2011NCAA Football Thread

[DCDuck]

I'm not a Boise superfan, but as someone who follows college basketball a lot more closely than college football, a few things jump out at me when I see these arguments.

In basketball there aren't any hypothetical "would have"s at the end of the season. If you win every game on your schedule, you have a chance to play for a National Championship. If you don't have that chance, it's because you didn't win enough, and you have nobody to blame but yourself. Seeding, conference affiliation, RPI - all that is ultimately irrelevant. If you play and win every game, you are National Champions.

This whole debate about "if Boise would just join a conference" makes my head hurt. Nobody wants to invite Boise State to join a BCS conference because they are located in the middle of a tiny little media market way out in Idaho. Boise State has no real "tradition" in the sense that your grandfather won't talk about all those Boise State games in the 1970s and 80s. And their academics are not exactly awe-inspiring. (But who are we kidding? Conference alignment has nothing to do with academics in this day and age. I don't see anyone in a rush to invite Tulane or Rice to the SEC or Big XII.)

Nobody wants to play Boise State because nobody wants to start their season off with a loss to Boise State. If you beat Boise State, congrats; you were supposed to win over Boise State because supposedly they are not that good (by virtue of their conference affiliation). If you lose to Boise State, you spend your entire season with your fingers crossed that a team like Nevada or Wyoming doesn't pull off the impossible and beat them. And I'm sure as hell nobody wants to pay Boise to play them at their own stadium. Those few brave ADs who have the guts to schedule "neutral" games with Boise end up regretting it once their team's season takes an immediate nose dive (see Virginia Tech, 2010).

And then there's the whole issue of the pollsters, some of whom will never vote Boise State #1 because they're Boise State.

So what does Boise State have to do? Beat a SEC team?

[dfwabel]

I'm not a Boise superfan, but as someone who follows college basketball a lot more closely than college football, a few things jump out at me when I see these arguments.

In basketball there aren't any hypothetical "would have"s at the end of the season. If you win every game on your schedule, you have a chance to play for a National Championship. If you don't have that chance, it's because you didn't win enough, and you have nobody to blame but yourself. Seeding, conference affiliation, RPI - all that is ultimately irrelevant. If you play and win every game, you are National Champions.

This whole debate about "if Boise would just join a conference" makes my head hurt. Nobody wants to invite Boise State to join a BCS conference because they are located in the middle of a tiny little media market way out in Idaho. Boise State has no real "tradition" in the sense that your grandfather won't talk about all those Boise State games in the 1970s and 80s. And their academics are not exactly awe-inspiring. (But who are we kidding? Conference alignment has nothing to do with academics in this day and age. I don't see anyone in a rush to invite Tulane or Rice to the SEC or Big XII.)

Nobody wants to play Boise State because nobody wants to start their season off with a loss to Boise State. If you beat Boise State, congrats; you were supposed to win over Boise State because supposedly they are not that good (by virtue of their conference affiliation). If you lose to Boise State, you spend your entire season with your fingers crossed that a team like Nevada or Wyoming doesn't pull off the impossible and beat them. And I'm sure as hell nobody wants to pay Boise to play them at their own stadium. Those few brave ADs who have the guts to schedule "neutral" games with Boise end up regretting it once their team's season takes an immediate nose dive (see Virginia Tech, 2010).

And then there's the whole issue of the pollsters, some of whom will never vote Boise State #1 because they're Boise State.

So what does Boise State have to do? Beat a SEC team?

A lot of what you have posted is irrelevant outside of finances.

Q: Is Boise Sate dangerous in a season which only has 12 games?

A: Yes.

However, losing football programs provide the revenue for the rest of the department in most cases. For a major program to play in Boise regardless of TV revenue is a money losing proposition. If you are Butler, Gonzaga or VCU (hoops) or Boise (football), just because you are a winning team in a lesser conference, does not mean you have the instantly get ability to "set your price 70% over standard" for road games.

Not only does NCAA basketball have a tournament in which a one game format gives us more random winners, there are many mid-majors who are more reliant on income from basketball than opposed to football revenue. This is seen more on the west coast as the better mid-major teams on the west coast do not have football. Gonzaga, Portland, Saint Mary's and some of those which do like San Diego, Weber State, Montana and NAU play in the FCS. Boise does not want to fall into the place where Fresno and USM did a decade ago and thus does not want to schedule 2:1 series with those stadiums which have double to triple the capacity. Ticket revenue + more money over back end deals from TV on an audience as if it was a boxing PPV.

[MoHardGoHard]

Age old meme? You just said Boise would beat the best two teams in the country and you have a Boise avatar, not hard to tell you're a Boise homer. But I dont wanna start anything over it, so we'll each think what we'd like to

[Lights Out]

Uh, dude, you do realize I used a smiley there for a reason, right? I was joking.

[ESTONES6]

My issue with Boise State is that we don't really know the competition they are playing every Saturday. Yeah, its a great notch in your belt when you can say week 3 you beat a ranked team. But they only play 1 ranked team per year... maybe 2 at most, and it's always early on in the season.

Fair enough, but you have to be consistent with that argument. Virginia Tech has already played their one ranked team for the year, Wisconsin's getting hammered by the computers in the SOS department, and Stanford's only real opportunity for a marquee win is against Oregon in four weeks. Yet I don't hear nearly the amount of complaining over those three schools as I do for Boise State.

I want to see what Boise State can do when they are put in a major conference (PAC 12), and see how they do playing Standford, Oregon, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State, Washington, and USC during the conference schedule. I want to see them go up against rather large, recognized schools/programs and see if they can do it week-in and week-out.

As do I. Unfortunately, academics are holding BSU back from that right now.

I don't consider Virginia Tech a National Title Contender. I mean, maybe if Virginia Tech went in and beat Virginia, Miami, and Florida State on the road in back to back to back weeks... then I would say they are Major-Bowl-Eligible.

As for Standford, you are missing the point I was making. They play Arizona, Washington, Washington State, USC, Oregon, Oregon State, Cal, ND, and I'll even throw in Colorado. I'm not saying all 9 schools are football power houses, hell the only premiere programs are Oregon, USC, and ND. But the fact remains that they are playing larger schools, who have large fan bases, larger pool of talent, with some sort of football heritage, attracting better athletes, resulting in better competition. Sorry but Tulsa, Nevada, Colorado State, Air Force, UNLV, San Diego State, Wyoming, and New Mexico isn't really running the gauntlet. No disrespect to those school and programs, but group A is a little bit different than group B. Thus is the point I'm making.

I want to see Boise State go up against a PAC12 schedule for 8 or 9 weeks, + one or two good out of conference games (Georgia), and see how they do. I'm not saying Indiana or Purdue are better than Boise State, but what I am saying is Indiana and Purdue may not be Major-Bowl-Contenders, but they attract a better athlete than Wyoming and UNLV. Going through 9 straight weeks of elevated competition is the key distinction.

Just like the years when LSU and Florida beat Ohio State for the National Title. Both LSU and Florida played against BETTER competition week in and week out. Ohio State played against good competition, but not as good as the SEC.

I think everyone can agree that just about any D-1 football program can beat any other football program ONE time with weeks of preparation. What we don't know is if Boise State can do it every week against better competition.

Boise State could be 1 of 2 types of teams. The first, they could be a great team playing bad competition, i.e. like if LSU would play in the Big East or the ACC. LSU would smoke those teams, but still be a great team in the SEC. The second, they could be a mediocre team playing bad competition, making them look like a power house, i.e. Purdue playing in the MAC. Purdue is a pretty bad team in the Big 10, but they would roll on MAC teams (except for maybe Toledo this year), but once you put Purdue back into the Big 10, or SEC, or PAC12, they are a bad team.

We just don't know how good Boise State is. Them playing 1 ranked team early on in the year isn't enough for them to plant their flag and say they are a legitimate National Title Contender. They need to play a handful of ranked teams, as well as a handful of solid teams and see how they end up. That's all I'm saying.

[MoHardGoHard]

The biggest issue with Boise, and I know everyone has heard it 1,000 times, is that they don't face quality opponents week in and week out during conference play. We've seen it with Utah this year, the overall quality and depth of teams in major conferences isn't comparable to non-BCS conferences. Saying "Colorado State is just as good as Oregon State" is nice, but who in those small conferences compares to Stanford, Oregon, and Arizona State? Until Boise gets into a BCS conference, I don't believe they deserve a shot at a national championship, but that's just my opinion.

[Chicageaux]

Auburn will start Clint Moseley on Saturday against LSU.

[Lights Out]

Problem is, you're assuming I'm arguing for a shot at the title game. If Boise was given a chance, it'd be great, but I'm perfectly content with a BCS bowl bid.

[DCDuck]

Until Boise gets into a BCS conference, I don't believe they deserve a shot at a national championship, but that's just my opinion.

I'd agree with you if Boise State had said "thanks but no thanks (BCS conference); we'd prefer to stay in the Moctor Who Mountain WAC West and beat up on teams like Colorado State and Wyoming every year.

[MoHardGoHard]

It doesn't matter how bad they want in to a BCS conference, they're still not in one.

[CityOfWalrus]

The problem is that the one BCS conference to offer Boise State a spot (Supposedly) is the weakest out of all of them (Big East) and it really doesn't make any sense. I understand the Big East to want to expand but having a team in Texas or Idaho doesn't make any sense in the big EAST conference. I wish Boise State got the offer to play in the PAC-12 instead of Colorado. I firmly believe that Boise State would win the PAC-12 South this year.

[rams80]

The problem is that the one BCS conference to offer Boise State a spot (Supposedly) is the weakest out of all of them (Big East) and it really doesn't make any sense. I understand the Big East to want to expand but having a team in Texas or Idaho doesn't make any sense in the big EAST conference. I wish Boise State got the offer to play in the PAC-12 instead of Colorado. I firmly believe that Boise State would win the PAC-12 South this year.

If you said Utah instead of Colorado you might have had a point. Colorado's a California school in the rocky mountains.

[tj4eck]

FIU over Arkansas St. Tonight on ESPN2

[rams80]

I thought Florida International was supposed to be the next Boise State. I'm confused.

[MoHardGoHard]

I thought Florida International was supposed to be the next Boise State. I'm confused.

I think you were seriously misinformed

[Chicageaux]

I thought Florida International was supposed to be the next Boise State. I'm confused.

That bandwagon sure crashed quick, huh?

[thespleenenator]

I thought Florida International was supposed to be the next Boise State. I'm confused.

That bandwagon sure crashed quick, huh?

I'm gonna be reminded of this every time FIU loses aren't I?

[Breakwood]

I thought Florida International was supposed to be the next Boise State. I'm confused.

That bandwagon sure crashed quick, huh?

I'm gonna be reminded of this every time FIU loses aren't I?

Yes.

Louisiana is the real power in the Sun Belt

[mania]

The reason the Honey Badger don't care... DRUGS.

[Chicageaux]

It'll be interesting to see how this affects them on Saturday. I'm not as worried about losing Ware, he's good, but Blue and Ford will both step up. The three suspended should be suspended for more than just this game, I know there's talk of it being three games and it should be.