Nick Saban Nails the Boise State Problem

One of the biggest debates in college football is whether or not Boise State deserves a spot in a national championship game should they go undefeated. My answer is no because their schedule is not challenging enough, regardless of their win over Virginia Tech and a potential win over Oregon State.

Boise State is a very good team and a fine program — I picked them to beat Virginia Tech — but I firmly believe they would lose a game or two if they played in a major conference. It’s one thing to get up for a big game once or twice a year but it’s a complete other to beat quality opponents every single week. That’s something Alabama has to face in the SEC but something Boise State does not have to in the WAC. Saban noted the difference on his Thursday night radio show, as relayed by The Wiz of Odds:

He noted that Alabama defeated Virginia Tech in its 2009 opener and defeated six other teams that were the caliber of Virginia Tech, or maybe better. And maybe more than that if you throw in Texas and Florida in the SEC Championship Game. …”

“It’s the full body of work. It’s not just that you can beat one team, but if you have to beat six or seven other teams and have to play with consistency to do it, I think that goes a long way in saying a lot about what kind of football team that you have. And that’s no disrespect that you have, because they may certainly be able to do the same thing if they were put in that circumstance.”

At least Boise State will be challenged more regularly when they move to the Mountain West but for now, the situation is as Saban describes it. It’s hard to tell a school before they’ve even played a game that no matter what you do, it won’t be good enough, but that’s the situation for Boise State. You cannot tell me with confidence that they would be undefeated if they had to play Florida, LSU, Auburn, and Arkansas, and that’s the issue at hand.

Sources:
Saban takes a shot at Boise State’s worthiness as a BCS title contender [The Birmingham News]