Ucheedawg and I disagree on this subject.
Even with their impressive defensive performance in their victory against TCU, I am not ready to proclaim Boise State a worthy contender for National Championship consideration.
I know, I know. They went undefeated. They beat Oregon and TCU. They have won 2 BCS bowls in four seasons.
I say to that…so what?
No doubt they are a tremendous program. Chris Petersen is a heck of a coach. They have had continued success through two coaching regimes. They can hang with the big boys when they play.
The key phrase in that sentence “when they play.” The toughness of Boise State’s schedule is so laughable that it is easy to get geeked up for a big game when you don’t play quality opposition frequently.
A graphic flashed up last night that Chris Petersen is 4-2 against ranked teams. That is impressive, but that also shows that he has only played 6 ranked teams in 4 seasons. In the SEC or other BCS conferences, you have to play tough teams each week. Alabama (including the Texas game) will have played 3 teams in the top 10 this season. Georgia played 4 ranked opponents this season. The mental and physical toll of playing high caliber of competition week in and week out is nothing to snub your nose to.
To say that Boise State is deserving of the same accolades as an undefeated Alabama team or even a one loss Florida team discredits the difficulty of their regular season.
Boise State has to only get up for one or two games a year, and the rest of the time play powder puffs, they are able to inflate their schedule with a lot of Ws. Now a common argument to that is “well Team X only plays a few tough games a year.” That is true; Georgia Tech for example, in a weak ACC, only should have to get past a solid Va Tech and an erratic Clemson team to get to the ACC championship annually. But even when schools like Miami or Florida State are down, the caliber of athlete is greater at the weaker schools in the bigger conference. Heck, the caliber of athlete at NC State is better than one at San Jose State.
I agree with the Senator that if I had one game, I would want Chris Petersen as my coach. He coaches balls to the wall in the big games and pulls out all the stops. But I really don’t think that if Boise State played a 12 game schedule that UGA, LSU, Oregon or even Ohio State plays they could sustain that success. Also, a big part of why they have won the past two BCS games is throwing caution in the wind and capitalizing with the gadget plays. You can Statue of Liberty or fake punt your way to victory here or there, but not consistently.
I also don’t think you can’t judge Boise State’s greatness on one BCS game three years ago, a couple of games here and there, and another BCS victory last night without looking at all the bad teams they have played. It is very easy to cherry pick the good games out of the bucket.
If Boise State is going to play such a weak schedule, then in order to prove themselves when they play the big boys, they need to win 40-14 type games without using gimmicks as a crutch. It may not be fair, but that is what it is going to take to make me a believer.
Go Dawgs!
Corbindawg
The Grit Tree 
I never thought I would say this, but I couldn’t agree more.
Couldn’t disagree more. A) Boise State has won 2 BCS bowls in 3 years. B) The only gimmick last night was in a situation that dictated it; their defense had held solid all day and TCU allowed the play to work due to their punt rush. C) The good defensive battle should be more of a compliment to these two programs rather than a criticism.
Boise has proven that they are winners and can play with anyone. No, they wouldn’t go undefeated most years in the SEC, but neither do Florida or Alabama. I would wager, and I’m not a betting man, that Boise State would have played Florid better than any other team from the East this year. I’m pretty sure no school besides Florida in the East would have wanted any of them.
Of course, there is still the “old-school” thought out there that teams like Boise State don’t belong, and those individuals will never have their minds changed. They are the same individuals who still think baseball is our national pastime and that Notre Dame and Ohio State are national collegiate powerhouses. For those of us in the modern society, it is clearly evident that Boise State is a top-tier football program. They’ll get the chance to prove one of us right next year though, I believe.
Enjoy the blog, keep up the good work. Hope you continue the Lewis Wednesday’s after football season.
Lewis Wednesday will be a year round thing. Also, in the summer, stay tuned for weekly locations to get good BBQ, peach ice cream, etc…
I think football is the national pastime; Ohio State (and the Rose Bowl with its stubbornness to have the Pac-10/Big 10 Match up, ie who gets destroyed by USC) is mostly irrelevant; Notre Dame is only relevant because they are in bed with NBC and Lou Holtz won’t retire.
I just think Boise State’s wins, margin of victory and perceived dominance are inflated by their poor competition.