Utah, Boise, BYU

I was a guest on a Boise radio station this morning, and as far as I could tell, at least one media member in Idaho isn’t necessarily in favor of Boise State joining the Mountain West Conference.

Kevin Miller of KIDO (580-AM) pointed out that being the big fish in a small pond makes sense to him. His point: Why beat one another up in the MWC, when Boise State owns the WAC?

The same could be said of Utah, BYU and TCU. Why add one more team (BSU) to the Mountain West that could derail a perfect season.

The answer depends on your goals. If your goal is to make a BCS bowl and scream like a banshee about not playing for a national title, then stay where you are. If your goal is the national championship, the only way to get there is to play in a conference that is an automatic qualifier.

Miller asked me about people like Utah senator Orrin Hatch intervening in the BCS process, but if Congress can’t fix the economy, health care or social security, how is it going to fix the BCS?

Besides, there are more lawmakers from BCS states than non-BCS states. They’re certainly not going to rile up their powerful universities by bowing to pressure from places like Idaho and Utah.

Some believe the BCS would include the MWC as an automatic qualifying conference if the Big 12 collapses. Not necessarily. My guess is the BCS would extend two bids to a Pac-16 or an expanded Big 10, not invite the Mountain West.

The best way for Utah, BYU and Boise State to get to BCS bowls is to stay where they are. But the only way for them to play for a national championship is to get in another conference.