What if..

[Vileborg]

If I were Boise St., I'd bail in a heart beat if there was a spot available somewhere else. No one is going to take them seriously when their conference games are the who's who list of cellar dwellers.

[Spence]

If Boise State went to the PAC-10 they would probably be the fourth or fifth best team this year.

Welcome to the Board VV. Nice Username. I actually thought you were a spammer until I saw your avatar. I like that.

[Spence]

I like the round robin schedule. I wish the B-10 did it, instead of leaving two teams off the schedule every year. It is a money thing, though, they can schedule another home game.

[bama_girl]

mr. vegetable, please explain your name to me

[Spence]

mr. vegetable, please explain your name to me

Let me take a stab for you BG. Corn(vegetable)huskers , hungry for wins.

[bama_girl]

could be

[mountainman]

Check out Mr. Vegetable's location, bama-girl ....... lots of veggies come from those two states.

[Spence]

I think Boise would be a better fit in the MWC if they left. They couldn't compete for championships in the PAC-10 every year. Better to go somewhere you can compete every year.

Playing Texas in the Fiesta Bowl would give Boise St. a chance to prove that being undefeated in the WAC means something or it could put to rest all of the screaming about fair treament for the mid majors. Either way, it would settle some things.

[donovan]

Changing conferences solves nothing. BSU joined the WAC a few years back when there was a realignment and the Bigger Schools of several conferences formed the MWC. (as if that conference gets respect)

There are many sports involved, not just football. Granted, there are schools that play in multiple conferences for different sports, but that has mostly to do with sports that play many games, e.g. baseball, or there are geographical considerations for travel expense in minor sports.

The real issue is not the conference or the teams they play, but the insane microcosmic evaluation of games from angles that defy pythagoras. Teams are rated in polls and for bowl games not by their win loss records....right now some 58 teams out of 119 will go to a bowl game, just how exclusive is that. Teams that perennially draw large crowds will go to big bowls. If the pundits would have their way we would just play virtual football and come up with the results. Polls distort everything; they denigrate win loss records in favor of strength of schedule....which of course are made six and seven years in advance...preference for alma maters, computer abilities and the list goes on and on...and win loss gets less and less.

College football programs build strong teams because they plan ahead and make possibilities attractive for recruits. So in big programs freshman and sophomores rarely play, they have big junior and senior years. But the truth in fact is, every four years the teams completely change players. (Ok so some big programs see guys playing up to six years...But that is another subject that has to do with the NCCA which is of course to football what the government is to problems solving...but again I digress.

Boise State is fine where they are. They know they will stuggle to get recognition...They know they will be shunned, they know that if by good fortune they go undefeated they will still not get the big chance....and they are all right with that because they understand their program. Something very few schools do...e.g. Schools with consistent rule violations and on field fiascos like we saw yesterday.

Per capita, Bosie State has more money available for their program than most. They have facilities that equal most any major program. (The blue turf is another subject...personally I love it).

So the only thing wrong with BSU in the WAC, is those sideliners worrying about the exposure of how absolutely ludicrous all of this polling is.

So why do I love it so much....

Go #87 (retired)

[Eric]

Boise is going to get their chance this year if they go undefeated. I mean, they are ranked 20th and with Iowa, Georgia, and Missouri falling behind them, they should jump 3 spots in this week's poll if they beat NMSU. So, they're almost there, they need about 5 more spots and they'll be in. Boise State will be, again, if they are undefeated, in the top 10 of the AP poll and since the computers almost mirror the AP poll now, they'll get in.

[Spence]

The real issue is not the conference or the teams they play, but the insane microcosmic evaluation of games from angles that defy pythagoras. Teams are rated in polls and for bowl games not by their win loss records....right now some 58 teams out of 119 will go to a bowl game, just how exclusive is that. Teams that perennially draw large crowds will go to big bowls. If the pundits would have their way we would just play virtual football and come up with the results. Polls distort everything; they denigrate win loss records in favor of strength of schedule....which of course are made six and seven years in advance...preference for alma maters, computer abilities and the list goes on and on...and win loss gets less and less.

Why should won-loss records be the only thing considered? Why should a team that plays a schedule (like Florida, this year) be considered in same as a team who played a schedule where most of the teams barely get to .500? Yes schedules are made up six and seven years in advance, but don't you think Boise St. probably new that Sacramento State, Wyoming, and possibly Utah wouldn't get them the respect that they strive for? Even choosing Oregon State is taking a chance scheduling. Why not try Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan, Ohio State, Tennessee, Florida, Florida St., Virginia Tech, Miami, Auburn, Georgia, Iowa, or Wisconsin? Teams where you have a better then average chance of them being ranked in the polls. Sure you will run into times where it won't work (example Miami this year), but most of the time it would. Since Boise State plays in a conference that isn't very good, with most teams not fairing well against ranked teams, they need to beef up their OOC schedule with several good teams. Otherwise they won't get championship game respect and shouldn't.

I will give you that politics plays a part in bowl selections and teams that travel well and draw TV ratings will go ahead of teams will similar records that don't draw as well.

Wins and losses count, but wins over bad teams don't get you the same respect as wins over good teams. You can't honestly believe that an undefeated Boise State, this year, is better then a one loss Florida or Auburn. If Boise State believed that, they would start scheduling Florida and Auburn. Boise State puts together a schedule to go undefeated and hopes they crack the BCS. If they wanted to compete for a championship, they would schedule teams that would get them the respect it takes to get them there.

There are teams from mid major conferences that do that very thing. The MWC has teams that go after the big boys, the MAC does as well. Northern Illinois, who knew it was likely that they would compete for a MAC championship, put Ohio State on their schedule. That was a get respect for the program game. If they would have won the game and Ohio State went on to win games NIU would be getting plenty of respect. You have to play and win against top 15 teams. When was the last time Boise State beat a top 10 team? When was the last time they attempted to schedule a top 10 team? Those are the things Boise State alumni and fans should be demanding of their program if they truely want to compete for championships.

[donovan]

....The point is....to be redundant. BSU does not care. It is only others that get so piqued that their sanctified, contrived, convoluted polling has to be justified by the bully system.

Plain and simple, nobody thinks an undefeated BSU team will automatically beat Ohio State if they had five losses. It is only a concern to those that think there is more than win and losses in sports. So if all the other things are so important to you why not included some of these in your polling...

1. Graduation rate
2. Sportsmanship
3. Color of uniforms
4. Grass or artificial turf (+7 if Blue)

First post on the site today was. Why did Georgia loose to Vanderbilt.
Because Vanderbilt scored more points. The End

[Eric]

But the fact remains, Idaho is no Auburn. You're going to knock Florida, hypothetically, out of the BCS for an undefeated Boise State team? If Florida finishes with one loss they would likely get in, but should Boise be ranked ahead of the Gators? I don't think so.

[Spence]

....The point is....to be redundant. BSU does not care. It is only others that get so piqued that their sanctified, contrived, convoluted polling has to be justified by the bully system.

So if Boise State were to make the BCS they would decline? Come on. It isn't a "bully system" Boise State doesn't get repect in the polls because they do not play any one. When they do play a ranked team, check out their record. It isn't very good. You can't play teams who struggle to have a .500 record and then complain about the system.

Plain and simple, nobody thinks an undefeated BSU team will automatically beat Ohio State if they had five losses. It is only a concern to those that think there is more than win and losses in sports.

Again if Boise State wants to be taken seriously, they have that option. If you believe that a win is the same as any other win, then you don't pay attention to the games. Would a five loss Ohio State team be favored? I don't know, but and undefeated Ohio State would be a 25 point favorite to an undefeated Boise State this year.

So if all the other things are so important to you why not included some of these in your polling...

1. Graduation rate
2. Sportsmanship
3. Color of uniforms
4. Grass or artificial turf (+7 if Blue)

Grad rates have nothing to do with the quality of football being played. They are inportant to the student athlete's future and to the NCAA.

Sportsmanship is important on the field, but has nothing what-so-ever to do with who are the best teams. That may be sad, but it is true.

First post on the site today was. Why did Georgia loose to Vanderbilt.
Because Vanderbilt scored more points. The End

And we know that Vanderbilt scored more points, why? Because they played. That is the point.

[billybud]

What has Boise done to show they shoulde play a Top 10 team in a BCS bowl?

Is Boise beating good teams? NO...Boise is a lousy 2-14 against BCS teams (1996-present).

Last year, Boise played three BCS teams and lost to all three...

Should Tallahassee's Lincoln High School have played in a bowl game against Michigan because Lincoln is undefeated? Nope...different leagues, being undefeated in Florida high school is tough...but not like being a 7 win team in a BCS conference.