Nobody could argue that the Western Athletic Conference is the most recognizable conference in the west other than the Pac-10.

The conference has never been better following consecutive trips to the Bowl Championship Series by Boise State and Hawai’i. Only three non-BCS schools have ever qualified, and two are from the WAC.

Not too shabby.

Over the past two seasons, eight WAC programs qualified for trips to Bowl games.

 After dissecting the upcoming season, I am greatly looking forward to following another WAC campaign.

There isn’t an athletic director or coach in this conference that doesn’t expect another chance at earning a BCS bid.

Everyone is hyping up Fresno State this season to be the front-runner not only to win the WAC, but also make a run at a BCS game. I highly disagree.

There is a formula in place to get a BCS trip from this conference that I don’t believe Fresno State is following.

The formula, you ask?

If you look at how Boise State and Hawai’i earned their BCS births, you can clearly see two common factors. One is that they both went undefeated. The other is that they didn’t play anyone with national prestige.

The only chance a WAC team or any other non-BCS program has to get into the BCS is to run the table and hope there are fewer than two other undefeated teams in the country.

For Fresno State to qualify for the BCS this season, they will obviously have to go undefeated and I don’t see how that could be possible.
Here is a list of games this season that Fresno must win this season if they plan on making the BCS: At Rutgers, at home against Wisconsin, at UCLA and at Boise State (where they’ve never won).

I hope you don’t think Fresno can win all those games. If so, you’ll be disappointed.

Let’s forget about the BCS for a second and focus on WAC play.

The national pundits have either predicted Fresno or Boise State to win the league this season without much competition from other schools. I beg to differ and feel this league will be more competitive one through nine than in past seasons where we basically saw Boise State crush everyone.

Here are a couple teams that have a chance to be better than originally predicted:

New Mexico State — Here is a team that passes the ball as well as any in the land. Coach Hal Mumme and his spread offense (which is very similar to Hawai’i’s) have a chance to contend in the WAC this season. Quarterback Chase Holbrook completed 70 percent of his passes while throwing for 3,866 yards last season and returns for his senior season. NMSU can move the ball on any defense in this league. Its only problem is on the other side of the ball. This defense flat-out stunk last season allowing 36.2 points per game. If the defense cleans itself up a bit, watch out for the Aggies.

Nevada — Coming off three consecutive seasons ending in bowl games, Nevada isn’t getting any publicity this season as a team that could contend for the WAC title. They should. They hired a new defensive coordinator from Oregon State and their top passer, rusher and receiver have returned. They’ll put points on the board this season and could play solid defense. Definitely a sleeper down in Reno.

Idaho — Relax, I’m not doing this as a “homer” pick at all. Idaho is the only team in this conference that returns everyone on offense. Defensively, sure, they lost their entire linebacker corps as well as “The Judge,” Stanly Franks at corner. That said, the Idaho defense will rely on a strong pass rush to go with the top safety tandem in the WAC with Shiloh Keo and Virdell Larkins roaming around making plays. I’m not expecting them to make a serious run at a bowl game or anything — they are still rebuilding.

However, I’m not expecting to see fans bolting for the exits at halftime. Idaho will be competitive this season as long as it can rely on its offense to score touchdowns instead of field goals and get off the field after third down defensively. I feel Vandal fans will be pleasantly surprised with this season’s team.

One thing fans across the country won’t be able to say about the WAC this season is that its schools didn’t play anybody. If you want to see a big-time upset by a WACteam over a BCS school, here is a list of possible shockers:

Fresno State — at Rutgers, Sept. 1, vs. Wisconsin, Sept 13, at UCLA, Sept. 27
Boise State — at Oregon, Sept. 20
Nevada — vs. Texas Tech, Sept. 6, at Missouri, Sept. 13
Hawaii — at Florida, Aug. 30, at Oregon State, Sept. 13
New Mexico State — at Nebraska, Sept. 13 (Ballgame’s pick)
San Jose State — at Nebraska, Sept 6 (nice non-conference schedule, Huskers)
La-Tech — at Kansas, Sept. 6
Idaho — at Arizona, Aug. 30, at San Diego State, Sept. 27
Utah State — at Oregon, Sept. 6

There is a chance the WAC will go winless in each of these possible upset contests. However, all the league needs is one win to announce itself as a quality non-BCS league.

It’s going to be an exiting year for WAC football and its fans. Football season is here, hell yeah.

Listen to the Johnny Ballgame Show on 89.3 FM or www.kuoi.org on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.

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