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On the Field: Boise State's loss doesn't mean Gee was right, sort of
November 29, 2010 | By Benjamin Miraski
At the risk of sounding like a BCS apologist, Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee does have a point.
TCU and Boise State would not go undefeated if they played in the Big Ten or SEC. Not with the teams they currently put on the field.
However, that doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve a shot at the National Title while playing in their current conferences.
Winning all your games, no matter who you play is still difficult. It might not have the same ring to it to say you beat Utah, Air Force and San Diego State than if you can rattle off the long-hallowed names in college football circles, but it is still an achievement.
What all the arguments against Gee forget is that the playing field isn’t level. Maybe the way that Gee voiced his opinion was not correct, but the sentiment isn’t wrong.
Look down the roster at TCU and you aren’t going to find the highly sought after recruits. You aren’t going to find the same kids that Texas and Texas A&M fought over. You won’t find the starters from countless high school senior bowls across the country.
What you will find are kids like Andy Dalton, who was barely thought of as the 100th best player in his state during his senior year. Across the country, according to Rivals.com, he was only the 23rd best pro-style quarterback.
When the offers came in, there wasn’t an envelope from Texas (who during 2006 was overstocked with pro-style quarterbacks). And there weren’t offers from other pro-style offenses in the big six conferences.
Dalton had interest from exactly four schools: TCU, Memphis, San Diego State and UTEP. He ultimately chose to stay in state with one of the only two offers he had.
The same story could be repeated down the roster. They were all ignored by the big boys, but coaches like Chris Petersen at Boise State and Gary Patterson at TCU took them and cobbled together the best team they could with players who don’t get a sniff at the next level.
When they take the field, they are facing similar competition, just as when Ohio State takes the field in the Big Ten, they face teams with the same recruiting power they have. The end talent might not be exactly the same, but at least it is in the same ballpark.
So when TCU beats every team on its Mountain West schedule, plus Oregon State and Baylor, it says a lot about the skill of that team.
And that skill will will only improve with continued success.
The attention that a national title run draws, even the run itself is stunted by those in power, can only help recruiting. For an example of that, look at the NCAA basketball tournament.
In the latest book by mid-major guru, Kyle Whelliston, One Beautiful Season
Those coaches see more interest from recruits, and over time a different level of recruit, because of the attention their school had.
For most of these schools, their one NCAA tournament game is the only time they get any publicity all season.
So if one shot, one shining moment, can change their fortunes on the recruiting front, imagine what the multi-million dollar spotlight of a BCS game can do for a program.
After all, it isn’t just the $15 million bowl game this season that major college presidents like Gee are worried about. It is the future $15 million bowl games that they might now have to share. If TCU can start to draw bigger and better recruits, it would be hard to ignore them for long.
The real litmus test on how your conference affects recruiting will be Utah.
As the Utes prepare to jump to the Pac-12, they should see an uptick in the type of player they are able to land. It makes it a bit more palatable to spend four years in Salt Lake City if there is a shot at a BCS bowl each season than if the New Mexico Bowl is the best you can hope for in a normal year.
If the recruiting classes improve for the Utes, the rise of those without the football pedigree will continue and the loss of the money that used to be guaranteed for the old guard will cease. That has to shake the world of men like Gee. Leave it to the rich, old, white guy in the bow tie to be prejudiced.
No, TCU and Boise State wouldn’t have had their seasons this year if they were in another conference. Neither would Central Florida, or Nevada, Northern Illinois, or San Diego State, all schools that excelled on the football field this season in their respective conferences.
They might not have the resumes that the big boys are bringing to the table, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t playing good football.
And when there are at least a few teams in your conference playing good football, as Boise State found out on Friday, it makes it tough to win all your games.
It takes a truly great team to do that, perhaps one like TCU.
Posted November 29, 2010 8:00 AM
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