TCU to the Big East in 2012

We apologize for the lack of content, but we're in the final week of class here at The Upset, so time is tight.  Hopefully you follow us on Twitter @theupsetblog where we are still able to give a few short thoughts occasionally.

With our own thoughts hopefully coming soon, TCU has accepted a full-program invitation to the Big East today, and will officially leave the Mountain West on July 1, 2012, the same day Nevada and Fresno State join the MWC.

Graham Watson has more on the Frogs' big move.

Upset in the big-little city: Nevada 34, Boise 31

AP Photo / Cathleen Allison

It looked to be yet another runaway game for Boise State, similar to the game they played against offensive power Hawaii.  Then, Vai Taua and Colin Kaepernick stepped up their game.  The duo became college football's all-time tandem for most rushing yards between two players, and rallied the Wolf Pack to a thrilling overtime win over the Broncos, whose title game hopes were crushed by a porous defense and a faulty kicker.

Week 13 Upset Watch and Predictions

It's rivalry week and a holiday week.  After you stuff yourself silly on Thursday and are mad because you watched yet another boring day of NFL football, here's your schedule for Thanksgiving weekend's college treats, with an intriguing slate of games on Friday.

Week 13 Vegas Look Ahead

Boise State (-15)
Nevada

Hawaii
New Mexico State. (+27)

BYU
Utah (-10)

TCU
New Mexico (+43)

La Tech
San Jose State (+12)

UNLV
San Diego State (-24)

Idaho
Fresno State (-12)

Week 12 Predictions

It's that time again! Amidst more conference shuffling and scheduling news, let's play some ball!

The Morning After: A Hawaii Update

Graham Watson at FanHouse doing WORK on the Hawaii - Mountain West Conference news.  Hawaii has an offer to stay in the WAC as football only as well.  (Problem: Still leaves only 5 basketball schools). Here's what she tweeted moments ago:

MWC Commish Thompson late to the party

In the last few hours I had a realization.  During the first wave of Expansion Crisis 2010, Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson said that with the way things were going, he didn't think there would be more than two viable conferences in the West.  Now we know why: because Hair Thompson is seeing to it that there won't be anything more than the Pac 12 and the MWC.

The problem is he missed his window.  Hindsight is 20-20, but if MWC expansion was to happen, it should have been made sooner.  Now the commish is losing his three best assets.

Hawaii in discussions to join MWC in football

News broke late last night that Hawaii has been invited to join the Mountain West Conference in football.  Both Hawaii and the MWC have confirmed that talks are under way, and the Warriors are said to consider taking all other sports to the Big West.

At this point, the MWC's movements look to be nothing more than an attempt to cripple the WAC and get back at Utah State for being BYU's liaison in their original independence deal with the WAC ... and Comrade Craig Thompson just may have done it. The WAC is adding three schools from the FCS ranks but not for a few years, and in 2012 the MWC will be a five-school league, effectively making it "not a conference" anymore. Conferences must have 6 teams who have been together for 5 years or more for an NCAA auto bid.  Hawaii does nothing for MWC in terms of a BCS auto-bid.

The only thing the move does for Hawaii is get them off the U.S.S. Karl Benson before it sinks.  All the Big West seems to be gaining is one more mouth to feed and jacked up travel expenses.

Rumors: Boise's 2011 opener changing as BYU to open with Mississippi?

Rumors are swirling around the 2011 football openers for BYU and Boise State, and they appear to have legs.  Our source confirms that the athletic directors of BYU and Mississippi are definitely talking.

Today started with a tweet from Mississippi AD Pete Boone:

Future BYU Schedule

Here is a quick rundown of BYU's football schedule going forward:

MBB: Aztecs upset Gonzaga on the road

AP Photo / Jed Conklin

While we are in the thick of football season, one MWC basketball team made a splash last night.  San Diego State, ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time in school history, laid claim to its ranking in a statement win over #12 Gonzaga.

The Aztecs impressed throughout and led almost from start to finish, only surrendering their lead for a few moments early in the second half.

Career over for Utah's Shakerin

Utah's sophomore running back Sausan Shakerin was given disheartening news yesterday: his football career is over.  Shakerin suffered another concussion in Saturday's 28-3 loss at Notre Dame.  Under the NCAA's multiple concussion rule, Shakerin is medically disqualified to play.

Shakerin was a Utah prep sensation, and was waiting in the wings behind seniors Matt Asiata and Eddie Wide.  Next season Shakerin would have likely been the feature back.  In his two seasons, "Shak" had 48 carries for 303 yards and 3 TDs.  Many in the Salt Lake media spent the day yesterday recalling Shakerin's great high school career.  He was the first junior to ever be named Utah's Mr. Football in 2006.  He also rushed for 275 yards in a 1-point loss in a state championship game.

The Upset wishes Shakerin the best, and calls upon the University of Utah to keep him on scholarship so he can finish his degree under the scholarship he earned.

Utah in trouble? Thoughts from fans

Twitter, never disappointing, came up with some good thoughts on Utah's slump, their struggling offense, a new-found QB controversy, and what to expect from the Utes in their last two games.  Here is what the people had to say:

Vegas Outlook: Week 12 in the MWC and WAC

Air Force
UNLV (+19.5)

Fresno State
Boise State (-30)

Colorado State
Wyoming (-1.5)

Idaho
Utah State (-2)

Nevada
New Mexico State (+37.5)

New Mexico
BYU (27.5)

Utah
San Diego State (+2)

San Jose State
Hawaii (-30)

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Week 11 Predictions

Teams are trying to secure bowl bids or stake their claim to supremacy.  Here is this week's action for the MWC and WAC, complete with times, TV listings, and predictions.

Our Guest Picker this week is Robbie Law, who's prediction of a 17-point TCU victory over Utah was the closest prediction we received last week. Follow Robbie at @robbie_law.

Guess the Score (Massacre): Boise v Idaho

Congrats to last week's winner Robbie Law, who correctly predicted a TCU blowout. On the docket this week: The Massacre at Kibbie. Sounds like a movie doesn't it? Or at least something straight out of a history book.

We want to hear from you!! What will be the final result of tonight's game?

Comment here on our blog, visit our Facebook page, or Tweet at @theupsetblog, @zbloxham, @bhein3!

WAC expansion becomes official

Rumors became official today as the Western Athletic Conference announced the additions of three schools: University of Denver, Texas-San Antonio, and Texas State.  The schools become part of the WAC on July 1, 2012.  Denver joins as a non-football school, while the Texas schools will make the WAC an 8-team football conference as Fresno State and Nevada move to the MWC in 2012.

Montana officially declined their invitation to the WAC and elected to stay in FCS's Big Sky Conference, which recently made power moves of its own, adding Cal Poly, UC Davis, Southern Utah, and North Dakota.

The Upset is interested to see how former Miami and national championship coach Larry Coker fairs as coach of the Roadrunners of UTSA.  And in an unfortunate side note, Texas State no longer has X'Zavier Bloodsaw at QB, so we won't get to see his name in an on-screen graphic.

Rams, Miners agree to Home-and-Home

Jay Drew of the Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that Colorado State and UTEP have agreed on a home-and-home series beginning in 2011. The Rams will travel to El Paso next season.

Burning Question: What if Boise is left out altogether?

WIth the rise of TCU to 3rd in the BCS Standings, the continued dominance of the Oregon Ducks, and the final matchup of Auburn v Alabama still on the horizon, it is becoming more and more likely that the Boise State Broncos might be left out of a BCS Bowl altogether. The bylaws of the BCS provide automatic BCS status to any Mid-Major in the Top 12 of the BCS Standings. Sadly, they do not provide a remedy for fourth-ranked Boise State should TCU, also a Mid-Major, reach the BCS National Championsip Game.

What will be the reaction should Boise be relegated to a lower-tier bowl? Will that be the final straw in the Department of Justice action against the BCS? Or will the BCS Cartel coninue on its merry way? Will Chris Peterson keep up his "The BCS has been good to us" mantra?

Comment below, or Tweet us @theupsetblog, @bhein3, @zbloxham, or Like us and Facebook and join the discussion.

Week 10 Random Recap

Our random thoughts from Week 10 college football action:

- TCU. Is. Good. - The Horned Frogs completely dominated the Utes in every facet of the ballgame. Andy Dalton exercised the demons that have sometimes plagued him in big-games. It was as complete a victory as we have ever witnessed. Utah did not pass midfield offensively until midway through the 3rd quarter. TCU dominated the first stanza, leading 20-0 on the shoulders of two Utah turnovers. When an opposing head coach comments that a 47-7 score is not indicative of how one-sided the ballgame was... Damn.

- Boise State had a fantastically under-rated performance on Saturday. The Broncos, facing a Hawaii ballclub on the outskirts of the Top 25, piled up an amazing 737 yards of total offense. Kellen Moore? 30/37 507 yards and 3 TD's.

Week 11: Vegas Look-Ahead & ATS Picks

Boise State
Idaho (+34.5)
TheUpset Bookie: Boise

BYU
Colorado State (+6)
TheUpset Bookie: Colorado State

Utah
Notre Dame (+5.5)
TheUpset Bookie: Utah

San Diego State
TCU (-26.5)
TheUpset Bookie: San Diego State

New Mexico
Air Force (-31.5)
TheUpset Bookie: Air Force

Utah State
San Jose State (+4)
TheUpset Bookie: Utah State

Wyoming
UNLV (+6)
TheUpset Bookie: Wyoming

Nevada
Fresno State (+9)
TheUpset Bookie: Nevada

Guess the Score: TCU @ Utah

Now that you've seen our picks, it's your turn.  Leave a comment here with your score prediction for the TCU-Utah game.  Winner gets to be our guest picker in next week's predictions.  Who you got?

Week 10 Predictions

Here is this week's schedule, complete with game times, TV listings, and our predictions!

Utah's 1st Pac-12 Schedule

The Pacific 12 Conference released its schedule for the upcoming 2011 season.

Here is the Pac-12 schedule for the Utah Utes:
9/10 - @ USC
10/8 - vs Washington
10/22 - @ California
10/29 - vs Oregon State
11/5 - vs Arizona
11/12 - vs UCLA
11/19 - @ Washington State
11/26 - vs Colorado

The Utes also have out-of-conference road games scheduled against BYU and Pittsburgh. Could the Utes have the toughest schedule in the nation next season?

Utah AG Shurtleff meets with Federal Dept of Justice about federal investigation of the BCS

"They are doing their due diligence," Shurtleff said in a telephone interview Thursday, a day after the meeting. "They had done their homework."

Click on the post title to see the story from ESPN.

Under the Radar: Hawaii @ Boise

The eyes of Non-AQ fans are fixed upon Salt Lake City for the top-5 matchup between Utah and TCU. College Football Nation as whole has taken notice. ESPN's College GameDay will be in attendance. But there is another showdown in the Intermountain West with BCS implications -- on the Smurf Turf of Bronco Stadium.

Frogs vs. Utes: Why TCU wins

Earlier, Brett told us why he thinks Utah will win this Saturday.  Now, it's Zach's turn to explain why TCU is going to have a happy flight home to Fort Worth.
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The TCU Horned Frogs are coming back to Salt Lake City. Last time Gary Patterson's crew played at Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium, they suffered what many considered to be the most disheartening loss in the past three decades of TCU football. That 2008 TCU ballclub rolled into town ranked eleventh in the nation, looking end Utah's undefeated run, and move one game closer to assuring itself its first BCS bowl appearance.

Frogs vs. Utes: Why Utah wins

As MWC operations near the end of the young conference's opening era, it has produced it's most important matchup late in this final chapter before the landscape changes.  The third-ranked, undefeated Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University travel to Salt Lake City to battle the fifth-ranked, undefeated Utes of the University of Utah.  In it's final MWC campaign, the Utes have been flawless.  But the Horned Frogs (soon to leave the MWC too?) have been dominant in their own right.

Today, Brett (@bhein3) tells us why Utah will be the victor.  Tomorrow, Zach (@zbloxham) will explain why TCU is the team to bet on.

Burning Question: Utah's BCS Roadmap

With the second installment of the BCS Standings announced yesterday, there were certainly some trends which began to set in. Much has been made of TCU and Oregon jumping Boise State and Auburn respectively. What hasn't been mentioned as often is the interesting position the undefeated Utah Utes find themselves in.

Week 9: Lots of offense and a few upsets set up exciting home stretch

An exciting week of football led to a bit of a shake up at the summit of the college football.  With undefeateds Missouri and Michigan State going down in flames (upsets, yes, but seemed like the writing was on the wall as all three of us here picked them to lose), the top of the BCS standings saw a mix up.  Oregon switched places with Auburn to claim the #1 spot.  TCU jumped Boise State (for beating a 1-6 UNLV?) to claim the #3 spot, and Utah rose up the two spots vacated by MSU and Mizzou, plus jumped an idle Alabama to claim the #5 spot.

Vegas Odds: Week 10

Air Force
Army (+6)

UNLV
BYU (-18)

Hawaii
Boise State (-21)

New Mexico State
Utah State (-18)

TCU
Utah (+4.5)

Fresno State
Louisiana Tech (+1)

Nevada
Idaho (+11.5)


Wyoming
New Mexico (+10)

Colorado State
San Diego State (-17½)

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