Boise State

[IrishinSyria]

I'd have Boise favored against all but maybe four of those teams.

Arizona?? Missouri??

UTAH??????? A team that barely beat PITT?

 

[Rocket89]

That's becuase the best teams play SEC, Big Ten and Pac-10 schedules. Boise State gets to play New Mexico State, Utah State, LA Tech, Idaho, San Jose State, etc.

I'd be more apt to side with you if they were beating those teams 28-14 or 31-25. But they are kicking the crap out of teams. They are clearly on another level. Even a lot of the top 25 teams wouldn't do that as consistently as Boise does.

Plus, today they just held SJSU to 80 yards.

80 YARDS!!!

That's half the yards that Alabama gave up to the same team by the way.

 

[IrishinSyria]

Fixed it for you

Ohio State? Wisconsin just curb stomped them. MSU handled Wisconsin. Notre Fing Dame played MSU even...

In fact, Ohio State is a perfect example of the anti-Boise: a team people think is elite just because we're used to them being elite. I watched them vs Illinois and I watched them tonight, they are not an elite football team.

Stanford, Oregon, Auburn, Boise, TCU, Alabama, MSU and Wisconsin are the big boys this year.* Everybody else is just dressing.

*Maybe Oklahoma.

 

[IrishinSyria]

I'd be more apt to side with you if they were beating those teams 28-14 or 31-25. But they are kicking the crap out of teams. They are clearly on another level. Even a lot of the top 25 teams wouldn't do that as consistently as Boise does.

Plus, today they just held SJSU to 80 yards.

80 YARDS!!!

That's half the yards that Alabama gave up to the same team by the way.

That's the thing. Boise St. doesn't only play the other team most weeks, they play the spread.* And they...always...win.


Not necessarily the Vegas odds, but the need to blow a team out.

 

[jason_h537]

Yeah OSU was more out of habbit

 

[GoingGreen]

UTAH??????? A team that barely beat PITT?

Actually, you can take Utah off there. They are another one of those teams who don't deserve to be there, because their schedule is embarrassing.

 

[Rocket89]

Ohio State? Wisconsin just curb stomped them. MSU handled Wisconsin. Notre Fing Dame played MSU even...

In fact, Ohio State is a perfect example of the anti-Boise: a team people think is elite just because we're used to them being elite. I watched them vs Illinois and I watched them tonight, they are not an elite football team.

Stanford, Oregon, Auburn, Boise, TCU, Alabama, MSU and Wisconsin are the big boys this year.* Everybody else is just dressing.

*Maybe Oklahoma.

Yes I would not put Ohio State in there.

I think Boise State is better than them in every area.

 

[GoingGreen]

I'd be more apt to side with you if they were beating those teams 28-14 or 31-25. But they are kicking the crap out of teams. They are clearly on another level. Even a lot of the top 25 teams wouldn't do that as consistently as Boise does.

Boise finds the need to get "Style Points", so they run up the score on all of the cupcakes they play (and they sure play a lot of 'em).

 

[GoingGreen]

Stanford, Oregon, Auburn, Boise, TCU, Alabama, MSU and Wisconsin are the big boys this year.* Everybody else is just dressing.

*Maybe Oklahoma.

Oklahoma deserves a spot more than Wisconsin IMO.

 

[Rocket89]

Boise finds the need to get "Style Points", so they run up the score on all of the cupcakes they play (and they sure play a lot of 'em).

They were up 41-0 at half, and dominated defensively.

They didn't even run up the score.

MSU let Western Michigan hang around. ND did too.

Boise State takes a 5 score lead into halftime against WMU and have them so demoralized it's not even funny.

 

[GoingGreen]

They were up 41-0 at half, and dominated defensively.

They didn't even run up the score.

MSU let Western Michigan hang around. ND did too.

Boise State takes a 5 score lead into halftime against WMU and have them so demoralized it's not even funny.

When did Boise play WMU?

 

[IrishinSyria]

Oklahoma deserves a spot more than Wisconsin IMO.

To be honest, I had to think about Stanford, Wisconsin, MSU, Alabama, Oklahoma and TCU.

I would be very very surprised if Boise, Auburn or Oregon is not the next national champion.

 

[Rocket89]

Oklahoma deserves a spot more than Wisconsin IMO.

No doubt, OU is probably a serious darkhorse title contender. Not many people are talking about them which is kinda weird. The Sooners schedule isn't particularly hard either the rest of the way.

I'd slow down on MSU in the title game too...I think they are a good team right now but I don't think they are among the elite. I'd take Boise to beat Sparty by about 17.

 

[jason_h537]

Boise finds the need to get "Style Points", so they run up the score on all of the cupcakes they play (and they sure play a lot of 'em).

I think your trying to convince yourself. Boise is a top 10 team by any definition. You can not watch them and not be impressed. They are a REALLY good team. I wish we were as good as they are

 

[Rocket89]

When did Boise play WMU?

I'm just saying, hypothetically.

 

[military_irish]

No doubt, OU is probably a serious darkhorse title contender. Not many people are talking about them which is kinda weird. The Sooners schedule isn't particularly hard either the rest of the way.

I'd slow down on MSU in the title game too...I think they are a good team right now but I don't think they are among the elite. I'd take Boise to beat Sparty by about 17.

Although I don't think MSU is elite, they have a schedule to go undefeated, the only real test left is Iowa. If they get beyond them it will easily be a 12-0 season for them. If they don't get tripped up they should be favored in every game, except the Iowa, maybe.


Are they National Championship worthy? probably not. But they can definitely go undefeated, before OU.

 

[GoingGreen]

I think your trying to convince yourself. Boise is a top 10 team by any definition. You can not watch them and not be impressed. They are a REALLY good team. I wish we were as good as they are

I watched them against Va. Tech and was only impressed on the last drive. Then I wasn't impressed at all when the Hokies lost to James Madison.

 

[IrishinSyria]

Anyways, I understand both sides and normally, I would agree that strength of schedule should be an important consideration. However, every time I watch Boise State I am impressed by how well they execute. They have talented players, a great coach and their consistency is staggering.

That's all I'll say for now, a lot of teams have a lot of big games left and many more not-quite-so-big-but-dangerous games lurk in un-circled days on the calendar. I fully expect to be debating this issue in December..

 

[IrishAlum1997]

Oregon State and Nevada lost. Look out for TCU........

 

[IrishLax]

People are ignoring the biggest part of this:

Boise State will have played 0 ranked teams by the end of this year (with the exception of maybe VT if the ACC continues to suck) and will somehow be a leader to play for the NC.

Why? Each season is an independent event and I don't care if you're Notre Dame, Alabama or Boise you SHOULD NOT have a chance to play for the NC without ever playing a top 25 team once in 12 games.

Football seems to be the only collegiate sport that rewards playing a weak schedule.

 

[IrishinSyria]

People are ignoring the biggest part of this:

Boise State will have played 0 ranked teams by the end of this year (with the exception of maybe VT if the ACC continues to suck) and will somehow be a leader to play for the NC.

Why? Each season is an independent event and I don't care if you're Notre Dame, Alabama or Boise you SHOULD NOT have a chance to play for the NC without ever playing a top 25 team once in 12 games.

Football seems to be the only collegiate sport that rewards playing a weak schedule.

a) Oregon St. and Nevada were also going to have a chance to be ranked until they lost close games last night.
b) Why was Ohio State the number 1 team in the country last week and not Oregon? Why was Alabama the consensus #1 after the first 2 weeks of the season and not Boise St? Why is undefeated Missouri ranked behind TCU? Last season. Like it or not, there are too many college football teams and they play too few games to be able to objectively measure teams based on one season.
c) Oregon St and Virginia Tech both were considered excellent football teams before this year. Not elite, but very good. Are you suggesting Boise should be penalized because these teams didn't (maybe) end up as good as people thought?


I understand the problems with the scheduling, but 90% of that is Boise's conference. Should there be a rule saying no non-BCS conference team can play for the NC? Anyways, Boise's players have nothing to do with their schedule. They show up and play elite football every week, regardless of opponent. As ND fans, we should be able to recognize what a rare achievement that is.

 

[IrishLax]

a) Oregon St. and Nevada were also going to have a chance to be ranked until they lost close games last night.
b) Why was Ohio State the number 1 team in the country last week and not Oregon? Why was Alabama the consensus #1 after the first 2 weeks of the season and not Boise St? Why is undefeated Missouri ranked behind TCU? Last season. Like it or not, there are too many college football teams and they play too few games to be able to objectively measure teams based on one season.
c) Oregon St and Virginia Tech both were considered excellent football teams before this year. Not elite, but very good. Are you suggesting Boise should be penalized because these teams didn't (maybe) end up as good as people thought?


I understand the problems with the scheduling, but 90% of that is Boise's conference. Should there be a rule saying no non-BCS conference team can play for the NC? Anyways, Boise's players have nothing to do with their schedule. They show up and play elite football every week, regardless of opponent. As ND fans, we should be able to recognize what a rare achievement that is.

I am absolutely saying 1000% that they should be penalized if VT and Oregon State turn out to be frauds/don't end up in the top 25.

There is a huge difference between running the table in any legitimate conference (BCS conferences + MWC) and running the table against the FCS level talent that is in the WAC. And yes, the talent is that bad. So I give props to Boise for going out and scheduling VT and Oregon State... but the simple fact is VT lost to James Madison worse than they lost to Boise and Oregon State is a .500 team. When those are the two toughest games on your schedule by far that is really saying something.

 

[IrishinSyria]

but the simple fact is VT lost to James Madison worse than they lost to Boise and Oregon State is a .500 team.

And Fresno St (WAC) beat Cincinnati (Big East) by 7 times as many points as Oklahoma did (big 12).

And Nevada (WAC) crushed California (Pac 10) but just lost to Hawaii (WAC).

These are mostly meaningless statistics, but they really make your statement that the WAC is 1-AA level talent tough to defend. The best WAC teams consistently have beaten big conference teams when they play. The only reason people say the WAC isn't on par with the rest of the league is because we assume it isn't based on recruiting and previous years. If we limit ourselves to the evidence of this season (as you suggest) the top tier teams in the WAC can play with and beat Big Conference teams.

 

[IrishLax]

And Fresno St (WAC) beat Cincinnati (Big East) by 7 times as many points as Oklahoma did (big 12).

And Nevada (WAC) crushed California (Pac 10) but just lost to Hawaii (WAC).

These are mostly meaningless statistics, but they really make your statement that the WAC is 1-AA level talent tough to defend. The best WAC teams consistently have beaten big conference teams when they play. The only reason people say the WAC isn't on par with the rest of the league is because we assume it isn't based on recruiting and previous years. If we limit ourselves to the evidence of this season (as you suggest) the top tier teams in the WAC can play with and beat Big Conference teams.

Not entirely. It's all about degrees of separation and context.

Boise is clinging to VT and Oregon State as its two quality wins. In essence, the entire body of work for the Broncos comes down to those two games because the rest of their schedule is basically fluff.

As such, every game VT plays will be almost as important to Boise as the games they play from here on out. If VT blows out a ranked FSU, that will be great for Boise. If VT loses to an FCS team, that is really really REALLY bad for the Broncos. The same applies for Oregon State. In all of these cases we are talking about one degree of separation - how Boise did vs. an opponent and how that opponent does against its competition. This is standard operating procedure for basically every SOS formula.

 

[IrishinSyria]

Not entirely. It's all about degrees of separation and context.

Boise is clinging to VT and Oregon State as its two quality wins. In essence, the entire body of work for the Broncos comes down to those two games because the rest of their schedule is basically fluff.

As such, every game VT plays will be almost as important to Boise as the games they play from here on out. If VT blows out a ranked FSU, that will be great for Boise. If VT loses to an FCS team, that is really really REALLY bad for the Broncos. The same applies for Oregon State. In all of these cases we are talking about one degree of separation - how Boise did vs. an opponent and how that opponent does against its competition. This is standard operating procedure for basically every SOS formula.

I agree with most of that, but I also think its not fair to discount teams like Hawaii, Fresno and Nevada. Any one of them would be able to hold their own in a big conference this year, as far as I can tell.

 

[phork]

I am absolutely saying 1000% that they should be penalized if VT and Oregon State turn out to be frauds/don't end up in the top 25.

There is a huge difference between running the table in any legitimate conference (BCS conferences + MWC) and running the table against the FCS level talent that is in the WAC. And yes, the talent is that bad. So I give props to Boise for going out and scheduling VT and Oregon State... but the simple fact is VT lost to James Madison worse than they lost to Boise and Oregon State is a .500 team. When those are the two toughest games on your schedule by far that is really saying something.

The usual knock is that a team plays too many D1AA teams. Now we are knocking a team for scheduling D1 talent? Say what you want, a D1 football squad is still a D1 squad. Can Boise help it if one of OSUs best players is out for the year? In the preseason OSU was a darkhorse to win the Pac10, clearly not talented enough but still good enough to make some noise.

Like I said, this has been coming for a few years now. Everyone asked why BSU was even ranked, then they proved they belonged. Now they are looking for a shot to legitimize their their lofty standing. Give it to them. If they fail then they can't say anything to their detractors. If they win, which I think they could, then get the ovens fired up because there is a whole lot of humble pie going to be handed out.

 

[IrishLax]

The usual knock is that a team plays too many D1AA teams. Now we are knocking a team for scheduling D1 talent? Say what you want, a D1 football squad is still a D1 squad.

This is not true. There are many FCS schools that are better than the D1 bottom dwellers. This holds true for every D1 sport. Top D2 and D3 teams are often far better than the very bottom rung of D1. In fact, we have seen FCS teams ranked in the top 25 occasionally (or at least receiving votes) the past couple years.

 

[phork]

Regardless, its not like they are playing PeeWee.

 

[GoingGreen]

The usual knock is that a team plays too many D1AA teams. Now we are knocking a team for scheduling D1 talent? Say what you want, a D1 football squad is still a D1 squad.

A lot of D1A schools have lost to D1AA schools this year. Remember Ole Miss against Jacksonville State? Infact, that San Jose State team that almighty Boise State just beat up on lost to UC Davis.

 

[IrishinSyria]

A lot of D1A schools have lost to D1AA schools this year. Remember Ole Miss against Jacksonville State? Infact, that San Jose State team that almighty Boise State just beat lost to UC Davis.

And a lot of BCS schools have lost to WAC schools. That's the point: there's more parity in college football than ever before. Oregon was just the 1st team in 20 years to become a first time ever AP #1. With fewer scholarships and more kids playing and training like it's a full time job, the college football landscape has changed faster than the BCS system acknowledges. Boise State shouldn't be locked out just because they aren't in the right conference.