Boise State's Supreme Ruler
The little guys are once again demanding greater access into the BCS National Title Game. Last week, Boise State's president Bob Kustra talked about the inherent lack of fairness in the BCS system for non-power conference schools (ht - fanblogs). Here's the money quote:
"...you would think that when Boise State opens its football season against the University of Oregon on September 3, the dream of a national championship would beat in the heart of every player, coach, alumnus and fan. Instead, there will only be a faint pulse thanks to the constraints placed upon us by the BCS. An estimated 6,000 student-athletes play for football teams that have no realistic chance of competing in a BCS bowl, given the hurdles placed in the path of the non-BCS conferences and teams."My retort back in April to this sort of rhertoric was "Shouldn't Cinderella have to Earn her place?" I don't care if Boise State does go undefeated this season. They still shouldn't get a shot at the National Title in 2009. If you only play one BCS opponent, that's not enough. No where near enough.
Boise St. Home Schedule:
Oregon
Miami (Ohio)
UC-Davis
San Jose State
Idaho
Nevada
New Mexico State
Boise State Away Schedule:
at Fresno State
at Bowling Green
at Tulsa
at Hawaii
at Louisiana Tech
at Utah State
Oregon
Miami (Ohio)
UC-Davis
San Jose State
Idaho
Nevada
New Mexico State
Boise State Away Schedule:
at Fresno State
at Bowling Green
at Tulsa
at Hawaii
at Louisiana Tech
at Utah State
They had the scheduling flexibility to add another quality opponent, but they elected to play UC-Davis (Div I-AA) instead. It's not like playing UC-Davis in front of 20,000 fans in Boise would be worth more financially than playing a BCS team on the road. So it wasn't a financial issue.
It's unlikely that Boise will play more than two teams next year that would be ranked in the Top 40, but Kustra thinks they deserve a shot at the big banana if they beat Oregon?
If I were to run 30 meters at the Olympics and then lay down on the track, I wouldn't be eligible for the Olympic Gold in the 100 meter dash. That's basically what Boise's schedule is. It's an attempt to declare greatness for an incomplete body of work.
Utah had a strong case for upward mobility last year. They beat Oregon State, TCU and BYU, and they played Michigan (it's not the Utes fault that UM stunk). All three of those teams were legitimate Top 25-30 caliber opponents. Utah was nothing like the sham Hawaii team from 2007. Were they good enough to hang with Florida or Oklahoma? I seriously doubt it. But at least they had an argument.
There's an argument from Boise that playing more tough competition makes it to difficult to make a BCS Bowl Game like the Fiesta Bowl. My argument...if you can't beat three BCS teams (or their equivalent Top 25 mid-majors), then what right do you have to the big BCS payouts? Much less the National Title Game?
PWD
28 comments:
There's an argument from Boise that playing more tough competition makes it to difficult to make a BCS Bowl Game like the Fiesta Bowl. My argument...if you can't beat three BCS teams (or their equivalent Top 25 mid-majors), then what right do you have to the big BCS payouts? Much less the National Title Game?
You're exactly right. So are they. BSU's president could order his AD to take the steps to give BSU a (theoretically) greater chance to play for the national title -- scheduling like Utah '08 but even harder would be a start. They'll never do that. They know, and we know, that an undefeated Boise team will (most years) make the school millions by playing in Glendale (or in a few years, Pasadena). They know, and we know, that playing in Athens in August prevents that; they know, and we know, and the Troy Trojans know, that a good football team with a really tough schedule in a non-BCS league is leaving millions on the table.
The smartest thing for a self-interested BSU to do would be to schedule garbage opponents, cash the BCS checks, and then complain about the "unfairness" of it all. The honorable thing is to schedule more road games, and try for H&Hs, against top-tier teams... but call me when you see a Troy player proposing to his girlfriend on national TV. Until then, expect more of the same.
Let Boise State come back to Athens so we can shut them up again.
That Olympics metaphor is gold.
Gold.
Both sides of this should be satisfied with....a playoff system. The point that you only "seriously doubt" Utah was good enough to hang with Florida or Oklahoma proves that we really don't know if Florida was the best team in the nation last year. If you'd like to complain that non-BCS teams are stealing a spot from a BCS team who is better, then go for a 16 team playoff. But give them a shot. At it stands now (as we saw with the undefeated Utah team), they have no shot, and that's called unfair. Unless it is only about the money and who gets to keep it. Hmmm, maybe....
Umm, yeah, why even waste your time on that. No brainer.
Seriously, why did you post that? Am I missing something? Is this cupcake-related?
My word verification is "irate"; I AM IRATE OVER THE FAT PEOPLE AT TACO BELL!!
For the record, I know why you posted that; I was being sarcastic. No need to explain.
Hey Boise, bring it!!
Schedule more than 1 decent team and win, then we'll talk.
Well Utah sure had what it takes to smack Alabama around. And don't give me the excuse of " Bama didn't want to be there" If thats the case then Bama could have awaken in the 2nd half to win the ball game, but we all know how that turned out.
To tie this back to the yummy cupcakes...
BS-U (lol) may have attempted to schedule a BCS opponent and the BCS opponent felt they simply were not a tasty enough treat.
Regardless, a playoff would make this all mute.
I would much rather argue about who is #'s 15 and 16 or even 3 and 4 than have a "championship" game's participants decided like some sort of beauty pageant.
Utah beat the ever-loving crap out of Alabama. Out-schemed, out-hustled, out-everythinged.
Let's go VaTech, make it 3 Pachydermian losses in a row.
I don't have a say in how Div I decides on a champion, so I honestly don't spend a whole lot of time pondering the playoff debate. Honestly, I wasn't all that freaked out by the pre-Bowl Coalition days. And I probably wouldn't be freaked out by a +1 or an 8-team playoff. I don't fault people others for having strong opinions, but it's just not occupying my brain cells a whole lot.
That having been said, all this stuff makes for very interesting reading. One thing that has become clear to me is that folks who are arguing with each other are basically talking different languages.
I totally get that the Boise States of the world, while having strong teams, haven't paid their dues. In that regard, I'm a traditionalist. Nobody handed Ohio State and Bama and Penn State and USC a ready-made shot at national prominence and championships on a silver platter. Those programs (and many others) built the game itself from the ground up.
UGA students were mocking Coach Heisman for hating America 15 years before Boise Junior College even existed. Hell, the State of Idaho was only two years old when the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry got started.
It does seem unfair that these things matter in college football when they don't matter in basketball, tennis, golf, track & field, swimming, and baseball. LSU's current success in Omaha notwithstanding, you don't have to have a giant baseball stadium and years of tradition to play for a national championship.
The problem, I think, is the refusal of some to recognize or accept that College Football is not like other sports. Or they recognize it but insist it must be changed so we can see a Fresno State baseball story in football.
No, no, 1000 times, no. Fair or not, College Football is what it is precisely because a big handful of schools built programs starting well over a hundred years ago. There is a funky blue rug on that volcanic soil out there because the Michigans and Texases and Bamas made it a fun game -- a fun component of college life.
If a historic campus with a unique gentleman-farmer flavor is important to you, then give UVA a look -- don't go to Florida Southern. If you want to spend your after-class time surfing, then save up for Pepperdine -- skip Kansas. You get my point.
The fact that things such as the Big House, The Grove, the Hedges, and Touchdown Jesus are a part of our collective college football consciousness is what made football possible at Boise State. Don't think you can jump into a great sport then tell the institutions that invented it how it has to be played.
Sorry about the length. I got a little carried away.
NCT,
Football is different. And I agree with you that UGA didn't claw it's way to near the top of the football mountain just to hand over the keys to the Mansion to a program that hasn't proven it can beat three BCS teams in a single season...ever.
As for the playoff advocates. An 8 team playoff doesn't make things more "fair" for anyone. It just makes the system more "accessible" to *ONE* non-BCS team a year.
As I say all the time. College Football isn't broken. The biggest opportunity to improve the sport is to improve the REGULAR season. Not the post-season.
1. Eliminate playing Div I-AA teams as part of the bowl eligibility equation.
2. Trim the # of Div I teams by 10-20 schools. Utah State, WKU, Idaho and the New Mexico's of the world will never field competitive teams. Why should there by a cannon fodder league (the Sun Belt). How does it make Div I Football better to have such outrageously non-competitive programs.
Do those 2 things and you'd have a better product via trickle up scheduling, and you'd have a slightly better idea of relative value of each program as:
1. Conferences would have to consolidate
2. Teams would improve their schedules on average by 1-3 games per year.
Yea, they should have to rip the blue field up before they can even be considered legitimate. Thats like a freaking slap in the face to the tradition of college football. Its like a dang arena football filed minus the nets.
Screw Boise St and the likes. And damn to you know where for Oklahoma allowing them to beat them in the Fiesta Bowl and maybe this arguement of theirs wouldn't have legs.
Maybe Boise State should schedule Gator opponents.... like FIU.
Maybe Georgia should play west of the Mississippi River more often and play Boise in Boise.
Anon @ 1247
I guess you mean UGA should play Boise in Boise to help Boise? Because UGA's cause is served just fine by being in the SEC and regularly scheduling non-conference BCS foes like Clemson and Tech. And as far as trips out west go, do Tempe (2008), Stillwater (2009), Boulder (2010), and Eugene (2015) count as "west of the Mississippi River"? If that's not often enough, then I guess we'll have to pass on whatever it's supposed to do for us.
They are surely countlessss ways to improve how the BCS "Title" is awarded. With the exception of 1980, I have and always will like to see a championship decided on the field using quantitative data to determine the majority of tournament entrants and let the judges/voters/selection committee fight over a couple of at-large entrants.
Mark May just motioned flicking a chip off of his shoulder while he predicted Boise State over Georgia in the 2010 Sugar Bowl.
BTW was Boise 2005 the first time we played Baba O'Riley pre-kickoff? Man it was hot that nite. Can any Bronc fan remind me of the outcome? I was totally housed by kickoff.
And we can all thank Chokelahoma for this.
I wonder how many other NCAA coaches are aware that alumni is the plural of alumnus.
@Smitty
'Bama didn't help any, either
Paul,
UC Davis is a result of Oregon State backing out of our game this year.
Paul,
I also forgot to mention that ANY Boise State home game will bring in more money then any AWAY game, hands down.
You should really do some research before posting this tripe.
Anon 2;05,
$40 per ticket * 25,000 tickets (you know as well as I do that you're not selling all 30k seats for UC-Davis.
That's $1 million before concessions. It's all before you pay all the overhead.
We paid NMSU $975k to play us. You'd get $1 million *easy* in today's market.
You'd draw even or better on the road.
What is BSU overall Bowl record? 5 - 4. With three of those coming on their own blue gimmick.
Yes they beat Chokelahoma. Raise your hand if you haven't beat Oklahoma in a bowl.
They lost to Boston College at their home game, I mean their own bowl game. Lost to TCU last year and East Carolina in WAC confines of Hawaii.
Also, remember when Hawaii was getting serious national cahmpionship talk? What happened in their Bowl Game.
Here's some vindication for ya, PWD, re home versus away revenue:
"If I can play at home and make that much money, then I’m going to play at home. But it’s difficult to make that much money in our stadium size."
That's from the mouth of Boise State's Athletic Director.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/story/805045.html
Paul --
The idea that college football isn't broken comes from the mind of a fan of one of the "in" teams. If you are a fan of the "out" teams it is WAY broken.
Don't lump the MWC in with the Sun Belt. Utah has proven that MWC teams can field competitive teams. BYU beau UCLA 59-0 last year. You comment about New Mexico was either a mistake or ill-informed since they have fielded a competitive team in recent years and are an MWC school in a city that if located in GA would be the largest city in the state. "Never" is a long time and even you must admit that MWC teams belong even though they are running into the face of the BCS cash headwind.
Surely the sense of fair play should appeal to you.
Erm, going by population within city limits, Albuquerque might edge out Atlanta, but it's very close. If you located Albuquerque in Georgia, nobody in the country would think about it as being the biggest city in the state, since its metro population is somewhere lower than one-fifth of Atlanta's. The mountains are pretty, though.
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