I know Boise State doesn't like to retire jersey numbers, and I know that there are lots of players in this class that deserve the honor and would probably get it at another school. #11 should probably be retired. #22, too. But instead of retiring the jerseys of the some of the great players on this team, Boise State should retire a jersey number that represents the fact that the whole was much better than the sum of the parts, no matter how awesome some of those parts were.

There is exactly one Senior class in the history of college football that has won fifty games. And while Moore and Martin and Shea and Billy and Potter and Shoe and Efaw and Root and Hout and Iloka and all of the rest were individually great, it was this class that was truly special. It was all of the previous Seniors who graduated during these four years that helped get these guys to fifty, and it is fifty wins that will always be attached to the ones who are now leaving us. #50 needs to be retired, with something like "2008-2011" on the nameplate. The one thing that stuck out in all of the fifty wins, and even the three losses, is how good this set of Seniors was, together, as a group.

I'm going to miss all of them. I'm excited for the future, but this is one of the most important groups of players to ever walk onto the Blue. Did they catch some bad breaks? To be sure. But that Las Vegas Bowl trophy they hoisted above their heads last night means just as much to me, as a fan, as either of the Fiesta Bowl trophies. They had every reason in the world to be down and out in that game, but they showed up just like they did the 52 times prior to it, and they earned it in a way I didn't even think possible.

Forget about my pitch for a Kellen statue. Forget about trying to figure out which numbers to retire and which to not, or even how to honor this group in a different way. Just retire #50, because that is the number that matters, the number that may not be touched for a very long time, the number that defines the current face of Boise State football. Fifty is a monument to this team that was built by their hard work, dedication and determination. It is more fitting than any individual honor ever could be. Boise State football is, and has been, more than the sum of it's overlooked and under-recruited parts. The best tribute we can give this team is an honor that represents them all, because they got here together.

Thanks for the ride, guys. It is one that I, and probably nobody else for a very long time, will likely get to experience again.