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6/29 Roundtable - The Best Non-BCS Program
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Boise State QB Kellen Moore
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CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Jun 29, 2009
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6/29 Roundtable - What's the best non-BCS program? It's the Monday topic in the CFN Daily Roundtable Discussion.
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CFN Daily Roundtables
 June
29
What's the best non-BCS program?
Over the next several weeks, as part of the CFN 2009 Preview, we'll
examine some of the key questions going into the year with a
daily discussion of the big topics.
Pete
Fiutak,
CFN
Yes, I'm part of
the problem. You can check me out at
twitter.com/CFN_Fiu and find
out future roundtable topics and other random musings.
Q: What's the best non-BCS program?
A: In terms of wins and losses over the last decade,
it's Boise State, obviously. The program has set the bar ridiculously
high when it comes to consistency, especially in WAC play, and it has
more than held its own with the big boys (even though I think the
defining win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl was an aberration).
An argument could be made that in an on-field discussion, TCU is in the
Boise State stratosphere with three 11-win seasons in the last four
years and five double-digit win campaigns in the last seven while
playing in tougher conferences than the Broncos (Conference USA and then
the Mountain West starting in 2005).
However,
when it comes to the best program, and not just the best team, then
other factors have to come into the discussion like infrastructure,
talent base, revenue, etc. As far as the health of a program, no stat is
more telling than attendance. That's what drives the revenue for the
program, that's what shows the health of the fan base, and that's where
everything starts from. Boise State sells out every game, and even goes
over, averaging 32,275 fans per game last year. Meanwhile, BYU, who also
has had its share of big moments against BCS programs, more than sells
out every game and averages 64,102 fans per game. Utah averages 45,592
per outing.
It's the ongoing argument between the haves and
have-nots in college football. How can Kent State, who averages just
over 10,000 fans a game, and that's being generous, compete with
Michigan or Tennessee or Penn State, who all average well over 100,000
fans a game? That extra money brought in makes for a night and day
difference for a program. One of the most glaring examples was the 2008
Sugar Bowl when Georgia faced Hawaii. The difference in facilities,
athletic budgets, and everything that goes into making a football
program was the difference between the pros and high school. The same
goes for the non-BCS schools at the high end of the spectrum.
BYU is probably the best non-BCS program as far as being at a BCS level,
while Utah isn't far behind, but it's all about the on-field production.
If might be the WAC, but Boise State in the discussion.
Richard
Cirminiello,
CFN
Q:
What's the best non-BCS program?
A:
It’s awfully close, but I’d have to give the nod to Boise
State. And not just this year, which could be another
special one for the Broncos, but in general terms as well.
Listen, you can make a case for one of the teams in the
Mountain West, Utah, BYU, or TCU, and get few arguments.
However, Boise State’s past decade stands alone among the
non-BCS schools. Over those 10 years, the Broncos have gone
118-20, never winning less than eight games in a season and
taking eight Big West or WAC championships. It’s their
consistency, whether it’s Dirk Koetter, Dan Hawkins, or
Chris Petersen calling the shots, which has made the run so
remarkable. Plus, unlike the Utes, Cougars, and Horned
Frogs, their history isn’t nearly as rich, their facilities
are limited, and their ability to attract talent to Idaho
remains an annual chore. Boise State perennially gets the
players that the Pac-10 can’t use, and has had just three
players drafted in the first two rounds this decade, yet the
wins and points just keep on flowing.
Boise State has
become a machine, which doesn’t rebuild, regardless of the
changes on the coaching staff or the roster. With that
system in place, the departure of Petersen or a couple of
all-stars isn’t going to knock this school off the tracks,
which is something no other non-BCS program can boast.
Matthew
Zemek, CFN
Q:
What's the best non-BCS program?
A:
Well, this demands two answers: On an all-time basis, Army
is the best non-BCS program. Throughout the first half of
the 20th century, the team that so often clashed
with Notre Dame in Yankee Stadium was Army. The proud bearer
of Mr. Outside and Mr. Inside, Doc Blanchard and Glenn
Davis? Army. The team with even more long-term cachet than
early-era college football powers such as Harvard, Chicago,
Minnesota, TCU, and Georgia Tech (among others)? Army.
In the present day, the answer is Boise State. Utah has
had its transcendent moments, to be sure, and BYU snagged
the 1984 national title (not as legit a feat as Utah’s 2008
season, truth be told) to stake a claim to modern-day might
and manhood. If you awarded this based on the past 35 years,
BYU probably would deserve the honor, but if you narrow the
question and its focus to the 21st
century, one has to value BSU’s annual consistency over
Utah’s two spectacular seasons in 2004 and ’08. If you
wanted to argue for Utah, you’d have a credible case; it’s
really a matter of how and where one places the point/s of
emphasis.
Hunter Ansley,
Publisher,
DraftZoo.com
Q:
What's the best non-BCS program?
A:
When you’re trying to qualify a program as the
best “non-BCS” program, then you really have to
look at how the programs have done since the
inception of the BCS system.
Before that, these teams were still
mid-majors, but they weren’t so strictly defined
as outsiders.
So even if Notre Dame was an option here,
I don’t think they would make the cut.
They haven’t won a BCS game, and just
finally won a bowl game for the first time in
forever over Hawaii last year.
Not super impressive.
So, when looking at how the kid brother schools have fared in the BCS
era, it’s hard to argue against Utah.
No other team, regardless of conference, has managed to run the
table twice during this time.
On two separate occasions, with two separate
coaches, the Utes have finished unscathed, capping their season off with
bowl wins over more prominent programs.
The Pitt team that reached the Fiesta Bowl in 2005 was perhaps
the worst BCS conference representative in the history of the system,
but the Utes still won the game.
And that win propelled Urban Meyer to his current post at Florida
where he’s won two national titles.
And last years whooping of Alabama was perhaps the biggest BCS
upset ever. Alabama was
missing Andre Smith, but the Utes were clearly the better team that
night.
Boise State is a strong candidate for number two, but the WAC is not as
beefed up as the MWC. Utah’s
conference schedule includes TCU, one of the best defensive programs in
the country over the last few seasons, and BYU, a program with plenty of
history and offensive firepower of its own.
Boise’s a great program, but beating up on Hawaii, and even a
flailing Fresno State, just isn’t as impressive.
Jon Miller,
Publisher, HawkeyeNation.com
Q: What's the best non-BCS program?
A:
Boise State has the best winning percentage of any team in college
football over the past decade, Texas Christian is #9 and Utah is #13.
Utah has two wins in BCS bowl games, including this past year's
impressive triumph over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Boise State's Fiesta
Bowl win over Oklahoma is one of the most exciting bowl games in
history, and that 2006 Boise State team was legit. Navy was working
their way into the discussion, but the Paul Johnson era is finished.
Boise State plays in the WAC, which is far inferior to the Mountain
West. The MWC has Utah, TCU & BYU, so you know their champion had to
deal with a more challenging league slate to be in position as a BCS
buster. But Boise State can ill afford one loss if they want to be in
the hunt, and they have been right there. Right now, I'd go with Utah,
with Boise State just behind them and TCU running third, with BYU right
on their heels..
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