Boise State puts the BS in BCS
I couldn't find one college football analyst or expert who picked them. Who possibly could have predicted that Boise State, which moved to Division I-A just a decade ago, could beat Oklahoma, the team with the highest-paid coach in college football (well, as of Jan. 2), the best facilities, the best athletes, seven national championships and arguably the best winning tradition anywhere?
But we all saw it on New Year's night; heck, we've probably seen it a dozen times by now. And it was the most fun I've had watching a college football game – probably ever.
The Broncos finished their season with a 13-0 record, a Fiesta Bowl trophy – and absolutely no chance of being the national champions.
Boise could be the only undefeated team in the country on Jan. 9 (if Ohio State loses to Florida), and they would watch the Gators celebrate and wonder, along with a lot of us, "what if?"
And even if Ohio State caps a perfect season by beating the Gators, we still are left with a pair of unbeaten teams. Sure, the Buckeyes would be favored to dominate Boise State. But so were the Sooners.
Monday night's game was the biggest possible exclamation point at the end of my season-long argument for a playoff in Division I-A college football. I have explained how it could work with the current bowl system and Bowl Championship Series rankings and even tossed out the potential brackets.
I've presented my case for a playoff in articles with examples and scenarios, and I think I've done a pretty dadgum good job of it. I know that the more I have written and spoken about it, the stronger I feel about it. It boils down to this: Writers and coaches with their opinions, along with a bunch of computers with their statistics, should not be deciding something that only can be decided on the field.
That's exactly where Boise State proved the pro-playoff crowd's point – beyond a reasonable doubt, with absolutely irrefutable evidence.
No machine and no person can see into the hearts of the young men who play college football or into the minds and guts of the men who coach them. If they could have on Jan. 1, 2007, everyone, instead of no one, would have picked the Boise State Broncos to beat Goliath.
Wouldn't it be great to see if they could do it again, with even higher stakes?
