Since Boise State's surprising, cataclysmic upset of Oklahoma in the '06 Fiesta Bowl, the BCS polls and voters have given more respect to teams in less-superior conferences. Other teams, such as TCU and Utah, have benefitted from that very game and have been successful in their own rights (ex. Utah's handling of Alabama in the '08 Sugar Bowl). Then, there are highly praised teams like '07 Hawaii who were given the first week cupcake treatment by Georgia in a 41-10 curb-stomping. I am not saying that these conferences deserve more respect(in fact, I think they may be receiving too much) or should be neglected for their 'easier' path. I just thought it would be fun to analyze how this year's Boise State team would stack up in the SEC.
Tim Hyland, from About.com, in his pre-season poll has the Broncos as the number one team in the nation. According to him:
"No, the No. 1 reason Boise gets the nod at No. 1 is the simple fact that this team returns 21 of 22 starters from a team that ran the table in 2009. The folks in SEC country may not like to hear it, but facts are facts, and Boise State is a legitimate national title contender. They'll prove it by beating Virginia Tech on Sept. 6."
Most people have followed this trend and placed the Broncos as their number one team as well. The AP poll decided it best to place them fifth which is surprising for people on both sides of the legitimacy argument. I, being an SEC and Alabama Crimson Tide fan, understand the 'facts' surrounding Boise State, and in no way do I think they are not legitimate. They are a good team that has the chance to do something great. I just do not believe they could survive a season in the SEC. Here are some other facts. Thanks to Pat Forde of ESPN.
1. Over the past four years, after four, crowned, SEC bred national championship teams, there has been another SEC team denied a chance at that championship game. For those eight teams ('08 '09 Alabama, '06 '08 '09 Florida, '07 Georgia, and '06 '07 LSU), they have been 39-1 in non-conference play. They have a combined 10 losses in conference play.
2. Teams such as Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, Mississippi, and South Carolina have managed to beat teams that finished in the top six since the '07 season.
3.The four top-tier title games? Not even close. The average margin of victory being 16.8 points and the closest at 10. There has not even been a second half deficit.
4. Most power ranking polls have up to seven SEC teams in the top 25. Alabama faces six of these teams.
Even though the SEC-and the nation in general-seem to lack the juggernaut teams of the preceding years, the SEC has something irreplaceable and hard to describe. I would like to say swagger, but I do not think that encompasses the whole entity that is the SEC's state of mind, especially when it comes to their play against other leagues. So, here we go:
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IS COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE AND SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN PERSONALLY. IT IS THE OPINION, OF ONE TRYING TO BE UNBIASED, OF HOW BOISE STATE WOULD PERFORM IN THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE.
SEC East:
Florida: L 34-24 New 'pocket-pass' quarterback Brantley unleashes a slew of talented wide receivers upon the Boise State defense. Boise State responds, but, not as frequently, against a talented Florida defense.
Georgia: L 40-38 An explosive game. Despite Kellen Moore's amazing performance, I believe talented wide receiver AJ Green and young, explosive running back Ealey will help Georgia pull past the Broncos.
Kentucky: W 42-24 Ease by Kentucky. No promlems here.
South Carolina: W 22-20 Last second field goal pushes the Broncos past a rejuvenated Steve Spurrier unit. I believe this game could go either way.
Tennessee: W 38-17 Tennessee will not be much of a test against the Broncos.
Vanderbilt: W 52-14 It's Vanderbilt, enough said.
SEC West
Alabama: L 36-30 The Boise State offense takes advantage of an inexperienced, yet talented Alabama defense. But, Alabama's experienced offense and barrage of playmakers from every position are too much for Boise's defense who gave up an average of 17.1 points a game last year in the WAC.
Arkansas: L 40-28 The battle of the quarterbacks. Ryan Mallet and company win a shootout.
Auburn: L 27-25 Surprise, surprise. A well-balanced Auburn squad upsets Boise State in the final minutes. This game could go either way.
LSU: W 18-14 Depends on home field advantage. I will give Boise the blue turf and the win. Again, this game could go either way.
Mississippi: W 34-27 Pac-10 transfer Jeremiah Masoli and Ole Miss give the Broncos a scare. A solid Kellen Moore leads the Broncos to victory.
Mississippi State: W 48-18 Cruise control as the Broncos beat down the Dogs.
...This leaves the Broncos at a mediocre 7-5 with a possibility of being as bad as 4-8 in my opinion. Considering that Alabama has to play three of Boise's five SEC losses, it is easy to see how making it through that schedule deserves a championship in itself. Of course, it is impossible for me to account for passion (remember the Boise Fiesta Bowl) or injury. This is just a fun little experiment that I wanted to conduct. IF Boise reaches the national championship game this year, and, IF, they beat an SEC team, they deserve all of the respect in the world for dethroning the BCS dictator, and I vow to write you an apologetic article.
Boise State would destroy Alabama.... if Alabama or any good SEC team would wanna play?? didn't think so... we'll see you in the NC where you can't cower from playing us.
ReplyDeleteNobody respects a paper champion, and Alabama is a paper champion that has not played the best.
Gonna have to disagree with you. The SEC is a college football powerhouse. Granted, we have a few teams that struggle here and there, but the fact is, EVERYONE wants to be in the SEC. And, if Boise played any SEC team worth a damn (i.e Bama, Arkansas, Florida), they'd get stomped. It's as simple as that.
ReplyDeleteNot played the best? Is Boise State the best because they beat Oregon State and Virginia Tech. At most, Boise will have played three teams that are ranked at the end of the year. Most likely, it will be only one.
ReplyDeleteAlabama has already played three ranked teams and has two more top ten teams to deal with. There's no argument for Boise State until they play real teams week in and week out. Switching to the Mountain West won't help. Please, at least move to the Pac 10. Anyone can be prepared for Oregon State having to play Wyoming the week before.
There's no argument. The only things I hear are 'Alabama would be destroyed' and 'Boise wins'. Those are pathetic arguments. At least seven SEC schools would go undefeated with that schedule.