Sport Talker

Due to increased traffic looking for BCS ranking information, I’ve decided to post 2007 final poll information. Before we get into the actual final rankings, I will describe each poll, just in case you’re not sure what each really is.

The AP Poll, or Associated Press Poll, is compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation. Each voter provides his/her own ranking of the top 25 teams in the nation. Each of the individual rankings are then combined to produce the national ranking by giving a team 25 points for a first place vote, 24 points for a second place vote and so forth down to one point for a twenty-fifth place vote. Ballots of the voting members in the AP Poll are made public. The following 65 sportswriters and broadcasters (and their corresponding affiliate) voted in the AP Poll for NCAA football for the 2006-2007 season.

The coaches poll, or the USA Today Coaches Poll, are compiled by the USA Today Board of Coaches, which is made up of 63 head coaches at Division I-A institutions. All coaches are members of the American Football Coaches Association. The following made up the 2006 Board of Coaches (and their corresponding school). those coaches who have been dismissed from position are noted with an asterisk.

The Harris Poll, or the Harris Interactive College Football Poll, is used to rank the top 25 college football teams each week from September all the way to the end of the regular football season. First, Division I-Bowl Subdivision college football conferences and independent institutions nominate prospective panelists. Then Harris randomly selects 114 members from the nominees to participate in the actual panel. From each week in September to the end of the regular college football season these 114 panelists vote on the particular ranking of teams. These rankings are then published and are used to determine 1/3 of the BCS standings.

The current BCS formula uses an average of the Coaches Poll, the Harris Poll, and the average of 6 computer calculated ranking systems. For the 2004-2005 season, which was the first season of the 3 poll average determining the BCS rank, the Associated Press Poll was used instead of the Harris Poll.
Well, this year’s rankings are as follows:

Well, Florida defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes in the BCS National Championship Game. This leaves the only undefeated team in the nation, the Boise State Broncos, left out in the dark when deciding this year’s national champion. In the BCS poll, Ohio State still finished number 1 in the country. Does this make any sense? Can you believe that the computer rankings that are used to evaluate all the teams in the nation to determine who plays in bowl games and who doesn’t ranked Ohio State, who lost to Florida in their final game ahead of Florida? This same computer poll left Boise State, the only undefeated team in the nation, as low as 8th. Let me give you a moment to let this set in … 8th!!!

Of course neither the associated press or the coaches polls gave Florida the unjustice of not winning the national title after beating the number one school in the country, but they still left Boise State out in the cold. In the Coaches Poll, the Florida Gators received all 63 votes for the number one school in the country, Ohio State finished number 2, and Boise State was left with in a measily 6th place.

In the Associated Press Poll, Boise State faired the best, where they received 1 of 65 total votes as the number one school in the country and finished in 5th. Florida of course received the other 64 votes and took home National Championship honors.

Is anybody else outraged that the only undefeated school in the nation (can you hear me beating that dead horse) couldn’t finish higher than 5th in the nation? This is a complete outrage and the BCS must instate at the very minimum a 4 team tournament to determine the national championship. In what other sport does a team, no matter how good they fair, have an impossability of winning the championship? What is the point of the lesser known conferences (i.e. Western Athletic Conference, Mid-American Conference, Conference USA, etc) of the world even competing?

Even in NCAA basketball these teams have a chance of competing. Just last year George Mason University, of the Colonial Athletic Conference, made it to the Final Four in the NCAA BAsketball Tournament, ultimately losing to Florida who wen on to win the National Title. But at least they were given the chance to play until they lost or won it all. It’s this win or go home format that all sports fans can appreciate. Leave it all on the court/field/etc or why are you playing! Well, that’s exactly what Boise State did this year and they should be rewarded with an opportunity to play Florida for the “real” championship game.

Like the old saying goes, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog”. The dog in this case was the underdog of the BCS Tostito’s Fiesta Bowl, the Boise State Broncos. The Bronco’s, 2006 Western Athletic Conference champions, were one of only two undefeated teams in Division IA football, the other being the number one ranked team in the country, the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Most people outside of the Bronco’s home state of Idaho didn’t give them much of a chance against the very prestigious, highly recruited program of the Oklahoma Sooners. The Bronco’s, led by senior quarterback Jared Zabransky, shocked them all by coming out and taking an early lead.

With five and a half minutes remaining in the third quarter, well in contol with a 28-10 lead, the Bronco’s forced Oklahoma to punt and made their first big mistake. A stray bouncing punt hit freshman wide receiver Aiona Key in the back of the foot and Oklahoma recovered the fumble. Two plays later, after an Adrian Peterson 8 yard touchdown run, the Sooners only trailed 28-17.

With a little less than 3 minutes remaining in regulation, Boise State punted away to Oklahoma with a close 28-20 lead. Oklahoma wasted little time walking down the field and converting for a touchdown on a 8 yard touchdown pass from Paul Thompson to Quentin Chaney, leaving only a 2 point conversion necessary to tie up the game. After two attempts that resulted in penalties, Thompson completed a pass to Juaquin Iglesias for the conversion, tying the game.

Boise State got the ball back with 1:16 remaining. In the first play from scrimmage Jared Zabransky made his first devastating mistake, throwing a ball directly into the hands of junior Oklahoma cornerback Marcus Walker who returned the ball 34 yards for the touchdown and giving Oklahoma the lead with a little more than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter.

With 18 seconds remaining and facing a 4th down and 18 at midfield, Boise State’s chances seemed bleak at best. The Broncos didn’t back down and that’s when the magic started. Zabransky completed a pass to Drisan James at Oklahoma’s 35 yard line, James then pitched the ball to Jerard Rabb, successfully completing the “hook and lateral”, who then raced the remaining 35 yards and into the end zone, sending the game into overtime. Boise State head coach, Chris Petersen, later credited his backup quarterbacks with the play call.

In case you aren’t familar with the way overtime works in college football, here is the format:

• Each team is given one possession from its opponent’s twenty-five yard line.
• The leader after those possessions, if there is one, is declared the winner.
• If the teams remain tied, this continues, switching the order of possessions for each overtime, until one team leads the other at the end of the overtime.
• Extra points do not count from the 3rd overtime on, making it necessary for teams scoring touchdowns to attempt a two-point conversion.

Boise State won the coin toss and choose to go on defense first. On the first play of overtime Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson ran for a 25 yard touchdown and thus took the lead 42-35.

In the Bronco’s possession they moved the ball very slowly, culminating in a 4th and 2 from the 5 yard line. Knowing they needed a touchdown to tie up the game, they lined their offense up on the field. Jaren Zabransky, Boise State’s starting quarterback went into motion, leaving only sophomore receiver Vinny Perretta in the backfield. Perretta took the snap, ran to the right, then lofted a floating pass to senior tight end Derek Schouman in the back of the end zone for the touchdown. Needing only an extra point to tie the game and send it into a second overtime period, Boise State’s offense again took the field to go for the 2-point conversion and the win. Zabransky took the snap faked a throw to his receiver on the right and held the ball behind him where sophomore running back Ian Johnson ran the ball to the left and into the end zone to win the game. It was a classic “Statue of Liberty” play that you see more in cartoons and movies than in an actual football game, but it worked and it won Boise State the game.

It was simply a very exciting game, however, brings up a very controversial topic in college football: Should the NCAA national champion be crowned through the existing BCS national championship game or through a tournament format? It seems rather simple to me, more than 2 teams, nearly every season, have an argument to be made why they deserve to play in a national championship game. It is hard to deny a team, who wins every game on their schedule, the opportunity to play for a national championship. Unfortunately, this is not currently the case as it is nearly impossible for a mid-major conference team to be able to compete with the top teams of the nation in rank because of the overwhelming difference in strength of schedule. And because of it, a team that at the very least will be only one of two undefeated teams in the nation, possible the only team depending how Monday night’s BCS national championship game between Ohio State and Florida plays out, will be nowhere near the number one rank in the nation. How is this possible? How can you be better than 13-0?

It is quite clear that NCAA football is not being played on a level playing field. Not only do teams in major conference’s have a much easier time recruiting blue chip talent. but when a team in a mid-major conference beats the odds and wins every game on their schedule, then goes to a BCS bowl and beats a team that nobody believes they can beat, their season ends there. “The best of the rest”, because they’re simply not allowed to compete with the “top teams” in NCAA football, even though they’ve done everything possible to show the world that they can compete and that “It’s not the size of the dog in a fight, but the size of the fight in the dog”. And let me tell you this dog, has a huge fight!