PROBLEM: Boise State wants to move its game vs. Virginia Tech at FedEx Field in D.C. to Labor Day, for increased national exposure, but it is currently scheduled to play Toledo five days later in Boise. Chris Petersen can ask his former boss, Dan Hawkins, about what can happen to teams that play Toledo on five days’ rest.
PROBLEM: If Boise State moves its Virginia Tech game to opening weekend, the “Oregon Factor” becomes an obstacle to the Broncos’ BCS title hopes — the game would be so early that its impact could fade, voters could rationalize it away, etc.
PROBLEM: A single, early-season win over VaTech may not be enough to outweigh the albatross known as Boise’s WAC schedule, particularly given that Boise’s other “name” opponent next year, Oregon State, lost to Oregon in this year’s Civil War (losing out on a Rose Bowl berth) and subsequently laid an egg in the Las Vegas Bowl, thus severely depressing its preseason ranking next year. As a result, a Boise win over the Beavers won’t really carry much BCS-title-contention heft as it might have. Boise really needs not just an early-season boost (i.e., beating VaTech), but a late-season clincher as well — and the WAC is unlikely to provide that.
PROBLEM: Big Ten teams finish their seasons on November 27 next year, which is a week later than in prior years, but they still don’t play on Championship Saturday, December 4, so any title contenders from the Big Ten are likely to be overshadowed by the SEC and Big 12 title games, as they always freakin’ are. Joe Paterno, in particular, constantly complains about this.
SOLUTION: Boise should move the VaTech game to Labor Day and cancel the Toledo game, paying whatever $$$ is necessary to make the Rockets go away. In place of the Toledo game, the Broncos should schedule, as a new 12th game, a December 4 date with Penn State in Happy Valley. This would give both the Broncos and the Fightin’ JoePas a Championship Saturday platform from which to make a BCS case, if they’re in contention at that point. Heck, who knows, it could be a national semifinal!
Suppose the Nittany Lions lose at Alabama in September, then rampage through the Big Ten, and are among a pack of one-loss teams fighting for a title berth. Presently, after playing Ohio State on November 13, the Lions finish with a neutral-site game against Indiana Nov. 20 and a home game against Michigan State Nov. 27 — okay, but not exactly a scintillating finish. Playing Boise would change that, giving them an awesome chance to make a “closing statement” to voters.
To make this happen, Penn State would need to cancel one of its non-conference opponents, of course. How about Division I-A Youngstown State? Boise’s guarantee-game payment could factor in the cost of this cancellation by PSU. And then maybe Toledo (which also has games against Arizona and Purdue) could play Youngstown, and everybody’s happy.
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION: Iowa apparently has only three non-conference games scheduled at the moment. They finish at Northwestern Nov. 13, vs. Ohio State Nov. 20, and at Minnesota Nov. 27. So, for the fourth non-conference game, add a Dec. 4 home game against Boise State.
(Why not Ohio State? you may ask. Because the Buckeyes’ last three are Penn State Nov. 13, Iowa Nov. 20, and Michigan Nov. 27. Even I can’t advocate the logic of scheduling Boise immediately after that gauntlet.)
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION #2: TCU is also still looking for a fourth non-conference opponent, and the MWC schedule isn’t set yet, so December 4 is free. Just sayin’.
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION #3: If Boise is just sick and tired of TCU at this point, well, does BYU really need to play Utah State?
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION #4: Oregon is free December 4, and, well, do they really need to play Portland State in between Tennessee and Arizona State back in mid-September? That’s already an effective bye week; why not make it an actual one, and schedule Boise (again) for Championship Saturday?
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION #5: Cincinnati is also short one non-conference opponent at the moment. Again, just sayin’!
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Iowa’s a non-starter. It took pulling teeth in the late ’70s to get them to play Iowa State (and then, in the late ’90s, was wanting to drop ISU again after winning 16 straight). Iowa did one home-and-home with Nebraska in the ’90s, I think, and haven’t played Missouri in decades if ever. If the Hawks agree to play any high-profile D-IA team other than Arizona (which, for whatever reason, has been an on and off opponent), I would be shocked.
Anything to keep FSU-Miami from being on Labor Day.
Two reasons I’ve thought it’s been a lousy deal in the years FSU has been playing on Labor Day. Neither of these are really pertinent to this situation at hand, but I’ll share them to explain why I would be happy for FSU to not be playing on Labor Day.
1, Teams that play on Labor Day are obliged to either take the following Saturday off, (which is generally Miami’s action) or to play a “no-account team” (FSU’s usual course). I’ve felt that winning on Labor Day isn’t that great because there isn’t anything to build on the following Saturday. Lose and have the next Saturday off causes the loss to linger interminably. At least losing and playing a weak team gives the opportunity to unleash some aggression.
2, The game is traditionally played in October. Doesn’t seem like either the fans or the players are as fired up for it when it’s played on Labor Day.
Hey Charles, are you “C. Fenwick” in my pick ’em contest? I assumed so, but wasn’t 100% sure.
Now I just need to figure out who “t. delli santi” is…
One and the same.
I was really pessimistic about FSU in the Gator Bowl, worst I’d felt about their chances since the 2001 Florida game. Up until the 1st interception (when it was 14-3 West Virginia), the game went the way I was afraid it would.
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