Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Broncos reiterate system's failings
Jeff Gilbert
Gilbert is the sports editor for The Roanoke Times
Recent columns
There was a much better show as midnight passed on New Year's night than there was on New Year's Eve.
Everyone knew at midnight that it would be 2007. But no one could predict what took place at the Fiesta Bowl early Tuesday morning.
Did you see Boise State beat Oklahoma in overtime? Did you see the Broncos buck traditional play-calling with a trick play to force overtime, then execute two more in overtime? Did you see Boise State star tailback Ian Johnson propose marriage to a Boise State cheerleader on the field after the game?
Whether you saw it live, saw the highlights or read about it, what does it make you think about the BCS?
Events like this only strengthen the argument for a playoff and a show that will rate better than what college football has now. The BCS, young as it is, is outdated and has rarely satisfied.
Boise State proved a team from the WAC (or the Mountain West or Conference USA) can defeat the powers. It won't happen every year, but it sure is fun to watch when it does.
Boise State's victory wasn't the only game Monday that added another point of contention to the debate for a playoff.
All through December, the experts proclaimed Michigan the second best team in the country. USC ended that debate with a second-half rout in the Rose Bowl.
Now the talk is this: Looks like maybe Boise State should have been given the chance to play Ohio State, not Florida. And nobody is saying Michigan was overlooked.
But how do we really know who should be playing for the title? We don't.
Michigan didn't have much to play for. The Wolverines lost their chance at a national championship when the voters decided against a rematch. Had they been playing USC for a trip to the national semifinals, maybe things turn out differently.
There was never any way Michigan was going to be able to put the Ohio State loss and the ensuing drop in the polls behind them.
Is Boise State's stunning victory an upset the Broncos could repeat? We'll never know. But George Mason proved by reaching the Final Four last year that the little team can do it more than once. The time for a playoff came years ago, and all those old arguments against one are weak.
It doesn't really matter how it's done, just that it is. Eight teams would be enough to start, because not nearly as many teams have a true shot at going all the way in football as they do in basketball. Sure a couple of teams will feel left out, but that will be the case no matter how many are invited.
If a cheerleader can be put on the spot on national television and say yes to a marriage proposal, then university presidents can take their time in a board room and say yes to a playoff proposal.
And we'll all be as shocked as the future Mrs. Johnson was.
