Some Love For The Little Guys
All the talk in college football has been about who should play in the BCS title game now that Ohio State fell. For one, Kansas could potentially go undefeated and still be left out. But another interesting topic in the BCS bowls is whether or not a school from a small conference will crash the party. In order for a small, non-BCS school to receive an automatic bid, it needs to finish in the top-12 in the BCS standings, or finish in the top-16 and be ranked higher than a conference winner from a BCS conference.
Last year it was an undefeated Boise State squad who shocked the college football world by beating an Oklahoma team with far superior talent - including Minnesota Vikings stud rookie Adrian Peterson. This season, the No. 17 Broncos are back for another chance at being a BCS-buster, though they are not perfect. After losing their second game of the season to Washington, Boise State has rebounded to win eight in a row and is poised to perhaps crack the top-12 in the BCS standings if it wins out and finishes 11-1.
The Broncos, out of the Western Athletic Conference, aren't as good as last year's Cinderella team after losing their quarterback Jared Zabransky to graduation. However tailback, Ian Johnson remains, which is great - how could you really replace the guy who proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend after he scored a historic two-point conversion on a Statue of Liberty play that led to one of the most shocking upsets of our time? Ian Johnson is a stud running back and is the workhorse that carries the Broncos offense.
Even though Boise State is ranked No. 15 in both the Coaches' Poll and Harris Poll, which account for two-thirds of the BCS rankings, the computers have the Broncos at No. 26, leaving them with an overall BCS ranking of No. 18, and perhaps needing some help if they hope to go back to a big bowl.
The No. 13 Hawaii Warriors and their Heisman-contending quarterback Colt Brennan have been this year's BCS Cinderella story. After showing their potent offense last year, when Brennan set the single-season touchdown passing record with 58, the Warriors received all the preseason hype around being the next BCS buster.
Nine games into the season, Hawaii, another WAC team, is still perfect although they haven't been blowing teams out like many predicted because their defense isn't very good. However, should the Warriors go undefeated in their final three contests, they should be able to move up enough to crack the top-12.
Hawaii faces a tough road test tonight in Nevada, perhaps without their star quarterback. Brennan took a vicious hit in last weekend's win over Fresno State and will be a game-time decision, with an 11 p.m. kickoff on ESPN2.
The Warriors' problem, much like Boise State, is that their ranking in the BCS is being weighed down by the computers. They are ranked No. 11 in the Harris Poll and No. 12 in the coaches poll, but the computers have them all the way down at a tie for No. 27. That leaves them with an overall BCS ranking of No. 16. However, if Hawaii prevails against the Wolf Pack tonight, they face the Boise State Broncos in what may be a matchup to decide who gets to advance to a BCS bowl.
The meeting will be important for both teams because, obviously, the loser is finished in the BCS discussion, and the winner will add a quality win to its resume and boost their rankings in the computers.
For Hawaii, a win over the Broncos followed by another victory over big conference school Washington, the team that beat Boise State, would solidify its perfect regular season, and probably a BCS bowl birth.
For Boise State, in what will be their regular season finale, a win would leave a positive mark on voters and probably push it high enough to give it a second consecutive BCS bowl game.
While these two teams have been the major small schools to make noise this season, BYU has been steady and productive with a 7-2 record. The problem for the Cougars is that they lost those two games early to UCLA and Tulsa, and haven't been able to gain much national recognition since. However, this Mountain West team is tough and probably should be ranked over a few of the three-loss teams that are filling up the polls.
For those of you who enjoy rooting for the little guys, it's another solid season for them and the hopes of a Boise State repeat of last season are not that farfetched.
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