In this past Saturday's memorable matchup between the No. 3 Boise State Broncos and No. 19 Nevada, the looming Wolf Pack rallied from 17 points behind to defeat the seemingly unbeatable Broncos in overtime by a score of 34−31.
Nevada's head coach, Chris Ault, took pride in his team's performance, saying: "This is the greatest victory this university has ever had, I can tell you that."
By winning, the Wolf Pack snapped the Broncos' 24−game win streak, dashing their BCS Championship dreams. With so few opportunities to prove themselves title−worthy, the Broncos should have hammered their opponents to make a statement. Instead, as evidenced by Nevada's comeback, it seemed that having to play four full quarters proved too detrimental to the members of the powerhouse team that's used to beating its opponents handily — prior to the game against Nevada, Boise State had scored over 40 points in eight of its 10 games and beaten its opponents by an average of 36.4 points per game.
But without the existence of college football playoffs, this dominance is meaningless. It's set in stone that Boise State has gone from being a squad with a beautifully paved road to the national championship game to just another good team scrapping for a meaningful bowl game. In financial terms, Boise State has gone from making $13 million for being a top−two team to making around $750,000 at best for appearing in a bowl game that nobody will remember. And this is all because of a team against whom they have scored an average of 50 points in their past six matchups.
The loss for the Broncos was the first since they lost in the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl by one point to TCU, and it couldn't have come at a worse time or in a more embarrassing fashion. The Broncos had a convincing lead at one point, winning 24−7 at halftime. Yet, in college football terms, it was still a somewhat close game. In the second half, the Wolf Pack attacked fiercely with a top−notch running game, outrushing Boise State 239 yards to eight in the third and fourth quarters combined. The team ended with a 269−yard rushing performance against a Broncos defense that has allowed an average of only 229 yards of total offense per game this season.
The fourth quarter was highly entertaining, beginning with a score of 24−14. Wolf Pack receiver Rishard Matthews scored a 44−yard rushing touchdown, capping off a five−play, 68−yard drive to make the game close. Boise State punted on its next possession, giving the Wolf Pack an opportunity to tie the game at 24−24 with a 23−yard field goal by Anthony Martinez, whose performance was key in the game's final moments. The Broncos showed a glimpse of what they have been doing the whole season when quarterback Kellen Moore delivered a slick screen pass to running back Doug Martin, who took it 79 yards for a touchdown.
Game over? Not quite. Matthews caught a seven−yard pass from QB Colin Kaepernick with 13 seconds left in regulation time to tie the game, which set up the jaw−dropping finish.
With the score knotted at 31−31, Boise State needed a field goal to win. The highly touted Moore, an NFL−scout favorite, expectedly hit a 53−yard pass play to receiver Titus Young, which gave the Broncos a chance to kick a 26−yard game−winning field goal with two seconds remaining. But kicker Kyle Brotzman missed wide right. The Broncos could still win. But then in overtime, the Broncos received the ball first and, alas, Brotzman missed again wide left, this time from 29 yards out. The Wolf Pack howled in victory as their kicker made a 34−yarder to seal the deal.
Because of the inexcusable mental breakdown of a special teams player that has been insignificant in the Boise State offense this year, the team's season has been rendered meaningless. This is just one of a variety of cases that prove a need for NCAA Football to incorporate a playoff system — the BCS standings are far too subjective. Perhaps it is time to make a change.
