Sorry Boise State, Your Case Is Weak

Unless the NCAA takes the win away, Bobby Bowden just did college football a big favor. His Florida State team beat Brigham Young, knocking out a pretender to the throne.

Then Oregon beat fellow pretender Utah. Now if somebody could dump Boise State, we'll all have a merry Christmas.

That's not likely because the Broncos have already gone unbeaten in their one-game season. It's all over but the routing of San Jose State, Idaho, UC Davis, UC Chula Vista and UC Schwarzenegger.

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Then comes a holiday season of griping about how the Little Guy got shafted, followed by a Utah congressman calling for the Justice Department to jail all BCS executives.

I'd have a lot more respect for Boise State if it played a real schedule. More importantly, the BCS would have a lot more respect if the Broncos had to get up for more than one game a year.

That's what's required of BCS conference teams. Which brings us back to Bowden and BYU.

The Cougars tried to act like a BCS team this season. They scheduled two dangerous opponents and beat Oklahoma 14-13 in their opener.

But with visions of Pasadena dancing in Sen. Orrin Hatch's head, in came FSU. Out went the Cougars, 54-28.

"There's a ton of stuff we can learn from this," BYU quarterback Max Hall said.

Yeah, like stop complaining about how six conferences get automatic bids to BCS bowls and five don't. The separation is easy to justify.

Haves -- Must play more than one great game a season.

Have Nots -- Must play one great game then be able to find Utah State.

Sure, Boise State beat Oklahoma in a thrilling Fiesta Bowl and Utah thumped Alabama in last year's Sugar Bowl. Nobody's saying the best from the Mountain West and WAC can't beat the best from the SEC and Big 12.

(Though let's face it, those bowl games were everything to Boise State and Utah. They were consolation trips to Oklahoma and Alabama).

Any good team can play great once. BCS conference survivors have to play great three or four times if they want to make it the championship game.



Check out this week's Top 25. If Florida makes it to Pasadena , it will have to go through LSU, Georgia, FSU and the SEC title game.

Texas still has to play Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and the Big 12 championship opponent.

Poor LSU still has three top-five teams (Florida , Ole Miss and Alabama), as well as the SEC title opponent.

Cal's only Top-25 opponents are USC and Washington, though it plays Oregon this week. Yes, the same Oregon team Boise State beat in the season opener to essentially clinch an unbeaten season.

We all remember LeGarrette Blount being dragged off the blue turf kicking and screaming and punching away. Now it's nothing but tomato cans for the Broncos.

I like their blue turf as much as the next guy. And it would be great if Chris Petersen hoisted the trophy instead of Urban Meyer or Nick Saban.

I just want the Broncos to earn the title. All they'll earn with their schedule is snickering. The highest ranked opponent is Nevada, and you have to go all the way to College Football News' ranking and run your finger down to No. 74 to find the Wolf Pack.

All this makes for one easy bowl prediction. Boise State will be unbeaten and the BCS championship game will have at least one team with a loss. The Broncos will be media darlings and the people's champion.

We'll hear the same caterwauling as last year, when unbeaten Utah had to watch once-beaten Florida and Oklahoma play for the title.

That prompted a couple of Congressional hearings, which allowed politicians like Hatch to score big points with voters back home.

"There is an arrogance to the BCS that drives me nuts," he said.

If Hatch really wants to be driven nuts he should become LSU's offensive coordinator for the next two months.

"Championships should be decided by competition," Utah president Michael Young said. "Not by conspiracy."

To which all fans of fairness should say, "Hear, Hear!"

Let the pretenders compete on a regular basis with the contenders. We just saw what happened to BYU.

We don't know for sure that fate would befall Boise State. We do know Broncos fans are going to claim they deserve to be in the BCS championship game. They should answer a simple question.

Would you trade schedules with Alabama or Cal or Texas?

They would sure trade schedules with you.