There are still many conferences out there in the NCAA. Five mid-major conferences are spread out across the nation, and most of them have a team per year that could be a fly in the ointment of the BCS rankings. So it is advantageous to see how these conferences are doing. You never know – one of these teams could surprise everyone and sneak into the BCS!
…That, and the independents don’t really have a conference. So I’m throwing them in with the mid-majors.
Conference USA
I’m slightly surprised this conference has a championship game because it’s not as well-known as the MAC Championship. …Yes, it’s not as well-known. At least people know of the MAC because of NFL quarterbacks such as Byron Leftwich, Chad Pennington, and Ben Roethlisberger. Anyway. Tulsa and Southern Mississippi look to be the favorites to match up for the C-USA trophy. Tulsa is 5-1 and 2-0 in conference play, but they have to play UTEP on November 4th. Those two teams are both 2-0 in conference play, with UTEP being 4-2 overall. Houston, Rice, SMU and Tulane are all after UTEP, but none of them should be too much of a challenge. It’ll come down to UTEP-Tulsa as to who represents the West division. In the East division, Southern Miss is the favorite, having only lost to Tulsa in-conference and to Florida out of conference play. They have to play Virginia Tech this Saturday but from there on in, it’s home-free for the Golden Eagles. I predict a UTEP-Southern Miss championship game, with the Miners coming out on top.
Mid-American Conference
Kent State started out 0-2, losing 44-0 to Minnesota and 17-14 to Army. Since then, the Golden Flashes are undefeated. Central Michigan is 5-3 and undefeated in conference play (5-0), having just defeated Bowling Green Thursday night. The rest of Central Michigan’s schedule is fairly easy, but a matchup with Northern Illinois is bound to be difficult. Kent State has 4-3 Ohio at home, and then Virginia Tech out of conference, but aside from that, these Golden Flashes are looking to make the MAC championship game. Central Michigan controls its own destiny and at the moment, looks to make the championship as well. A Kent State versus Central Michigan game would be interesting, and at this point it is what I’m predicting.
Mountain West Conference
TCU was the early favorite to dominate this conference and make the BCS. But that all has gone up in smoke, as the Horned Frogs have dropped two straight to BYU and Utah. That has effectively taken them out of contention. Air Force and BYU are both undefeated in conference play at 3-0 and 2-0, respectively. These two teams play one another on the 28th of the month and will bring two completely different offensive styles to the table. Air Force is the option-run offense, while BYU tends to air it out. BYU’s schedule is the easier of the two, but Air Force played Tennessee right down to the wire and probably should have won that game. Either Air Force or BYU will win this conference. Wyoming is 2-1 in MWC play but 3-4 overall, which belies the 2-1 in-conference play. Don’t expect Wyoming to contend for the title. BYU-Air Force will likely be the deciding game for the conference, with the unimpressive TCU squad watching from the sidelines.
Sun Belt Conference
It’s the Race For The New Orleans Bowl! The closest that one of these teams has come to winning a big game was Troy’s near-upset of Florida State. Four teams are currently undefeated in conference play but only two have a winning record (Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette are 4-2). Two teams are 2-0 in conference and two are 1-0. That should sort itself out soon enough, though. Again, none of these teams will make it past the New Orleans Bowl. My guess is that Arkansas State continues its track and wins the conference with one loss.
Western Athletic Conference
This one is Boise State’s to either win or lose. They control their own destiny. This team could get into the BCS as the token mid-major, but the rest of the bowl-eligible teams won’t make it into a good bowl. Hawaii and San Jose State are 4-2 and 4-1, respectively, but neither has a legitimate shot of catching Boise State. Hawaii’s already lost to the Broncos. San Jose State gets the Broncos at home but their team is less-than-average and shouldn’t pose a threat to Ian Johnson and Jared Zabransky, with their 25 combined touchdowns. Boise State, I believe, can make the BCS.
1-A Independents
Notre Dame and Navy are both having great years. Navy’s loss of its star quarterback for the season is a heavy blow to the team, however, and won’t allow much in the way of many wins down the stretch. Neither backup put into the Rutgers game produced. They don’t play this weekend, but they get Notre Dame at home on the 28th. After that, it’s a schedule that is conducive to – at best – a 9-3 record, assuming Notre Dame beats the Midshipmen. Temple, Duke, Eastern Michigan and Army are all down the stretch. Three are winless teams and Army is 3-4, so Navy shouldn’t have a hard time winning at least two of those games. Again, Navy will be bowl-eligible. Notre Dame is headed for the BCS again, with an easy schedule down the stretch that culminates with a massive rematch with USC at the Coliseum. It will be a close game; that much is positive. Notre Dame has recovered admirably from its blowout loss to Michigan, and will roll onward to face its rival USC. Whether Notre Dame wins or loses, it seems that they will make the BCS. A loss could doom Notre Dame to a lesser bowl, as long as there are 10 teams that are undefeated or one-loss, or maybe even two-loss with a tougher schedule. For instance, if a two-loss Auburn team were facing off against two-loss Notre Dame for a BCS spot, I feel that Auburn would get the nod due to their tougher schedule.
