BCS Championship Contenders: The "Great Debate" Takes a New Twist

It all started on January 1, 2007.

An unknown school called Boise State went undefeated with a 12-0 record and was the eighth-ranked team in the nation. The no-name school was selected to play in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Day against the Big 12 champion Oklahoma Sooners.

Everyone knew that Boise State's simple schedule was the only reason they were there, but it was a cute reward for going undefeated. Everyone knew they would be stomped on by the powerful Oklahoma team, but at least they made a BCS bowl game.

But everything people thought they knew about the BCS system was about to change.

Boise State defeated the Sooners in a 43-42 overtime shootout with the use of a few trick plays. It was a real-life Disney movie that would probably never happen again, but it made a great story.

Then, the no-name school did it again. The Boise State Broncos went undefeated for the second-straight season and played another small school that had played pretty well the past few years called Texas Christian University, known as TCU. Boise was the popular pick to beat them because they had gone undefeated the past two years, but again, the underdog prevailed in a 17-16 TCU victory.

Now it is 2010. Boise State is, as of today, the No. 2-ranked team in the nation while TCU sits at No. 4. The non-BCS conference schools are now two of the most well-known teams in college football and are no longer the cute, undefeated teams that everyone rooted for. Now they're competing to play in the BCS Championship game for the first time in their schools' history, and after today's games they have made a strong debate.

TCU absolutely destroyed No. 6 Utah 47-7, while Boise State demolished a tough Hawaii team 42-7.

So now there are two questions that remain to be answered. Will one of the small conference schools make it? And if so, who?

With Alabama losing, it seems very unlikely the two-loss team will make the National Championship unless a miracle occurs. That leaves Oregon, Auburn, Boise State and TCU the most-likely teams to make the championship game.

If Oregon and Auburn were to go undefeated, they will play for the title without a question, but there are still some obstacles that remain for these teams. Oregon has to play at California, against Arizona and at Oregon State, while Auburn has to play against Georgia and at Alabama. I don't see both teams staying undefeated, so if one spot was to open up, who would get it?

Boise State's marquee wins are a 33-30 defeat over No. 22 Virginia Tech and a 37-24 victory over Oregon State. They have also beaten a decent Hawaii team and if they go undefeated, that would mean Boise had beaten No. 23 Nevada and Fresno State.

TCU has also beaten Oregon State 30-21, No. 21 Baylor 45-10, Air Force 38-7 and No. 6 Utah 47-7. I would also like to bring up the 17-10 Boise State win over TCU last year in the Fiesta Bowl. Yes, it was last year, but Boise has 21 of 22 returning starters and doesn't seem to be any worse; in fact, they seem much improved. However, TCU has improved a ton as well.

If you go by the stats (note, these are all before today's results), Boise is the second-best scoring team in the nation while TCU is eighth. Defensively, TCU leads the nation by giving up 217.3 yards and allowing only 8.7 points per game. Meanwhile, Boise State is third by allowing 236.4 yards and 13.4 points a game. It shows Boise has the advantage offensively and TCU holds a defensive advantage.

In the end, it may come down to style points. How easily can they beat the remaining teams on their schedule? Where are the teams they beat in the final rankings? Is Utah overrated?

Like always, there will be many questions, but the real question is how will TCU and Boise State answer them?

By Golden_State_of_Mind: SJ Contributing Author

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