Boise State 2nd Vs. Elite Teams In Last Five Years

Despite Boise State’s tremendous success against all odds in the last five years, a few naysayers remain. 

They say that Boise State doesn’t play a tough schedule being in the Western Athletic Conference.  Of course, that will all change when the Broncos enter their third conference since beginning major college football in 1996.  Next fall, Boise State will play in the Mountain West Conference.

Nevertheless, to go along with the argument, Boise State could not beat the great teams on a regular basis.

There are many ways to measure the “power” in a powerhouse college football team.  One of the best is to look at how they did against other powers.  For this study, we will look at the 35 college football teams that have finished in the Top 15 in the USA Today rankings in at least once in the last four years.  We will go over their schedules with a fine-toothed comb and evaluate how each of the 35 did against other Top 15 teams.  We will call those games “power games”.  Let us see exactly how Boise State has done in power games, compare the number of power games that the Broncos have played vs. those that other Top 15 teams have played, and see how the teams do out of conference.

Coach Chris Petersen’s team wins when they play elite competition.  The Broncos are 5-2, the second-best mark in the nation over four years.  USC’s  7-3 record tops everyone, although it is less sparkling than last year with losses to Stanford and Oregon this past year.   West Virginia (3-2) and Auburn (7-6) are the only other teams with winning records against Top 15 competition.

Boise State ranks ninth in the nation in wins over teams that finished in the Top 15 in the last five years (Power Schedule). These rankings give credit to those powers that face a tough schedule year-in and year-out and break ties by looking at which team played the most power games over the four-year period.

Florida (7-7), Texas (6-6), LSU 6-11), Ohio State (6-6) Oklahoma (6-7) and Alabama are the other teams that have more wins against elite teams than Boise State.  Georgia, Boise State’s opponent in 2011, also has five wins against elite teams. 

Playing power teams within your own conference is one thing.  Those are games that essentially are “scheduled for you”.  Despite the Automatic Qualifying Conferences saying Boise State could not win week in and week out in a conference like theirs, notice that not one of these conferences has invited supposed weakling Boise State into their conference so they could beat up on them!

So since the other power teams have neither beaten Boise State nor joined them, they essentially have shut the Broncos out of their system while at the same time decrying their success achieved against anyone who will play them. 

Since Boise State was not been invited to any of the AQ conferences during the “Great Expansion of 2010”, they have tried to schedule games against the power teams out-of-conference.  Many have refused, as has been well chronicled in the media.  To their great credit, a few have accepted, while a few others have been forced to play the Broncos in a bowl game.

Although all of the teams listed in the rankings have finished one or multiple years in the final USA Today Coaches’ Poll Top 15, it is noteworthy that several have less than sterling records against other power teams.  These teams, in fact, do not win “week in and week out”.

In conclusion, Boise State matches up well against the other power teams no matter what formula you care to investigate.  They are second in the nation in one ranking and ninth in the other.

Here is how the power teams of the last five years stack up.  (Teams with winning records are ranked by winning percentage; teams with losing records are ranked first by number of Top 15 wins and then by least number of losses.)

                                                                         

Best Five-Year Record:

1.  USC 7-3

2.  Boise State 5-2

3.  West Virginia 3-2

4.  Auburn 7-6

5.  Florida 7-7

6.  Texas 6-6

6.  Ohio State 6-6

8.  Oklahoma 6-7

9.  Alabama 6-9

10.  LSU 6-11

11.  Georgia 5-7

12.  Iowa 4-7

13.  Stanford 3-5

14.  TCU 3-6

15.  Oregon 3-9

15.  Texas Tech 3-9

17.  Arkansas 3-15

18.  Boston College 2-3

19.  Georgia Tech 2-7

19.  Missouri 2-7

19.  Virginia Tech 2-7

22.  California 2-8

22.  Cincinnati 2-8

22.  Utah 2-8

25.  Wisconsin 2-9

26.  Michigan 2-12

27.  Mississippi 2-14

27.  Tennessee 2-14

29.  Louisville 1-4

29.  Nevada 1-4

29.  Pittsburgh 1-4

29.  Rutgers 1-4

33.  Kansas 1-7

34.  Michigan State 1-9

35.  Penn State 1-10

36.  Nebraska 1-14

37.  BYU 0-5

38.  Arizona State 0-11

39.  Oklahoma State 0-14

Power Schedule:

1.  Florida 7-7

2.  USC 7-3

3.  LSU 6-11

4.  Alabama 6-9

5.  Oklahoma 6-7

6.  Texas 6-6

7.  Georgia 5-7

8.  Ohio State 5-5

9.  Boise State 5-2

10.  Iowa 4-7

11.  Arkansas 3-15

12.  Oregon 3-9

13.  Texas Tech 3-7

14.  Auburn 3-6

14.  TCU 3-6

16.  Stanford 3-5

17.  West Virginia 3-2

18.  Tennessee 2-14

18.  Mississippi 2-14

20.  Michigan 2-12

21.  Wisconsin 2-9

22.  Cincinnati 2-8

22.  Utah 2-8

22.  California 2-8

25.  Georgia Tech 2-7

25.  Missouri 2-7

25.  Virginia Tech 2-7

28.  Boston College 2-3

29.  Nebraska 1-14

30.  Penn State 1-10

31.  Michigan State 1-9

32.  Kansas 1-7

33.  Louisville 1-4

33.  Nevada 1-4

33.  Pittsburgh 1-4

33.  Rutgers 1-4

37.  Oklahoma State 0-14

38.  Arizona State 0-11

39.  BYU 0-5

Boise State 5th Team To Win 10 Games In 8 Of 9 Years

Boise State became the fifth team in the modern era and 13^th in history to win ten or more games in eight out of nine years.  The Broncos finished 12-1 this past season with a 26-3 win over #20 Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl.  Ohio State moved lockstep with Boise State this year by also recording their eighth 10-win season in the last nine years. 


The only year in which Boise State did not win 10 or more games in the current stretch was 2005 when they were a disappointing 9-4.  The Broncos were 12-1 in 2002, 13-1 in 2003, 11-1 in 2004, 13-0 in 2006, 10-3 in 2007, 12-1 in 2008 and 12-1 in 2009.  If Boise State is fortunate enough to win 10 or more games in 2011, Boise State would become one of nine college football schools in history to do that in nine out of 10 years.


Florida State is the only team in history to win 10 or more games in each year of a decade--the Seminoles did that in the 90's. The Seminoles, in fact, strung together 14 consecutive seasons of 10 wins (1987-2000).  Only three times in history has a school won ten or more games in nine seasons of a decade.  Pennsylvania and Princeton did it in the 1890’s and Texas became the second school since 1900 to do it by winning 10 games in nine years this past decade.  Princeton won 10 or more games in 11 of 12 years from 1888-1899.  Pennsylvania won 10 or more in 11 of 12 years from 1890-1901.  Texas has a current streak of nine consecutive years of 10 or more wins that began in 2001.  Yale won 10 or more games from 1888-1896, a streak of nine consecutive years. 


Oklahoma won 10 or more games in nine out of 10 years (1971-1980) and won 10 games in eight out of nine years from 2000-2008.  The highly-successful Miami of Florida teams won 10 or more games in nine out of 10 years from 1983-1992.  Alabama had nine out of 10 years in which they won 10 or more from 1971-1980. 


Nebraska won 10 or more in all but one year from 1993-2001.  Harvard was able to win 10 or more in all but one year from 1886-1894.


USC won 10 or more games every year from 2002-2008 but could not put together a streak of eight out of nine.  Florida has had 12 seasons since 1991 of 10 or more wins but has never had more than seven out of eight.  For all of its storied tradition, Michigan has never been able to achieve a better streak than seven out of eight years (1971-1978).  Penn State’s best streak was six out of seven from 1968-1974. 


Virginia Tech, Boise State’s opponent in the 2010 season opener, now has seven consecutive seasons of 10 or more wins and can reach this elite group with a 10-win season next year.    

Boise State Sets Another Modern Record

Of all the history made by Boise, this statistic is probably the most interesting!

One of the more interesting factoids about Boise’s successful football run is this one—the Broncos have put together streaks of seven or more wins in a row in their last nine seasons. This is yet another modern record--Boise State is the first team since 1903 to accomplish this and only the fourth team in history. 

Princeton holds the all-time record with 21 consecutive years of winning seven consecutive games.  The Tigers did it from 1883-1903.  Yale is second by achieving the feat from 1886-1898 (13 straight years).  Harvard did it 10 straight years (1886-1895) while Pennsylvania (1891-1898) and Michigan (1969-1976) had streaks of eight years. 

What Boise State Accomplished in 2010

Boise State's football team once again shattered records and made history this past year.


Boise State became:

..the fourth team in college football history to have a winning seasons percentage above 86% (the others are  Michigan,  Ohio State and Alabama.)

..the modern record holder and the first collegiate team in 107 years to win seven consecutive games in nine consecutive seasons.  ( Boise State currently shares the modern record of eight straight seasons with  Michigan .)


.

..the third team in history to win 59 straight regular season home games ( Princeton won 75 in a row and  Alabama won 58 in a row.)

..the third team since 1908 and the 10^th in college football history to accumulate a home record of 73-2 or better.

..the third team since 1900 to have a 10-year home record of 62-1 or better ( Alabama (33-0) and  Nebraska (64-1) are the others.)

..the fifth team in the modern era and 11th in history to win ten or more games in eight out of nine years.

..the seventh school since 1920 and the 10^th school in college football history to win 10 or more games in 9 of 11 years.

..the 7^th team since 1898 and the 10^th team in college football history to win nine or more games in nine consecutive seasons.

..the 8^th team since 1920 and the 12^th in history to win nine or more games in 10 out of 11 years.

..the 12^th team since 1920 and the 16^th team all-time to win eight or more games in 11 consecutive seasons.

..the 22^nd team since 1920 to win seven or more games in 12 consecutive seasons.

What's In A Rank?

If you followed last week's NCAA Division I Track & Field rankings, you noticed that the Arizona men were ranked #28 and the Arizona women #14.  You also would have seen the Boise State men at #100 in those rankings, with the Bronco women all the way back at #128.

I mention that because we got to see those talented Wildcats compete at the Blue & Orange Invitational at Jackson's Track today in Nampa.  Boise State was hosting the event in the Broncos' home opener of the indoor track season.

Wildcats in a breeze, right?  Wrong.

Despite the disparity in rankings, the two teams were even steven.  Boise State and Arizona both won 12 events in the competition.

Makes you wonder if they do the track rankings the same way they do the BCS rankings! Congratulations, Broncos, in proving you are the equal of Arizona.

Looking at the Future OOC Schedules

Yesterday, it was announced that Boise State and Washington will play a home-and-home football series with the Broncos going to Seattle in 2013 and UW coming to Bronco Stadium in 2015.  Next year was messed up when we had to add Nevada and Fresno State to keep continuity with those teams going to the MWC in 2012.

For Boise State to have a legitimate chance to be in the MNC, they have to have a minimum of two AQ schools (more likely three) and at least one ranked non-AQ on their schedule.  Notice that the Broncos had that in 2010 and even had they gone unbeaten, they would not have finished in the top two.  This should open eyes as to what kind of OOC schedule they need.  If you're going to play teams as bad as Oregon State, Toledo and Wyoming out of conference, it's not going to work.  For things to fall into place, the second AQ whould have needed to be someone similar to Georgia for 2011, and Wyoming would have to have been traded for Utah.

Preferably though, there should be three AQ's and a ranked non-AQ out of conference.  If the Broncos are to get the respect they desire, then, it is a must to add an AQ to 2012 since they only have one at this time.  Boise State needs two AQ's in 2013 since they only have Michigan State.  Boise State also needs two more AQ's in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.  BYU looks to be much-improved in the near time and fit the role of a ranked non-AQ nicely from 2013-2016.  Boise State needs to add someone similar for 2017.  Here's a look at how future Bronco schedules are set up at this time.

2011:
Sept. 3 - vs. Georgia (Georgia Dome, Atlanta)
                Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game
Sept. 17 - at Toledo
Sept. 24 - Tulsa
Oct. 1 - Nevada
Oct. 8 - at Fresno State

2012
Aug. 31 - at Michigan State
Sept. 15 - Miami (Ohio)
Sept. 22 - BYU

2013
Sept. 7 - at Washington
Sept. 21 - at BYU

2014
Sept. 4 - Ole Miss (Georgia Dome, Atlanta)
                Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game
Sept. 27 - BYU

2015
Sept. 12 - at BYU
Sept. 19 - Washington

2016
Sept. 10 - Washington State
Sept. 24 - at Oregon State

2017

Sept. 9 - at Washington State

Boise State and Washington Agree to Home and Home

Boise State and Washington will play a two-game football series beginning in 2013.  Husky Stadium will be going through rennovation and the new-look stadium is set to debut with the Broncos taking on UW on September 7, 2013.  Washington will come to Boise State September 19, 2015.

The Huskies are fresh from a win in the Holiday Bowl over Nebraska and finished the season 7-6.  Washington knocked off Boise State in the 2007 season in Seattle.

The good thing about the 2015 date is that Boise State now can schedule a second AQ team on the road, knowing they have a talented Washington team coming to Bronco Stadium.

Seven Bronco Quarterbacks in Top 10

Yesterday, I trumpeted the fact that Kellen Moore of Boise State was the nation's top passer.  But he is far from the first Bronco signal-caller to be among the best.


In fact, Boise State quarterbacks are becoming nearly synonymous with the nation's top ten passers.  Since 2000, no less than seven Boise State quarterbacks have finished their respective seasons in the top ten.  Ryan Dinwiddie did it twice and would have made it three years in a row but for being injured in 2002 and not having enough games to be eligible.  Bart Hendricks was the nation's top passer back in 2000.


http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2000&rpt=IA_playerpasseff&site=org&div=IA&dest=O


Hendricks graduated in 2000, but Boise State didn't miss a beat.  Dinwiddie finished fourth the following year in his first year as a starter:


http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2001&rpt=IA_playerpasseff&site=org&div=IA&dest=O


As mentioned, although Dinwiddie was injured in the Arkansas game of 2002, he finished the year with an incredible 188.18 rating, far better than Iowa's Brad Banks (157.1).  And in 2003, Ryan closed out his great Bronco career by finishing fourth again:

http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2003&rpt=IA_playerpasseff&site=org&div=IA&dest=O


Jared Zabransky resumed Boise State's place in the national top 10 with a sixth-place finish in 2006:


http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2006&rpt=IA_playerpasseff&site=org&div=IA&dest=O


Taylor Tharp took over for a season in 2007 and finished seventh:


http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2007&rpt=IA_playerpasseff&site=org&div=IA&dest=O


Which brings us to Moore.  Kellen finished just outside the top 10 in his freshman year, but held the top spot in the nation the following season until the final week when Florida's Tim Tebow passed him with an aerial show against outmanned Cincinnati in the Fiesta Bowl.  Moore finished second in 2009:


http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2007&rpt=IA_playerpasseff&site=org&div=IA&dest=O


The NFL may be blind, but Bronco fans know where the best quarterbacks reside!

Moore Finishes #1

Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore may not have won the Heisman Trophy, but he beat Cam Newton.

After Newton's performance in last night's mythical national championship game, Moore passed the Auburn quarterback for #1 in the land.  Moore finished his season with a 26-3 win over #20 Utah and wound up with a 182.63 passing efficiency rating.  Newton was just 20-34 for 265 yards and two touchdowns but an interception.  Newton thus dropped from a rating of 188.16 to a rating of 182.05.

What does it take to win the title?  Moore completed 273-of-383 passes (71.28%) for 3,845 yards (10.04 yards per attempt) and 35 touchdowns against just six interceptions.  Moore's career record as a starter is 38-2 as he helped Boise State finish in the national top ten for the second year in a row and the third time in the last five years.

Congratulations to Kellen!

Go Out and Support the Basketball Team!

Coach Leon Rice is building excitement in his first year at the helm of the Boise State basketball team.  The Broncos are 4-0 and face an old nemesis, Utah State, this Thursday night in Taco Bell Arena.  The women are also playing that night at 6 so a good doubleheader of Bronco action is on tap.  It would be great if we can top 10,000 Thursday night--be a part of it!

Moore Now #4 in Wins by a College Quarterback

Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore is now #5 in NCAA history for wins by a quarterback.  With Boise State's impressive 26-3 win over #20 Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl, Moore is 38-2 in his Boise State career.  I will be publishing much more on this subject in the days to come.


Here is the current top five:


1.  Colt McCoy of Texas was 45-8 from 2006-2009.
2.  Andy Dalton of TCU was 42-7 from 2007-2010.*
3.  David Greene ( Georgia ) was 42-10 (2001-2004)
4.  Kellen Moore of Boise State is 40-2 from 2008-current.*
5.  Peyton Manning was 39-6 from 1994-1997 for Tennessee .
6.  Ken Dorsey was 38-2 from the latter part of 1999 through 2002 for Miami of Florida.

Boise State Third Team Since 1898 With 3 Straight 12-Win Seasons

This one is amazing--the third team since 1898 to win 12 games in three consecutive seasons.  Pause and think about that.


Oklahoma (2002-2004) and USC (2003-2005) are the only ones besides Boise State to do that since the 19th century.  But Oklahoma and USC did not win as many games in those three years; of course last week I told you that Boise State had set the modern record for wins in a three year period.  They finished with 38 wins from 2008-2010.

Brotzman Breaks NCAA Scoring Record for Kickers

Boise State placekicker Kyle Brotzman is now the all-time NCAA scoring leader among kickers.  Brotzman scored eight points in Boise State's lopsided 26-3 win over #20 Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl, giving him 439 for his career.  Brotzman passed Art Carmody of Louisville, who had 433 points.  Brotzman finished his career as the #3 scorer in NCAA history.  He also is now #1 at Boise State with a career 44.6 punting average.

Boise State Sets Modern Records

Boise State became the third team since 1898 to win 12 or more games in three consecutive years, joining Oklahoma (2002-2004) and USC (2003-2005). However, the Sooners and Trojans did not win as many games in three years. Boise State broke the modern record last night with their 38th win since 2008 last night. The Broncos are behind four legendary teams from college football’s early years--Pennsylvania (43-1 from 1895-1897), Yale (42-1-2 from 1894-1896), Yale (41-2 from 1898-1890) and Pennsylvania (39-4 from 1892-1894). Coach Chris Petersen's team also broke the modern record for wins in a five-year period, as the Broncos are 61-5 since Petersen took over.  Nebraska (60-3 from 1993-1997) and Oklahoma (60-7 from 2002-2004) were the existing record holders until Boise State came along. Boise State also tied Nebraska’s modern record for most wins in a seven-year period. Nebraska was 81-8 from 1993-1999 while the Broncos were 81-10 from 2004-2010.


Boise State broke modern records last year for the most wins in an eight-year period and the most wins in a 10-year period. With the slew of marks this year, the Broncos now own the modern records for most wins in 3 years, 5 years, 7 years, 8 years, 10 years, 11 years and 12 years.

Broncos Send Strong Message to Pac-12

The Pac-10 Conference had a chance to look at a team it recently invited into the league, Utah, and one it passed over, Boise State.  They didn't like what they saw.

With Boise State's overpowering 26-3 win in the Las Vegas Bowl, the Broncos sent a message to the Pac-12 Conference that perhaps they made the wrong choice when they invited Utah earlier this year instead of Boise State.  Earlier this year, the Pac-10 added Utah and Colorado despite the fact that Boise State's football team and athletic department as a whole is more successful than the two members they did add.