Question about Boise State vs. Oklahoma

[Jigga]

However, that sickly bull most certainly got his horns all up in Notre Dame's ass in the Sugar Bowl, didn't he?

[NJTank]

Notre Dame another bowl let down they had no business in the BCS this year.

[Guest]

Oh, but they always do, for they are God's Team!

Good job, LSU.

[Bucks6thMan]

2. Yeah give me "who let the dogs out" and rock and roll part two" week after week in every stadium in the league over marching bands like OSU or Michigan or USC. God knows nothing beats bad music at deafening levels in an NFL stadium.

Honestly, I don't know how anyone could like either (marching bands or bad techno-pop)... anyone who has to be entertained by something other than the game has no business at a stadium.

[Bucks6thMan]

How come in every other sport, the axiom is "the only stats that matter are wins and losses," whereas in college football we have to jump through all these stupid hoops with not beating strong teams, or beating teams by too many points, or not beating teams by enough points, or almost losing, or any of that? Boise State is undefeated against Division 1 teams. LSU has lost two games to Division 1 teams. Why is LSU ranked higher? Because they've been "judged" to be better? What is this, a county fair? Only in college football can two losses be better than zero losses. Who's in charge of the math here? University of Miami cornerbacks?

Teams are not created equal, that's why it matters.

Maybe I could accept this if there were some kind of rule forcing the "big" conference teams to play mid-major powers like Boise, but like someone else said... why would a school like an Ohio State, a Michigan, a Florida, etc. schedule a mid-major like Boise that they MIGHT lose to when they could schedule a Kent State, an Central Michigan, a Florida Atlantic who they WON'T lose to? The former schools have absolutely nothing to gain and everything to lose from playing Boise.

And poor OU... they can't seem to catch a break against these mid-major noveau riche's in ANY sport (they were also Milwaukee's victim during March Madness).

[BlueSky]

Sure, they beat the Fighting Rainbows and blew out the likes of Louisiana Tech,

Hey! check the facts they're the warriors.. and never in University of Hawaii history did they have the name Fightin' in anything except back in the 1909 College of Hawaii (who became University of Hawaii) they were the Fightin Deans

But you sure knew who I was talking about, didn't you?

[BlueSky]

How come in every other sport, the axiom is "the only stats that matter are wins and losses," whereas in college football we have to jump through all these stupid hoops with not beating strong teams, or beating teams by too many points, or not beating teams by enough points, or almost losing, or any of that? Boise State is undefeated against Division 1 teams. LSU has lost two games to Division 1 teams. Why is LSU ranked higher? Because they've been "judged" to be better? What is this, a county fair? Only in college football can two losses be better than zero losses. Who's in charge of the math here? University of Miami cornerbacks?

Teams are not created equal, that's why it matters.

Maybe I could accept this if there were some kind of rule forcing the "big" conference teams to play mid-major powers like Boise, but like someone else said... why would a school like an Ohio State, a Michigan, a Florida, etc. schedule a mid-major like Boise that they MIGHT lose to when they could schedule a Kent State, an Central Michigan, a Florida Atlantic who they WON'T lose to? The former schools have absolutely nothing to gain and everything to lose from playing Boise.

Obviously you missed Boise State's visit to lovely Athens, GA last year, where they were steamrollered 48-13 by Georgia.

You guys are like that running back who let himself get manipulated into proposing. It's the heat of the moment, Boise State pulled off a miraculous win, and you're all ready to argue they're equal to the Ohio States of the world. They're not.

OU should have won, and Boise State deserves credit for not giving up and for getting it done at the end. But don't forget that OU was coming off a tough, emotional win over Nebraska. Boise State's last game was a blowout of Nevada. Put Boise State up against top-5 teams and 9 times out of 10, Boise State gets blown out.

And for the poster whose comparing opponents and how many wins they had, that's all very impressive but basically meaningless because then you have to ask, who did those teams play to get their wins? That's another reason it's not a valid comparison.

OU played 6 top-25 teams this year: Texas, Nebraska, Missouri, Texas A&M, Oregon, and Boise State. They beat three of those teams (though I'm sure most agree also that they were screwed out of a win at Oregon).

Boise State played...oh yeah, ONE. Oklahoma.

In effect, you're arguing that Boise State's conference is as tough as the SEC or the Big 12. I'm going with "no" on that one.

[Guest]

But they're undefeated in Division 1-A play.

[BlueSky]

But they're undefeated in Division 1-A play.

Looks like we'll agree to disagree.

Boise State's lucky they're not getting their chance to challenge for the National Championship. Ohio State OR Florida would send them limping back to their blue field wishing they'd quit while they were ahead. IMHO of course...

[Bucks6thMan]

How come in every other sport, the axiom is "the only stats that matter are wins and losses," whereas in college football we have to jump through all these stupid hoops with not beating strong teams, or beating teams by too many points, or not beating teams by enough points, or almost losing, or any of that? Boise State is undefeated against Division 1 teams. LSU has lost two games to Division 1 teams. Why is LSU ranked higher? Because they've been "judged" to be better? What is this, a county fair? Only in college football can two losses be better than zero losses. Who's in charge of the math here? University of Miami cornerbacks?

Teams are not created equal, that's why it matters.

Maybe I could accept this if there were some kind of rule forcing the "big" conference teams to play mid-major powers like Boise, but like someone else said... why would a school like an Ohio State, a Michigan, a Florida, etc. schedule a mid-major like Boise that they MIGHT lose to when they could schedule a Kent State, an Central Michigan, a Florida Atlantic who they WON'T lose to? The former schools have absolutely nothing to gain and everything to lose from playing Boise.

Obviously you missed Boise State's visit to lovely Athens, GA last year, where they were steamrollered 48-13 by Georgia.

You guys are like that running back who let himself get manipulated into proposing. It's the heat of the moment, Boise State pulled off a miraculous win, and you're all ready to argue they're equal to the Ohio States of the world. They're not.

OU should have won, and Boise State deserves credit for not giving up and for getting it done at the end. But don't forget that OU was coming off a tough, emotional win over Nebraska. Boise State's last game was a blowout of Nevada. Put Boise State up against top-5 teams and 9 times out of 10, Boise State gets blown out.

You can't compare early regular season games to bowl/post-season games. Does anyone remember that NC State was expected to go to the NIT in 1984, or that Georgetown beat Villanova TWICE in 1985? Nope... know why? Because NC State and Nova won when it counted the same way Boise State won when it counted. We can sit up here and argue "what if's" 'til we're blue in the face, but the bottom line is, we'll never know if Boise State can compete with Ohio State until Boise is given the chance (that they DESERVE) to prove themselves.

If that day comes and Boise can't run with the big boys, I'll be the first one to tell you that you were right, but as long as the "big conference" schools stop being so chicken s**t and scheduling the Boise's of the world, they're always gonna have a VERY legit beef with the system.

[infrared41]

Just to add some fuel to the fire...

Great article against a college football playoff...

why would a school like an Ohio State, a Michigan, a Florida, etc. schedule a mid-major like Boise that they MIGHT lose to when they could schedule a Kent State, an Central Michigan, a Florida Atlantic who they WON'T lose to?

Just off the top of my head... Notre Dame plays Michigan every year, Ohio State played Texas two years in a row and begins a series with USC in 2008, USC played Alabama and Notre Dame this year. Florida played Miami and Florida State. I am sure there others whose non-conference games weren't all patsies. I don't think it's that schools are afraid of Boise State as much as the schedules are done so far in advance that we won't see Boise getting a shot for a few years yet.

[BlueSky]

If that day comes and Boise can't run with the big boys...

I just pointed out how Boise State, then ranked #18, peed their pants at Georgia (then #13) last year. Ian Johnson ran for 48 yards and Zabransky was 8 of 17 for 70 yards, no TDs, 4 INTs.

Didn't exactly "run with the big boys" did they?

[Fred T. Jane]

However, that sickly bull most certainly got his horns all up in Notre Dame's ass in the Sugar Bowl, didn't he?

Bah, they poured it on in the second half. And to think the locals will walk around beating their chests because they beat up on a high school pass defence for the next eight months....

[slightly shotgunned]

Just to add some fuel to the fire...

Great article against a college football playoff...

once you get past his "it shouldn't change because i like it the way it is" argument he has some good points. after some thought, i agree that the regular season wouldn't be anymore meaningful, but i'm sick of hearing people talk about how "every game is the playoffs." no, they're not and they never were. if that were true, then wins and losses against any d1 school would be equal. beating miami (fl) would be the same as beating miami (oh) no matter how high either team was ranked. why? because a playoff game doesn't come down to who gets more votes and who believes who is the better team this year. it comes down to who wins and who doesn't. if you lose a game in the playoffs you can't be voted into the national championship game because the voters believe you have a better team than all the other one-loss teams in the nation. you're out. period. end of season.

as far as the lesser bowl games go, i've watched boise st./oklahoma, michigan/usc, and i'll watch florida/usc. once those games are over, i'll watch the nfl playoffs, and then wait for basketball's tournaments to begin just like i do every year. the idea that these little bowl games (that mean nothing but dollars to the teams involved) are more exciting than watching an underdog come in and shock a powerhouse team is utterly ridiculous. example: what exactly happens after boise state beats oklahoma in a bcs, non-championship bowl? we talk. we talk about how an undefeated season for one team in a mid-major conference gets them squat for no reason other than they are a mid-major team so people believe that they shouldn't get a shot at the title. i mean, they only beat the big 12 champ. and quit fooling yourselves. that game was only close at the end. yes, oklahoma had the game wrapped up at the end with the interception return for a touchdown, but the story of the game was that they didn't really have a defensive answer for boise's offense. why do you think the game was 43-42 and not a lower scoring game? his talking about not knowing who colt brennan was if it weren't for the aloha bowl was ridiculous too. i know who he is only because it was on sportscenter between putting on my shirt and brushing my teeth. i didn't watch the aloha bowl because i don't see the point of watching the aloha bowl. its not that i don't enjoy the college football experience, i love college football, wish that i could still play (a little too often actually), but i hate to see teams play for nothing. and a lot of people seem to agree which is why the college all-star game is not a very popular event.

he makes another good point in that an undefeated season in college football is much more probable than in college basketball and because of that, teams always have to win. that statement is true. but i question why that would change if a playoff structure was introduced. what makes anyone think that just because it MAY NOT be the end of your season if you lose one during the regular season that teams will start taking games off and resting their starters for certain games like they do in the nlf? this is still college football and if you rest your starters against a team that finishes 1-10 and get beat, you run a VERY high risk of not getting in. not only that, but with all the rivalry games, conference championships, and conferences in which any team can win at any time (with the exception of maybe indiana ) who exactly are schools going to take a break on?

having said all of that i now see that my argument is simply "i don't like the bcs, they should change it." I have no way of knowing that a tournament will change college football for the better just like proponents of the bcs have no idea that a tournament will change college football for the worse...so if it doesn't work, we could always go back

[Bucks6thMan]

If that day comes and Boise can't run with the big boys...

I just pointed out how Boise State, then ranked #18, peed their pants at Georgia (then #13) last year. Ian Johnson ran for 48 yards and Zabransky was 8 of 17 for 70 yards, no TDs, 4 INTs.

Didn't exactly "run with the big boys" did they?

They did on Monday.

You still haven't given any reasons for why that game is more significant than the one they JUST played. Is it somehow not possible that they learned from their mistakes and are now a better team for the experience?

You also haven't given any good reasons for why BSU doesn't AT THE VERY LEAST have the right to prove themselves.

[WJMorris3]

Do I think Boise State could beat Ohio State and/or Florida? Probably not. But then again, we don't know what would happen if they played on a neutral field, because they won't play this year.

The way I see it, Boise State is a like a horse in a horse race, who runs the race of their life and wins -- only to be disqualified because not enough people thought they could win in the first place. (If it wasn't for Rutgers tripping to Cincinnati and West Virginia, we're probably talking about them undefeated and uninvited instead of Boise State).

I'd love to see Boise State have a chance to win the national title. If they get beat by fifty, peace! But I'd rather them play and lose than not have a chance to play at all.

[Bucks6thMan]

Just to add some fuel to the fire...

Great article against a college football playoff...

why would a school like an Ohio State, a Michigan, a Florida, etc. schedule a mid-major like Boise that they MIGHT lose to when they could schedule a Kent State, an Central Michigan, a Florida Atlantic who they WON'T lose to?

Just off the top of my head... Notre Dame plays Michigan every year, Ohio State played Texas two years in a row and begins a series with USC in 2008, USC played Alabama and Notre Dame this year. Florida played Miami and Florida State. I am sure there others whose non-conference games weren't all patsies. I don't think it's that schools are afraid of Boise State as much as the schedules are done so far in advance that we won't see Boise getting a shot for a few years yet.

OSU also played Northern Illinois, Michigan played Central Michigan and Florida played Southern Miss, UCF and (1-AA) Western Carolina.

Now I can forgive the in-state opponents there, but what reason would OSU have for playing NIU and especially Florida for playing a 1-AA team unless it was to pad their schedule? (though to be fair, I don't think it would've changed anything no matter who OSU scheduled this year) I'm just not gonna buy the excuse that the "big-time" schools don't have room on their schedules for Boise State.

[CZzyzx41]

This is why we need a playoff system. So teams like Boise State can suffer the same fate that teams like San Diego suffered. The reality that just because you go undefeated in college football, doesn't mean you're the best in the nation.

[Jigga]

Who gives a if Boise lost to Georgia last season. Boise won every game they played. That should get you a seat at the big boy table...sorry.

[Fred T. Jane]

Who gives a if Boise lost to Georgia last season. Boise won every game they played. That should get you a seat at the big boy table...sorry.

Word to that.

BTW, if you want to relive the magic, here's the fun part of the Fiesta Bowl, courtesy of BSU Productions. It's all too funny to hear the announcers croon how Oklahoma's experience would carry the day for them...only a minute before they were hook-and-lateral'ed...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4...p;q=Boise+State