Utah clinches BCS bid; Boise State out of luck

2009-01-03T02:50:55-05:00

2008-11-23T00:24:09-05:00

2009-01-03T02:50:55-05:00

GRAPEJUZ

Sandy 650724

53 I'm glad Utah didn't have to waste an opportunity to prove themselves by playing Boise State. TCU was able to handle them just fine. Utah was able to handle Alabama even more handily than it beat TCU. And by a larger margin than Florida. The BCS conferences overrate themselves. At least one team was able to have a real undefeated season this year, capping off thirteen straight wins with a BCS victory. Roll over Tide... good boy... 3850158

2008-11-24T16:27:59-05:00

EX Bronco fan

Denver 442527

52 "No. Given BCS rules, three-loss teams have to be allowed or there often will not be enough teams for all the BCS bowls." That's just the type of thinking that's created this whole mess! This isn't a FOOTBALL championship, it's a CORPORATE championship--Tostitos vs. FEDEX, etc. There are PLENTY of deserving teams in the mix, they're just not all from big-money conferences. Say what you will about the WAC and the MWC but these teams fare well against non-conference opponents, particularly against the PAC 10! Few "big-time" programs want to schedule the Utahs and BYUs and Boise States and the TCUs--and others, because they don't offer the same reward as they pose risk. It's about as likely for the BCS to change as it is that Brent 'Muskbooger' won't be calling the the big game. I seldom hear the argument comparing the NCAA basketball selection process to what ought to happen in the BCS. True, most at-large selections go to the power conferences but even the long-shot conferences all get at least one entry. The BCS does the exact OPPOSITE! A mid-major conference team has to go undefeated to even be CONSIDERED for a BCS game while overrated teams from the ACC, Big Ten and PAC 10, teams with as many as THREE losses, get in, NOT because they are worthy but because of the $$$$$. This situation SCREAMS for a playoff system but that would do away with conference playoffs ($$$$) and render non-playoff bowls even more meaningless (from a football standpoint, not necessarily a $$$$ standpoint). Also, FEDEX and Capital One and Tostitos and all the other sponsors wouldn't pay out as much were the Utahs and the Boise States and Ball States, etc. to have fair shots at their "advertising extravaganzas" (read: Bowl games). As long as money is the ultimate determinant, football fans will lose out to the fat cats.... 3435186

2008-11-24T14:36:47-05:00

jvo

Champaign 204767

51 I am sick of fans making arguments for their teams based on what happened in past seasons. What a load of utter crap! Who cares what a team does last year? The ONLY reason it matters is because the system rewards last year (or the last 100 years) far more than it what is fair. Players graduate EVERY year. Every team is different. If history is so important, why not just reward the national title before the season starts to whoever won the year before and have done with it? No matter how much you guys argue, a playoff including at least all 11 conference champions is the ONLY way the system can be made fair and equal. It is the only way to take last year or past history out of the equation. As is, nobody can PROVE they are better than BSU (and I am not a BSU fan) unless they beat them head-to-head. All conference comparisons are subjective. There isn't enough data in a given season to really know how difficult a conference schedule is. Conference rankings are by and large subjective based on a very small sampling of games between conferences and a much larger sample of subjective recruiting data and USELESS historical data. 3433317

2008-11-24T14:33:29-05:00

tmart

Eagle 21615

50 Lets get real folks. BSU? Come on. They play WAC teams all year and get far more credit than they deserve. They beat a #17 over ranked Oregon earlier this year as their only "big" win of the season. ...and that was an Oregon who was limping along with a 4th string QB none the less. That said, BSU could get matched up with a top 15 team like TCU or BYU in the Poinsettia bowl. There they will show what they are made of and I believe they will get smoked, but to say they are BCS worthy is a joke. 3433309

2008-11-24T13:45:36-05:00

wamsbary

Orange 615872

49 I think the major conferences should go to a relegation (one or two team) format. For example, the PAC 10 would drop Wash/Wash St next year in favor of the top performing schools from "sphere of influence" near-major conferences (e.g., Utah/Boise St this year) Although this does not solve the BCS problem in the immediate term, it would shake things up and provide much needed incentives. 3432554

2008-11-24T13:32:38-05:00

Jimbobogie

No City 615834

48 First of all, congratulations to the Utes for a great season. Now, for those who think that Boise State plays in a "weak" conference, it's been noted that they don't control the teams in the conference and their out-of-conference games are booked sometimes years in advance. The Ducks looked pretty good a couple of years ago. These same "anti-WAC" arguments were being made a couple of years ago-and yes, I'll concede that Hawaii "spit the bit" last year. If the Gators bump the Tide in the ACC Championship, there will be three-count 'em-three undefeated teams (lest we forget Ball State), only one of which is headed for "The Show". It's also possible for the Big 12 to end up in a three-way tie with the Sooners, Longhorns and Raiders each with TWO losses. Heck, the Sooners (playing Ok. State) and Horns (playing A&M)could each have 2 losses while the Raiders beat Baylor and finish with one loss. What then??? I know that the President-Elect has many much-more important items on his agenda, but he's thrown down the gauntlet. If you're not going to invite ALL the 1-A conferences to the party, then the "National Championship" means nothing. And please, please, please-I don't want to hear anybody talking abou the importance of "studying for exams". That chestnut has long-since fallen from the tree! By the way, do you think that Notre Dame or Navy will get some kind of Bowl invitation? If so, why? 3432407

2008-11-23T02:22:55-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/160/030/thumb/tylerthigpen.jpg 7 MO

lobestke

Bel Nor 160330

9 He did mean Big Ten. Ohio State would likely get a bid, with an Oregon State loss, just because of their drawing power, not because they are deserving. BCS-Florida-Alabama winner vs. Oklahoma/Texas Fiesta-Ohio State vs. Oklahoma/Texas Rose-USC vs. Penn State Orange-ACC? vs. Cincinnati Sugar-Florida-Alabama loser vs. Utah If Oregon State wins, bump Ohio State and send USC to Tempe and you would be correct. If Missouri wins, let's call for a playoff, because the Big 12 will get screwed. I don't agree on the assessment of the Big 12. While the other conferences boast two great BCS-bowl quality teams at best (SEC, Big 10, and Pac 10 or 12 mediocre teams (the ACC), the Big 12 is at least four deep and maybe five, and I would put Nebraska up against the sixth best team in any other conference and they would...probably lose. I went too far. The rest of the North past Missouri is pretty awful, and Missouri isn't that great either. 3423144

2008-11-24T02:34:38-05:00

FlameOfYah

Lilburn 174521

He did mean Big Ten. Ohio State would likely get a bid, with an Oregon State loss, just because of their drawing power, not because they are deserving. BCS-Florida-Alabama winner vs. Oklahoma/TexasFiesta-Ohio State vs. Oklahoma/TexasRose-USC vs. Penn StateOrange-ACC? vs. CincinnatiSugar-Florida-Alabama loser vs. UtahIf Oregon State wins, bump Ohio State and send USC to Tempe and you would be correct.If Missouri wins, let's call for a playoff, because the Big 12 will get screwed. I don't agree on the assessment of the Big 12. While the other conferences boast two great BCS-bowl quality teams at best (SEC, Big 10, and Pac 10 or 12 mediocre teams (the ACC), the Big 12 is at least four deep and maybe five, and I would put Nebraska up against the sixth best team in any other conference and they would...probably lose. I went too far. The rest of the North past Missouri is pretty awful, and Missouri isn't that great either.

47 Dang. Your analysis means that as an Ohio State fan who hates USC, I have to root for the "other" OSU to lose so USC will win the Pac 10 so Ohio State can get into a BCS game. That's nuts! 3427928

2008-11-23T21:53:50-05:00

1595

Klee Irwin

Nome 582256

As far as the BCS being a members-only club is concerned, you're stating the obvious. But, it's their club; they created it. (And it's past time to get rid of it.) As far as the ACC is concerned, answer this:The ACC is "weak" because...?

38 the ACC was weak because there were no good teams to challenge Florida St who cakewalked through the conference all those years, AND take a look at their BCS bowl record. Do I need to go on? 3427014

2008-11-24T00:52:34-05:00

204

GlennAllen

Richmond 185259

the ACC was weak because there were no good teams to challenge Florida St who cakewalked through the conference all those years, AND take a look at their BCS bowl record. Do I need to go on?

46 Sorry, but from the way you wrote it--or, at least, from the way I read it, it seemed you were (also) referring to the current state of ACC football. Frankly, the only ACC history I have much familiarity with involves basketball and not football, so I have no opinion on it and thus accept your evaluation without objection. (Maybe that's why South Carolina left the ACC and went to the SEC: they wanted to be a "football school" more than a "basketball school".) 3427725

2008-11-23T01:52:47-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/585/507/thumb/huge_bong.jpg 11008 HQ

Mondo Jay

Fan Nation 586107

6 BSU would crush Utah. Just like a couple years ago. 3423080

2008-11-24T00:37:37-05:00

Elliottsdragon123

Salt Lake City 614576

BSU would crush Utah. Just like a couple years ago.

45 Blah... what a boring and useless comment. How are you supposed to prove that? You can't. Maybe if Boise chose a somewhat harder schedule they could have earned some more respect and been ranked ahead of the U. Boise is a great team and it would be a fun game to watch between them but until then leave your personal and pointless rantings to yourself. 3427566

2008-11-23T01:47:06-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/217/819/thumb/UF_circle_logo.png 46 FL

Jams

Gainesville 218119

4 Worth noting: in 2004, the first time Utah busted the BCS, Boise State was also undefeated, but was ranked behind the Utes and didn't get to go to a BCS bowl. History repeats. 3423074

2008-11-24T00:30:48-05:00

Elliottsdragon123

Salt Lake City 614576

Worth noting: in 2004, the first time Utah busted the BCS, Boise State was also undefeated, but was ranked behind the Utes and didn't get to go to a BCS bowl. History repeats.

44 Boise State was not undefeated in 2004 they ended with a record of 11-1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise_State_Broncos_football 3427555

<div class="photo_container image_center"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/t1_johnsonbcs.jpg" alt="T1_johnsonbcs" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: left;">Utah QB Brian Johnson celebrates with the Utes faithful after putting the finishing touches on a perfect regular season. <br />AP</div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div> </div> <p>No. 8 Utah finished a perfect regular season and claimed the Mountain West title with a convincing <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/scoreboards/2008/11/22/38976_viewcast_recap.html" target="_blank">48-24 win over No. 16 BYU</a>. Following the momentous victory, Rice-Eccles Stadium hosted a grand celebration. Cheers reached a fever pitch when star QB <strong>Brian Johnson</strong> took the mic. <br /><br />"Where do you want to go?" Johnson delightfully asked a gleeful crowd. "Miami? New Orleans? Arizona?"<br /><br />That's right -- the 12-0 Utes will return to one of those magical Bowl Championship Series locations; the original BCS Buster is back. Now Utah can just sit back and wait until Dec. 7, when the BCS pairings will be announced and Johnson will receive an official answer to his question.</p> <p>While the 2004 Utes were defined by <strong>Urban Meyer</strong>'s prolific offense, this edition is a more balanced bunch. The Johnson-led offense is perfectly capable of putting points on the board, but Utah's defense probably deserves more credit for this BCS run. Both units made major contributions in today's win. The Utes D completely terrorized former Heisman candidate <strong>Max Hall</strong>, who threw a career-high five interceptions and lost a fumble. Offensively, Utah followed the lead of its vastly underrated signal-caller. Johnson completed 30 of 36 passes to eight different receivers for 303 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. It was a well-rounded effort against a quality BYU team.<br /><br />Tonight should a wild one in Salt Lake City (relatively speaking), but Utah's triumph caused grand melancholy one state to the north. No. 9 Boise State improved to 11-0 today with a <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/scoreboards/2008/11/22/37652_viewcast_recap.html" target="_blank">41-34 win at Nevada</a>, but with Utah's win, the Broncos' BCS bubble has officially burst. Even if Boise State wraps up a perfect regular season of its own by beating Fresno State next Friday, the Broncos have no chance at jumping Utah in the BCS standings. And considering there will be plenty of viable at-large options from the major conferences, there's just no possibility of a second BCS buster.</p> <p>So, two seasons after Boise State proved its legitimacy by upsetting Oklahoma in a thrilling Fiesta Bowl, the potentially undefeated Broncos will be excluded from the BCS party. This is sure to ruffle some feathers. Although I'm not one to question the six automatic bids awarded to college football's major conferences, many folks will raise a ruckus about the ACC. At best, the ACC champion will finish the regular season with three losses, yet a trip to the Orange Bowl is guaranteed. Not to mention the ACC holds a pitiful 1-9 record in BCS bowls.<br /><br />Is it fair that the ACC automatically earns a bid over a potentially undefeated mid-major with a BCS victory already under its belt? It's easy to dispel Boise State by pointing to its soft slate, but is this really something the Broncos can control? They <em>did</em> schedule and beat then-No. 17 Oregon. And at the end of the day, how many "worthy" opponents are actually willing to put the dangerous Broncos on their schedule?</p> <p>What are your thoughts?</p> 26041 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/425/5/thumb/filice_gennaro.jpg 0 NY

Gennaro Filice

New York 4275