Top Ten MWC OOC games

[Cougarbib]

College football rightnow - is bout not losing games. I don't like it that way - but that is how it works. And if the MWC wants to be an AQ conference - every article on this topic points out that to date the MWC is meeting all of the criterial except too many ooc losses by the bottom feeders. So occasional wins against great teams do not offset the losses. I would rather take crap for 2 more years about weak schedules, like BSU does (note how many BCS Bowls they have played in while we have none - oh and they won big games - when it counts - in a BCS Bowl) than barely miss on being an AQ conference.

The BCS Chair was recently quoted as saying all the MWC needs to do is keep doing what it has been doing. The ADs of the Big 3 or 4 shoulda listened to that. ALl we need is for the top to be a little off th enext two years while the bottom continues to offer itself up as sacrifical lambs that win a big one or come close 25% of the time to make us all feel good as the conference gets passed over again. Then BSU (might be in the MWC when this all comes down), Utah, and BYU all start scheduling games to reduce the criticism of schedules. And Texas in 2011, for instance, was not made years in advance and like the "neutral" game with Oklahoma does not bring anyone to high altitude in Provo. Imagine if we got a game in SLC or Provo for playing Oklahoma and Texas in their back yard - maybe we beat them twice. Last year, we did get a lucky break in the Oklahoma game. Maybe we would have won anyway - but it was an unnecessary risk now given the stakes for AQ. After we are AQ - things change a bit - but even then - in the CRAP - system we have now - it is a beauty contest for the NC game. You can't lose and get in unless you are 1 of about 6-8 teams and we are not one of those teams. To be clear - I am all for a playoff system and a chance to go head to head with the big boys when it really matters and do it regularly.

Back in the day - when I was a pup - I totally agreed with the sentiment that we should play the big name teams no matter how unlevel the playing field and show them that we could beat anybody - and was naive enough to think we would almost always beat them instead of rarely beating them. Scheduling up after the 1984 schedule criticism nearly ruined Cougar football, got Norm Chow run out of town, and caused Lavell to retire early due to fan criticism when he had the audacity to lose 4 or 5 games a season - heaven forbid going 6-6 his last season.

Level the playing field and equalize the resources and go home and away and end the beauty contests and I would be happy to play anybody anytime - not just any place though when that place is 2 time zones away and almost always at their place.

Hawaii took that bait right after their highly criticised BCS Bowl team go whipped half way round the world from their home field and opened up at Florida the next season with a brand new QB and a brand new HC. That was stupid.

I will give U a top 5 or 10 list - but u never answered my question.

Do u want the top most interesting games or just the top most impressive opponents. I also stand by my statement about CSU and CU being boring. THey are just two plain boring teams. So I will post next - most interesting games to watch - and not many of them are interesting. And if it was scheduled the way I suggest, especially for the bottom feeders, those games would not be very interesting to me either - but they might serve a purpose in two years.

Bib

[Cougarbib]

I am going to rank these games based on which ones I would bother (pay money or go out of my way) to watch if I followed the MWC but did not attend any of the schools (attempt t remove bias from consideration).

National interest (which ones would someone back east stay up late to watch) ranking would be different order and not very many. If I was a fan or alum of teams like SDSU, UNLV, CSU, NM, and Wyoming that are too boring to watch most of the time no matter who they are playing, they might show up more in there. I would actually go out of my way to watch BYU play almost anybody - cuz I love the Cougs - so I tried to remove myself a bit from that bias or every BYU game would be at the top. I also went to Utah - and although Utah shows mostly near the top - that is the case even with Utah bias removed. Their games are more interesting generally speaking. My best friend's son plays for UW - but I tried to remove that bias too.

TCU / OSU - This game will be more competitive than some of you think and TCU will be a very interesting team to watch in 2010.
Utah / ND - The Utes could win any of thier games but TCU - but may be jeopardizing what couldhave been a magical season by playing too many 50/50 OOC games
Utah / PItt - This game favors Pitt and is most likely the one Utah should have skipped this year. Depending on Wynn and the Ute D - this might be a good game.
BYU / Wash - UW is catching BYU as vulnerable as we have been in a long time and UW is on a definite upswing. Bad opener for rebuilding year - 40/60 odds.
AFA / Navy - great match-up for teams with some level of national following.
AFA / Oklahoma - would be stupid to play this mostyears. maybe ven this year - but AFA has a 50/50 chance on this one.
Utah / Iowa State - See above Utah comments. But this one will be competitive.
BYU / Nevada - BYU 55/45 - but this one worries me this year.
TCU / SMU - SMU might just be ready to sneak up on some folks although quite an underdog in this one.
BYU / FSU - We should never travel this far to play a regular season game - Jet Lag. Hopefully the turf won't be loose like last year - seemed to jinx us.
SDSU / Missouri - SDSU is usually boring - but maybe they could sneak up on someone in this one.

The other games where our bottom feeders are fodder for a much better opponent - especially on the road - Most people won't tune into those - even though we will probably get lucky and scare a couple of them and maybe win one. I occasionally watch those games to sort of scout future in-conference opponents of BYU - but not if I have to go to any trouble to do so.

[BigCougsFan]

Cougarbib2-

My question from the first post was, what's your top ten games? Your opinion. So you answered it correctly.

Finally you answered it, but not finally to you, finally someone else gave their opinion of their top ten, instead of commenting on someone elses top ten.

All that talk and only two opinions of a top ten.

[Mars]

1. BYU-Utah
2. BYU-TCU
3. BYU-Florida State
4. BYU-Washington
5. BYU-Air Force
6. BYU-Nevada
7. BYU-Utah State
8. BYU-Colorado State
9. BYU-SDSU
10. BYU-UNLV

[scott715]

No order on these but my defintion is the games that could go either way and wins would strenghten our case for BCS (note that I did not include games that we really should win or those that we have little hope). Win the ones that we should and win these. Also a major upset or two would be nice. Most important are wins against Pac10 and Big10. Not on this list but if UNLV could pull the upset over Wisconsin would be great.

AF-Navy
BYU-UW
BYU-Nevada
CSU-CU
CSU-Nevada
SDSU-USU
UNLV-Nevada
Utah-Pitt
Utah-ND
TCU-OSU

[BigCougsFan]

I was thinking about Utah and Pitt.

I disagree with Cougarbib2 that Pitt is favored. I honestly believe Utah will dominate Pitt again. A repeat of the Fiesta Bowl a few years back. Pitt is not that great of a team year in and year out, but did put up 10 wins in a Big East conference last year. I would bet they'd finish 4th in the MWC on average... If that.

[Mingjai]

Wyoming beat Tennessee

I find this interesting, but by my count, Wyoming has beat more SEC teams in the past 10 years than BYU has beat in its history. Wyoming has beat both Tennessee and Ole Miss in the past ten years, while BYU's only win over an SEC team was Miss State (with losses to Miss State, Alabama, and Georgia).

[Cougarbib]

So who did Wyoming lose to in the SEC and other OOC rollover games they have played over the years - not that Wyoming football is at all interesting most yeras, but I seem to recall a number of rollovers.