Did Boise State Actually Just Clinch A Berth in the National Championship Game?

Let’s start at the beginning. Last night’s game disappointed me. Not because it was a bad game, quite the contrary. I’m disappointed because it’s September 7th and I might not see a better college football game all year.

I’m also disappointed because had these teams not met in week one, it is entirely plausible that they would have faced off for the national championship. And if you don’t believe me, let’s dive in.

Tyrod Taylor put together one of the best performances in a losing effort I have ever seen. He singlehandedly accounted for more than 70 percent of the Hokies’ offense, and his decision making skills were impeccable.

At least five times last night, Taylor scrambled right and made a decision depending on whether or not the safety bit. One of these plays resulted in a touchdown pass to an unguarded Ryan Williams out of the backfield.

Although reading the safety is something you are taught since middle school, scrambling quarterbacks (I’m talking to you Michael Vick) have always had trouble making that decision on the fly. Taylor did it effortlessly. Essentially, in a losing effort, Tyrod Taylor went from typical scrambling quarterback to genuine Heisman candidate.

So you’ve got a potent offense, and a defense that was great in the second half (until they went into prevent mode in the last two minutes, but I digress). Va. Tech is notorious for falling asleep during the first half of their opening game, but by all accounts they should have won last night.

Who in the ACC is going to beat them?

Virginia Tech has a very soft schedule through the end of October. Then they face the potent rushing attack of Georgia Tech, after which they will travel in consecutive weeks to UNC and Miami.

Realistically, Georgia Tech is a very strong offensive team, but can be stopped if you can stop the run. UNC is a question mark, because no one even knows what their roster will look like. The only concern is Swag U, and the late November contest will likely determine the ACC Champion.

But if the Hokies can play up on the road, they can very easily finish this season with one loss.

That’s a pretty tough pill to swallow, because despite the fact that I think Boise State does deserve to play for a national championship, they only play one more ranked team all year (Oregon State two weeks from now), they don’t have a conference championship game, and worse yet, they are leaving their current conference next year because of their failure to compete in football.

The media doesn’t know all, and many coaches ranked the Hokies ahead of Boise St. this season; obviously, we now see why.

But credit must go to the winner. Despite the Hokies having significantly more possession time, Boise State were seemingly unstoppable on offense during the first half.

This was largely due to the other Heisman candidate on the field, Kellen Moore, and even though I was big on Zabransky, there is no question that Moore is the best QB this program has ever seen.

There is an important case to be made for the evolution of this program. Last night’s win was not because of gadget and trick plays. Last night’s win was because of power offense and lockdown defense in the first half, accompanied by a successful two minute drill anchored by Moore.

If you ask me, that's championship football.

It will certainly be hard to judge Boise State on strength of schedule, but this is a season where most conferences are largely up for grabs. The only two teams that could realistically knock Boise State out right now are either themselves, in an uncharacteristic regular season loss, or an undefeated Alabama team.

History is on Boise State’s side, and there is no question that if they do what they are supposed to do, they will be playing for a championship.

But what really disappoints me is that it could have been against the Hokies. Instead, I will settle for one of the most entertaining regular season games I have seen in a very long time.