WAC: And then there were eight

By Ray Holloman, CNN/SI

Fresno State's Billy Volek is looking to make his senior year something to remember. Brian Bahr/Allsport   Projected Order of Finish 1. Fresno State 2. TCU 3. Rice 4. SMU 5. UTEP 6. San Jose State 7. Tulsa 8. Hawaii

Top Storylines Somebody's got to win For all those a-rose-by-any-other-name theorists out there, we present the new-look Western Athletic Conference. What's left isn't too attractive: a 5,000-mile-wide skeleton -- comprised of several Texas schools and a quartet of teams stretching from Tulsa to Hawaii -- that will be hard to market and hard to manage. Second-year TCU savior Dennis Franchione will try to turn the Sun Bowl-champion Horned Frogs into a national name. And in Fresno, home of the only team in the WAC to have a winning intra-conference record in '98, coach Pat Hill will be looking to direct his team to its first bowl bid since 1993.

Going Bowling Locks: Fresno State Maybes: TCU, SMU No Way: Rice, UTEP, San Jose State, Tulsa, Hawaii

Trev's Take CNN/SI's Trev Alberts offers his team to watch "Just looking at some of those records from last year tells you the WAC is just not that strong. TCU is the only team that's coming off a winning record -- but the Frogs beat USC in the Sun Bowl and return a lot of key people. So while this conference doesn't have much depth, there's a good team at the top."

Top Five Offensive Players Billy Volek , QB, Sr. Fresno State Captain Bulldog has been Captain Terrific for Fresno, and with the perennial WAC powers gone to the Mountain West, '99 should be his year to shine. Rodnick Phillips , RB, Sr., SMU Became the first 1,000 yard rusher in SMU's post-sanction era last season, and should become the first Mustang to rush for 1,000 yards two consecutive seasons since Eric Dickerson-heir Reggie Dupard in 1985. Ladanian Tomlinson , RB, Jr. TCU Rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown in TCU's surprising win over Fresno State last season. Productivity should again separate this prince from other (horned) frogs. Damon Savage , WR, Sr. Tulsa Savage represents the league's most dangerous downfield threat. He was a 1,000-yard receiver as a sophomore. Neal Gray , LG, Sr., Rice When your quarterback completes just 34 passes in a season, as the Owls' Chad Richardson did last year, 6-foot-3, 275-pound Gray is the man you need on the offensive line. The senior has started 30 games in his career.

Top Five Defensive Players Brian Young , DE, Sr., UTEP This hometown boy has gone from has-been to hero after a series of Texas-sized highs and lows on and off the field. Reggie Hunt , S, Sr., TCU Not the guy receivers want to see wandering across the middle. This transfer-truck of a tackler recorded 111 stops, and caused four fumbles. Aaron Schobel , DE, Jr., TCU The key component in last year's stonewalling of the USC running attack in the Sun Bowl (the Trojans rushed for a total of minus-23 yards), Schobel brings down backs on the line -- and behind it. His sack total last season (11) was better than any other current WAC member's top individual figure. Tim Skipper , LB, Jr., Fresno State This 5-7 Bulldog is the best linebacker in the league. He led Fresno with 108 tackles last season. Jason Simonton , LB, Sr., SMU The leading returning tackler in the WAC, Simonton will have to patrol a defensive line hard hit by graduation and the off-season injury (torn ACL) of Alex Pahulu.

Top Special Teams Player Chris Kaylakie , PK, Jr., TCU The long-range boomer connected on 15 of 20 field goal attempts last season while regularly banging kickoffs into the end zone. And he's just a freshman, so opponents had better get used to watching Kaylakie rip balls through the Fort Worth sky.

You Don't Know Him Yet, But... Paris Gaines , RB, So., Fresno State Expected to fill some pretty big shoes, Gaines becomes the featured back for the Bulldogs following the graduation of last year's Pacific Division Offensive Player of the Year, Jaime Kimbrough.

Hot Coach Dennis Franchione , TCU Magic Man Fran is the Bob Vila of football, turning This Old Program into a national title contender, sometimes in less than 30 minutes. Last season's six-win leap -- from 1-10 to 7-5 -- was the NCAA's biggest single-season improvement.

Coach on the Hot Seat Dave Rader , Tulsa. Or Perhaps more precisely: coach who should be on the hot seat. After compiling a 48-74-1 record in 11 seasons, Tulsa offered Rader a four-year contract extension, claiming that he had the program "moving down the right road." Is the next exit "national laughingstock?"

Secret Weapon Paul Smith , RB, Sr., UTEP Doctors only give him a 50 percent chance of returning in the fall, since he's still recovering from a knee injury suffered last season -- but that's one coin toss head coach Charlie Bailey will take. At a speedy 5-11, 238, Smith's coaches expect him not only to return, but to star as the team's featured back for the first time in his career.

Toughest Schedule Rice The Owls should take a picture of Rice Stadium and tack it up on the team bus, because it's about the only way Rice will remember what home looks like during the first seven weeks of the season. The Owls take to the road with a season-opening three-game swing against Houston, Texas and Michigan before playing their home opener against Navy Sept. 25. Rice has eight road games total, including conference trips to Fresno, San Jose and Hawaii.

Kansas State Schedule Hawaii Hawaii -- and its nation's-worst 18-game losing streak -- need a soft schedule. Enjoy September, Rainbow followers, because even with a lightweight schedule that features just three away games, there's no pot of gold after the gimme-stretch of Eastern Illinois and Boise State in the second and third games of the season.

Mark Your Calendar TCU at Fresno State, Oct. 2 Our lead pony for conference champion comes from this race. UTEP at Rice, Nov. 13 Interstate rivalry and a must-win if the Owls have any prayer of a bowl. SMU at TCU, Nov. 26 The league's premier rivalry game.