Get us a playoff system--NOW! The whole BCS thing is elitist and no team looking from the outside in will ever have a shot at winning it all. I am not shocked BYU moved down because of the stupidity of it. USC moves up based on beating Oregon, who is probably a 2nd tier MWC team these days (if they were in the league). College football would dwarf the attention the NFL gets during playoff season if they got rid of the dumb bowl games and started a playoff system.

Here is yet another flaw with the BCS. If BYU wants to move up in the national polls, they will have to do exactly what they were doing in past weeks, BLOW OUT every team they can.

This is where sportsmanship and the spirit of the game take a back seat to BCS "Brownie Points" that a team can earn by running up the score. They will have to play and score until the final whistle blows and hope that a 40+ to 50+ point difference might move them up an extra spot in the polls.

I am a die-hard UTE and even as my fingers fight me, I have to say it, GOOD LUCK BYU!

Clearly this slip in the polls reveals more about the quality of our opponent than anything. Tell me again, why are we playing USU? How are they relevant? We could beat them by 50 every time and it would be a moral victory for them and not bode well in the polls for us.

See what I meant by "Holmoe's Folly" ?
If a football program makes the choice to seek to become a power and decides to marshall the assets to do so, you have to do something to improve your SOS. We won't anymore Hawaii's who make it to the BCS without playing anyone. USU has neither the will nor facilities to leap into the upper half of the WAC, to leave the Bottom 10, or win more than 2 games a year. What can be gained by playing them, at anytime? It's a Super Bowl for the Aggies just to score on BYU. BYU completed the mercy mission by tripling USU pathetic attendance, given up the $600,000 to $800,000 payday for playing any BCS team on the road, now let's find a game with an outside the conference team that beaten brings BYU the respect and a paycheck going to little Logan and that bandbox stadium will never bring.

Once again the BCS system proves you must blow out inferior teams to impress voters or you will slip in the rankings. No way USC or Texas Tech moves past BYU in either poll if BYU had beaten USU 56-0 or even 34-0. That late 4th quarter surge was embarassing to the BYU defense and voters noted that no good team should ahve that close a game with USU. Sorry Cougs, but you deserved to drop a spot for not taking care of business and thumping a mediocre team. Bronco may not want to run up the score, but if you are serious about playing in the BCS and in the NC game even, you better start pounding the teams you are expected to pound.

Bronca...Don't let your players talk to the media. They come off too haughty and arrogant. collie said that byu is the "king and everyone is trying to knock off the crown", Come on...you just give more fuel for the hate.

BYU was just ahead of former #1 USC in the polls.

USC was playing another Top 25 team at home. So, any kind of win, especially, a decisive win like the Trojans had against Oregon's 5th? string quarterback (I've lost track), was going to boost USC above BYU no matter what BYU did against Utah State.

Another reason to get rid of the BCS.

Forget the rivalries. Forget tradition. It's all about looking pretty for the college football beauty contest.

If BYU, or any other non-BCS team, wants a chance to play for a NC in the current system, they can't continue scheduling perenniel weaklings like Utah State, because it hurts their SOS too much.

RE: Blow out blues. Mendenhall will never bow to your though process, Character means more in the long run. Sure we would love to see it but in the long run it will probably make you more of a target and thats not Mendenhall. Keep focus, let everyone beat themselves up and then scoop in to take what you can get.

There is no encouraging sportsmanship in football due to the BCS, pollsters, and the ranking process. All they care about is that you win by 40 points over the terrible teams. Stupidity. Yet, we are all impressed when a team wins by 59-0.

BYU, up by 24-0 in the first quarter, then becomes complacent, Hall looks only to Collie and Pitta, and the bus breaks down. Cougars then drop a spot, and now have to destroy every opponent, or the pollsters will jump off the bus, and on to Boise State's bronco.

Come on Cougars. We have total confidence in you. You WON by 20, three touchdowns!! Congratulations! Now, just go and continue the dominance over the MWC, and please, oh please, force those pollsters to accept you for who you are. Prove to them that you deserve to be near the top.

Go Cougars.

It wouldn't have mattered if BYU had beaten Utah State 100-0, USC was destined to move past the Cougars in the polls with just a one-point win over Oregon.

USC is one of the college football "elites."

They got their hands slapped and were given a short timeout for embarrassing themselves against Oregon State. However, it was just a temporary punishment.

Now that they've beaten another Top 25 team (at least then), all is forgiven, and the Trojans are back in the good graces of the college football establishment.

That's what's wrong with college football. The "elites" are given a pass. They can have an occassional slip (or even two, like LSU last season), and still have a chance to play for a NC.

The "unwashed" non-BCS masses are held to a MUCH higher standard. Slip even once, and they not only drop like a stone, from NC consideration (what a misnomer), but completely out of the BCS picture, and back to fighting for table scraps in the "lesser" bowls.

I have no problem with the 1 ranking slide. We played terribly Friday. We're lucky it wasn't worse.

In response to "Listen." though I agree sometimes things aren't said how they're probably intended to come out, you can't help but agree with what he said. It's absolutely 100% true, and everyone knows it.

EVERYONE wants to beat BYU. They are the king of the conference (at the moment). They've swept through 2 years straight and could very well make it 3.

And I've heard plenty enough "arrogant" statements from people on the hill to safely say this kind of talk and supposed attitude is on BOTH sides.

Why is anyone surprised that BYU fell in the polls? You BYU fans don't get it. The BCS will not allow you to mess with their system and money. Any chance they have to demote your team, THEY WILL!! You can win them all and still be on the outside looking in. Either join them or face the reality of just playing on Saturday for the love of the game. Next week you will fall again.........

Listen is correct. don't let the players talk to Harmon and the boys. not worth it. just play the game and stop jabbering. start pounding the daylights out of your opponents and don't let them score. sad but true. Bronco and BYU have chosen NOT to fight the BSC and have literally bought into the BSC system by lining up these mediocre and 1-AA teams, so you have to thump and thump hard on these opponents. it's the way the game is played now. it's not unsportsmanlike anymore. just look at Florida playing Citadel etc etc. time to bash some proverbial football brains in and start winning by 40-50 points plus like you did against UCLA and Wyoming.

Now that the Harris Poll is being released, perhaps it should also be included in this column. After all, unlike the AP Poll, the Harris Poll actually means something. BYU is 9th and Utah is 13th in the Harris Poll.

If BYU can continue winning this season, go to a BCS bowl (doubt it will be the NC game) and win, then next year will be huge. They play 2 decent non-conference home games against Florida St. & Arizona, however, they have an opening for a non-conference road game, does anybody know who they are thinking plugging into that opening?

The MWC is still insignificant. TCU found out what happens when you venture out to play a top team from a big conference. Beating the U and TCU doesn't put you anywhere near the top four of the Big XII, which may all have a loss after beating each other up.

I don't think that was a "haughty" statement. It is a fact that they are king. They have not lost a conference game in 2 1/2 years. By that fact alone BYU has a huge target on their backs. Collie was just acknowledging what the other teams are thinking.

Do you really believe BYU has played the schedule USC has.. Anyone could be undefeated with BYU's schedule.. Boise State and Utah have played a better schedule by far.. Why are they below BYU?. Play somebody good and then you can complain..

When the BCS poll comes out and the computers actually look at strength of schedule BYU may drop farther!..

I predicted the Y would drop one spot and I was right. I also predicted the U would move up and they did. I have also said on more than one occasion the U will win out the remainder of their games including their bowl game. GO UTES!!

The BCS and ESPN would be idiots not to hope for a BCS or a title shot for BYU. Boise States highlight reel against OU in the Fiesta Bowl was just voted ESPN's ULTIMATE highlight of ALL TIME. Everyone can't get over how awesome it was to see an underdog embarrass the elite. The only problem is the journey. ESPN can't report any of BYU's games unless they are out of conference because of the t.v. deals. That is the reason they can't stand us. If BYU is the best team in the nation and week in week out, ESPN can't even cover their games, what a blow to the biggest sports network ever!

BYU is a good team this year, no doubt about it. But the question is, how good are they? Nobody knows. They barely beat a horrible Washington team, blew out a bad UCLA team and have beat a few other mediocre teams.

BYU very well may be able to play with the top 10 this year, but we may never know. I think the worst thing that could happen would be a repeat of when Utah went to the Fiesta Bowl. They looked great all year then had to play a bad PITT team. After that game it was still up in the air as to how good they were.

You mean like BYU's win against UCLA with their 5th string QB..I don't know either, I lost count..

Bronco would never run up the score?? You mean like the 59-0 score over UCLA!.

I love how some of the Cougar posts are mad and are trying to blame someone else for THEIR slide in the polls. When the reality is YOUR SOS is what is making you slide.

BYU will be lucky to rise any more in the polls. It will take a big loss from someone above them. When Florida and LSU play and if Florida beats LSU, both will be ranked higher than BYU. That's just the nature of the beast that we call the "BCS".

From here on out don't expect BYU, Utah, or Boise St. to get much higher if any in the polls.

Like someone else pointed out, BYU will have to blow out all opponents from here on out if they want to rise in the polls. You didn't blow out USU and so you see your result from that. The pollsters now expect that from BYU.

It's the nature of the beast.

Elites are elites because they play somebody..Try it sometime...No Utah State doesn't count.

Talking about schedules... | 7:46 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
"They play 2 decent non-conference home games against Florida St. & Arizona, however, they have an opening for a non-conference road game, does anybody know who they are thinking plugging into that opening?"

Last I heard, Tom Holmoe was very close to getting a road game at Tulane to open the season. I'm not sure if that's official yet, but it was pretty much a done deal.

Surprised? | 7:28 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
"Why is anyone surprised that BYU fell in the polls? You BYU fans don't get it. The BCS will not allow you to mess with their system and money. Any chance they have to demote your team, THEY WILL!!"

Actually I'm surprised that BYU didn't fall further down. It's been pretty apparent this year that the media is more than willing to throw BYU a bone. They've been getting great press and lots of respect this year. Remember when they moved up four places in the polls last week? If the big, bad BCS was out to get BYU, that wouldn't have happened.

...no doubt that they are talking with Northern Arizona for that game...LOL

SoCalUtahFan

Pathetic effort from the Cougs. Even with the "sportsmanship" they should have won by at least 20 more. They got lazy, uninterested and then frustrated. The Aggies finally got excited and had an attainable goal, to score, which they did twice. The game was never in doubt, but it was somewhat frustrating to watch, knowing that the Cougs should have been playing much better. They better bring their A game from here on out or they will get shelled.
At least the fans didn't storm the field as if they had beaten a now 2-3 team by a whopping 3 points.

This is great news. The wimpy cougars played awful and they deserve what they reaped. I predict 1 loss for cougars during the regular season, which will come at the hands of the Utes. Utah is superior, cougars are inferior.

Slip in the polls? When you play by the rule "that everyone plays" then you won't beat the team as you should. The BYU win felt more like a loss than a win. If you want to paly with the big boys you need to paly like them and run the score up. Looks like the first string didn't have it in them the second half. Maybe because they haven't played a full game since Washington and look how that turned out. Toughr games a head and my fear is a drop in the polls for BYU will happen again.

...thing on the radio was said this morning on a national talk show. They said BYU was up so much they called off the dogs and USU got lucky enough to score a few times. No one watched the game. Max Hall rose in the Heisman race to #4. No one in the nation other than fans in Utah know how the game went.

Keep living in your dream land USU fans. The only way you could score vs BYU was in the 4th quarter when the game was well in hand and adrenaline kept the game interesting. Thanks for the 15th win in a row.

So glad we never have to talk this one sided rivalry again.

This is ridicalous. BYU could win the title and they are not even gonna get the chance. They would kill UCS if they played them. With Hall airing it out and Unga running over people and the defence stopping every one on there tracks. No one can beat us. I bet we could score on most NFL teams right now.

Guys- BYU has a decent team-for the MWC. If BYU or Utah were in the SEC or Big 12 they'd be 4th or 5th in their conference. No way they're in the top 20 if they had to play division rivals like Bama, Georgia, Florida , Texas & Texas Tech. Thinking that beating weak Pac 10 teams will gain them any respect is wrong.

Thanks for making the Utes No. 10 on D1, however on page D8 they are ranked by the Ap as No. 14 and USA Today as No. 13.

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that BYU is not as dominate in running the ball this year. We seem to be to pass happy. We do not have a 100 yard rusher yet this year 5 games into the season. If Bronco and Robert think they will go undefeated and win a BCS bowl without the ability to run the ball they are sadly mistaken. Hall is a good quarterback but the last two games have shown that the defense is playing better than the offense right now. If you look at the time of possession last week Utah State had the ball more. That’s because we didn't run the ball and the defense was left on the field for long periods of time. I am not surprised they gave up 14 points, it could have been worse. Also it seems that all the heisman talk has affected Hall. He threw two interceptions on Friday one very bad one when the team was in scoring position and up by 27 and all we had to do was run the ball!!!

Actually ESPN can report on anything they want. They just can't use video footage from the MTN without the express written consent of the MTN. And you can bet the MTN will likely charge an arm and a leg for it. But ESPN has shown clips from MTN telecasts in the past.

The UCLA score was inevitable. Those were our 2nd-3rd string players. The score was 42-0 at the half. Hall had another td and then the backups took over early in the third. UCLA gave up, not Bronco's fault.

Collie doesn't need to give the other teams in the conference anymore bulletin board material. King of the conference? You have got to be kidding me.

BYU blows out on the Home games, and struggles on the away. That is what is evident on the results so far. We have more away games and more difficult away games this year comming up.

Bell high is ready to ring the cougettes bell and South Gate willnot be a pushover either.

After the way the cougars played Friday night, being ranked in the top 10 is a gift. Hopefully the bye week just left them a little rusty. The offense looked confused, inconsistent, hapless, you name it, but none of those words describe a top 10 offense...unless you're from the SEC and your name is Auburn...

Whip UNM!

Remember, the Polls want BYU and Utah to lose, they need to drop them out of BCS contention to justify their pathetic system. THey know the MTN WEST is a better conference this year than the PAC 10 or the Big East, they don't want any light shining on that. So...just keep winning and force their hand.

the SOS drumbeaters will be silenced.

The first BCS Rankings for 2008 will be released October 19, then weekly through December 7.

A breakdown of the components:

I. Harris Interactive Poll (1/3rd)
A team's score in the Harris poll will be divided by 2,850, which is the maximum number of points any team can receive if all 114 voting members rank the same team as Number 1.

II. Coaches Poll (1/3rd)
A team's score in the USA Today poll will be divided by 1,500, which is the maximum number of points any team can receive if all 60 voting members rank the same team as Number 1.

III. Computer rankings (1/3rd)
Six computer ranking systems will participate. The highest and lowest rating of each team will be thrown out and the remaining four will be averaged. The current participating computer rankings are:

Peter Wolfe
Wes Colley
Sagarin
Seattle Times
Richard Billingsley
Kenneth Massey

Simplifying the formula
A = Harris Poll
B = Coaches Poll
C = Throw out the high and low of the six computer rankings for each team. Add the remaining four. Divide that total by four.

Result: A+B+C = Total Score

Six computer ratings are averaged, and that average is combined with the AP and Harris Poll ranking to come up with the BCS ranking. So far, only four of the six computer ratings are being released. They are Anderson-Hester, Sagarin, Colley & Massey. Their respective ratings of the top non-BCS teams as follows:

Utah: 6, 5, 5, 4 (Avg=5)
BYU: 19, 41, 25, 31 (Avg=29)
Boise St: 4, 14, 11, 12 (Avg=10)

The AP and Harris Polls rank Utah 14 & 13, respectively, BYU 9 & 9, and Boise State 15 & 15.

So, if the BCS were released today, Utah's average ranking would be 10.67, BYU would be 15.67, and Boise State would be 13.33.

The facts are, the computers are not being kind to BYU, and Utah, not BYU, would be BCS-eligible if bowls were awarded today.

Still six games to play and a lot can happen. But those are the facts today.

Too bad you don't have anything positive to say about your beloved Aggie football team! Here's hoping to a great basketball season huh?! St. George Cougar here, and I'm sorry, but USU loses by three touchdowns, at home no less, and that isn't a blow-out? Sorry, we'll be sure to embarrass you by at least 50 when you come to Provo--that good enough for you? Oh yeah, and hopefully before scheduling two PAC-10 teams, perhaps we could look into our crystal ball, years in advance, just to make sure that storied programs, like Washington and UCLA, are ranked ONLY in the top 10! Cougars play Forida State and Arizona State next season, but perhaps we should back out because they might not be ranked high enough to be considered a "real" team. Give me a break! The Cougars have scheduled good teams that are usually ranked, but yeah, please forgive BYU for not magically knowing (again, years in advance) that those teams would stink!! GO COUGARS, don't listen to the haters--especially USU haters... I swear I thought the USU fans were gonna tear down their goals posts after losing at home by 20 points!!! Drop USU from schedule.. please!

You girls are blaming the BCS for what are just the hard facts of life.

It's not how many you win (or lose), it's who you beat (or lose to)

A two loss team could easily be the third best in the nation (esp if the two losses were to #1 and #2).
Hense SEC teams with 1 or 2 losses will be ranked above an undefeated BYU- not because of a CONSPIRACY but because those teams are better. A close loss to LSU impresses more than a shaky win over USU. sorry.

BYU is having a great year. However blaming the BCS for every bump in the road in unproductive and unhelpful.

The BCS hurts everyone and everyone (except maybe PAC and Big10) hate it. Find something else to harp on. please.

BYU needs two things to join the "elite":
a big league schedule and fans who are not
whiny crybabies.

"Collie doesn't need to give the other teams in the conference anymore bulletin board material. King of the conference? You have got to be kidding me."

Have any of you heard the phrase "reigning champions". This is very common and I'm sure you've used it yourself. Because of the word "reign" it is common for people to use the words crown or king in association with that team. This is not a haughty phrase made up by Collie. This has been around for years. And when you win a conference 2 years in a row he is exactly right. Every team is going to be amped up to play you.

Until we possibly see in the final standings at the end of the year that someone else has won the conference they will remain the "reigning MWC champs". Something I think one particular school in the conference wouldn't understand after 3 straight years of not finishing higher than 3rd in the same conference.

Yes you heard it here, if Harline wasn't still open and 4th & 18 didn't happen and you somehow pulled off a win against BYU, you would have only been 2nd in conf and BYU still 1st.

BYU's problem is that they are too afraid to play any decent non conference teams because it would hurt their W/L record. Seriously, BYU has three Non Conference games this year, and they fill them with Washington (0-5), UCLA (2-3), and Northern Iowa (Division II)?? And you want to be ranked in the top 10? Try playing a top 10 team once in a while to see if you are any good.

They will only play one ranked team this season - Utah - and they will lose!

Go Utes! (another ranked team who hasn't played anyone this year).

I'm an Aggie fan but I am also closet BYU fan. I'm a rare breed but we do exist!

The BCS is stupid, no doubt. Just keep winning and everything will take care of itself. Once a team such as BYU, the U, Boise St. etc, etc. Get to within the top 10 it's hard to move up. There is the stupid invisible wall that tries to prevent such a team from breaking through. Just win the rest of your games and you'll break through.

Now go on and win the rest of your games and please slaughter Utah!!!

Hey, does this mean I've just come out of the closet?

RE: Duh | 7:04 a.m. Oct. 6, 2008
RE: Blow out blues. Mendenhall will never bow to your though process, Character means more in the long run. Sure we would love to see it but in the long run it will probably make you more of a target and thats not Mendenhall. Keep focus, let everyone beat themselves up and then scoop in to take what you can get.

If Character means more in the long run, then please tell me why people like T.O., Randy Moss and most of the NBA are doing so well?