Should Boise State Be #1 In BCS Standings?
While the Bowl Championship Series is always and forever going to be a hotly debated topic, ESPN has released a mock BCS Standings, and the #1 team in the land was not the current #1 team in the country, nor was it the defending national champion.
It wasn't even a team from the power conferences.
Boise State appeared at the top of the standings, followed by Oregon, TCU, Oklahoma, and Ohio State, according to ESPN's Brad Edwards. The formula put Ohio State at five due to the strength of schedule, which put Boise State at the top of the list. Of course the ACTUAL standings are released Sunday, and a lot of football will be played between now and January 10th, 2011, when the BCS National Championship Game commences.
Now the question is: Does one agree or disagree with the mock standings?
If you're supportive of Boise State, then you agree with this. It's hard for this school to even get teams to play them. Over the past decade, they have had success unlike any other program. They realize that the conference that they are in, the Western Athletic Conference, is weak, so they put as much strength in the non conference foes. Also, according to Edwards, margin of victory is not factored in the mock standings, but they did schedule a Virginia Tech team that appeared good on paper, and then they fell to James Madison, a FCS powerhouse. However the Hokies did atone themselves with a win over then-ranked North Carolina State. They beat Oregon State when ranked, then Oregon State beat Arizona. As long as Nevada stays unbeaten and rises through the ranks, this could really solidify the Broncos' chances should the win (especially if they win soundly IN Reno).
Then you have the detractors of Boise State. The ones that say that they have played big name schools, but they do not soundly beat them. They look at teams like Wyoming and Toledo, and know this isn't quality competition. They do not believe in Virginia Tech, who showed they were not as good as once-advertised, and the James Madison loss damages the Hokies' 2010 credibility, and in turn, damages Boise State's credibility despite the fact that they did beat the previously undefeated and ranked Wolfpack of North Carolina State. Also Oregon State is in the upper echelon of the Pac-10, but does not carry the same weight as their in-state rival Oregon or USC (despite their probation). Most detractors also feel that Boise State can not matchup head on with a powerhouse like Alabama or Ohio State, or even Oregon.
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