BSU vs. TCU protects BCS interest, robs fans, schools

Boise State vs. TCU is one of the lamest BCS selection ever. It's historical because it marks the first time two non-BCS teams crash the BCS party, but lame none the less.

The BCS system is designed to protect the interest of the six BCS conferences and a No. 6 BSU vs. No. 4 TCU match up does exactly that.

It allows two non-BCS teams to play in BCS games without the chance of beating a BCS team.

It guarantees both schools will not finish undefeated, which ensures there won't be two non-BCS schools in the top three, or even the top five, in the final season polls.

With a win, TCU can expect to move up a spot and finish third while a loss will move Boise State to the 8-10 range.

A Boise State win will move them up one or two spots and TCU out of the top five, most likely somewhere between 7-9.

All season long both schools have heard their rankings are overrated because they play in weaker conferences, with TCU playing in the Mountain West and Boise State in the Western Athletic Conference. The talk is yes, they are undefeated, but who have they played?

By going undefeated and securing BCS bids, both schools have earned the right to go toe-to-toe with the country's best and biggest-name teams. A BCS team vs. a non-BCS team is the ultimate underdog game. One that will not occur this year.

Some have called the Boise State vs. Oklahoma one of the best games ever played. The game is memorable to fans outside of Boise because it featured an upstart, high-scoring offensive team from a small conference against one of the best known teams from one of the country's toughest conferences. Boise State, everyone thought, had no business hanging with the Sooners, much less beating them. But anything and everything can happen in college football and the Broncos showed why games are played on the field and not on paper.

This year, there won't be the chance for a match up that equals the excitement of the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

Utah finished last season ranked No. 2 after beating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Because they beat Alabama by a better margin than eventual national champions Florida, an argument was made Utah should have finished the season at the top of the polls. TCU won't get the chance to finish the season against a top BCS team, such as Florida and lay claim to the No. 2 spot.

Instead, Boise State and TCU will end the season in the exact same manner they did last year: against each other, robbing fans the excitement of the chance to see two non-BCS schools pull off major upsets and both schools the chance to prove they can play against the so-called "big boys" of college football and answer the question "who have they played?" with a win over a BCS conference champion.

This prevents non-BCS schools winning two games against BCS schools on the game's biggest stage and protects the interest of the BCS schools. Two non-BCS wins over BCS schools in the bowls would go a long way in proving non-BCS schools can compete against any school any where any time.

It would be a major blow to the BCS schools and increase cries for a playoff system to declare a national champion.

Imagine you (BCS officials) have a boxing club (the BCS system) and you are in charge of matching up opponents for an upcoming fight (BCS bowls). You have to make the draw card for five fights. You have eight boys (BCS teams) and two girls (BSU and TCU) in your club. The girls are really, really good and haven't lost a fight all year, one of them(BSU) even beat one of the boys (Oregon) earlier in the year.

You're worried that the girls are so good, there's a chance they could beat one of the boys, but you don't want to see that happen because you know it will embarrass them and then more girls will want to join the club and question why it's so hard for girls to do so. However, they are really good, they've done all the right things all season and have won all their fights, so you can't not let them fight. So what do you do? You put them against each other.

Welcome to the 2010 Fiesta Bowl.