BCS Post Mortem

Leave it to Boise State to have an ending to a game that would make the Waterboy seem believable. Seriously, you would be pissed if you watched a football movie and it had an ending as far-fetched as the Broncos victory over Oklahoma. It still doesn't seem possible even after watching the highlights. (Over and over again.) A hook-and-ladder, a wide-receiver option and a varied Statue of Liberty play for the winner. The only thing missing from Boise State's improbable victory was the hero walking off with the girl.

Oh wait, Ian Johnson did just that, proposing to his girlfriend after the game. Yeah, his girlfriend the head cheerleader.

Figures.

Nothing about that game seems real anymore. When the Broncos lined up for the two-point conversion (and the win) was there any doubt they were going to punch it into the end zone? Chris Petersen made the right call in that situation. It was obvious that Boise State was not going to stop Oklahoma for the rest of the evening. But it was probably more obvious that Boise State was going to score on that two-point conversion. They had to. It was in the script.

• The most amazing thing was not that Boise State was able to win, but how a team with an 18-point lead seemed like they were down by 18. The Broncos� second-half play-calling was too conservative. It is only fitting that Boise State won the game when they started playing like, well, Boise State.

• Speculation already began on SportsCenter about how long Petersen was going to last at Boise State. After watching Dirk Koetter and Dan Hawkins struggle, maybe the grass isn�t always bluer at the BCS schools. Besides, Boise State is a BCS school now.
  

• Was there anything more satisfying than watching Bob Stoops lose again? It was as if Stoops was coaching a BCS championship game or something. For all of the bellyaching that Oklahoma fans did after the Oregon game, this outcome was well deserved. You could tell that Stoops felt that Boise State didn't belong on the field with them. Like he didn't want to condescend to play a school like Boise. Losing in this fashion was much, much worse than any blowout his team has ever suffered.

• Do you think Reggie Bush watched that hook-and-ladder play and yelled out, "Hey, that�s what I was trying to do."

• The happiest team in college football today? Ohio State. Not because they get to duck USC in the national championship game. But because they don�t have to play Boise State. Not that the Broncos are the most talented team, but would you want to play them after watching what they did to Oklahoma?

• Who does Michigan have to kill to win a big game? The Wolverines bumped off Bo Schembechler and Gerald Ford to no avail. Iggy Pop had better watch himself next year.

• USC finishes the season 11-2 and wins the Rose Bowl. Not bad for a rebuilding year. And shame on those of us who didn't think that the Trojans could rebound from the UCLA loss. USC might have lost two games this season, but the Pac-10 is a cut above the rest of the country. How else could you explain how USC loses to two conference opponents (and looks bad against a host of others like Washington and Washington State), but absolutely maims Arkansas, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Michigan�all of which played in New Year's Day bowl games or better.

• Bowl games no longer mean anything now that the SEC went 1-2 on New Year's Day. All of the SEC hand-wringers are already making excuses, saying that giving teams 30 days to prepare doesn't make it a fair game. When the Pac-10 started 0-3 in the bowl games, they were the biggest barometer for conference dominance. Funny who that works to fit into the East Coast agenda.

• Just saw the Boise State highlights again. It's unbelievable.

AND FINALLY

The final rankings should have USC at No. 2 and Boise State right behind them at No. 3. The Trojans will start next season as the preseason No. 1, with the Broncos in the Top 5. Of course this will lead to a bunch of SEC apologists crying about the WAC (even though they went 4-1 this bowl season). But if the SEC is really upset about it, how about Georgia, Florida or Alabama going up to Boise to play on the Smurf Turf? The Broncos have earned that right after winning its BCS game.

If the Broncos run the table again next year, they will be playing in the BCS title game.

BCS Mess

As a fan (and defender) of West Coast football, the Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl carry a lot of importance today. Oregon State, Cal and the WAC have done well so far this bowl season, but none of that will matter if USC and Boise State get rolled this afternoon.

And to be honest, not really thrilled with the karma ramifications of USC not wanting Reggie Bush on the sidelines. Yes, USC has back away from the controversy saying that it ran out of sideline passes. USC, allegedly was trying to distance themselves from Bush because of the housing scandal. And you know, USC would have looked a lot more respectable if they denied Bush a sideline pass because of that horrible lateral that cost the Trojans a third-consecutive title last year. But hey Petro Papadakis will be on the sidelines.

In other words, it looks like Boise State is the only hope for West Coast fans.

Welcome to the '07

Happy New Year, everybody! Couple of minor pieces of business before TV gets back to normal (relatively) starting tomorrow.

First, David Mills -- who you might remember from his writing for such shows as "NYPD Blue," "Homicide," "ER," "The Corner" and "The Wire," not to mention his own creation, "Kingpin" -- has joined the blogosphere under his nom de guerre, Undercover Black Man. A heavy emphasis on his love of funk music, and a lot of the early entries deal with the death of James Brown.

Second, what say you all on Dick Clark's continued involvement as an on-camera presence on "New Year's Rockin' Eve"? I'm torn. On the one hand, he invented the thing, his ability to keep appearing on it has been the prime motivator in his rehab, and in general I find it shameful the way Hollywood treats the old and infirm. On the other hand, the stroke has eliminated the smoothness that was the bulk of his appeal as a TV personality. (His canniness as a producer was his greatest asset overall, though.) Given my own experience with stroke victims, his speech isn't likely to improve much past where it is now, and his rhythms overall were so off that he was 3 or 4 seconds behind both the graphics and the crowd on the countdown to New Year's.

Ah, to hell with it. It's not like he's a Supreme Court Justice trying to hang on into his late 80s; this is a New Year's Eve countdown show, and it's his thing. As long as he wants to do it, I say let him.

What say the rest of you?