Barring complete disaster and utter chaos, ESPN college football researcher Brad Edwards says the national championship chase is down to two. Two conferences that is, not two teams.
Three teams from the Big 12 South and two teams from the SEC form the glut atop the BCS standings. So rather than playing what-ifs with four weeks to go in the season (I'll leave that up to ESPN's talking heads), I want to focus on the non automatic-qualifying conferences for a fleeting moment.
An interesting storyline is developing between two previous BCS-crashers, Utah and Boise State. The Utes from the Mountain West Conference stayed perfect with a dramatic last-minute win over TCU. But more importantly, they grabbed command of the one automatic at-large BCS bid for the non-power conferences.
Translated, if Utah wins out they should clinch their second major bowl berth, even if the Broncos also finish with a unblemished record. In that senario the WAC's gem Boise State would have to hope to be selected for another at-large spot. And there's fat chance of that happening with Ohio State eyeing at-large consideration as well.
Boise fans should start feeling as blue as their turf.
So what would an undefeated Boise State BCS snub prove? Only what I've been saying for a long time. That the Broncos are a bunch of frauds and really need to beef up their non-conference schedule.
This year, the Broncos "best" win was a 37-32 upset of then-No. 17 Oregon at Autzen Stadium. The win would be much more impressive had Boise not given up 19 fourth-quarter points with the Ducks playing their 13th string quarterback. Actually, Oregon rotated two sub-third string freshman at QB. Also, it was Boise State's first win ever on the road versus a BCS-conference team, hardly something to cheer wildly about.
Then there's the fact only three of the eight Division I-A (or FBS) teams the Broncos have beaten currently have a winning record.
Unlike ESPN's Bruce Feldman, who projects the Broncos to get a berth in the Sugar Bowl, people in southern Idaho should start sweating. Time to look for something red and black!
3 comments:
Smooth, I think you're lifetime vendetta against Boise State is getting in the way of your judgement. Check it out: If Boise and Utah both go undefeated, how can a two-loss Ohio State team(which lost to PSU), a two loss Michigan State team or two-loss Penn State team get an at-large bid. The Big 10 has been one of the most disapointing conferences this season (Outside of the Pac 10 in my opinion) and Penn State plays Michigan St. in the last game of the season to determine who will win the conference. If MSU wins (Which I wouldn't put past them after seeing Penn States vulnerabilities) then everything is screwed up for the Big 10.
Any thoughts?
You're right, I do have a vendetta against Boise State, however I'm not letting it cloud my judgement. Without going into gory detail, the scenario I see playing out is that the Big East champ will head to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. The SEC runner-up and their fans won't want to see another Big Ten team for a long time. So with Utah automatically earning a BCS spot and two at-large teams coming from the Big 12 & SEC, the last bowl standing (which I think is the Orange) will look for the best on paper match-up, with fans that travel. I'm sorry but the Broncos don't have a Terrelle Pryor or Javon Ringer to create any kind of buzz. From a business standpoint a lackluster 10-2 Big Ten team with long-standing history is better than a 12-0 WAC nobody. And in D-I college football money talks.
Ahhh, sadly, you might be right. But once again this brings up the need for a playoff system...unfortunately, the best playoff is an 8-team bracket which still would not include undefeated mid-majors such as Utah and Boise State.
Personallly, I'll take my luck with bowl games. We don't need the NFL playoff system in college football.
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