The Western Athletic Conference, the nation's largest with a 16-team membership that stretches from Hawaii to Texas, is out to prove it can play with the big boys of bigtime collegiate football.

It enters its second year of expansion with Brigham Young University boasting the nation's longest winning streak with 12 in a row. The Cougars finished ranked No. 5 in the nation after a 19-15 Cotton Bowl win over Kansas State.

While the WAC was 25-30 against non-conference foes last year, it was 7-6 against the Big 12.

The WAC's hue and cry over being excluded from the bowl Alliance paid some dividends. The WAC will become part of the Alliance, beginning with the 1998 season. Any WAC team with a ranking of sixth or higher will receive an invitation to play in one of the four Alliance bowl games. Otherwide, the WAC will be in the mix for an at-large bid.

"We're relieved to have the issue behind us," commissioner Karl Benson said. "Some said we caved in or gave up but that's not true. We got as much as we could possibly get. We now can consider ourselves part of the elite of college football."

Benson, as well as the WAC coaches, now are ready to prove they can compete on the field.

BYU's 14-1 season, which included a WAC championship overtime victory over Wyoming, set a lofty standard for league teams.

"This league has a lot of potential," said Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry. "I thought we had an outstanding first year. The playoff game with BYU and Wyoming gave our conference great national exposure."

There will be four new head coaches in the WAC this season, including Mike Cavan at SMU, Pat Hill at Fresno State, Dana Dimel at Wyoming and Dave Baldwin at San Jose State.

DeBerry still isn't overwhelmed with the WAC deal with the Alliance, which includes a $100,000 payout to each school should the conference not get a team in the top four bowl games.

"What we got was better than nothing but it blows my mind that I'll have to tell my team it has to finish in the top six to have a chance to play for the national championship," DeBerry said. "I think in time there will be a playoff."

Aside from the political wheeling and dealing, many WAC coaches and writers are picking Colorado State to upset BYU in the championship game on Dec 6 in Las Vegas. CSU is heavily favored in the Pacific Division and BYU in the Mountain Division.

"I think CSU will be the strongest contender," DeBerry said "But BYU is always there. Rice also has a chance to make a strong run."

Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick almost welcomes the favorite's role.

"I feel very good about this team," he said. "It could be the best team we've had since I've been there. I like recognition. I'd rather it be this situation than the way we've been at CSU. Now, we'll just have to see how well we handle these expectations."

He added "BYU can play with anybody. Nobody wants to play BYU."

Then Lubick joked "I didn't go on vacation after I read all the magazines picking us."

CSU will have a high-powered offense built around quarterback Moses Moreno, who had almost 3,000 yards passing, and wide receiver Geoff Turner, who caught 52 passes for 921 yards. Fullback Damon Washington, who rushed for over 1,000 yards and averaged 6.6 yards per carry, also is back.

"It will be hard to surpass last year's offensive production," Lubick said. "Hopefully, our defense will improve. I think we can put some points on the board."

San Diego State and Air Force were expected to give CSU the toughest tussle in the Pacific Division which incudes Wyoming, Fresno State, UNLV, Hawaii and San Jose State.

"We're going to be disappointed if we're not in it," said San Diego State coach Ted Tollner. "We want the Nov. 22 game against Colorado State to be meaningful."

BYU goes into the season with a question mark at quarterback, although coach LaVell Edwards likes both Paul Shoemaker, a junior, and Kevin Feterik, a sophomore.

They must replace Steve Sarkisian, who passed for over 4,000 yards last year.

"We have a chance to be a good club," Edwards said. "I've got a gut feeling we'll be OK at quarterback. They aren't experienced quarterbacks but I'm excited about both of them. I think we'll have a great Mountain Division race. Utah should be very strong and Rice could surprise."

BYU has a tough non-conference schedule. Washington, BYU's only loss last year, comes calling in the opener. Then BYU travels to Arizona State in the second game before opening the WAC season at SMU on Sept. 27.

Edwards, who has been 25 years on the job for BYU, said he has no immediate plans to retire.

"I like what I'm doing," Edwards said. "I even like the recruiting. I'll probably be at it for awhile."

Utah and Rice were expected to challenge BYU for the Mountain Division title followed by New Mexico, TCU, SMU, Tulsa and UT-El Paso.

The WAC has some high profile national television games such as Wyoming at Ohio State, Washington at BYU, Texas at Rice and Air Force at Colorado State.

The league will be eligible for one of two at-large spots for the Alliance, the Cotton or Holiday bowls, the Copper and Las Vegas.

"You couldn't write a better script for the WAC then the way things went the first year," said Rice coach Ken Hatfield. "The conference will very competitive again. Why, Oklahoma lost three times to WAC teams last year. Of course, BYU is the team to beat again."

Hatfield said the school is expecting 50,000 fans for its opener against Air Force.

"With the Houston Oilers leaving we think fans in Houston are going to comeback to college football," Hatfield said.