Maybe The Camera and The Eyes Do Lie

Boise State.  Not to start an argument that won't get resolved in 2009-2010, but Boise State....Boise State will get screwed the hardest in the FBS landscape and you don't care.

Why?

The end of the story goes like this, Texas beats Florida, Florida beats Texas, Alabama beats Texas, Texas beats Alabama.  That's it.  That's the way it's headed in the 12th week of the NCAA FBS schedule.  That's who you're going to get.  Dream on about any other matchup, it won't happen.  

Why?

The powers that be do indeed want it that way, but this is bigger than a scheduling quirk, on the field prowess or coaching magic.  This comes down to what people that are somewhat in control of this system believe that you'll like.  Never mind that Boise State actually beat Adrian Peterson's Oklahoma team on a neutral field a few years back in the game of the decade.

There can be no reason that Boise State is out of the top three other than they didn't earn it this year due to Florida's amazingly huge blowout of Boise State in week one...um?  Wait a second, that's right, it was Alabama's comeback against Boise State two weeks ago that knocked out the Bronco's from the national title chase...that didn't happen?  Surely what I meant to say was that Texas's huge second half against Boise State in week three of the season trumps the Bronco's recent success against loser opponents...dumb again.

Here's the most recent head to head that makes some sense:

Number 10 LSU beat Louisiana Tech 24-16 at Baton Rouge (LSU's home turf in week 11)

Number 7 Boise State beat Louisiana Tech 45-35 in Ruston, Louisiana (Louisiana Tech's home turf)

The SEC, ABC, ESPN, CBS, Big Twelve, etc. are to blame, but most in line for blame on this one?  Viewers.  Fans.  People who want status-quo as opposed to something that might actually stimulate the brain for a second or two as they watch the game (and their lives) pass by.  

Look, I never spent a day in Boise, ID as a student, never paid tuition to BSU, never got drunk with the locals after a Bronco win, but I know something, the team of the decade as far as college football goes is Boise State.  They lost a coach that was ridiculously successful to Colorado, they beat Oklahoma in the ____BCS Whatever Game in Glendale, AZ and have continued to beat teams by out smarting them on the field.  They are better than your team...it hurts, but they are better than all of our teams.  They just are.

But they won't be able to prove it and that is where the TV contracts and the business side of it begin to sting you.  You have a team, that quite frankly might actually be able to beat any team on any Saturday, Thursday or Friday, but the teams won't schedule them.  At least that is what we the readers of many newspapers, blogs, network sites online tell us.  Is this true?  Is Boise State just filling their schedule with cream puffs to look better?  Does it make sense that they are trying to do this??? Now???

 Let's try and think of the smartest thing an up and coming team could do: 1) Schedule weak teams so you look better than you are or 2) Schedule a couple of out of conference tough teams to prove that you are worthy of an invite to the game that counts at the end of the season 

Texas and Florida can afford to do number 1,  Boise State cannot.  The second part of that equation is to play a few tough out of conference teams to show what you are, which, Boise State didn't do either...they only got one team that is top 25 (Oregon) in that schedule of theirs, but they did happen to win the game.  

Then it must be the conference that Boise State plays in, that kills them,  right?  Well, today is November 21, 2009 and three teams from the SEC are in the BCS top ten, Florida, Alabama and LSU...two loss LSU is in the top ten.  LSU, the team that beat Louisiana Tech by less than Boise State, which is an argument that Boise State must cling to if they actually do lose a regular season game, is ranked 8th in the country.  

Texas is one of two teams in the BCS from the Big 12, along with Oklahoma State.  

5 teams from the two conferences in the cross-hairs are in the BCS top 25.  

The SEC and the Big 12 are not just down this year, they are down big time and if they were smart, they'd make sure to sacrifice one of their top teams to get one of the smaller "losers" into that game sometime after the first of January.  That would keep critics at bay.  That would acknowledge that your conference had a really bad year.  That would be the right/smart thing to do.  

It ain't gonna happen.

This is 2009, this is the new NCAA in terms of what is going on.  The "little" guy probably is better half of the time now because the outlets are ever expanding and the NFL needs talent, ESPN needs to film another commercial and sell another bar of soap, the guys at Nike need to stitch another emblem on another jersey that they don't sell to the general public...but also, players must play, a coach must coach and the team that isn't from your home state (Which really should never matter) probably can kick your team's ass because they are a better run team than you team...and the "little" guy has to organize better, recruit smarter and do more with less because your team is the member of a conference that signed a multi-year contract with ESPN to create your own channel and that's all that matters....When it comes to school economics.

But what does it all mean for the teams that don't have the scratch of the SEC, the Big Ten, the Big Twelve and the Pac 10 and the other BCS conferences? The money follows where the viewers follow and apparently we all love the SEC.  We all love the Big Ten.  We all love...ugh.  No, that isn't the truth, that is what the big conferences want us all to believe, but it doesn't matter.  Truth is this, we'll take good TV over bad any day, but if you are going to make a "championship" trophy that:

A. Doesn't include all the conferences to participate

B. Includes an individual team as a part of the BCS due to it's love of independence (Notre Dame fans admit it, you only like being independent of having to share the cash)

C. Lost one of the polls that built the BCS. (Remember, the AP no longer crowns it's champion as a part of the BCS due to...whatever)

Then you don't have anything that resembles anything like a championship.  It's shocking to think how many teams don't have a chance at ALL to make it to the final game due to which conference they play in.  NCAA basketball might suck for the regular season, but at least they have the "crowning of the champion" correct.

Those three reasons also tell you to not to believe anything you read or hear, you must actually watch the games and where I come from, most people root for one team then it is; all the rest.  They can all do whatever, but if you don't play my team, then what does it matter?  

Well, here's why it matters and here is why it has to be fixed:  Bad, boring, bland football.

Has anyone cared to notice how poorly all of the top six undefeated teams have looked at certain times this year?  The majority of the blame will go to Texas, Florida and Alabama because they get shown at a consistent time on a consistent day, also known as 3:30 or 4:30 on Saturday, the day people used-to watch college football. But yes, even Cincinnati, TCU and Boise State have looked, uh, blah from game to game, quarter to quarter.  This doesn't stop the fact that 6 teams actually happen to be undefeated at this time of year and quite possibly, we'll end up with 5 teams undefeated going into the BCS and bowl season.  But every team is to blame for their performance, ask Florida and Alabama who's mistakes have been....

...Seemingly swept under the rug, due to the fact that it was weeks ago that LSU was robbed of an interception against Alabama and Florida was given some yards for a team looking at an SEC ref funny. SEC referees might suck, but this isn't a time to sulk. This is not a year that the people at the top of the conferences should be looking at in any other way than this:  Bidding TIME!!!

First things first, who gets Boise State for their conference?   PAC Ten or Big 12?  Who gets Utah?  Who takes TCU?  Who gets to "adopt" this team into their already over-sized conference?  Who gets to rake in more money, but yes, will have to share the wealth with another team that might not be worth it in a decade...but don't they have a good law school?

The conference chiefs should get bidding and buying/making super conferences, if only for one sport, so that you can keep your women's hockey team that loses money and we'll take your football team that actually does bring in a buck or two.  Works for NCAA basketball...

The only way out of this mess should be a playoff, but instead let's see a payoff.  Get the talent of Boise State in your conference, if for no other reason that it brings a hell of a lot more wins to your conference and who doesn't want a stronger RPI?  I think RPI is all that is wrong about football, but screw it, bring in the teams, divi up the cash a little bit more and win one for the...who cares? If my team is there (or a team from my talented conference) I'm going to remind you how much better my conference is.

Conferences don't win the NCAA blankety-blank football crystal trophy thingeee, one team does.