Benson was right about
the WAC after all

Karl Benson
Western Athletic Conference
Denver, Colo.

DEAR Karl,

Wow! This is great! I owe you an apology. I owe you several apologies. What about groveling? Would groveling be OK?

53-34! 45-21! WAC-ed!, as your Web site reads.

It was incredible. It was unbelievable.

They messed up my "Football Fever" picks, and I didn't even care!

I have been one of the WAC's biggest critics. You know this. Was I wrong? Well, no. Not really. The WAC has not been that good these last few years. But that is not the point. The point is that now you are very, very right.

You are right.

You have been one of the WAC's biggest boosters. Of course, that's your job. But you take it above and beyond. I admire that about you. Nobody stands tougher. You always believe. You never let anyone say a bad word about the WAC.

No matter what, you always insist this is one of the best conferences in the country.

And now ... well, who knows? Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said his team had never been beat up that badly, even when it was 1-10! Boise State treated Oregon State like it was ... BYU! Emphatic wins, over BCS bullies.

Is this year's Kansas State team less than we expected? Yes. Did Oregon State play below its capabilities a week after playing over its head? Sure.

Does any of that matter?

No!

Go ahead, gloat! You've earned it. Two ranked teams.

And even with Hawaii's early loss to Florida Atlantic, the WAC still has at least one more guy who could have a chance to go to New York -- Louisiana Tech's Ryan Moats. He's run for 257 yards two weeks in a row now, and Miami is coming up.

Rice leads the nation in rushing defense!

If you go back, you'll see I said I thought the WAC would be better this year. Did I, in my wildest dreams, envision this? No way.

But you did.

(I didn't think Fresno State would out-hit Kansas State, especially at Kansas State. I had no idea Ryan Dinwiddie's twin brother was named "Zabransky." And then there was the whole thing of Mike Price wearing a Miner costume ...)

You saw this coming. When others criticized (cough, cough) you had ironclad faith.

This could be a great year. The first two weeks were exciting, Boise and Fresno were big-time, but now the rest of the pack needs to show something. This can't be a two-team thing. Moats needs to get his yards against the No. 4 'Canes. Nevada needs to score some points again against Buffalo. SMU needs to show at least a little life. Tulsa, too.

We'll see what UTEP looks like against the cream of the crop (until proven otherwise), Boise. (Price should bust out his helmet and pick for this game.)

Hawaii at Rice will be very, very interesting. Two teams that could have very good seasons -- maybe depending on which way this game goes.

Enjoy this, Mr. Benson, but capitalize on it, too. (Don't you wish you'd had an extra few months to negotiate that TV deal?)

I'll keep groveling.