Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. North Texas Mean Green For All The Marbles?
By "Jim James"

Playoffs 2128 (New York, NY) - Wyoming defensive back Arnold Ivory waited with baited breath as the bowl selection program was winding down.

Ivory's Cowboy squad finished the regular season 7-5, and #2 in the country. Ivory was hoping early season 'upsets' over favored big named programs would influence the BCS computers and put him and his Cowboys in the national title game.

Five minutes later, Ivory slammed his remote control to the ground in frustration.

'Man, me and the guys worked so hard for the opportunity to play for the national championship this year! I can't believe we got shut out of a chance for the title!'

Ivory, who is expected to go top 5 in the upcoming 2129 USAFL draft, will have to settle for playing the Big East champions, the Connecticut Huskies, in the Orange Bowl.

The NCAA announced that on January 8th, the #1 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers(8-4) will play the #3 North Texas Mean Green(8-4) for the BCS Championship.

The Hilltoppers are led by leading Heisman candidate, wide receiver Keith Owens. The Mean Green will look to counter with one of the top defensive backs in the country in Chuck Jones. Both players are also looking to be drafted in the top 5 in the 2129 USAFL draft.

'I can't recall the last time we had such a ridiculous scenario happen where two normally mediocre programs at best would play for a national title.' an unnamed USAFL GM said after the announcement. 'No teams with 9 wins in college football before the bowl games? A whole bunch of .500 and 7 win major programs? I guess it shows that there was not a lot of talent on the collegiate level this year.'

Normally players like Ivory, Owens, and Jones would have to settle for being selected late in the first round at the very best, but some scouts are echoing this unnamed GM's sentiments and are putting Ivory, Owens, and Jones at the top of their draft projections.

'I've never seen so many long-term projects in a draft before.' one scout said. 'Who was preparing these guys for the next level? Even on down years, I could probably name three or four offensive linemen, defensive linemen, and linebackers that could go in the top 10. I can't do that this year. I don't see any impact players at those positions that can turn a team's fortunes around. There will have to be a lot of time invested in most of these players that will be drafted in the first round in order for them to even begin to think about starting in this league.'

Another scout said, 'This was a good year for teams like Western Kentucky and North Texas to rise to the top. Most of the players at the big name schools this year will likely be killed at the next level.'

Even though the Hilltoppers and the Mean Green will get their chance to shine, these scouts do think that these teams should not be getting used to the exposure.

'Once in awhile, we will see things like this happen, where there's simply not a lot of talent at the collegiate level. I do like what I'm seeing for most of the underclassmen at the bigger schools, so I do expect things to correct themselves over the next few seasons. I expect that we won't be seeing 8-4 teams battle for a national championship for awhile.' one of the scouts said.