Boise State to Fight Hunger Bowl??

[ISUChippewa]

I don't feel sorry for Boise. Play a better non-conference schedule. That's all they have to do. I'm sorry but playing Virginia Tech and Oregon State doesn't cut it. They need to be playing 1 elite opponent (Virginia Tech is fine), 2 top 25 caliber teams and 1 other top 50 ish team.

They're non-conference needs to look something like:

Ohio State, Arizona, TCU, Minnesota.

Oh funny...I love how you guys who just rip on Boise State any chance you get seem to think that Boise State can just go ahead and call anyone they like from the SEC or Big Ten at a moment's notice to get games scheduled. Not quite that easy. And, I wrote this in another thread, but Oregon State was a pre-season Top 25 team, it's not like Boise State or TCU scheduled them in advance knowing that they were going to have a down year.

That goes for TCU, too. They didn't leave DFW for their non-conference this season. That's pathetic.

Guess what? Ohio State didn't leave Columbus for their non-conference season. In fact, they played 8 home games this season. For consistency's sake, I hope you would agree that is pathetic as well. That's why, IMO, Ohio State's president came off like such a buffoon in that interview last week. Guess what Gee? Your schools best win was a last-minute victory against an underacheiving Iowa team.

 

[Cyclonestate78]

Did Chris Peterson take your lunch money in junior high or something? I'm just curious where you get this hate-filled pathological obsession with Boise State from.

First of all... I don't hate Boise State. I get so tired of hearing all of the so called "experts" on college football always talking about how great Boise State is. Everyone has this big lovefest with the Broncos which I can't understand. Somehow Boise has been been proclaimed a national championship contender by the media but what are their credentials? Beating Wyoming 100 - 0 doesn't mean you are a great team. Beating San Jose State 100-0 doesn't mean you are a great team.

Boise plays one of the easier schedules in the country and people still think they are deserving of some kind of reward. It is crazy. If Kent State played Boise's schedule people would make fun of them for having a weak schedule but since it is Boise's that somehow makes it more respectable? If Auburn played that schedule what would people be saying about them? Why should Boise get a free pass for playing a weak mid major schedule? What exactly has Boise done to deserve such a great national profile? They beat Oklahoma years ago and that is pretty much it for them. They built a reputation off of 1 win. So they beat a ranked Oregon team a couple of times.... does that make them a national title contender? James Madison beat Virginia Tech who is looking at a BCS bowl game so does that mean James Madison is now a BCS caliber team as well even though they are in the FCS division?

Since when does 1 past win which was years ago make a program a legit contender when they maybe play 1 ranked team per year and then play a bunch of nobody schools? Boise State is a joke.

 

[Cyclonestate78]

I don't feel sorry for Boise. Play a better non-conference schedule. That's all they have to do. I'm sorry but playing Virginia Tech and Oregon State doesn't cut it. They need to be playing 1 elite opponent (Virginia Tech is fine), 2 top 25 caliber teams and 1 other top 50 ish team.

They're non-conference needs to look something like:

Ohio State, Arizona, TCU, Minnesota.

Oh funny...I love how you guys who just rip on Boise State any chance you get seem to think that Boise State can just go ahead and call anyone they like from the SEC or Big Ten at a moment's notice to get games scheduled. Not quite that easy. And, I wrote this in another thread, but Oregon State was a pre-season Top 25 team, it's not like Boise State or TCU scheduled them in advance knowing that they were going to have a down year.

That goes for TCU, too. They didn't leave DFW for their non-conference this season. That's pathetic.

Guess what? Ohio State didn't leave Columbus for their non-conference season. In fact, they played 8 home games this season. For consistency's sake, I hope you would agree that is pathetic as well. That's why, IMO, Ohio State's president came off like such a buffoon in that interview last week. Guess what Gee? Your schools best win was a last-minute victory against an underacheiving Iowa team.

The guy that looks like a real ******* now is the Boise State president. He sure fired back and now we will see if Boise makes an effort to try and schedule a series with Ohio State. My guess... they won't.

 

[ISUChippewa]

What exactly has Boise done to deserve such a great national profile? They beat Oklahoma years ago and that is pretty much it for them. They built a reputation off of 1 win. So they beat a ranked Oregon team a couple of times.... does that make them a national title contender? James Madison beat Virginia Tech who is looking at a BCS bowl game so does that mean James Madison is now a BCS caliber team as well even though they are in the FCS division?

Since when does 1 past win which was years ago make a program a legit contender when they maybe play 1 ranked team per year and then play a bunch of nobody schools? Boise State is a joke.

Beating Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl a few years ago certainly helps, but more than that I think it's just the sheer dominance they hav established over the last few years as well. When they have played BCS-conference teams lately, such as Oregon and Oregon State and Virginia Tech this year, they have won. Basically, they are establishing a nationally known tradition as a powerhouse program in the last few years, even though they do play in a weaker conference. They were getting so much media attention because of their pre-season ranking and the number of returning starters from last season. Basically, their reputation helped to put them in a great position, much like Ohio State, Alabama, and other traditional powers are always in a great position to start from each and every season. I'm not going to argue that the WAC is the equal of the Big Ten or SEC, but I do think there is more parity in college football than ever before. That's why Utah can embarass Alabama in the Sugar Bowl two years ago, that's why a team like Jacksonville State can win in Oxford, Mississippi against Ole Miss this season, and why a team like James Madison can beat a possible BCS team like Virginia Tech.

The bottom feeders aren't as bad as they used to be, and with a few exceptions, the top teams aren't quite as dominant as they used to be. I've already picked apart Ohio State and their "quality" wins this season, but it's not just them. Stanford, whom I do think is a very good team, really doesn't have a true high quality win all season either. Who are their best wins? Good but not great teams like USC and Arizona?

 

[ISUChippewa]

He sure fired back and now we will see if Boise makes an effort to try and schedule a series with Ohio State. My guess... they won't.

Probably not, but likely because Ohio State wants to try and schedule a 9th home game with an Ohio Valley school.

 

[HFCS]

The pundits like to say a playoff will kill the regular season and make games less important like other sports already are. They are dead wrong!

The regular season in college football will always matter regardless of the post season setup. There is only 12 games in a season and each and every one matters as it can drastically change your postseason destination (bowl or playoff seating).

Whether you are playing for a bowl spot or a playoff spot each game during the regular season would matter.

The NBA gives 16 of 30 teams a post season birth, but still plays an 82 game season.
That's what people think of when they talk about regular season not being meaningful. This is such a HORRIBLE comparison.

College football has 120 FBS teams, soon to be at least 123. They'd need to move to a 24 game season and a 74 team playoff to be similar to the NBA in structure.

with 123 teams...

4 team playoff: playoff teams must be near perfect, perfect teams will still get snubbed at some point, 97% of teams don't make playoffs.

8 team playoff: most teams will need to be perfect or one loss, occasional powerhouse 2 loss team will get a birth, 3 losses and you're out, 93% of all teams don't make playoffs

16 team playoff: undefeated teams will likely always make it regardless of SOS, most 1 loss teams will make it, a few two loss teams and rarely a three or 4 loss team. 87% of teams still don't make playoffs

If anyone is against these 3 formats because they think it cheapens the regular season, they are very bad at math.

 

[RandomFan]

I don't feel sorry for Boise. Play a better non-conference schedule. That's all they have to do. I'm sorry but playing Virginia Tech and Oregon State doesn't cut it. They need to be playing 1 elite opponent (Virginia Tech is fine), 2 top 25 caliber teams and 1 other top 50 ish team.

They're non-conference needs to look something like:

Ohio State, Arizona, TCU, Minnesota.

When 90 percent of your conference games are a joke, you need to step it up in the non-conference. That goes for TCU, too. They didn't leave DFW for their non-conference this season. That's pathetic.

I didn't realize that was a real name of a bowl game. Lovely.

UConn played zero top 25 teams and they could play in a BCS bowl.

 

[CyBroncos]

It's too bad Boise State is locked into a bad WAC bowl now. The Sun and Vegas bowls will have open slots. Who wouldn't want to watch Boise vs. Utah in Vegas or Boise vs. Miami in the Sun. Those would be good games

 

[HFCS]

UConn played zero top 25 teams and they could play in a BCS bowl.

How often does a team lose to Temple by two touchdowns and still get a BCS bowl bid? I'm betting that has never happened before.

 

[Nycclone]

It's too bad Boise State is locked into a bad WAC bowl now. The Sun and Vegas bowls will have open slots. Who wouldn't want to watch Boise vs. Utah in Vegas or Boise vs. Miami in the Sun. Those would be good games

What I don't get is that in past years the WAC gave them that option. Examples: 03, fort worth bowl vs tcu, 04, liberty bowl vs Louisville, 08 vs tcu poinsettia bowl. All of those were at large bids without a tiein. This year I guess that's not an option? Don't understand.

 

[erikbj]

please remember when the BCS was created......the BSU and TCU's of the world were not around. Only in the last couple of seasons have we seen no-AQ schools actually able to compete with the big boys. The system we have today was created based off of 80 years of history - but focused more on the 80's and 90's.

The Boise's and TCU's will have a chance to join a big boy conference in the near future if they are able to keep their programs at elite levels......it would be nice if they had other atheletic programs that could compete too. How would BSU's women's or men's basketball teams hold up in the Big 12?

Also with them playing in the WAC they don't have 5-6 times a year that they have to get up and play their A game to come out with a win. BSU has had 1 game against VA tech at the beginning of the year and then they had Nevada. The balance of their schedule was a joke and they never had to face a major injury like most programs in the AQ conferences....Look at Arnaud's injury, Nebraksa has played a number of games without TMART, ect. How would BSU look without Moore in the lineup for a 3 game stretch? Playing in the SEC or Big 12 or 10, is a different game because of the physicallity that takes place. BSU can play with any team out of those conferences for 1 game, but I don't think they can hold up 5 weeks in a row. Look at Auburn's schedule, the beat LSU, Arkansas, Alabama, Miss St., Florida and a number of other solid teams. How does BSU's win over VA Tech or TCU's win over Utah stack up????????

Come on, TCU and BSU are nice stories, but they DO NOT deserve to play for the National Championship.

 

[tazclone]

And if we go 11-1 like Boise did this year - we will be in a BCS bowl.

Yep, just like Michigan State did this year and Kansas State did in 1999....oh wait, never mind.
Fact is the system is set up against the little guys. Doesn't matter if you are in a BCS conference or not.

 

[erikbj]

IF ISU went 11-1 and qualified for a BCS game, ISU probably could sell 50K tickets. Where KSU would be lucky to get 10K fans to a bowl game. MI State not getting in is because the Big 10 is already getting two teams in - guess they should have shown up against a bad Iowa team.

 

[tazclone]

First of all... I don't hate Boise State. I get so tired of hearing all of the so called "experts" on college football always talking about how great Boise State is. Everyone has this big lovefest with the Broncos which I can't understand. Somehow Boise has been been proclaimed a national championship contender by the media but what are their credentials? Beating Wyoming 100 - 0 doesn't mean you are a great team. Beating San Jose State 100-0 doesn't mean you are a great team.

Boise plays one of the easier schedules in the country and people still think they are deserving of some kind of reward. It is crazy. If Kent State played Boise's schedule people would make fun of them for having a weak schedule but since it is Boise's that somehow makes it more respectable? If Auburn played that schedule what would people be saying about them? Why should Boise get a free pass for playing a weak mid major schedule? What exactly has Boise done to deserve such a great national profile? They beat Oklahoma years ago and that is pretty much it for them. They built a reputation off of 1 win. So they beat a ranked Oregon team a couple of times.... does that make them a national title contender? James Madison beat Virginia Tech who is looking at a BCS bowl game so does that mean James Madison is now a BCS caliber team as well even though they are in the FCS division?

Since when does 1 past win which was years ago make a program a legit contender when they maybe play 1 ranked team per year and then play a bunch of nobody schools? Boise State is a joke.

They have beaten every team from a BCS conference that they have faced over the last four years. Of course, no one wants to schedule them either. Do you think ISU would schedule Boisie St? Not a chance in hell.

I often wonder why people think they could not endure a conference like the Pac 10, ACC, Big East, or the Big Ten? I am not saying I think they would run the table in those conferences but I think they would compete week in and week out. Probably a 1-2 loss team in the Big 10, undefeated in the Big East, 1 loss team in the ACC, and a 2 loss team in the Big 12. They have the size and speed and they are well coached. People forget that they are recruiting California very heavily and they tend to get some damn good athletes that other schools can't offer due to partial qualifiers. They have 10 guys in the NFL and most of them are from the last 4-5 years. That is a couple guys a year that not only make the team but stick with teams. Interesting enough they have only had a few drafted and the rest make the teams as free agents.

Things would change dramatically for them if they joined a larger conference. First they would not get partial qualifiers which would hurt them. Second, their recruiting would probably get better as they could draw better kids if they were in a bigger conference.

 

[tazclone]

IF ISU went 11-1 and qualified for a BCS game, ISU probably could sell 50K tickets. Where KSU would be lucky to get 10K fans to a bowl game. MI State not getting in is because the Big 10 is already getting two teams in - guess they should have shown up against a bad Iowa team.

Michigan State has the exact same record as Wisconsin and tOSU and they even beat Wisconsin who beat tOSU. Prior to the BCS, Michigan State would have won the Big 10 and would be playing in the Rose Bowl. Because the BCS is involved the tie breaker falls on the BCS which is controlled by the polls so MSU finishes third. They finish third because they are the perceived as the lesser based on historical performance. It would be no different if ISU beat OU, finished 11-1, and then lost to Okie St on the road. AS soon as we lost, OU would jump us based on historical performances. In short, the bigger names get the benfit of doubt and the lesser names have to go above and beyond.

 

[erikbj]

They have beaten every team from a BCS conference that they have faced over the last four years. Of course, no one wants to schedule them either. Do you think ISU would schedule Boisie St? Not a chance in hell.

I often wonder why people think they could not endure a conference like the Pac 10, ACC, Big East, or the Big Ten? I am not saying I think they would run the table in those conferences but I think they would compete week in and week out. Probably a 1-2 loss team in the Big 10, undefeated in the Big East, 1 loss team in the ACC, and a 2 loss team in the Big 12. They have the size and speed and they are well coached. People forget that they are recruiting California very heavily and they tend to get some damn good athletes that other schools can't offer due to partial qualifiers. They have 10 guys in the NFL and most of them are from the last 4-5 years. That is a couple guys a year that not only make the team but stick with teams. Interesting enough they have only had a few drafted and the rest make the teams as free agents.

Things would change dramatically for them if they joined a larger conference. First they would not get partial qualifiers which would hurt them. Second, their recruiting would probably get better as they could draw better kids if they were in a bigger conference.

So they have a couple good wins over the past 4 years and now they get to join a big boy conference? What happens if their coach jumps ship and their program goes back to where it was 10 years ago?

I see them being similiar to "cinderella" team in the NCAA basketball tournament, it is a nice story and your root for them - but they will go away in a little while. TCU has a better chance of having longevitity because of their location and they have been competetive in other sports in the past.

You are also basing your projected records off their 1 or 2 games a year that played an AQ school. Life is different when you play tough game after tough game, just the Iowa Hawkeyes right now. A couple months ago they looked like one of the best teams in the country......after playing OSU, MSU, and Wisky - they were beat up so mentally they got beat by Minnesota.

 

[flander1649]

Like the Big East?

Of course if they played in a BCS conference they would also be recruiting higher profile players, but no one ever mentions that.

If they were a part of any of one of the BCS conferences they would also have to improve their academic standards. That is why they are currently getting some of the good players they have right now because they can't get in to a Pac 10 or Big 12 school currently.

 

[flander1649]

Michigan State has the exact same record as Wisconsin and tOSU and they even beat Wisconsin who beat tOSU. Prior to the BCS, Michigan State would have won the Big 10 and would be playing in the Rose Bowl. Because the BCS is involved the tie breaker falls on the BCS which is controlled by the polls so MSU finishes third. They finish third because they are the perceived as the lesser based on historical performance. It would be no different if ISU beat OU, finished 11-1, and then lost to Okie St on the road. AS soon as we lost, OU would jump us based on historical performances. In short, the bigger names get the benfit of doubt and the lesser names have to go above and beyond.

MSU is ranked the lowest because they have them most recent loss. If UW and OSU have lost their games after MSU lost theirs MSU would be the higher ranked team.

 

[tazclone]

So they have a couple good wins over the past 4 years and now they get to join a big boy conference? What happens if their coach jumps ship and their program goes back to where it was 10 years ago?

I see them being similiar to "cinderella" team in the NCAA basketball tournament, it is a nice story and your root for them - but they will go away in a little while. TCU has a better chance of having longevitity because of their location and they have been competetive in other sports in the past.

You are also basing your projected records off their 1 or 2 games a year that played an AQ school. Life is different when you play tough game after tough game, just the Iowa Hawkeyes right now. A couple months ago they looked like one of the best teams in the country......after playing OSU, MSU, and Wisky - they were beat up so mentally they got beat by Minnesota.

FWIW- They have had two coaches jump ship and the program has not suffered. Koetter and Hawkins both moved on and the program got better. They are sending more kids to the pros than a lot of Big 10/Big 12/Big East/ACC schools and those players are sticking inthe NFL. That means they have had some talent. 2-3 per year means almost half their starters have NFL potential (2.4x4=10). That isn't bad.

Again, they beat every BCS team they have played for four years. Prior to that they were around .500 against BCS teams. I am basing my projected records off looking at their depth chart/recruiting classes, and how they don't miss a beat when they graduate their best players. That tells me they have depth and solid coaching.
Big East- Name a team that is better
ACC- Same as the Big East.
Big 10- Remember the Big 10 has major scheduling flaws. I see BSU as equal to MSU and iowa meaning they could end up anywhere between those two teams
Big 12- Depending on schedule, they probably have 2 loses.
SEC- Depends if they were inthe East or West. The East is way down this year.

Again, I am not saying they run the table but I think they compete. People use the schedule against them and that is understandable. Fact is there is no way to predict how they would last in a bigger conference. Good news is they graduate to a tougher conference next year. Unfortunately, Utah leaving hurts that conferences chances of a BCS tag.

Like i said, in the end, it doesn't matter. The system is set up to favor the bigger schools and unless you have a phenomenal year you can't get over the hump. If ISU went 12-0 in the Big 12, people would just claim the Big 12 is down and ISU would be ranked lower than 1 loss big ten and SEC teams.

 

[dundermifflin]

Fans and national media make a big stink about there not being a playoff in D1 football. Personally, I like the current system because we have in essence a playoff system starting in about week 9, when games begin to have huge consequences.

If there were a 16 team playoff, would the BSU v Nevade, Auburn v Bama, OU vs OSU games had the same intensity? I don't mind a playoff, but at most would include 4 or 8 teams at most. Otherwise I think the regular season gets watered down.

What I do have an issue with is the current system where the secondary elite bowls like Cotton, Capital One, etc are basically slotted to the BCS conferneces. IMO it's a JOKE that Boise State is one win from maybe playing in the National Championship game to now playing in the Fight Hunger Bowl or Humanitarian Bowl.

Think it would have been more important to Bama and Oklahoma because a win may give them a shot to play in the playoffs and a loss and they might be out.