Boise State, Journey to the BCS or Home by New Year's?

If you enjoy a good sports debate, mark November 18th as the day a little rain will fall on your parade. On that third Saturday of November, all verbal sparring will cease as the top ranked Buckeyes of Ohio State will square off against the second ranked Michigan Wolverines in Columbus, effectively deciding the number one team on the playing field instead of through the court of public and professional opinion.

Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) November 4, 2006 -- If you enjoy a good sports debate, mark November 18th as the day a little rain will fall on your parade. On that third Saturday of November, all verbal sparring will cease as the top ranked Buckeyes of Ohio State will square off against the second ranked Michigan Wolverines in Columbus, effectively deciding the number one team on the playing field instead of through the arena of public and professional opinion.

The murky waters of the college ranking system are rarely so easy to navigate. In fact, in most cases it is just down right complicated, and at times, pointless. Mano a mano is a luxury seldom afforded football fans, who have circled this date in anticipation of that day of reckoning.

Part of the fun of the polls are the debates that they inspire, debates that are often contested through a series of 'what ifs' as they relate to common opponents and what most would consider a lot of here say.

Take Boise State, for example, now 9-0 after their 45-21 win over Fresno, and number 14 in the coaches' poll which should not be confused with the AP or the Harris Interactive Polls, or the BCS computer rankings. The Broncos are two slots behind LSU, losers of 2 games in the ultra competitive SEC, with 7 other 1 loss teams ranked ahead of them before Louisville which sits at number 5 in all four of the rankings. The Cardinals will move up at least one, though likely two slots when the new rankings emerge, the result of their 44-34 win over West Virginia, who had climbed to 3rd prior to the loss.

Boise fans, in order to justify a higher seeding, would argue the merits of their 42-14 early season thrashing of Oregon State, who conquered previously unbeaten USC this past Saturday, no doubt contending that they should be slotted ahead of the number 9 Trojans on the strength of logic. Right!

Critics would cite Boise's recent struggle with the Idaho Vandals, who themselves were out gained by Div I AA Idaho State, trailed Washington State 35-3 at halftime en route to a 56-10 shellacking, got pummeled by Hawaii 68-10 and lost to the same Oregon State team 38-0.

In that Idaho game, Boise led by only 2 midway through the 4th period before two late touchdowns accounted for the 16 point margin of victory

Close calls appear to be the rule rather than the exception for Boise. Allowing 500 + yards to New Mexico State in a non impressive 40-28 win certainly does not advance their cause, nor does a 7 point win over Wyoming in which the final margin of their 17-10 victory came courtesy of a 61 yard interception return.

In 1984, then QB Robbie Bosco led BYU to a 13-0 record, and the honor of being the only undefeated Division IA football program in the nation that year. Their season was capped off by a 24-17 Holiday Bowl victory over a Michigan team that was not ranked in the top 10. Then Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer labeled the Cougars schedule
Bo-Diddley Tech", as he and others made reference to the patsies that BYU faced on the road to that perfect season.

If Switzer cares to comment from his Lazy Boy it would be interesting as to what he would label Boise's schedule as they close out with San Jose St, Utah State, and Nevada, taking into account that Hawaii was arguably the toughest opponent they faced year to date, a game in which they prevailed by a score of 41-34.

Clearly, Boise does not control their own destiny which is not the case of Rutgers, who with 4 games remaining will get their shot at undefeated and soon to be 3rd ranked Louisville in a Big East showdown under the Thursday night lights on November 9th. The Knights finish with those same West Virginia Mountaineers as they visit Morgantown on the first Saturday of December in what will be their finale.

Now at 7-0 and shadowing Boise in all 3 of the polls as well as the BCS rankings, should Rutgers win out it seems likely that they will end up playing the winner of that Ohio State vs. Michigan clash in the BCS Championship game to be held in Arizona on January 8th,
unless the Big East naysayers have their way.

Arguably, one of the more challenging aspects of the ranking system occurs when the competitive barometer lacks consistency, much like the problem of comparing athletes from different eras. Whether Babe Ruth could have been as productive today as he was in his day is not a question that can be answered with any degree of certainty nor could can the question of how many games Boise would have won had they been going up against competition from the Big 10.

A 12-0 Boise record appears inevitable, unless they happen to get tripped up by Nevada in their finale, which is to be played on November 25th in Reno. If Nevada can't knock Boise from the ranks of the unbeaten, there are sure to be some gripes emanating from the potato fields of Idaho about lack of respect and all those 'what ifs' and 'we could have' since the Bulldogs will not be invited to play for the National Championship.

Instead Boise will be dealt the same fate as the 1984 BYU Cougars who ended up playing in a non New Years Day Bowl versus Michigan who they held to 120 rushing yards on 49carries, and defeated 24-17 on the strength of a late touchdown pass.

Boise's problem is that they will not be they only undefeated team, and whatever one loss wonders amongst Texas, Auburn, Tennessee, Florida, USC, and Notre Dame that can survive, can cite strength of schedule and the fact that their losses came in early to mid season as paramount factors as to why they are more deserving than the Broncos.

The stars aligned for BYU that year as Nebraska suffered a late season loss to Oklahoma, and unbeaten South Carolina was upset by Navy. The Huskers finished 4th in the polls while the Gamecocks were knocked clear out of the top 10. Aside from their Holiday Bowl victory, BYU's only significant out of conference hurdle was their 47-13 slaying of the Baylor Bears, whose Big 12 legacy could be defined as mediocre at best.

If Boise State ends up on the outside looking in, they have nobody to blame but themselves. Pat Hill, coach of Fresno State, whom the Bulldogs defeated last night, must be given credit for his tradition of taking on at least one if not several formidable opponents from outside the WAC, which is hardly known for smash mouth football. This year, Fresno gave both Pac 10 opponents all they could handle in 31-24 and 21-20 losses to Oregon and Washington, but were soundly defeated by LSU in Baton Rouge by a score of 38-6 almost 2 weeks ago. Boise's only other non conference affair outside of their 42-14 opening win over Oregon State, was their season opener over Big Sky Powerhouse Sacramento State, who happens to be Div I AA. The final score incidentally was 45-0, but does that really matter?

Of course all of this is moot if the Broncos happen to get upset over the course of the next few weeks. That would spare us the controversy, but what's college football without a good old fashion debate as to who is really number one? And wouldn't that rain on the parade?

If interested in printing this story, please credit Paul Bovi and Panorama Sports.

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