Can I say “I told you so”? Last night’s game, while already being a blowout, was not even as close as the scoreboard indicated. Boise State essentially left seventeen points off the board, by having two close calls in the end zone being ruled out of bounds, and having a field goal blocked. Not to mention the fact that they turned the ball over three times in the first quarter and a half.
However, this doesn’t say a whole lot about Boise State. It really legitimizes the claim that Utah was a fraud, and was racking up points against inferior competition earlier in the season. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; the 2010 Boise State football squad is capable of playing heads up with any team in the nation. Sadly, they will be remembered more for their collapse against Nevada than the quality wins and performances that they did have.
Thanks to the Broncos, I was able to gain 33 points in the College Bowl Mania game. Unfortunately, most people also had Boise State for a high number of confidence points, so I didn’t really make up very much ground on the leaders. Tonight’s game could be a different story, though.
Here is my pick for the December 23rd bowl game.
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
Navy vs. San Diego State
It was unclear whether or not Qualcomm Stadium would even be ready for this bowl game, as the field was completely underwater as recently as last night. Thankfully the water has been drained, and the game will be played as scheduled. However, the parking lot still looks like a small lake, so it could get dicey finding a parking sport. If you’re reading this though, that probably isn’t your highest concern.
If you want a preview of this matchup, I’d suggest taking a look at an article I wrote for Bleacher Report.
As for my pick, I think that Navy will be able to control possession of the football, which will be extremely important in this game. With this being said, I think that it will be a low scoring affair (at least, by San Diego State’s standards), even with San Diego State having one of the better passing attacks in the country. If Navy protects the football and limits the chances for Ryan Lindley to throw it around, I think the Midshipmen will come out of San Diego with a close victory. I have Navy for 6 points in the College Bowl Mania game.
Final Score: 28-24 Navy
– K. Becks
As far as Boise goes there wasn’t any doubts in my mind that Boise couldn’t pull off a win. I mean can anyone honestly say that just because Boise had one loss they were any less of the team that for most of the season hovered around 3rd in the rankings.
Another point I would like to make is that it might just be me, but it seems that football has gone downhill. What I want to know is where did all the grace and style go. What I mean by this is that you can play the game to win and run all day, soak up the clock, and give your opponent no opportunity; or you can win with style by making big plays. It could just be that I am an Ohio State fan and this past season lacked highlights. If you watched the local news high school highlights were better. The point I am attempting to make is where did the competition go? Has everyone decided to try to gain as many wins as possible to place high in the BCS standings? Why don’t big teams play big competition, because weak schedules seem to become weaker every year. I’m afraid to say it, but in an instance like this a person almost wishes that notre dame gets into the national championship so that all the commotion over super conferences stops.
I agree with your thoughts about Boise State. Although the Utah game didn’t do anything to re-convince skeptics (don’t get me wrong, at no point did I think it would), Boise State was still a good football team.
Also, there are many different ways to play the game. Controlling possession of the football is just one of the tactics used to win games. You can’t fault teams for “winning ugly” if they consistently win that way. Navy isn’t flashy, but is a good team who will give most teams a game.
And yes, it will always be about winning. As long as we have competitive sporting events, it will always be about winning at a high level such as Divison 1 college football.