-side economics. It's obscene that pro sports stars earn so much money (while the less glamorous players can barely make ends meet). But, I can't fault them their greed while the teams’ owners put profits ahead of all else (witness the local tragedy: the SF Giants, a grossly overpaid star, a sold-out stadium and a losing team). LaMarcus Russell is the latest perpetrator/victim of all that is wrong with pro football. He has not signed a contract with the Raiders and could possible miss much of the season. Who’s the exploiter and who’s the exploited?

Ultimately, it’s the fans who lose – money, that is. At the college level, you can’t even get in the stadiums of many colleges unless you’re a student or an alum that gives gazillions of dollars. (My season tickets at Cal have gradually gotten higher and higher as the team has taken on bigger and bigger aspirations. My seats have also gotten farther and farther from center field. Was it actually more fun to go to the game when Cal was losing? That’s probably another rant.)

What to do? Cut salaries of star pro players, cut ticket prices, and generally make pro sports less about profit and more about playing. If that happens, colleges (and high schools and middle schools) will fall in line and a college freshman might begin to think less about the $30-million pro contract he might eventually sign.

Also, we could refuse in mass to pay our cable TV bills and force ESPN and FSN to reduce their fees.

But, as I said, the likelihood of any of this happening is next to zero. So, I just pour another glass of wine and turn the channel and enjoy all the hot players.

Smile (and GO DUCKS),
Rob