BCS Standings 2011: Bowl Outlook for Boise State Football

With the first BCS polls out for the 2011 season, the No. 5 Broncos are once again ranked in the Top 10. This is the fifth time in the last six seasons where the Broncos have reached the Top 10 and they are well on their way to their third bowl in the same time period.  

Though the Broncos are likely to remain undefeated, unlike the BCS teams, one loss will derail any chance of a BCS birth.

With multiple conferences considering a Boise State invite, as well as the expansion talks between the Mountain West and Conference-USA ,a BCS bowl win will significantly improve the resume of the Broncos in negotiations. It seems at this point whatever conference gets Boise State will likely receive AQ status as well and this will be compounded with yet another BCS bowl win. 

So with that in mind, let's take a look at where the Broncos will land this bowl season. 

Maaco Las Vegas Bowl

One loss is all it would take for one of the best teams in the country to be relegated to bowl oblivion. 

This happened last year after an undefeated Boise State had their hearts broken against No. 19 Nevada in overtime. 

At 11-1 Boise State was obviously deserving of a BCS bowl, but instead Bronco fans had to watch their team crush Utah in Las Vegas while an 8-5 UConn went to the Orange Bowl. To make matters worse, ACC champ Virginia Tech also got a BCS bowl berth after losing to the Broncos at the beginning of the season

What a travesty.

The sad part is that it could happen again. TCU, Air Force or San Diego State all have the potential of knocking off the Broncos, and if that were to happen they would likely end up in the Maaco Las Vegas Bowl for the second year in a row. 

Their opponent? 

Most likely it would be Utah again or UCLA, as the No.5 team in the PAC-12 gets the invite. Both of these teams Boise State would decimate.

Fiesta Bowl

Though it would be a BCS bowl and the Broncos would likely face an excellent opponent in the Oklahoma State Cowboys it just wouldn't feel right.

I know what you all are saying. Boise State should be grateful for any BCS bowl chance they get. Well, you may be right but the Broncos will likely be a BCS team in the near future and they have more than proven they are worthy of a higher ranking BCS bowl.

Don't get me wrong, this would be a great bowl and a definite challenge for the Broncos, but it would feel like the Fiesta Bowl is the default place to put an undefeated Broncos team. It would be the third time the Broncos went to the Fiesta Bowl in six years, and it would likely be the third time the Broncos would have won the Fiesta Bowl.

The first time was the now famous 2007 Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma and the second was a defensive shootout against Texas Christian in 2009.  

On the other hand, this could be a great opportunity for the Broncos to prove they could compete in the Big 12 by beating their No. 2 team again. 

Rose Bowl

This matchup may happen due to the Rose Bowl possibly wanting to pit the two best quarterbacks in the country against each other, if Stanford wins the PAC-12. Though the Rose Bowl is the least likely place the Broncos could end up, watching Kellen Moore and Andrew Luck duel it out could be very exciting.

Last year's Rose Bowl did not even have a PAC-12 team in it, but given the fact that Oregon, Stanford, Washington and Arizona State are all putting together excellent seasons it is unlikely that the PAC-12 will be left out again.  

Any one of those teams can be beaten by Boise State simply because the Broncos have one of the best defenses in the country. There is no question the PAC-12 creates teams that can score a lot of points, but the disparity in defenses will allow the Broncos to pull off the victory. 

Sugar Bowl

Other than the national championship game, this would be the best possible BCS bowl Boise State could go to. The Broncos would likely face Alabama in the game, but LSU is also a possibility.

In another twist, Georgia is beginning to surge in the SEC East and an upset in the SEC championship game could land the Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl for a little revenge on the Broncos.

If it were Georgia vs. BSU in the Sugar Bowl, the Broncos would likely win again, however, if we see LSU or Alabama across the line of scrimmage, that makes for a very good game where the Broncos will be the underdog for the first time this season.  

Winning the Sugar Bowl more than any other BCS bowl, save for the national championship, would solidify Boise State's place as an elite football team.

BCS National Championship

The Broncos have been striving for an opportunity to play in the BCS National Championship game for the last five years, and they definitely have earned the chance at an appearance. For the Broncos, this game would not be a culmination of just this season but every season of Chris Petersen's tenure as head coach.

Here they would likely face the SEC champ, Oklahoma or Wisconsin. There are still too many unbeaten teams to determine who would be their opponent in the National Championship game, but any one of those teams would present a spectacular game. 

Alas, this is only likely to happen if only two undefeated teams remain in the whole country and one of those teams would have to be Boise State. 

A win for the Broncos may turn the BCS world on its head, as they would be the only non-BCS team to win the BCS National Championship. Cries from the BCS homers would ring far and wide as David would have once again slain Goliath.

Here's hoping for a BCS meltdown.