For a team that hasn't lost on the field in more than a year, the Boise State Broncos just cannot win off of it.
No, they do not have dozens of arrests on their record, nor have any NCAA investigators changed their mailing addresses to Boise. But in the intellectually corrupt court of college football opinion, the Broncos were judged well before their first kickoff of the season.
Boise State's impressive opening weekend win over Virginia Tech at a neutral-in-name-only Fedex Field seemed to announce our first real shot at a non-BCS conference school making the National Championship Game. But just five days later, the Hokies fell flat to 1-AA James Madison, deflating the Broncos' signature win in the process.
Just three weeks into the season, the debate about Boise has made several sharp turns. Immediately after the win in metro Washington, DC, the Broncos' critics tried to snuff out the afterglow by questioning just how good Virginia Tech is (a fair question, in hindsight). Others wrote off the significance of one game altogether, suggesting the true test of a team is facing challenges week-in, week-out.
In rebuttal, Boise's supporters proclaimed their team would easily contend for the championship of one of the lesser BCS conferences, such as the ACC or Big East. As a chaser, they cited Boise's wins in past seasons over Oregon, Oregon State, and Oklahoma. (On a side note, that Fiesta Bowl happened following the 2006 season, which for perspective, was Tim Tebow's freshman year. Why do we still site this as evidence of Boise's credentials?)
So what is Boise State really? Are they a blue-turfed figment of our college football zeitgeist? Are they an unfairly marginalized up-and-comer that threatens the status quo?
Clearly, the answer lies somewhere in between, though you'll be hard-pressed to find many college football fans who hold that moderate opinion. The truly baffling part of this debate is how little the events on the field seem to matter.
The sad truth is, most college football fans and media had their minds made up about Boise State before Labor Day. Either the prospect of a Bronco victory was insignificant in light of the rest of Boise's schedule or an affirmation of their bona fides.
But strangely, everyone seems to agree on the most unpredictable part of the equation: Boise State seems destined to go 12-0 and run its unbeaten streak to 25 games. And yet nobody wants to talk about what is playing out on the field.
Then what should we do with Boise three weeks into the season? Wait. The Broncos have 10 games left to establish their resume. The significance of those games, as well as the two already in the books, is yet to be determined, the same as everyone else.
College football is as contextual as any sport we follow in this country. In the NFL, a 45-0 win in any week is impressive even over the lowliest opponent. But on Saturdays, every game has a back story. Those 60 precious minutes spread roots in the months and even years that follow. And because subjective rankings are the majority factor in deciding who plays for the national championship, where that root system spreads matters.
And that brings us back to the cloud in Boise's silver lining. For as good as the Broncos have looked, they sit at No. 3 in the polls and could certainly be overtaken by the big names breathing down their necks. It is difficult to imagine the schedule and talent will ever line up any better for Boise (after all, what BCS-conference team wants to schedule them at this point?). Until something in their context changes, this peak may be where Boise maxes out as a program.
There is no more frustrating realization than finding that your best effort is not good enough. So while Boise State continues this wave of winning on the field, it may be doomed to larger defeats off of it.
September 23, 2010
PB:
Boise State is the best team in the country, easily. They’d beat anyone, Alabama, Ohio St. bring em on. I guarantee it.
September 23, 2010
KG:
Can I please get the last five minutes of my life back? This very uninformative piece, on a team that I enjoy watching, was simply a waste of my time. There’s nothing NEW here. The author of this mindless, and meandering piece did NOTHING original or unique at all. If I keep saying the sun rises in the East and sets in the West over and over and over and over again then I would be guilty of doing exactly what the author of this piece did here.
September 23, 2010
Corrie Trouw:
Sorry, KG, our columns are non-refundable. I’d point out that policy is in the fine print, but that last thing I would want to do is ask you to invest more reading time.
But I’d be very interested in hearing from a Boise State fan with enough free time to answer these questions: Do you feel like the program has a ceiling on how high it can climb perenially? Do you think this will change in the Mountain West? And I’d really like to hear from someone who has been a Bronco since before the recent ascent. Fans of teams like Ohio State, Alabama, USC, etc. tend to treat national title contention like a birthright. Obviously, no BSU fan over 15 could feel this way, so how do you look at where the program sits now?
September 24, 2010
Matt from Idaho:
Corrie,
Sorry for that last post. They wasted 5 minutes (must be a slow reader) then wasted more time telling you how they wasted their time. This seems to me to be like the countless time wasted by BCS fans arguing Boise State would lose 4 games if they played in the SEC. It would be a lot of fun to see Alabama, Arkansas and Florida come up and play in Boise every other year in freezing temperatures. Bring it on boys.
Ok, back to your questions. I agree with you 100% that it is hard to imagine the stars lining up better for BSU than this year. If they do not make it the the BCSNCG with and undefeated record this year, they probably never will. Which brings me to the point that I believe they are about as high as any non-bcs team can get. If going undefeated 4 out of the last 5 regular seasons, with the last one being ranked in the top five doesn’t get you in, what will. I don’t think this will change with the Mountain West, especially with Utah and BYU out. I further believe the change to the Mountain West will ultimately not be good for Boise State because I believe being on ESPN so much every year has helped BSU tremendously. I think they will miss that very much and now with two of the big 3 names gone from the MWC, the move may not turn out to be so good for BSU. I think the jury is still out on the move.
I actually was not introduced to BSU football until 1998. They weren’t bad, but they weren’t anywhere near what they are today. I think what they have done is completely unprecedented. I also think this years team is light years ahead of the 2006-7 Oklahoma slaying fiesta bowl team. This team is very very good. I believe it is the best team ever at BSU. I truly believe they can play with anyone without ever having a 5 star recruit in the history of their program. That to me is impressive.
September 25, 2010
Anthony Brancato:
Simply add Boise State’s “plight” to the already long list of reasons why college football needs to go to a pure playoff system.
For with a 16-team postseason bracket - or even a 12-team bracket with the top four seeds getting first-round byes - no way any team that goes 12-0 during the regular season and blows out nearly every opponent they face is going to get snubbed.
September 27, 2010
Andrew Jones:
Corrie - I would keep my eye on Nevada. They cracked the top 25 this week for the first time in six decades and may very well be undefeated and in the top 15 (maybe even the top 10) by the time they play Boise St. toward the end of the season, giving them another nice signature win and perhaps help boost them just a bit more.
Also, Virginia Tech. despite embarrassing losses, could still very well win their conference. Really Miami is the biggest problem and they look to be close to back on form after shutting out BC. It’s not over, though an Ohio St. loss or two wouldn’t go amiss. Texas’ loss certainly helped as well.
October 1, 2010
the dude:
Though Toledo lost to Arizona egregiously in their first game, they have been getting better and better and may win the MAC. Oregon State has played one of the toughest schedules in College Football up to this point, so who knows what they will be able to do over in the PAC-10 (who to that conferences credit played a rigourous OOC schedule. they have always been kind to give BSU a shot).
Neveda will almost undoubtedly be in the top 15 with wins over and Cal, BYU, and presumably Fresno by the time we face them, so our SOS might get better then what was previously thought.
AND AT LEAST BSU DIDN’T PAD THEIR SCHEDULE LIKE THE BIG 10, BIG 12, AND SEC TEAMS ALL DID WITH WINNING TEAMS IN THE FCS TO IMPROVE THEIR SOS. Man that shit pisses me off. I understand giving those schools a leg up and a shot every once in a while, but most of those teams do it every single year. Give me a break. As if those conferences don’t all have their bottom fodder in conference they beat up on to make sure they keep “elite” status on the top schools in the conference.