What does all this mean for the MWC?
One argument could be made that a Nebraska-less Big 12 is worse than a Boise State driven MWC. If you look at the final standings the MWC finished 4th (Boise State), 6th (TCU), 12 (BYU), and 18th (Utah) whereas the Big 12 only finished 2nd (Texas) and 21st (Texas Tech.) However, MWC shouldn't get their hopes up about stealing the Big 12's automatic bid. In the end the BCS is still about money and Texas brings in more of it than all the MWC schools combined.
More importantly, the MWC may not come out of this whole process unscathed. Now that the Pac 10 has lost its primary target (Texas) it may settle for Utah as a back up plan. This would have two key advantages. First, it would allow the Pac 10 to grab a new TV market. Second, Utah would allow the PAC 10 to finally have a conference final game (under BCS rules you cannot have a league championship game unless you have 12 teams.) This is particularly interesting because the Big 12 teams who were thinking about defecting had no interest in having a championship game.
Would Utah leave? Why wouldn't they? More money, more television time, bigger recruiting market, automatic BCS bid, bragging rights to BYU about being invited while they got snubbed. Sure the rivalry between BYU and Utah will be affected. But the schools could work out some deal where the teams play each other much like BYU plays Utah State every year.
The damage to the MWC might not stop there. The Big 12 may try and rebound by recruiting some more teams. TCU would be the logical choice given their proximity to the rest of the school and their recent success. Fortunately, early reports indicate that the Big 12 seems content only having 10 teams.
Losing Utah would be a big blow to the MWC. There aren't any other teams really worth recruiting. (Unless some really wacky happens and Notre Dame joins.) For now the MWC can do nothing but wait and hope that either the Pac 10 doesn't continue expanding or Utah turns them down.
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