WAC opponents paying
the Price against UTEP

Washington State and Alabama: Price-less.

Another chapter was written yesterday in this fall's not-so-surprising-to-some success story of the Western Athletic Conference. The computers chewed up the data and spit out Mike Price's UTEP team among the nation's elite.

The media and coaches who vote in the polls aren't convinced yet. But maybe they will be if the Miners win a third conference road game, this Saturday at San Jose State. And the way the Spartans looked at Aloha Stadium last weekend, that seems a distinct possibility.

A WAC conference call participant pointed out to Price that two of his former schools -- Washington State of the Pac-10 and Alabama of the SEC -- were nowhere to be found on the BCS hot list.

"I didn't notice that," said Price, too overjoyed to be bitter or snide. "I guess we stepped up here. I'm happy for the university, players, kids, everyone. Now we have to keep going and continue to do well. I'm very pleased for this team and this program. I don't know if people know how much this means for the whole West Texas area."

It means a lot for the league. The WAC's three bowl teams of last year other than Boise State (Tulsa, Fresno State and Hawaii) are 7-12 overall and 3-8 in conference play this season. The Bulldogs and Warriors proved in the past they are capable of strong sprints to the finish, but both will be hard-pressed to qualify for postseason this year. The WAC needs a story like Price, a team like the Miners.

"I know we were ranked earlier in the year, I think like 116th," Price quipped. "It's nice to move up a bit."

The Orlando Sentinel publishes its first bowl projections each year just before the Christmas decorations go up at shopping centers -- which, these days, means now. Last week the paper's college football staff projected UTEP and Alabama-Birmingham in the Hawaii Bowl, Boise State and Maryland in the MPC Computers (formerly Humanitarian) Bowl and Fresno State and Northwestern in the Silicon Valley Classic.

A Miners-Blazers Hawaii Bowl? It might make for a good game, but it's a guaranteed box office disaster.

With a remaining schedule of San Jose State, Rice, SMU and Tulsa, UTEP is nearly a lock to qualify for postseason.

LaTech, Nevada and Rice join Fresno and Hawaii as bubble teams. Ask the coaches about their chances, and they act like you're insane to ask.

Jack Bicknell doesn't want to discuss the possibilities of his 4-4 Bulldogs making it to a bowl game, not with his players, fans, media -- anyone.

"Heck no, we never talk about that stuff," he said. "Everyone else talks that crazy stuff. We just play them one at a time and then add them up at the end."

Bicknell said he is more concerned with using this week's bye to start getting ready for the game at Hawaii on Nov. 6.

Should Chris Ault be getting excited about a possible postseason berth? His Nevada squad still has a chance to go bowling, also at 4-4.

"A winning season is a top priority," the Wolf Pack coach said. "Inexperienced as it is, this team has to take one game at a time. We can't afford not to and we're not worried about bowl games."

He probably doesn't have to be, with Fresno and Boise among the teams left to play.