Recently, there was an article published which made it clear that there is no conceivable way Boise State could play in this year’s championship game. The author made some good arguments, but I don’t think any rational Bronco fans really expected to make the title game this year.

 

There was another article recently published, by yours truly, criticizing the BYU fanbase for focusing too much on next year’s recruits rather than on the season at hand.

 

To go against both of those articles, I would like to make some arguments about how the Broncos could make it to the national championship next year, even at the risk of stepping into the zone of the delusional fan.

 

 

1. Preseason Rankings

 

An undefeated or one-loss season could place Boise State in the top 10 of the 2010 preseason rankings, or at least the top 15.

 

For the record, I do not support preseason rankings. I feel much that is wrong with the BCS could be remedied by eliminating them. Notwithstanding, there is no arguing the fact that where a team starts out plays a huge role in where they finish.

 

Last year, BYU started the season ranked No. 16, and rose as high as No. 8 before they lost to TCU.

 

Utah was not ranked to begin the season. What might have happened had Utah started where BYU did?

 

 

2. Loads of Experience

 

Here’s a look at who could be starting for the 2010 Broncos:

 

QB—Kellen Moore (Jr.)

RB—Jeremy Avery (Sr.), D. J. Harper (Sr.)

WR—Titus Young (Sr.), Austin Pettis (Sr.)

TE—Tommy Gallarda (Sr.), Kyle Efaw (Jr.)

OL—Matt Slater (Sr.), Thomas Byrd (Jr.), Kevin Sapien (Sr.), Garrett Pendergast (Jr.), Nate Potter (Jr.)

DL—Michael Atkinson (So.), J. P. Nisby (Jr.)

LB—Darrell Acrey (Sr.), Aaron Tevis (Sr.), Hunter White (Sr.)

DB—Jeron Johnson (Sr.), George Iloka (Jr.), Cedric Febis (Jr.), Brandyn Thompson (Sr.)

 

Not only will there be a ton of upperclassmen on this team, but a lot of them started last year and most will start this year. This could be the most experienced and most talented team ever to step on the blue field.

 

 

3. Schedule

 

With home games against Oregon State and Toledo, and a trip to play Wyoming, the best part about Boise State’s 2010 schedule is the open date.

 

With AD Gene Bleymaier’s recent announcement that they will be going after bigger opponents, rumors and speculation have soared in Boise as to who they will get to fill that open date.

 

The Oregon State game is winnable, and they are a BCS team. But the Broncos have beaten them before, and the fact that the game is in Boise will not help with the skeptics.

 

The Broncos need to get a big, preferably top 10, team to play them next season. A road win against a top team could give them the credibility they need to overcome their perennial strength of schedule problems.

 

 

4. Conditions

 

Even with all of these factors in place, it is still a very long, upward climb for any non-BCS team to make the title game.

 

The Broncos will have to go undefeated, which is never easy regardless of conference.

 

There are also some things beyond their control. They will need the big teams to lose at the right times. They will also have to rely on the voters overcoming their BCS bias.

 

Now, I am not declaring that the Broncos will be the 2010 national champions. In fact, I wouldn’t put more than $20 down that they even make it to the game.

 

However, if there is a year to do it, 2010 is it. And it might not be as impossible as most of the nation wants to believe.