Thoughts on Boise State

Someone asked me the other day whether I really thought Boise State was better than Florida, Texas or Ohio State.

I can't say for certain whether they are or not.

I do know that they return 21 starters from a team that went 13-0 last year. On a true neutral field, first game of the season (by the way, don’t kid yourselves, this is a VT home game; the Hokies will have more fans in FedEx Field than they would if the game were in Blacksburg) ? Yeah, I'd pick them to beat Texas. And Florida. And possibly Ohio State. And, despite the hostile environment, they could very likely go in and beat VT.

But here, as they say, lies the rub. Despite the fact they're playing on the road, against a top 10 team, it likely still won't get them to the BCS championship game, and could likely hurt them in the long run, in terms of scheduling quality opponents. They are, in essence, a victim of their own success. Thay can't prove that they deserve respect as a good/great team without playing quality OOC games; but when they play (and win) quality OOC games, the BCS schools run for cover. Every time they beat an Oklahoma, or an Oregon, or a Virginia Tech, other BCS schools look at them, pause, and then start looking real hard at Louisiana Monroe. At some point the excuses used by BCS schools as to why they won't play the Broncs a home and home are going to come down to this: We're scared.

Predictably, the person I was talking with came back with the usual suspects list of excuses. ‘Only one or two hard games a year’, ‘subpar conference’, ‘hard to get excited about a team like that.’ Then he suggested the ‘Well, maybe they should try and get into a BCS conference.’ Blah Blah Blah.

Funny, I feel the same way about teams from BCS conferences that schedule 1-AA schools and use the excuse that 'Our conference schedule is too difficult'. Your conference is what your conference is; you can't hold Boise State accountable for the failings of the rest of the WAC.
'Maybe they should try to get into a BCS conference'? Ideally, they'd love to; unfortunately they bring little in the form of academics or TV market share that would interest a BCS conference. And like it or not, that’s what gets you into a BCS conference, simply playing well won’t cut it. The Broncs are, however, at least moving up to the Mountain West, which you can make a case (or you could, before Utah left), is as solid a conference as the ACC or the Big East.

As for their schedule, they should be past the days when they should have to play major schools only on the road. Likely they scheduled Wyoming and Toledo (and Oregon State), because those schools agreed to play a home and home. Boise State isn’t going to schedule 4 OOC games on the road, just to prove they're really as good as some people think they care; 2 BCS bowl wins should have proved that already. And by the way, I wouldn’t rip Boise State’s non-conference schedule; SEC teams will play Tennessee Tech, Tennessee Martin, Arkansas State, and Jacksonville State. This week.

Finally, he came back with the ‘Do you really want Boise State to make it to the championship game? Alabama would kill them. Ingram and Richardson would run for 200 yards each, and they couldn’t handle a Nick Saban defense.’ (Ah. I love Tide fans when they get riled up; their myopia is staggering).

Yes, I do. I DO hope Boise makes it to the championship game as well. Or if they don’t TCU does. Or Utah. Perhaps then we'll finally hear the end of the argument 'oh, the only reason the non-Automatic Qualifier's win major bowl games is because the BCS schools don't care'. As Jim Rome would say, child please. If Alabama came into the 2009 Sugar Bowl not taking Utah seriously, just because they’d lost the SEC Championship game, then that's a black mark on Nick Saban. And if Alabama didn't wake up and start playing after Utah came out and stuck it up their a** in the first quarter, then that's a black mark on them. Same with Bob Stoops at OU in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. A game is a game, and an excuse is an excuse. And the 'we didn't care' line is old, tired, and frankly, crap.

Boise State wins BCS games because they are a good football team, and because Chris Peterson is a hell of a football coach. Does he use trick plays? Occasionally, yes. At the right place, the right time, and they work. That's not a fluke, that's good coaching. As for the 'predictions' of the success of Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, and the rest of the 'Bama offense running roughshod over the Broncs? Well, you're entitled to your opinion. I don't think you're right about the 400 yards rushing part, but I'll leave you to your delusions. I've watched a Nick Saban defense play. Often. Against a slew of predictable, boring SEC offenses. And I've watched a Chris Peterson offense play. And I can guarantee you, it won't be what Saban and the Tide see every week. Chris Peterson got his offense ready for a great OU defense in the Fiesta Bowl. He got them ready for a TCU defense last year. And if BSU plays the Tide, or anyone, in the BCS championship game, he'll have the Broncs offense ready to go.

Of course there is a perfect way to settle this debate. Call the AD. Tell Malfunction J. Moore that you, as a Tide fan, want to see them prove that the Tide are superior to some bunch of backwoods potato farmers. Tell him you, and all Bama fans, want to take Georgia Southern, or Western Kentucky, or Louisana Monroe, or Georgia State, off the schedule, and play a home and home starting up on the Smurf Turf. And you know what will happen? He won't have the stones. You could call Jeremy Foley, or Joe Alleva, or Jay Jacobs, or Damon Evans before he got canned, and they'd all tell you the same thing. 'Maximize home games', 'increase revenue', 'high travel costs', 'already a difficult schedule' blah, blah, blah. And they're all the same thing. Excuses. Major schools don’t want to play Boise in Boise because they might lose. And if that isn’t synonomous with ‘We’re Scared’, then someone needs to call Roget.

Let’s go Broncs.