Does EPSN Push Boise State/

Is ESPN Pushing for Boise State?

You know, I am as much a fan of the underdog as anybody else, my college is from the Southern Conference, and we have been underdogs for quite some time. And I understand in college football how so many like to pull for teams like TCU and Boise State because the could “crash” the BCS…but I gotta tell ya, some of this is getting down right stupid.

Why does ESPN and the guys there seem to feel that it is so righteous for Boise State to be in a National Championship? Again, I am not against BSU, but so often we try to force a situation without taking a hard look at the things around it.

Let’s get this straight right now folks, and we can debate this until eternity… Boise State is NOT the best team in college football…undefeated or not. They are also NOT the second best either. They are very good but NOT the best. It seems like it is getting to the point where Boise State is asking everybody to pity them, so they can either force a playoffs or be considered for the National Championship. But there are a lot of glaring problems with that.

First off, their schedule.

I said months ago and I say again, if you want to BE a champion, play a schedule like one. BSU can’t help the WAC schedule, but they CAN help games like UC Davis and Miami Ohio….BSU knew they needed to play a tougher schedule than that, and they choose not to. That’s their fault. Consider folks, TCU right now has a strong upper hand over Boise State for the Non-BCS team in the big bowls. And rightly so.

IF Boise State had scheduled maybe Colorado or some Big 12 team instead of UC Davis, and maybe Minnesota or Illinois instead of Miami OH, this would seem a stronger schedule. It is that strength of schedule that is hurting them. And don’t tell me that a perfect record is a worth a title shot alone…does ANYBODY remember Ball State from last year? Weren’t they like 12-0...what happened to them?

I thought so.

Second, the media keeps talking about “BCS Busters”. Technically that term isn’t accurate. The NCAA came up with 5 bowls, one being the National Championship, the other 4 available to the best of the BCS conferences, and a guaranteed slot for one of the other conferences that performs well. This means that there is a slot for a team like TCU and/or Boise State…meaning you are not BUSTING in anything. You have permission to enter IF you qualify. This year, at this very moment, TCU qualifies…and so does Boise State.

So IF these teams have qualified, they are not “Busting” in anything. Last night ESPN had the WAC Commissioner during the Boise State/Utah State game to try to get him to plead his case for Boise State. Personally I saw no need for him to do that, in my opinion, Boise State is CLEARLY in, if they are the #6 team in the nation. They WILL get a BCS bowl, but why was the guys for ESPN trying to create a controversy that they MIGHT not get in. This is foolishness and ignorance created by ESPN to stir the pot.

The WAC Commissioner made a point that Boise State ought to be considered because they demonstrated that the fans can travel, as in the case to the Fiesta Bowl… now folks, that was in Arizona, right? Check your maps and see how far Boise State is from Arizona….

That isn’t really saying so much, is it?

The selling point here seemed to be that Boise State can travel anywhere…I disagree. Remember folks, these bowls want teams that travel VERY well, or teams closer to the bowl. For that reason, I just can’t see Boise State in any circumstances going to the Orange Bowl…if I was a member of the Orange Bowl committee, I am just not convinced that they can travel in large numbers from Boise to Florida. Besides, I also think they deserve a better game than against Georgia Tech, you’d like to pit BSU against another undefeated team, right?

As it stands right now, before the games start, we can fairly assume that the Florida/Alabama winner will play Texas in the National Championship. Let’s just assume it will be Florida for the sake of argument. That means the National Championship is set, leaving the other 4 bowls.

We know the Rose Bowl will punk out and get their traditional teams, in this case the Pac 10 vs. Big 10. At this moment it looks like Oregon/Ohio State. So to this point, you have your SEC, Big 12, Big 10 and Pac 10 satisfied.

The Orange Bowl has a contractual commitment to the ACC, so Georgia Tech goes there. That makes 5 slots filled. This leaves the last 5 slots to Cincinnati as the Big East Champs, (at this point in time), TCU, Boise State, Alabama and one other team.

If it goes as I think it can, I think the Sugar Bowl will take Alabama, because it is closer to home. The Fiesta Bowl COULD take TCU and Boise State…but this could be a problem because they played last year… a repeat might not sell as well. So it might be hip for the Fiesta Bowl to take Cincinnati and TCU, and hope that Cincinnati can travel to the desert.

This could make a Sugar Bowl matchup with Alabama and Boise State, which would be interesting, leaving one slot open for the Orange Bowl. This brings in two other teams, LSU and Pittsburgh. Either could work, but if Pittsburgh loses to Cincinnati, then LSU could be the obvious choice, also being a little closer to Florida. After all the fans of LSU are familiar with Florida having played the Gators anyway….Pittsburgh could say the same about playing South Florida.

So in all this, not once has Boise State been excluded from the BCS Bowls. They are in at this moment, and squarely in. I think the Fiesta Bowl might not take them to play TCU because it is a show we have seen before, so Boise State COULD be snubbed from there to the Sugar Bowl…but I gotta tell ya, that sounds like a good bowl to me, an Alabama/Boise State game.

So all this yapping about ESPN trying to champion a cause…come on you guys, get off that. You don’t need to make a case for BSU, they are in the BCS. Stop creating the news, and just report it!