Part of me is ridiculously ecstatic in regards to this development, part of me dies a little inside due to the fact that we are going to be buying into a system that is so obviously corrupt, elitist, and illogical.
Put it this way, the conference that we are currently in (non automatic qualifying Mountain West) has two teams currently ranked in the Top 25 (us at three, Utah at 20 in the BCS, 21 in the AP) with two others also receiving votes (San Diego State would be at 32 in the AP and Air Force would be 33). The AQ conference we are going to (the Big East) has one team currently ranked in the Top 25 (West Virginia at 24) and only one other team also receiving votes (Connecticut would be at 29). The Big East currently has 6 teams that are bowl eligible, one more than the Mountain West does, but of those bowl eligible teams, only one of the six has more than 7 wins on the season, all but one of the Mountain West bowl eligible teams have at least 8 wins on the season. West Virginia, the only of the bowl eligible Big East teams with more than 7 wins, only has 8 wins on the season.
The bottom of the Mountain West certainly appears weaker, with four teams with worse overall records than any in the Big East (Colorado St and Wyoming each at 3 and 9 and New Mexico and UNLV each with double digit losses), but there are two teams with only 4 wins in the Big East (Cincinnati and Rutgers), but then there is the fact that the Big East has one less team than the Mountain West overall, meaning that an additional cupcake can be added to the home schedule for each of the Big East teams. So if you real close look at it, the bottom of the barrel for the Mountain West isn't really that much worse than the Big East.
I think that it is safe to say without much doubt that the Mountain West is currently a superior conference when compared to the Big East in football.
That being said, the Big East has an automatic spot in a BCS bowl, meaning that their teams can get into a BCS bowl despite losing a game or two (and, in fact will get a team in this year with at least 3 losses, and probably one with at least 4) which for some reason makes the powers that be regard them as having faced stiffer competition and more worthy of National Title consideration.
It is very rare for there to be lots of teams with zero losses on the regular season. Last year, there were 5. That isn't normal. The reason that I am glad that we are moving into the Big East is that had there only been 3 teams at the end of the regular season last year (as will be the case this year assuming Oregon and Auburn win out, which certainly is not a given) Cincinnati would have been in the National Championship game over us. Simply because they came out of the Big East. The final rankings had them at 9 after they got completely embarrassed by Florida. We also lost our bowl game, but finished at 6, meaning when it was all said and done, no one really thought that Cincinnati was actually better than we were, but they would have been in the National Championship game based solely on the fact that they were from an AQ conference.
The way things stand this season, it might not matter if we were in an AQ conference or not. If we were undefeated in the Big East right now, we would still be third behind an unbeaten Auburn and an unbeaten Oregon, but I can tell you this, there wouldn't be any talk of us possibly getting left out of the National Title game if one of them slipped up on Saturday. Right now, there are people saying that it could be that Wisconsin will jump us or that Auburn would remain ahead of us even with a loss. Personally, I think that if either of those teams slip up, we will get our chance, but there would be no question that we would get our chance if we were already in the Big East, despite the fact that the conference we are currently in is better.
That shows how ridiculous this system is, and how we really have no choice but to take the opportunity to put ourselves in the system, make ourselves one of the haves instead of remaining co-ruler of the have-nots with Boise St.
Take a look at them for why this move had to happen. They lost to a very good Nevada team in overtime for what will be their only loss of the season, but they will be in an early bowl game probably against the third place team from the MAC. That is horrible. They deserve much better than that. In BCS bowls in their place will be an at least 3 loss (but probably 4 loss) Big East team, the ACC Champion which will either be 2 loss Virginia Tech (who lost to a D1-AA team and, yup, Boise St) or a three loss Florida St team, and the Big 12 Champ which will either be a 2 loss OU or a 2 loss Nebraska. None of those teams deserve a spot over a 12-1 Boise St.
This system is corrupt and unfair, and to get to a National Title game as a non-AQ requires that there be at most only one undefeated AQ team and a preseason ranking inside the top 10. Anything else makes it impossible, and even when these criteria are met it isn't a guarantee.
As much as I hate this system, and will continue to, it will be nice to be on the side that benefits from the corruption for a change.
This move will also prove hugely beneficial to both the men's and women's basketball programs and the baseball program due to the better TV exposure, more respectable (unquestionably in basketball) conference, and (again, especially in basketball) access to better recruits. Right now, it has been quite some time since our men's basketball team has been respectable (although they currently sit at 5-2 after beating USC yesterday... GO FROGS!) and there will probably be some tough games in the beginning, but with the chance to get to play perennial NCAA tourney teams such as Pitt, Georgetown, Syracuse, Connecticut, and Notre Dame every year I truly believe that it won't be long before our men's basketball team gets serious and can contend even if not actually win the conference. Trips to the Tourney won't be out of the question and on years we don't make it to the big dance, the NIT won't be a terrible consolation prize. As for the women's team, no more 25 win seasons followed by a 12 seed.
The positives far outweigh any negatives (and travel isn't really a negative because we will actually travel less in the Big East than we would in the soon to be reconstructed Mountain West) so it is hard to not like this change.
I just wish the system wasn't one that made it totally necessary.
Go Frogs! (And go South Carolina and Oregon St this weekend!)
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