The WAC shuffle

Nice work by the WAC to land BYU on the Aggies’ schedule for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

But it doesn’t erase the fact that the conference is losing Boise State. Nor does it help ease the pain of Fresno State and Nevada leaving, either.

It’s a nice consolation prize.

No one can hate on BSU for taking off and going to the Mountain West. The Broncos have dominated the WAC for the past decade and truly are a cut above the rest of the field. Are they supposed the stick around and continue to pulverize teams week-in and week-out? No one’s getting better because of that.

Fresno State and Nevada leaving, to me, are a different story. They certainly are in the upper-echelon of the conference — nobody’s going to deny that. They have been premier WAC teams, but they aren’t in Boise State’s category.

Here are the past five years and how the teams have fared against equal or above competition outside of the WAC, as well as their WAC records during that span:

Nevada
2009
@ Notre Dame: 35-0 loss
@ Colorado State: 35-20 loss
vs. Missouri: 31-21 loss
vs. UNLV: 63-28 win
vs. SMU (Hawaii Bowl): 45-10 loss

2008
vs. Texas Tech: 35-19 loss
@ Missouri: 69-17 loss
@ UNLV: 49-27 win
vs. Maryland (Humanitarian Bowl): 42-35 loss

2007
@ Nebraska: 52-10 loss
@ Northwestern: 36-31 loss
vs. UNLV: 27-20 win
vs. New Mexico (New Mexico Bowl): 23-0 loss


2006
@ Arizona State: 52-21 loss
vs. Colorado State: 28-10 win
vs. Northwestern: 31-21 win
vs. Miami (MPC Computers Bowl): 21-10 loss

2005
vs. Washington State: 55-21 loss
vs. UNLV: 22-14 win
@ Colorado State: 42-21 loss
vs. Central Florida (Hawaii Bowl): 49-48 win (overtime)

That’s a 7-14 record during that period. Four of the seven wins have come against UNLV....

Fresno State
2009
@ Wisconsin: 34-31 loss (overtime)
@ Cincinnati: 28-20 loss
@ Illinois: 53-52 win
vs. Wyoming (New Mexico Bowl): 35-28 loss (overtime)

2008
@ Rutgers: 24-7 win
vs. Wisonsin: 13-10 loss
@ Toledo: 55-54 win (overtime)
@ UCLA: 36-31 win
vs. Colorado State (New Mexico Bowl): 40-35 loss

2007
@ Texas A&M: 47-45 loss (overtime)
@ Oregon: 52-51 loss
vs. Kansas State: 45-29 win
vs. Georgia Tech: 40-28 win

2006
vs. Oregon: 31-24 loss
@ Washington: 21-20 loss
vs. Colorado State: 35-23 loss

2005
@ Oregon: 37-34 loss
vs. Toledo: 44-14 win
@ USC: 50-42 loss
@ Tulsa (Liberty Bowl): 31-24 loss

That’s a 7-13 record during that time.

Also, during that time, the Wolf Pack have gone 28-12 in the WAC while Fresno State has gone 26-15 in conference. There’s no doubt they have been elite teams in the league.

Lets look at Boise’s numbers during the same period.

2009
vs. Oregon: 19-8 win
vs. Miami, Ohio: 48-0 win
@ Bowling Green: 49-14 win
@ Tulsa: 28-21 win
vs. TCU (Fiesta Bowl): 17-10 win

2008
vs. Bowling Green: 20-7 win
@ Oregon: 37-32 win
@ Southern Miss: 24-7 win
vs. TCU (Poinsettia Bowl): 17-16 loss

2007
@ Washington: 24-10 loss
vs. Wyoming: 24-14 win
vs. Southern Miss: 38-16 win
vs. East Carolina (Hawaii Bowl): 41-38 loss

2006
vs. Oregon State: 42-14 win
@ Wyoming: 17-10 win
@ Utah: 36-3 win
vs. Oklahoma (Fiesta Bowl): 43-42 win

2005
@ Georgia: 48-13 loss
@ Oregon State: 30-27 loss
vs. Bowling Green: 48-20 win
vs. Boston College (MPC Computers Bowl): 27-21 loss

That's a 15-6 record against similar or above-average competition outside of league play. It's also two Fiesta Bowl wins during that span.

Also, the team has gone 38-2 during that period in WAC play.

Boise State needs to move on to bigger and better things. They have proven they can manhandle the WAC.

As for Fresno State and Nevada, they are clearly a cut above the WAC field. But are they on Boise State's level? No.

I would have preferred them to stick around the WAC for at least a few more seasons. It would have been good for the league, and would have made more sense for those respective programs. They still have much to prove before moving up…..