This kind of talk reminds me of the arrogance we used to get from the old Big 8 powers before we’d go out and punch them in the mouth. You think strength of conference is some new invention? I watched the Big 12 form and then splinter, and I’ve seen plenty of “power” conferences have down years where their middle was softer than a ripe peach. The Mountain West has teams that play with a chip on their shoulder, the kind of grit we had under Coach Dan Devine. They’ve beaten Pac-12 teams for years when nobody gave them a chance, same as we used to do to Oklahoma and Nebraska back when rivalries actually meant something. To say it’s not even close shows you haven’t been watching football long enough to remember when Boise State was crashing the BCS party every year and schools like TCU, before they got greedy and jumped ship, were coming out of that league. Every conference has its bottom feeders, even the almighty SEC we’re in now. I’d take a top Mountain West team over some of the lethargic, entitled programs I see in other leagues any Saturday. They play real football out there, not this corporate, NIL-driven showcase where loyalty lasts as long as the direct deposit clears.
