The big school/little school rivalry between BCS automatic qualifiers and BCS outsiders took a turn for the interesting Wednesday when Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee said Boise State and TCU do not deserve to play in the National Championship Game because of their weak schedule. It’s a point I’ve argued before, but Ohio State’s non-conference schedule was underwhelming, and they also missed playing Michigan State in conference. Hence, their school president is not the person to make such an argument, though the point has some validity.
Here’s the rub: what if Boise State or TCU is the best team in the country despite not playing a difficult schedule? Wouldn’t that mean they should have a chance at the National Championship Game? Sure does in my book. And guess what, there’s some serious support for Boise State in this regard.
Last week we spoke with Mike Seba, a senior oddsmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants which provides sports betting lines for several Las Vegas sports books. He said he had Boise State ranked at the same level as Oregon and Auburn, two of the other unbeaten teams in college football. Want some more? Jay Kornegay, the director of the Las Vegas Hilton race and sports book, told LBS he thinks “Boise State is the best team in the college football.”
Though I said before the year began that Boise State did not belong in the National Championship Game because of their poor schedule, I have changed my mind. Should Auburn or Oregon lose, they do belong in the game. Although I still believe they would lose a game playing in a tougher conference, they would be at the top of every conference in college football. Furthermore, if they were playing Ohio State, I’d pick the Broncos every time.
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