BCS Rankings: Loss Shows Boise State Isn't Top 10-Caliber Team

From the beginning of the college football season, it seemed as if the "overrated" chants for the Boise State Broncos would only grow louder. After last night's bitter end against TCU, the chants are as loud as they have been all year.

The truth of the matter is, it's an argument that is predicated on a lot that this Broncos team cannot control.

The Broncos, 8-1 on the season and now No. 2 in the MWC, have had to play no quality opponents all year with the exception of the now No. 15 Georgia Bulldogs. Over the course of the season, the Broncos have had to play against teams like Tulsa, Air Force, Nevada and UNLV. These are teams that the Broncos absolutely must beat.

This is not to take away from the quality of the program and it's consistency over the years, yet based on the level of competition they've faced does not in any way give this team a legitimate top 10 rank.

If they are, in fact, deserving of the No. 5 rank the Broncos had last week, this is to say they are better than No. 6 Oregon, who's only loss of the season came at the hands of LSU.

It also indicates that a team like No. 9 Clemson, who lost on the road at Georgia Tech yet beat three top-20 teams, is a less qualified team than the Broncos.

Undoubtedly the Broncos have no control over who they play, and it is a common argument that comes to the table most of the time. But in those "easy games" that the Broncos should have won convincingly, they did not do so.

They barely edged Air Force in a 37-26 victory and most recently lost to an unranked TCU team in a game that went down to the wire.

As one can make from this, the Broncos were certainly undeserving of a spot in the top-five. It goes without saying when presented with the figures.

There is no question the talent has been there in years past, yet to have teams like Oregon and Clemson ranked below a team like Boise State is simply not right in the first place, even before the loss to TCU.