Boise State finished its 12-1 season on Thursday by trouncing Arizona State 56-24. It ranked in the Top 10 in every major poll in the nation, and the Broncos finished their one-loss season on a Thursday night before Christmas in Las Vegas against a Pac-12 school that now has a losing record.
What does Boise have to show for this resounding victory? Other than a gigantic trophy at the end of yet another season wondering what should have been, I'd say not much. One might think Boise State would have turned the corner into BCS marketability in 2006 after beating Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. But since that season it has only been invited back to the BCS one time—to face TCU in the Fiesta Bowl following its undefeated 2009 season—and spent back-to-back bowl seasons playing in the Maaco Bowl in Las Vegas, despite the fact the Broncos have just two losses in the last two years.
Since the start of Boise State's first Fiesta Bowl season, the Broncos have lost just six games under head coach Chris Peterson, winning 73 in that span. During its decade in the WAC, Boise State was 114-16, followed by a 12-1 season in the Mountain West this year. www.nikeeaglesnflshop.com (Is that possible? Boise State is 126-17 since 2001? Is that really even possible?)
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It seems possible only because it happened. Boise State has been so dominant that it actually may have hurt the team, devaluing its own conferences so much that one loss can preclude it from being picked for a BCS game over the likes of Michigan and Virginia Tech.
That's why Boise State's only recourse was to join the Big East. Think about how ridiculous that sounds for a minute while you calculate with me exactly how far Boise, Idaho is from the Big East offices in Providence, Rhode Island.
It's 2,683 miles from Bronco Stadium to the Big East offices—2,667 miles if you take a short cut THROUGH CANADA.
Boise State originally balked at joining the Big East after TCU pulled out of its deal with the, ahem, power football conference. Three days after the BCS matchups were announced and Boise was once again on the outside looking in, the school officially joined the Big East.
Certainly the timing could be coincidental, and Boise's inclusion in the BCS this year may not have stopped the school from nonsensically joining the Big East. We won't know because Michigan and Virginia Tech get to play in the BCS while Boise State has to watch the games with the rest of us, polishing its Maaco trophy while wondering what could have (read: should have) been.
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That's the situation we've gotten ourselves into in college football. Forget about a playoff system for a minute. We are stuck with a system so broken that Boise State has to go undefeated every single year, or give up and join the Big East, just to get invited into the BCS party.
Boise State is the pretty teenage girl with ugly Womens Trent Cole Jersey friends who's looking for any possible way into this snobbishly exclusive high school soiree, even if that means finding another group of friends who, while rather ugly themselves, are just attractive enough that the pretty kids still invite them. After all, someone has to be the ugliest person at a pretty party, right? You're welcome, Big East, make sure to wipe your feet and please don't touch anything.
It was clear after moving to the Mountain West and still getting snubbed by the BCS, Boise State had no choice but to get into a more attractive conference. Somehow, inexplicably, the Big East became that conference.
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Knowing the Big East would be in danger of losing its automatic qualifier to the BCS if it didn't land a school like Boise State, Commissioner John Marinato, his legion of crisis managers and a giant role of duct tape managed to secure Boise State, San Diego State, Houston, SMU and UCF to round out their football league.
The Big East has never looked more directionless.
It's ridiculous to think that any of those schools belong in the Big East, but it's Kids Trent Cole Jersey just as ridiculous to think those in charge of the Big East would have just disbanded their football conference after losing Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia to neighboring conferences. Not with that much money at stake.
It all comes down to money, and Boise State has seen both sides of the BCS windfall. The Broncos lost one game this season by one point against a ranked opponent and they played their bowl game on December 22 in Las Vegas up against an NFL game on TV. Pretty snobs or not, getting invited to the party is way better than the alternative.
The whole situation is ugly. Boise State—and fans of college football—deserve better.
article source:http://bleacherreport.com/articles/995356-boise-state-deserved-better-a-bcs-rant