That's right, I said it. And why not? Year in and year out they prove that they can win their one big game and killdoze the rest of their opponents, only to be slapped in the face with a "sorry guys, try again next year" from the BCS.
Look, I'm the first to respect what occurs every Saturday in the SEC and other major conferences. But I can also recognize a team that has withstood the test of time like Boise. Their schedule is undeniably weak, but seasons of near perfection -- even against lesser opponents -- is an incredibly impressive feat (just ask Pete Carroll how hard that can be). And for those who make the straw-man argument that Boise would get crushed against a major conference competitor, remember that it wasn't that long ago that Oklahoma was singing the Boise blues...
College football is not about one year's performance. If it were, there would be no such thing as preseason rankings. Every year the expected leaders of the major conferences come in with an advantage regarding the BCS system, and rightfully so. But when a team has dominated to an extreme degree and for a long period of time, they should be rewarded with a chance.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree that based on their record the past few years Boise St. really has stood out as one of the top teams, and usually could contend for BCS consideration each year.
ReplyDeleteNor do I doubt that they could play with the big boys... clearly they can, as evidenced by their early season thrashing of Oregon, beating Oklahoma several years back...
And I'm not so caught up in the whole 'SEC is THE conference, everyone else is worthless' mindset like I used to be... Everyone knows overall SEC is the best conference... its a consensus deal, no argument, SEC gets plenty of credit.... but there are a lot of other solid conferences out there with talented teams: Big 12 consistently, Big Ten has at least Penn St. and Ohio St. every year... and say what you will about USC and the Pac 10, but there are always competitive teams.
That said, in order to be considered among the big boys consistently, Boise St. needs to play with the big boys consistently, which they just don't. Their conference schedule is a joke... Ok, so we know that, its not their fault, etc...but that leaves at least 4 or 5 games a year available to schedule respectable teams to vault yourself into National Championship consideration.
Boise St. non-conference games:
Oregon
Miami OH
Bowling Green
UC Davis
Tulsa
Home opener against Oregon is nice and they looked good... but it's not enough for me. USC plays Oregon too, and at least 6 other teams better than anyone on Boise's schedule.
There is no question Boise St. has a good team. As far as the best teams in college football, I'd rank them around LSU... I think they have less talent, but are extremely well coached. But when it's all said and done, give me a team that has played 3+ top 15 teams and has one loss over an undefeated team that won one big game at their place early in the year; that means if you are in a good conference you are set, and if you are in a bad conference then schedule some big non-conference games. Just don't come whining at the end of the year when nobody respects to because you haven't beaten anyone since week 1.
I stand corrected, and with a new perspective.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that there are not many big teams all that willing to schedule any away games w/ boise. no one wants to play on the blue turf. Since most teams do the one here/one there philosophy of scheduling games boise is often at a disadvantage in getting big teams to come to boise. That would mean any big teams boise would play would almost always be on the road.
ReplyDeleteYeah that does present a problem for Boise... like a radio host said "they are too good for their own good." No one wants to play them out of conference because if you play in a big conference, your best bet at going to the BCS championship is winning all your games.... and Boise St. is just not an easy game.
ReplyDeleteThey need to get in a bigger conference. You can't help but feel bad for them because they are good and trying to schedule good games... but as much as I feel bad for them I don't think they deserve to play in the big game, even if they go undefeated. I don't know how difficult it is to switch conferences and if there are contract agreements and all that... but if they think they will be a force in the long run they need to take a hit now and try to join the PAC-10 or Big 12. As long as they can't get good games, that is the only way they will convince me they deserve to be in the Ship.