This thread ask the question: "Which 'mid majors' belong with the 'big boys'?"

Most non BCS schools would not be competitive in a BCS conference, but some would. This thread is to discuss which programs would.

Marshall and So. Miss have proven themselves over time. Louiseville and Cincinnatti have had some good years. CO St and some of the MWC have had some good years. I believe BYU has lost some luster, but they may be able to come back.

Frankly, IMHO, most of the rest don't deserve a shot at a national championship. Winning a non BCS conference should not be worth much (IMHO) unless the team also beats someone good. Winning a BCS conference usually requires you to beat at least 1 good team and several decent teams. Of course, if some SBC champ beat 2 or 3 top 20 teams ooc, then they would definately deserve a shot!(Of course if cows could fly... ;))

Which teams would you chose?
FBfan
P.S. I didn't mean to hurt anyones feeling with this post, and I won't be offended by a flame. Just please keep the language G rated.

No feelings hurt, FBfan. 8-)

Besides the teams you mentioned, other midmajors that are capable of competing with the big boys would be as follows:
1. UCF (They beat Alabama and gave Auburn all they wanted and then some!!)
2. Louisiana Tech: clearly the second best team in the state of Louisiana.
3. Fresno State: like Marshall and Southern Miss, the Bulldogs have proven themselves worthy.
4. UNLV- a few years ago, this team would not have even made my list, but their hiring of former USC coach John Robinson has made the Rebels very competitive.
5. Air Force- best service academy out there.
6. Toledo- a very underrated MAC Team you don't hear a lot about.
7. Miami (Oh)- ditto.
8. Texas Christian- Horned Frogs are a power on the rise.
9. East Carolina- a proven mid-major, ala' Louisville and USM.
Boise State might make my list in a few years. I want to see just how stable that program is first.

They are 3-6 against BCS teams. They have beaten a 1-10 South Carolina team, a 6-6 Clemson team, and a 2-9 Temple team. If simply beating a BCS team is the critera...then what's to stop UAB or somebody from setting up games against Duke, Temple, Rutgers, etc. so that they can get into a playoff?

Louisville, Colorado State, Southern Miss, and ECU I agree with....but Marshall hasn't proven anything other than they can whip up on mid-majors.

I belive that Southern Miss, ECU, Louisville, Fresno State, Colorado State, BYU and Air Force have all proven their ability to play against the big boys and win. Teams I would have to say that are waiting in line are South Florida *I'd give them 5 years before they move up into my top but they got the potential* UCF Louisiana Tech Marshall *basically because a good Virigina Tech teams handed them their heads this year* Tulane and Hawaii. It is very hard for a mid major to prove themselves several teams will not play the better mid majors like Marshall who if they have played more BCS teams may have been in better shape for VT. All Mid majors suffer from this prolbem but I do believe that these are the best of what is out there and atleast these teams should be included in a playoff or the BCS. They might not win but once every twenty years or so but most teams dont and these teams will provide some need excitement in the BCS alignments.

i agree with catdaddy on marshall. every name program they have played has taken them behind the woodshed. when i think of competitive mid-majors, i always think of southern miss. given the advantages of recruiting in a big 6 conference, and the extra money from bcs affiliation and tv contracts, and some home games against top teams, i think so miss could do some damage.

which brings me to my next point -- it's hard to assess mid-major performance, since 95% of the big games they play are on the road in front of 80,000-100,000 fans. on the other hand, most mid-majors don't have stadiums near that size, so home field advantage for a boise state or fresno state isn't quite the same as it would be for an sec school.

the number is limited, whatever it is. colorado state has an excellent program. air force is undermanned but they have a system that works and a highly disciplined team. fresno is nice but no major conference would let them have the number of partial qualifiers they currently have, so you have to assume their quality of play would suffer. louisville proved itself on the field this year. byu has tradition and will always be competitive at home. ecu was the team no one wanted to play in the 90's. and toledo has stolen a few games (minnesota, penn state) here and there.

one more team i might add is cincinnati. again, the problem with partial qualifiers, but their performance against wisconsin and ohio state showed me they can put it together for big games.

I think as far as upside goes, I'd put UCF and USF at the top of the list. UCF in particular has shown they can beat real opponents. Colorado St. and TCU to me have shown the most. Marshall also beat NC State when they were still IAA, but they're definitely overrated. Boise St. seems like a Marshall on the rise. So. Miss probably gets the historically solid performance award, followed by ECU. Throw in Cincinnati and Louisville, who have especially great upside potential. Louisville raided Tallahassee this year.