Bronco Nation N.O.W.

I am reminded of the movie, A Christmas Story when looking at the chances of Boise State being involved in this season’s BCS Championship. You know the story, Ralphie wants a Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle for Christmas, but everyone says “no, you’ll shoot your eye out kid.” Now this isn’t a post about a movie from the past, but rather A Boise State Story.  As I watched an ESPN commercial today at lunch promoting this Saturday’s Michigan State vs. Penn State game my mind began to play out a scenario in which the Boise State Broncos could face the Alabama Crimson Tide in the National Championship. So here is my one in a million scenario that would have Boise State hurdling 7 spots, going from #9 to #2 in the BCS.

Mountain West/Western Athletic:
The absolute in the scenario is the Utah Utes would need to loose to BYU this Saturday and of course the Broncos would have to win out. If these things fail to happen then goodbye BCS Championship hopes. A loss by Utah and Boise State overcomes its first hurdle.

Big East/ACC:
Simply put there is not enough time for these conferences to move close enough to the top ten let alone number 1 or 2 in the BCS. The remaining games played by these teams are insignificant in deciding a National Champion. No hurdles to jump hear, just putting all my ducks in a row.

Big Ten:
With a win by Michigan State over Penn State, Boise State hurdles yet another team. Ohio State winning the Big Ten, though important may not be enough to pass an undefeated Boise State. Also OSU needs to get by Michigan.

PAC Ten:
Oregon State has two games left and I think it is a toss up for them to win both games or lose both. Regardless of that outcome, Oregon State has even less of a chance of passing BSU and jumping to #2 than BSU has of becoming #2. USC would need to drop either the Notre Dame or UCLA game. Resulting losses by Oregon State and USC could allow another hurdle.

SEC:
In Alabama vs. Florida for the SEC Championship, Alabama would need to come out on top giving Florida its second loss. I think a big win by Alabama would be needed as a 1 to 3 point loss would do little to decrease Florida’s ranking. This is the 4th and third most difficult hurdle for Boise State.

Big Twelve:
This could prove to be the Broncos downfall. The way this needs to play out is for Texas Tech to beat Oklahoma this week and win out. An Oklahoma loss, allows for BSU to hurdle its 5th team. Texas Tech would need to win out and loose in the Big Twelve Title game a Missouri Tiger team. Hurdle number 6. That leaves the last hurdle which would require a Texas Longhorns loss to either Arkansas or Texas A&M and become the 7th and final hurdle that lands Boise State at number 2 in the BCS and taking on the Alabama Crimson Tide in the national championship game.

To be realistic, the odds of all of these things panning out for Boise State are an extreme long shot. Not to mention the human pollsters may not vote Boise State anywhere close enough to #2 to make it a reality. However, I like to dream as Ralphie did because after all Ralphie beat up the bully (BCS) and got the BB gun in the end (Championship). Now wasn’t that fun? Go Broncos!!

 

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In this Episode:

• 1:50 Min: JT, Drew & KIDO Boise State Radio Color Commentator Jadon Dailey recap the Idaho Game.  Jadon confirms Doug Martin slammed the hammer down on the Idaho Vandal Logo. In a related note Jadon would need a bigger hammer if he were allowed to lead the Broncos onto the field. Jeremy Avery the Offensive Lineman left their mark on the backs of the Idaho Defense.
• 18:08 Min: Will Utah win out, can the Cougars pull out the upset?  Jadon talks about what may be going through minds of the Utah and Boise State Players this week.  Does the H-Bowl have Sex appeal, well Jadon doesn’t think so.  Also what is up with all these WAC teams getting Bowl eligible all the sudden?
• 28:30 Min: That Guy from Utah State got fired.  Byron Hout you da man, do we dare say he has become Korey Hall esque?
• 36:53 Min: Jadon breaks down the upcoming Boise State vs Nevada game.  Essentially Jadon provided a breakdown that is second to none.  Oh ya JT and Drew throw their two cents in.
• All this and much, much more.  I promise no more movie references for here on out.

Please Email questions or comments to questions@bronconationnow.com

This episode brought to you by theBlueAndOrangeStore.com where listeners can save 10% by entering in the coupon code nationpodcast at check out.

For the past few weeks I have received a few email complaints and read some Internet chatter of fans voicing displeasure of the KTVB broadcast of Boise State Football games. Sure Mark Johnson isn’t the best play by play man in the world and the yes the camera work isn’t Sunday Night Football caliber. However, I for one am happy that we have television coverage at all. Imagine if KTVB wasn’t able to broadcast all these games. Most of the non-ESPN games have been blowouts and the Oregon game was an OSN production that everyone in Boise should be thankful KTVB negotiated to broadcast. The games are broadcast over the air in Digital wide-screen for free. All KTVB asks in return is you watch a few advertisements during the game and listen to Mark Johnson as he provides an entertainment that rivals all those great George W. Bush speeches these past eight plus years.  So Bronco Nation please thank KTVB for all the effort that they have put forth and be thankful we are privalaged enough to see the Broncos in action each and every week.

Back in September OBNUG introduced Bronco Fans to the Intense Debate commenting system.  I became an immediate fan of the system.  Unfortunatly, Intense Debate was not available to just anybody.  Thus I had to submit a request and was put on a waiting list.  This past week, Bronco Nation N.O.W. joined the ranks of Intense Debate and with the blessing of OBNUG we are fully operational.  This means fans can comment seamlessly on both sites without coming up with a different username and password.  This site strives to become better and needs your input, remarks, and feedback to accomplish this.  So please let your voice be heard.  Thank You.

Now that the 2008 version of the Boise State versus Idaho “rivalry” game is complete I would like to reflect on what was perceived and what was reality. Perception was Daniel Hardy made a truly athletic play and ran down the sidelines shocking the Boise State defense and giving Idaho a true hope that they could beat the Broncos and halt the losing streak at 9. Reality is in the process of making a tackle Kyle Gingg was too aggressive. So aggressive, upon seeing the tackle in process the Bronco defense eased up as to avoid any being late on hit and costing themselves a senseless penalty or better yet an ejection. Further, I guarantee the play the Vandals ran was in no way designed to break for 81 yards. The Vandals’ game plan, like so many other teams, was to keep the Bronco offense off the field. To do so calls for short passes and running the ball.

When analyzing the games’ first half statistics, despite a 17-10 score, the Idaho offense put up 102 yards passing and 68 yards running. Further, the Bronco defense held the Vandals scoreless in the second half. Ellis Powers forced a fumble and returned it for a touchdown, atoning for the defensive miscue on the first play of the game. I congratulate a great effort by Hardy, but in the end the Idaho offense did what many others have done when facing the Bronco defense, they failed to score enough points to make a game of it. Better luck next year.

 

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In this Episode:

• 2:10 Min: JT, Drew and Buck recap the Utah State Game. For a moment we were scared.
• 12:12 Min: Some BCS Talk, are the Utes showing signs of letting up?
• 18:34 Min: A WAC recap, did Jeremy Childs get snubbed and I dare you all to say Danny Wuerffel 5 times fast.
• 25:50 Min: Drew gives us an update on this weeks verbal commits. Have you looked at the video of these guys?
• 31:42 Min: Is the the Idaho game still a rivalry? Be warned JT breaks out his first rant of the Podcast season.
• All this and much, much more, and Live long and prosper Bronco Fans

Please Email questions or comments to questions@bronconationnow.com

This episode brought to you by theBlueAndOrangeStore.com where listeners can save 10% by entering in the coupon code nationpodcast at check out.

Bronco Nation, it is the time once again when our beloved Broncos make a run for the BCS. It happened in 2004, 2006 and somewhat in 2007. For the fourth time in 5 years, the good old boys are beginning their protest. Continuing the tradition, they voice their reasons why teams like Boise State, Utah and Ball State are undeserving of a chance to play a BCS game. This group will say look at their opponents, the talent isn’t at the same level, the team that will play a BCS team that will be unmotivated to play hard and, as recently as last week, noted Hall Fame Coach and ESPN analyst Lou Holtz shared his take on the Boise State win over Utah State, “Boise State needs to rip up that blue turf.” When asked why, his answer was “because I can’t see the players.” Yep in the 49-10 win, the only insight that Lou Holtz could provide was the Blue Turf made it hard from him to see what type of defense BSU was lining up in. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Bronco Nation fans, and other non-BCS fans alike, are used to hearing these reasons and shrug them off as par for the course. According to the current standings, if Utah, BSU and Ball State win their remaining games, only one of the three will be invited to a BCS game with the opportunity to still be criticized after the game is played. The reason for this entire racket is simple–money. Yes, as with most things, it all comes down to money. You see, the BSC was theoretically created by the six conferences on the platform it would help decide a true national champion of College Football. On a side note, to this day the BCS has not been formally recognized by the NCAA as a collegiate championship. However, the real reason the BCS was formed was the revenue the games would generate for the 6 conferences.

In 2003 that the BCS created a fifth game which made it easier for non-BCS teams to qualify. Of course this was only after Congress called for hearings when a coalition of presidents at non-BCS schools threatened to sue the BCS schools. The essential rule of thumb is if a non-BCS team finishes 12th in the final BCS rankings, they receive an automatic bid effective in 2006. If this decision had been made in the beginning as it should have been, TCU would have qualified at least twice while Miami (OH) would have once.

The BCS in its purest form is discriminatory. The 6 BCS conferences are so anxious to keep the money in their coffers, they developed a system that virtually assured them that opportunity. It was not until the government stepped in and exposed the system for what it was, discriminatory. For the past few years it would seem the BCS teams have found one way to prevent teams like Boise State from getting to the BCS Bowl. It is simply to avoid playing them at all or force them to travel a great distance to play. After all, playing and losing to a non-BCS team diminishes a BCS team’s credibility. One such example is Michigan attempting to recover from the nightmare of losing to Appalachian State in 2007. Another is that every time a Bob Stoops-coached team loses a BCS game, the media replays the 2007 Fiesta Bowl as a reminder that losing to a non-BCS team is simply unacceptable.

The good old boys continue to discredit teams like Boise State, with comments that non-BCS players are inferior to BCS players. On a certain level, the BCS teams clearly have an advantage in the talent department; however, non-BCS teams have talent enough to make BCS teams worry. Going 2-1 in three attempts is pretty good. I wonder if non-BCS teams just don’t belong–why are their coaches so coveted by BCS schools? I am sure Boise State and Utah fans are well aware of what I am speaking of. Additionally, after Boise State beat Oregon this year it has became clear that fans of Boise State might never make another trip to Eugene. Finally, the original Bowl Coalition, from which the BCS has evolved, by design was intended to prevent non-BCS teams like the 1984 BYU team from ever again winning a National Championship (and I wonder if a non-BCS team ever will?).

In the end, the Bowl Championship Series design was intended to give the top two teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision an opportunity to compete in a “national championship game”. I think many can agree clearly the BCS is falls short in getting a championship ending. Some would argue the claim that the BCS gets it right 80% of the time. However, most college football fans agree that getting wrong 20% is unacceptable.