Win or Lose, Boise State and TCU Deserve To Start in 2010 Top Five

Almost no one anticipated that both TCU and Boise State would receive BCS bowl berths this year, let alone play each other.

The two teams ended last season with one of the season's best bowl games, as No. 11 TCU (11-2) overcame the No. 9 Broncos (12-1) in a 17-16 thriller.  TCU finished at No. 7 and Boise State at No. 11 in the final AP poll.

Given that both teams were bringing back a lot of talent from a 2008 season in which they proved themselves, one would think that they would start the season near the top 10 over teams that had finished the season unranked.

Instead, Boise dropped two spots to No. 13 (No. 16 in the Coaches' Poll), while TCU dropped 10 spots to No. 17.  Both teams were jumped by two unranked (and regularly over-hyped for their great talent) teams, LSU and Cal.

This season, TCU and Boise State have continued their overall domination.  Boise State's season-opening win over Pac-10 champ Oregon is still one of the best wins of the entire season.  TCU ran over its competition, including two road wins over ACC schools and dominating wins over Utah and BYU (who both dominated in their contests over Pac-10 squads).

Now TCU and Boise State face each other in a bowl game for the third time in seven years.  The Fiesta Bowl, in one of the gutsiest moves ever (keeping with Fiesta Bowl tradition), matched two undefeated schools from non-automatic qualifying conferences in a BCS game.

Fox and Fiesta Bowl president John Junker are promoting this game as if it were a second national championship game.  Both are openly campaigning for an AP national title for the winner.

Moreover, the Fiesta has a winner at the gate, as both teams obtained more than their required 17,500 ticket allotments (in great contrast to Ohio State, which sold fewer than 10,000 tickets to last year's game, and Florida, who has 5,000 or so unsold tickets to the Sugar bowl this year).

This game will likely be a huge winner in the TV ratings as well.  It is on the first Monday night without professional football.  Fox is promoting this game non-stop during its NFL coverage.  The game features two exciting and powerful teams.  And both schools are underdogs against the entire BCS system.

But What about Next Year?

Win or lose, both teams should be powerhouses again next year. 

Boise State returns nearly the entire starting lineup from this year's team. The Broncos will be experienced, tough, and nasty next year with a strong out-of-conference schedule designed to make Boise State a national title contender.

TCU returns virtually its entire offense and most of its No. 1 defense.  Sure TCU is losing sure-fire high NFL draft picks LB Daryl Washington and consensus All-American DE Jerry Hughes from its defense, but TCU lost seven players from last year's No. 1 defense and successfully brought in new players to make the defense even nastier this season.

Now, some "experts" are already arguing that both schools should be top 15 teams to start next season, with Boise State higher than TCU, win or lose.

That is pure silliness.  If we changed the names to USC and Michigan, there is no question that both teams would start the season in the top five. 

These teams are loaded with talent and directed by great coaches.  Both schools have demonstrated the ability to replace talent.  There is no question they will again challenge for a BCS bowl game next year and perhaps even for the BCS title game.

The only thing that could hold them back is another low ranking.  And that would be a shame.

Of course, if college football just had a playoff, none of this would matter.  The beauty contest of the BCS would be over, and it would matter little where a team started in the preseason polls. 

But with only two spots in the BCS title game for 120 teams, the need for a playoff has never been clearer.