WAC lacks power from bottom 3 in league

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SAN JOSE, Calif. » The Western Athletic Conference football coaches' annual words of their league's worthiness did not ring hollow this time around, but the WAC still has a problem.

The bottom three teams in the league -- Idaho, Louisiana Tech and Utah State -- are a long way from the penthouse occupied by Boise State with Hawaii knocking on the door. The teams at the top are hurt by those at the bottom, especially when trying to land a spot in the Bowl Championship Series lineup.

The WAC's newly found star power of proven luminaries like Colt Brennan and Ian Johnson will provide some residual spotlight on other great players like San Jose State cornerback Dwight Lowery and New Mexico State receiver Chris Williams. But the added attention will also reinforce the notion of the WAC not being a strong conference from top to bottom.

It wasn't a problem for Boise State last year. The Broncos were able to overcome the poor play of the bottom feeders to be BCS worthy. But if the lesser WAC teams don't win more nonconference games this year than they did in 2006, Hawaii's dream of playing in a BCS bowl game won't come true, even if the Warriors win all 12 of their regular-season games.

The Star-Bulletin's on-site coverage of the WAC Media Preview continues with an analysis of this problematic situation in "Around the WAC," as well as a collection of the best quotes from the two-day event.