Boise State Football: This is Why the Broncos Need the Big East

The fall from the Top 10 is vile.  It hit the Boise State Broncos like a freakish buck off the mechanical bull at Gilley’s.

A wide right kick dashed the BCS Championship hopes for Boise as TCU fans savored their 36-35 win over the Broncos in a stunner.

So this afternoon’s tumble from the Associated Press poll’s No. 5 all the way to No. 11, has left some poll voters in a quandary. With TCU’s win over Boise, the Horned Frogs are likely headed to the Mountain West conference championship, a non-qualifying end to post-season play.

So where does that leave a one-loss—but still-worthy—Boise State?  Are the Broncos suddenly the red-headed step-child of the Mountain West with no hope for a BCS bowl invite?  Are they trapped in a non-qualifying conference with no clear way back to the top?  It appears so.

Call in the doc.  The cure-all for this team and its blue-turf brand is the Big East. 

Last night’s Boise loss points to yet another reason for this team to transition to the tougher, stronger, Big East conference. If the events of the past week reach the next level, it appears that Boise will be saying, “adios,” to their short stint in the Mountain West sooner than later.

Boise’s addition to the Big East would give this powerful program more revenue, more television exposure, and more importantly, a more competitive schedule.  It would also open the door to the Bowl Championship Series. The Big East is an automatic-qualifying league and a rise to the top would offer certainty to the talented Broncos who lead with talent and wins.

For Boise, last night’s loss to TCU was eerily similar to last year’s storybook that diminished their hopes for a BCS title.  Losing to Nevada in a 34-31 score in overtime in 2010, it seems that this team’s trek up the BCS hill has come down to a kick and a non-qualifying conference obstacle. 

But maps are pointing eastward now.  For weeks, the Big East has been knocking on Boise’s door.  According to ESPN.com last week,

(http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7186814/idaho-state-board-education-gives-boise-st-ok-join-big-east) the Idaho State Board of Education has given Boise State permission to pursue membership with the Big East Conference, a move that could give  the Broncos a ticket to the Bowl Championship Series.

The board voted 7-1 Thursday to give university president Bob Kustra the authority to move Boise State's football program out of the Mountain West Conference and into the Big East.  But hold on to your cowboy hats. 

The move wouldn’t affect the Broncos until the 2013 season.  And until then, Boise will still feel the sting of the wide-right kick that missed the uprights and a chance for a slot in the BCS.