Okay, the first BCS ranking came out and, whoa baby, Boise State is 4th in the nation? As a BSU alumni, which makes me a fan for life, I do not know how to react to this.
First off, I do not think my Broncos are playing at their top level. They struggled against UC Davis and Tulsa, two teams that, although they played really well, we shouldn’t have had such a hard time against. The reason for that, I feel, is our own fault. We made way too many mistakes, and couldn’t convert in the red zone they way a #4 team ought to.
Second, some of the polls have us in 5th or 6th place, a more reasonable placing considering the past two games we played. But as I look at who is in the two spots immediately below us on the BCS ranking, I see Cincinnati and TCU. I know we can beat Cincinnati, for they struggled against a team or two that either we trounced or those we beat trounced. But TCU beat us last year, so I do not know if we could beat them this year or not, the way we have been playing. But, if the Broncos could somehow put things behind them and play smart, and hard like they did against OU a few years back, I am confident that we could beat anyone. The problem is, they are not playing at that level right now.
Things could get really interesting this season, especially if Texas, Florida or Alabama stub their toes and loose a game.
It is now the post-season and two weeks before the Fiesta Bowl, where BSU takes on TCU. Man, at first I was really…I don’t know what…it seemed like the BCS was trying to wriggle out of a nasty scenario: If BSU played a BCS AQ (automatic qualifying conference) team, and TCU played an AQ team, there could be three undefeated teams at the end of the games…the winner of the NC game and BSU (if we won) and TCU (if they won). BUT, the BCS avoided that fiasco by pitting the two undefeated non-AQ temas together in a rematch of a bowl game last year (we lost by one point when we missed a last-second field goal). Now that there has been a week or more to settle down about the mis-matchup, I can think more clearly and I believe what I said earlier: if BSU plays smart and hard it can win. My prediction is: the team that makes the fewest number of mistakes will win the game, but not by much. It should prove to be a doozie!
