Kyle Whittingham took his team to a BCS game. He led it through an undefeated season and now he’s taking it to the Pac-10 (it’ll be the Pac-12 when the Utes get there). However, he’s only won the Mountain West Conference championship once.

Bringing national recognition to the Mountain West Conference was emphasized during the league’s football media days in Las Vegas on Wednesday during commissioner Craig Thompson’s annual State of the Conference address.

Bowl executive directors linked with the Mountain West Conference anticipate great bowl games in the future with Boise State coming into the league in 2011.

	Overall Rank: #142 Conference Rank: #7 Mountain West Conference   2009-10: 10-21, 3-13 2009-10 postseason: none Coach: Heath Schroyer (41-53 at Wyoming, 76-112 overall)   What Wyoming has lacked over the past few seasons is ... — full article at collegehoopsnet.com

Commissioner Craig Thompson says the MWC is "in good shape" and needs "to do even better" in the league's quest to gain automatic BCS status for 2012-13. CRAIG L. MORAN /REVIEW-JOURNAL Think of the Mountain West Conference as that prison wall in "The Shawshank Redemption." The poster hanging there isn't of Rita Hayworth or Raquel Welch, but rather ...

Tackling diverse issues during his annual time with the Mountain West Conference media on Wednesday morning at Red Rock Resort, Commissioner Craig Thompson drew quite a crowd. After going the politically correct route for the most part while fielding questions at the podium — especially regarding Utah's upcoming departure to the Pac-10 — it was his lengthy, laid-back session with reporters in the back of the room that perked up some ears.

As I have stated in my last couple pieces, even though it has been a few weeks, expansion passed me by as several conference made their moves while I was busy with other parts of my life.

The Pac-10 made the first move and pushed the other conferences into moves sooner than they may have planned.

By now, I am sure that most people know the moves that the Pac-10 tried to make by extending invites to half the Big XII. And what they finished with, the addition of Colorado and Utah.

Really, the additions of Colorado and Utah were more like the first plan that could always be fallen back to.

It appears that the changes for the Pac-10 will happen as quickly as the 2011 season. At least Utah will be joining and right now there is movement for Colorado to be able to as well.

In recent years, the Pac-10 had found it more and more difficult to have more than six teams be bowl eligible every season. Because of this, they dropped some bowl game affiliations. With the addition of Utah and Colorado, it may be necessary to add a couple bowls back in. Or find some new ones.

For the coming 2010 season, the Rose Bowl remains the top bowl for the Pac-10.

The number two team will now go to the Alamo bowl. Actually it is the same match-up with the Big XII as the Holiday Bowl was but now at a new location.

All of the other bowls then take a tumble down in the pecking order but largely stay the same.

While that doesn’t change, the completion does.

The Sun Bowl will now be against an ACC team. It had a previous agreement with the Big XII.

The Vegas Bowl is next and is still scheduled with the Mountain West champion although the last few years it has been the number two team.

Last is the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, formerly the Emerald Bowl. This used to be a game with an ACC game but will now be host to a WAC team.

Lane Kiffin is the only new coach to enter the Pac-10 this season. From his quick departure from Tennessee, to a newly filed suit against him from an NFL team, Lane Kiffin has been stirring up the pot left and right.

Along with his own actions, Kiffin has also had to deal with NCAA sanctions handed down to USC from the Reggie Bush era.

There are many mixed feelings as to how USC can and or will do under Kiffin. Some feel USC is still USC, whatever that is supposed to mean. If you look back through history, USC has down stretches just like everyone else.

Some people are of the opinion that Kiffin hasn’t proven himself as a head coach and is not a very good coach. We have to wait and see what happens.

This is probably the most wide open conference and I picking it may be more difficult than any other. I think it is pretty safe to say WSU will not win and as far as I know USC can’t win it this season. You can call me a homer but I am going with Oregon again this year though schedule may come back to bite me.

At least four structures were damaged and dozens of homes evacuated Wednesday as a wind-whipped grassfire northwest of Idaho's capital city expanded to thousands of acres and threatened rural subdivisions. No injuries were reported.



Idaho - United States - Acre - Business and Economy - Mountain West Conference

This is part four of a series highlighting the best in the non-BCS conferences.

Last year, the TCU Horned Frogs became the latest to have the exalted title of BCS buster. Though instead of facing off with a team from a BCS conference, the powers that be paired them instead with fellow BCS buster Boise State.

Boise State came home with with the Fiesta Bowl victory, while the Horned Frogs went home empty.

Nevertheless, things are still looking up for TCU.

After all, TCU will likely start in the top 10. And they were the unanimous pick at the MWC Media Day to win the MWC.

While Boise State is getting a lot of the national championship hype, TCU could step in should the Broncos falter.

But the Mountain West Conference is no cake walk.

TCU will begin the season against Oregon State at Dallas Cowboys Stadium. After that, the Horned Frogs will have fairly smooth sailing until BYU comes to town.

The most interesting game could be at Utah. After all, the Utes are about to leave the MWC behind to help form the new Pac-12. The Horned Frogs may want to send a message about who should or shouldn't be included in conference expansion.

TCU under head coach Gary Patterson has been a defensive superpower. Though the Horned Frogs will have to do without star DE Jerry Hughes, TCU has no shortage of talented defensive firepower.

MWC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year LB Tank Carder, for example.

Add to that two All-MWC Preseason selections DE Wayne Daniels and DE Cory Grant, and you've got one scary defence.

Now if you think that TCU can only play defense, tell that to All-MWC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Andy Dalton.

Dalton led the Horned Frog offense to an average of 38.3 points per game. Not only that, Dalton gained almost 500 more yards in the air than in 2008 for a grand total of 2,756.

And Dalton will have plenty of protection with fellow All-MWC Preseason Selections OL Jake Kirkpatrick and OL Marcus Cannon.

Interestingly enough, TCU also managed to has the All-MWC Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year return man Jeremy Kerley.

Now, all of this is on paper, and preseason picks aren't nearly as important as postseason ones are.

But TCU is back for more this season. While Boise State is the favorite to carry the hopes for a non-AQ champion, the Horned Frogs have title ambitions of their own.

At least three homes were damaged and dozens more evacuated Wednesday as a wind-whipped grassfire northwest of Idaho's capital city expanded to thousands of acres and threatened rural subdivisions. No injuries were reported.



Idaho - United States - Acre - Business and Economy - Mountain West Conference

The start of college football is right around the corner. The countdown to kickoff begins with the SEC media days in Hoover, Alabama.

The football media has now turned its attention to the other BCS conferences.

It is time to start discussing players to watch for the Heisman Trophy. For the third straight year and the fifth time since 2000, the reigning winner returns with a chance to win the award for second time.

Alabama’s Mark Ingram is the returning winner and the only player with a chance to join Archie Griffin as the only two winners. While Ingram is trying to win his second award, USC’s Reggie Bush might be losing his.

Here is a look at five players from each BCS conference who could be a Heisman contender. Along with a look at five players from non-BCS conferences that could be in the running for the award.

One quick note: I did not include any defensive players or offensive linemen. The reason is that most of the winners of the Heisman and contenders come from the skill players on offense.

(Note: To cut down on the length of this article I am splitting it up into three articles. This last part will cover the Pac-10, SEC and the non-BCS conferences. )

Click here to read part one on the ACC/Big-12 and click here to read part two on the Big East/Big Ten.

 

Pac-10 Heisman contenders to watch

 

5. James Rodgers, WR, Oregon State Beavers

Rodgers is a threat to score in every phase of the game. He can be dangerous as a receiver, kick returner, or in the rushing game.

Last season Rodgers caught 91 passes, a school record, for 1,034 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, plus he added 303 rushing yards. Rodgers was seventh in the nation and led the Pac-10 with 179.1 all-purpose yards per game.

A couple of things could derail Rodgers' Heisman hopes. The first is that Oregon State is breaking in a new quarterback after the departure of Sean Canfield and his brother Jazquizz could end up with more press.

 

4. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon Ducks

James made the best of things after starting running back LaGarrett Blount melted down after the Boise State game. Instead of getting spot carries, James went on to set a freshman Pac-10 record with 1,546 yards on 230 carries with 14 touchdowns.

A home run threat, James led the nation with 21 carries over 20 yards and four carries that went for over 50 yards. James also added 186 receiving yards on 17 receptions.

After Jeremiah Masoli was kicked off the team for theft and drug citiation, Oregon will have to lean on James even more. This should help his Heisman chances since he will be the focal point of the Ducks offense.

 

3. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford Cardinal

Luck will try to improve on an impressive freshman performance of 2,575 yards with 13 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He also added 358 yards on the ground on 61 carries with two touchdowns.

The only downside to Luck’s freshman year was that he missed the Cardinal’s bowl game after an injury to a finger on his throwing hand in the last game of the year against Notre Dame. Without Luck, Stanford lost to Oklahoma in the Sun Bowl.

Luck will try to avoid a sophomore slum and win the Heisman. The departure of Toby Gerhart could have the biggest impact on Luck’s chances of winning the award.

 

2. Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Oregon State Beavers

Can anyone forget Rodgers coming out party on an ESPN Thursday night game against the USC Trojans? Rodgers followed that performance up last season with 1,440 yards on 273 attempts and 21 touchdowns.

Rodgers also added 522 receiving yards on 78 receptions with a touchdown. He is also the only two-time All-Pac-10 team member back for the 2010 season.

With the departure of Sean Canfield, Rodgers will have to carry the load even more this season. That should increase his chances of winning the Heisman if he can stay healthy.

 

1. Jake Locker, QB, Washington Huskies

If he had declared for the NFL draft after last season, Locker might have been the number one pick and most thought he was certainly entrenched in the top five. Last season he passed for 2,800 yards with 21 touchdowns, but he also had 14 interceptions.

Locker also added 388 yards on the ground in 112 carries and added seven rushing touchdowns. He is also an accomplished baseball player who has been picked twice in the baseball draft and is currently under contract with the Los Angeles Angles.

Washington returns 10 starters on offense and should be even better in year two under Steve Sarkisian. As long as Locker can stay healthy he will be in the Heisman conversation all year long.

 

Other Pac-10 players to watch

 

Matt Barkley, QB, USC Trojans

Nick Foles, QB, Arizona Wildcats

Shane Vereen, RB, California Golden Bears

Nic Grigsby, RB, Arizona Wildcats

Kevin Riley, QB, California Golden Bears

 

 

SEC Heisman contenders to watch

 

 

5. Julio Jones, WR, Alabama Crimson Tide

Jones returns to the national championship winning Alabama to help with their bid to repeat. Last season, Jones had 596 yards on 43 receptions with four touchdowns.

After a subpar sophomore season, Jones looks to rebound in 2010. The one player who could help with that is Greg McElroy is going into season two as the starting quarterback.

Two things will hurt Jones chances at the Heisman. The first is that current winner Mark Ingram is on the same team and Jones' poor 2009-10 season puts him behind in the Heisman hype.

 

4. Randall Cobb, WR, Kentucky Wildcats

If Cobb played for nearly any other SEC team, (namely Alabama, Florida, Georgia), but Kentucky he would be a major Heisman contender. Cobb is the one player in the SEC who is a threat to score on every touch of the ball and every phase of the game.

During his time with the Wildcats, Cobb has played at wide receiver, quarterback, and running back, plus punt and kick returner. Last season, he had 447 receiving yards on 39 receptions, 573 rushing yards, 653 combined punt and kickoff yards, 89 passing yards, and 15 combined touchdowns.

Cobb should be a national superstar but does not get the hype playing for Kentucky. That still should not stop Cobb from making a statement this season and a run at the Heisman.

 

3. A.J. Green, WR, Georgia Bulldogs

Green was nearly unstoppable last season until injuries slowed down what could have been an outstanding season. Because of those injuries, Green’s sophomore season did not match his freshman season.

Still, even after missing three games last season, Green had 808 yards on 53 catches with six touchdowns. That also includes the fact that Georgia was breaking in a new starting quarterback.

Green will be a Heisman contender if he can stay healthy for an entire season. One down side is that for the second year in a row the Bulldogs starting quarterback will lack game experience.

 

2. Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas Razorbacks

If not for the number one guy on our list, Mallett would be the top player to watch in the SEC. He is the only quarterback in the conference who is a certain NFL prospect.

After sitting out the 2008 season because he transferred from Michigan, Mallett threw for 3,627 yards with 30 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. For Mallett to be a Heisman contender, the Razorbacks win total must improve.

In the defensive crazed SEC, Arkansas puts up video game like numbers on offense. Improving against the SEC’s best would help Mallett. Last season the Razorbacks lost to perennial powerhouses of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and LSU.

 

1. Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama Crimson Tide

The returning Heisman Trophy winner has to be the favorite to win once again in 2010-11. Ingram cause is helped even more since he will also be trying to lead Alabama to back to back national championships.

One thing to remember about Ingram is that he has only fumbled twice in his career and only lost one of those fumbles. Last year he rushed for 1,658 yards, adding 334 yards receiving with 20 combined touchdowns.

The only thing that could derail Ingram’s Heisman hopes is that he won the award last year. Only one player has ever award the twice, the Ohio State great Archie Griffin.

 

 

Other SEC players to watch

 

Greg McElroy, QB, Alabama Crimson Tide

Jordan Jefferson, QB, LSU Tigers

Mike Hartline, QB, Kentucky Wildcats

Stephen Garcia, QB, South Carolina Gamecocks

John Brantley, QB, Florida Gators

 

Non-BCS conference Heisman Contenders

 

 

5. Andy Dalton, QB, TCU Horned Frogs

Dalton led TCU to an undefeated regular season in 2009-10 in the Mountain West Conference and the first BCS appearance for the Horned Frogs and the third for the MWC. Last season he had 2,756 passing yards, 512 rushing yards, and 26 combined touchdowns.

 

4. Dwight Dasher, QB, Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

Last season Middle Tennessee became the first Sun Belt team to win 10 games and the Blue Raiders won their first ever bowl game in school history over Southern Mississippi. Dasher was a big reason for the dream season with 2,789 passing yards, 1,154 rushing yards, and 36 combined touchdowns.

 

3. Ricky Dobbs, QB, Navy Midshipmen

Ask Ohio State fans if Dobbs belongs on this list after he nearly led Navy to a win over the Buckeyes. Notre Dame fans will tell you Dobbs belongs on this list after the Midshipmen went in to South Bend to earn a victory.

Last season, Dobbs led Nave to a nine win season and a bowl victory and if he becomes a better passer a he could be a Heisman contender. In the Navy triple option Dobbs rushed for 1,192 yards and passed for 1,031 yards with 33 combined touchdowns.

 

2. Case Keenum, QB, Houston Cougars

Keenum has put up video game like numbers for the past two seasons at Houston. The quarterback gives the Cougars their first Heisman contender since David Klingler finished third.

Last season Keenum passed for 5,671 yards with 44 touchdowns and only 15 interceptions. He also added 158 rushing yards and four touchdowns for the C-USA champions.

 

1. Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State Broncos

Moore is the only quarterback besides Greg McElroy to be undefeated at the end of last season. The Western Athletic Conference was treated to its third BCS appearance and second in BSU history.

Moore will try to bring the WAC its first Heisman winner in BSU’s final year in the conference. Last season Moore had 3,536 passing yards with 39 touchdowns and only three interceptions, while only getting sacked three times the entire year.

 

Other non-BCS conference players to watch

 

Colin Kaepernick, QB, Nevada Wolf Pack

Vai Taua, RB, Nevada Wolf Pack

Austin Pettis, WR, Boise State Broncos

James Cleveland, WR, Houston Cougars

Bernard Pierce, RB, Temple Owls 

J.P. Murrieta reports from the Mountain West Conference media day in Las Vegas where the most talk is about Utah's departure and Boise State's arrival.

J.P. Murrieta reports from the Mountain West Conference media day in Las Vegas where the UNM Lobos are picked to finish last in the coaches poll.

In a statistical survey based on NCAA championships and rankings, the SEC placed first in both men’s and women’s sports.

The survey, compiled each year since 1986 by Bo Carter, takes into account final NCAA championship standings in 10 men’s and 11 women’s sports, and poll rankings in football.  Each conference gets 20 points for a team that wins a national championship, 19 for a second place finish and down to 1 point for a 20th place finish.

Wrestling is included in the men’s totals, but the sport is not sponsored by the SEC.

In the 10 men’s sports for the survey, the SEC had 398 points with the Pac-10 coming in second with 396 points, followed by the Big 12 with 395 points, Big Ten with 279.5 points, ACC with 238 points and the Big East with 83 points.

In the 11 women’s sports the SEC sponsors, the SEC led the way with 502.5 points followed by the Pac-10 with 480 points, the Big 12 with 382 points, ACC with 369 points, Big Ten with 221 points and the Big East with 164 points.

Here are the point total breakdowns by category:

2009-10 Men’s Points (20 for 1st, 19 for second, etc.)

1.  SEC 398;  2. Pac-10. 396; 3. Big 12, 395; 4. Big Ten, 279.5; 5. ACC, 238; 6. Big East 83; 7. Mountain West, 75.5; 8. Colonial, 68; 9. Big Sky, 64.5; 10. Ivy, 27.5; 11. Western Athletic, 27; 12. Missouri Valley, 26.5; 13. West Coast, 28, 14. Southern, 26, 15 Independents, 25; 16. Southland, 23; 17. Atlantic-10, 23; 18. Patriot 20'.5 19. Horizon, 19; 20. Big South, 16, 21. MAC, 12.5; 21 Ohio Valley, 12. 5; 23. Big West, 11; 24. Mid- American, 10.5; 25. Mid-Eastern 8.5 and Summit, 8.5, 27. Atlantic Sun, 7; 28. Southwestern athletic.

 

2009-10 Men’s NCAA or Football Champions:

Football—Alabama; Basketball—Duke; Indoor Track—Florida; Outdoor Track—Texas A&M; Wrestling—Iowa; Tennis—Southern California; Cross Country—Oklahoma State; Baseball—South Carolina; Swimming—Texas' Golf—Augusta State.

2009-10 Women’s Conference Points:

1. SEC, 502.5; 2. Pac-10, 480; 3. Big 12, 382; 4. Atlantic Coast, 369; 5. Big Ten, 221; 6. Big East, 164; 7. Mountain West, 71.5; 8. West Coast, 38; 9. Western Athletic, 35; 10. Conference USA, 30.5 11. Atlantic 10, 23; 12. Ivy, 19; 13. Missouri Valley, 18; 14. Sun Belt, 8.5; 15. Summit League, 3

 

2009-10 Women’s NCAA Champions:

Volleyball—Penn State; Basketball—Connecticut; Soccer—North Carolina; Indoor Track—Oregon;
Outdoor Track—Texas A&M; Tennis—Stanford; Gymnastics—UCLA; Cross Country—Villanova; Softball—UCLA; Swimming—Florida; Golf—Purdue.

Total Points (Men & Women Combined) [Top 14 Only]

1. SEC, 900.5; 2. Pac-10, 876; 3. Big 12, 777; 4. ACC, 607; 5. Big Ten, 500.5; 6. Big East, 247; 7. Mountain West, 147; 8. Colonial, 68; 9. West Coast, 66; 10. Big Sky, 64.5; 11.  Western Athletic, 62; 12. Ivy, 46.5; 13. Atlantic-10, 46; 14.  Missouri Valley, 44.5.
 

 

The BYU Cougars come off one of the most successful seasons in school history, posting an 11-2 record, which was capped off with a win over Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl. 

Expectations always seem to be high in Provo since head coach Bronco Mendenhall has led the Cougs to five straight bowl appearances since arriving.  The Las Vegas Bowl seems to be the desired location for the Mormon school, as it has played in this bowl all five seasons. 

TCU is the clear cut favorite to win the MWC after their storybook year in 2009, but expect Utah to challenge for the top spot.  BYU is a 125-to-one long shot to win a BCS title. 

View our full conference breakdown in the 2010 Mountain West college football predictions article.
 
BYU has benefited from outstanding quarterback play since 2006.  John Beck and Max Hall left the Cougar program holding multiple school records, while Hall topped Beck as the MWC all-time career passing leader.  Replacing 3500 yards passing and 33 TDs is no easy task for any program. 

Highly touted QB Jake Heaps will battle it out with Utah State transfer Riley Nelson when camp begins, to lead BYU against Washington in the opener.  Each bring something different to the table as Heaps is a pure drop back QB with the big arm, while Nelson can hurt opposing defenses with his feet. 

Former Cougar RB Harvey Unga had a chance to become the ninth player in NCAA history to rush for over 1000 yards in all four seasons, but he left decided to leave school in April to enter the NFL supplemental draft.  Therefore, JJ Di Luigi will see his work load increase after rushing for 248 yards and three TDs as a sophomore. 

Offensive coordinator Robert Anae might opt to run the ball more often with the inexperience at quarterback and could use a back by committee. 

Tight end Dennis Pitta was a fourth round draft pick of the Ravens, following a 62 catch season for over 800 yards receiving.  They won’t have the luxury of using Pitta over the middle, but do possess a deep threat in WR McKay Jacobson who averaged over 24 ypc last season. 

Matching last year’s offensive juggernaut that put up 35 ppg is out of the picture for this unit.  This team should be involved in a lot of close games which will come down to the wire.

Coach Mendenhall called the shots for the BYU defense until 2008, when he promoted Jaime Hill to the position.  Hill had a solid season in his first go round holding opponents to 21 ppg with a veteran group of players. 

This season will test Hill in a variety of ways with only five returning starters and a real possibility of starting two true Freshmen at linebacker.  The Cougs will stick with a 3-4 alignment, even with the lack of experience in the front seven. 

CBs Brian Logan and Brandon Bradley are two returning starters that will be asked to showcase leadership on this side of the ball.  It will take a complete team effort on defense to defend the talented offenses in the MWC.

This year is going to be a rebuilding one for the BYU program, even though they have proved to win on a consistent basis.  Moreover, the schedule does not set up nicely with road games at Florida St, TCU, and Utah.  Additionally, both sides of the ball have major question marks at key positions, but if the chosen quarterback plays well, and they get other contributions from unexpected sources, this could be a seven win team. 

 

This offseason in college football has created so many ironies...

To wit...

The Big Ten now has 12 teams. The Big 12 now has 10 teams. The Pac-10 now has 12 teams. And all of that is not going to happen until 2011 at the earliest.

With all of the changes that college football has seen, one thing is still the same: the SEC is still the best conference in college football.

Their run of national champs will come to an end this season. Ohio State will beat Alabama in the BCS Title Game to stop the SEC run at four straight years.

What a run it has been. Florida dominated the Buckeyes. A two-loss LSU team dominated the, um, Buckeyes. Florida won another one against Oklahoma, when they should have been playing Texas. Alabama won one over Texas in a strange game where Longhorn quarterback Colt McCoy was hurt and the Tide almost gave it away.

It is akin to the run that Nebraska has been through. They were an annual participant in the Orange Bowl when they dominated the Big 8. They had some lean years as they lost their identity in the Big 12. Now their future is going to be in the Big 10.

I look forward to the Big 10 going to two divisions and seeing the Cornhuskers form new rivalries.

 

My BCS Report was very popular last year as I picked it apart for the flawed system that it is. All of the expansion talk over the summer really excited me. There were a few weeks there when it looked as if the Big 12 was about to be ripped apart, which would have been catastrophic to the BCS.

It looks like everyone is sick of the BCS as a two-team playoff, which leaves a lot to be desired.

BCS honks are making so much money that they are afraid of taking a pay cut by allowing their precious system to expand to four teams. Fans say that would create two more games, and that would create more revenue. The BCS honks must have crunched the numbers and determined that the cash that ESPN paid them to televise the BCS bowls is more than a new system would yield.

It seems that the BCS is the one entity that has not been effected by the busted economy of America, as the ironies just don't stop.

To wit...

The busted BCS system has not been affected by the busted US economy whilst every other form of revenue making endeavors has been. Is the lesson here that potential business owners should take heed that putting out a flawed system is one way to find the cash at the end of the rainbow?

Nah, as William Shatner said in Airplane II: The Sequel ...

"Irony is pretty ironic."

The nation was so close to seeing a playoff system arise from the ashes of this wild offseason, but alas it was money that saved the BCS.

To wit...

Texas would have taken a pay cut to join the Pac-10 or SEC, so they stayed in the Big 12 and saved that conference from annihilation.

The super conference is still looming in the future as the BCS discontent continues to mount. The ACC is going to be saved by, ironically, the North Carolina football team this year, but the SEC will one day take the four best football teams from there to get to the magical 16 teams needed for admission into the super conference club.

That domino will lead the ACC and Big East to band together. Boston College better be one of the top four ACC teams or else they might be left out as the Big East probably didn't forget that B.C. left their conference.

The Pac-10 might get a good TV contract someday and try to entice the Texas schools back. The Big Ten will poach from here and there to fill their four open slots.

The Mountain West should be a BCS conference as it has been better than the ACC and Big East for a few years now.

 

Yep, the BCS and Notre Dame better find a place to land soon because the times are a changing in college football.

Of course, the pimps, er, agents that Nick Saban spoke of at the SEC media days are a growing concern as well. Especially if all of the good players are ineligible after going to awesome parties in their wild offseasons.

The future for college football is rather murky but we should expect no less from a system that has such a murky past and present. The BCS will get lucky this year as both Ohio State and Alabama will go undefeated. The BCS will be pulling for a Boise State loss as well and it would give the BCS some credibility if the Mountain West had a down year.

Jim Tressel will get his second BCS Title. Terrelle Pryor and Mark Ingram will be the Heisman winners on the field and the Big Ten will welcome Nebraska as the conference with the defending national champ.

This is the best time of the year because once the season starts, it comes to an end so quickly.

With Boise State coming into the Mountain West Conference to fill the Utah void, coaches anticipate the changes that will happen in the 2011 season.

The Mountain West Conference announced its 2010 preseason all-Conference football team today as selected by members of the media. TCU swept the individual awards with senior quarterback Andy Dalton being named Preseason MWC Offensive Player of the Year, junior linebacker Tank Carder selected as Defensive Player of the Year and senior punt/kick returner Jeremy Kerley tabbed Special Teams Player of the Year.

Defending Mountain West Conference football champion TCU was predicted to capture its second consecutive title in 2010 in a poll of media members, announced today at MWC Football Media Day being held at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas. The Horned Frogs posted a perfect 8-0 record in Conference play in 2009, en route to a 12-1 overall record and a final national ranking of sixth in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' polls.

Posted at: 07/28/2010 9:52 AM By: Kurt Christopher, KOB.com J.P. Murrieta reports from the Mountain West Conference media day in Las Vegas where the most talk is about Utah's departure and Boise State's arrival.

NEEDS MORE EXPLOSIONS. Larry Scott's media assault on New York continues in the name of the Pac-10, the conference of earth, water, and conspicuously placed alumni doing things like scaling redwoods and flashing stacks of Google money.  (HT: Cal Golden Blogs.) 

 

Could have used a man with a deeper voice, though any deeper and the narration a.) might not have been audible, and b.) it would have just as well have been called "the Pac-10: Chopped and Screwed." The lack of purple drank tie-ins with Washington in the Sarkisian era has been sadly lacking, but give Sark some time. Sippin' may very well be a part of the recruiting budget yet if they ever decide to pluck a recruit or two from Houston. ("We did not provide recruits with purple drank; however, our assistants did develop a nagging, two-year long cough.")  

Scott also had a Pac-10 logo made of mist at the meetings, prompting this immediate list of corollaries: 

SEC: Logo displayed in Bud Light Mist

Big 12: Logo displayed in Bevo's Urine Mist

Big Ten: Just a waterfall of cheese with carved olives in the shape of Jim Delany flowing through it. #rotel

Big East: Empty air 

C-USA: Arbor Mist Mist

Mountain West: Blood Mist sprayed from horned frog's eyes 

ACC: Sweat of Kyle Singler Mist 

WAC: Airplane Freshener Mist (from flying thousands of miles to make one in-conference game.) 

THE WILD SAMOAN LOOMS CLOSER. The general vibe from Ole Miss is that Houston Nutt wants Masoli, the admissions office is going to try to find a way to get him in, and the rest is attempting to get the necessary waivers and the will to push said waivers through at the last second in order to get him. (All inferred from this article, the basic needs of Ole Miss at quarterback, and one free-roaming but trouble-prone qb of Polynesian descent roaming around out there.)

Masoli will have to enroll in Ole Miss' graduate school in order to use his remaining year of eligibility, and though there is "no timetable" for Masoli's enrollment, there would have to be some special hustle required administratively. Having never received special treatment before in a university setting, this would surely mark a unique perversion of the academic process heretofore unseen in university history! SCANDAL!*

Chip Kelly says he has received no inquiries or requests from Ole Miss, so you know it's not completely done and done yet for his. 

IT MAY COULD IN THEORY SORT OF POSSIBLY MIGHT BE POSSIBLE IF EIGHT THINGS HAPPEN. The Football Writer's Association of America has floated the idea of revoting the 2004 national title. The AP will likely not revote, and the BCS won't do anything until the appeals process ends sometime in 2038, but go ahead and claim it Auburn WOOO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. If not that, go ahead and claim the Mid-Continental Belt, because anyone can claim that shit if wrestling is any indication of how things work in real life. (And we believe deeply that it is.) 

*Dear Ole Miss fans: THIS IS NOT TRUE AND WAS TYPED FOR RHETORICAL EFFECT. Everyone else, thank you for bearing with this footnote, and take this reward for your patience. 

HO. LEE. SHIT. If you get nothing else from Scipio Tex's slashing of Mike Sherman's "tedious" Big 12 remarks, it should be this: 

I anticipate with six incoming freshmen on the offensive line, at least three of those guys will be either playing or starting for us at some time.

This is only not terrifying if your line was total crap before, and as watchers of the Big 12 know the Aggies' offensive line wasn't actually the problem (15th in passing, 30th in rushing nationally.) Everything save sacks on the other side of the ball, however, was, since the Aggies played binary ball in passing situations: either we get a sack, or you get a touchdown. Ready? GO! 

This means the Aggies' planned energy branding will work well except when it doesn't, and will offer no surge protection whatsoever. 

DENT'S DENTED DIGIT DENTS DAWGS' DEFENSE. Akeem Dent, projected starting LB for Georgia, is out 4-6 weeks thanks to toe surgery, proving that if you say you're okay at depth at a positions (as Mark Richt said with his linebackers at Media Day,) the Babylonian Monkey God of Injuries and Unpaid Parking Tickets will be happy to change that for you. We've had a similar injury from kicking an XBox, but enough about being shot eleven times in a row by a 12 year old who called us homosexual while doing it in MW2.  (We will find you, son. It's been done before.) 

BROS BEING BROS. Or being green, as BHGP suggests. 

As the only first-year coach in attendance at Tuesday's Mountain West Conference football media day at Red Rock Resort, Bobby Hauck appeared anything but nervous. A week from Friday, when he opens his first fall camp as UNLV's head coach, don't expect that demeanor to change.

Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham took his seat on the press conference podium Tuesday afternoon at Red Rock Resort during the Mountain West Conference media day, surveyed the room of reporters, took a pause to gather his thoughts and delivered his opening statement. “It’s been a quiet, uneventful summer,” Whittingham jokingly said.

NEW YORK — While the Mountain West Conference was holding its football media day at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, Utah's future league mates were in the Big Apple. The Pac-10 began a bicoastal media tour by meeting ...

COLLEGE FOOTBALL TCU picked to repeat in Mountain West TCU is still on top in the Mountain West Conference.

blank_pageNot only is first-year Boise State coach Leon Rice striving to build the Broncos' program in Gonzaga's image, the ex-Zags assistant is also doing his best to make the WAC resemble the West Coast Conference.

The WAC has adopted Rice's suggestion to change the format of its conference tournament to reward teams who do the best in the regular season, the Idaho Statesman reported Tuesday. Beginning this coming season, the top two seeds in the WAC tournament will get a bye to the semifinals just as they have in recent years in the WCC.

Boise State will only reside in the WAC for one more season before moving to the Mountain West in 2011, so the conference tournament makeover probably will have minimal impact on Rice's program. Instead the biggest benefactors figure to be Utah State and Nevada, both of which have dominated the league the past five years and combined to win or share the last seven WAC titles.

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In the past eight years, 2007-08 San Diego is the only WCC team seeded third or worse to win the conference's postseason tournament. By contrast, teams seeded third or worse have won the WAC tournament twice in the past three years, with New Mexico State taking the title last season and Boise State winning in 2008.

For the first time next season, the WAC tournament will be held in Las Vegas, which coincidentally is also the home of the WCC's postseason event.

Rice hadn't even arrived at Boise State when the league adopted that proposal, but it's probably safe to say he'll approve.

(Thanks, College Basketball Nation)

 

UNLV Rebel football fans, it could be said, have grown accustomed to misery. 

Wins have been sparse; prolonged success a myth. The season can be long and painful, only to give way to a seemingly endless, hot Las Vegas summer.  

The days creep by as Clark County residents sequester themselves indoors whenever possible, away from the sweltering, slow burn of the ruthless July heat wave.

But wait, what's that sound in the distance?

The unmistakable roar of a Rebel crowd at Sam Boyd Stadium after a picturesque fade pass for a Phillip Payne TD, followed by the fireworks, the band, and the fight song.

The start of a new football year brings a renewed optimism to the fans yearning for victory and longing for progress. And with kickoff just a few short weeks away, the hope that this year could be different—could be truly special—is an idea that grows perpetually more prominent in the mind of the blindly loyal.

Perhaps this will be the year. Patience may pay off. A new coach with a solid track record is manning the controls. There is a reasonable amount of talent in place. 

Then again, perhaps it won't be.

The consensus seems to be that the Rebels are still a year or two (or 20) away. UNLV was picked eighth in the Mountain West Conference preseason poll. This time of year polls are about as accurate and meaningful as a hungry octopus, but the expectations—or lack thereof—are implicit.

There's one bit of silvery lining to the preseason gloom. Junior WR Phillip Payne was named to the Preseason All-Conference Team. 

Payne is a definite fan favorite, and provides at least one 6'3", 205 pound reason to get excited about Rebel football.

Since the first time he suited up for UNLV, Payne has demonstrated a remarkable knack for hauling in TDs, often of the spectacular variety. Payne will need to step up his all around production significantly in order to replace departed pass-catching robot Ryan Wolfe. 

The Rebels return enough offensive fire power to be fun, exciting, and even competitive. The defense, however, will remain a large, murky question mark until UNLV can prove on the field that this is not the same unit that ranked among the nation's worst the last several years.

This year could be special. It could be the big breakthrough. It could be "the year."

It could also be nauseating, frustrating, embarrassing, or all of the above.

Honestly, it's too soon to say. For now, the fans at least have hope, which is more than could be said eight months ago. Perhaps, for once, the positivity will linger into winter.

As a fan, one can only hope.

For now.

Manalive, threre's nothing funnier than stumbling into a rivalry five hundred times more bitter than you thought it was, especially when all that bitterness is getting a thorough public airing. Boise State and Idaho were talking about whether to play their rivalry game. They were going to get barbecue, too, but then someone had to mention how their kid was ahead in their reading class, and then a disparaging remark was made about the cole slaw, and suddenly there was blood, and an ambulance, and holy shit this quaint family get-together got way out of hand.

(Funeral is on Wednesday. Pardon us: funerals. Aunt Merlene died of her injuries in the hospital. One never thought a corn holder could do such damage, but reality has proved us wrong again.) 

Chris Petersen, as mentioned in the Index this morning, opened up festivities with some remarks, but it's Boise State's President Bob Kustra who soberly extinguished the flames HAHAHAH WE KID HE THREW A MOLOTOV COCKTAIL ON THE BUFFET TRAY AND BURNED THE WEDDING RECEPTION DOWN: 

"This is a great example of why my wife and I no longer travel to Moscow games,'' Kustra said. "It's a culture that is nasty, inebriated and civilly doesn't give our fans the respect that any fan should expect when visiting an away team. ...

We thought we liked Idaho for some reason. Nasty and inebriated is generally how we like our sports fans, our pets, and our bush pilots. (<----not a euphemism, but should be.)

I don't think at Boise State you're going to find that, so for me personally, when I read what Pete said I knew, I knew. "For me, this is not about football. For me, this is a cultural issue.

They are called the Vandals, no? And have a coach with a homicidal game warden's mustache and sons named Jack and Daniel? And live in Moscow, Idaho, where we children wrestle grizzly bears not because they are so uncivilized that they allow them to wander into town, but rather because they don't have many people, and thus need to employ them as gym teachers in public schools? (And damn fine ones, says the Teachers' Union of Idaho.) 

It's about fans having to learn how to treat other fans and universities. What bothers me more than anything else, is that the fans are not about denigrating our athletic program. ... What bothers me personally is the denigration of our academic programming.

"But the real tragedy was that 15 hadn't been colored in yet." Neeeeeeeext. 

That's what I simply can't tolerate. "I've seen rivalries all over America, Oklahoma-Oklahoma State, Texas-Texas A&M, Kansas-Kansas State, but you can go inside those rivalries and you'll find all kinds of slams and digs and whatever, but I've never seen the nastiness aimed at the quality of our academic program that I find here in Idaho from the University of Idaho Vandals and as long as that goes on, why would I want to encourage a game where people don't know how to act like grownups?'' 

Pimpin' is a theme of late, and should be invoked here to say that an icy mack would have said, "We're going to play in the Mountain West Conference" and then immediately mentioned everything enviable and shiny about Boise State football. Instead, you get someone giving free oxygen to their rival by complaining about their lack of civility, most likely while daintily emphasizing points while tapping his teacup with the correct sugar spoon while minding his lacy sleeve lest he dip into the blouse-staining tea.

That's idaho: you save your diss tracks for TCU and Utah now. Until you do, your pimp quotient equals zero, Bob Kustra. Even Jim Delany talks better trash than that, and he's horrible at it. 

TCU picked to win Moutain West title TCU, the defending Mountain West Conference champion, has been picked by the media to capture the MWC title again this season.

UNLV was picked to finish eighth in the Mountain West Conference football standings in the preseason

LAS VEGAS -- TCU is still on top in the Mountain West Conference.

TCU is still on top in the Mountain West Conference. The Horned Frogs received all 31 first-place votes in the league's preseason media poll, which was released Tuesday as the Mountain West media days began. TCU has nine offensive starters returning, including quarterback Andy Dalton. Dalton was the league's offensive player of the year last season and got the preseason honor Tuesday.

UNLV's football program will enter the first year of the Bobby Hauck era with some low expectations. The Mountain West Conference preseason poll was unveiled Tuesday to kick off the league's football media days at Red Rock Resort, and the Rebels, coming off back-to-back 5-7 seasons, were picked eighth out of nine teams.

TCU is still on top in the Mountain West Conference.

Filed under: Boise State, Mountain West, WAC

SALT LAKE CITY -- The question, while perfectly legitimate, caused Chris Petersen's eyebrows to rise. Someone wanted to know about 2011. Yes, 2011. A whole year away.

Petersen, the head coach at Boise State, has a spotlight game to open the Broncos' 2010 (that's THIS year) campaign. Boise State comes east to play Virginia Tech on Sept. 6 in Landover, Md. Boise also plays Oregon State this year outside its Western Athletic Conference schedule. The Broncos are going to go into the season ranked in the top five nationally and are the pick of some (yes, us here at FanHouse) to win the 2010 national championship.

It figures to be a big season for Boise and here people are wanting to talk about 2011?

Sorry, coach, but that's the way it works when you're a lame duck. Boise will move from the WAC to the Mountain West Conference in 2011 and a lame duck season is always a ripe topic for discussion.

 

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THE PAC 10 REBRANDS WITH WESTERN MOUNTAIN SURFISH STUFF. if you rotate it 90 degrees to the right, it kind of looks like an angry yelling cartoon face telling the PAC to talk to the hand. 

It is snazzy enough, and an improvement on the bland "Conference of Spikes" logo they didn't use on fields, jerseys, or anything else until Larry Scott got there and realized that his predecessor, Tom Hansen, was still relying on the lucrative telegraph rights of games to come through in order to bolster the conference's finances. (This television thing will surely pass, just as jazz, fizzy drinks, and the horseless carriage did.)  Mock Scott for overreaching with the Pac-16 proposal, but the man was pitching a space-age idea from a biplane, apparatus-wise, something Andy Staples details nicely in his piece on Scott's revamping of the Pac (not Pacific) Ten. Care to know why you were missing some of the fine football played on the West Coast? The Pac-10 demanded more money to "mirror" games on ESPN alternate networks, and thus missed broadcasting their product to half the nation. They no longer do this because they have decided to "give a shit," which while not listed in Staples' article is certainly on their slate of things to do. 

We're not so sure about their eyeing Asia as a growth market, though the formation of Competitive Smoking Teams would certainly appeal to the China markets. You'd die trying to beat them, but sometimes competition is about sacrifice. 

AT THIS POINT YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY BE SURPRISED. Lane Kiffin and USC are being sued by the Tennessee Titans, but you already knew that, or at least some part of you in your bones saw this, realized it was inevitable, and then nodded as you heard the gears of the universe click in place. Kiffin will be defended by himself in court, where he will end up in contempt of court within three words of opening his mouth, and then will be beaten in a holding cell when he pisses off his cellmates in the first five minutes of his stay. He will then be released on bond and fall dick-first into a gutter filled with money and beautiful women, because this is what seems to happen to Lane Kiffin. 

LINT ROLLER IN ONE HAND, HOPE IN THE OTHER . Maurice Clarett is re-enrolling at Ohio State, and this is said without an ounce of snark: we sincerely wish him the best, since anyone who can lie with Israeli gangsters, end up in prison, show up drunk to NFL tryouts, and somehow survive has to have some nugget of the indestructible and enduring in him. 

OHHH, SWEET PLEASURE. The ACC Preseason poll has been incorrect in picking a conference winner since 2005. Oh, Carolina March. Please tickle our ivories.  

The ACC media hasn't picked the correct winner of the Atlantic Division since 2005, mostly because they keep picking FSU, and FSU keeps failing.

....ohhh, that's the spot. Harder. HARDER WE SAY.

MY THAT IS IRONIC. On Day One of the Big 12 Media Days, the Insight Bowl handed out free swag containing, of all logos, the Big Ten's logo in huge threaded glory on the side of the hat.  Dave, make your bed before you shoot video, you rapscallion you! (At least there's no lotion on the bedside.) 

FIRST, WE JUST HAVE TO MAKE THEM CARE ABOUT COLLEGE FOOTBALL. Man, if we could just secure that Mexico City market, or maybe Tokyo--either is as likely as getting the New York metro area to care about college football en masse, but you jump right in there, Jim Delany. 

Okay.  I'm the guy who predicted that West Virginia will go to the Marshall campus stadium in Huntington and leave with its musket between its legs.  Yeah, that's me, the novelist...you remember, setting up the theater of the state's little brother putting on a whipping. 

By a field goal, I so surely stated, because Doc Holliday will quickly and most assuredly have The Thundering Herd back in Bobby Pruett shape.  Bobby Pruett, the cunning fox of an ex-Marshall coach who in the late 1990s cajoled the Mountain State to the point of madness with his "WVU, let's play ball!" campaign.

Bobby Pruett won games he was supposed to win, and won games he was not supposed to win.  Hence, WVU avoided him like a skunk.

That last statement is essential to understanding why LSU is going down.  The Bengal Tigers' head coach Les Miles is not a Bobby Pruett.  Les loses too many of the games he should have won, too many, that is, to satisfy the Baton Rouge crowd for any extended period of time.

Too many, such as, to a team like West Virginia. 

On the evening of Saturday September 25, 2010, the Mountaineers take their traveling squad and a couple of tanker trucks full of G2 to the very odd campus stadium at the Louisiana State University to find the answer to the questions: a) No, really, I'm not joking, is West Virginia as fast as a Southeastern Conference team?  b) Even when they're completely soaked in sweat?

Now, with regard to that stadium and other boondoggles, it's interesting to consider how much the politicians of West Virginia and Louisiana have in common, in a charismatic way, that is.

West Virginia has in the past 50 years had two charismatic governors.  W. Wallace Barron, a Democrat, so captivated the state he spent some time in prison during the early 1970s for jury tampering.  Not to be outdone by the Democrats, Arch A. Moore, Jr., a Republican who could lay out the charm, obstructed and extorted himself to a federal prison sentence in the early 1990s.

For the longest time, Louisiana was led by a charismatic governor by the name of Huey P. Long.  Governor Long was, for example, the guy who got the funds to build a railroad bridge across the Mississippi River in Jefferson Parish by attaching a highway to it on either side.  Dangerous, not within the spirit of the law, but legal, and creative. 

Pretty good.  However, the bridge was not quite as good as getting the money to build dormatories on the LSU campus, a project for which he could easily get funding, and attach an addition onto LSU Tiger Stadium to make a 92,400 seat venue.  Once again, not within the spirit of the law, but legal, and really creative.

Governor Long was so creative, so very creative, that in 1935 he simply yanked the wrong chain, that chain belonging to a Dr. Carl Weiss.  The good doctor had assasination on his mind.  At least West Virginia's felons lived long after their sentences.

Enough history.  Moving on, West Virginia fans look to that date in late September with trepidation.  Their ill-feelings stem from the fact that for the second time in two years, the Mountaineers must venture into enemy territory, i.e. the Southeastern Conference, and play a game of speedball.

These WVU fans are worried that their team cannot match up speed versus speed, horizontally and vertically.

Well, golly, how about this: a brief perusal through the LSU Bleacher Report site reveals that the Bengal Tiger fans look to be equally concerned about the Mountaineers.

Huh...how about that. How about it, in that the LSU faithful is reacting differently than the fervent from Auburn in 2009.  After writing an article in 2009 in which I compared the Tigers from The Plains to East Carolina, I received over 4,000 reads in a day with over 50 comments from Auburn fans, most of whom were not pleasant.

Talk about confidence.

Let's talk about confidence.  Fans of either team don't have it.  Kevin McGrady, a b/r featured columnist covering LSU, looks at West Virginia as a "trap game," meaning WVU could pull off an ambush in Baton Rouge.

How about that?  A team from the The East going into the talent-laden Deep South and LSU may not expect it?

How about the position Larry Burton takes. A b/r featured columnist and senior analyst, calls West Virginia and LSU a "toss up." 

Flattering.

It could be the Big Set-up, could be. I think Louisiana State is way too good of a football team to roll over. 

Hold on a second.  As I've read about Les Miles, the Tigers' head coach, he can be described as a man not on the hot seat, but definitely in the same room with it.  That sounds good for West Virginia, but I think Les with his Southeastern Conference experience can eventually work his way out of that jam.

Once again, consider another coach near the hot seat.  Who does that remind you of?

After last season's Gator Bowl, during which the Mountaineers were upset by an absolutely stoked Florida State team, Bill Stewart can stand in that room right beside Les and feel the radiant heat from the seat.

So, we have two coaches, desperate for a win, Les for any win, and Stew for the signature road win that has heretofore eluded him, the win that both Don Nehlen and Rich Rodriguez had by now.

Let's look at the early schedules.  LSU goes to Atlanta for a Labor Day weekend celebration with an improving North Carolina.  After playing Vanderbilt in Nashville, the Bengal Tigers finally come home and host Mississippi State.  Then, it's West Virginia.

WVU hosts Coastal Carolina (how ridiculous!) over the holiday.  Then, the Mountaineers hop on the bus to Marshall where my prediction of doom looms.  The series with Maryland returns to the schedule during week three, after which it's time to hydrate to the point of saturation in preparation for LSU.

The Tar Heels will give LSU trouble.  Some LSU b/r FCs are looking at a loss to UNC. In addition, the two SEC teams are probably division also-rans, but even the least among the SEC are lightning fast.  That's Louisiana State's preparation for West Virginia speed.

On the other hand, WVU's fastest early opponent will be Marshall.  Go ahead and comment as you wish.  I'm calling it what it is.  We just have to realize that West Virginia will not see the quality of teams LSU will play.

That's not good.

The advantage LSU has is they'll be in the rhythm, and of course they play in Huey Long's edifice.  The only facet in West Virginia's favor is they are indeed quick and fast.  That might be just enough.

Let's call it WVU and their talent by slimmest of margins.  Stew will get that big road win he so needs in a big way. 

The TED talk of Ethan Zuckerman, the founder of the international blogging site Global Voices, provides amazing insight into the challenges of telling international stories online. It's told in the great TED way of painting lots of pictures and using a ton of anecdotes.

Zuckerman said it's a big myth that the web is bringing us closer to other cultures or countries -- when we're on the web, we're basically in our own small islands of our social networks. Most of us who are building businesses/non-profits around non-traditional media content know this, but he has some great PowerPoint slides that add a lot of meat to the arguments. Give it a look:

Cultural DJs

In addition to providing some very telling facts -- did you know that "Madagascar" the movie is a bigger brand than Madagascar the country? -- he talks about translation. And not just the challenges of literal translation from one language to another, which is something Video Volunteers faces in our work all the time, especially now when we have community video correspondents working in nearly every state of India, a country with dozens of official languages. He talks about "cultural translation." He makes the point that we need more "DJs ... skilled human curators" who can speak the language of the West and of other cultures at the same time.

The incredible editors at Global Voices fit that bill, and so does the blog Afrigadget. Video Volunteers attempt to do this, too, in the articles that accompany the online videos made by our community correspondents in our new IndiaUnheard community news network.

This is really interesting to me because at Video Volunteers we talk a lot about the need for "unmediated" voices -- essentially, voices that are not culturally translated. This is one of the differences between community video, which to us means equipping traditionally "unheard" communities to tell their stories in their own words, and documentary film, where a professional uses his or her artistry and insight to translate community voices for outside audiences.

At VV, we believe, in fact, that so much is lost in translation that you want to keep "cultural translation" to a minimum. And so, with our newly launched IndiaUnheard community news network, we want to bring voices out voices in their raw form. As my partner Stalin K. often says, "if I say the words 'Masai warrior' you get an immediate visual in your head. You don't, in a similar fashion, hear their voices in your head."

We know from TV what the Masai look like. But we don't know what they sound like, because in traditional National Geographic-type media, we just see the Masai with a narration; their whole culture, never mind their language, is translated for an international audience.

There are real limits to the possibilities for translation. As I heard Zuckerman himself say at a Civic Media conference, it's hard enough to find cultural translators for English to other cultures. But what about all the learning that could happen between the readers of, say, Kurdish media in New York City and Haitian media in New York City? How is that translation going to happen? I don't know that we could ever have enough translators to solve that problem.

Two Videos to Watch

So how do we get people to watch -- rather, to want to watch -- videos like these two posted below, made by our IndiaUnheard correspondents? If the world had an ideal system for enabling the poor to represent themselves in the media, which I would say is something like one community journalist per village (or even per 20 villages), how would we interest people outside those villages to watch this content? Here are two recent videos to check out and see what you think:

Children Carry Trash, Not Books shows how children of poor families do not benefit from the current schemes on compulsory free education. The video is produced by Pratibha Rolta, a community correspondent from the mountain state of Himachal Pradesh, who works as an activist on women's issues.

The second video, titled Children Denied Education, captures the plight of child labourers in Haryana's brick kilns who are deprived of several rights, including education. The correspondent here, Satyawan, was a Sarpanch (village head) for five long years before joining IndiaUnheard, and has in-depth knowledge of corruption within the local administration.

Besides our own website and within the communities where the producers work (where most of our work is shown) there are some forums for videos like this. I showed these two videos two weeks ago as a panelist at the IFP/UN-sponsored ENVISION 2010: Addressing Global Issues through Documentaries, an event organized by the IFP, UN Communications Department, and New York Times. This was a one day conference on education and documentary films and, happily, there was space for user-created content.

A few years ago there probably wouldn't have been. I was on a panel about the impact of user-generated media, along with with Mallika Dutt of Breakthrough, John Kennedy of World Without Borders and Ryan Schlieff of Witness -- all good friends in the field of media and human rights. People in the world of documentary film, or in the UN sector with its huge budgets for traditional communications, were getting a taste of what's possible when you turn the camera over to communities. This is progress towards the acceptance of these voices.

More Global Than Ever

With our work, I take a long term perspective. (Wanting every village in the world to have someone skilled and motivated to represent his neighbors' concerns in the media kind of requires that!) I think that media preferences are not fixed in stone. What Americans liked on TV and in the movies in the fifties is different from what we liked in the seventies and today. Who knows where people's tastes will be twenty years from now?

I'm an optimist. I think we will only get more global and more curious, and more open to raw, unfiltered reality. I believe there are even studies that show that kids today who've grown up with mashups and social networks are much more open to gritty media that their parents wouldn't look at.

In the meantime, we keep telling our correspondents to tell their stories in their own words, with their own style, their own analysis -- no matter how challenging it may be for outsiders to understand without translation.

Mountain West set to kick off football media days The conference kicks off their event Tuesday at Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas and while most can't get away for the two-day event, the MWC has you covered.

Martin A. Stever, Principal, Pacific West Land, LLC

Martin had previously worked in publishing and telecommunications in both the U.S. and Europe before taking up real estate investing full time. He originally came to the Seattle area to join Microsoft, after completing his MBA in Finance and Strategy at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Martin is an aviation historian, angel investor, and a tireless football fan. He lives on Bainbridge Island with his wife of eleven years, Dianne, and their daughter.

Martin A. participated in the FundingPost event: Seattle Early Stage Venture and Angel Investing on Wednesday, Feb 7, 2007 in WA

Pacific West Land, LLC
Pacific West Land, LLC, is one of the nation's most successful real estate investment companies. Under the leadership of Bruce Galloway, its investments have enjoyed a cumulative cost-weighted IRR of over 20% and profits of over $100 million. Currently Pacific West has holdings valued at over $200 million in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and Southern California.

Some Previous Investments:
Arrowhead Crossing
Glendale, Arizona On land originally purchased in 1997, Pacific West developed a 97,083-square-foot neighborhood shopping center. It is anchored by Fry�s, other tenants include General Nutrition Center and State Farm Insurance. If sold on completion in December 2000, the investment would have produced an annual IRR of 55%. The center currently generates over $440,000 per year in positive cash flow.

McDowell Mountain
Village Scottsdale, Arizona On land purchased in 1994, this 73,554-square-foot specialty retail center was developed by Pacific West at the key intersection of Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard and Thompson Peak Parkway. Pacific West secured AJ's Fine Foods and Walgreen's as co-anchors of this center. If sold on completion in December 2002, the investment would have produced an annual IRR of 30%. The center currently generates over $900,000 per year in positive cash flow.

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Noting serial and continuing abuse of the Senate's byzantine to begin with rules by an obstructionist GOP, Senator Harry Reid noted that he's looking at ways to change the procedural rules that govern the Senate. Speaking at Netroots Nation over the weekend, Senator Reid bemoaned the delaying tactics employed by the Republicans whose modus operandi might be described simply thus: "to delay is to derail."

The story in The Hill:

[Senate Majority Leader] Reid said that while Democrats were still looking at options as to how they would change the filibuster, Republicans' use of the rules to force a 60-vote majority on most items before the Senate meant that a change was needed.

"This Republican Senate has started abusing the rules, so we're going to have to change it," Reid told liberal bloggers assembled in Las Vegas for the "Netroots Nation" conference.

"We do not have a plan fully developed yet, but we're looking at ways to change it," Reid said.

Frustration at the Senate rules and the frequent gridlock Republicans have been able to force peppered Reid's remarks to the bloggers. The top Senate Democrat defended his party's work in the Senate the past year and a half, but acknowledged that they might have been able to have been more ambitious in the pace and scope of their legislative agenda if not for Republicans.

"Suddenly, 60 is the new 51," he said, noting the new standard for legislation.

Senate rules allow individual members to filibuster a legislation -- in essence, continuing debate indefinitely -- unless 60 votes can be found to move to a final vote. Democrats control 59 seats, meaning at least one Republican is needed to advance a bill.

Reid noted that Democrats for a time enjoyed a 60-vote majority that should have allowed them to advance a number of priorities, but the majority leader argued that it was short-lived.

"Remember, we only had 60 votes for a matter of a few weeks," he explained, noting the delay in swearing in Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) last August. "60 votes was a very fleeting time in history in this country. But we did a lot of time during that period."

Still, a rules change would be difficult for Democrats to manage if they keep their majority after this year's midterm elections, in which Republicans are expected to make gains. Senate rules require 67 votes just to change the rules, meaning that a number of GOP senators would have to sign on to an effort that would undercut one of their most useful tactics as a minority party.

Reform of the Senate's rules, and in particular an amelioration of the filibuster, is a welcomed development. Still the greater problem is a design flaw that over-represents rural conservative interests and resolving that problem requires a Constitutional amendment that frankly that of as now is simply inconceivable. But even as the solution may escape us, the problem is real and growing by the day. Urban America's hopes for a more progressive nation are thwarted by an ever more conservative rural America even as urban America's numbers grow and rural America's number dwindle.

The 26 least populous states in the country who form a majority in the Senate represent just 17.8 percent of the nation's population according to the 2000 US Census. While these 26 include states like Vermont, Delaware and Rhode Island, of the 26 least populous states 15 voted for McCain and 11 for Obama in 2008 but if we go back to 2004 then 19 of these 26 states voted for Bush versus just eight for Kerry (OR, CT, RI, ME, VT, HA, NH, DE). The most populous of these 26 states is Colorado and the least is Wyoming with the bulk of the states being a mixture of Southern, Prairie, Mountain West/Far West or New England states. Of these four regions, three are overwhelmingly rural and conservative and account for 20 of the 26 states. The United States is not the only country with a legislative body that over-represents rural interests. Thailand and Japan have the same problem and not surprisingly suffer from many of the same problems that we do.

As the Republican Party is favored by rural and conservative interests, it too is overrepresented in the Senate though not to the extreme shown above. The GOP has 40 Senators at the moment but those seats represent just a fraction above 35 percent of the US population. Still that's an over-representation of 5 Senate seats, not an insignificant number in a hundred member body.

What a whole day. I already waked up enough but still didn't catch up the first session, at 6:00 AM, the optional mountain trail hike.

I came from the Internet space, combined with the startup space. Today's session is generally interesting and amazing. The most inspirational part of today's session is, the people, the company, and the topics are not those I will touch on daily basis. I was dragged out of Internet a little bit, but not too far away - to the Tech world.

For example, the Writer, and Producer of ABC Series Lost talked about the role of technology in TV program, and the one year old ex-Googler CEO of AOL talking about the "turn" of the company. The CEO of Xerox talked about how they turned themselves from a copier company to a full document service company, and more importantly, turned from the bottom of the curve up.

When I was sitting at the middle section under the tent (yes! the conference is held under a big tent. Not very many people attending, just about 200-300 in total), I was wondering why I am here. It is not something directly related to my job. But I am convinced that I need to start to participate in this conference to keep my eyes open. The question I want to ask is, why all the other CEOs and presidents of famous companies participate. They must come for a reason. I have to say some of the topics like the trends of the whole industry does not interest me as much as topics directly related to my work, it does mean that I need more years to be appreciating the topics. The people are here to share, and to learn about the trends of the industry. It acts as some kind of orchestration of the movement of the industry. They want to make sure people from the government, from the tech, from media, and from investment are frequently put together, to reach some consensus about what to do in the next 18 to 3 years, so big and small companies like Google, Microsoft, Disney, AOL, IAC, Twitter can do something together toward the same direction, I mean, if they all feel the water the same way. The bottom line is, it is not waste of time.

I do have to comment a little bit about the beautiful Aspen. I really didn't see too much about Aspen yet. The schedule was so full, and I don't want to waste the opportunity to network with the great people there, but it is so beautiful. I especially like the creeks, and the water there. Tomorrow afternoon, there will be a bike session for the participants, and I expect to go out to see Aspen, and take some pictures. BTW, Aspen is 8200 feet in latitude. It is not very high compared to many places in west part of China, and there is no altitude sickness at all. There are some people who report the difference. Where is it for me?

For those who wonder why I didn't post any picture of my US trip onto my blog yet. The answer is simple, I just left my USB cable home, and didn't take a chance to buy one.

All of the BSU haters, including Mr. Mark May, have convinced themselves that we are going to lose to the Hokies in our season opener.

In fact, the dismissal of Boise State borders on paranoia. May and others firmly state that we have "no chance."

The Broncos are favored by 2.5 points for cryin' out loud!

I can't wait to hear the excuses. The blame. The scramble to justify and make sense of college football with Boise State planted firmly on top with all of the other college football powerhouses.

I think it is absolutely hilarious that sooo many of you believe that we can't beat Virginia Tech.

When will these morons quit handing us Broncos yet another advantage?

Those people are out of their minds, and they desperately want to believe that Boise can't win this game. 

With only 1,000 of our Boise State tickets left to sell to the Virginia Tech game, I think it's safe to say that you Hokies better start getting nervous.

We Broncos travel!

All of these kids traveled to Phoenix and performed very well on the big stage.

It's mind-boggling to hear that we "can't compete" again and again.

Boise State has so many weapons.

We are losing just one starter, and our genius of a coach moved him to a different position for his last two games.

Our line grew 28 pounds on average from 2008-2009. It's going to grow another 20 pounds by the time the Hokies get trampled.

Rumor has Byron Hout moving to linebacker, because at 265 pounds, we just have bigger guys to hold the center. 

I WATCHED Virginia Tech play last year.

They do not have a chance unless the six starters they lost on D are going to be magically replaced with veterans.

Our offensive unit is intact and growing.

VT's offense is good, and probably won't go scoreless.

But our defense is nasty.

As soon as we do go undefeated, the talk will shift to how we "can't beat Bama," even though they let Utah take them apart. Boise has had no problem with the mighty Utes on several occasions.

I would like to remind all of you that the National Championship will be played in the Fiesta Bowl this year. And I'm very confident the Broncos can make it 3-0 in Cardinal Stadium.

Please don't cry when we take the crystal football back to Boise.

As far as the Mountain West is concerned, you can all expect to see the Broncos dominate their new conference almost as bad as we did the WAC.

Do any of you realize that the Broncos are 17-1 against the Mountain West since it was formed?

That includes a 3-0 record against Utah, a 2-0 record against BYU, a 7-0 against Wyoming, and a 3-1 against TCU.

Oh...I'm sorry...you guys are right.

We did lose by one point to TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl.

Sorry about that.

Hope we can be forgiven.

Oh, by the way, we still have Utah on our out-of-conference schedule in 2011, 2012, and 2013.

Boise is five hours away from Salt Lake by car, so they ain't dropping no Boise State games. 

I will finish with one LEGITIMATE QUESTION I DARE YOU DISBELIEVERS TO ANSWER:

What will you do when the Broncos crush the Hokies and go undefeated?

San Diego State sophomore Kawhi Leonard was chosen as a preseason fourth-team All-American by ESPN.com's Dick Vitale. The 2010 Mountain West Conference tournament most valuable player and first-team all-league selection was the only player from a state of California university to be named to one of the college basketball analyst's five preseason teams.

This is ninth in a series of conference profiles as part of BCS Know How’s season preview. Today’s conference is the Mountain West Conference.

Conference: Mountain West Conference (MWC)

Active Since: 1999

Current Member Schools: Air Force Falcons, Brigham Young (BYU) Cougars, Colorado State Rams, New Mexico Lobos, San Diego State Aztecs, Texas Christian (TCU) Horned Frogs, UNLV Rebels, Utah Utes, Wyoming Cowboys. (9)

Bowl Affiliations: New Mexico Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, Poinsettia Bowl, Independence Bowl, Armed Forces Bowl. (5)

2009 Results:
Conference Champion – TCU
Conference Runner-up – BYU
Overall Bowl Record: 4-1 (Bowl Challenge Cup Champion)
AP All-Americans: TCU DE Jerry Hughes (1st team), BYU TE Dennis Pitta (2nd)

2010 Outlook: Three top-25 teams, a BCS bowl bid and a Bowl Challenge championship. Sounds like a BCS conference right?

Actually, it was the 2009 edition of the Mountain West Conference, a conference that in the past few years has been able to produce not only some of the best non-BCS conference action, but also has seemingly mastered the role of BCS-buster, submitting three teams — TCU last season and Utah in two other seasons — to the BCS.

2010 finds the MWC at an all-time high, coming off one of its best seasons and returning most of the skill that helped the conference make so much noise last year.

Of course, any conversation about a repeat of last year has to begin with TCU, who not only made their way to a Fiesta Bowl bid, but also finished fourth in the final BCS standings, the highest ever finish for a non-BCS school.

The Horned Frogs return star quarterback Andy Dalton and most of the explosive offense that averaged nearly 40 points per game last season. And despite losing 1st-team All-American DE Jerry Hughes, the Frogs’ defense returns seven of 11 starters. However, the schedule looks quite daunting for the Frogs, with games at SMU and Utah plus visits from Oregon State and Baylor looming.

If TCU is to falter anywhere along the line, Utah is poised to retake control of the conference and can easily make their way to another BCS bowl. The Utes take on two tough BCS opponents, the Big East’s Pittsburgh and independent Notre Dame, along with tests against TCU and BYU. If they can make their way through that schedule unscathed, it would be hard to refuse the Utes a BCS bid.

Although the conference has been the domain of the Utes and Frogs these past few seasons the conference has quietly become strong from top to bottom, and any of a variety of teams could challenge the two for conference bragging rights.

BYU, who toppled both Sam Bradford and Oklahoma early in 2009, finished 11-2 last year and looked as strong as any MWC team, will compete again despite losing QB Max Hall to the pros. Air Force and Wyoming looked revived in ’09 and are poised to continue improving in 2010. Wyoming’s young gun Austyn Carta-Samuels could challenge Dalton as the conference’s player of the year and could make some early noise against BCS schools like Texas and Boise State.

Its not a surprise to find a strong Mountain West anymore, but the depth of the conference this season could go a long way towards solidifying its spot among the Football Bowl Subdivision elite, and even a BCS automatic bid somewhere down the line when the board reviews the automatic qualifiers in 2012.

2010 Heisman Hopefuls: TCU QB Andy Dalton, Wyoming QB Austyn Carta-Samuels

BCS Know How’s 2010 Predictions:
Conference Champion – TCU (11-1, 8-0)
Conference Runner-up – Utah (10-2, 7-1)
Heisman Finalists: None

Plus BBC Zeitgeist, Firefox password hacks, Apple financials, OpenHeatMap and more

HTML5 fist, after A List Apart. Photo by justinsomnia on Flickr. Some rights reserved
A burst of 23 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team

An HTML5 Interactive Infographic featuring Dribbble >> 4muladesign
Only really works in Safari (and Opera?). By Jamie Brightmore, based in the Cotswolds. How goes the browser compatibility, Jamie?

Online deal hounds on the hunt as Bing Cashback nears the end >> Techflash.com
"With less than two weeks left before the end of Microsoft's Bing Cashback rebate program, savvy online shoppers are watching closely for larger-than-normal refunds from the companies involved in the program. "That's because unspent funds in the merchants' Bing Cashback "piggybanks" -- money that Microsoft allotted for Cashback refunds -- will no longer be available for use after the program ends on July 30, creating an incentive for them to deplete the reserves by sweetening their Cashback deals for consumers."

Needlebase >> Needlebase
Interesting: " reconcile multiple data sources into a consistent database... harvest structured data from websites or feeds to build a vertical search engine, or enrich your existing data".

BBC Zeitgeist >> BBC
OH HAI BBC ZEITGEIST U LOOK ... actually a bit dull. Still, room to grow, eh?

Microsoft may face tough patch job with Windows shortcut bug >> Computerworld
"Microsoft has acknowledged that attackers can use a malicious shortcut file, identified by the ".lnk" extension, to automatically execute their malware by getting users to view the contents of a folder containing a malformed shortcut. The risk is even greater if hackers use infected USB flash drives to spread their attack code, since the latter automatically executes on most Windows PCs as soon as drive is plugged into the machine." All varieties of Windows are vulnerable, including Windows 7.

Firefox lets hackers grab your passwords >> NetworkWorld.com Community
"Black Hat researcher will demonstrate how to scrape Firefox passwords with Cross Site Scripting malware." Can't wait for next week's Black Hat security conference at Las Vegas.

Google To Steve Jobs: Yes, People Use Mobile Search >> paidContent
"People are using about 10 apps in a given week, which makes me think of the early days of cable, when people only watched a handful of channels. The space will get a lot larger and consumers' appetites for that content will catch up," said Eric Johnson of ESPN.

The most prescient footnote ever >> Oddhead Blog
Paul Graham wrote it. He thought in a way that a lot of people did, but expressed in an interesting way.

Apple Reports Third Quarter Results >> Apple
3.27m iPads sold. Apple is, among other things, effectively the monopoly tablet supplier in the world. But iPod sales are sliding fast: lowest since 2006.

OpenHeatMap >> OpenHeatMap
"Upload your spreadsheet. Get an interactive online map in seconds. What are you waiting for?"

Technical Support Phone Scams >> Symantec Connect
Orla Cox at Symantec has a video of how one of the call centre scammers "cleans" your PC. Basically, turning off the warnings in Event Viewer. Er...

Google Wins Patent For Cursor-Driven Search Relevancy >> SEWatch
'Did that just feel weird to read? It is indeed the latest patent obtained by Google, a giant innovative step for search: now the Mountain View-based company will be able to serve more relevant search results based on your mouse pointer movements on the page.'

Apple discussed Verizon switch 'at least half a dozen times,' and other stories about its AT&T relationship
'Wired has published an exhaustive and fascinating expose on the "loveless celebrity marriage" that is Apple and AT&T; -- all from sources familiar with the matters but who cannot (or will not) be named, of course. In other words, don't take this as gospel, but frankly, none of this sounds too crazy or outside the realm of what we've already surmised ourselves.

[Rumor] Apple To Charge For iPad iOS4 Update? >> The Next Web
'If the team over at Stuff.tv are to be believed, Apple is set to charge iPad owners for the iOS4 firmware upgrade, reintroducing a paid upgrade structure that was once present for the iPod Touch.'

Apple policy on location data collecting [PDF] >> US House of Representatives
Provided to the US legislators to show that it doesn't track people. Honest.

MOG Finally Goes Mobile With New iPhone, Android Apps >> GIga OM
'Better late than never, streaming music service MOG has finally introduced its mobile application for iPhone and Android devices, providing streaming access to a library of eight million songs for a monthly fee of $9.99.'

Google Gets Semantic: Buys Metaweb >> Giga OM
'Google today announced it had acquired Metaweb Technologies, the ambitious startup building a database of all the web's information called Freebase. Metaweb was yet another semantic web startup before its time, but with the help of Google it now has the potential to make a much bigger impact.'

Tumblr Is On Fire. Now Over 6 Million Users, 1.5 Billion Pageviews A Month
'One year ago, in July 2009, Tumblr was going strong. They had 255 million pageviews that month. By November of last year, that was up to 420 million pageviews. But some new stats which Tumblr is releasing today show an explosion in growth since then. Tumblr is now at 1.5 billion pageviews a month — their Quantcast data confirms this.'

Facebook-Like Site Brings Safe Social Networking to Young Kids
'Togetherville is an online community for kids who are too young for Facebook that allows them to experience social networking in a fun, age-appropriate environment with involvement from parents and other trusted adults.'

How Mobile Technology is a Game Changer for Developing Africa
'Because of widespread poverty in Africa, the technology culture there has followed a different path than the West. Because computers are so expensive, affordable mobile phones have become the ubiquitous form of communication. Between 2003 and 2008, Africa had the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world. On average, more than one-third of the African population has a mobile plan, with some areas reaching almost two-thirds market penetration.'

New Google Buzz API features, including a hose of fire >> Google Code Blog
'Since we introduced the Google Buzz API at Google I/O, we've been working hard to make it better, broader, and more useful. Today we're introducing several new features that are the direct result of your feedback.'

Report: Mobile app store downloads to hit 25 billion by 2015
'The app store train seems unstoppable. According to a Juniper Research report out today, the number of "consumer-oriented handset downloads" is expected to rise from less than 2.6 billion per-year in 2009 to more than 25 billion in 2015.'

You can follow Guardian Technology's linkbucket on delicious

This is part one of a series highlighting the best teams in the non-AQ conferences.

In the BCS era, only two non-AQ conferences have produced all of the BCS busters: the Mountain West Conference and the Western Athletic Conference.

Often, conferences such as the Sun Belt are completely ignored. No one knows much about these teams besides the loyal fans of these "mid-major" conferences. And any promotion or praise of these teams is often blown aside ignorantly with quips like, "Who did they play?" or "well, if they were in the SEC..."

Yet despite all of that, teams even in this lonely and forgotten part of college football find a way to beat the odds and shine. It's teams like this that make the best stories, and it's teams like this that cry out for an end to the monopoly in college football.

Middle Tennessee State is one of those teams.

Last year's team was the first to finally break the 10-win ceiling for their conference, and they also gained a great personal victory by winning their first bowl game. This team has risen to new heights.

And this is just the beginning.

Senior Quarterback Dwight Dasher is back to improve on his impressive 2009 record. He gained 4,093 all purpose yards, as well as 34 touchdowns. He is a dual-threat quarterback that can beat you through the air, or can dash right by you on the way to the end zone.

Not bad, particularly when you consider that he only began his starting QB role just last year.

The Blue Raiders also have some defensive prowess. Last year, they finished seventh in sacks and 12th for interceptions in FBS. Watch out for DE Jamari Lattimore, and a very impressive secondary in Jeremy Kellem and Kevin Brown. True, they have some holes to fill from last year's squad, particularly at linebacker, but they do have a sound foundation upon which they can improve this year.

This season, the greatest challenge to the Blue Raiders is Georgia Tech. Should MTSU take them out, things could get very interesting.

Could a team from the Sun Belt go from its first bowl win to its first BCS bowl appearance?

Here's what will need to happen for the Blue Raiders to get a golden ticket to the BCS:

1. They must go undefeated. That's been the price for every other BCS buster so far, and MTSU isn't going to start high enough in the polls or have a strong enough strength of schedule to get high enough to get a bid, should they falter.

2. Boise State and whoever wins the MWC has to have at least one loss. Only one team can get an automatic bid to a BCS bowl should they finish in the top-12 or in the top-16 above a champion of a BCS conference in the final BCS rankings. However unfair to the Blue Raiders, should Boise State or the MWC champion go undefeated, I suspect that the automatic bid would go to them due to their higher initial ranking and strength of schedule.

Therefore, MTSU needs to be the only undefeated non-AQ team in the nation to be the highest non-BCS team in the final BCS rankings.

3. There needs to be enough chaos in the AQ conferences that there are few clear teams that deserve an at large bid.

Possible? Yes. Likely? Unfortunately, no.

Nonetheless, the Blue Raiders can build upon a year of firsts to produce another. They can lay a foundation of national respect, just like Boise State has done, which could lead them perhaps to the heights that the Broncos have achieved.

Yes, this is a team from the Sun Belt.

And this team has so much to play for.

Independence from conference membership is an option for BYU, but the athletic department’s focus is still on turning the Mountain West Conference into an automatic qualifier for a BCS game, athletic director Tom Holmoe said to media members on Friday.

Who you play during the season matters just as much as when you play them. Finding the energy to play at a high level every week is difficult enough for any Big 12 team. These four will have do so against their toughest competition in a few short weeks. 

It's not coincidence that every string of games listed below includes teams like Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas—most preseason polls put all three in their Top Ten. 

Having to face any one of them is truly a test.

To play them consecutively surely makes for a preparation nightmare.

Most of these taxing stints include conference games, but non-conference games weren't excluded from the criteria.

I owa State: (Oct. 2 - Nov. 6) Texas Tech, Utah, at Texas, at Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska. 

Life doesn't get any easier for the Cyclones in 2010. They play projected heavyweights Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska during a four week span.

As if that's not enough of a tall order, consider that they play a Mountain West team which could contend for a conference title, a Kansas team some think could challenge the Huskers for the North title, and a Red Raider club sure to bring their "A" game. 

This one beats out all the others—even though most of these contests are home games, arguably the two stoutest opponents will be played on the road. 

There are no bye weeks for Paul Rhoads and Co. during this rough string of games. 

Texas A&M: (Oct. 30 - Nov. 25) Texas Tech, Oklahoma, at Baylor, Nebraska, at Texas. 

The 12th man better not go on hiatus from Kyle Field during the last half of this season.  The Sooners and the Huskers, plausible foes in the Big 12 Championship Game, come to Kyle Field within three weeks of each other. 

Hosting the Red Raiders may not seem as difficult as some of the other contests, but Tommy Tuberville's crew may not so easily forget the 52-30 loss handed to them in Lubbock last year. 

Going to Waco to take on the Baylor Bears may not seem too monumental either, but it might be a trap game before Nebraska—look for Robert Griffin's squad to play harder late in the season when they need wins to make them bowl eligible.  

Missouri: (Oct. 16 - Nov. 6) at Texas A&M, Oklahoma, at Nebraska, at Texas Tech. 

The Tigers reel off a few cupcakes to start off the season.

A mid-October trip to Kyle Field could give Mizzou more than it can handle. It doesn't get any easier to host perennial title contender Oklahoma. The next week's contest against Nebraska could be a de facto Big 12 North Title game.

After that, Missouri gets on a bus to visit a Tech team that always plays its best football at home.  

 

Baylor: (Oct. 30 - Nov. 20) at Texas, at Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma. 

It's safe to say that Baylor's best chances to secure a bowl spot come before this point in the season. 

All of these four teams are yearly South competitors for the Bears.

All four figure to have offenses with both talent and experience come November.  There are no bye weeks in this stretch. Expect these contests to test this team's depth.  

Teams who almost made the cut—Texas and Oklahoma. Both have runs at the beginning of the season which include some big competition.