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Root Against Boise State Tonight

Posted by CloseToJumping on September 3rd, 2009 under Football

Beyond this just being a fun game to kick off the 2009 College Football season, it really actually matters to us a great deal more than it should.

Let’s look at the surface level stuff:

-Oregon is a respected program that is ranked within the preseason top 20 of both polls.
-Oregon plays in the PAC 10 & while we don’t think highly of that conference, it is still a power conference with plenty of prestige, especially in voterland.
-Boise State has a ton of credibility within the voter populace because of a decade of success and the huge BCS victory over OU in 2006.
-Utah’s BCS wins to cap undefeated seasons in 2004 and 2008 are often lauded as underrated displays of MNC worthiness, to the point that they get the sympathy card played for them in almost every reference used within the media for the term “BCS Buster”.
-BSU has the best chance to be this year’s BCS Buster. Utah? Please. They lose 3-4 games this year (although they’ll obviously roll Utah State tonight.)

All of that considered, a BSU win tonight catapults them into the forefront of an “underdog” team that may deserve a shot at the national title game if they’re undefeated to end the season. They’ll get the benefit of the doubt from all of the whiny voters and those voters will justify their behavior with references to prior BSU and Utah glory.

BSU plays the biggest joke of a schedule in the entire country. Consider it:

9/3 – Oregon
9/12 – @ Toledo
9/18 – Fresno State
9/26 – Bowling Green
10/3 – UC Davis
10/14 – @ Tulsa
10/25 – @ Hawaii
10/31 – San Jose State
11/06 – @ Louisiana Tech
11/14 – Idaho
11/20 – @ Utah State
11/27 – Nevada
12/05 – New Mexico State

That’s actually 13 games, so the Hawaii rule is either in effect, or I have the wrong team somewhere, maybe the Tulsa or UC Davis game? Regardless, their conference is a horrific joke, with too many “States” and Louisiana Tech. That UC Davis game will be a real challenge.

Anyway, given that schedule, barring an upset somewhere, Oregon is the only team with a good shot of beating them this season. Maybe Nevada plays up with their stud QB. Maybe.

The problem with Oregon being the only team that has a good shot at beating them, on paper really, is that Oregon is not a good team this season. They are rated highly, but I don’t expect to see them in the rankings at the end of the year. They lost the entire OL. They lost their top two WRs. Their best TB is gone. The best DL is gone. 2 starting LBs. 3 DBs. Oh, and the HC. That is massive experienced attrition.

Why is this Oregon team ranked? My thought is that Masoli and the rest of the team looked great in the Holiday Bowl against OSU (after Bryant went down and could hardly play). “Masoli’s coming back, so they must be even better, right!?!” Um. No.

No one in the voting pool is going to think through any of this. They are going to give BSU credit for beating a BCS power if they win the game. This will be more important at the end of the season than at any point during the season if BSU stays undefeated and there are no other, or one other, undefeated teams. Morons like Skip Bayless and Jim Leavitt will vault them into the game against Florida or someone over a 1-loss UT or Ohio State type team. That will suck, as BSU isn’t a great team this year. This isn’t 2006. They return a good QB and lose a whole bunch of other guys and this is not a program capable of reloading.

On the bright side, there are a few things I think about.

1) I would like to be the team playing BSU in the MNC game. It could work out that way and I’d be pumped.
2) BSU isn’t great and they’re a team that could stumble.
3) Oregon could win the game tonight and the issue becomes moot. Or “mute” for any okies reading this.
4) The computers will severely punish that BSU schedule and that could make it impossible for them to get in at season’s end.

Regardless of those possibilities, if you’re looking for a rooting interest tonight, go against the instinct to root for the “underdog” and choose the more respected program. This season, BSU is the team to sweat for our program, and any other power with national title aspirations.

Thoughts?

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38 Responses

  1. parlinhall said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 3:24 pm

    The turf alone is reason enough to hate, in my book.

  2. Phenomenal Smith said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 3:30 pm

    I’m not sure my eyes can handle the Oregon uniforms on the bright blue turf. I will be opting for low-def to dull the pain.

  3. burntorangenation said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 3:54 pm

    I really don’t see it. At all.

    If Texas wins out, there’s absolutely no way Boise State leaps us. If we lose a game, our own schedule all but assures we won’t be playing in Pasadena.

  4. BrickHorn said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    I will root for Oregon because I appreciate the motocross aesthetic of their uniforms. No college football uniform is complete without a patch or two of faux diamond plate steel.

  5. CloseToJumping said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 4:01 pm

    How about 2007, BON? Would you have seen it then? Or is your point that a 2-loss LSU team would have jumped both schools too?

    I don’t understand how people look at the blank canvas of something like the very beginning of a college football season and then start tossing aside various possibilities as impossible, or maybe I am misunderstanding what “I really don’t see it. At all.” means.

    I don’t put good odds on any single particular thing happening this year. So I consider the options and type about and root for the ones that intrigue me.

    I remember last season pretty well, and the absurdity that a CU loss and a Missouri loss against virtually irrelevant opponents could keep us out of the MNC game still baffles me a bit. But it happens. And I saw it. All of it.

  6. burntorangenation said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    CTJ: I see your point now. I guess what I was getting at was that I’m setting the odds low at Texas getting in the MNC game with one loss, and at one hundred percent if we don’t lose. To the extent anything can happen, you’ve got a point — might as well knock Boise out of the picture. I do wonder, though, that when Oregon drops 4 games this year and Boise beats absolutely nobody, whether they’ll actually get the votes they’d need.

  7. Levander Williams said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 4:12 pm

    In all honesty, Texas should not be in the BCS Championship if we don’t go undefeated. Our only two games of consequence got somewhat and significantly (for OU & OSU) easier in the last week or so. We play no one else with a pulse the entire year.

    Not that I think an undefeated Boise belongs, either – playing in a BCS conference has to count for something (even if you’re in the ACC). But we all seem to be eaten up with this ‘equivalency’ bullshit lately, so why not screw a 1-loss team from Big Football and redistribute it to someone from some poor schlub conference.

  8. BornaHorn said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 6:25 pm

    FWIW – I took Oregon in the pool this week. They have a serious mad on about last year. Enough to cover? We’ll see.

    I should know this, but what happened to Belotti?

  9. yojimbox said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 7:18 pm

    That blue field should be against the rules. It’s an eye sore and it probably takes visiting teams an hour just to adjust to the horrific nature of it. Unfair advantage in my opinion. Plus, the Broncos wear blue, just like their turf. Maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t that make their players harder to locate when everyone is running? Now you may say, but doesn’t that make the players harder to locate for the Boise QB, too? Not if you’ve been playing on it all year (or in some cases, multiple years). You adjust. Visiting teams don’t get that chance, so it’s unfair IMO. Plus, it’s just frellin’ obnoxious.

  10. yojimbox said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 7:20 pm

    @BornaHorn,

    Oregon doesn’t have to “cover”, they’re the underdogs. They just have to win.

  11. yojimbox said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 8:26 pm

    Oregon is atrocious. Dear God. How many first downs in that first half? Zero? This game should be 40-0 Boise St. right now as badly as the Ducks have played. Dear God. Whoever said they could challenge USC needs to get punched in the face.

  12. unsub1 said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 9:00 pm

    Kenny Chesney: Step AWAY from the auto-tuner. WTF?

  13. Scipio Tex said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 9:12 pm

    I said Oregon was pretty much a fraud back in early July. Looks like it’s playing out that way.

    http://barkingcarnival.fantake.com/2009/07/02/college-football-2009-and-they-all-fell-down/

  14. texoz said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 9:14 pm

    Holy crap. Oregon had 14 yards in the 1st half against Boise State??

  15. unsub1 said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 9:16 pm

    Does the act of shaking hands make college football teams terrible?

  16. ChrisApplewhite said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 9:17 pm

    Oregon’s year was the year before last. They were pretty good last year too but they cannot keep a QB healthy for anything.

    Utah 2004, had it not been for USC, could have won the MNC. They were legit in every way. Can’t say the same about last year, but that beat down of Alabama was 100% legit.

  17. texoz said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 9:21 pm

    This game is so embarrassing for Oregon it actually makes Boise State look bad. As someone mentioned above, it should be 35-0 by now.

  18. hookem625 said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 9:25 pm

    Maybe Oregon should use those wings on their shoulder pads to simply fly over the defense… that’s probably their best bet at actually gaining yards.

  19. Huckleberry said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 10:10 pm

    Oregon is terrible. Southern Cal carries so much national credibility that it won’t matter, but it’s making the Pac-10 look like a joke this year. Hell, last year they had a losing record against the Mountain West and now it looks like Bellotti’s retirement has knocked the Ducks down a few pegs.

  20. Flamingmonkey said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 10:39 pm

    Hey at least we know now that Oregon isn’t afraid to punch the other team in the mouth. They just need to work on their timing.

    The good news for Blount is that I hear Dana White just signed him to a 3 fight contract.

  21. Dunstan Pearl said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 10:43 pm

    Blount’s gotta be kicked off the team after that, right?

  22. dick said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 10:45 pm

    Ah Scip, but you also predicted that South Carolina was a fraud too.

  23. dick said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 10:46 pm

    and you were right.

  24. PrimeTime said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 11:07 pm

    Oregon looked atrocious. Give the Pac 10 title to USC, no way they don’t win it. If Oregon couldn’t move the ball against Boise State, they would have trouble moving the ball against ‘SC’s third stringers much less first team defense. Even last year Oregon sucked against the good teams, with the exception of Okie State. They had trouble against Purdue when they were better than they were last year. What is the hype about Masoli? This guy sucks, he is a fullback. Can’t throw the ball and his decision making on the reads is horrific. There were a couple of times when he could have tucked it himself on the read. Thats what made VY so great, even if the read was to give it to the tailback he would just take it upon himself to make the play. I thought Oregon was spread? Aren’t you suppose to be able to throw the ball. I feel bad for USC they have to go undefeated now to even give themselves a shot at the MNC. When your alleged “third or second best” lays an egg like that its. No shame in losing, but to put up such an anemic performance like that is bad. When the highlight of your night is fighting after the game you know you played bad.

  25. Sailor Ripley said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 11:19 pm

  26. bevonips said:

    September 3rd, 2009 at 11:49 pm

    LaGarrette Blount – when keeping it real goes wrong….

    WOW, he’s gotta be gone, cannot do that on national tv.

  27. HenryJames said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 5:34 am

    Blount is BC’s new Oregon correspondent. CTJ interviewed him and said he liked the cut of his jib.

  28. eloy said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 6:29 am

    maybe we are just spoiled by actual scoring and fun offenses but those two games tonight were miserable to watch, and the blowing of ol’ ball coach at the end of the first game was pathetic, this guy is supposed to be a offensive genius and all you can do is muster up 7 points against a bunk ACC team, bravo

  29. BEHorn said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 6:48 am

    All in all, while I am overjoyed that the season is officially upon us, last night’s games comprise the ugliest kickoff since Lucy last pulled the ball away from Charlie Brown.

  30. Lo Primero said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 7:07 am

    …and with that, Mike Belotti no longer misses coaching.

  31. scottyc5 said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 7:33 am

    First — Chris Peterson is a really, really good coach. I fear he might end up in the Big XII sometime and turn some sad sack team like Aggy around in a few years.

    Boise State has a few really good players (Pettis, the soph QB) and basically a bunch of two star guys and JC transfers. I watched TCU push them all over the field last year in the Poinsettia bowl. The only reason that game was close is because TCU’s OC decided he wanted to stop running the ball down BSU’s throat and pass it. TCU dominated both lines of scrimmages in that game.

    BSU is living off the glory of a single win (thanks, Sooners). They have no business being in the BCS this year even if they go undefeated, especially if Oregon falls apart like it appears they might. But Peterson is a good enough coach to get these guys up for the 2 games a year where they are challenged, and they can otherwise coast through their conference and other non-con games. I change my mind. I hope they make the BCS and get smoked this year. Their a fraud living off the luck they pulled in getting Big Game Bob as their one BCF opponent.

  32. NateHeupel said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 7:38 am

    LeGarrette Blount just signed his transfer papers to OU. Dusty Dvoracek (raw capacity for violence) + Mike Balogun (ineligibility issues) + raw talent = 2010 starting RB. Fuck you very much, Mr. Brand.

  33. jr69 said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 3:07 pm

    Big Game Bob could probably get him a medical redshirt. For being non compos mentis. (In Okie lingo, that’s “crazy as a shithouse rat”)

  34. boisebob said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 5:07 pm

    And may I add, “FUCK YOU WE WON”, and decisively at that!! You sports guys know so much.

  35. Sailor Ripley said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 5:37 pm

    boisebob – I think the real winners were the people who watched that atrocious game all the way to the end so we could see Blount coldcock that guy. That was real Grand Guignol shit.

  36. parlinhall said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 6:43 pm

    Extra credit for apt use of “Grand Guignol,” Sailor.

    (For Okie and Boise, that’s like Grand Marnier, only red. For Huskerguy, it’s like Grand Island, only more interesting.)

  37. doback said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 9:35 pm

    boisebob,
    I’m going to have to ask you to suck my one eyed tater…

  38. Sailor Ripley said:

    September 6th, 2009 at 2:45 pm

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