With a fifth BCS game on the horizon for 2006, it's not a stretch to say the Mountain West Conference has a legitimate shot to earn its way into one of the five lucrative post-season games. In fact, under the new BCS structure it may even be considered an upset for them not to have a team draw an invitation.

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Under the new format, the BCS Title Game will be added to the existing bowls, creating a fifth game-- and more room for the little guy, or the non-BCS conferences. This could open up a door for a Mountain West Conference football squad.

The six major BCS conference champions will still get their automatic bids. After that, any team ranked in the top 14 final BCS standings will be eligible for an at-large bid. An automatic bid will be given to any non-BCS conference champion that either finishes ranked in the top 12 or finishes ranked higher than one of the six BCS conference champions.

In other words, if a team from a non-BCS conference runs the table they could easily find themselves in a BCS bowl. Obviously easier said than done but very possible.

The Mountain West Conference boasts two teams that, with a break here or there, have a realistic chance to go undefeated.

Conference Favorites: One of those teams is TCU. They joined the conference last year and promptly went unbeaten in league play, and 11-1 overall. In fact, had this year's system been in place last year, the Horned Frogs would have likely been invited to the Fiesta Bowl. Media members from the MWC have tabbed the Frogs as the pre-season choice to finish first again.

Last year TCU shocked the world with their 17-10 win at No. 7 Oklahoma as a 25-point underdog, but then lost their next game at SMU. Since that loss, they have reeled off 10 in a row, which is the second longest active streak in the country.

Their strength has been their ability to play sound defense and mistake free football – resulting in a nation's best +21 turnover margin. This year the Frogs should be even stronger defensively as they return the top two defensive ends in the conference, first team MWC selections Tommy Blake and Chase Ortiz. The two of them anchored a defense that led the conference with 41 sacks.

Offensively, TCU has a lot of depth at tailback, led by senior Robert Merrill (911 yards). They will also welcome back former Conference USA Freshman of the Year, redshirt Lonta Hobbs, along with sophomore Aaron Brown (5.9 yards/rush). Quarterback Jeff Ballard, who went 8-0 as the starter, returns to direct the offense. An area of concern will be an offensive line that returns only one starter.

The team most likely to stand in TCU's way is Utah. The two will face off Oct. 5, on a Thursday night in Utah – a game that could determine who has the inside track for a huge BCS payout.

Until now, Utah is the only non-BCS team to play their way into a BCS game, going undefeated in 2004 and crushing Big East representative Pittsburgh 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl. They ended up ranked No. 4 in the final AP Poll that year. Last year they had to deal with the losses of head coach Urban Meyer to Florida, the first overall pick in the NFL Draft – quarterback Alex Smith, and a host of other setbacks including the loss of four of their top five rushers, and top two wideouts. Amazingly, the Utes became bowl eligible with an OT victory at BYU, before going on to dismantle a disinterested Georgia Tech team, 38-10, in the Emerald Bowl.

One of the strengths of Utah is its depth at quarterback. Brian Johnson played remarkably well as a true freshman before being injured late in the season vs. New Mexico. In his 10 starts he threw for 2,892 yards (only 60 less than Alex Smith's senior season), while completing nearly 64% of his passes with an 18-7 TD/INT ratio. While he was sidelined, all backup Brett Ratliff did was lead the team to their must win OT victory at BYU and the Emerald Bowl romp over Georgia Tech in which Ratliff shredded the Tech defense for 381 yards and four TD's. Just in case, very highly touted Oklahoma transfer Tommy Grady waits in the wings as third on the depth chart. A potential quarterback controversy may be one of the few areas of concern. The defense should be fairly solid ranking in the top three of the conference by most publications.

Don't Sleep On: BYU. This year's offense could bring back fond memories of Cougar teams from the early 80s led by former greats Steve Young, Jim McMahon and Ty Detmer. In 2005 the offense averaged 33 points per game led by pre-season first team MWC senior quarterback John Beck. Beck is joined on the first team by three senior teammates, including running back Curtis Brown (14 TD's, 5.3 yards/rush), and tight end Jonny Harline, who is regarded as one of the best in the country at his position. After a mid-season loss to Notre Dame in South Bend, the Cougars offense got rolling putting up 62, 55, 35 and 34 to close out the year.

While the offense looks to give opposing defensive coordinators fits, the defense will struggle making this a solid "over" team (at least until the books catch on) and a very entertaining team to watch. The schedule is a real killer too—basically taking away any realistic shot to win the conference.

Concluding this college football commentary check out Doc's college bowl game odds page. Doc's Sports how to wager on college football page is and excellent college football resource as well. Our NCAA football opening lines page is also must read when studying college football. Is there a college football betting or handicapping topic you would like to see covered? Email service@docsports with your recommendations.

Keep An Eye On: San Diego State. Chuck Long takes over as head coach after leaving his offensive coordinator position at Oklahoma. The offense will be better under his tutelage. The Aztecs have a lot of experience on the defensive side of the ball as eight starters return.

Realistic Chance to be Bowl Eligible: Everyone else. Seriously. This is a solid conference from top to bottom. There is very little separating teams four through nine.

Key ATS Trends to Watch for Mountain West Conference Football:

Utah 21-4 ATS as a road dog since '94, 9-3 ATS last 12 road openers (at UCLA)

TCU 1-10-1 ATS last 12 on artificial turf (at Baylor Sept. 2)

BYU 3-15 ATS since '88 in first away game (at Arizona)

SDSU 13-3-1 ATS last 7 years as double-digit road dog (at Wisconsin Sept. 16)

Col. St. 0-7 ATS last 3 years as a road favorite (at Nevada)

UNLV 9-1 ATS since '96 in first away game (at Col. St. Oct.7)

Air Force 12-3 ATS since '91 first road game; 31-15 last 46 as dogs (at Tennessee)

Wyoming 15-7 ATS last 22 as double-digit road dog (at Virginia Sept. 9)

New Mex. 13-0 ATS after bye week since '96; 12-4 SU and ATS in Nov. last 5 years (vs. TCU Nov. 11)