Does Oregon's Win Over USC Help Boise State's BCS Hopes?

As usual, Oregon's Autzen Stadium was deafeningly loud on Saturday night. The roar of the fans cut through the Pacific fog and cheered the Ducks to a demolition of USC, 47-20, the worst loss in Pete Carroll's tenure as coach.

Did you know: until last night, the Trojans had only lost once by double digits since Carroll took over in 2001?

Well, not anymore. The Ducks absolutely lit up the USC defense, and did a great job containing the Trojans' rushing and passing attacks as well.

You can bet the only fans cheering at or near the decibel level of Autzen were fans of the Boise State Broncos.

Oregon's resounding win, aside from profoundly altering the Pac-10 power rankings, now makes Boise State look championship-caliber.

For people with a good memory, the Boise State Broncos destroyed this Oregon team in the first week of the season. Almost to the point where the two Oregon teams don't appear to be the same. It was a wonder the Ducks scored the eight points they did in the 19-8 loss.

Boise's defense shut down the Ducks' running game with consistent penetration of the offensive line, and their offense moved the ball consistently, courtesy of a lot of fancy moves from QB Kellen Moore.

The 19-8 final score doesn't come close to telling the whole story. Hidden in that score is a safety of LeGarrette Blount (whom you might have heard of), a cavalier two-point conversion of the sort that Oregon usually scores on teams, and a whole lot of tackles for a loss.

And I don't think Oregon fans would disagree: it was ugly. It looked like Chip Kelly had no control over his team, and worse, former Ducks coach Mike Bellotti appeared to undermine Kelly by taking him to task on the sidelines.

Who would've thought Kelly capable of the steady hand it takes to right the ship and compete for the Pac-10 championship? If this results in a BCS bowl, he's your Coach of the Year, hands down.

But all I'm intending in this praise of Oregon is to make sure credit is given in the other places it's due, and that is to Boise State.

Their strength of schedule should get a huge boost from the win, irregardless of a) when the two teams played, b) whether it was the first game of Kelly's tenure, or c) whether the Ducks were replacing three starters on the offensive line.

The good news is, the AP poll bears this out in as close to a fair manner as possible. Boise is #5 overall, behind Cincinnati, Alabama, Texas, and Florida, but ahead of last week's other BCS darling, TCU, and Iowa.

The voters definitely had that Oregon win in mind in deciding they're a better unbeaten than the Horned Frogs and Hawkeyes.

But of course, it only marginally matters what the AP voters think. The BCS poll is what decides bowl games. And in the BCS poll, Boise State still lags behind.

Boise is No. 7, with the eighth toughest schedule according to the computers. That equates to absolutely no change from the previous week. Cincinnati took USC's place ahead of the Broncos.

And to make matters worse, there are no remaining games in Boise's schedule that will put them back into the conversation. Suppositions, questions, complaints, what-ifs...these are probably the remains of Boise's shot at the national title game.

It reminds me of Texas complaining last year about the system the Big 12 used in determining the winner of the Big 12 South in the event of a three-way tie. The highest ranked BCS team got the nod, a system that is replicated in every other divided conference.

Texas and Boise getting snubbed proves it's not only win or lose, nor how you play the game, but when you play the game.

College football is a linear story. If Boise were to do now what they did to Oregon then, it would be a totally different story. They'd be knocking off the probable Pac-10 champion! A member of the top ten! The same team that just demolished USC!

But that's not how it works. At least, not for the WAC. Boise is still on its way to a BCS at-large berth; it's more than likely, as long as they win out, that they will remain in the top 10. But the championship game, great win or no, remains out of reach, no matter how many points they score.

This is what the non-Big Six teams have to live with until a playoff can be instituted. Until then, Boise State fans, a word: work on scheduling tough games closer to the end of the season.

Plus, there's always the sympathy vote, like the kind Texas was receiving until they actually, you know, beat somebody. Maybe the 2010 Broncos will be the 2009 Longhorns?

Or, try convincing the Pac-10 to expand.