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Monday, 13 June 2005 |
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 | | Fresno State Fans hope to have as much to cheer about this year - Photo by GoBulldogs.com | Three teams combine for 25 wins and get no bowl invite. This isn't the BigTen, it's WAC football. And unlike the "real" conferences, everything that these guys get, they must earn.
The conference looks poised to pull some solid upsets this year, but don't count on any team making the run that Fresno State did last year. Particularly exciting games on the schedule include the following:
August 23
Fresno St. at Wisconsin - Opening at Wiscy. should tell a great deal about where Fresno State is headed this year.
Sept. 7
Fresno State at Oregon - If they topple the Badgers they should enter this game 2-0 against the 1-0 Ducks.
Boise State at Arkansas - Look for the Broncos to seek redemption in a game they should have won in 2000.
Louisana Tech at Clemson - A rematch of the Humanitarian Bowl. Tech should be more competitive this time.Sept. 21
Louisana Tech at Penn State - I doubt they have the juice to topple the Nittany Lions, but I doubted PSU would open 0-4 last year too...
Fresno St. at Oregon State - This is the 3rd big game of the season for the 'Dogs. The Beavers will want revenge from last year, and this should be a great game.
Sept. 28
Louisana Tech at Tx. A&M - Possibly Louisana Tech's best chance for an upset this year. May ne in my contrarian picks of the week...
November 30.
Hawaii v. Wash. State - If Wassou has the year everyone seems to be predicting, Hawaii could play the spoiler and be a giant killer at the end of the season.
Looking away from the OOC schedules, the WAC looks to be a three dog race this season. I'm calling Boise State to take the conference followed neck-and-neck by Louisana Tech and Fresno State. Hawaii is barely a hair out of the picture but with games at Fresno St. and at Boise St., I think they'll just miss the top of the conference.
As to the rest of the conference, we think the pecking order looks something like this:
5. SMU - A soft schedule brings the Mustangs to the top of the "rest" though I don't think they'll be finishing that much better than last year's 4-7.
6. Rice - Though a huge number of questions appear on Defense, the owls should still annoy the oposition with their grinding tripl-option O. Only Nebraska had more yard per game on the ground and that should save some problems for the D.
7. San Jose State -If the Spartans can shore up their turnover numbers, they should improve on a 3-9 record and finish near mid-pack.
8. Nevada - A defense that ranked 114th in the nation last year won't do much to help Nevada reach the top of the WAC.
9. UTEP - The miners could be the surprise of the WAC if they return to the form they showed in 2000. The defense is almost all back and Miners have returned to the 4-2-5 set that worked well in the 8-4 2000 campaign. Regardless, the Sept. 14 game at Oklahoma should be ugly no matter who they use on D.
10. Tulsa - After a 1-10 campaign, Tulsa can't get much worse. Problem is, they're not yet that much better. They may upset UTEP or Nevada to escape the cellar, but don't expect much more.
Care to disagree? Let me know in the forums here:
http://www.onlycollegefootball.com/forums/
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Last Updated ( Monday, 13 June 2005 )
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