Kudos to Virginia Tech

robeiae

Touch and go
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 18, 2005
Messages
46,262
Reaction score
9,912
Location
on the Seven Bridges Road
Website
thepondsofhappenstance.com
Though they got beat by Boise State (in what turned out to be a great game), at least they stepped up to the plate and played the game. Can't say that about the rest of the BCS top teams...

Now, will Boise enjoy a brief reign at number one, only to lose it as the season progresses due to "strength of schedule"? If that happens, does it mean that no matter what Boise State does, they'll never get to play for the title (because the BCS system is a joke)?
 

Jcomp

Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 24, 2006
Messages
5,352
Reaction score
1,422
Eh. They were never going to leapfrog into number one and they need lots of people to get to two losses anyway. They're getting a ton of love as is, let's let the season at least get more than a week deep before we start complaining that they're getting screwed.

I've come around to the belief that while Boise has been impressive over these years and everyone's held them as their darling underdog since that wonderful Fiesta Bowl win against OU, the fact is they don't play a very tough schedule. They don't even play a moderately tough schedule. When they get to the Mountain West next year it'll be a great start, where at least they'll have to play Utah, TCU and (hopefully, if they stick around) BYU on a regular basis*(oops... forgot that Utah's going to the PAC-10 next year... but Boise's still slated to play them so that'll be a boost for their strength of schedule). Even Air Force comes out pretty strong every year. The WAC is flat out pitiful, soon-to-be dissolved football conference, and getting to play a string of cupcakes after game-planning for several months to play the one half-powerhouse on your schedule isn't equivalent to having back-to-back-to-back tough opponents like they'd get in any of the "BCS" conferences, or even the Mountain West which should be an automatic bid conference if they get Boise and keep BYU.

Boise's put together a great program. I'm not a hater at all, I find them rather impressive. They're like the Batman of college football, given enough prep time they can beat anyone. We've yet to see them have to handle consecutive major opponents though and say what we may about big schools "not wanting to play them," which I think is starting to become almost something of urban mythology, I don't think it's coincidental that they gave themselves a bye, then a Wyoming team that just barely squeaked by some school named Southern Utah before playing at Oregon State. From there it's bums all the way down.
 
Last edited:

CheyElizabeth

My horn can pierce the sky!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 16, 2009
Messages
736
Reaction score
113
I'm not good at sports talk, but Boise's over rated and I agree, kudos to VT!
 

Jcomp

Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 24, 2006
Messages
5,352
Reaction score
1,422
Just to follow up on the "nobody wants to play them" angle... they've been trying to schedule a home-and-home like all the other traditional powerhouses do. Problem is they have a stadium with between 50-33% of the capacity that the teams they're approaching have. It doesn't make financial sense. If I'm OSU, no I'm not doing a home and home with Boise. They can't give back what they would get in terms of revenue by having a team come to Bronco Stadium. They have to settle for away games and some more Top 25 (or borderline) but not Top 10 opponents. I mean they can't even get a team like East Carolina on the schedule instead of Wyoming? Some mid-tier team that consistently gets 8 or 9 wins a year and also has had a penchant for beating out larger programs from BCS schools? They can't at least schedule a Kentucky or Baylor to say to the BCS schools just to show that they would, like the powerhouse programs, would mop the floor with the bottom-feeders of those conferences?
 
Last edited:

robeiae

Touch and go
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 18, 2005
Messages
46,262
Reaction score
9,912
Location
on the Seven Bridges Road
Website
thepondsofhappenstance.com
Well, I've been waging a little campaign with the powers that be at the U (Miami) and so far, I haven't gotten anywhere.

You know, if the top teams bailed on playing Miami back in the day (like the GATORS did!), there would have been no UM decade of dominance. But you're right about revenue. Still, VaTech manned up and played the game at a "neutral" site. And from what I understand, Boise is willing to go anywhere with no return game in Idaho. Ole Miss is on for 2011, right?

Gators? Tide? LONGHORNS?
 

Jcomp

Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 24, 2006
Messages
5,352
Reaction score
1,422
I agree that a neutral site game shouldn't be a problem for anyone involved. Gives Boise exposure and a big opponent, gives the opponent a chance to go into different territory where they might want to recruit local talent. Same reason why Notre Dame played a (unfortunately poorly attended) game in the Alamodome last year.

That said, I still think Boise shouldn't be too big to schedule more teams like Oregon State instead of Wyoming to compensate for having to play the likes of Nevada and Idaho. The reason why the "strength of schedule" argument comes up is because for any team in a halfway decent conference you can't say they have a clear path to an undefeated season after week 1. There are stumbling blocks, trap games, etc. The fact that after the opening game people are debating whether or not to pencil in Boise for the title game says a lot about how dreadful their competition is. If they get past Oregon State their only "challenge" should be hanging 50 on everyone else they face to show voters they belong in the title game.