16 For ’16: Group Of 5 Football Teams Good Enough For Power 5

http://collegefootballnews.com/2016/group-of-5-football-teams-power-5



BYU Comes in #2.



"Put the Cougars in the Pac-12 for the next decade, and they’d have a better record than more than half of the league’s current members."

#2 is somewhat of an outrage.

hawkwing wrote:
#2 is somewhat of an outrage.

Especially behind Boise. That rubs me.....icky

Yeah, that's just wrong, considering that the article concedes that BYU is "the Mormon version of ND," and has a fan base extending across the country, and that BYU would out-compete half of the PAC 10. Still, the biggest advantage for BYU over BSU, is that BSU still keeps company with the MWC, while The Cougars had not only the courage, but the sheer horsepower, to make independence work. BSU is still racking up wins against NM, Fresno, Wyoming, UNLV, SDSU, UNR, CSU, Hawaii, etc. BYU has beaten Oklahoma more recently than BSU has. And finally, BYU has ended the Broncos' dominance in their mutual series, winning two of the last three.



The Broncos did win a couple of BCS bowls, which is significant. Perhaps that is the factor that received the most priority in this ranking. They are still dangerous, but I think BYU has a 60 percent chance to get that first win on the blue turf this year, to make it three out of the last four.



At any rate, the Broncos are a worthy opponent, and I am glad to have an on-going yearly series with them.

If the Big 12 doesn't expand and if independence loses its shine, you could use that list to make a decent football conference:



WEST: BYU, Boise St., Houston, SDSU, Fresno St., Air Force, (SMU)

EAST: Cincinnati, UCF, USF, East Carolina, Memphis, Navy, (UConn)



Also include UConn and SMU for markets, ratings, and Olympics sports. Two schools in each of California, Texas, and Florida.



[Potentially look to add Gonzaga for Olympic sports to balance out Navy's football only membership]



The conference champion would easily be the annual front-runner for an NY6 bowl game and this conference could realistically boast the following bowl lineup:



#1 - NY6 (Cotton, Fiesta, or Peach)

Tier 1

- Las Vegas v. PAC

- Military v. ACC

- Liberty v. B12/SEC

Tier 2

- St. Petersburg v. ACC

- Armed Forces v. B1G/B12

- Birmingham v. SEC

Tier 3

- Poinsettia v. MWC/CUSA

- Miami Beach v. CUSA/MAC

- Hawaii v. MWC/CUSA

- Boca Raton v. MAC/Sun Belt