The Case for Boise State

In nearly every category one cares to examine, Boise State has the edge on Ohio State and should be selected for a BCS Bowl berth this Sunday.

There has been much discussion recently centered on the idea that the final Bowl Championship Series (BCS) berth will come down to Boise State and Ohio State.  There are dozens of reasons why Boise State should be selected rather that perhaps the more obvious choice of Ohio State.  College championships are not supposed to be decided by money but rather on the merit of the teams in question, but I have also included points relating to the ever-relentless pursuit of the dollar.

• Ohio State has had two losses, Boise State none.
• Ohio State did not win their conference, Boise State did.
• Boise State traveled 40,000 fans to the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, more than Oklahoma.  Bronco fans have proven they can sell out a 70,000 seat stadium.
• The 2007 Boise State Fiesta Bowl win is currently the 495th most popular DVD in the nation (http://www.cduniverse.com/prod...amp;style=movie).  Ohio State's biggest-selling DVD ranks 22,709.  Their 2006 Fiesta Bowl game ranks #60,848. 
• Boise State's 8.4 rating in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl is better than eight Fiesta Bowls since 1991, or just about half of them, including last year's West Virginia-Oklahoma game.  Further, many people who missed that game are kicking themselves and won't miss a Boise State game again.
• Boise State has known star power, in fact legendary star power that won ESPN awards for their 2007 Fiesta Bowl appearance-- like Ian Johnson, Vinny Perretta and Coach Chris Petersen. 
• Boise State is ranked higher in the USA Today Coaches' Poll, the Associated Press Poll, the Harris Poll, the computer rankings and a perfect 5-5 with a higher ranking in the BCS Standings.
• Ohio State has already had two shots at BCS-caliber teams.  They lost them both, so we already know what they will do.  Boise State is 1-0 against BCS-caliber teams and no one, not Texas, not Oklahoma, not USC, not Florida, has beaten them.
• Ohio State's biggest win of the season was over #23 Michigan State.  Boise State's biggest win was over #14 Oregon on the road.
• The top four Buckeye wins were over #23 Michigan State, #37 Northwestern (acc. to Sagarin), #54 Wisconsin and #66 Minnesota.  Boise State's were over #14 Oregon, #56 Nevada, #62 Hawai'i and #65 Fresno State.  Very comparable; Boise State has the edge in two opponents and Ohio State has the edge in two opponents.
• Boise State leads all 14 BCS Bowl-eligible teams with a perfect 8-0 record over bowl eligible teams on their schedule.  Ohio State is way back in a tie for 10th with a 4-2 record.
• Ohio State's out-of-conference schedule included games against Youngstown State, Ohio and Troy.  Troy was the only OOC opponent that the Buckeyes played, and they struggled to a 26-14 win.  Three of Boise State's OOC opponents are bowl eligible (#14 Oregon, Bowling Green and Southern Mississippi).
• The Big 10 supposedly has a better strength of schedule than Boise State, but to look at how they went about it, it leaves you scratching your head.  Besides wins over each other, here are the results in the Big 10:
•   Indiana--Wins over Western Kentucky (2-9), Murray State (FCS) and  losses to Central Michigan and Ball State, Michigan--losses to Toledo (3-9), Notre Dame (6-6) and Utah and a win over Miami of Ohio (2-10), Purdue--losses to Oregon and Notre Dame (6-6) and wins over Northern Colorado (FCS) and Central Michigan, Illinois--losses to Western Michigan and Missouri and wins over 5-6 Louisiana-Lafayette (20-17) and Eastern Illinois (FCS), Wisconsin--38-35 win over Cal-Poly (FCS), Akron (5-7) and Marshall (4-8) and a 13-10 win over Fresno State of the WAC, Minnesota--wins over Northern Illinois, Bowling Green, Florida Atlantic and Montana State (FCS), Iowa--a loss to Pittsburgh and wins over Maine (FCS), FIU (4-7) and Iowa State (2-10), Northwestern--wins over Ohio (4-8), Duke (4-8), Southern Illinois (FCS) and Syracuse (3-9), Northwestern--a loss to California and wins over Eastern Michigan (3-9), Florida Atlantic and Notre Dame and... Penn State--wins over Coastal Carolina (FCS), Syracuse (3-9), Oregon State and Temple (5-7).