Online wagering bettors thought the dust had settled with the college football conferences but no so fast. The Mountain West and the WAC are shaking things up again and the 2011 season could be a little bit different with some different matchups when wagering online.
Online wagering odds at the SBG Global sportsbook won’t be affected this year but in 2011 some of the matchups will be different. The Mountain West is in panic mode after BYU announced they are looking at becoming a football independent. The Cougars would join the WAC for other sports. The Mountain West is not sitting still as they have reportedly made offers to Fresno State and Nevada to join for next season.
Mountain West vs. WAC: On paper the Mountain West is the better conference all the way around but if BYU leaves the conference would suffer a major loss since Utah is already gone next season when they move to the Pac-10. Replacing BYU with Fresno State and Nevada simply is not going to get it done. Yes, Fresno is a good football team but they are not BYU. The Cougars are a recognizable football power while Fresno is a wannabe and Nevada, they don’t even deserve mentioning when wagering online.
The WAC is not nearly as dependent on Fresno or Nevada as the Mountain West is on BYU. And left out of the equation is that if Fresno or Nevada leave they have to pay a $5 million dollar penalty. The Mountain West may want them both but why would either school leave, especially if BYU is coming to the WAC next season. The Mountain West does get Boise State next season but the Broncos might not even want to stay with Utah and BYU out of the picture.
Bottom Line: The bottom line is that the Mountain West is panicking and trying to save face. It won’t work. BYU will likely leave the Mountain West and the conference probably won’t get either Fresno or Nevada. The Mountain West can forget about any BCS automatic bowl invitations without BYU. Sorry Boise State – you made the wrong move. You better hope that TCU stays good in college football or you will totally regret leaving the WAC.