Would TCU be in the Orange Bowl if still in Mountain West?

[Matthewavp]

This isn't a we shouldnt have moved to the Big 12 thread but really curious what others think. I think we probably would've been 12-0 or at least 11-1 and as such would've been ranked higher than NIU and thus would've been the selection for another BCS bowl.

As I mentioned in another thread from a fan perspective, money, competition, rivalry, tradition, gameday atmosphere, and recruiting standpoints, the move made complete sense. I'm still not convinced that our chances at BCS Bowls and a National Championship have been enhanced though. I'm glad the playoff system makes most of this a moot point.

I am excited about the matchup with Sparty.

 

[Kyle101011]

Yes

 

[dweller]

possibly, but the Frogs aren't ready this year for a BCS Bowl, but then neither is Louisville, NIU, or Wisconsin.

 

[tcuseagull]

Potentially the Sugar. We might have got the nod over Louisville. But still, I wouldn't trade anything to be back in the MWC.

 

[More Frogs the Better]

Who knows? There were certainly years in CUSA and MWC that we had more impressive resumes than NIU and didn't get in. I'm glad to be in the B12, especially with the four team playoff coming up. It is going to be near impossible for a non-AQ to find themselves in that. We had to have back to back undefeated (regular) seasons to get high enough to have done so. That is not easy.

 

[bscttyb]

Maybe but we still wouldn't make the money on a yearly basis that we are making. Plus it will be even more satisfying when we go to another Big Bowl game after we win the Big 12

 

[masterfrog]

Maybe but we still wouldn't make the money on a yearly basis that we are making. Plus it will be even more satisfying when we go to another Big Bowl game after we win the Big 12

No guarantees. Oklahoma won Big 12 Championship rings this year and they aren't playing in the BCS.

 

[Planks]

We had Oklahoma scheduled OOC, so that would have been at least one loss. We probably still blow a game we shouldn't after Pachallgate happens (just replace Iowa State with Fresno State/San Diego State/etc.). And Boise State is always a threat even in a down year. The loser of the previous BSU-TCU matchups has always gone on to win the next game.

So my answer is, while our chances would have been a little better, it wouldn't have been a sure thing by any means.

 

[joejordan]

Hell yeah we would have run the freaking table on that lowly bunch of spares. Can't believe we didn't join a real conference sooner. Those losers were dragging us awesome people down, man. Missmajors have no place in the good bowls, no matter the rules. I'm gonna wear my scowl-face when I talk about these interlopers. Grrrr.

 

[Endless Purple]

We would likely have been anywhere from 10-2 to 12-0. We would have played OU early when we had Pachall but our defense I think was weaker early also. The MWC is significantly down this year but it is possible we could have a loss vs Boise or SDSU.

I think we would have been the top non-AQ and gone to the Sugar. They would have picked us over UL.

That said, I am quite happy with the BWW Bowl. We had a much more entertaining season to get there, and I will take a bunch of good games over just one bowl.

 

[Pharm Frog]

We had Oklahoma scheduled OOC, so that would have been at least one loss.

I don't remember when OU was scheduled OOC but if it was early in the season, I think a strong case could be made that OU would have had a loss hung on them by the Frogs. There was much gnashing of teeth north of the border after a lethargic UTEP win. Nevertheless, I don't think I'd be ready to automatically concede a loss to them at that time. I do believe we'd have dropped one or two along the way.

 

[Kaiser]

No. TCU would've lost 2 or more games in the MWC.

 

[frognutz]

This isn't a we shouldnt have moved to the Big 12 thread but really curious what others think. I think we probably would've been 12-0 or at least 11-1 and as such would've been ranked higher than NIU and thus would've been the selection for another BCS bowl.

As I mentioned in another thread from a fan perspective, money, competition, rivalry, tradition, gameday atmosphere, and recruiting standpoints, the move made complete sense. I'm still not convinced that our chances at BCS Bowls and a National Championship have been enhanced though. I'm glad the playoff system makes most of this a moot point.

I am excited about the matchup with Sparty.

and Tech, Texas, Baylor, Iowa State, West Virginia......don't understand the point.

 

[KillerFrog InD KitchenSink]

I think we'd lose 1-2 games to Boise, Fresno, SDSU, and Nevada, and then OU nonconference of course. 9-3 or 10-2. We'd be about where Boise was in the BCS rankings.

 

[tcuball3]

if we had made it to a BCS game this year after running the table in the MWC I would trade it in a heartbeat to be in the Big 12, this season was so much more fun

 

[tcumaniac]

yeah, but we wouldn't have gotten to beat UT on thanksgiving

 

[Planks]

if we had made it to a BCS game this year after running the table in the MWC I would trade it in a heartbeat to be in the Big 12, this season was so much more fun

This. BCS bowls games are just glorified consolation prizes.

Which would you rather have

-a bunch of MWC opponents and one game against Florida State

Or

-games agains Baylor, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Kansas State, Texas (on thanksgiving day), Oklahoma, and Michigan State.

And that's not even considering factors like TV coverage (ESPN four times, Fox twice, ABC once), TV revenue (about eight times that of the MWC), and attendence that received a boost from having interesting opponents visit (46,000 average).

 

[ftwfrog]

So funny to see how quickly we turn our noses up at the non-AQ schools. Screw em!!

 

[masterfrog]

So funny to see how quickly we turn our noses up at the non-AQ schools. Screw em!!

For the record, I don't turn my nose up at them, but I never thought that we belonged with them.

 

[Matthewavp]

and Tech, Texas, Baylor, Iowa State, West Virginia......don't understand the point.

My point is just wondering if we had played our schedule as was set in the Mountain West, would we be BCS Bowling now? My opinion is that there was probably a very good chance of that happening.

I guess the underlying point is, is that trade off worth it to most TCU fans? I'm torn both ways and am glad the playoff system gets rid of this dilemma for me. I've been a TCU fan only in the Patterson era so the rivalries and competion have been in constant flux. The one area for me to hang my hat on has been the Bowl game and final ranking.

And I don't mean to thumb my nose as non-aq, it was a fact though that TCU dominated the non-aq world and that most likely would've happened again this season. Alos to say OU is an automatic loss is not very accurate, especially since it would've been played with Pachall at the helm.

And yes I agree this has been an extremely fun season and winning a Big 12 Championship or two in the next couple of years will be well worth it.