The debate begins: Does Boise belong in BCS title game?
We can argue. We will argue. Heck, we’re arguing already. But the way has been cleared for Boise State to play for the BCS title.
The Broncos did what they needed to do to make their case. They traveled cross-country and beat a good Virginia Tech team on a neutral field that wasn’t all that neutral. They came from behind to win at the end, and now the burden of proof is on the BCS — the voters in the two human polls and the computers — to keep Boise out of Glendale, Ariz.
We’re going to hear about strength of schedule. We’re going to hear that Boise has only one real chance to lose — against Oregon State on Sept. 25 — the rest of the way. But an undefeated Boise would be awfully hard to deny no matter what else happens anywhere else in college football. And if a place in the title game comes down to an once-beaten Alabama or a once-beaten Iowa against a never-beaten-for-two-years Boise … well, that’s the decision the BCS dreads.
Because if Boise is the choice then a lot of BCS-level programs will scream, “Put them in our league(s) and have them play our schedule and see how long they stay undefeated.” But if Boise isn’t the choice, the BCS knows full well what’s coming.
A full-blown Congressional investigation. Impassioned demands for a playoff grid from everyone who loves an underdog. (And really, who doesn’t love an underdog?) Perhaps even the end of the BCS as we know it, which would be an altogether good thing for everyone except the Broncos.
Say what you will about Boise State and its blue field and its modest conference. But there’s nothing modest about what the Broncos did Monday night in our nation’s capital. A ton of football remains to be played in 2010, but no single game stands to cast the giant shadow of this Boise victory. And if you’re asking me if I think an undefeated Boise State deserves a shot at the BCS title, the answer is …
Absolutely.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
265 comments Add your comment
spider
September 7th, 2010
9:35 am
alabama and ohio st will both lose a game and tcu and boise st will go undefeated and play in the bcs championship game
Andy
September 7th, 2010
9:38 am
If this paves the way for a playoff system then I am all for it. GO BS!
Eisendawg
September 7th, 2010
9:39 am
I love college football. Unlike alot of people, I like that the regular season means everything. I like the bowls. I really don’t think a “playoff” like basketball, or baseball, would be better, because then the regular season would not mean as much. Just get “hot” at the end. How many times have we seen a “wild card” team win it all? However, it would be nice to figure out a way to ex-pand the final standing to include a team such as Auburn, who was undefeated, but did not get a chance to prove it on the field.
LakeDawg
September 7th, 2010
9:39 am
Mark, this isn’t about what Boise State can control. Its not even about Boise State. Its about putting the two best teams in the BCS Championship game and unfortunately for Boise State they don’t play a tough enough schedule to warrant playing in it. Until they play that kind of schedule they are an unknown. They might run the table in the SEC or they might lose 4 games. We don’t know. They definately don’t deserve to be in over a 1 loss SEC champion. Now we can use the eye test to determine how good they are, but that is deceiving. However, using the eye test Boise State barely beat a VT team that made tons of mistakes and is probably about a 15th ranked team when all is said and done. A gutsy performance for Boise? Sure. Worthy of a BCS title shot. No way.
WDE
September 7th, 2010
9:42 am
You know why they shouldn’t be allowed in the BCS game? Because after week 1 we expect they’ll be undefeated. You can’t assume that for any of the teams in the AQ conferences.
meh
September 7th, 2010
9:49 am
I think Boise St is gonna get too cocky and lose to Hawaii or Utah State.
robodawg
September 7th, 2010
9:50 am
If there are two undefeateds from the SEC, ACC, Big 10, Pac 10 and Big 12, then no, Boise State probably doesn’t deserve to get in. But would they trump a one loss big conference team? Maybe, we’ll see how the season goes. In that case, sure, put ‘em in and see how they do against the BCS formula’s other team.The Broncos have lots of fight and are really well coached, but I’m not convinced they could hang with an Alabama.
T3
September 7th, 2010
9:51 am
You know what OPEC and the BCS have in common?
They are both CARTELS.
Only a playoff system will resolves all questions.
SecGuy
September 7th, 2010
9:54 am
You have to give some weight to schedule strength or independents Notre Dame and BYU will start scheduling creampuffs every week. Boise St. is a fine team, possibly the equal of any in the current Top Ten, but come on. The onus is on them to develope a strategy to play stronger teams throughout the season. Maybe they should go independent too and do what FSU did back in the 80s, go on the road to play the big boys, have success, and gain credibility.
wawel78
September 7th, 2010
9:54 am
Mark – I think most of us realize they can’t control the conference schedule. It doesn’t justify that now the goal you need to reach to make the NCG is to beat the 2-4th best team in the ACC. I suppose VT could be the best team in the ACC but I haven’t seen anyone predicting them to win the conference.
And I need help with this one – how is it ok to continuously bring up games that happened 4 years ago but irrelevant to bring up a game 5 years ago?
They’re a good team and showed a lot of heart last night but they were tiring out late in the 3rd quarter in the 1st game of the year. If they had South Carolina, Arkansas, GT, or Miami to play the next weekend, I’m not sure they would have the stamina to win the game.
One last point – not all big name teams are avoiding them. Tom Osborne contacted Boise about playing 2 for 1 home over a three year period. To date, Boise has not responded. That doesn’t fall in line with “we’ll play anybody, anywhere, anytime.”
Ken Myers
September 7th, 2010
9:56 am
The talking heads in Bristol and the “influential” CFB writers will say no.
minnesota dawg
September 7th, 2010
10:00 am
The answer is yes because if they think they are good enough to be number 3 in the nation, then why wouldn’t they be qualified to play for the National Championship. Don’t rank them so high if they don’t think when it comes down to it that they wouldn’t put them in the Championship. I personally don’t think they could beat an Alabama, Texas, etc.
It's a shame what he did to that dog
September 7th, 2010
10:06 am
It’s official. Reggie Bush has been stripped of his Heisman..
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ys-bushheisman090710
RickW
September 7th, 2010
10:08 am
If Georgia played that schedule, you would say they do not deserve any shot at the BCS NC, no matter how good they looked against Va Tech and Oregon St. They are getting a pass because they are the Cinderella story and America loves the underdog. I’m not debating their ability to compete with whoever else makes it to the BCS game, but rather the fact that any team that makes it to the NC game should EARN IT! And winning 2 meaningful games does not translate to earning it to me. If they want to win a NC, then join a real conference.
PMC
September 7th, 2010
10:08 am
I think they are as well coached as anyone in football and they have plenty of talent.
I just want to see them do what they did last night 3 weeks in a row before they get a shot at the title.
They are really really good; they can beat anyone. Until they upgrade their conference I just don’t know if they deserve to play for a national title.
Ted Striker
September 7th, 2010
10:17 am
I hope Boise State wins out, gets denied and someone from Utah sues and wins.
I won’t watch another “championship” game till there’s a playoff. And if that’s 20 years, so be it.
Nativebird
September 7th, 2010
10:17 am
Virginia Tech is NO barometer of BCS conferences strength of schedule…you can count on that. It is NOT how good these teams are…heck they ALL are good. It is about what is a FAIR process. Running the SEC, Big10, and heck even PAC10 gauntlet is unfair if Smurfville is allowed in the final.
dagnabit
September 7th, 2010
10:17 am
It’s a little early to be washing Boise State’s feet.
Dave
September 7th, 2010
10:19 am
What you did in the past is in the past. In my opinion there should be no preseason poll at all to give you a leg up on the next season. Should beating VA tech by three points and maybe beating Oregon State give a team a shot at a national championship with a cake schedule I think not, otherwise why not have AL join an easy conference to play for a national championship every single year.. Auburn went 13-0 and had a few easy games and it cost them dearly in not being able to play for a national championship. Boise state complains they can’t get people to play them. When you are a have not you have to work harder and be willing to play a lot of away games against top competition. Boise State needs to play top competition for all out of conference games and they need style points to get cred. We all know Va Tech is not a top team quit pretending a win against them and Oregon State is enough to get to a national championship game. They now can get a BCS game you have to do a whole lot more to earn a national championship game. An SEC team earns what they get that is why they win so many national championships. I hate how in basketball the regular season means so little in football it means so much. I am fine with a plus one playoff in football no more than that ever. Too many pretenders want that easy schedule and a chance at a national championship by winning a couple games, so would AL if they could get it.
Delbert D.
September 7th, 2010
10:23 am
Their schedule is what it is. “Let them play so-and-so…” Well, they play whoever they can get to play them out of conference.
So, at the end of the year they are in the top 2, let them play for the final BCS game, which is fictitiously known as a “national championship.” Sure, some 1-loss team like Texas or Alabama or Ohio State or (pick one) may be sacrificed and have to settle for a lesser bowl this year, but that may spur the outrage against the very flawed BCS system. Suck it up this one year for the betterment of college football and force a gradual move toward an all-conference playoff system, based on elimination games on the field rather than polls.
DScottGT91
September 7th, 2010
10:25 am
I have a question for all the folks on here beating up BSU for their schedule, or how the “just” beat a VT team that seems to have gone from being #10 in the country to last in the ACC in some folk’s eyes.
Exactly WHAT would you have BSU do? Should their coaches tell recruits that if they attend BSU they have NO chance at the ultimate prize in their organization (ie, the NCAA BCS championship). Numerous posters have pointed out that BSU would schedule SEC teams every year if they could. And yes, they got killed by UGA a few years ago; it does happen sometimes. Every SEC team I can think of has at least one “ugly” loss in the last few years, and we don’t hold it up as if a single data point defines a trend.
So, what do they do? Just concede that they can’t play in the “big” game? Even schools in non-BCS conferences have to provide resources for the NCAA. Should they get their money back?
BSU is NOT a flash in the pan. The credentials that they will (potentially) use to get a pass to the big game are pretty impressive; being undefeated against all comers for 2 STRAIGHT YEARS. Imagine if an SEC team had to be undefeated to 2 straight years to get consideration.
I am all for a playoff, and I also think BSU would not be undefeated in the SEC. But not being able to prove/disprove that on the field is NOT their fault. The system they play under, with the rules currently in place for all to see, denied them a chance last year. Now, using the same system, they are somehow unworthy if the “rules” put them in the game? Doesn’t pass the smell test.
Delbert D.
September 7th, 2010
10:30 am
I must have been the only person in the football universe to have seen VTs flaws, as all the pundits, blogs, coaches’ poll was enamored by them. I posted several times on ajc.com blogs, and I never received one response. Here is my lengthiest, original assessment:
Delbert D.
August 6th, 2010
2:51 pm
My assessment of Virginia Tech, based on factors stated here:
Virginia Tech potentially has a very good offense returning. Senior QB Tyrod Taylor will be a 3rd year starter. He had a Passer Efficiency rating of 149.4%, 2,311 yards passing with 13TDs and 5 INTs. However, he was inconsistent, with 4 games under 50% and 3 over 60% (77.3-Duke, 70.0-BC and 71.4-GT). He had 2 games less than 100 yards passing and 28 sacks. His backups are RS-soph Ju-Ju Clayton, who had a few snaps last year or Logan Thomas, a 6-6, 238 RS-freshman.
The running game should be superior, as soph Ryan Williams returns with his 1,655 yds/21 TD/ 7.8 ypc freshman stats, and Darren Evans returns with his 1,265 yds/11 TDs 4.4 ypc from 2008. Taylor also ran for 370 yds and 5 TDs. Co-starting FB Josh Oglesby returns after 78/335 and 2 TDs as a tailback last year. Kenny Younger may start this year, having split time as the starter last year. Overall, the 2-deep backfield returns 13 letters.
The OL is not huge, averaging 6-4, 293 for the starters and the 2-deep. The first unit has a 8 combined letters, but the 2nd unit has only 2, with 1 RS freshman projected to start.
The top 5 WRs return, and they are big, averaging 6-2, 214 lbs.
The defense is another story. The D-line Starting 4 returns 8 letters. The DEs are both 6-4, one at 255 and 1 at 235. The DTs are 6-1 and 6-3 at 294 and 278 respectively. The problem is depth. The 4 backups return 1 letterman, 2 RS sophs and 2 RS freshmen. The backups average the same height and weight (within 3 lbs.) as the starters.
The top 7 LBs return 3 letters, 2 for 2 starters, and 2 backups. The starters average 6-1, 230 lbs. The backups are lighter. 4 RS sophs, 1 RS junior and 1 projected true freshman backup. Barquell Rivers or Bruce Taylor may start at ILB.
5 Cornerbacks present 7 letters of experience; the 2 starters are Roger Carmichael (3-year starter) and Jayron Hosley (1 letter, a soph).
The starting Rover (safety) is senior Davon Morgan with 3 letters, and the starting FS is junior Eddie Whitley, 2 letters. Both of the backups are RS freshmen.
It gets worse. Overall, Virginia Tech is #101 among FBS schools with % of lettermen returning. From the 2009 team, only 339 tackles out of 937 return. ILB Barquell Rivers is the leading returning tackler with 96 last year, 2nd on the team. 12 of 36 2009 sacks return, led by Steven Friday with 3.5. Rashad Carmichael had 6 INTs, and Antoine Hopkins had 1.
Defensive players with starts in 2009 include the following players:
LB Barquell Rivers (13)
CB Rashad Carmichael (13)
DT John Graves (8)
LB Lyndell Rivers (5)
ROV Davon Morgan (4)
CB Cris Hill (2)
This defense has a major challenge ahead for Virginia Tech to end up the season in the Top 10.
RLM
September 7th, 2010
11:03 am
This game was exciting and YES BSU….IF they go undefeated deserves a shot. You can only play the games that are scheduled. The Universities normally schedule the OOC games 2-4 years in advance and really don’t know if those teams are going to ranked or good at the time they schedule.
If you want to compare conferences and say that if they played the SEC, Big-10, Big-12, ACC, Pac-10 or Big East schedules they would be this or that then invite them to either play in your conference or schedule them in a home and home in the future. Better yet, if your conference loses the opportunity to play in the BCS Championship Game because of BSU then several schools from your conference schedule them in OOC to show them how tough your schedule can be if they had to play it.
When you schedule FCS cupcakes instead of home and home games against the WAC, MWC, or other BCS conferences then do you really have a reason to gripe and complain? When in reality you could have scheduled them and measured your team up to them on thier Blue Turf!!!! That would be a statement…an SEC or Big-10 or Big-12 school going to BSU and winning on thier field. Now I think that would quell the speculation. In return you would add to your own SOS and have them in your house to show them how the BIG BOYS play. This is the solution to the problem currently at hand.
The Fix…..there are 120 teams in FBS play currently. Have 10 12-team conferences that play 8 in conference games and 2 OOC game and have a conference championship game that is 11 games. Currently the better teams play 14 in a year. that would leave a playoff system that would allow a 16-team field and the top 2 would play 4 more games which would be 1 more than they are currently playing. There would be 10 AQ and 6 at large bids based off records, SOS, SOV, oppenents SOS and SOV, and rankings by the 2 polls. And if needed a play-in game if the schools are that evenly matched using this system. Do away with the computers and which conference is the best debate and let it be settled on the field. Seeding would be determined by rankings and then there would be very little debate. All games played at neutral sites so the revenues for the schools and conferences would not suffer. The other lower level Bowls could still be played but the spotlight would be on the field of 16.
Just a Thought and a realistic view of all of this.
Eisendawg
September 7th, 2010
11:14 am
Mark, I have a suggestion for your next “bold” controversial issue. If the NCAA strips Bush of his Heisman Trophy, should they do the same with OJ Simpson?
Roll Tider
September 7th, 2010
11:17 am
Fact is, there aren’t 120 teams worthy of Division 1-A status. Think about it- when will UAB, Houston, Wyoming, et al EVER win a championship? Let the BCS be only the six BCS conferences, let the other 50 or so determine a separate second-tier champion. This would motivate Boise, Utah, TCU, etc. to do whatever it takes to get into the PAC 10 or Big 12.
Delbert D.
September 7th, 2010
11:22 am
Eisendawg – I think they’d have to take Billy Cannon’s, too. He did federal time.
droopydawg
September 7th, 2010
11:29 am
Answer: not in a million years should BS play for the national championship over a one-loss SEC or Big Ten or Big 12 team.
Oh, and I don’t love an underdog, particularly in football. I would rather see excellence vs. excellence in the finale. Also, BS is not really an underdog since they started at #3.
droopydawg
September 7th, 2010
11:30 am
If Boise wants respect they need to join either the Pac10 or Big12
droopydawg
September 7th, 2010
11:32 am
Institute a plus-one, then BS will deserve to play as one of four teams, but they do not deserve to be one of two when they only have one game all year that is even remotely difficult (forget OSU, they stink, particularly in September). VT has to worry about a year’s worth of games, BS can spend all of their time and effort on scheming against one team because they play Wyoming and other awful schools the rest of the time.
Marcus
September 7th, 2010
11:38 am
Other thing to consider …. looking at Boise State’s rise to success the last few years …. how many sexy, marquee non-conf. games are they gonna get NOW?
VA Tech gets props for scheduling this game, and they (and FSU in the late 70s and 80s) followed the same blueprint to respectability: play anyone, anywhere, any time.
Now, Boise may or may not be able to hang with an SEC team for one game or for a season, but given the non-conf. scheduling tendencies of said SEC teams, how many will actually pick up the phone if they get a call from an Idaho area code?!?!?
Can’t have it both ways ………
Marcus
September 7th, 2010
11:43 am
droops,
I think Boise State already HAS respect by being a top 10 team in both polls as a non-AQ. The only folks who need convincing are the fans of AQ leagues.
Ask Bob Stoops, Chip Kelly, Frank Beamer, and Gary Patterson.
droopydawg
September 7th, 2010
11:43 am
UGA scheduled BS when they were a top-15 team. Not every program is too chickens**t to schedule a tough opening game occasionally.
droopydawg
September 7th, 2010
11:44 am
“I think Boise State already HAS respect by being a top 10 team in both polls as a non-AQ. The only folks who need convincing are the fans of AQ leagues.”
I absolutely agree with you. The national media has tremendous respect for BS. I, however, do not.
Paul in RDU
September 7th, 2010
11:58 am
Roll Tider @11:17 – If you are going to prevent teams from playing at the highest levels of CFB because they are never going to win a championship, there are a few other teams you need to get rid of, starting with Vandy, UK. MSU, NC State, Indiana, Kansas State, Iowa State, etc, etc.
Eisendawg
September 7th, 2010
12:03 pm
Good points droopydawg and Marcus. It would be nice if we could keep the bowls but expand the present system to maybe put the top 4 teams in as #1 against #4, and #2 against #3, with one extra game for the NC, or have a “plus 1″ game. It’s impossible to come up with any system that will cover every possible scenerio, but that should go a long way to prevent an undefeated team from not getting a chance.
South Georgia
September 7th, 2010
12:12 pm
One tough opponent plus a bowl game does not make a champion regardless of what politically correct sports writers say!
College Football Rankings: Where Should Boise State Football Land? – Bleacher Report | Snafu Blog
September 7th, 2010
12:23 pm
[...] about FedExThe Virginian-PilotWall Street Journal (blog) -Football Soccer Today (blog) -Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)all 1,622 news [...]
ChippersLoveChild
September 7th, 2010
12:23 pm
The SEC is sooo difficult! Boise State would lose every game here… I mean it’s not like a team like Jacksonville St. can come in and beat an SEC team on their home turf or anything… Oh wait…… Go ahead Broncos, do your thing.
Idaho Cracker
September 7th, 2010
12:26 pm
The question is whether a team is good enough in a given year to win the National Championship. This happens to be year that Boise State is good enough. They have 20 starters returning, are very very deep at every position (except quarterback), and have a fabulous coaching staff. Until Utah pulled out a can of whoop ass and beat the stuffing out of great Alabama team, and Boise pulled off a stunner over Oklahoma–the argument had always been that no non-BSC schools could beat the best BCS teams. Now the argument from the good ol boys is that it should be about tradition and history more than how good a given non BSC team is in a given year.
Settle it on the field!
Eisendawg
September 7th, 2010
12:35 pm
Exactly South Georgia. Alot of people want a play-off like we have in baseball and basketball, but that really isn’t feasable. You can’t ask college football teams to play that many games, it’s one sport that requires recovery time. Plus, the regular season is like a play-off in that they have meaning, and finally the bowls are really unique. If they would just put the top teams against each other, and then have a final NC game, it would go a long ways toward taking at least some of the controversity out of the BCS, and you would only add one game.
Paul in RDU
September 7th, 2010
12:55 pm
Eisendawg – I am not buying the argument that you can’t have a playoff in Div 1 FB (FBS) because it would be asking the players to play too many games. It wasn’t that long ago that a regular season was 11 games. Now it is 12 games + a conference championship game. Div 1AA (FCS) manages to have a playoff.
It is all about $$$ for the 6 AQ conferences and for the people working for the Bowls.
Eisendawg
September 7th, 2010
1:09 pm
Paul, I respect your opinion, but I don’t see how it would work. If you were to set it up, how would you do it? I mean how many teams would be included in your bracket?
Paul in RDU
September 7th, 2010
1:26 pm
I’d go with 16. Champions of all 11 (soon to be 10) FBS conferences along with 5 at-large.
Play the games at the home field of the higher ranked teams apart from the championship game.
This is very similar to the Div 1AA playoffs. You could start the games the 2nd weekend in December and still finish around the same time as the BCS MNC
Paul in RDU
September 7th, 2010
1:29 pm
BTW – Eisendawg – love your name. I’m thinking I should change my name to Stahljacket
UGA > Boise State!
September 7th, 2010
1:56 pm
In Athens, UGA could beat Boise St. with no problem They play in a creampuff conference and after Va Tech, have all easy games left. What a joke!
Eisendawg
September 7th, 2010
2:03 pm
Paul, What you are proposing would require a team like UGA or Tech, for that matter, to play a 12 game schedule, plus a SEC or ACC championship game, and then play an additional 4 games to decide a NC. I would wager very few college presidents would allow such a format. Let me also point out, there would still be some that would feel jilted. Just take last year, you would have had Alabama as SEC champion, but Florida, the SEC runner-up would be left out, while a weaker conference might have a representative that was a champion, but that maybe has one or two losses. So, if the number 2 team didn’t win it’s conference, it would be left out. I still think the best scenerio would be keep the bowls, but play the top 4 teams in the polls, #1 against #4, #2 against #3, and then have a NC played by the winners. This would not fix every possible situation, but it should allow an undefeated team in.
Paul in RDU
September 7th, 2010
2:18 pm
Eisendawg – I’m proposing 5 at-large to go with the champions. The runner up from the SEC (and likely the Big 10 and Big XII) would go as well.
I can’t disagree with the extra games being an issue. They could go back to 11 regular season, but we both know why that won’t happen
74 Dawg
September 7th, 2010
2:29 pm
absolutely … not. They could have played 2 and 1 against Nebraska, didn’t. They should have played a real football team in their bowl last year. Matching them against TCU did neither one of them a favor. Save that game for the smurf bowl.
Eisendawg
September 7th, 2010
2:34 pm
Yeah, I agree Paul. It’s really unfair that some conferences don’t play a championship game anyway. That extra game knocks one team out of the mix. That’s my gripe with the PAC 10 and the BIG 10, among others. It’s alot easier when you only have to get “up” for one or two games all year. Of course, getting agreement from all the universities and the prospective bowls are about like getting our Congress to give up their “free” healthcare and pension. lol
Sally
September 7th, 2010
3:54 pm
I am so tired of hearing journalists – print and broadcast – proclaim that Boise deserves a trip to the championship game. Could we at least get a couple more games into the season and see if they are going to screw up or not? There might be a host of undefeated teams this year. It really does not matter what Boise has done in the past. The championship game is supposed to reward for performance in the current season, and last time I checked, no team has played more than one game. Give it a rest. All that game last night proved is that they are pretty equally matched with VA Tech and that both of them have a lot of stuff they need to clean up if they intend to win many games this season.
And finally – all hail to the SEC. .