Give Boise St. The National Championship

[#1BucsDefense]

Originally Posted by BlackHawk

You're so right! Somebody needs to tell Florida to stop scheduling Charleston Southern! What do they have to gain by playing them?

Its more like what does Florida have to gain by scheduling Boise State? An undefeated school from a major conference will always go to the NC game over an undefeated school from a mid-major. A 1-loss team from a major conference has a very good chance of going to the NC game over an undefeated mid-major. Even a 2-loss team from a major conference has a good chance to go to the NC game over an undefeated school from a mid-major. Most of the time when a school from a major conference has a tough OOC game its because its a tradition, like FSU/UF (or at least that used to be a tough OOC game), because there's no reason to make their schedule any harder than it already is.

[BlackHawk]

Originally Posted by GMSTBFLA

I saw this on another forum



Only 6 of Boise's 106 wins in the decade have come against teams from the big 6 conferences. The other mid majors seem to have no problem scheduling more BCS teams, why does Boise?

Boise is not every other mid major. There's a reason they are always ranked, where the others aren't. Nobody wants to play Boise State because they are hard to judge. Sometimes they look like they should be playing for the national championship, other times they look like they shouldn't be playing football--but still win. The other mid majors are just average schools that top teams have little to no trouble with (unless we are talking about USC who always seems to play at the level of their opponent). Boise is capable of beating anybody, and that scares the top schools.

I'm an LSU fan, and they are smart to not schedule a team like Boise. If LSU runs the table in 1 season, they'll win the national championship. They play in a conference where if just about anybody goes through and beats everybody they can say the same thing. There's no need to schedule another tough team just for giggles. That's the sad world Boise is stuck in right now. The only teams willing to play them are the ones that need that extra boost to put them over the top...and more times than not Boise wins and that team suffers a big setback.

The sports fan in me wants a preseason top 10 to schedule Boise because everybody loves an underdog. But, the LSU fan in me is screaming not to touch them. I easily see both arguments here.

[BlackHawk]

Originally Posted by #1BucsDefense

Its more like what does Florida have to gain by scheduling Boise State?

...you are a quick one...

[Kyle]

Originally Posted by GMSTBFLA

I saw this on another forum



Only 6 of Boise's 106 wins in the decade have come against teams from the big 6 conferences. The other mid majors seem to have no problem scheduling more BCS teams, why does Boise?

That's a good question. Their athletic director would like an answer

Originally Posted by Kyle

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...yhoo&type=lgns

RUSTON, La. – Is it cowardice or collusion?

Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier is all but begging for a major opponent – any major opponent – to play his Broncos, particularly in 2011. He can hardly get his calls returned. Not by the SEC. Not by the Big Ten. Not by anyone.

Bleymaier is making a nearly unheard of offer in college football scheduling – Boise will bring its popular, high-profile, top-10 team to any stadium in any town to play any big name team in America in 2011. And they don’t have to return the date in Idaho.

So far, no one has bit.

ESPN has even become involved trying to broker a deal that will almost assuredly be nationally televised. Still no luck.

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It’s the kind of non-conference game that should have schools salivating. Boise delivers an opponent that will challenge your players, exposure that will extend your brand and a home game that will excite your fans.

“It’s been surprising how many big schools have not been receptive of us coming to their place,” Bleymaier said.

This is the conundrum for the upstart program and every non-major conference school trying to battle for national respect.

Boise is 44-4 over the past four seasons, including 4-1 against major conference opponents. Yet that doesn’t guarantee the Broncos a slot in a big money BCS bowl due to the level of competition they play in the Western Athletic Conference.

The school acknowledges it needs to play tougher teams. Yet how can they beat quality opponents if quality opponents won’t play them?

What Boise is left with is games like Friday’s here. They traveled 2,000 miles to beat Louisiana Tech 45-35, a conference game, and improve to 9-0 on the season. For that they practically had to apologize because it wasn’t a blowout.

“That’s how it always is when we play,” coach Chris Petersen said. “It’s never good enough. It’s good enough for us, we won. If you’re looking to win by so much, if you’re looking for style points, if you’re looking to play for the polls, which we’re not, it’s not going to be good enough.”

Petersen has had it with arguing about whether the Broncos deserve a BCS bid. All he can do is win games. His team beat the one major opponent that would play them this year – a 19-8 victory over Oregon in the season opener. That same Oregon team is now 8-1.

Yet he deals with questions about who his team plays in the WAC. Boise won consecutive games this year by a combined score of 99-16 and dropped from No. 4 to No. 7 in the BCS standings. Petersen said he wouldn’t be surprised if they dropped again this week. They may again put together a perfect season only to be left out.

The only answer is to play better non-conference opponents. Next season they have games against Oregon State and Virginia Tech. After that though, things may be drying up. In 2011, they can’t get one game, let alone two.

So are the big schools scared of playing Boise? Avoiding tough non-conference opponents is the new trend in college football thanks to the BCS. The championship system discourages dangerous, if exciting, out-of-league scheduling as it continues to sap the life out of the regular season.

Or, perhaps, this is how the major conferences are going to deal with the Broncos.

Put it this way, if no one good agrees to play Boise then Boise can’t beat anyone any good. And if Boise can’t beat anyone any good, then how can they ever argue they’re deserving of a spot in a $17.5 million BCS bowl?

“I don’t think it’s collusion,” Bleymaier said. “I think it’s athletic directors going to their football coaches and saying, ‘hey, what about playing this school?’ If coaches had their druthers they’d play sisters of the poor 11 times.”

Still, the frustration is obvious.

“Some of those schools that are saying ‘let them play our schedule’ won’t play us,” Bleymaier said.

That no one will accept Boise State’s offer is absurd. This isn’t a decade ago, when playing the program was no-win situation. If you won, you were supposed to win because no one had heard of them. If you lost (which was likely) it was a disaster.

There can’t be any college fans left who don’t know how good Petersen’s team is. A game against Boise would bolster anyone’s home schedule. It would be a huge game. The television exposure would be invaluable.

Maybe Florida and Texas don’t need a game with Boise (they can ride non-conference cupcakes to the title game). A middle of the pack Big Ten or Big 12 team certainly does though. Boise’s program is more famous than all of them – the Broncos are on true national television seven times this season alone.

Yet no one wants the game. They’ll schedule mismatches from the old Division I-AA instead (and charge full ticket price). Bleymaier has to keep his composure as he listens to the critics.

Last year Utah went 13-0 yet didn’t have a chance to play for the BCS title. At a Congressional subcommittee hearing University of Nebraska chancellor and BCS figurehead Harvey Perlman was asked what the Utes could’ve done differently.

“They could have played the schedule Nebraska did,” Perlman said.

While it’s par for the course for the BCS to have a leader who has no idea how college football works, what can a Boise State do in the face of that kind of ignorance?

Would Boise accept an invitation to join the Big 12?

“Yeah, of course,” Bleymaier said. “If we were in their conference we’d play that schedule.”

Not only is that not happening they can’t get one game against the league. While Bleymaier won’t say specifically which schools have turned him down, he will say that the open date remains – Sept. 3, 2011. The offer stands, the Broncos will go anywhere.

And, lo and behold, guess which major conference school happens to have an open date? How about Harvey Perlman’s Nebraska, the one-time powerhouse which could use all the big attention grabbing games it can get these days?

Don’t hold your breath on that one – chicken or collusion, the result is the same.

[TampaBayPaladin]

I think they need to parade the list of schools who turned down their offers, along with the reasons they were given.

And the BCS should factor in "cowardice" into their standings. Let Boise climb to #2 and hit the National Title Game...and if they win, then we can start a new era of BCS where being a little ***** loses you points in the long run.

I hate the BCS.

[Kyle]

Originally Posted by tampabaypaladin

i think they need to parade the list of schools who turned down their offers, along with the reasons they were given.

And the bcs should factor in "cowardice" into their standings. Let boise climb to #2 and hit the national title game...and if they win, then we can start a new era of bcs where being a little ***** loses you points in the long run.

I hate the bcs.

yeah!

[fatmosh]

Or maybe we need, oh, I don't know, a plus 1 game.

[Greg in DC]

Originally Posted by TampaBayPaladin

I think they need to parade the list of schools who turned down their offers, along with the reasons they were given.

And the BCS should factor in "cowardice" into their standings. Let Boise climb to #2 and hit the National Title Game...and if they win, then we can start a new era of BCS where being a little ***** loses you points in the long run.

I hate the BCS.

How about if Boise St joins a major conference like the Pac 10? While it would require them to raise their academic standards, (meaning that athletes actually have to attend some classes here and there) it would give them the attention they so desperately crave.

[KyBucsFan]

Originally Posted by Greg in DC

How about if Boise St joins a major conference like the Pac 10? While it would require them to raise their academic standards, (meaning that athletes actually have to attend some classes here and there) it would give them the attention they so desperately crave.

Or it would completely take them out of discussions on tv and radio cause they would have 2-3 losses yearly.

[Kyle]

Or the mountain west and Wac could merge.. then split in half like all of the BCS conferences are.

Then it would be the exact same as it is now, but since they'd be able to claim 4 perennially ranked teams like the SEC they could be overrated too. Kinda like how Florida only has to play Alabama if they make it to the SEC Championship. Actually, it's funny... Florida has only beat 1 ranked team this year.

[Greg in DC]

Originally Posted by Kyle

Or the mountain west and Wac could merge.. then split in half like all of the BCS conferences are.

Then it would be the exact same as it is now, but since they'd be able to claim 4 perennially ranked teams like the SEC they could be overrated too. Kinda like how Florida only has to play Alabama if they make it to the SEC Championship. Actually, it's funny... Florida has only beat 1 ranked team this year.

But the Mountain West and the WAC just aren't that good. Boise St should man up and join the Pac 10.

[SN4]

Originally Posted by Kyle

Or the mountain west and Wac could merge.. then split in half like all of the BCS conferences are.

Yeah!

Signed, the Big 10 and Pac 10.

Originally Posted by Kyle

Actually, it's funny... Florida has only beat 1 ranked team this year.

And that is our fault? Where is the blame for UGA, UT, and FSU for sucking so bad that they aren't ranked.

Leave it to FSU for screwing up our season.

[JudgeDredd]

What was the team last year that went undefeated but didn't get a shot because their schedule was "weak"....



It's so lame. A team does everything you can ask it to do- win games. And they're still not good enough. "Big" teams are purposefully doing this. It's less compition, Microsoft 101.

They are considered 'big schools', they schedule with other 'big schools' then only the 'big schools' have 'tought enough' schedules to be considered for the NC game... they keep the power in the inner circle.

[DeadEagle]

Originally Posted by Greg in DC

But the Mountain West and the WAC just aren't that good. Boise St should man up and join the Pac 10.

They can't due to the Pac-10's academic standards. Some crap about all members needing to be major research schools.


If Boise is to move, it's going to have to be to the MWC.

[fatmosh]

Interesting info I found on SI.com:

The WAC commissioner [Karl Benson] stated last week that Boise State, with help from ESPN, has been trying to find a high-profile BCS team to host a 2011 game with the Broncos but have been turned down by about 10 teams. Do you think Boise State can continue building its program under such conditions? BSU won't be able to meet the Pac-10 academic infrastructure requirements in the near future, and the Mountain West has stated the Broncos are not welcome. So do the Broncos go independent, or do they just stay in the WAC and waste away once Chris Peterson gives up and leaves?
-- Mike Wallis, Portage, Ind.

First of all, while I don't doubt Boise has trouble landing marquee opponents, I wouldn't take that Benson quote at face value. As you may have read, the WAC has gone into full-on spin mode in hopes of placing the Broncos in a BCS bowl this year. The conference has even hired a p.r. firm to help elicit sympathy. So the timing of his "turned down by 10 teams for 2011" spiel seems highly suspicious. First of all, just a few months ago, Virginia Tech agreed to face the Broncos in Washington D.C. next season, so why are they suddenly panicking about 2011? Meanwhile, Benson conveniently neglected to mention that the school is seeking a $1 million guarantee. That's a steep price to pay for an opponent that's by no means a "guarantee."

That said, I can imagine it's incredibly frustrating for Boise State to deal with its unwanted BCS ceiling, for all the reasons Mike mentioned. Going independent is not a viable option. Its best bet is either to hold out hope for a Mountain West invite (which may happen if the conference falls short in its current attempt to become an automatic qualifier) or, essentially, become like the Gonzaga of football. The Broncos are building a level of national respect that belies their conference affiliation. Whether or not Boise earns a BCS berth this year (and I think it's still possible), Petersen's team is going to be in an even better position next year when it returns all but two starters AND plays both Virginia Tech and Oregon State in its nonconference schedule.

Depending on how they finish out this season, it's not inconceivable the Broncos would enter 2009 as a preseason top five team with realistic hopes of a national-title bid. As TCU is showing right now, that last poll barrier is coming ever closer to falling.

If they want to play with the big boys, they're going to have to drop the pretense that they are a pansy that can get big bucks so that an established school can win big. If they really wanted it, they'd play for free.

[Greg in DC]

Originally Posted by DeadEagle

They can't due to the Pac-10's academic standards. Some crap about all members needing to be major research schools.


If Boise is to move, it's going to have to be to the MWC.

How about if Boise St raises their academic standards?

[BlackHawk]

Originally Posted by JudgeDredd

It's so lame. A team does everything you can ask it to do- win games. And they're still not good enough. "Big" teams are purposefully doing this. It's less compition, Microsoft 101.

I can't even put all the blame on the small conferences. Auburn went undefeated in the SEC with Ronnie Brown, Carnell Williams and Jason Campbell and they didn't get a chance either. It's all about the preseason rankings, which is also extremely lame.

[Ken Carson]

Originally Posted by Greg in DC

How about if Boise St raises their academic standards?

A school can't automatically implement a "major research" center, and without proper funding, it can't happen anyway. Do you think money for that appears at random?

Now if they got the $$$ a BCS championship game appearance would pay out...

[Odoyle Rules]

and the Mountain West has stated the Broncos are not welcome

--- from some random fan in Ind.

Anyone know if there's any relevance to this?

[Greg in DC]

Originally Posted by Ken Carson

A school can't automatically implement a "major research" center, and without proper funding, it can't happen anyway. Do you think money for that appears at random?

Now if they got the $$$ a BCS championship game appearance would pay out...

Well, they are asking for a million dollars guaranteed.....for a regular season game.