No one will play

WAC commissioner Karl Benson told the Idaho Statesman on Wednesday that Boise State is struggling to schedule a BCS-conference opponent for 2011 - even with the help (and exposure and money) of ESPN behind the effort.

The Broncos are not asking for a return game in Boise. Just one road game. And about 10 teams have turned the Broncos down, according to Benson.

"They're running into a situation where nobody will schedule them, nobody will take them," Benson told the Statesman's Chadd Cripe.

The story is starting to get some national attention as ESPN.com's Bruce Feldman has begun tweeting about it and a conversation he had with Benson. Feldman is characterizing the teams that refused the offer as "elite programs."

No one is naming names, but here are some teams that have openings in 2011, according to nationalchamps.net: Michigan, Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas A&M, Alabama (though the Crimson Tide plays at Penn State in 2011), Texas, Oklahoma State

Among the teams whose schedules are full for 2011: UCLA, Penn State, Tennessee, Florida, USC

This is part of the problem with the BCS. The easiest way to get into the BCS for big-conference teams is to win games. And it doesn't matter who you play in your non-conference games.

So why would you risk a loss by scheduling a team like Boise State? Look at what a loss to the Broncos has done to Oregon. If the Ducks had played Portland State in their season opener, Oregon would likely be ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the country at this point.

Florida is No. 1 and the Gators' non-conference schedule, so far, includes: Charleston Southern and Troy.

This article by Yahoo! Sports Dan Wetzel shows how quickly many of the big schools have figured out the system. Texas coach Mack Brown brought in BCS gurus to help determine the best way to the title game.

College football has a serious credibility problem with the BCS. No one is buying the argument about protecting the sanctity of the regular season.

Boise State has played a major role in exposing the hypocrisy of the sport.

But I'm not sure it's helping the Broncos at this point.

Boise State's 2011 non-conference schedule

@ Toledo

vs. Tulsa

vs. Utah

vs. Wyoming

The Broncos can play 13 games because they have a date at Hawaii during the 2011 season.