First off, we're sorry. We thought Utah had no chance of beating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, so much so that we wasted nearly all of our confidence points and a good portion of our 401k on the outcome. That's our bad, and we will pay for it with a pick 'em loss and a delayed retirement.
Now that that's out of the way ... YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!! Alright! /fistpump
Utah's win over Alabama on Friday helped coat the non-BCS' road to the BCS in glimmering, thick black tar. The full team cramp that Hawaii had versus Georgia last year is forgotten. All that remains is Utah's dominating victory over one of the SEC's finest.
Congratulations, Utah, and thank you. You have paved the way for "next year's Utah" to be a veritable shoo-in for a BCS berth. And whom exactly are we referring to when we use the distinction of "next year's Utah"? Why, that will be Boise State, of course.
The experts agree. And so does Graham Watson.
Boise State has the schedule to go undefeated for a second consecutive season, and with 13 regular-season games (the Broncos play at Hawaii, which allows them another game), the Broncos could be the first team to go 13-0 during the regular season. But will their schedule be tough enough to get them into the BCS?
Of course it will. Utah made sure of that.
Even if Boise State's opponents lay down like puppies with hopes of a belly rub, voters in the Harris and USA Today polls can't help but give the Broncos a shot at the BCS. And with those two polls accounting for two-thirds of the BCS formula, there is no way that Boise State will get shut out.
Even better for the non-BCS as a whole, Utah's win added fuel to the raging inferno that the BCS is flawed. It is a butterfly without wings. It is a motor vehicle without a motor. It is a campus visit to Idaho without seeing someone wearing overalls. The BCS cannot claim to be a "championship system" so long as teams like undefeated '06 Boise State and undefeated '08 Utah are not in the championship picture. And the more that non-BCS teams can prove this inerrent fact, the sooner we will all be to that playoff utopia that we can presently only read about on Yahoo! Sports and Scout message boards.
Will next year be any different for the BCS? Of course not. As we learned from the Hal Mumme era at New Mexico State, it takes time to remove a failed experiment, especially a situation with so much money invested (or, in the case of Mumme, towel collateral).
But at least Boise State will have a chance to play in a BCS game next season.
Thanks, Utah. We owe you one.