TCU jumps Boise State in the BCS, but not in the polls
By Chadd Cripe
ccripe@idahostatesman.com
© 2009 Idaho Statesman
TCU jumped ahead of Boise State on Sunday in the Bowl Championship Series standings — delivering a blow to the Broncos’ BCS hopes.
TCU is No. 6 and Boise State is No. 7.
Last week, Boise State was No. 4 and TCU was No. 8.
The top 10 goes Florida, Alabama, Texas, Iowa, USC, TCU, Boise State, Cincinnati, LSU and Oregon.
The Horned Frogs are behind the Broncos in both human polls used by the BCS, but they moved from eighth to fourth in the computers after beating BYU. The Broncos dropped from fifth to eighth in the computers.
“TCU’s position ahead of Boise State is not necessarily permanent,” CollegeBCS.com editor Jerry Palm wrote on his site. “The Broncos are still ahead in the polls and, while I believe TCU is the better team in the computers long term, it’s not likely to be this big of a margin.”
The BCS only guarantees access to one qualified team from a non-BCS conference. That pits TCU against Boise State.
•••
TCU closed the gap on Boise State in the three major college football polls Sunday, but the Broncos held their ground.
Boise State remains No. 5 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and Harris poll and No. 6 in The Associated Press Top 25.
The Broncos gained 21 points in the AP poll, lost one point in the USA Today poll and lost 16 points in the Harris poll after beating Hawaii 54-9.
TCU jumped two spots to No. 8 in AP, one spot to No. 6 in the USA Today poll and one spot to No. 7 in the Harris poll.
The Horned Frogs cut the gap between them and the Broncos from 84 points to 21 points in the USA Today poll and from 274 points to 154 in the Harris. Those are the two polls used in the BCS standings.
The BCS standings will be released after 5 p.m. today. CollegeBCS.com projects Boise State will be No. 5 and TCU will be No. 8, but that the gap between the two teams will be very small.
Florida regained the No. 1 spot in the AP poll after losing it to Alabama last week.
Here’s the USA Today poll:
1 Florida
2 Alabama
3 Texas
4 Southern California
5 Boise State
6 TCU
7 Cincinnati
8 Iowa
9 LSU
10 Penn State
11 Georgia Tech
12 Oregon
13 Oklahoma State
14 Virginia Tech
15 Ohio State
16 Houston
17 Pittsburgh
18 Miami (Fla.)
19 Utah
20 West Virginia
21 South Carolina
22 Mississippi
23 Oklahoma
24 Arizona
25 Notre Dame
Here’s the AP poll:
1 Florida
2 Alabama
3 Texas
4 Southern California
5 Cincinnati
6 Boise State
7 Iowa
8 TCU
9 LSU
10 Oregon
11 Georgia Tech
12 Penn State
13 Oklahoma State
14 Virginia Tech
15 Houston
16 Pittsburgh
17 Ohio State
18 Miami (Fla.)
19 Utah
20 West Virginia
21 South Carolina
22 Oklahoma
23 Arizona
24 Mississippi
25 Notre Dame
Here’s the Harris poll:
1 Florida (75) 7-0 2,765 Beat Mississippi State 29-19 Georgia 1
2 Alabama (17) 8-0 2,674 Beat Tennessee 12-10 Idle 2
3 Texas (20) 7-0 2,672 Beat Missouri 41-7 at No. 13 Oklahoma State 3
4 USC 6-1 2,316 Beat Oregon State 42-36 at No. 11 Oregon 4
5 Boise State 7-0 2,273 Beat Hawaii 54-9 San Jose State 5
6 Cincinnati 7-0 2,224 Beat Louisville 41-10 at Syracuse 6
7 TCU 7-0 2,119 Beat No. 16 BYU 38-7 UNLV 8
8 Iowa (1) 8-0 2,086 Beat Michigan State 15-13 Indiana 7
9 LSU 6-1 1,994 Beat Auburn 31-10 Tulane 9
10 Penn State 7-1 1,699 Beat Michigan 35-10 at Northwestern 11
11 Oregon 6-1 1,689 Beat Washington 43-19 No. 4 USC 12
12 Georgia Tech 7-1 1,644 Beat Virginia 34-9 at Vanderbilt 13
13 Oklahoma State 6-1 1,522 Beat Baylor 34-7 No. 3 Texas 14
14 Virginia Tech 5-2 1,350 Idle North Carolina (Thu) 15
15 Ohio State 6-2 1,125 Beat Minnesota 38-7 New Mexico State 17
16 Houston 6-1 1,064 Beat Southern Methodist 38-15 Southern Miss 18
17 Pittsburgh 7-1 952 Beat No. 24 South Florida 41-14 Idle 20
18 Miami (FL) 5-2 858 Lost to Clemson 40-37 (OT) at Wake Forest 10
19 Utah 6-1 834 Beat Air Force 23-16 (OT) Wyoming 19
20 West Virginia 6-1 622 Beat Connecticut 28-24 at South Florida (Fri) 23
21 South Carolina 6-2 475 Beat Vanderbilt 14-10 at Tennessee NR
22 Oklahoma 4-3 399 Beat No. 21 Kansas 35-13 Kansas State 25
23 Mississippi 5-2 342 Beat Arkansas 30-17 at Auburn NR
24 Notre Dame 5-2 236 Beat Boston College 20-16 Washington State NR
25 Arizona 5-2 230 Beat UCLA 27-13 Idle NR
Here’s my AP ballot:
1 Florida
2 Alabama
3 Texas
4 Boise State
5 Iowa
6 Cincinnati
7 USC
8 TCU
9 Oregon
10 Georgia Tech
11 LSU
12 Virginia Tech
13 Houston
14 Oklahoma St
15 Penn State
16 Miami
17 Utah
18 West Virginia
19 Ohio State
20 South Carolina
21 Notre Dame
22 Pittsburgh
23 Arizona
24 Central Michigan
25 California
Dropped out: South Florida, Texas Tech, BYU
Also considered: Oklahoma, Navy, Mississippi
Here’s Mike Prater’s Harris poll ballot:
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. USC
5. LSU
6. Boise State
7. Cincinnati
8. TCU
9. Iowa
10. Oregon
11. Georgia Tech
12. Virginia Tech
13. Oklahoma State
14. Penn State
15. Miami
16. Ohio State
17. Houston
18. Pittsburgh
19. West Virginia
20. South Carolina
21. Arizona
22. Utah
23. Central Michigan
24. Notre Dame
25. Oklahoma
Dropped out: Texas Tech, Boston College, BYU, Nebraska
Also considered: Mississippi
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Sweet
Go Broncos!
I was right about TCU jumping the BSU Donkeys
I knew it would happen with the worthless schedule that the Donkeys play....
And for anyone that wants to know, WSC are my three initials of my full name...I've already explained this three times before in other posts where I ripped the BSU scheduling and the fact that you Donkey fans can't even sell out your own home games in a year where you are doing well...
This week's BCS standings only prove how weak the Donkeys are...I might be a bitter Oregon Duck fan who can't believe we lost to the Donkeys twice, but at least I can tell you that Oregon will continue to move up in the BCS as the Donkeys move down...
dude....wtf? calm down!
Boise called Florida, to see if they wanted to play next week, but they already had a game scheduled....same with Bama, TCU.....
Our schedule improves greatly next year...when were supposed to be good:)
So, I guess, we will just keep winning, year after year, against those who will play us, my friend. No worries.
We are sorry you are bitter that your Ducks havent passed us yet in some stupid bs thing. However, we are kinda bummed that the wonderful Duck fans we met, a few weeks ago, will never be back cuz Oregon wants nothing to do with comming here again :)
Dont be sad! dont be blue! we beat you in football! True? TWICE!!!
Why would you think anyone here would care what your name is?
If you had something intelligent to offer, then we might be interested.
rubber duckies is jealous.
i have nothing to say about there schedule it is weak and they have to change it. As for your little ducks being embarrased you just better hope they dont reamatch them in a bowl game because it will be an even worse demolishing. the thing about boise is there schedule holds them back they can beat any team in the country and thats no lie they can beat a team like USC who your duck will get destroyed by on halloween. so wa wa wa cry me a river your ducks lost 2 years in a row and if there is one team that maybe more overrated than florida right now its Oregon not the Broncos. so have fun playing in the sun bowl because your little rubber duckies wont win the Pac 10.
PAC 10 in hand
The best thing that happened to Oregon this year was Boise State. No foul done. It only helped because now as we continually beat everyone, I mean, embarass everyone like handing USC there worst lost in 12 years the baby blue boise team can only look up towards the top of the rankings and see nothing but green while they continue to play high school or no name teams and fortunately so because they really are not that good. In the pac 10 they would be 5-5 at best. Besides we can see how much you really know what you are talking about....what did you say would happen on Halloween? That's how right you are......NOT.
Brian G
Oregon
Favorite saying "It must be nice to play one big game then go on and play high school teams all year and still be ranked." What a gift.
Every BSU fan saw this day coming
BSU's weak scheduling is the root cause of BSU getting jumped in the BCS.
Another day BSU fans see coming is June 30, 2013...the day Gene Bleymaier's contract expires.
The way Bleymaier's contract extention works is that the university would pay him a $20,000 bonus if he schedules at least two regular-season games against BCS teams, and if those teams are ranked when we them, he receives an additional $5K. The kicker is that Bleymaier would also receive the equivalent of one month's salary (another $20K+)if the Broncos reach a BCS game, so one would think that there would be a huge financial incentive for Bleymaier to stack our non-conference schedule, but instead of doing so, he's worked hard at scheduling games against Utah and BYU in the coming years, which will be tougher opponents, but win or lose, they're still Mtn West teams and not BCS teams, so what's the point in scheduling them, and especailly so given the BCS Incentives that were put into his extension?
BCS & Computer Rankings
While most of the attention has been focused on why TCU passed BSU in the latest BCS rankings, we should be focusing on the lack of fairness of the BCS in general and its computer rankings. If money is allowed to be the determining factor on which at large teams get to play in the BCS, why are not the football Super Bowl and baseball World Series not just decided by the two richest teams with the largest followings?
Aside from the selection process on who gets let in or not, I think the weakest link is the computer rankings on which little attention has been addressed as their results are supposed to be objective and hence not subject to challenge. To point out errors in the computer scores I only have to point to the 2004 (?) when Oregon was rated #2 in the next to last poll, soundly beat its rival Oregon State only to drop below Nebrasha which leapfrogged them several spots into #2 without even playing a game that week or even winning thir own conference! Analyzing the computer results I discovered a huge discrepancy in that the strengths of schedule on the computers was being determined not by the win loss record of opponents only but also the opponents opponents and all averaged together so the latter had 10 times the weight as the actual record of opponents resulting in robbing Oregon at a deserved shot at the national championship. As a result the strength of schedule component was highly inaccurate and varied widely from week to week.
Take a closer look this year and week at the sudden jump of Iowa from #8 to #4 in the BCS standings and you will see that for two thirds of the vote Iowa was #8 in the polls same or lower than previous week yet managed to get a #4 BCS ranking after the computers strength of schedule after just barely managing a last second win over an unranked opponent? That is a clear indication of either fraud in the system or something very wrong with the computer programs.
TCU vaulted over BSU thanks to their impressive victory over BYU but didn't BYU also get blown out by unranked Florida State and TCU only just beat Air Force by two points? After all BSU did have a very impressive win over Oregon now rated #10 and won 54 to 9 over Hawaii over the weekend?
I would lobby the Stateman to please include the computer rnakings when posting the BCS results even if that means leaving out how the Stateman voted as they used to up to a year ago. Showing the breakdown of computer rankings would show that some are out of syc with rest and favoring certain conferences. Open transparency is necessary to reveal what is wrong with the system.
The answer given over and over again for BSU's perdicament is the strength of schedule and there the WAC is much stronger now than it was only year ago than most give it credit for. The problem is not the fault of the WAC schools only that many big BCS conference schools with few exceptions(outside of PAC 10)refuse to schedule them unless they get advantage of a home game. This year both Fresno and Nevada scheduled a lot of higher profile away games and narrowly lost but now both are much more dangerous. I don't think others would like to face the potential explosiveness of either Nevada, Fresno, or Boise State just now with the weapons they have at their disposal and fearful of what that would do for their reputations.
Do I think that BSU is necessarily the best team in the nation, certainly not. However the coaches and others have seeing how BSU dismantled Oregon and then the flashes of speed from its runners and receivers and best quarterback efficiency and touchdowns in the nation have consistently voted the Broncos very high. I think on a given day with all aspects of their game in play, BSU could beat any team in the country if they were not at their very best.
I think both BSU and TCU are very deserving teams and if they continue their winning ways well deserving of a BCS bowl games. If the BCS doesn't alter their ways of favoring the BCS conferences and instead award the places to those ranked highest, maybe congress will make them do it to be fair or be disbanded.
Its high time for a change.
Here comes TCU....and Oregon
At the rate the polls are going and with Oregon and TCU actually playing teams that are ranked in the BCS, both teams will jump the Donkeys in the BCS by Thanksgiving....
And did you see that ESPN College Gameday is coming to Eugene next week? When was the last time Gameday came to Boise? Oh yeah, that's right, they've never been to the Treasure Valley.
Maybe next year when The Donkeys actually play a decent schedule (games at V. Tech and home against Oregon State).
shut your mouth up..
shut your mouth up..
The hate from the Weber
The hate from the Weber State College (WSC) Fan... Regardless, BSU will continue be to above Oregon in the computer polls. The fact that Gameday went to BYU shows they don't necessarily show up to big games or top universities. Anyway, spew your hate you all you want. It has no real affect on anything.
WSC...Weber or Washington State...Same level of play.
Thank goodness neither one of those teams are on BSU's schedule next year. What an anchor to our schedule that would be.
Anchors are all the Donkeys know
The top anchors that continue to hold down the BSU Donkey schedule:
1. UC-Davis....are you kidding?
2. Bowling Green...what worthless league do they play in?
3. Playing in the Weak Wiggety WAC...there's no denying this anchor
4. Gene Blainemeyer
5. Gene Blainemeyer...had to put him on here twice because he is the biggest anchor that has continually held the BSU football team from actually being an elite, year in and year out, top football program.
Till the Donks get rid of these anchors they will continue to be known as the team that beat Oklahoma on a few trick plays and are 1-4 in their last 5 bowl games...that's quite a reputation.
Or they are known
....as a team continually in the Top 25. Shake down all you want, your hate is so awesome. People hate Yankee baseball and Duke and Laker basketball for the same reason. They are almost always on top. Boise St has done it from scratch without millions. They've done it with heart and hard work. Hate away. Your probably a lazy taker from society anyways.
Landon
I like where you're coming from with that. Spot on!
But..
The Yankees, Lakers, and Duke all have something that BSU does not....Championships!
What does BSU have besides a 1-4 record in their past 5 bowl games?
And, how long will it be before somebody chimes in about the Fiesta Bowl? BSU homers remind me of the brother in Napolean Dynamite. They will be sitting on their porches 30 years from now and talk about it like it was yesterday.
Actualy, since you're
Actualy, since you're camparing apples to oranges, they do have championships. They have one in every division they've been in except the current one (1-A). They also have conference championships from every conference they've been in including dominating the WAC since joining. They've only been at if for a decade and they're already cracking the national top 10 consistantly and ruffling feathers every year. I'd say that's pretty good for a mid major, non BCS elite team that lacks the funding, population/fan base, academic programs of their BCS counter parts, but you go right on ahead hating them... They've at least got your attention or you wouldn't care...
How about those Cougars!
You are seriously here talking smack while supporting that pathetic team? Sad... just sad.
Could it be........
Washington State Corrections ????
USC
good luck with USC next week, just remember when a better team comes to Autzen stadium it doesn't matter how loud it is there, Ducks still get beat (see BSU vs. UO 2008). And on Gameday. Can Ducks kiss their own a**? Do they even have an A**? Wait a minute...OSU almost got USC in Cali. You guys might have a chance. It would help us to get them off our back if the Ducks win, so beat those condoms!!
Boise hasnt beaten a ranked team this year?
here comes oregon?
what! gameday wont come to boise?
who cares! beyonce had one of the best videos of all time and shes a bronco fan!
wet dreams..
Oregon will never pass the Broncos this year, never. The coaches writers and computers will not let that happen. C'mon, any elementary knowledge of the College Football world would know that won't happen. It's a nice thought though.
it still doesnt change anything
as much as you want to hate on the undefeated broncos the whole college football saw your little rubber duckies get destroyed on the BLUE TURF of Boise...ahahaha so talk all you want we all know that even if oregon jumps boise....WHICH THEY WONT...it doesnt change the fact they got demolished not once but twice...and the second one you know the one were oregon was looking for big time payback....they got destroyed not even a first down until midway through the 3rd quarter...and oh yah they got wooped up on at AUTZEN stadium in Eugene too...ahahahaah..oh yah and tune in on october 31st when your ducks get shot down again this time by the Mighty TROJANS of USC....ahahha so have fun playing in the sun bowl...and not even winning the PAC 10....
You Are A Loser _WSC
No life, pimply faced, noodle strokin, nobody. I'd tell you to go home, but you haven't left your mom's basement in 2 years. You're pathetic!
playoff?
If we had a playoff in college football you people would be able to get some yard work done?
Just win baby
I don't care who the Bronco's play, as long as they win. The players, coaches and fans can't control who they play. All we need to worry about is winning every game and let jealousness spew on the message boards. On that note, suck it Vandals!
Splatter
I thought that BSU hater Pratter had been fired (finally) from the Statesman. Guess that was just wishful thinking. Congrats BSU!!!
Unbelievable......
WSU fan talking smack ? Please, give me a break ! Your team is near the top of the dung heap of all of college football ! Shut your yapper, your embarrassing yourself. Coug fan go put your nose in the corner, and stay OFF this message board !
Question for Mr. Prater
number 6? really? Why do you vote Boise lower than anybody else, and lower than the unbiased computers say they are? Were you planted here by another team? I have never heard an explanation from you as to why you consistently dog on BSU. Come on man, be a home town guy already!! It would be o.k. with me if you were ranking them where so many others who are professionals, like you, do. As fans, we speculate, but you guys should know what's going on. Your colleagues seem to think that your hometown team is worth more than 6. Why not you?
Maybe he sees them more
Maybe he sees them more often than any other coach or AP pollster and can vote objectively!
Good point
.
Cincinatti above BSU in the AP Poll? That is ridiculous.
I really don't mind if a team like TCU ends up passing us if they win out, but Cincinnati ahead of us in the AP poll? That's just dumb. Here are their wins:
Mon, Sep 7 at Rutgers W 47-15 --
Sat, Sep 12 Southeast Missouri State W 70-3 --
Sat, Sep 19 at Oregon State W 28-18 --
Sat, Sep 26 Fresno State W 28-20 --
Sat, Oct 3 at Miami (OH) W 37-13 --
Thu, Oct 15 at (21) South Florida W 34-17 --
Sat, Oct 24 Louisville W 41-10 --
Their signature win was against South Florida, a team that is no longer ranked and just got rocked 40 - 17 by a decent Pitt team. That's it.
No reason they should be higher than BSU.
Their schedule does not look
Their schedule does not look any easier than BSU's.
Last week BSU had three out of eleven worst ranked football teams in the nation on their schedule along with another Division IAA team!
How can a BSU fan possibly complain about another team's strength of schedule?
Easy
Cinci and BSU have two common opponents. Compare the scores, and it is easy to see which team did better.
Winston-Salem beat UC Davis
Winston-Salem beat UC Davis by a bigger margin than BSU did, does that mean little Winston-Salem should be ranked higher in the BCS polls?
What are you talking about?
Winston-Salem lost badly to UC Davis. The Aggies beat them 45 to 14. What a dumb statement.
dummy
Hey, JonDoc dummy...None of Cincy's wins are currently top 25. We beat #10 Oregon. Also, we beat Fresno more decisively at Fresno...same as Miami OH. Sure, BSU's schedule is pretty light, but it's tougher than Cincy's.
you watch
both bsu and tcu will be in a bcs game if both win out the pressures on the bcs and they know it so this is the year 2 TEAMS GET IN
BCS #7 - Who should replace GB?
I told you so Gene. I said so and many many others have said the same thing. Your weak-kneed approach to scheduling is costing BSU and attacking our national standing. Here is the proof: the cost, if TCU continues to win, is a piece of a $17 million payout plus bigger TV paydays. Don't go whining about how you can't predict the future three years out when you schedule games. It just doesn't wash anymore. It hasn't for a long time. You know damned well that you could have found teams with a higher national profile than the UC Davis', MAC and C-USA teams you like. We don't have a choice in the conference we play in but we do have control over our OOC and THAT is what everyone looks at. Fans understand the risks in playing the top 40 teams rather than the bottom 40. I think we would all agree it is worth taking. Face it: your time has come and gone and you should move on to the next gig.
What's wrong?
You don't like Gene and his "strategic scheduling"? The computer polls are hating on BSU this week. They slipped to 8th with a .740 percentage. Compare this to Oregon, which moved up to 6th and a .770 percentage....
It's all about scheduling...I can't wait until Oregon beats USC, moves up in all the polls and passes the Donkeys.
You guys have a good night whining and complaining about your S.O.S....I'm going over to the Oregon boards and cheering on the fact that we continue to move up...even with a loss to the Donkeys!
Long live the B.C.S.
Duckie Time
I agree with you about Oregon. They have certainly turned out to be a much different team than we played in September. If the current team had come to Boise then, we would have actually had a better game. Congrats to OU.
How about those Cougars!
What a team. I can see where your bold words come from when you support a team of such greatness.
WSC still trolling? LOL
Can't put to much in the rankings just by looking at the top 3. FL and AL should both have dropped after their performances. IA, USC and TCU above the Broncos? Maybe TCU, that was a nice win over BYU, but the other 2 have a ways to go. USC has to prove themselves with OR. We can't control anything here, there's a lotta football left to play, just need to keep winning.
GO BRONCOS
BC-mess
This will be an interesting mess to watch. I'm hoping Oregon can beat USC and win out. How would it be if Oregon went to a national championship, won and at the end of the season BSU was still undefeated with a win over Oregon. Would you call Oregon a national champion then? I don't think so.
The BCS mess has happened before
In 2007 LSU had two losses (Auburn and Florida), but won out in the BCS mess, smashed Ohio State 41-14, and were crowned National Champs...
So, never say never...it could happen
Go Ducks!!!!
If that happens...
... and the Broncos win out, I'll lay odds that the AP votes BSU as #1, and we'll have a split NC for the first time since the 2004 season, when the AP voted USC #1, ahead of BSC #1 LSU. Given how the Broncos utterly dominated the Ducks this year, it would be a no-brainer. So I too say, Go Ducks!
If that happens
it will be the end of the world. Oregon #1 in the BCS and BSU #1 in the AP is not going to happen this year or any other year. There are about 10 senerios that are more likely than that one. Dream big though.
The dream...
... is still alive! Nice job, Ducks. Amazing that those Ducks only managed 152 total yards against the Bronco D.
The BCS mess has happened before
In 2007 LSU had two losses (Auburn and Florida), but won out in the BCS mess, smashed Ohio State 41-14, and were crowned National Champs...
So, never say never...it could happen
Go Ducks!!!!
hey sportsfan_wsc
Whats it like to have NO LIFE at all except to hate a football team? What a pathetic loser you are to go online and attack an inanimate object like a football team? Do you see how pathetic and useless your life and being is?? Just face facts, the Broncos sodomized the Ducks not only once, but TWICE. Now don't come back with the "ifs", like IF we played them now, not gonna happen. You should focus on the present and how the hell you can get moved out of your folks basement and take 45 years of belongings with you.