Kansas lost to North Dakota State of the FCS to open the season, then beat Georgia Tech on Saturday. Whether it’s even a fair point is debatable. You can already hear the complaints coming from SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 country: ‘How can a team play for the national title if it’s best victory came against an opponent that lost to a I-AA team?’
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Since the Bowl Championship Series is set up to be the ultimate exercise in the art of splitting hairs, giving only two of the 120 teams a chance to play for the national championship, the slightest blemish on the Broncos could lock them out of the title game. There are still many who believe that if a team such as Alabama, Ohio State, Texas or Oregon finishes with one loss, it would deserve a spot in the title game over an unbeaten Boise State.Ĭrimson Tide coach Nick Saban said as much Saturday on ESPN, when he made the point that teams with more difficult paths to the title game should be rewarded. That’s where James Madison could impact the Broncos’ chances. But even in that scenario, regular-season perfection might not be enough for Boise State _ again. If Boise State is the only undefeated team at the end of the regular season, or one of two without a loss, it has a shot. That was true even before Virginia Tech lost. Or Wisconsin, Penn State and Iowa.įor Boise State to have any chance to reach the BCS championship game for the first time, the Broncos must have a better record than the champions from the Big Ten, Southeastern Conference, Big 12 and Pac-10. More than anything else, the Broncos’ strength of schedule has held them back as they’ve piled up victories and Western Athletic Conference championships over the last decade.Įven with a victory against a top-notch Virginia Tech team, by the time this season is over, Boise State’s schedule won’t be nearly as tough as those played by teams such as Alabama and Ohio State.įresno State, Nevada and Hawaii just don’t stack up to Florida, Auburn and LSU. Yes, the irony is James Madison hurt Boise State’s chances to play in the national championship game by taking the luster off what the Broncos figured would be their crowning achievement this season _ a victory against a Virginia Tech team expected to be highly ranked. While James Madison provided further evidence of increased parity in college football, how the gap between the haves and the have nots is not as wide as it once was, the Dukes were undermining the team that has done more than any other to prove that point in recent seasons. “It was like, `Oh my God, we did it!’”Īnd back in Idaho, the Boise State Broncos and their fans must have had a similar reaction, just replace the joy with dismay. “It was like a dream come true when the clock hit zero,” cornerback Leavander Jones said.