Quotes from the Maui News about the BCS and UH

About the importance of the UH-BSU game, Karl Benson said:
"It is the biggest conference game – with two teams ranked this high this late in the season with so much at stake – that the WAC has ever had. It is a big stage. ESPN, as we know, has great power and it is a great vehicle to give exposure to two great football teams.’’ (MN)


Praising the star players in the game--Colt and Ian Johnson, Benson said during a break in the first half:
“Great players like Colt Brennan and (Boise State running back) Ian Johnson on the other side – as you saw he broke that 50-yarder (for a touchdown) – and Brennan comes back and responds. You know, our two showcase teams going into the season, our two showcase players, and thus far they have been the ones that have been the stars.’’ (MN)


About how the UH-BSU game showed that the WAC is the best non-BCS conference, Benson said:
“I think we felt there was the possibility that they both could be undefeated – and except for a little blip by Boise State at Washington – it would have been a little bit more hype. But this game is for all the marbles, the WAC championship, winning team continues on in the BCS drive.

I think this is validation of what Boise State did a year ago. You’ve got Hawaii on the verge, Boise State comes back strong. We are not just a one-team league, we are two-team league and Fresno State is getting better, Louisiana Tech is getting better, San Jose State’s getting better. So I think it goes a long way to kind of re-establish the WAC as credible conference.’’ (MN)


About how the $9 mil payout for a BCS bowl is split between the non-BCS conferences, Benson said:
“We are part of as consortium, a group of five – the WAC, Mountain West, Conference USA, Mid-American, and Sun Belt – and the $9 million goes to the five of us. We decided that of the $9 million, $6 million goes to the conference that put the team in.

Everyone gets a piece of it. The team that gets in gets the majority of it – Boise State last year received several million dollars. The participating team gets 70 percent of the $6 million that comes to the WAC. I’m sure that every athletic director who could get a windfall of $3 million, it would go a long way.’’ (MN)



About how they deserve a BCS spot, HF said right after the accepting the WAC championship trophy from Benson:
“There is no question we do. When you look at what has happened in college football the last couple of weeks and then you look at today – unranked Arkansas defeats top-ranked LSU, you see Texas go down to Texas A&M. Anybody can win on any given day, which means there is a lot of parity in college football. So to tell this team and this program that we are not in the top 12 is not justice to us. I think we have earned it after today’s win. Boise has been the (WAC) giants and today we knocked down the giants.’’ (MN)


Focusing on the Washington game now, Colt said:
“Now, the crazy thing is we went through all this this week to get up for Boise State, but the biggest game of the year is next week against Washington." (MN)


About how Colt should win the Heisman, JJ said:
“Colt Brennan is the best player in college football, he should have won the Heisman last year. And it would be a huge injustice, if he plays well next week and we go undefeated, if he doesn’t win it this year.’’ (MN)