Sports Containment Thread: Sponsored by G.I. Joe Pavelski, Real American Superhero (ELIte) - Page 7

**dkgojackets** · 09-03-2011, 11:40 PM

Unfortunately you were just in the wrong spot at the wrong time when he went crazy and get lumped in, but the fact that you still don't think they could be a legit top five team and somehow cheapen the bcs discussion is insane. Having a difficult schedule is not a requirement to being an elite team, it just makes it easier to "prove".

**LKJ** · 09-03-2011, 11:47 PM

Of course it isn't a requirement to being an elite team, but a BCS spot should be truly earned and Boise never does that. It's not good for the game to go into any BCS bowl wondering, "Is this team really that great? I guess we'll see." I don't know why any fan would root for a team to successfully take the easy way into one of the big games.

We'll see what happens with Georgia the rest of the way. Obviously them being a really good team would help Boise's case a lot, but people wanted to get all excited a few years ago when Boise beat Va. Tech and Tech turned out to be pretty meh that year.

LazyTops5 · 09-03-2011, 11:49 PM

lol Tech went 11-3 last year and won the ACC

**LKJ** · 09-03-2011, 11:53 PM

They lost to an FCS school the week after they lost to Boise. They did get it together and do really well in conference play, but the ACC has really been lacking for a number of years.

But I think when you catch them at a moment where they're apparently prone to getting beaten by anyone down to the JMU level, the win loses quite a bit of luster.

**dkgojackets** · 09-03-2011, 11:55 PM

I don't think there's really much doubt though over who's elite and who isn't when the bcs bowls start except for the first time they made it. They or tcu/utah even are almost always better than the big east team gets a spot.

The vt game was last year and despite being meh they still won the acc and I think 10-11ish games.

Honestly imo the bcs is a joke and corrupt cartel and I like anything that they don't like.

**LKJ** · 09-03-2011, 11:55 PM

There's just such a significant difference between only having a couple of easy games a year and only having a couple of hard games per year. A great team in the SEC can't let up or they'll suddenly get picked off by Ole Miss. A great team in the Pac-12 can't let up or they'll suddenly get picked off by Arizona.

Some of these teams take it easy in the early OOC schedule, but in the meat of their schedule there's no letting up.

If you're comparing a Boise team that blows everyone's doors off all year long to a one-loss team from a lesser BCS conference like the ACC or Big East, then I get that. But if a team wins the SEC, Pac-12 or Big Ten and ends the year with only one loss, they've done unquestionably more than a team that just runs through one of these POS conferences.

LazyTops5 · 09-03-2011, 11:58 PM

Yeah I agree the JMU loss isnt the best(inb4 karak and yeota) but the fact still remains they beat a team that played in a bcs bowl.

Boise is still a good team

**LKJ** · 09-03-2011, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkgojackets

I don't think there's really much doubt though over who's elite and who isn't when the bcs bowls start except for the first time they made it. They or tcu/utah even are almost always better than the big east team gets a spot.

Meh I don't buy this. Teams get by on their brand name way too often in college ball and in the large picture Boise hasn't been succeeding for as long as some teams like Texas or Alabama that are just going to have a constant supply of great recruits. As such, I don't know how we can just implicitly trust them based on the fact that they have shown well in some of their big games.

In any case, the slate should be clean every year and past years shouldn't really be taken into account. All the more reason that preseason polls are a racket.

**LKJ** · 09-04-2011, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LazyTops5

Boise is still a good team

They're good. There's little doubt of that. It's only when they get put in the same conversation as the champions of the big three conferences that I get irritated. I suppose maybe I could add the Big 12 in there as well, but...with their defections and turmoil and Texas having one of their worst years last year, I dunno quite what to make of that conference at the moment.

**dkgojackets** · 09-04-2011, 12:01 AM

Basically they got beaten so bad by boise they were still feeling it next week.

I know the "eyetest" is casualsportsfan.jpg, but you can tell when a smaller team is winning by a quirky system or sheer luck. Boise is every bit as big and strong in the trenches (they dominated uga on both lines tonight) as any bcs conference team with fast skill players and an elite qb to go along with it. Obviously they don't have the player pool to maintain that long term but right now they can play with anyone.

**dkgojackets** · 09-04-2011, 12:05 AM

Overall I accept that there is little teams can do over conference scheduling and ooc is mainly political/financial. I think it should be the best teams in the bcs at the end of the season regardless of how they got there. "Best" and "most deserving" are different, and my vote is always for who I think is best.

What's tilting is when people (mainly southern rednecks who didn't even go to whatever state sec college and the dumber media analysts) think a team cannot be elite based solely on conference affiliation.

**LKJ** · 09-04-2011, 12:08 AM

Got beaten so badly by Boise? They got beaten by 3. I understand there was a letdown after that, but good teams generally don't lose to the FCS schools even on their letdown weeks...their letdown weeks are usually more like, "Oh wow, they came out of the gates slowly and let JMU hang around for a half."

Anyway, I've never seen Boise as the team that I saw Hawaii as when they sullied the BCS a few years ago. Running the table and struggling in every single away game, including ****ty things like OT wins over Louisiana Tech...it was really obvious what their quality level was. Boise legitimately blows their opponents out, which a team in their position absolutely has to.

But look: they just beat Georgia in what looks to be by far their most respectable game of this season. This was a Super Bowl for them. For an SEC school, this is one of many comparable Saturdays in mid-October. Trying to get through a whole schedule like that unbeaten is such a very real minefield, and Boise just doesn't have to deal with that. There's a lot to be bothered by about that when BCS bids roll around and Boise gets to cakewalk to theirs.

**LKJ** · 09-04-2011, 12:09 AM

And you really don't think the best teams are the ones who can dodge the minefield of playing in a BCS conference schedule? "Best" is about more than just what quality they are when they're bringing their A-game. The ability to be consistently great week in and week out should really also factor in strongly.

**LKJ** · 09-04-2011, 12:11 AM

I will say this, however: Boise perpetually playing easy schedules is not their fault. I'm honestly surprised that they're able to get as many willing big name opponents in OOC play as they are.

**dkgojackets** · 09-04-2011, 12:13 AM

They also have a much smaller margin of error and cannot lose a single game while another team can get in with 3 losses.