West Virginia is not a football powerhouse.  But the soon to be newest member of the Big 12 next year, is a name.  They’ve been on the BCS stage before.  Remember their 13-9 loss at home to Pitt?  That cost them a berth in the national title game in 2007.  Pat White and Steve Slaton were prime-time names in college football for years.  West Virginia has been here before.

Plus, they’re 9-3 (respectable enough I suppose in the whacky world of BCS automatic qualifying) and they’re ‘wait for it, wait for it,’ actually ranked! Yeehaw.  So after the Mountaineers quietly held on to beat a disappointing USF team in Tampa last night, assuring them at last a share of the comedically mediocre Big East, it kept hope alive that the Big East wouldn’t be the first team to send not only an unranked team to the BCS, but an unranked 5 loss team.

Yup, Louisville completed their season by also beating USF 34-24, assuring themselves of a Big East title as well.  Louisville is 7-5, has losses to both Marshall and Florida International (though FIU is halfway decent this year) and lost 3 games in a row in October.  They might be a nice comeback story, but they’re the nightmare scenario the Big East and BCS has to to be dreading.

So here’s where we stand: All the cards appear to be in Cincinnati’s hands.  The Bearcats (remember them/wish you could go back in time Brian Kelly?) can also clinch a tie in the Big East with a win over Connecticut this Saturday, which would give us a three way conundrum in the Big Least.  Should Cincy drop the ball and allow the Huskies to prevail with a win, it would hand the Cardinals a BCS berth via the fact that they won the head to head matchup over West Virginia.

A 7-5 team in the BCS?  While a team like Boise State (no chance for the BCS), South Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin perhaps etc. falls to a 2nd and 3rd tier bowl.  People have been clamoring for change.  This could be that moment.  If Cincy wins, thereby creating the afformentioned 3-way tie, the winner of the BCS berth would be awarded to the highest rated BCS team.  Since West Virginia is the only ranked team amongst the group, they’d get the trip to Sun Life Stadium, against either Clemson or Virginia Tech.  While far from a spectacular matchup, it’d be a heck of a lot better than say Clemson versus Louisville (yikes!)

People clamoring for the BCS to whisk their automatic qualifying status away from the Big East may actually get their wish, as the higher ups may be forced to take action should this embarrassment occur.

While far from a star, West Virginia brings credibility to the conference with a 9-3 record.  A 7-5 Louisville team in the Orange Bowl just might bring shame.  And the worst BCS ratings in … history?

Conference Chaos has reared its ugly head once again. West Virginia is officially off to the Big 12, further shaking up college football’s unstable landscape. To make sense of all the madness we caught up with longtime ESPN College Football play by play man Dave Lamont. What does the move mean to West Virginia and their student athletes? What it does it do to the already hurting Big East? Who does the Big East plan on replacing West Virginia with and how will Missouri fare in the SEC? It’s a loaded episode of Juiced Sports Radio with a man who lives and breathes college football.

SHANE SMITH

With news of West Virginia collegiate sports jumping the sinking Big East ship to the Big 12, it is now inevitable that the Big East Football is going to plummet into the depths of the sports Bermuda Triangle: where one can find the likes of the USFL, XFL, and Ryan Leaf.

The once prominent football conference now must somehow try to rely on teams struggling for .500 records to keep a BCS bid and draw important non BCS teams to the league. The last ditch efforts to acquire Boise State, Army, Navy, and every other team that is relatively appealing will inevitably still fail at keeping the Big East a BCS conference.

After the departure of Miami, Boston College, and Virginia Tech in 2003 to the ACC many were surprised to see the Big East continue to thrive. Louisville, Cincinnati, and UCONN all emerged as top 25 teams. The conference was also anchored by Pittsburgh and West Virginia who were always primed to compete in a BCS game. Slowly but surely the tides turned in the east. Louisville collapsed on itself after Brian Brohm graduated, Cincinnati failed to pick up where Brian Kelly left off, and UCONN became relevant after winning several games due to fantastic luck (my personal favorite was WR Larry Taylors call for a fair catch that the ref’s missed and returned for a TD (Watch below) only to lose their coach to Maryland.

Even Rutgers could brag about the development of Ray Rice and South Florida could brag after hitting the number 2 BCS ranking before imploding on themselves in 2007.

But all of these are a distant past. Cincinnati and UConn both lost 5 star coaches to bigger and better places, USF saw their upstart coach leave under questionable choices, and Louisville and Rutgers were never able to capitalize on their mid 2000’s success.

Now that West Virginia, the most consistent football team in the Big East, is breaking up with the Big East it should be only a matter of time before UConn heads for greener pastures in the ACC (thanks to their basketball, soccer, and baseball programs, not football). This means that the Big East will attempt to remain a BCS football conference with a remaining core of Cincinnati, USF, Rutgers, and Louisville (and potentially UConn).

If you are Boise State and that is the option on the table, wouldn’t you rather hold out for the PAC-12 to become the PAC-16, or the Big 10 to become the Big 14? It seems like a move to the Big East would be a temporary lateral move for the likes of Boise State because competing against Rutgers, Navy, UCF, USF, etc is just as appealing as playing UNLV, Nevada, SDSU, and Hawaii. So with the high probability that Big East will lose their BCS eligibility, the writing on the wall of this becoming a second class conference is very very clear.

While the disintegration of Big East football may not be the worst thing to happen to the collegiate landscape, it is however very sad to see the best college basketball conference suffer such a devastating casualty on account of football greed. College basketball, the Big East tournament, and March Madness are one of the only remaining pure forms of collegiate athletic entertainment that has remained consistent for decades. The 4 day tourney at Madison Square Garden is going to lose pieces that have been essential to its success for over 30 years and that is truly the saddest consequence of the nation’s BCS obsession.

Stay tuned for my next column where I will give my solution to keep Big East basketball one of the purest and most entertaining conferences in the NCAA.

Photo: Getty

SCOTT JACOBS

So this just in: the Mets did it! They won. They finally won. The Mets won their coin flip determining the tie breaker between them and the Brewers in terms of who would play where if the two tied to end the regular season. O, you thought I meant they clinched something of relevance? Ha!

This just in too: Pat White probably regrets his decision to come back for his senior year. Look, school and graduation is all fine and dandy, but c’mon, two losses in the first three games? It’s not like West Virginia is playing USC and Texas. No, they’re playing (and losing) to the likes of East Carolina and Colorado. What’s a matter? North Dakota was taken?

The Marlins are pulling a Will Ferrel and they’re going streaking! They’ve won nine in a row and have crept slowly back into the “they actually still have a mathematical shot if they basically win the rest of their games” discussion. Not on the list: Detroit. And you thought the third highest payroll in baseball bought you the post-season? Yeah, right, you can’t even buy the post-season with the highest. Back to the drawing board in Detroit.

Interesting news out of New York where the Yankees have announced they will allow fans onto the field for the final home game at Yankee Stadium. It’s a fascinating idea given the nature of pro sports’ “look don’t touch” mantra, and I think it’s great. Allowing the fans access to the field and monument park one last time before the tare the whole kitten cabodle down is nothing short of brilliant. It’s a throwback to Yankee Stadium’s earlier years where running onto the field during a game wasn’t that unheard of.

Auburn plays LSU in a top 10 match-up Saturday. What’s missing? The “these truly are two top 10 teams part.” I certainly don’t feel like the Tigers (of Auburn) are top 10 caliber. Three points? Three points in a 3-2 win over Mississippi State is top notch? Uh, no. Which is why the Tigers (who I think are also over-rated) will trounce the Tigers this weekend, before falling out of the top 10 shortly thereafter. Did you get that? Tigers over Tigers. It’s a bold pick, but I feel good about it happening.

Kansas State running back Leon Patton was dismissed from the team yesterday after get this- he abused a baby. You know the stupid line, “I’m so angry I could kick a baby.” Well, Patton took the idea pretty literally. He shook a two month old boy. And Riley County Police charged the running back with child abuse. Not surprisingly Patton was already on you guessed it- probation- after the former Wildcat was issued a citation for driving with a suspended license and it was discovered he stole two video games from Walmart. And people wonder where the idiot-jock stereotype comes from.

Joey Harrington has found a new gig. In the Crescent City. Yup, Harrington signed with the Saints yesterday, and is now their number three backup. So let’s summarize Harrington’s once promising career.

2002: Number three pick in the draft to Detroit. Epic failure as Lion.
2006: Traded to Dolphins
2007: Cut by Dolphins, Falcons sign him, and after Mike Vick saga he becomes the starter.
2008: Harrington fails horribly as the starter in Hot ‘Lanta and is released. Now he’s with the Saints.

I think it’s finally safe to say: Joey Harrington was a major draft bust!