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Is Boise State deserving of its Pre-Season Rankings
Aug 24th
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It would appear that media, fans and the like are up in arms over Boise State’s Preseason Coaches and AP ranking of #5 and #3 respectively. I am of the thought, like so many, that Boise State should not be ranked this high; however my reason for saying so is much different.
Media and Fans of College Football Argument against Boise State’s Ranking
The most obvious and most often used argument against Boise State’s ranking is the schedule they play. The Broncos are, for the last season, members of the Western Athletic Conference, where they play the likes of Utah State, San Jose State and New Mexico State.
WAC teams are seen as teams BCS teams schedule at the beginning of the season as a tune up in week 1 or 2. Most often these games end up being very lopsided in favor of the BCS team. To get a sense of how these games have gone, Coach Robb Akey was quoted as saying in response to what went well against the Arizona Wildcats “the plane home didn’t crash.”
Granted it is not always gloom and doom when the WAC ventures out into non-conference BCS play. Pat Hill and the Fresno State Bulldogs often play one of the toughest schedules in the WAC and play BCS teams hard, coming away with victories. Most recently the Broncos have had success against tough BCS opponents most notably with wins versus Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and back to back victories over the University of Oregon in 2008 & 2009.
On the flip side many will argue that if you put Boise State into the SEC or Pac Ten, success would not come so easy. Granted if the 2010 version of the Boise State Broncos were playing in a BCS conference, the road would be much more difficult. However, remember if Boise State were in, say the Pac Ten, they would certainly have access to Pac Ten money and Pac-Ten talent. Boise State Football does what it does with its portion of a 28 million dollar athletic budget of an Idaho State run school. Image what Chris Petersen and company could do with a 75 million dollar athletic budget.
My argument against Boise State’s ranking
Polls in general are plagued with bias. Take Craig James’ vote. Mr. James votes seam out of place, he Texas Tech and has Miami unranked and Texas A&M at 22nd, not to mention Georgia at number 7, versus an overall ranking of 23.
Voters either don’t care or wait until the last moment. Joe Giglio, of the Raleigh News & Observer, in this year’s preseason AP poll has Boise State ranked #1. Yes, Boise State received 1 vote to be the number 1 team in all the land. However, consider on the same ballet, Giglio had Nebraska, Pittsburgh and Miami ranked 3, 4 & 5 respectively. One shouldn’t take too much stock in Mr. Giglio’s votes.
The bottom line is simple, the preseason poll means nothing. After the first month of the season Boise State could have a record of 3-0, 2-1, 1-2 or 0-3. The Broncos could be ranked lower with 3 wins or out of the top 25 with 1 loss. I have seen it happen every year and will see happen again this year, whether it is the Broncos or another team.
Where should the Broncos be ranked?
The Broncos have been very successful since joining, Division 1 football. At home on the Blue Turf of Bronco Stadium, Boise State is dominating.
The last time the Broncos lost a home game on the Blue was to the Pac Ten’s Washington State Cougars. The 2001 Cougars, under Mike Price, finished ranked in the top 10 that year and went on to play in the Rose Bowl the following year.
Since joining the Western Athletic Conference the Broncos have only 3 losses against WAC teams. The Broncos have been WAC Champions 7 out of 9 years.
The Broncos average margin of victory versus WAC opponents during the same time period is 29 points. Under Coach Petersen the number has fallen off by 1 point, but Bronco Fans won’t hold that against him as one should expect the other WAC teams to step up some time.
The Bronco’s bowl record is 6-4 since joining Division 1 football. In the 4 losses the Broncos have lost by only a margin of 3.5 points. In every loss the Broncos had a chance pull off a win.
Here are some other items of note regarding the Broncos success. Coach Pete is also 4-1 against BCS teams. Former Broncos Ryan Clady and Kyle Wilson are both 1st round picks over the last 3 years
What does this all mean?
Consider the following; if a BCS team were to have joined the WAC in 2001 and play 9 seasons, I would argue that the same BCS team would be hard pressed to top what the Broncos have done over the same period.
Preseason rankings are also based on the respect the media and coaches have for teams. The Broncos return 21 of the 22 starters from the 2010 Fiesta Bowl Team. Given the resume of success, it would appear the Broncos ranking is based on respect, a respect often reserved for College Football’s elite and most storied programs.
Coach Pete may have summed it up best when asked if the Broncos deserved their 2010 preseason Ranking, “Instead of proving everybody wrong, now we (Boise State) want to prove everybody right.” The Boise State Broncos begin their quest to prove everybody right Sept 6, 2010. Go Broncos!!
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The BCS, Getting it Wrong 20 Percent of Time Since 1998
Nov 11th
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.
The Face of Boise State Football
Jun 4th
Greetings Bronco Nation. No I am not dead I am still alive and kicking. After 24 episodes I figured that since I have produced more episodes then any network television show this season I would take a break until August. Also have day job that requires me to take some extra college courses, so my free time is limited. However, it does not mean I haven’t been keeping up with Boise State football news.
Of course Kevan and the guys over at OBNUG have started a podcast, after some sound issues they got help from a friend, and the sound is up to par with the great content. Drew at Fight, Fight BSU has been supplying Bronco Nation with some great posts. Aaron at Statue Left has been finding some non Bronco gems, I can say die hard Bronco fans feel just like the guy stuck in the elevator for 40 something straight hours. KITK had a discussion about Blogging, but I haven’t been able to listen due to there files being unavailable for download. Note to those running the KTIK website, its not a podcast unless you have an RSS feed to deliver it.
Speaking of KTIK, I was listening to IST on the way home from work tonight and Caves asked Coach Pete who the face of Boise State was. Coach Pete decided that in the 8 years at Boise State he had to go with Korey Hall. Not that I disagree with Coach I thought I would put the question to Bronco Nation. Below is a poll, using the same parameters of Coach Pete, I came up with this list. I am sure I am missing someone so I also included the add your own answer.
