A WAC-ky dilemma: Win or take the money?

I learn a lot when hanging out with Daniel Freer - I knew he would be a tremendous asset when I put together Fantasy College Blitz to make the market for fantasy college football, and he has yet to disappoint. So this week, he and I collaborated on the Start/Sit article for the Top 25 teams, and he sneaks this nugget in...

No one outside of Nevada wants the Wolf Pack to (beat Boise State) today....a Boise loss means $1.5 million less bowl revenue sharing per WAC team without a BCS Bowl invite. - DF

Granted, the only other place I would see this or the potential Boise bowl matchups debated is at the Idaho Statesman, but I thought this was a strong look under the hood of college football's current system and a study in human nature at the very least.

Imagine the behind the scenes discussions in Reno if the WAC commissioner Karl Benson were to cleverly drop the slightest hint that there could be something in it for the Nevada Wolfpack if they were to drop a couple balls. Or put a couple on the carpet? Or call more draw plays on 3rd and 8? I would hope that if this were to ever happen, some Nevada alum/bigwig would put up a $1.5mil "gift" if the Wolfpack were to win.

I am not saying that this is happening at all - Benson has been nothing but an open lobbyist for Boise State in their quest for a BCS Bowl the last two years. As one of two undefeated teams in Division 1, if they win the WAC and finish in the Top 12 of the BCS, then to a BCS Bowl they go.

Remember, no one was happier to see USC lose to Oregon State than Boise State - Broncos pelted the Beavers on national TV in September, the game when Ian Johnson entered our collective consciousness by scoring five touchdowns. That only helps that they have a win over a team theat beat a Top Five team - something that BCS Technician Wesley Colley calls a "second-order" event.

3:30pm in Reno on the Game Plan...Broncos are a 2 1/2 point road dog. Should be one of the games of the day with lots of subtext. If Nevada wins, it makes a three-way tie at the top of the conference with round-robin-reauchamboux-like results since BSU beat Hawaii and the Warriors beat the Wolfpack.

PS - Did you know that Nevada leads the nation with ten wins against the spread?