2010 NCAA Football Thread

[bigmike]

1) If we aren't allowed to bring up that game, then how come yall can bring up your 2006 win over Oklahoma, thats something that makes no sense to me, Boise State thinks they should get in the title game just because they won a big bowl game against a big team 5 years ago. Guess what, completely different team then too.

When did I ever say anyone wasn't allowed to bring up Boise getting thrashed by Georgia? The point I was making is that just because we got whooped then doesn't mean Georgia would still whoop us now.

As for the win over Oklahoma, Petersen coached that game and he's still coaching now, so that's a big similarity between then and now. No, Boise fans don't think we should get in the title game over that win, we think we should get in the title game because we're good enough to beat the best in college football. Like it or not, Boise is an elite program in college football and should be treated as such.

2) BCS isn't as corrupt as you think, you think teams like Alabama and Texas get in over Boise State because of "tradition", but its because they play tough competition almost every week in the season, whereas Boise plays cupcakes almost every game in the season.

First off, Boise can't help the fact that the rest of the WAC is god-awful. Remember, they only moved up to the FBS in 1996. The power conferences weren't going to take in a brand new 1A school coming up from 1AA, so lower conferences like the WAC were Boise's only options. We're moving into the tougher Mountain West soon anyway, but until then, we don't have a choice in playing WAC opponents.

The argument about cupcakes is laughable at best. Alabama and Texas have much tougher conference schedules than Boise - that's a fact - but the caliber of most of their out-of-conference opponents is so awful that it damn near balances out their schedules compared to Boise. Bama scheduled San Jose State, Duke, and most embarrassingly, the brand new Georgia State football program in its first year, as well as a mediocre Penn State team in the lower echelon of the polls. Texas scheduled Rice, Wyoming, UCLA, and Florida Atlantic for their out-of-conference games, and some of their conference opponents are just as bad as our WAC opponents (Baylor, anyone?). Boise at least is willing to play anyone anywhere, regardless of conference.

If Texas had lost a game last year then maybe I could see Boise State having a case to be in over them, but should they get in over a undefeated Alabama and Texas? No, because their road to being undefeated was 100 times easier then both Texas and Alabama's.

Yes they should, because they're good enough to be there. Granted, I agree that Boise winning two big games and getting into the title game would be gaming the system, but since the BCS is such an awful system, I don't really feel too bad about that.

Yes you act like the Georgia game doesn't count, just because yall had a different coach (who built Boise State up and got the 06 Fiesta Bowl recruits there). I've explained this before. They are a good team and they aren't afraid to play big teams but until they play one of the big SEC teams again and beat them you can't assume they will.

Okay so Alabama has 2 cupcake games, a decent game in Duke (they aren't the cupcake they once wore), Penn State, and the rest of the freaking SEC, the best conference in the NCAA, Alabama can play 2 or 3 cupcakes because they actually have real competition in the Conference, if Boise State can go undefeated in the Mountain West, that would be a little bit of an improvement, but they are in the WAC now and that conference is as you say god-awful, so quit complaining that they get screwed over by the BCS, if they had tougher competition then they might get in over Alabama or Texas but until then they won't and they probably don't deserve too. And you saying yes they should get in over Texas and Alabama has no valid point, they shouldn't win two big games and get in over Alabama and Texas who win 5-8 big games. And saying Penn State is mediocre is pretty funny, they are just coached by one of the best coaches in the NCAA ever. You trying to compare the Schedules of Boise and Alabama is hilarious, I don't care if Boise can help their conference's strength or not, its awful and they shouldn't get pimped over a undefeated SEC school, Big 10 school, or Big 12 school.

[tBBP]

I'll (once again) give credit where credit is due: Boise State has come a helluva long way in a relatively short period of time. They're scrappy, very well-coached, pretty fun to watch, and they've pulled off some pretty big feats (not "a lot", though), and their star is rising mighty fast.

All I'm saying is I've seen this tale several times before. West Virginia in the RichRod days. Rutgers back when Brian Leonard and Ray Rice were still there. South Florida just a few years ago (and that school had only had a football program for just over a decade at the time). Shoot, for a brief stint, even Central Florida's star seemed to be on the rise. (Ask the Texas Longhorns about that one.) Oh, and it should be noted, with the exception of Central Florida, all of those programs rose out of the then-not-so-highly-regarded Big East.

What I'm getting at with this is that I'm seeing a similar trend with Boise State--probably closer to South Florida than any of the others. Difference being, whereas USF kinda fizzled out kinda quick (mostly due to their tendency to falter in rivalry games), Boise, for the moment, is still going strong. During USF's run, they actually did get up to #2 at one point (and in the same year managed to steal some pretty notable wins, one of them being a last-minute win against Auburn in Auburn). Which means the media fell in love with the rising star. Those who paid attention also saw how far and how quick that star fell soon as they lost their next big game.

If they can keep up the current string of success, more power to them. All I'm saying is the Bronco faithful better hope upstart history doesn't repeat itself...AND that Chris Peterson doesn't do like RichRod, Urban Meyer (and Brian Kelly) did and jump (off the magic blue carpet) to the next big-name program with a coaching vacancy after this season's over--and I can bet that if any big-name school does end up with a vacancy, they are going to go after Peterson HARD. (Having said that, Peterson did just get a new extension at 8 mil per, and as I understand it, gets an automatic one-year renewal each year he reaches eight wins.)

And they should give his trophy to Ian Johnson, who should have won that Heisman in the first place.

/No, that IV drip of Boise Blue kool-aid hasn't been unplugged yet.

I'm just curious and I'm not trying to give you a hard time. I just have to ask. Why exactly are you a Boise State fan? Are you from Idaho? I ask because the vast majority of college football fans seem to follow teams based on geography or because they're alumni. For example; I'm from Ohio and I went to Ohio State so I'm an Ohio State fan. No offense, but you being a Boise State fan sure looks more like a fashion pick than anything else. It's not like you grew up rooting for them did you?

I'm curious about this one myself.

[Epiphanic]

They are a good team and they aren't afraid to play big teams but until they play one of the big SEC teams again and beat them you can't assume they will.

At the same time, you can't assume they won't, either.

FBS football decides it's champion via a poll. Some have no problem with that, some do.

[Lights Out]

Yes you act like the Georgia game doesn't count, just because yall had a different coach (who built Boise State up and got the 06 Fiesta Bowl recruits there). I've explained this before. They are a good team and they aren't afraid to play big teams but until they play one of the big SEC teams again and beat them you can't assume they will.

Did I ever say the Georgia game doesn't count? It did count, painfully so for Bronco Nation. Stop putting words in my mouth.

How about an SEC team nuts up and agrees to schedule us? Boise will play anyone anywhere.

Okay so Alabama has 2 cupcake games, a decent game in Duke (they aren't the cupcake they once wore), Penn State, and the rest of the freaking SEC, the best conference in the NCAA, Alabama can play 2 or 3 cupcakes because they actually have real competition in the Conference,

Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia, and LSU are all overrated, Tennessee and Ole Miss just plain suck, and Florida is a toss-up right now. Are those teams better than most of the WAC? Sure, but I'm not exactly trembling at the thought of any of those teams. SEC fans have a tendency of overrating their conference, which is a shame, because I actually like Florida but they come attached with the same old myopic fans that don't care about anything except the SEC.

Again, if an SEC team would grow some balls and schedule Boise, that's one less cupcake we're forced to play.

if Boise State can go undefeated in the Mountain West, that would be a little bit of an improvement, but they are in the WAC now and that conference is as you say god-awful, so quit complaining that they get screwed over by the BCS,

You say, as if we had the choice between the SEC and the WAC in 1996 and we chose the WAC.

if they had tougher competition then they might get in over Alabama or Texas but until then they won't and they probably don't deserve too.

If I see the word "deserve" in the same sentence as Boise again, I think my head's going to explode. Boise doesn't "deserve" a trip to the title game any more than Bama or Texas does - you earn it on the field, you settle it on the field. It's absurd to say that one school should get into the title game because they "deserve" it more, because that's completely subjective.

And you saying yes they should get in over Texas and Alabama has no valid point, they shouldn't win two big games and get in over Alabama and Texas who win 5-8 big games.

Alabama's upcoming blowout of Mississippi State is going to be a big game? Texas' incoming routs of Baylor, K-State, and Iowa State are big games? "Big games" are against top-fifteen ranked teams in my book. Alabama has only two of those on their schedule (#8 Florida and #14 Arkansas) and Texas has two (#10 Oklahoma and #6 Nebraska).

And saying Penn State is mediocre is pretty funny, they are just coached by one of the best coaches in the NCAA ever.

Just because JoePa's still pacing the sidelines in his Pampers doesn't mean that Penn State is going to win the national championship this year and automatically better than Boise. I saw them struggling in the first half against woeful Youngstown State, even giving them the lead at one point. How are they planning on beating Alabama?

I don't care if Boise can help their conference's strength or not, its awful and they shouldn't get pimped over a undefeated SEC school, Big 10 school, or Big 12 school.

Something tells me that if the SEC suddenly turned excruciatingly sucky for a long time and Alabama started getting screwed over, you'd be among the first to say that Alabama can't help their schedule and shouldn't have it count against them.

[bigmike]

Yes you act like the Georgia game doesn't count, just because yall had a different coach (who built Boise State up and got the 06 Fiesta Bowl recruits there). I've explained this before. They are a good team and they aren't afraid to play big teams but until they play one of the big SEC teams again and beat them you can't assume they will.

Did I ever say the Georgia game doesn't count? It did count, painfully so for Bronco Nation. Stop putting words in my mouth.

How about an SEC team nuts up and agrees to schedule us? Boise will play anyone anywhere.

Okay so Alabama has 2 cupcake games, a decent game in Duke (they aren't the cupcake they once wore), Penn State, and the rest of the freaking SEC, the best conference in the NCAA, Alabama can play 2 or 3 cupcakes because they actually have real competition in the Conference,

Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia, and LSU are all overrated, Tennessee and Ole Miss just plain suck, and Florida is a toss-up right now. Are those teams better than most of the WAC? Sure, but I'm not exactly trembling at the thought of any of those teams. SEC fans have a tendency of overrating their conference, which is a shame, because I actually like Florida but they come attached with the same old myopic fans that don't care about anything except the SEC.

Again, if an SEC team would grow some balls and schedule Boise, that's one less cupcake we're forced to play.

if Boise State can go undefeated in the Mountain West, that would be a little bit of an improvement, but they are in the WAC now and that conference is as you say god-awful, so quit complaining that they get screwed over by the BCS,

You say, as if we had the choice between the SEC and the WAC in 1996 and we chose the WAC.

if they had tougher competition then they might get in over Alabama or Texas but until then they won't and they probably don't deserve too.

If I see the word "deserve" in the same sentence as Boise again, I think my head's going to explode. Boise doesn't "deserve" a trip to the title game any more than Bama or Texas does - you earn it on the field, you settle it on the field. It's absurd to say that one school should get into the title game because they "deserve" it more, because that's completely subjective.

And you saying yes they should get in over Texas and Alabama has no valid point, they shouldn't win two big games and get in over Alabama and Texas who win 5-8 big games.

Alabama's upcoming blowout of Mississippi State is going to be a big game? Texas' incoming routs of Baylor, K-State, and Iowa State are big games? "Big games" are against top-fifteen ranked teams in my book. Alabama has only two of those on their schedule (#8 Florida and #14 Arkansas) and Texas has two (#10 Oklahoma and #6 Nebraska).

And saying Penn State is mediocre is pretty funny, they are just coached by one of the best coaches in the NCAA ever.

Just because JoePa's still pacing the sidelines in his Pampers doesn't mean that Penn State is going to win the national championship this year and automatically better than Boise. I saw them struggling in the first half against woeful Youngstown State, even giving them the lead at one point. How are they planning on beating Alabama?

I don't care if Boise can help their conference's strength or not, its awful and they shouldn't get pimped over a undefeated SEC school, Big 10 school, or Big 12 school.

Something tells me that if the SEC suddenly turned excruciatingly sucky for a long time and Alabama started getting screwed over, you'd be among the first to say that Alabama can't help their schedule and shouldn't have it count against them.

1) I'm not putting words in your mouth, you keep saying Oh well the Georgia game was a different coach and the team was completely different. Sounds like your saying that game doesn't matter to much in judging whether Boise State could beat an SEC team or not.

2) Saying every SEC team other then Florida and Alabama is overrated is a joke, if you haven't noticed a team from the SEC has dominated the NCAA the past 4 Years, some of the teams might be but not every single one of them. Alabama has played an Top 10 ranked opponent (other the Penn State this season) to start the season the past 2 years, and they won pretty big including a win over a better Virgina Tech team from last season that Boise State only beat by 3 points this season. Alabama schedules has been scheduling big out of conference games, they shouldn't have to do more then 1 or 2 since they play in the best conference in the NCAA. As for the rest of the SEC not scheduling them, then maybe they don't have the balls to play them, but I guarantee that if Boise State goes undefeated and gets lucky to get in the NC and plays a SEC team they will get beat especially if it is Alabama.

3) Never said they had a choice between the SEC and WAC, your putting words in my mouth now , I'm saying they shouldn't complain about being passed over for a undefeated SEC school that plays better teams because of their conference, a team that beats cupcakes all season shouldn't get over a team who had to play good competition all season with a couple of cupcakes.

4) See #3

5) Okay Big games in your book, guess how many Boise State's got? 1 at the moment and it was Virgina Tech who was #10, #13 now. And rankings flip flop all season long, Alabama and Texas will end up playing more ranked opponents, and Boise State won't.

6) Did I ever say Penn State was better then Boise or was going to win the National Championship? No, once again listen to your own advice and quit putting words in my mouth. I was saying they aren't mediocre, they are a good team, almost every team struggles in the 1st game, and they ended up killing Youngstown State. So saying they are mediocre is wrong, and I don't know how they plan on beating Alabama, and quite frankly I hope they don't get close but that doesn't make them mediocre if they get beat by the #1 team in the country.

7) The thing is, that's not going to happen, thats a big "What If" scenerio and its not realistic. If Alabama had Boise State's schedule I'm sure they could beat every team 60-0 too, and if Boise State went undefeated with Alabama's schedule then yeah they deserve to go, but they don't have Alabama's Schedule, and they have never come close to having to play tough SEC schools every week of the season.

When exactly did you become a Boise State fan? I've lived in Alabama my whole life and rooted for them my whole life. Something tells me you just jumped on the Boise State bandwagon because of their miracle win.

[Lights Out]

I'm just curious and I'm not trying to give you a hard time. I just have to ask. Why exactly are you a Boise State fan? Are you from Idaho? I ask because the vast majority of college football fans seem to follow teams based on geography or because they're alumni. For example; I'm from Ohio and I went to Ohio State so I'm an Ohio State fan. No offense, but you being a Boise State fan sure looks more like a fashion pick than anything else. It's not like you grew up rooting for them did you?

No, I'm not from Idaho. I kind of bandwagoned on back in '99 when they were still a tiny insignificant program that just moved up to the FBS with no expectations. They made it to the Humanitarian Bowl that year in their home stadium on the blue turf and beat Chris Redman's Louisville Cardinals 34-31, winning their first bowl in their first bowl appearance. That's when I knew Boise was destined for great things.

[Gary]

When exactly did you become a Boise State fan? I've lived in Alabama my whole life and rooted for them my whole life. Something tells me you just jumped on the Boise State bandwagon because of their miracle win.

I am wondering this myself. But for some reason he's been skirting around the question as it has been wondered about for the 4th time now. I think I agree with you he was a bandwagoner but is afraid to say it

[Lights Out]

1) I'm not putting words in your mouth, you keep saying Oh well the Georgia game was a different coach and the team was completely different. Sounds like your saying that game doesn't matter to much in judging whether Boise State could beat an SEC team or not.

It matters in that we lost, but it hardly matters right now and wouldn't effect the outcome if Boise and Georgia were to play today. I don't brag every two seconds about Boise beating Ohio State for that very reason - it was a great win, but ultimately, we can't keep living in the past, we need to move on to bigger and better wins.

2) Saying every SEC team other then Florida and Alabama is overrated is a joke, if you haven't noticed a team from the SEC has dominated the NCAA the past 4 Years, some of the teams might be but not every single one of them.

Florida, Alabama, and LSU are the only teams that can claim to have "dominated" the NCAA in the past four years. The others are consistently overrated, no matter how much you try to deny it - unless you'd like to argue that Auburn or Mississippi State are true championship contenders.

Alabama has played an Top 10 ranked opponent (other the Penn State this season) to start the season the past 2 years,

Good for Alabama. Why are they so opposed to playing Boise then? They obviously weren't scared of playing other top teams to start off the year, so they shouldn't be scared of Boise.

The rest of their out-of-conference schedule is a joke other than the one non-conference ranked team they play a year, and there's no excuses for Alabama since they're in a power conference and teams are willing to play them.

and they won pretty big including a win over a better Virgina Tech team from last season that Boise State only beat by 3 points this season.

I'd argue that Virginia Tech put out a better team last night than they did last year. Tyrod Taylor looked even better than I remember him being last year, and he's evolving into a true dual-threat quarterback. Hopefully his game will translate in the NFL because he does have some talent. It was always going to be a close game between two very good teams, so the "only 3 points" argument holds no water with me.

Alabama schedules has been scheduling big out of conference games, they shouldn't have to do more then 1 or 2 since they play in the best conference in the NCAA.

I disagree with you there, but then again, it seems there's no place for logic in college football. In the NFL, the defending champions almost aways get one of the hardest schedules the year after they win. I think it should be the same way for the champions in college football - the champions should have a boost in the difficulty of their schedule after their title. It would give the players a preview of the pressure defending champs face in the pros.

As for the rest of the SEC not scheduling them, then maybe they don't have the balls to play them, but I guarantee that if Boise State goes undefeated and gets lucky to get in the NC and plays a SEC team they will get beat especially if it is Alabama.

So, when Alabama doesn't schedule Boise, it's justified, but when nobody else in the SEC schedules Boise, they have no balls? Pretty homerish line of thinking there. And I'll remember that guarantee if Boise plays Bama in the title game.

3) Never said they had a choice between the SEC and WAC, your putting words in my mouth now , I'm saying they shouldn't complain about being passed over for a undefeated SEC school that plays better teams because of their conference, a team that beats cupcakes all season shouldn't get over a team who had to play good competition all season with a couple of cupcakes.

But Boise doesn't have a choice in their conference schedule. Petersen can't go into Iowa's athletic department, for example, and fire the entire football coaching staff for incompetence - it doesn't work like that. Boise has been doing everything it can to win games consistently. The burden of making the WAC a competitive conference should fall on everyone else, and they haven't been picking up the slack. Just because San Jose State can't win games doesn't mean that Boise isn't one of the best teams in the country.

5) Okay Big games in your book, guess how many Boise State's got? 1 at the moment and it was Virgina Tech who was #10, #13 now. And rankings flip flop all season long, Alabama and Texas will end up playing more ranked opponents, and Boise State won't.

Yeah, rankings do flip flop all season long. Bama and Texas could end up playing no ranked opponents or at least no top-ten ranked opponents from here on out.

I was saying they aren't mediocre, they are a good team, almost every team struggles in the 1st game, and they ended up killing Youngstown State.

So Boise's early struggles against Virginia Tech get to be used against them but Penn State's early struggles against Youngstown State should be forgotten? Interesting.

So saying they are mediocre is wrong,

You just said you weren't saying they aren't mediocre, now saying they're mediocre is wrong? I guess the rankings aren't the only thing that flip flops.

"If Alabama had Boise State's schedule I'm sure they could beat every team 60-0 too, and if Boise State went undefeated with Alabama's schedule then yeah they deserve to go, but they don't have Alabama's Schedule, and they have never come close to having to play tough SEC schools every week of the season."

Irony: you whined about my "what-if scenario" being unrealistic and then create one of your own.

[TFoA]

On a lighter note...

I'm guessing that SFA's head coach must've picked this up over the summer while watching Uruguay in the World Cup.

[tBBP]

That's pretty damn pathetic.

That said...I also don't doubt (and have thought for the longest time) that coaches have players routinely fake injuries at the most "inopportune" times...such as when the other team is picking up momentum or in crunch time to stop the clock.

[bigmike]

It matters in that we lost, but it hardly matters right now and wouldn't effect the outcome if Boise and Georgia were to play today. I don't brag every two seconds about Boise beating Ohio State for that very reason - it was a great win, but ultimately, we can't keep living in the past, we need to move on to bigger and better wins.

Florida, Alabama, and LSU are the only teams that can claim to have "dominated" the NCAA in the past four years. The others are consistently overrated, no matter how much you try to deny it - unless you'd like to argue that Auburn or Mississippi State are true championship contenders.

Good for Alabama. Why are they so opposed to playing Boise then? They obviously weren't scared of playing other top teams to start off the year, so they shouldn't be scared of Boise.

The rest of their out-of-conference schedule is a joke other than the one non-conference ranked team they play a year, and there's no excuses for Alabama since they're in a power conference and teams are willing to play them.

I'd argue that Virginia Tech put out a better team last night than they did last year. Tyrod Taylor looked even better than I remember him being last year, and he's evolving into a true dual-threat quarterback. Hopefully his game will translate in the NFL because he does have some talent. It was always going to be a close game between two very good teams, so the "only 3 points" argument holds no water with me.

I disagree with you there, but then again, it seems there's no place for logic in college football. In the NFL, the defending champions almost aways get one of the hardest schedules the year after they win. I think it should be the same way for the champions in college football - the champions should have a boost in the difficulty of their schedule after their title. It would give the players a preview of the pressure defending champs face in the pros.

So, when Alabama doesn't schedule Boise, it's justified, but when nobody else in the SEC schedules Boise, they have no balls? Pretty homerish line of thinking there. And I'll remember that guarantee if Boise plays Bama in the title game.

But Boise doesn't have a choice in their conference schedule. Petersen can't go into Iowa's athletic department, for example, and fire the entire football coaching staff for incompetence - it doesn't work like that. Boise has been doing everything it can to win games consistently. The burden of making the WAC a competitive conference should fall on everyone else, and they haven't been picking up the slack. Just because San Jose State can't win games doesn't mean that Boise isn't one of the best teams in the country.

Yeah, rankings do flip flop all season long. Bama and Texas could end up playing no ranked opponents or at least no top-ten ranked opponents from here on out.

So Boise's early struggles against Virginia Tech get to be used against them but Penn State's early struggles against Youngstown State should be forgotten? Interesting.

You just said you weren't saying they aren't mediocre, now saying they're mediocre is wrong? I guess the rankings aren't the only thing that flip flops.

Irony: you whined about my "what-if scenario" being unrealistic and then create one of your own.

1) When did Boise State beat Ohio State?

2) You could make a case for a 04 Auburn team that went undefeated in the SEC and got left out, that is a true example of the BCS screwing a team over. Skipping Boise State is not. Tennessee and Georgia have been no pushover teams either especially when it comes to BCS games.

3) Did I miss something where Alabama is scared to play Boise State? I doubt that. And you keep pointing out that Alabama's Out of Conference schedule is a joke because they play 2 maybe 3 bad teams, well you know what? Boise's whole schedule is like that.

4) You'd argue Virgina Tech is a better team? Yeah Taylor did better, but Williams and Evans didn't show up and their defense was awful most of that game.

5) I've said this before, Alabama has one of the toughest schedules (the toughest according to ESPN) in the NCAA. They play a good ranked Penn State, and then there are 6 SEC teams that get bye weeks before Alabama, including ranked teams: LSU, Auburn, and South Carolina. Their schedule is one of the toughest even though they play a WAC team, and a FCS team.

6) I said maybe it means that, I didn't say it was justified, Alabama has played some tougher out of conference games then Florida and some other SEC teams in the past years, so I'm not saying the whole SEC has no balls to play them, because once again Georgia did play them in 2005 and beat the out of them. Maybe I'm a bit biased for Alabama, but I have been arguing the whole time that the SEC is the toughest Conference in the Nation. And also you have no room to call anyone a homer. The Guarantee is something your supposed to remember, that's why I guaranteed it.

7) Okay so just cause other WAC teams can't win games that doesn't mean Boise is one of the best teams in the country. But going undefeated against WAC teams all year does make them one of the best? Makes no sense.

8) Yeah, I'm sure no other SEC or Big 12 teams will be ranked at the end of the season

9) When did I say Boise's struggles against Virgina Tech should be used against them? I didn't, I was comparing your beloved Bronco's opening game to Alabama's opening game last year.

10) I never said Penn State is mediocre, I said they were a good team. Once again you are putting words in my mouth after you said that I was doing that to you.

As for the What if, how is unrealistic that Alabama would go undefeated with Boise State's schedule? Its unrealistic to say the SEC could be as bad as the WAC.

This argument is going to be unchanged in my eyes until Boise can actually beat Alabama or any other SEC school in the NC. So until then I'm leaving it at this.

[dfwabel]

That's pretty damn pathetic.

That said...I also don't doubt (and have thought for the longest time) that coaches have players routinely fake injuries at the most "inopportune" times...such as when the other team is picking up momentum or in crunch time to stop the clock.

Outside of an official calling "Unsportsmanlike Conduct" and ejecting the players, what ramification does such behavior really have? Say Player X "fakes" an injury to stop play. He goes out of the game. Even if he does return, the training staff can also then report an "injury".

The coach can say that a player is injured or not say anything as the school will have him covered by HIPPA as he does not have the right to disclose individual medical information unless the student-athlete (and his family) decides to "opt-in" with a disclosure form which the ath. dept would have on file.

Somewhat like how ambiguous the NHL is with their injuries. It is somewhat hard for conferences to fine schools as the student-athlete is protected under the law and they could make something up.

[crashcarson15]

Something no one's brought up yet is why Boise State has to hold on for dear life each time they play a quality opponent: BSU doesn't have the depth of talent that teams such as Georgia, Florida, Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Texas, etc. has.

+1

I get that Boise is a team on the rise, but I suppose what really irks me is that they have the swagger and snobbish attitude of a team that's already won 10 national titles. Yes, you're good Boise. But we'll really never know how good because you only play one tough game a season- usually the opener- that you prepared all summer for.

Teams need a mixture of a couple gimmies, a few tough challenges, and that one signature game to get to a National Title. A simple hit-and-run against Virginia Tech won't do it. Sure Texas lost last year, but look at their season. A close win over top-25 Oklahoma. A shootout with rival A&M. A last-second field goal to barely squeek by top-25 Nebraska.

Tell you what Boise. If you can give me no less than 3 solid, close wins against top-25 teams in a single season, I'll have no problem sending you to the MNC.

Well, the third game'd theoretically be the National Championship Game. VaTech, Oregon State, and ???.

And saying Penn State is mediocre is pretty funny, they are just coached by one of the best coaches in the NCAA ever.

Just because JoePa's still pacing the sidelines in his Pampers doesn't mean that Penn State is going to win the national championship this year and automatically better than Boise. I saw them struggling in the first half against woeful Youngstown State, even giving them the lead at one point. How are they planning on beating Alabama?

Hey! Don't talk about my Penguins like that! Wait... we're actually really woeful? Damnit.

8) Yeah, I'm sure no other SEC or Big 12 teams will be ranked at the end of the season

No, but if Virginia Tech, Oregon State, and if Nevada has a good year they could get into the low twenties, Boise could have 2 or 3 teams they played ranked at the end of the year. In an SEC where all the good but not great teams beat up on each other, the 2nd-best team Alabama plays (besides Florida) could have 3 losses.

[Lights Out]

1) When did Boise State beat Ohio State?

I meant Oklahoma, sorry about that!

2) You could make a case for a 04 Auburn team that went undefeated in the SEC and got left out, that is a true example of the BCS screwing a team over. Skipping Boise State is not. Tennessee and Georgia have been no pushover teams either especially when it comes to BCS games.

Tennessee has been a total pushover for the past five years, only getting to very lackluster bowls if at all. Georgia has been good the past couple years but unspectacular and they have a habit of losing at inopportune times when they're poised to compete for the SEC championship.

3) Did I miss something where Alabama is scared to play Boise State? I doubt that.

Then why hasn't Alabama come forward willing to schedule Boise? Again, we'll play anyone anywhere and you don't even have to come to the Blue.

And you keep pointing out that Alabama's Out of Conference schedule is a joke because they play 2 maybe 3 bad teams, well you know what? Boise's whole schedule is like that.

The difference is, we don't have a choice in the quality of our conference schedule. Alabama has a choice in the teams they play out-of-conference.

4) You'd argue Virgina Tech is a better team? Yeah Taylor did better, but Williams and Evans didn't show up and their defense was awful most of that game.

It's not that Williams and Evans didn't show up, it's that the Boise State defense did a phenomenal job containing the both of them - especially Ryan Williams, who was limited to 44 yards rushing overall. Not many teams can contain him to that degree. Yes, he did score two touchdowns on us, but again, he's a beast, and I'm just happy that he only got 44 yards rushing. The only reason the game was so close was stupid penalties by Boise and ridiculous play from Tyrod Taylor in the last three quarters.

Now, the Virginia Tech special teams unit is another story - they definitely didn't show up and cost the Hokies the game.

5) I've said this before, Alabama has one of the toughest schedules (the toughest according to ESPN) in the NCAA. They play a good ranked Penn State, and then there are 6 SEC teams that get bye weeks before Alabama, including ranked teams: LSU, Auburn, and South Carolina. Their schedule is one of the toughest even though they play a WAC team, and a FCS team.

How much of that "toughness" is influenced by media hype, though? I certainly wouldn't be scared if Boise were to play LSU, Auburn, or South Carolina - especially South Carolina. I loved Spurrier at Florida but he's believed his own hype ever sense. If Boise ever played South Carolina, I would be rooting for them to run up the score and shut him up for a long time.

I'm not saying the whole SEC has no balls to play them, because once again Georgia did play them in 2005 and beat the out of them.

That was before we beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. No SEC team has scheduled us since, however. Clearly you all are scared of getting the Oklahoma treatment from us, otherwise we'd still be the perceived easy win of choice among SEC powerhouses.

7) Okay so just cause other WAC teams can't win games that doesn't mean Boise is one of the best teams in the country. But going undefeated against WAC teams all year does make them one of the best? Makes no sense.

We don't just go undefeated in the WAC, we wipe the floor with the entire conference. The games aren't even close - similar to how Miami (FL) used to pulverize the weak Big East in the early 2000's on their way to title game appearances and big-name bowls, and nobody complained then. We also play highly-ranked teams and revered programs in our out-of-conference schedules and beat them, too.

8) Yeah, I'm sure no other SEC or Big 12 teams will be ranked at the end of the season

Hey, the polls do flip-flop.

9) When did I say Boise's struggles against Virgina Tech should be used against them? I didn't, I was comparing your beloved Bronco's opening game to Alabama's opening game last year.

You implied that our win over VT was somehow unworthy because we only won by 3 points.

I'd be happy to debate further but since you're leaving it at your last post, it's whatever.

[crashcarson15]

3) Did I miss something where Alabama is scared to play Boise State? I doubt that.

Then why hasn't Alabama come forward willing to schedule Boise? Again, we'll play anyone anywhere and you don't even have to come to the Blue.

Just gonna play a bit of devil's advocate, but I know a lot of the issue Boise's had is agreeing for teams to come to the Blue. That said though, Boise really can't play more than one one-year contract road games per year.

Also, you've gotta remember when Boise was putting together the preliminary schedule for this season, they wanted to compete to get to just a BCS bowl, not a schedule to get to the BCS National Championship Game.

[infrared41]

@infrared: What does the BCS offer that a playoff doesn't offer, other than blatant rigging and controversy that ruins the integrity of the sport? There's a reason March Madness is praised and anticipated every year like clockwork, and the BCS bowl system is harshly criticized and dumped on every year like clockwork. One's completely fair, the other's completely unfair and skewed in favor of the "tradition" schools and power conferences.

It's also the reason why the regular season is completely irrelevant. And that's all I have to say on the matter for now.

You're new here so I'll explain to you how the college football playoff debate traditionally works in this thread. It always begins as an argument between myself and slightly shotgunned. And it doesn't start until Ohio State - Michigan week. So now that you know how it works how about you respect tradition and drop the playoff debate until it's time? Then you can spout off all you want about how stupid the BCS is. Trust me, it's always worth the wait.

Seriously though, let's not bog down the thread with a playoff debate until it's more timely.

Here's another 12 cents worth of free advice, don't refer to a college team as "we" unless you actually attended the school. Using "we" is bad enough on it's own. Using it in reference to a college you've probably never seen in person, let alone attended just looks moronic. You referred to Boise State as "we" so many times in your giant post above that someone might mistake you for their AD or special teams coach or something.

[dfwabel]

@infrared: What does the BCS offer that a playoff doesn't offer, other than blatant rigging and controversy that ruins the integrity of the sport? There's a reason March Madness is praised and anticipated every year like clockwork, and the BCS bowl system is harshly criticized and dumped on every year like clockwork. One's completely fair, the other's completely unfair and skewed in favor of the "tradition" schools and power conferences.

It's also the reason why the regular season is completely irrelevant. And that's all I have to say on the matter for now.

You're new here so I'll explain to you how the college football playoff debate traditionally works in this thread. It always begins as an argument between myself and slightly shotgunned. And it doesn't start until Ohio State - Michigan week. So now that you know how it works how about you respect tradition and drop the playoff debate until it's time? Then you can spout off all you want about how stupid the BCS is. Trust me, it's always worth the wait.

Seriously though, let's not bog down the thread with a playoff debate until it's more timely.

Here's another 12 cents worth of free advice, don't refer to a college team as "we" unless you actually attended the school. Using "we" is bad enough on it's own. Using it in reference to a college you've probably never seen in person, let alone attended just looks moronic. You referred to Boise State as "we" so many times in your giant post above that someone might mistake you for their AD or special teams coach or something.

Infrared,

Thank you for both comments. Boise does not play again for another ten days and I, like some, really do not want to look here to see the Boise debate continue and continue.

I don't even say we from the schools where I received my degrees.

Can't we talk about why AJ Green decided to sell a jersey to collegejerseys.com before he gave up his eligibility?

Green may not have been to Miami, but collegejersey.com is based in Miami.

[Drakonius26]

The fact is Lights Out, is that the Boise State Broncos play in the WAC (the Weak A** Conference), and just because they've been a model of consistency, with a few letdowns during the 2000's, doesn't mean they're entitled to get into the BCS Title Game.

The only challenges they have ahead of them is Wyoming (if they suffer a post-VT hangover), Oregon State, and Nevada, right?

So if Boise State wants to be considered at having a chance at being ranked number 1, or (most likely) number 2, at the end of the year they better hope that Virginia Tech, Oregon State, and Nevada all finish in the Top 20. Secondly, they had better beat those two other teams (Oregon State and Nevada) convincingly, and that when they eventually face the lesser teams that they not just beat them too, but run up the score against them (not 34-6, I mean 63-7, like Alabama would do against the Sisters of the Blind/or whatever sacrificial lamb they trot into Tuscaloosa, in the first game of the season). Third, they better hope that there's no undefeated teams from any of the BCS Conferences (maybe one undefeated team total, but that still might be risky to their National Championship aspirations).

Is it fair? No. Should their be a playoff, instead of bowl games? Yes. But life's not fair, and since you clearly root for them, with them being the Butler of college football, they're going to have to play like they did early against Virginia Tech (in early single game) if they even want to qualify for that game. And no amount of bronco-blue kool-aid, or ESPN coverage/pimping (by the way, they don't care about your Broncos, and don't want to see them in the Title Game) is going to help you.

This argument is just like the Minnesota vs. New Orleans game last year, with Vikings fans whining about the overtime rules... if they really were so good, they've should've known how to play defense in overtime (and learned how to hold onto the ball).

Simply put: If they're so dominant, then be that dominant, on every play and in every game. No one cares about 2000-2009.

[Seadragon76]

Can't we talk about why AJ Green decided to sell a jersey to collegejerseys.com before he gave up his eligibility?

Green may not have been to Miami, but collegejersey.com is based in Miami.

Out for 3 games. It seems like a double edged sword for Georgia because without him they won (Granted it was UL-Lafayette), yet these next three games aren't exactly cupcakes (South Carolina, Arkansas and Mississippi State... OK, maybe you can make a case for Mississippi State not being that good, but it is at Starkville).

[rams80]

Can't we talk about why AJ Green decided to sell a jersey to collegejerseys.com before he gave up his eligibility?

Green may not have been to Miami, but collegejersey.com is based in Miami.

Out for 3 games. It seems like a double edged sword for Georgia because without him they won (Granted it was UL-Lafayette), yet these next three games aren't exactly cupcakes (South Carolina, Arkansas and Mississippi State... OK, maybe you can make a case for Mississippi State not being that good, but it is at Starkville).

It's also rather stupid and hypocritical considering the not-insignificant amount of money colleges and universities make off of jersey sales. This is one sanction that I find rather ethically tenuous.