MWC is stronger than Big East

About a year and a half ago, much attention was being given to the Mountain West's quest to earn BCS automatic-qualifying (AQ) status for its champion.

But after the Utah Utes and Brigham Young Cougars decided last summer to leave the conference, the majority of that talk ended because the MWC was presumed to have a hopeless cause.

As we now enter the final season of the four-year qualifying cycle, a look at the numbers shows us that the Mountain West's condition is slightly better than hopeless. The more interesting story, however, is that the Big East doesn't even measure up to the MWC … but is in no danger of losing its automatic bid because of it.

Let's start at the beginning.

For Brad Edwards' full explanation of why the Big East's BCS credentials are weaker than those of the Mountain West, become an ESPN Insider today.

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Brad Edwards

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• Analyzes college football and the BCS as part of ESPN's Stats & Information Group
• Analyst for both College GameDay on ESPN Radio and the ESPN College Football app