The College Football Blog: 2012 Horse Collar Awards Part II (Conference Awards)

Conference Awards

ACC

Offensive Player of the Year: Tajh Boyd-QB-Clemson. 

Runner Up: Giovani Bernard-RB-North Carolina.

Defensive Player of the Year: Bjoern Werner-DE-Florida State.

Runner Up: Ross Cockrell-CB-Duke.

Coach of the Year: Dabo Swinney-Clemson.

Runner Up: David Cutcliff-Duke.

Most Surprising Team: Duke.

Runner Up: Miami.

Most Disappointing Team: Virginia Tech.

Runner Up: Boston College.

Best Moment: December 31^st: Clemson comes from behind late to defeat LSU in the Chick-fil-a Bowl, 25-24. This is an important victory for the ACC after its top 2 teams—Florida State and Clemson—lost at home by double digits to rivals South Carolina and Florida from the SEC in regular season finales.   

  

Worst Moment: November 24^th: The ACC goes 0-4 against the SEC, losing all 4 season finales by double digits, 3 of them at home. #11 Clemson goes down at home to a South Carolina team playing without its best player in RB Marcus Lattimore. Atlantic Division champ #10 Florida State is overwhelmed at home by a banged up Florida team. Georgia Tech—who will represent the Coastal Division in the ACC Championship Game due to North Carolina and Miami being on probation—is destroyed by the Bulldawgs in Athens. To top it off, traditional bottom feeder Vanderbilt puts a 55-21 beatdown on Wake Forest in Winston-Salem.   

ACC Game of the Year

Week 6: NC State vs. Florida State (17-16)

Comments: Tajh Boyd was my runner up for Offensive Player of the Year last year. Dabo Swinney continues to piss me off. For some reason I just don’t like him at all. But I have to admit that he’s doing an amazing job at Clemson. He was my runner up for COY last year. 

This obviously wasn’t a great year for the ACC, with North Carolina and Miami serving bowl bans, perennial power Virginia Tech having their worst year in forever, Georgia Tech making the conference title game at 6-6, and the top two teams—Clemson and Florida State—losing at home to their rivals from the SEC in the season finale. 

On the other hand, FSU won a BCS bowl, Clemson beat LSU in the Chick-fil-a Bowl, and both Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech won their bowls to avoid finishing the year with losing records. Duke did finish with a losing record but just getting to a bowl was good enough for the Dukies and for the conference. 

Big XII

Offensive Player of the Year: Geno Smith-QB-West Virginia. 

Runner Up: Stedman Bailey-WR-West Virginia.

Defensive Player of the Year: Alex Okafor-DE-Texas.

Runner Up: Eddie Lackey-LB-Baylor.

Coach of the Year: Bill Snyder-Kansas State.

Runner Up: Art Briles-Baylor.

Most Surprising Team: Kansas State.

Runner Up: Iowa State.

Most Disappointing Team:  West Virginia.

Runner Up: Texas.

Best Moment:   December 27^th: Baylor whips UCLA in the Holiday Bowl to get the Big XII off to a good start in the bowl campaign. The victory gives Baylor an 8-win season in the first year post-RGIII. 

Worst Moment: January 3^rd-4^th: Conference champ Kansas State is rocked by Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl and Oklahoma is dominated by Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl the following day. The Big XII finishes 4-5 in the bowl season with its top 2 teams being crushed in the biggest bowls. 

Big XII Game of the Year

Week 4: Kansas State at Oklahoma (24-19)

Comments: Bill Snyder repeats as COY and Art Briles repeats as the runner up. Texas is the runner up for most disappointing team for the second straight year. Kansas State repeats as most surprising team and that doesn’t happen too often. Geno Smith was my Offensive POY of the Big East last year.

This started out looking like a great year for the conference but it ended on sour note. It was a year of transition, as Texas A&M and Missouri left for the SEC, and West Virginia and TCU joined the conference. Both TCU and WV made the postseason in their first year in the conference but they also both lost to finish 7-6. 

Some positives for the year include Kansas State proving last year wasn’t a fluke and Baylor surviving the loss of RG III. Iowa State also made the postseason for a third time in four years. This is a good sign for the conference, as they were pretty awful for a few years. 

Texas improved from 8-5 last year to 9-4 this year, but it was another disappointing season overall. They were a national power for a decade but have not been over the last 3 years. It must also be said that Oklahoma had a bit of a disappointing year, losing to Notre Dame at home, and getting crushed in the Cotton Bowl. 

It had to sting for the conference to see the Sooners get waxed by A&M. Having an SEC team beat your perennial top team is bad enough. For it to be A&M—one of the two teams that left the conference this year—made it much worse. Kansas State’s blowout loss to Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl was another hit the conference endured at the end of the year. 

There was a brief moment when it looked like the Big XII might have an argument for best conference, but by the time the bowl season was over that little idea had been blown to bits. It is interesting to think what might have happened if the Aggies and Mizzu had remained in the conference. It’s possible that the Heisman winner could have come from the Big XII for a second year in a row. Another great team would have been added to the Big XII and taken away from the SEC. Kind of funny who things worked out.  

Big East

Offensive Player of the Year: Teddy Bridgewater-QB-Louisville. 

Runner Up: Ryan Nassib-QB-Syracuse.

Defensive Player of the Year: Khaseem Greene-LB-Rutgers.

Runner Up: Logan Ryan-CB-Rutgers.

Coach of the Year: Doug Marrone-Syracuse.

Runner Up: Charlie Strong-Louisville.

Most Surprising Team: Syracuse.

Runner Up: Louisville.

Most Disappointing Team:  South Florida.

Runner Up: Connecticut.

Best Moment: January 2^nd: 14-point underdog Louisville pulls off the stunner of the year and perhaps the most startling outcome in the history of the BCS, knocking off Florida by a 33-23 score that did not begin to tell the story of the game. Rarely has one team been so thoroughly outcoached by another. Charlie Strong’s defense controls the Gator offense throughout. Bridgewater plays a near perfect first half to help the Cards build a big lead. Mistakes by Louisville’s offense in the second half keep the score from getting out of hand. Far from a fluke, Louisville’s victory is dramatically more decisive than the final score indicates. By no means is this a 10-point game on the field. It’s a rout. Total domination. A Florida team that has beaten Texas A&M, South Carolina, LSU, and Florida State is outplayed in all areas of the game by a Louisville team that lost to Syracuse and Connecticut in November. Amazingly when it is all over, it seems inconceivable that Louisville would ever lose to Florida even if the teams played 20 times. 

Worst Moment: October 20^th and 27^th: Undefeated Big East teams go down to teams from the MAC in consecutive weeks. In week 8, 5-0 Cincinnati loses at Toledo, 29-23. A week later, 7-0 Rutgers falls at home, 35-23, to a Kent State team that lost to Kentucky by 33.  

Big East Game of the Year

Week 14: Louisville at Rutgers (20-17)

Comments: Khaseem Greene was runner up Defensive POY last year. Charlie Strong repeats as runner up COY. South Florida has the dubious distinction of being the most disappointing team for a second straight year. 

I suppose this was a decent year for the conference, although it’s hard to shake the sense that it really doesn’t matter, as this conference just seems destined for extinction. On its own, Louisville’s shocking victory over SEC power Florida in the Sugar Bowl keeps this from being anything worse than an okay year for the Big East. Syracuse’s good season was also a boost for the conference. 

Seeing the Orange crush recently departed West Virginia in the bowl game had to be nice. On the other hand, with Syracuse and Pitt due to leave the conference in the near future, it couldn’t have been that sweet. Then again, does the Big East even exist as enough of an entity at this point for us to think of it in terms of having a collective conscience? 

Big Ten

Offensive Player of the Year: Taylor Martinez-QB-Nebraska.

Runner Up: Braxton Miller-QB-Ohio State.

Defensive Player of the Year: Ryan Shazier-LB-Ohio State.

Runner Up: Jake Ryan-LB-Michigan.

Coach of the Year: Bill O’Brien-Penn State.

Runner Up: Pat Fitzgerald-Northwestern.

Most Surprising Team: Penn State.

Runner Up: Northwestern.

Most Disappointing Team:  Illinois.

Runner Up: Iowa.

Best Moment: January 1^st: Northwestern beats Mississippi State 34-20 in the Gator Bowl for their first bowl win since 1949 and their first 10-win season since 1995. It is only the second 10-win season for Northwestern since 1903. With a 2-1 record up to this point, this is the Big Ten’s high point of the bowl season. The rest of the day will be a disaster.  

Worst Moment: December 4^th: Just three days after Wisconsin’s upset victory over Nebraska in the Big Ten Championship Game that earns the team a trip to the Rose Bowl, head coach Bret Bielema leaves the team to take the job at Arkansas effective immediately, He will not stay to coach the Badgers in the Rose Bowl. 

Big Ten Game of the Year

Week 13: Penn State vs. Wisconsin (24-21, OT)

Comments: There were some positives about the year for the Big Ten, but those positives were mostly relative. Ohio State’s undefeated season was a sign that the conference power, now under the leadership of Urban Meyer, will be back. But on the other hand, the conference’s best team--its perennial top team--was banned from postseason. Penn State’s season had to be uplifting and encouraging. But let’s be honest: the Penn State situation is the worst thing to happen to the Big Ten in its history. 

Minnesota took another step forward this year and Northwestern had their best year in forever, but Illinois was a disaster and Iowa took a step back. It’s also never good for the Big Ten when Michigan goes 8-5. 

The conference champ ended up 8-6. Even worse, the coach of the conference champ left to take the job at Arkansas, and he did so before the Rose Bowl. I mean that had to hurt. To top it off, Wisconsin lost the Rose Bowl to Stanford, and runner up Nebraska was beaten by Georgia in the Capital One Bowl, as the conference went 2-5 during bowl season. 

Conference USA

Offensive Player of the Year: Rakeem Cato-QB-Marshall. 

Runner Up: Latavius Murray-RB-Central Florida.

Defensive Player of the Year: Phillip Steward-LB-Houston.

Runner Up: Jamie Collins-DE-Southern Mississippi.

Coach of the Year: David Bailiff-Rice

Runner Up: Bill Blankenship-Tulsa.

Most Surprising Team: Rice.

Runner Up: Memphis.

Most Disappointing Team: Southern Mississippi.

Runner Up: Houston.

Best Moment: December 21^st-31^st: C-USA goes 4-1 in bowl games, with all 4 wins coming by at least 14 points. Conference champ Tulsa avenges week 1 loss to Iowa State, runner up Central Florida gets to 10 wins, and SMU and Rice both get wins to finish with winning records. 

Worst Moment: August 30^th-September 2^nd: C-USA goes 2-10 in out of conference games during the season’s opening week. The only wins come against Akron and Appalachian State, while losses come at the hands of Texas State, Tennessee-Martin, and Troy. 

Conference USA Game of the Year

Conference USA Championship Game: Tulsa vs. Central Florida (33-27, OT)

Comments: A case can be made for this being a good year for Conference USA or a bad year. But as is the case with the Big East, with so many teams set to leave the conference in the near future, does it even matter? 

Improvements by Memphis and Rice were encouraging but Memphis won’t be around much longer. Two of the conference’s perennial powers—Houston and Southern Mississippi—had very disappointing seasons, but Houston is out the door soon. The conference’s two best teams—Tulsa and Central Florida—both won their bowl games, but CF will be moving on next year. SMU’s big win over MWC co-champ Fresno State was a nice surprise, but SMU won’t be with the Big East any longer. C-USA went 4-1 in the bowl season but this version of Conference USA is finished. 

Independents

Offensive Player of the Year: Cody Hoffman-WR-BYU.

Runner Up: Theo Riddick-RB-Notre Dame.

Defensive Player of the Year: Kyle Van Noy-LB-BYU.

Runner Up: Manti Te’o-LB-Notre Dame.

Coach of the Year: Brian Kelly-Notre Dame.

Most Surprising Team: Notre Dame.

Most Disappointing Team: BYU.

Best Moment: November 24^th: Notre Dame beats USC to finish 12-0 and clinch a spot in the BCS Championship Game.  

Worst Moment: January 7^th: Notre Dame is blown away by Alabama, 42-14, in the national title game. 

Independents Game of the Year

Week 15: Navy vs. Army (17-13)

Comments: Kyle Van Noy is the Independent Defensive POY for the second year in a row. 

Obviously the Independents aren’t really a conference, but their ranks are expanding. BYU joined last year and Idaho and New Mexico State will become independent next season. 

MAC

Offensive Player of the Year: Jordan Lynch-QB-Northern Illinois. 

Runner Up: Dri Archer-RB-Kent State.

Defensive Player of the Year: Dan Molls-LB-Toledo.

Runner Up: Jermaine Robinson-SS-Toledo.

Coach of the Year: Dave Doeren-Northern Illinois.

Runner Up: Darrell Hazell-Kent State.

Most Surprising Team: Ball State.

Runner Up: Northern Illinois.

Most Disappointing Team: Western Michigan.

Runner Up: Miami (Ohio).

Best Moment: November 30^th: MAC Championship Game is a battle for a spot in the BCS, as Northern Illinois defeats Kent State, 44-37, in double overtime. 

Worst Moment: December 15^th-January 6^th: MAC goes 2-5 in bowl season. The 2 wins come against teams from the Sun Belt, while the MAC’s top 2 teams—NIU and Kent State—both lose. Making matters worse, the head coaches of both Northern Illinois and Kent State take jobs elsewhere. 

MAC Game of the Year

MAC Championship Game: Northern Illinois vs. Kent State (44-37, OT-II)

Comments: Jermaine Robinson is the runner up Defensive POY for the second straight year. Dave Doeren repeats as COY. Ball State was the runner up most surprising team last year as well, while Miami (Ohio) is the runner up most disappointing team for the second year in a row. 

I think we probably have to say that this was a really good year for the MAC. Some might call it a spectacular season. The MAC title game meant more than ever before, with BCS implications unbelievably on the line. Northern Illinois making the Orange Bowl was a historic moment for the conference. Jordan Lynch even got some attention in the Heisman voting. 

There are a couple of reasons why I wouldn’t say this was a truly great year for the MAC. For one thing, it didn’t end so well, as MAC teams went 2-5 in bowl season, with NIU being easily overwhelmed by FSU in the Orange Bowl, and conference runner up Kent State losing to Arkansas State. 

The main reason I have to downgrade the MAC’s season has to do with the departure of the head coaches of both of the teams that played in the MAC Championship Game. Kent State’s Darrell Hazell at least stayed to coach the team in their bowl game. Northern Illinois’ Dave Doeren left prior to the biggest game in the history of the program. These sorts of departures are nothing new, but they stood out for me this season.

I realize that it may be unrealistic to expect teams from the MAC to hang on to their head coaches. Compared to some of the other FBS conferences, the MAC is in good shape. The conference has stability and that’s rare these days. But the reality is that every time a team has a good season or two their coach leaves. That makes the MAC essentially a minor league conference. 

Some might say, “Well of course it’s a minor league conference. Everyone knows that.” But my point is this: wouldn’t the MAC like to be more than that? The answer is obviously “yes.” So the annual exit of every successful coach in the conference has to be considered somewhat of a downer. 

Mountain West

Offensive Player of the Year: Derek Carr-QB-Fresno State. 

Runner Up: Cody Fajardo-QB-Nevada.

Defensive Player of the Year: Phillip Thomas-SS-Fresno State.

Runner Up: Demarcus Lawrence-DE-Boise State.

Coach of the Year: Chris Petersen-Boise State.

Runner Up: Tim DeRoyter-Fresno State.

Most Surprising Team: San Diego State.

Runner Up: Fresno State.

Most Disappointing Team: Nevada. 

Runner Up: Wyoming.

Best Moment: December 31^st: Boise State officially announces that they have decided to back out on plans to join the Big East and will instead remain in the Mountain West. With San Diego State also deciding to stay, and the two WAC teams set to enter, the future looks bright for the conference. 

Worst Moment: December 15^th-29^th: The Mountain West goes just 1-4 in bowl season. Boise State gets a nice win over Washington, but nothing else goes right for the MWC during the bowls. Nevada opens the bowl festivities with one of the all-time choke jobs, losing to Arizona despite holding a 13-point lead with less than a minute to play. San Diego State is shutdown by former conference rival BYU in San Diego at the Holiday Bowl. Heavy favorite Fresno State is demolished by SMU in Hawaii and Air Force gets blown out by Rice. 

Mountain West Game of the Year

Week 8: San Diego State at Nevada (39-38, OT)

Comments: Chris Petersen was runner up COY last season. 

The 2012 season wasn’t a great one for the new look Mountain West, at least on the field. With Boise State “rebuilding” and TCU gone, the conference didn’t have a BCS contender for the first time in a while. The bowl season was a disaster. MWC teams were 1-4 in bowl games, with Nevada suffering a collapse against Arizona, co-champ Fresno State getting demolished by SMU, and Air Force getting smashed by Rice. Worst of all, San Diego State got beat up by BYU, the team that elected to go independent last year rather than stay in the conference. 

But it wasn’t just that the top half of the MWC was down in 2012, although that was certainly true. The bigger problem was that the bottom half of the Mountain West was absolutely abysmal. The 5 teams that didn’t make the postseason out of the MWC--Wyoming, Colorado State, New Mexico, UNLV, and Hawaii--were 5 of the worst teams in the FBS. 

Their 7-15 record in non-conference games doesn’t tell the real story. 4 of their 7 non-conference wins came against FCS or transitioning FBS teams (Lamar, South Alabama, Southern, Texas State). Their other 3 non-conference wins came against Idaho in overtime (1-11), Colorado (1-11), and New Mexico State (1-11). They also lost 3 games to FCS opponents and lost to Washington State (3-9). 

With no really super team at the top, a soft middle with mediocre San Diego State and Air Force teams, and a hideous bottom half, the MWC may have been weaker this year than any time in recent memory. 

All that being said, 2012 actually turned out really nicely for the Mountain West. Realignment tore up several of the non-BCS conferences and even one of the Big Six. For a while, it looked like the Mountain West—for years the strongest of the non-automatic qualifier conferences—would be one of the conferences hurt the worst when college football’s version of musical chairs ceased. 

But then both San Diego State and Boise State reneged on their agreements with the Big East. Obviously Boise State staying is the major development, but San Diego State is also one of the better programs in the conference. In addition, the MWC will be getting the top 2 orphans from the WAC, San Jose State and Utah State. The Mountain West will even be able to hold a conference championship game now. 

Compared to the rest of college football and compared to the way things looked going into the season, things are great in the Mountain West. 

Pac-12

Offensive Player of the Year: Ka’Deem Carey-RB-Arizona.

Runner Up: Marqise Lee-WR-USC. 

Defensive Player of the Year: Jordan Poyer-CB-Oregon State.

Runner Up: Eric Kendricks-LB-UCLA.

Coach of the Year: David Shaw-Stanford.

Runner Up: Chip Kelly-Oregon.

Most Surprising Team: Oregon State.

Runner Up: Arizona State.

Most Disappointing Team: USC.

Runner Up: California.

Best Moment: January 1^st-3^rd: Stanford wins the Rose Bowl and Oregon wins the Fiesta Bowl as the Pac-12 is the only conference to go 2-0 in BCS games this year.  

Worst Moment: November 24^th: USC loses the season finale to Notre Dame, finishing the regular season with an inconceivable 7-5 record. The loss also ends Oregon’s chance of reaching the BCS title game. 

Pac-12 Game of the Year

Week 12: Stanford at Oregon (17-14, OT)

Comments: David Shaw wins back-to-back COY honors. This year’s most surprising team (Oregon State) was last year’s most disappointing team. This year’s runner up most surprising team (Arizona State) was last year’s runner up most disappointing team. 

The Pac-12 is yet another conference that had a year of “mixed reviews.” For a while, it looked like the conference would have a fantastic year, and perhaps even make a case for being the strongest conference this season. But obviously that wasn’t the case when the season was over. 

There was plenty of good for the Pac-12. Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, and Oregon State all appear recharged. Stanford is one of the top programs in the country and is apparently here to stay. Oregon had another excellent season. The Pac-12 went 2-0 in BCS bowls, with Stanford winning the Rose Bowl, and Oregon blowing out KSU in the Fiesta Bowl. 

Now for the not-so-good news. While the 2-0 record in BCS bowls was excellent, the rest of the conference went 2-4 during bowl season. Conference runner up UCLA was hammered by Baylor, Oregon State lost a heartbreaker to Texas, and USC embarrassed the conference with their loss to Georgia Tech. 

Oregon once again came up short of winning a national title, and now Chip Kelly is gone. Some people think Oregon will be just fine moving forward, but we just don’t know for sure. USC had one of the most disappointing years any team has had in recent memory. The Pac-12 needs USC to be elite and they are not at this point. 

The bottom of the conference is also a bit of an albatross. Washington State continues to be among the worst BCS conference teams. Colorado is almost certainly the worst BCS conference program at this point. Cal hasn’t been this bad in years. 

There also has to be some concern that Washington isn’t farther along in the process than they are at this point. And Utah had its weakest season in many years. So far, the Pac-12 seems to have benefited much less from expansion than the SEC and Big Ten. 

SEC

Offensive Player of the Year: Johnny Manziel-QB-Texas A&M.

Runner Up: Aaron Murray-QB-Georgia.

Defensive Player of the Year: Jarvis Jones-LB-Georgia.

Runner Up: Jadeveon Clowney-LB-South Carolina.

Coach of the Year: Nick Saban-Alabama.

Runner Up: Kevin Sumlin-Texas A&M.

Most Surprising Team: Texas A&M.

Runner Up: Vanderbilt.

Most Disappointing Team: Arkansas. 

Runner Up: Auburn.

Best Moment: November 17^th: Both Kansas State and Oregon lose on the same night, opening the door for the SEC champion to play for the national title. 

Worst Moment: January 2^nd: In the most shocking result in BCS history, 14-point favorite Florida is decisively beaten by Louisville in the Sugar Bowl, losing 33-23 in a game that is nowhere near as competitive as the final score indicates. A Florida team that has beaten South Carolina, LSU, Texas A&M, and Florida State is soundly beaten by a team that lost two games in perhaps the weakest BCS conference ever. 

SEC Game of the Year

SEC Championship Game: Alabama vs. Georgia (32-28)

Comments: Texas A&M was the most disappointing team of the Big XII last year. Kevin Sumlin was runner up COY of C-USA last year. Vandy was last year’s most surprising team. This year’s most disappointing team (Arkansas) was last year’s runner up most surprising team. 

The SEC proved once again to be the best conference in the land. With Alabama destroying Notre Dame in the national title game, an SEC team has now won the BCS Championship 7 years in a row. The Heisman winner—a freshman—came from one of the two newcomers to the conference. Going into 2007, it had been 10 years since a player from an SEC team won the Heisman, and just 1 of the previous 21 winners had come from an SEC team. SEC players have now the Heisman Trophy in 4 of the last 6 years and in 3 of the last 4 years. The SEC went 6-3 in bowl games. Vanderbilt had their best year of the modern era and won a bowl game. Mississippi won a bowl game and their program is on the rise. 

Along with all of these good things, there were definitely some bad moments for the SEC this season. There were several embarrassing losses early in the season, including Arkansas and Kentucky losing to SBC teams in consecutive weeks. Arkansas went from a national title contender to a joke. The Auburn program has completely fallen apart. And Tennessee—one of the great programs in the conference’s history—is still in the midst of one of the worst periods in its history. 

And while the conference fared well overall during bowl season—with Alabama blowing out ND in the BCS title game, A&M crushing Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, and the SEC teams going 6-3—there were certainly some low points. LSU blowing it against Clemson really hurt. But nothing hurt the conference more than Florida’s horrendous performance against Louisville in the Sugar Bowl. It’s no exaggeration to say that Florida’s queef in that game was among the worst losses the SEC has endured in the BCS era, if not the worst.

But in the end, it would be hard to call this anything but another great year for the SEC. The SEC won a 7^th straight national title; won a 3^rd Heisman Trophy in 4 years and 4^th in 6 years; and once again proved to be clearly the best conference in college football. That has to be considered a successful year.   

Sun Belt

Offensive Player of the Year: Antonio Andrews-RB-Western Kentucky.

Runner Up: Ryan Aplin-QB-Arkansas State.

Defensive Player of the Year: Quanterus Smith-DE-Western Kentucky.

Runner Up: Jonathan Dowling-FS-Western Kentucky.

Coach of the Year: Gus Malzahn-Arkansas State.

Runner Up: Todd Berry-Louisiana-Monroe.

Most Surprising Team: Louisiana-Monroe.

Runner Up: Middle Tennessee State.

Most Disappointing Team: Troy.

Runner Up: Florida International.

Best Moment: September 9^th-15^th: Sun Belt terrorizes the SEC over 2-week period. First ULM pulls off a Boise State-over-Oklahoma-esq win over #8 Arkansas as 30-point dogs. A week later Western Kentucky runs a trick play on 2-pt conversion to beat Kentucky in overtime on the road.

Worst Moment: December 4^th-8^th: Head coaches for Arkansas State and Western Kentucky except jobs elsewhere. 

Sun Belt Game of the Year

Week 8: Louisiana-Monroe at Western Kentucky (43-42, OT)

Comments: Troy—for years the top program in the Sun Belt Conference—is the most disappointing team for a second consecutive year. This year’s most surprising team—ULM—was last year’s runner up most disappointing. This is the second year in a row that Western Kentucky running back is Offensive POY. Last year it was Bobby Rainey. 

This would have to be considered a good year for the SBC. Sun Belt teams got big wins over non-conference opponents early in the season and were competitive in non-conference games throughout the year. The SBC was 2-2 during bowl season, with conference champ Arkansas State beating MAC runner up Kent State. ULM and Western Kentucky were two of the best stories of the 2012 season. 

The SBC has been the weakest conference almost every year of its existence. In fact, you could argue that it’s been the worst conference every single year of its existence. This may well have been the greatest year in the history of the conference. 

Having said that, I can’t call this anything more than a “good” year for the conference. Like the MAC, the SBC has trouble improving its rank amongst the other FBS conferences due to the fact that all of the successful coaches are plucked away by teams from other conferences. That pattern continued this season, as both Arkansas State and Western Kentucky lost their coaches. Both coaches left before the bowl games. While Arkansas State managed to win their game, WK lost their first ever bowl game, and anyone who watched it knows that coaching played a big part in that loss. 

The other issue is conference realignment, which will hit the SBC next season. 4 teams will be leaving: Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Middle Tennessee State, and North Texas. Only 3 teams will be joining and all 3 of the teams entering the conference are also in the midst of the transition process from FCS to FBS: Georgia State, Texas-Arlington, and Texas State. South Alabama, who joined the conference this season, is also in the midst of the transition process. So 4 of the 9 teams in the conference will be in this transition process. Also, while FAU has fallen on hard times in recent years, and FIU was a major disappointment this year, it definitely hurts the conference to lose its 2 Florida schools. 

WAC

Offensive Player of the Year: Kerwynn Williams-RB-Utah State.

Runner Up: Colby Cameron-QB-Louisiana Tech.

Defensive Player of the Year: Bene Benwikere-FS-San Jose State.

Runner Up: Travis Johnson-DE-San Jose State.

Coach of the Year: Gary Andersen-Utah State.

Runner Up: Mike MacIntyre-San Jose State.

Most Surprising Team: Texas-San Antonio.

Runner Up: Utah State.

Most Disappointing Team:  Idaho.

Runner Up: New Mexico State.

Best Moment: September 1^st: 34.5-point underdog Texas State smashes Houston 30-13 on the road in their first ever game as an FBS team.

Worst Moment: August 20^th: The WAC officially announces that it will drop football after the 2012 season. 

WAC Game of the Year

Week 12: Utah State at Louisiana Tech (48-41, OT)

Comments: This is the second year in a row that a Utah State RB has won Offensive POY. Last year it was Robert Turbin. Gary Andersen was runner up COY last year. Utah State was runner up most surprising last year. Idaho is most disappointing for a second consecutive year. 

Let’s just deal with things on the field in 2012 first. With Nevada, Fresno State, and Hawaii joining Boise State in the MWC, 4 of the WAC’s top programs were gone. Texas State and Texas-San Antonio didn’t bring much to the table and the entire conference consisted of just 7 teams (with 2 of those teams transitioning from the FCS). 

It seemed likely that the WAC would be the weakest conference this season and it may have been. The fact that we can’t say it was obviously the weakest has to be a positive. Although, one of the reasons that it’s hard to say whether or not the WAC was the weakest conference is that it’s just kinda hard to judge the WAC. With only 7 teams, and 2 of those teams new to FCS, the WAC was significantly smaller than all of the other conferences. 

It’s tough to compare the WAC to the Mountain West or Sun Belt, as those conferences have 10 teams each (including the transitioning South Alabama in the SBC). The MAC and C-USA have 12 teams. So you almost have to disqualify the WAC, which only has 7 teams, 2 of which were transitioning from the FCS. 

With that said, the WAC wasn’t as bad as expected this year. To the surprise of many, 3 legit quality teams emerged in Utah State, San Jose State, and Louisiana Tech. Those 3 top teams were actually as strong or stronger than the top teams in all of the other non-FBS conferences. That wasn’t something many expected. 

Those top 3 teams went 16-4 in non-conference games. They didn’t play the toughest non-conference schedule imaginable, but it wasn’t all fluff. They were 14-4 against FBS teams, 3-3 against BCS teams, and 6-4 against bowl teams. The 4 losses were to Texas A&M on a neutral field by 2 points, at Wisconsin by 2 points, at BYU by 2 points, and at Stanford by 3 points. They went 2-0 in bowl games, with San Jose State beating Bowling Green and Utah State crushing Toledo. Louisiana Tech got a bid from the New Orleans Bowl but held out for a better offer than never materialized, and thus they did not play a bowl game. 

To be sure, the other 4 teams in the WAC were not as good. Idaho and New Mexico State were two of the worst teams in the entire FBS, possibly the worst. They combined to go 1-11 in non-conference games, with the only win coming against an FCS opponent. Texas State was better than expected as they finished the transition from FCS to FBS, but they were still weak. They went 2-4 in non-conference games, with an impressive win over Houston and a win over an FCS team. Texas-San Antonio was transitioning into FBS this season, and thus they played 4 games against FCS teams (won all 4). Their other non-conference win was against transitioning South Alabama. They lost their only other non-conference game against Rice. 

Combined, the bottom 4 teams in the WAC went 2-15 in non-conference games against FBS teams, with one of those wins coming against South Alabama. They lost to Eastern Washington, Wyoming, UTEP, and twice to New Mexico. 

So that was on the field. Off the field, I think we’d have to say that the WAC had about as bad a year as possible. The conference basically no longer exists, at least in college football. There will be no WAC in 2013. It’s tough to put a positive spin on that. Realignment has been hard on a number of conferences, but so far the WAC is the only one to fold.