ESPN

The quest to become an automatic qualifying conference did not die when the Mountain West lost the last of its marquee teams.

Indeed, the Mountain West is holding out hope that its appeal to the Presidential Oversight Committee will be granted, giving it AQ status for 2012 and 2013. The big question is whether the league deserves it, considering its membership will look radically different for those two seasons.

Utah is gone. BYU: gone. TCU: gone. Boise State is headed for the exits in 2013. Remember, it is those four schools that allowed the Mountain West to meet the standards laid out in two of the three categories needed for automatic qualification. Yet those four schools will be gone by 2013.

Three of those schools had BCS appearances during 2008-11, the years included for the qualification cycle. Each had at least one top-25 finish in the BCS standings. Though Boise State achieved most of its success in the WAC, its credentials count toward the Mountain West because it joined this season. Though Utah and BYU left this year, what they accomplished in the Mountain West count, too.

If those four schools had remained, there would be a powerful argument to give the Mountain West an AQ spot. Boise State has finished in the top 10 of the final BCS standings four straight years. TCU narrowly missed its third straight BCS appearance. One of the biggest travesties of recent BCS selection has been the constant exclusion of Boise State as an at-large selection, and that would be repaired with an AQ spot.

But what is the Mountain West without Utah, TCU, Boise State and BYU? By the time 2013 rolls around, the league will be left with Nevada, Fresno State, Hawaii, Air Force, Colorado State, Wyoming, New Mexico and UNLV.

Three of those eight teams are bowl eligible this season. Only Hawaii has made a BCS game in its history. Colorado State has not been to a bowl game since 2008; New Mexico since 2007; UNLV since 2000. Four of those schools will have new head coaches in 2012, and none appear ready to become the next "BCS buster" because they have not maintained the same level of consistency as the schools that have departed.

The Mountain West argues in its appeal to the committee that it deserves a spot for a variety of reasons. The league believes its performance during the qualifying cycle is deserving of inclusion. And as for the question about whether it should become an AQ conference despite its membership changes, the league points to none other than the Big East -- the BCS whipping league.

In February 2004, prior to the implementation of the BCS contract established for the 2004-2007 cycle, the Big East Conference (Big East) experienced membership change which significantly affected the competitive strength of its football enterprise. However, without any formal action, the Big East was permitted to retain its automatic-qualifying status for the next cycle -- apparently based upon reputation and relationships, rather than demonstrated performance.

The league points to two other instances in which the Big East was allowed to retain its AQ status in its appeal letter.

Those comparisons are understandable, but the situations are different. The Big East was grandfathered in as a member of the "original six" automatic qualifying conferences. Whether the Big East deserves its spot should not come into play here because the Mountain West should be judged based on its own merits.

This is a league that has had many big wins over AQ teams, and performed well in BCS games and bowl games in general. The league has won the Bowl Challenge Cup four times since 2002-03. But there is a bottom line here: The Mountain West is simply not the conference that got all these national accolades.

Now it is up to the Presidential Oversight Committee to determine whether that matters.

TCU HORNED FROGS

Record: 10-2, 7-0 MWC

The season did not exactly start the way TCU is used to, with losses in two of the first five games. It was not the offense that was a problem, but the defense, which simply gave up too many points and too many big plays in the pass game in losses to Baylor and SMU. Injuries and inexperience really hurt the defense, with key losses like Tanner Brock (injury) and safety Tejay Johnson (graduation) having an impact. But you knew with Gary Patterson, a defensive guru, performances like that would not last. TCU showed steady improvement, then pulled the upset of the season in Boise, beating the Broncos 36-35 to end their long winning streak on the blue turf.

TCU ended up winning another conference championship, reaching the 10-win mark for the fourth straight year and eighth time in the past 10 seasons under Patterson. Before Patterson arrived on campus in 1998, the Horned Frogs had just four 10-win seasons in their history.

They end their run in the Mountain West having won a record 24 straight league games, while also holding the conference mark for consecutive home league wins at 17.

Offensive MVP: Casey Pachall, QB. The big concern going into the season was how Pachall would fare in place of Andy Dalton, the school's all-time winningest quarterback. Pachall did a terrific job in his first year as a starter, going 213-of-314 for 2,715 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. He made the All-MWC second team. Receiver Josh Boyce was outstanding as well, with 932 yards receiving and nine touchdown receptions.

Defensive MVP: Tank Carder, LB. Injuries hampered Carder's productivity at the beginning of the season, but he closed out strong and ended up winning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year honors for a second straight season. Carder finished with 66 tackles, including 4.5 for a loss, and returned two interceptions for touchdowns.

Turning point: Beating Boise State 36-35. Coach Gary Patterson gambled and went for 2 late in the game, playing for the win rather than the tie. Pachall found Josh Boyce in the end zone for the conversion with 1:05 remaining. The Broncos marched down the field and got into field goal range, but Dan Goodale missed a 39-yard field goal at the gun. The victory allowed TCU to win its third straight Mountain West Conference championship in its final year in the league.

What’s next: TCU was hoping to get an automatic selection into the BCS but failed to finish in the top 16 of the final standings. So it's off to the Poinsettia Bowl against WAC champion Louisiana Tech, then a move to the Big 12 Conference for the 2012 season. There is so much young talent on this team, it will be interesting to see how the Horned Frogs fare in their first year in an AQ conference.

A week ago, the TCU Horned Frogs won by 24 points and fell in the BCS rankings one spot to No. 20. This week they were idle and moved up two spots to No. 18 heading into the final week of the regular season. Gotta love the BCS.

So, can TCU actually sneak into a BCS game?

Technically, yes. The odds, though, are heavily stacked against them.

First, a reminder how a non-AQ team earns an automatic BCS berth: By winning its league championship (and being the champ is the key, not the final ranking, see Boise State); finishing in the top 16 of the BCS standings; and finishing higher than a champion of an AQ league. West Virginia is the highest-ranked Big East team at No. 23, and it isn't assured of winning the league.

By the time the Frogs (9-2) kick off their finale in Forth Worth against UNLV (2-9) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, they'll have a pretty good idea if there's any hope. No. 6 Houston (12-0) controls its destiny: Beat No. 24 Southern Miss (10-2) in the Conference USA title game (11 a.m. Saturday, ABC), and an automatic BCS berth belongs to Case Keenum and the Coogs.

Lose, and suddenly the door flings open for the Frogs.

Here's the three-step process that must happen for TCU to seal a third consecutive BCS berth:

1. Houston must lose to Southern Miss -- which seemingly killed its BCS dreams with an awful loss to UAB two weeks ago.

2. TCU must beat UNLV (2-9) to win the Mountain West Conference title outright and do so in an overpowering way to make gains with voters (playing UNLV could actually hurt TCU in the computers, just see its 34-10 win over Colorado State that dropped it from No. 19 to 20).

3. TCU must move up two spots to No. 16 in the BCS rankings released next Sunday night.

If the first two dominoes fall, how plausible is a move into the top 16?

Well, No. 17 Baylor, with banged-up quarterback Robert Griffin III, plays host to No. 22 Texas. No. 16 Michigan's regular season is over. No. 15 Wisconsin faces No. 13 Michigan State in the Big Ten title game. No. 14 Georgia gets No. 1 LSU in the SEC championship game. Would loses to ranked teams, two of which will be in conference title games bump those teams down far enough to help TCU?

How charmed are these Frogs? We'll soon find out.

Your turn, Houston.

The Cougars are now in line for a BCS berth after Boise State lost to TCU on Saturday. Houston is No. 11 in the latest BCS standings, released Sunday night, putting it in position to earn the first BCS bid in school and Conference USA history. Though Boise State remains ahead of Houston at No. 10, the automatic berth given to a non-AQ that finishes in the top 12 only goes to a conference champion.

Should Houston win out, the Cougars would be almost certain of getting that berth. Boise State could win out, but it is no longer the favorite to win the Mountain West. That is now TCU, which jumped into the BCS standings at No. 19 off its big victory in Boise. Southern Miss, on a collision course to play Houston in the Conference USA title game, is ranked No. 20.

The final stretch of the season will not be a cakewalk for Houston (10-0, 6-0). The Cougars play SMU (6-4, 4-2) on Saturday with College GameDay headed to town, and then travel to play at Tulsa (7-3, 6-0) on Friday, Nov. 25, to close out the regular season. Then there is the conference championship game to win as well. But given the way Case Keenum and the offense are playing right now, the Cougars should be favored to win their final stretch of games.

Boise State is still in position to get an at-large berth in the BCS, but the likelihood of that happening is slim simply because the games would most likely choose a team from one of the automatic qualifying conferences. No one-loss non-AQ has ever made it into a BCS game.