Boise State Football: Why Broncos Can Play Their Way into Title Game

The Boise State Broncos’ season is following a familiar trajectory. The team has beaten everyone it has played, including a pretty good SEC team in the Georgia Bulldogs yet is ranked a measly fifth in the BCS Polls.

The Broncos’ strength of schedule, as per usual, is to blame. But how can a team who has beaten everyone it has faced be denied a chance to prove that they can compete with the top teams in the country?

Boise State does not have an easy road to the BCS Championship game. However, the Broncos do not have an impossible road either.

Win with Style

The Boise State Broncos must help themselves. If the team wants to convince voters that they have a legitimate case in playing for the BCS Championship game, they must win and win big.

Boise State has not beaten opponents by quite as sizeable a margin as they have in years past. An 11-point win against Air Force is not going to cut it.

The Broncos need to crush TCU this weekend, then do the same against their next three opponents to close out the season.

Kellen Moore must remind people why his name has been in the Heisman conversation for the past two years and Boise State’s defense must prove that they are ready to match up with the big guys.

Help from Teams on Schedule

Boise State’s schedule is soft. There is no denying that.

However, a few of the teams the Broncos have beaten are helping Boise State with strong finishes to the season. 

Four of the teams the Broncos have already defeated are in position to win their respective conferences. Georgia, Tulsa, Nevada, and Toledo could all add to Boise State’s position in the polls by winning games.

Boise State has already helped themselves by beating good teams. Their play at the beginning of the season, as well as their opponents’ overall records, should not be forgotten.

Kellen Moore

Doesn’t this kid deserve to play on the biggest stage? He is one of the best quarterbacks in the country and has done nothing but lead his team to win after win.

Kellen Moore recently became the winningest college football quarterback in history. He has a ridiculous 128-to-24 touchdowns to interceptions ratio for his career.

Moore has stepped up in big games. Starting each season with games against conference powers like Georgia, Virginia Tech and Oregon is no easy task. However, Moore has performed admirably in each and every game.

If Moore continues to pick apart defenses and lead his team to victory, voters cannot deny him a chance to prove that he is worthy of every accolade he has been given.

Stanford Loss

The Stanford Cardinal is the one team ahead of Boise State in the polls that boasts similar credentials. The Cardinal are undefeated but also playing in a relatively weak Pac-12. 

This Saturday, Stanford plays the seventh ranked Oregon Ducks in a game that could boost their BCS profile. 

The Cardinal has three tough games to close out their schedule. If Stanford manages to beat Oregon, there is still Notre Dame left in a game that the Irish would desperately like to win. 

Since the Broncos and the Cardinal have a similar resume, the Broncos would certainly be able to leapfrog the Cardinal if Stanford has one loss on its record to Boise State’s zero.

Oklahoma State Loss

The Boise State Broncos desperately need the Oklahoma State Cowboys to lose. The Cowboys could do even more for the Broncos, specifically in the way that they lose.

An Oklahoma State loss to Oklahoma would be the most likely outcome. However, if the Cowboys could beat Oklahoma, then lose to either Texas Tech or Iowa State, the path would be almost clear for the Broncos to sneak in to the top two.

If Oklahoma only has one loss at the end of the season, it is possible that the Sooners could jump ahead of the Broncos in the polls. With two losses, that scenario is almost impossible.

SEC Misstep

The SEC is the one league that is really getting in the way of the Boise State Broncos run to the BCS Championship.

Despite their recent loss to the LSU Tigers, the Alabama Crimson Tide are ranked third, still ahead of Boise State. 

The Broncos need either Alabama or LSU to lose once before the season ends to have a shot at surging ahead.

Alabama could lose to Auburn in the Iron Bowl or LSU could lose to Arkansas or in the SEC Championship game.

The likelihood of both of these teams dropping a game is virtually nothing, but the possibility of one of the top SEC teams losing is not outrageous. 

No Game Rematches

If the Alabama Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers both win out and Oklahoma State loses, chances are that LSU and Alabama will be ranked first and second in the polls yet again. 

It is possible that the BCS powers that be would shun a rematch of a game already played in favor of letting the underdog Boise State Broncos compete for their first championship.

Similarly, if the Oregon Ducks move up in the polls, beating Stanford and leapfrogging the Broncos, the BCS could be faced with a rematch of the first game of the season—LSU versus Oregon.

In either of these instances, it is not anywhere near a sure thing that Boise State would be able to sneak into the championship game. However, especially with the BCS involved, weirder things have happened.