Luck of the WAC

Next article for the Boise State student media.

Everyone loves a Cinderella story, but no one loves seeing Cinderella in the starring role.

Up 17-0 in the first quarter, Boise State had set the tone to the blockbuster BCS buster game of the first week. In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, I, along with most of the campus, were glued to the television in complete shock. Most, including myself, were ready to celebrate the dashing of Boise's hopes. No one expected this. Where I was watching the game along with twenty of my fraternity brothers, there was a mixture of disbelief, open swearing, and amazement. Also, there seemed to be a repetition of one particular word. Luck.

Luck is defined as the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities. To us in the Southeastern Conference, Boise State is the figurehead of luck. All other BCS-busters that had risen to fame had been put in their place. Take for example, teams such as Utah, BYU, Hawaii, older TCU teams, and various other teams had all achieved success only to have it taken away at some point down the road. Still, no one has achieved the success of Boise, and Boise has not had their throne taken. Time and time again, they escape defeat. The Fiesta Bowl of old, The TCU game, and, finally, the Virginia Tech barn-burner of the opening week all seem to prove that some force is working in your favor.

To us, it is not that you are overly talented or menacing. You are a mediocre team that relies on...luck. Somehow, it always works out in your favor. Credit can not be given because you are not a good team that handles their business. To us, you could not go out against a ranked team such as Penn State and dominate them in all aspects of the game. Honestly, you are that annoying thorn in the foot of the NCAA. Consistently there, in media talk and coverage, and always the source of pain. Pain referring to the fact that you are not supposed to be there, and we can not seem to get rid of you.

Well, Broncos, luck has turned against you. You have finally been defeated. It may not have been on that blue turf. It was not even against you at all. The lowly/perrenial-powerhouse FCS James Madison dukes have defeated not only Virginia Tech, but you in all of your Cinderella grandeur. By upsetting Virginia Tech by more points than you could pull away, your luck has taken a drastic free-fall into the dark side. Unless you pull off 70+ against Oregon State, that national championship berth that was in arm's length is now just a distant mirage. You may jump TCU, depending on your performance against Oregon State and for the rest of the year. Do not expect to keep a first place position in the BCS come season's end if a one-loss Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, or Oregon is breathing down your neck. Face it. An FCS team just ended your shot at the title.