Virginia Tech vs Boise State vs Officiating

As the resident Hokie, I suppose it's my civic duty to review this game...I'll try to keep it as unbiased as possible.

#5 Boise State-33, #6 Virginia Tech-30

First off, allow me to address the uniforms: they were hideous. Nike needs to be sued by a group of clothing designers or something. Boise's jerseys were bad, but Tech looked like a team from some 13 year old's poorly written fan fiction about "futureball," a game that combines football with explosions and stripper cheerleaders. (Kinda like the XFL.) Both teams' helmets were nice, though. But you're not here for aesthetics, you're here for analysis, especially since you already know who won the game.

Well, for once a big game lived up to the hype. Aside from the horrible, awful first quarter, this game was danged good. The first quarter, however, was an embarrassment to anyone who happens to root for the team from Blacksburg. Boise's jump to a 17-0 lead owed much less to the Broncos' skill, and much more to outright ineptitude from Virginia Tech. It should be obvious that the debacle of the first quarter factored into the decision, since Virginia Tech outscored Boise by 14 over the course of the rest of the game. I'm aware that it's everyone's first game, but Tech's offensive line looked outright sad during the first quarter, and I'm not really sure they started getting better over the course of the game so much as Tyrod Taylor said "Alright, enough of this." and put the game on his shoulders.

Boise, meanwhile, looked great when it came to shutting down Tech's running attack. Mind you, they did so at the expense of the pass defense. Taylor's not the best passer, but he threw for nearly 200 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sure, Kellen Moore had better numbers through the air, but he's a passing quarterback. Tech's defense, which was replacing 6 starters, didn't have a shot at shutting down the Boise offense, but they did do OK until they gave up an absurdly long touchdown run in the 3rd quarter.

The salient feature of this game for me (and just about everyone else who willingly wears the clashing colors of maroon and orange) was the officiating. Specifically, the quality of the officiating, which was remarkably poor. Fortunately (I guess) the screwups were pretty much even. Boise State, for example, was called for "running into the kicker" in the 3rd. In all honesty, the Boise State player grazed Tech's kicker and he (like many other kickers) treated the slight touch as though it were a gunshot wound. After the five yard penalty was marched off, Tech proceeded to throw a touchdown on the very next play. But the reason why Blacksburgians (Blacksburgites? Blacksburgers? There needs to be a dictionary for this crap.) are up in arms today is because of the final minute and a half of the game. On the kickoff there was an illegal block in the back. The flag was thrown, and the officials decided that there was no penalty. OK, fine. Debatable, but fine. Later in the drive, Virginia Tech was whistled for a personal foul on a late hit. This call was, simply put, bad. The lateness of the hit was debatable, but if the refs wanted to err on the side of caution, that's OK. What is not OK is that, on Virginia Tech's final possession, a similarly debatable pass interference call was ignored on 4th down. If you want to be a ticky-tack official who calls every little rule infraction, that's fine, but call it both ways. The running into the kicker call and the late hit call were both bad calls, but the block in the back and the pass interference call were bad no-calls. Inconsistent officiating drives fans bonkers, and I am no exception. Or maybe I'm still not over this call. Not that it matters, because they're not going to replay the game on my account.

In conclusion, now that they've beaten the Hokies, I sincerely hope that Boise runs the table and heads to the National Championship game. The chips need to fall right, though, because (as seen above) I choose to focus on the coaches poll, which currently places Boise at number 3. Considering the relative weakness of their schedule, they still need a miracle or two to make the National Title game. What they really need is for Virginia Tech and Oregon State to run the table after they play Boise, the better to make the Broncos look good. As it stands, though, Boise needs every major conference team to lose a game, because otherwise coaches will find an excuse to place any team above them, if only to preserve the BCS monopoly.

Well, that's all. Personally, I think I did alright on avoiding the bias, but I'm curious to get your input. Comment away...

Other days in review

Sitting here on a Friday night/Saturday morning the day before the Tennessee/Vanderbilt game listening to music that was recorded about 20 years before I was born. Yeah, I'm cool. But you don't read this because of how cool I am, you read because of the fact that you like your college football spiced with sarcasm and guile and you like it 4 days late. I can do that! Let's look at the games that have been played thus far this week, including a game from this year's nominee for most overrated team:

Colorado-28, #12 Oklahoma State-31

Throughout the majority of this game, the announcers were talking about Oklahoma State's shot at getting into a BCS bowl. Really? Let's look at the current standings...

#1 Florida and #2 Alabama have cupcake games this week, followed by games against inferior rival schools the next week. Barring an apocalypse level meltdown this week or a semi-apocalyptic disaster the next, both of these teams will go into the SEC Championship game undefeated. The winner goes to the National Championship game, the loser probably goes to the Sugar Bowl.
#3 Texas, keeping with the season's theme, will play a pathetic opponent this week (Kansas and their apparently abusive coach) and then they will play rival Texas A&M. Following that, they will play Nebraska or Kansas State for the Big 12 title. Then they will play in the National Title game unless lightning strikes and they lose. If, for some reason, they do lose that game, then Texas still goes to a BCS Bowl and the Big 12 Champ goes as well.
TCU won't lose any of their remaining games, and they're pretty much guaranteed a shot in a BCS game.
#5 Cincinnati could still lose, but they or Pitt will be the Big East champs, clenching another spot in the BCS.
#6 Boise State, in a similar vein to TCU, will have gone undefeated, and they beat their lone major competition (Oregon, a win that's worth more than any on Oklahoma State's schedule). They should go to a BCS bowl.
#7 Georgia Tech is going to the ACC Championship. Because the ACC's down this year, only the winner of the ACC will go to the Orange Bowl. But, let's be honest, that should be GT.
#8 LSU probably won't go to a BCS game. Still, according to the computers, they have a better shot than the Cowboys of Stillwater.
#9 Pitt or Cincinnati will get the Big East's bid. So...let's move on.
#10 Ohio State has already clinched a BCS bid.
#11 Oregon leads their conference. Either they or #17 Stanford will get the PAC-10's berth.

There are 10 berths in the BCS. You're telling me that one of those bowls would realistically take Oklahoma State over any of the 11 teams ranked above them? Considering that Oklahoma State's best win is still Georgia! If you want to see words you never thought you'd read, stay tuned. I hope Oklahoma crushes Oklahoma State next week. Nothing would please me more than to see OSU lose to all 3 decent teams they've played this season. As it was they looked bad against Colorado. Yes, there are injuries and the Dez Bryant suspension. You know what? It's still friggin' Colorado!


Let's move on, shall we? There's nothing left for us to see here.

#7 Boise State-52, Utah State-21

First off, note that Utah is a boring state.

Well, the 3rd most important school in Utah (a title everyone wants, dontcha know?) actually stuck with Boise for one and a half quarters before Boise dropped three touchdowns on them in the final 4:47 of the first half. Anytime you give up 21 points inside the space of 5 minutes, it's not a good sign. When you do that against a team that outclasses you pretty heavily, it sinks any upset bid.

Boise's a good team, and their win over Oregon looks better than it did when the Ducks' disaster unfolded back in September. The question, however, is whether Boise can beat a conference champion at a neutral sight. Actually, thanks to the idiots who think Oklahoma State deserves to be in a BCS game, the question right now is whether Boise (which has beaten a currently ranked team, unlike another school I've been ripping in this post) will even get the opportunity to play a conference champ. They keep doing what they must, however, which is win. So long as they do that, it'll be difficult to deny them a BCS berth...

PS: Note that, while I still eschew the meaninglessness of "head to head" matchups as a barometer of team performance, do pay attention to the fact that Boise State beat Louisiana Tech by 10 at LTU, while the LSU Tigers only beat the Bulldogs by 8 at home. Just some food for thought.


Finally, to explain why this coming week might be a bit different, I will be headed to the Tennessee/Vanderbilt game tomorrow. I will still try and post a "regular" bit ASAP. Plus, I'll try and include a description of the wildness that is Neyland Stadium. For now...sleep.

Rankings Rant

Another day, another rant. Let's see what's wrong with the Top 25 this week...

Riddle me this, selection committee: Why did Boise State move down and Virginia Tech move up? Look, I love my Hokies, but to say that they deserve to move up after beating Duke by 8 is quite silly. Sure, Duke is a 1-A opponent and Boise beat up UC Davis, a 1-AA foe, but that's hardly worthy of pushing them downward. Heck, the #1 team in the country has yet to play a ranked team! Also, the 1-A/1-AA argument is further invalidated by the fact that Duke lost to a 1-AA team earlier this season! Boise is, in my mind, still #5. I, however, do not get a vote, so that is really meaningless...

Further down, Cincinnati is #8 for reasons that I really can't determine. Yes, they're undefeated, but I'm not sure if their best win is Fresno State or Oregon State. Neither one is exactly a "signature" win.

Ohio State has played 1 good team, 4 bad ones, and has a 4-1 record. Miami has played 3 good teams, 1 bad one, and has a 3-1 record. Why is Ohio State ranked 2 spots higher?!

Honestly there's not too much wrong with the rest of the Top 25. Sure, there's some objections to teams with weak schedules taking up space, but with conference play really beginning in earnest this week, the best teams in their respective conferences will begin to rise to the top.

Rankings Rant

Let's take a look at the Top 25, and everything that's wrong with it...


First off, you won't hear any complaints from this blogger about the Top 5. However, if I had one, it's that Boise State and Bama are ranked too low. Yeah, you read that right. Guess I should explain...

The Top 5 teams in college football have currently played a grand total of 2 ranked teams. Not just currently ranked teams, ranked teams period. (If you really want to stretch it, LSU played Washington who managed to get ranked, then promptly flamed out) #17 Miami has played 3 ranked teams, and beat two of them! Miami has one loss (to current #6 Virginia Tech) and yet they're in the bottom half of the poll. Florida has played nobody, yet they sit atop the poll because they are the defending national champions. I agree that they should be ranked, and ranked highly, but they have not proven themselves to be the best team in the country, especially with that pedestrian performance against Tennessee.

If rankings are supposed to prove who can beat whom, then Boise and Bama need to be higher.

Moving down the poll, I'm not entirely sure how Southern Cal vaulted back up into the #7 slot. They got beaten by Washington, fell to 12, then jumped up 4 spots for Penn State, Cal, Ole Miss, and Miami's losses. My question is simple: Why did they leapfrog Oklahoma to move up 5 spots? OU's loss came earlier (traditionally meaning they should be ranked higher until they lose again) against a team that was ranked, unlike USC's loss. Plus, BYU is still ranked, unlike Washington. It doesn't make any sense to me to see the Trojans above the Sooners, but I guess that's why I'm not a voter.

Cincinnati is in the Top 10 for the first time in school history. This is fairly meaningless, but I guess it's good for the Big East to have a Top 10 team. They certainly don't deserve it, since they've played no one, and I doubt they could beat the 110 teams ranked below them, but since they have an incredibly weak schedule, there's a real chance they could wind up with a BCS bid before it's all said and done.

Houston is ranked too low for my tastes. They beat the then-#5 team in the country, are undefeated, and are still ranked below Oklahoma, who was beaten by the then-#20 team in the country. How's that work?

Iowa should probably be ranked higher as well. They, Kansas, and Michigan are the lowest-ranked undefeated teams. The reason Iowa should be ranked higher? Because they beat #5, unlike Kansas and Michigan who have played a gaggle of nobodies.

Question: Why did Miami fall so hard? They got badly beaten, yes, but they also beat 2 ranked schools. Their hard fall teaches schools the wrong lesson: They shouldn't schedule hard teams because losing leads to low rankings. Even if they go undefeated from here on out, I doubt that Miami will make the National Championship game because of 1 Saturday in September.

Nothing else too egregious in the Top 25 this week, we'll wait for next week...

Back to having a purpose!

Well, it's finally here! September 3 is the start of the college football season, and I'm pleased to note that, even though it's the first week of the season, there are some actual games!

Oregon and Boise State match up tonight in a battle on that hideous blue turf. Plus, South Carolina is about to go against NC State in a matchup of....uh....football teams!

Either way, football of the college variety has returned, and with it profoundly stupid sportswriting! Mr. Wilbon, take it away! Wilbon, who's awesome on PTI (<-Honestly not sarcasm), opens up this article with some stuff about why he's cheering for Boise State. I have no problem with this. Heck, Boise holds a soft spot in everyone outside of Oklahoma's heart. They're the team that's helped hurt the BCS. It's great. I agree with Wilbon for 3 whole sentences. Then, the idiocy begins in earnest:

College football hates party crashers

No, the BCS hates party crashers. College football loves them. For crying out loud, upsets and trick plays are some of the best viewing there is. Yeah, ratings are lower. The school's in Idaho, what do you expect? This article could get ugly...

The powers that be — that would be the people who run the BCS — want you to focus on the ACC, Big East, Southeastern Conference, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pacific-10 and divert your eyes from those little giant killers, notably Boise State, Texas Christian, Utah and Brigham Young.

Number of wins for these "Giant Killers" against BCS conference foes during the 06-08 seasons:
TCU: 5 (2 wins against Stanford and Baylor each, and 1 against Texas Tech.)
Utah: 5 (Michigan, UCLA, Louisville, Oregon State, Alabama)
BYU: 5 (Oregon, Arizona, UCLA (twice), and Washington)
Boise State: 3 (Oregon State, Oklahoma, Oregon)

Look, I appreciate good, upstart football, but this isn't giant killing. It's like beating up on Goliath's little brother. It's just not that impressive to beat Oregon State, a now-mediocre Michigan, and other teams scribbling at the bottom of their BCS-bound conferences. (Hawaii sucked, remember?)

They certainly don't want you to remember that the Mountain West was 6-1 against the Pac-10 last season and that three teams from the Mountain West (Utah, TCU and BYU) were all ranked above the ACC champion (always overrated Virginia Tech) going into the 2008 bowl season.

OK, first off, you're an idiot. "Always overrated" I guess is slang for "willing to play nonconference foes that don't suck." Seriously, if legitimate BCS schools scheduled Stanford, Baylor, and UCLA over and over again, they'd be accused of padding the schedule (*cough* Tennessee *cough*). And, as App State and Michigan proved, rankings (other than that #1 and #2 in the computer) are near meaningless. It doesn't matter if you're #3 or #30, you're going to a bowl, but it's not the national championship. Therefore, most of America won't care.

Teams from the Mountain West aren't going to a National Championship game. Not under the current system. Lobby for a playoff, don't grasp at straws!

The Broncos, voted 16th in the coaches' poll but a top-10 team in some preseason forecasts, are ranked high enough to have a chance to be No. 2 in the BCS ratings at the end of the regular season, but only if they beat Oregon impressively to start the season.

Or do. Either way.... Moving on, here in a country with a growing deficit, a terrorist threat, and a raging healthcare debate, Wilbon then stumps for some good ol' fashioned Congressional hearings. Let's see the argument:

[Inquiries] might not be out of the question given the increasing annoyance in legislative circles with some of the systematic inequities — like the ACC getting $18.6 million last year from BCS games while the Mountain West got $9.8 million, even though Mountain West teams were so much better than the ACC teams.

OK, couple of things here. 1) Where's your evidence that the MWC schools were better than the ACC. When did the conferences play one another?! The good MWC schools did well. The crappy ones did crappy. Same in the ACC, but I'll take Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech over Boise State and BYU any day.

As for the money thing...yeah, I'm in favor of a playoff. Don't drag Congress into it. This system is already unfair: Big schools take in more money than little ones by virtue of size alone. Once again: Idaho...not the center of the universe.

There's then some spotlighting of talented players from the little schools and some whining about the National Championships won by BYU and others, but it's time for this post to end.

In conclusion, college football's back, and I can't wait for the first Saturday in Review!