Can someone explain why the Big 12 would invite WVU before it would invite Boise State? If the Big 12 wanted to actually consist of twelve teams again, it could have:


North South

Boise State Houston
BYU TCU
Iowa State UT
Kansas Baylor
Kansas St Texas Tech
Oklahoma State Oklahoma

Now look at who the Big 12 would gain compared to who they've lost:

Boise State-Nebraska
TCU-Texas A&M
BYU-Colorado
Houston-Missouri

It's not difficult to mount the argument that the Big 12 would actually end up a better football conference than they were before the defections and still retain a geographical identity that makes sense. (Meanwhile A&M, Mizzou, and Ole Miss are about to enter an epic struggle for the bottom of the SEC West.)

I just can't believe Boise of all places would be in the Big East. Why not just rename the conference "Dear Jesus, he'p me! We're desperate!"? If I were commissioner of the Big East, I'd be pushing for a rule requiring all members with football programs to join the Big East. In other words, to force Notre Dame and Villanova to join them. Joining the Big East would actually be good for Notre Dame. It'd be a lighter schedule that would allow them to rebuild. (And if they won't, kick them to the curb; it's not like Notre Dame's basketball program is any great prize.) Also, the Big East could add Temple, Navy, and Army. Again, reconstituting a conference that makes sense.

It seems like so much of this conference non-sense could be avoided if the national champion was determined by the 16-team playoff with each conference champion guaranteed a spot. Then all this automatic qualifier nonsense wouldn't matter.