By Pete Fiutak
Q: Can you tell me what is preventing Boise State from joining the Mountain West or why the Mountain West has not offered Boise State a place in their conference? It seems to me that a Mountain West expanded to 10 teams and including Boise State would be so far and away better than the Big East that even the worst BCS Blowhard would have a hard time not giving them an automatic bid while keeping the Big East on their roster of BCS leagues. - Chris

A: The Mountain West might be thinking bigger. Expansion isn't just about bringing aboard a good program with a winning record; it's also about expanding the reach and the television opportunities. As good as Boise State has been, its inclusion in the Mountain West wouldn't move the needle one bit when it comes to the BCS and its interest in adding the league in the ranks of the automatic conferences. Boise, Idaho is the nation's 112th ranked TV market, just ahead of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Springfield, Massachusetts. Of course, college towns aren't exactly huge when it comes to demographics, Gainesville is 160th, but Idaho just isn't a big market overall (while Florida draws on the Tampa (13th) and Orlando (19th) markets). Now, if the Mountain West snagged Boise state and Fresno State, looking to get a Sacramento market that's 20th among TV rankings, along with Fresno, which is 55th, then you'd be talking about putting butts in the TV seats. Of course, there's a balance needed between how good the program is and the TV market. Getting the San Francisco market is great, but the Mountain West isn't going to be banging on San Jose State's door any time soon.
And to your other point about the Mountain West being better than the Big East, take a look at what the two conferences have done in non-conference play over the last three years (I'm working on this for a later article). Not only has the Big East been better, but it could make a case that it's been a stronger conference than the ACC and the Pac 10, if you take into account that USC is the x-factor that skews things the Pac 10's way. More on this later.

Q: If you look at previous BCS at-large picks, they have all been from large market areas (such as Florida, Penn State, Ohio State, Texas). Do you think it would force talks of a playoff if two teams from BCS conferences but small markets were to play in the national title game, such as Iowa vs. West Virginia? This kind of match up would certainly draw a smaller audience, and therefore decrease the networks' incentive to broadcast BCS games. - Nick, Columbia SC

A: An Iowa vs. West Virginia national championship would hardly be an all-timer when it comes to TV ratings, but it would be an insane atmosphere with tens of thousands of Hawkeye and Mountaineer fans invading Pasadena (too ... many ... jokes). While Fox wouldn't be ecstatic with that, and ESPN will blow a gasket if one of its corporate SEC teams isn't in the national title game from 2011 on, the other four BCS games would be killers. Iowa won't be in the national title game, so let's be more realistic and say it's West Virginia vs. Oklahoma. The Sooners, after their recent BCS performances, would inspire a collective yawn if there isn't a bigger brand name opponent than West Virginia. However, that would mean, most likely, that Florida, LSU or Alabama, Ohio State, USC, Penn State, Texas, and Virginia Tech would take up seven of the other BCS slots, with the non-BCS flavor of the year taking the eighth. There would be some all-timer matchups.