USC Should Play Boise State Now: I'm Still No Believer and Here's Why

Boise State still hasn't shown me that they belong where they are. I'm not saying they don't belong there, but I'm just not sold yet.

If they do belong at No. 3 in the rankings, it has a lot more to do with the fact that the quality of players and football around the country is in a downswing. The last two NFL Draft classes have been staggeringly deep, seeming to hint that college football has been on a talent bubble. I'll be fair in pointing out, on that note, that recent Boise State alumnus Ryan Clady is now likely the best left tackle in the NFL, so they've had some serious talent.

So I'm not saying these things to take away from Boise State, which is clearly a very good football team, but are they really third in the country by virtue of a victory over Virginia Tech?

I had never paid much attention to Tyrod Taylor until watching that game, but the Hokies quarterback strikes me as a completely oblivious version of Michael Vick. Watching him wander around aimlessly in the backfield for stretches of what felt like hours on single plays made me want to scream through my TV, "Throw the ball!"

But I agree with one thing Taylor had to say: Virginia Tech beat themselves.

That was one of the poorest showings of discipline, coaching, clock management, and special teams play I have ever seen in a single game. For the Hokies, things went wrong way more often than they went right. Call it early season jitters.

And now, it looks like Boise State is poised to claim a spot in the BCS title game. Because they were able to beat what I believe is going to end up being the third-best team in the ACC.

That was their one test.

What if teams like USC, Texas, Florida, and Alabama had one test a year and that was against the third-best team in the ACC? The rest of the games were powder-puff football with a home field advantage against every opponent on the way to the national title game. How would that sit with fans?

Well, Boise State wants to be one of the big dogs, so it might be about time they start having to schedule like them. Sure, there is some upset possibility with Oregon State, Utah State, and Hawaii, but that isn't a whole heck of a lot.

If they get to the national title game, it essentially marks the end of the BCS era. You can't have it apparent that any team can make it that far yet still give automatic bids to BCS conferences. Boise State, through an ironic blessing of their weak schedule and an overrated Virginia Tech team, could bring the whole system crashing down.

All that said, I still don't fear the Broncos. Because I still don't think they could hang it up on college football's truly elite programs.

USC's defense looks bad this year (about as bad as Virginia Tech's) but if they took on Boise State at a neutral field, USC's offense would definitely make up for the slack. SC doesn't need to get into fisticuffs with Boise, but it is worth pointing out.

It was definitely the best game we've seen so far this season, but the damnedest problem with college football is that you never get to see the teams you think should clash go at each other.

And that keeps me wondering about Boise State.