The SEC may have 10 bowl teams, but that doesn’t make them the premier conference in 2009 (what it actually means is they collectively play a lot of games against Florida International and friends).

Voters as well as computers seem to agree the Pac-10 had the strongest conference from top to bottom this year. The final BCS standings, which uses two human and six computer polls to arrive at a ranking, gives the Pac-10 more representation than any other conference. It’s especially impressive considering four conferences have more teams and every other league plays at least one fewer conference game (in other words, they all play one extra patsy).

Looking at individual programs, no team played and beat more BCS top 25 opponents than Oregon this season. The Ducks played six teams ranked in the BCS top 25 and beat four of them. Would Texas and Alabama be playing in a national title game if they had to face as many quality opponents? Hard to say, but it certainly is telling that of the unbeaten teams, none played more than three games against opponents ranked in the final BCS standings.

What’s really impressive is that all but one of the ranked Pac-10 teams also played a top 25 BCS team in non-conference play.

Boise State has made the goal clear; it’s BCS or bust. And who can blame them? They have a marquee game at home on national TV to sell voters on the legitimacy of their BCS campaign. After Thursday, they get to disappear for the next 3 months and rack up wins against the likes of Louisiana Tech, Idaho and – yikes – UC Davis. There’s nary a top 25 team to be found for the rest of the year. They have a potential hazard in late November against Nevada if the Wolfpack hold up to expectations but we’re not exactly talking a make-or-break game against Cal or USC here.

What it all adds up to for Boise on Thursday is a mountain-sized load of pressure settling in Treasure Valley. The Broncos have just one early September night to complete an unplayed season and everyone knows it. After all, it’s the first ranked team to play a regular season game on “The Blue.” Ever. The hype is everywhere:

• Fans have been camping out for tickets.
• It seems like there is a daily police update on how to enjoy football and avoid injuring others at the same time.
• The local media has been covering it like The Beatles just discovered the U.S.
• Lawsuits have been filed against companies daring to sell unlicensed T-shirts.
• Reportedly, press will be filing in from ESPN, Sports Illustrated, the New York Times and other national media outlets.

So, yeah, they’re going a little nuts in the land famous for potatoes.

Add to the fact that the Broncos have Oregon’s full attention (to quote Ed Dickson from The Oregonian, “Ready’s not the word.”) and I’m guessing there’s a few knees shaking under cubicles in Idaho today.

While it’s not those knees that matter at kickoff, it’s impossible for the Boise players and coaches to not be feeling the immense pressure being put on them by its fans and media. Some teams implode when the light shines too bright. Others rise up to a level of greatness they may not have otherwise achieved. Which will it be for Boise? Pressure’s on.

Both the AP and Coaches’ preseason polls are out. The obvious reaction for fans is to kick, scream and cry. “It’s not fair! <Insert team you irrationally support> is better than <team you really don’t know much about>! We should be ranked higher!”

Save your breath. It’s the same thing every year. Your top ten will be heavy with perennial blue bloods of the BCS with one or two trendy upstarts sprinkled in that inevitably collapse as soon as they are done playing Directional U for four weeks. You’ll never see a non-BCS conference team in this top tier. The fifteen additions after that is basically another helping of BCS conference teams with a selection of 1-4 Mountain West/WAC/Conference USA teams added in so that the pollsters can pat themselves on the back for including the little guy.

The concept of a preseason poll is like reality TV – totally stupid and sadly addicting. It’s based on two things: (1) what you did last year and (2) the name on your jersey. Neither seem to make a difference in actually predicting a team’s success.

Consider that a year ago, of the top 1o teams in the final AP Poll, five of them were ranked 21st or lower to start the season while only four of the preseason top 10 actually remained there in January.

So go ahead and scream at the top of your lungs that your beloved college is being treated poorly by biased writers and absent coaches, but it doesn’t matter. Ultimately, there is only one annual truth to any preseason poll: Notre Dame is overrated.

The season is half over and given the bye week, it’s a good time to review. This look back is brought to you by Flomax  – Creating stronger streams since 1863.

BCS Conference Most Likely to Lose its Automatic Qualifier Status
The Big East is bad and the BCS has provisions to review conference eligibility as an automatic qualifier. Compare the Big East to teams in the Mountain West. Perhaps there are traditional teams with good east coast ties, but in terms of performance, I would bet on the Mountain West over the next few years.

Officiating Most Likely To Suck
The Pac-10. God, the officiating is awful. Awful, awful, awful. I’m so tired of it. The pass interference call in the end zone against Jairus Byrd that took away his interception and essentially gave UCLA a touchdown was one of the worst calls ever seen. Yeah, Oregon has benefited as well, but that’s not the point here. Anyone who is a fan of this conference should want more from the officials and the ones overseeing them.

Pac-10 Team With the Easiest Road to the Rose Bowl
Stop right there. Think before you answer. It’s Oregon State. Of the teams that control their own destiny, they are the only one that has a win over USC. Cal, Stanford and Arizona all still have to play the Trojans with only Oregon having that game out of the way.

Most likely BCS National Title Game
Penn State vs. USC as the Rose Bowl suffers a heart attack watching its affiliated members play for a national title in the Orange Bowl. Texas, Missouri, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Oklahoma are going to eat each other alive in the nation’s best conference.

Most Overrated Conference
Hello SEC. I can acknowledge that my favorite conference is in a down year. I wish the SEC could see it for its true self. Here’s what happens every year. SEC teams get a nice, plush preseason ranking. They then play a bunch of garbage teams to pad records and get five teams in the top ten. They start to beat other throughout the season in constant top ten matchups that make the media swoon. Losing these games carries little penalty so dropping out of the top 25 rarely happens. Everyone ignores the obvious faults or takes half a season to see them (uh, Auburn) and eventually the surviving team makes the title game and gets to beat up on Ohio State. They are like every other major conference – a few good to great teams at the top and a bunch of other mediocre to awful teams.

Where are all the Pac-10 Quarterbacks?
They went east to Big 12 country. The conference of champions has a serious lack of quality quarterback play while the Big 12 is experiencing a boon unseen in conference history. The Oklahoma-Texas matchup was a classic Pac-10 game played under the guise of a Big 12 tilt. Missouri has the feel of a UCLA or Oregon with Nick Allioti running the defense. Oklahoma State, Kansas and Texas Tech all have quarterbacks that would compete for all-conference honors in other regions. It’s pretty obvious why the Big 12 is hands down the best conference in college football.

Best Guess at BCS Matchups
National Title Game
USC vs. Penn State
Note: SEC and Big 12 teams will falter against each other creating a default national title game

Orange Bowl
Pittsburgh (?) vs. Wake Forest (?)
Note: Yuck

Sugar Bowl
Alabama vs. BYU
Note: BYU is going to be an interesting opponent for whoever it faces

Fiesta Bowl
Notre Dame vs. Texas
Note: The Irish just have to finish above .500, right?  I actually think Boise State has a legitimate shot at this game. The likely scenario would have a team like Florida here with a Pac-10 or Big 12 runner-up in the Rose Bowl.

Rose Bowl
Should be: Oklahoma vs. Florida
Might be: Cal vs. Ohio State
Note: The Rose Bowl really wants the Pac-10 to play the Big Ten. It’s not right, but it might happen.