Quick Thoughts
Monday, August 20, 2007 at 09:38AM No penny needed.
The quality of football played out west in the non-BCS conferences (WAC and Mountain West) has been far superior of late to that played in the MAC, CUSA and Sun Belt ... Speaking of a WAC team, it's hard not to root for San Jose StateDick Tomey. Tomey has that Midas touch of making gold of situations wherever he goes. He turned Hawaii and Arizona into winners before the Wildcats foolishly dropped him. After some time away from the game he made an impact as a defensive assistant at Texas and then has managed to turn San Jose State around in a hurry ...
and coach
...I haven't seen him play all that much, but San Jose State cornerback Dwight Lowery must be something special. Look at the trendlines when it comes to his ability to purloin wayward footballs: 20 interceptions in high school, 13 in 15 junior college games and 9 last year (H/T: Phil Steele)! ... From The Sporting News' college football preview issue re: Notre Dame: "This isn't a BCS-caliber team, but the talent was significantly upgraded the past two recruiting classes". The record may not indicate it, but Notre Dame will become a quality team in rapid fashion. That defense is shaky until proven otherwise, but they have a very intriguing offensive core for the next 2-3 seasons in Jimmy Clausen, backs James Aldridge, Armando Allen and Robert Hughes, receivers Duval Kamara and Golden Tate and tight end Mike Ragone. That group should far surpass the offensive accomplishments of Brady Quinn & Co.
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Reader Comments (3)
C-USA and the MAC aren't as good as either the WAC or the Mountain West, but they aren't vastly inferior. Now, all 4 of these conferences compared to the Sun Belt would qualify as far superior.
Bruce Feldman's comparison of the MWC and the MAC was poorly written. His rankings of the teams were all over the place with no real explanation.
New Mexico State has a funky offensive style that should catch on a little more this year. La Tech used to play that way but has strayed. Fresno State plays a more grinding style and simply had an unexpected terrible year but should be more competitive. It's just a great top-to-bottom non-BCS league. Utah State plays more conventionally and no surprise, they lose a lot. But I bet they'd be more competitive in the MAC if still a losing team.
The Mountain West's bottom is a little light but again overall both leagues have quality talent, coaching and variety on offense (and defense). Things aren't so static and conventional.
They might be more competitive in the MAC East where Buffalo and Temple reside. The MAC West is very good with Ball State arriving on the scene (they'll be bowling, no question), Toledo getting back on track, Western Michigan being the head honcho this year, and Central Michigan retaining the nucleus of their squad and competing for the conference crown.
You won't get any argument from me that the MAC is down right now and that the WAC and MWC are ahead by a significant margin though.