The 2001 Story of the WAC

Ah, the WAC conference.  How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.  Ok, done.  With the loss of TCU the WAC also lost the chance at having a respectable contender to the top of college football.  Though they would have fallen with the loss of Dennis Franchione anyhow, it still marks the end of the WAC's chance at ever having a BCS shot.

Yes, the WAC does have some very solid teams and teams that could beat any major conference's middle tier team on any given day, but that's about where it stops.  Tulsa went from 9 straight losing seasons to being a title contender this year.  Fresno State and UTEP are also frontrunners of a conference that will once again achieve average at best records in the non-conference slate. 

However, there are some players that will put up numbers to be recognized on a national scale.  Keep your eyes on Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang, Tulsa quarterback Josh Blankenship and receiver Donald Shoals, Kris Briggs of SMU, UTEP receiver Lee Mays, and possibly the best of the bunch is San Jose State running back Deonce Whitaker.

There's the story of the WAC for the 2001 season.  Not by any means is the WAC a power conference, but they are a fun one to watch.  Fun to watch if you are not interested in a team being a national contender.  Until the WAC decides that this defense thing is not a fad and does in fact win championships, it will always be the model for mediocrity.