Here is an article from MWC.com that is worthwhile reading.
http://www.themwc.com/blog/2011/01/once-again-the-big-boys-fail-to-measure-up-against-the-little-guys.html
Once Again, the Big Boys Fail to Measure Up Against 'The Little Guys'
By Mick McGrane on January 5, 2011 6:22 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Bear with me while I adjust my chair. Being a crusader for "The Little Guys," I hope you'll understand how big of a challenge it can be to extend my arms high enough to reach the keyboard.
Ah, that's better. Boy, up here a guy could get a superiority complex. Up here, a guy could be cocky, cavalier, condescending and not give a fig. Up here, you play by my rules or you'll rue the day you dared deem yourself worthy of worming your way into my world.
It's the best seat in the house --- assuming "The Little Guys" don't kick it right out from under you.
Which, of course, is exactly what happened in last week's Rose Bowl.
In the event you missed it --- and judging by the game's 11.7 television rating, the highest overnight rating (excluding the NFL) on record for ESPN and all of cable television, few of you did --- you know that "The Little Guys" won. You know because ESPN's Chris Fowler and Erin Andrews made sure you did, asking TCU quarterback Andy Dalton in a postgame interview just how good it felt to "win one for the little guys."
Ever the diplomat, Dalton responded with courtesy and consideration. He should have responded by asking Fowler and Andrews if they'd ever pondered the notion of doing some prep work. This wasn't Joe Palooka getting off the deck and dethroning the champ. In the Rose Bowl, "The Little Guys" were ranked No. 3 in the nation. "The Little Guys" had just finished 13-0 after posting back-to-back undefeated regular seasons. "The Little Guys" feature a group of seniors that won 44 games, and in a world happily devoid of the BCS could stake a claim as the national champion.
But there it was again. The stigma, the stain. "The Little Guys" label. Not a part of an automatic-qualifying BCS conference? Take a seat at the kiddies' table and be grateful you're not asked to genuflect. When will it end? What does a league have to do to prove it's one of "The Big Boys?"
Well, here's some news: the Mountain West is one of "The Big Boys." And while it may take some starch out of the ruling class' collar, it might also prompt those blinded by BCS greed to do their homework:
• Over the past seven seasons (including 2010), the Mountain West Conference owns the best win percentage in bowl games among the 11 FBS conferences with a mark of 22-9 (.710). The SEC is second at 34-18 (.654), followed by the Big East and Pac-10 (both 20-14) at .558. And for those dubious of the MWC's ability to go toe-to-toe with "The Big Boys?" During that span, the league is merely 11-3 against automatic-qualifying BCS teams in bowl games.
• For the second time in three years, a team from the MWC will be in the national championship discussion at the conclusion of the bowl season. With TCU defeating No. 5 Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, it will finish the year as one of only two undefeated teams. Utah concluded the 2008 season 13-0 with a 31-17 victory over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The Utes finished No. 2 in the Associated Press poll and No. 4 in the USA Today Coaches' Top 25.
• Since the league's inception 12 years ago, the MWC holds a 13-7 record in bowl games against opponents from automatic-qualifying BCS conferences, including wins over the Pac-10 (six), SEC (two), ACC (two), Big Ten (one), Big 12 (one) and Big East (one). In four BCS appearances, the MWC is 3-1. The ACC's record over that same span in BCS games, 2-11.
• If Miami (Ohio) defeats Middle Tennessee State in the GoDaddy.com Bowl on Jan. 6, the MWC will claim its second straight (fourth overall) Bowl Challenge Cup. The MWC is the only league to win the Bowl Challenge Cup three times since the award's inception in 2002-03. No wonder ESPN has barely discussed the Cup it created for the conference bowl champion during the current 2010 postseason. If it did, the network might actually (gulp) be forced to allude to the Mountain West Conference. Of course, if you watched the Rose Bowl, you know that would run counter to journalistic integrity, considering announcers Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit conveniently failed to mention the Mountain West Conference by name throughout the broadcast. The same MWC that is yet again dominating the bowl season and on the verge of winning ESPN's Bowl Challenge Cup.
• With a 4-1 mark in 2010, the Mountain West secured its fifth straight winning bowl record. The MWC is one of three conferences to finish with a winning bowl record each of the last four years (Big East and SEC). At present, the Big East is 3-2, while the SEC is 3-4 this postseason.
• The MWC is 8-2 in bowl games over the last two seasons, with both losses coming against Boise State. Of the eight wins, four have come against automatic-qualifying BCS conferences (2-0 vs. Pac-10 and 1-0 vs. the ACC and Big Ten).
"What it really comes down to," Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney told ESPN.com, "is how you play big games against great opponents on big stages."
Big games, big stages. Events reserved for "The Big Boys," a once exclusive moniker that heretofore also belongs to the Mountain West Conference.
http://www.themwc.com/blog/2011/01/once-again-the-big-boys-fail-to-measure-up-against-the-little-guys.html
Once Again, the Big Boys Fail to Measure Up Against 'The Little Guys'
By Mick McGrane on January 5, 2011 6:22 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Bear with me while I adjust my chair. Being a crusader for "The Little Guys," I hope you'll understand how big of a challenge it can be to extend my arms high enough to reach the keyboard.
Ah, that's better. Boy, up here a guy could get a superiority complex. Up here, a guy could be cocky, cavalier, condescending and not give a fig. Up here, you play by my rules or you'll rue the day you dared deem yourself worthy of worming your way into my world.
It's the best seat in the house --- assuming "The Little Guys" don't kick it right out from under you.
Which, of course, is exactly what happened in last week's Rose Bowl.
In the event you missed it --- and judging by the game's 11.7 television rating, the highest overnight rating (excluding the NFL) on record for ESPN and all of cable television, few of you did --- you know that "The Little Guys" won. You know because ESPN's Chris Fowler and Erin Andrews made sure you did, asking TCU quarterback Andy Dalton in a postgame interview just how good it felt to "win one for the little guys."
Ever the diplomat, Dalton responded with courtesy and consideration. He should have responded by asking Fowler and Andrews if they'd ever pondered the notion of doing some prep work. This wasn't Joe Palooka getting off the deck and dethroning the champ. In the Rose Bowl, "The Little Guys" were ranked No. 3 in the nation. "The Little Guys" had just finished 13-0 after posting back-to-back undefeated regular seasons. "The Little Guys" feature a group of seniors that won 44 games, and in a world happily devoid of the BCS could stake a claim as the national champion.
But there it was again. The stigma, the stain. "The Little Guys" label. Not a part of an automatic-qualifying BCS conference? Take a seat at the kiddies' table and be grateful you're not asked to genuflect. When will it end? What does a league have to do to prove it's one of "The Big Boys?"
Well, here's some news: the Mountain West is one of "The Big Boys." And while it may take some starch out of the ruling class' collar, it might also prompt those blinded by BCS greed to do their homework:
• Over the past seven seasons (including 2010), the Mountain West Conference owns the best win percentage in bowl games among the 11 FBS conferences with a mark of 22-9 (.710). The SEC is second at 34-18 (.654), followed by the Big East and Pac-10 (both 20-14) at .558. And for those dubious of the MWC's ability to go toe-to-toe with "The Big Boys?" During that span, the league is merely 11-3 against automatic-qualifying BCS teams in bowl games.
• For the second time in three years, a team from the MWC will be in the national championship discussion at the conclusion of the bowl season. With TCU defeating No. 5 Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, it will finish the year as one of only two undefeated teams. Utah concluded the 2008 season 13-0 with a 31-17 victory over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The Utes finished No. 2 in the Associated Press poll and No. 4 in the USA Today Coaches' Top 25.
• Since the league's inception 12 years ago, the MWC holds a 13-7 record in bowl games against opponents from automatic-qualifying BCS conferences, including wins over the Pac-10 (six), SEC (two), ACC (two), Big Ten (one), Big 12 (one) and Big East (one). In four BCS appearances, the MWC is 3-1. The ACC's record over that same span in BCS games, 2-11.
• If Miami (Ohio) defeats Middle Tennessee State in the GoDaddy.com Bowl on Jan. 6, the MWC will claim its second straight (fourth overall) Bowl Challenge Cup. The MWC is the only league to win the Bowl Challenge Cup three times since the award's inception in 2002-03. No wonder ESPN has barely discussed the Cup it created for the conference bowl champion during the current 2010 postseason. If it did, the network might actually (gulp) be forced to allude to the Mountain West Conference. Of course, if you watched the Rose Bowl, you know that would run counter to journalistic integrity, considering announcers Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit conveniently failed to mention the Mountain West Conference by name throughout the broadcast. The same MWC that is yet again dominating the bowl season and on the verge of winning ESPN's Bowl Challenge Cup.
• With a 4-1 mark in 2010, the Mountain West secured its fifth straight winning bowl record. The MWC is one of three conferences to finish with a winning bowl record each of the last four years (Big East and SEC). At present, the Big East is 3-2, while the SEC is 3-4 this postseason.
• The MWC is 8-2 in bowl games over the last two seasons, with both losses coming against Boise State. Of the eight wins, four have come against automatic-qualifying BCS conferences (2-0 vs. Pac-10 and 1-0 vs. the ACC and Big Ten).
"What it really comes down to," Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney told ESPN.com, "is how you play big games against great opponents on big stages."
Big games, big stages. Events reserved for "The Big Boys," a once exclusive moniker that heretofore also belongs to the Mountain West Conference.
