Only in the BCS: How Boise State Hurt Itself

(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

LeGarrette Blount was out of line last night. Not surprisingly, he was suspended for the rest of the year.

All that talent, all that offseason work, years of stellar production and NFL dreams thrown away. So abruptly.

What a tragedy.

I know he was frustrated. I can't pretend to know what led up to LeGarrette's outrage. His behavior was unacceptable.

But LeGarrette was prompted. He was egged on by the taunt and ridicule of the winning team.

That's exactly how the Broncos shot themselves in the foot despite an otherwise perfect night for the blue and orange.

Boise State caused this with their childish, small man complex of rubbing the outcome of the game in Blount's face. Taunting is for middle school. Even then, most kids have grown past it.

How LeGarrette responded is deplorable. But he's already set to pay a steep price. So will his team.

And guess what? So do the Broncos.

In fact, no one outside of Oregon is hurt more by this morning's suspension than Boise State themselves.

Why? Because in the current BCS past opponents are your best friends.

That's right Oregon-Boise State: BFFs!!!

The Broncos' ticket to the BCS train was always going to be the Oregon Duck Express led by the balanced one-two punch of dual-threat Jeremiah Masoli and LeGarrette Blount.

Not any more.

In the crazy BCS system that over-emphasizes the regular season, the strength of your conference, and overall strength of schedule, the fate of many college football teams are sealed and bound by their opponent's success or failure.

It's why smart, goal-oriented teams in the BCS era would be wiser to embrace their opponents after the game. Giving them tips on improvement, post-mortem analysis, insights to future opponents, facebook invites, and twitter updates.

It should be a love fest.

It’s given rise to a strange new paradigm of gamesmanship and spectatorship that has competely changed the rooting behavior of coaches, players, and fans.

A new list of rooting priorities.

(And it happens to come right out of the SEC fan playbook, who recognized long ago that the perceived strength of the conference as a whole can carry a host of benefits.)

1. Team
2. Conference
3. Out-of-Conference Opponents (although for the SEC this is usually FCS)
4. Whoever’s playing the guys ranked in front of us
5. Whoever’s playing the rival

In the end, it's especially true for non-BCS teams. Teams who really have to shine at every opportunity to garner any national visibility or credibility they can muster.

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