Know Who You Are

I'm a big fan of Colin Cowherd. And something Cowherd says all the time is the simple principle of "own your baggage". That is to say, know who you are. I take self-awareness very seriously, I think its a quality that is too rare in our culture. 


I bring all of this up because there is an individual and related group out there who currently are not self-aware and not owning their baggage.


If you've been reading my BCS posts the past few days you know I talking about the Boise State Broncos and their coach Chris Peterson. Peterson, who be sure is a fantastic coach, came out Monday and was extremely critical of the BCS, saying that everyone is sick of the system.


This is not to say I disagree with him. If you've looked, you know I think the BCS is a joke. But let's be clear about something, right now its the system we have and you have to be realistic about how the system works. I called from a mile out that Boise State wasn't going to go to a BCS Bowl, it was obvious. What was their argument? They beat down on an average Georgia team in the first game of the season. Just because Georgia made the SEC championship game and the media played it up for a week like they had a shot to beat LSU doesn't mean they were good. UCLA made the Pac-12 championship game! That's no indication of how good a team is, because don't forget, there are three good teams in the SEC, LSU, Alabama and Arkansas, then Georgia is a distant fourth. Everyone else in the SEC is below average, just like the bottom level of every other conference. It's just that the perception of the SEC is so strong right now you think every team is a juggernaut. Do you really this Ole Miss and Kentucky are any better than Northwestern and Minnesota? 


But this is about Boise, not about the SEC. You can be critical of the system if you want. But you cannot be Boise State and pretend you had a realistic shot. You beat an average team and lost to a team that was average at best. You play a laughable schedule in a laughable league. If you don't go undefeated, you don't get your shot, sorry, that's how it works. 


If feel like I should elaborate, but what's left to be said? Boise didn't do what they had to do. And by the way, I don't want to hear anyone banging on West Virginia or Clemson about them making the BCS and Boise not. I don't think West Virginia is very good, they're very average. But, the one thing I can say about these two schools is they did what we all say we want when we call for a playoff; they did what they had to do on the field. It may not have been pretty and you may not like it, but when these teams got into spots where they knew they had to win a game to get their conference championship and their BCS spot, they did and that is what a playoff spirit is all about. 


You know who didn't get it done on the field? Boise State.


Just be real. Know who you are. Own your baggage. That's what its all about.


More to come
XoXo
-Joshua

The Results...

Hmmm...

Good to know a logic based approach to the BCS doesn't work. The final BCS Standings and Bowl games are out, let's see where I was right and where I was wrong.

Called it - National Championship Game

By now, the ESPN personalities have made you feel better about this, but it is what it is. The truth of the matter is there is simply too much money at stake having two SEC schools playing for the National Championship Game to not let it happen. Is it right, no. Is it fair, no. Are they the best two teams, possibly. Either way, the media members called it out two months ago and here it is; end of story.

Wiffed it - Not voting for non-qualifiers

My logic in my BCS projections was voters wouldn't vote for teams that couldn't make BCS games. That was South Carolina and Arkansas because of the two SEC schools in the Championship game. So I thought they would slide a little. It's ironic that a system that isn't interested in doing the right thing did by voting for these teams to move up when the ones above them lost, hooray for selectivity.

Called It - Boise Skipped

There's nothing for me to say about this one, it was plain as day. Kirk Herbstreit wanted to know why Boise didn't get in, I can't believe he was surprised. They lost to a TCU squad they should've walloped and had one quality win over an average Georgia team. The only reason you even cared about Georgia was because the media pretended they had a shot against LSU for a week, which the aware ones among you knew wasn't going to happen. In the end everyone was what we knew they were, Boise, all flash no depth, Georgia, average, LSU, undefeated.

Wiffed it - Kansas State's BCS Bid

Wow, what a punch in the gut for the Wildcats. It's not the K-State is a great team but with where they are ranked and the work they did this season, only losing to the Oklahomas, well, that's just sad. I had two scenarios where they didn't make the BCS but that was only if an AQ TCU team stole the spot from them, this is the epitome of a busted system, particularly when considering my next point

CALLED IT - MICHIGAN MONEY GRAB

I warned you. I did. I heard the whispers, I saw them slinking around down there in the rankings. So now the team from Michigan is headed to a BCS Bowl. Oh, no, no that green and white team you watched play a killer game on Saturday only to lose on a bad call (catch for years) and a dumb play. No, it's that maize and blue team that is apparently really good now because they slapped up on an Ohio State team that would've had a tough time winning the Big East this season. It's the team from Ann Arbor who didn't do anything to prove their worth on Saturday but got to sit at home. THIS is why we hate the BCS, if you didn't think the system was broken before, you should now. Sparty gets bumped to the second tier after a great inaugural Big Ten Championship game and Michigan gets to get up of the recliner to help line the BCS' pockets. Kansas State are playing for peanuts while Michigan gets to puff out its chest and act like its something special. They did nothing to earn this, but then, earnings is what its all about. 

Wiffed it - Baylor

My apologies to Baylor who I know had a strong season. I miscalculated everything about them, they rose to #12, nice job, too bad the #13 team travels better than you.

So there you go, I've had time to complain, you've had time to complain, but let's be positive now. It's still college football and its still a lot to talk about. Here's your full BCS lineup

Orange Bowl (Dec. 31, 12pm ET, ESPN) 23. West Virginia vs. 15. Clemson

Rose Bowl (Jan. 2, 5pm ET, ESPN) 10. Wisconsin vs. 5. Oregon

Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 2, 8:30pm ET, ESPN) 4. Stanford vs. 3. Oklahoma State

Sugar Bowl (Jan. 3, 8:30pm ET, ESPN) 13. Michigan vs. 11. Virginia Tech

National Championship Game (Jan. 9, 8:30pm ET, ESPN) 2. Alabama vs. 1 LSU

More to come
XoXo
-Joshua