Talking points
But what a game Boise State-Nevada turned out to be. Whilst I would normally include these talking points at the bottom of the previous post, it would seem an injustice to relegate such a pulsating and thrilling encounter to mere footnotes.
There were so many story-lines to follow; Boise State targeting another unbeaten campaign and their first national championship game appearance, Nevada determined to finally overcome their biggest conference competition after several years of crushing disappointment, the homecoming game for seniors such as Wolfpack tandem QB Colin Kaepernick and RB Vai Taua, who broke new college records for tandem career rushing yardage with their performances on Friday night.
It was a game that Boise looked to have in the bag in the early going, a combination of the familiar easy-on-the-eye passing attack led by Kellen Moore looking so calm and poised with every snap of the ball and delivering passes with beautiful timing and accuracy, and the brutal bowling-ball style running of Doug Martin. Martin's squat, sturdy running style is a joy to watch. He combines sure-footedness with great power and burst, and crucially, extra yards at the conclusion of runs.
They are complemented with an excellent receiving corps including Austin Pettis and Titus Young, two of the most athletic and agile receivers I've had the pleasure of watching play the game.
By the third quarter, Boise looked to be on a familiar path to victory, 24-7 ahead and seemingly good value for their lead. In the opening half Nevada had looked distinctly average; Kaepernick running screen passes and sweeps to little effect, whilst the Bronco defense were comfortable in containing the edge and bringing up safeties and linebackers to stuff attacks early.
But by repeatedly throwing up jump balls for favoured receiving target Rashid Matthews to grab and grinding out a running game with Vai Taua, the Pack began to turn the tide. Kaepernick rolled out and into the endzone to reduce the deficit, and the Nevada defense at last made their presence felt. Moore was pressured at almost every snap, the secondary coverage tightened and started to out-muscle their opponents. At the start of the fourth quarter Matthews took the ball, absorbed several attempted tackles and rotated to freedom on a 44 yard touchdown run.
Boise couldn't keep the ball on their next possession and a Nevada field goal tied the game. The momentum had swung decidedly in the hosts favour. Or so it seemed:
But Nevada recovered from this body blow, driving the length of the field to score once again when Kaepernick found Matthews in the endzone with just 13 seconds left on the clock.
Boise got the ball with nine seconds to play, game tied and headed for overtime:
It was drama of the highest order, Titus Young sitting on the turf calmly calling the timeout with a second to spare. The Nevada fans falling into stunned silence, heads in hands in disbelief. Boise players were elated. Kyle Brotzman would kick the field goal, win the game, and the Broncos would remain on course for a shot at the national title.
Except.
Who'd be a kicker. eh?
So we go to overtime anyway. Boise is stopped on downs. On trots Kyle Brotzman again, promptly booting the ball suspiciously closely over the top of the left hand shorter-than-standard-length goalposts. Close, yes, but the officials signal no good.
Who'd be a kicker, eh?
It was a fantastic game, one of the best I've seen in my relatively short time watching the sport; twisting and turning with such unpredictability and savagery that it left the viewer dazed, elated and drained all at once.
Monday 29 November 2010
Sunday 28 November 2010
Boise falls
You could almost hear the shouts of delight ring through media and coaching offices across the United States. Boise State finally fell to defeat on a freezing night in Reno-Nevada, puncturing their hopes of a National Championship berth for good.
There has always been a sense that certain groups have been waiting for this moment. Boise play in the WAC, a conference that is dismissed as inferior and commands significantly less lucrative television rights deals. How dare they make a nuisance of themselves and challenge the college football world-order by trying to land a spot in the title game?
This year marks the first season that they have begun to be talked about in more respectful tones. In previous terms their achievements have been dismissed as being a result of easy scheduling and weaker opposition. Both complaints have solid grounds; Oregon and Auburn stand with unbeaten records after facing significantly stronger conference opponents on a weekly basis. But Boise have often felt as if they are not only playing against their opposition, but also the goodwill of those that determine the rankings and bowl match-ups.
Of the most irritating tactics in this campaign, retrospectively attempting to down-grade victories against ranked opposition is perhaps the most mindless. After Boise legitimately beat then #10-ranked Virginia Tech in a tight and exciting game on national television to open the season, Tech lost to FCS James Madison. In certain critics eyes, this was reason enough to render Boise's win less impressive.
Not even appreciating that the James Madison loss was up there as one of the shock results of the year in the sport, such analysis ignored the fact that Virginia Tech played Boise as a #10-ranked team would both physically and mentally, that perhaps the loss to Boise had in fact subsequently affected the VT efforts against James Madison, and that if Tech were not as strong as the coaches and media had assessed before the season, that it was the fault of the system, not Boise State.
The archaic nature of the college football system has long been cross-questioned and argued over, and there have been calls for a playoff system for a significant number of years now. But if Boise had gone unbeaten again this year as they did last and were again denied a berth in the Championship game (last year both unbeaten Boise and TCU were matched up against each other in the Fiesta Bowl to fudge the issue), it would have been deeply unfair to deny them a shot at a National Championship once more.
The current system essentially prays for there to only be two unbeaten sides come the conclusion of the regular season, and if Boise and TCU are in a list of several unbeatens, their lack of historical prestige and conference strength will always play against them. But without the ability to play the bigger teams (who are eager to avoid such match-ups for obvious reasons; they have everything to lose), Boise and TCU can never break that vicious cycle.
In cases such as these where there are multiple undefeated teams, they should be matched up in a semi-final (where #1 plays #4, #2 plays #3) and final series. These additional games would attract huge television audiences and commercial potential, and most importantly, would be a step towards fairness.
There has always been a sense that certain groups have been waiting for this moment. Boise play in the WAC, a conference that is dismissed as inferior and commands significantly less lucrative television rights deals. How dare they make a nuisance of themselves and challenge the college football world-order by trying to land a spot in the title game?
This year marks the first season that they have begun to be talked about in more respectful tones. In previous terms their achievements have been dismissed as being a result of easy scheduling and weaker opposition. Both complaints have solid grounds; Oregon and Auburn stand with unbeaten records after facing significantly stronger conference opponents on a weekly basis. But Boise have often felt as if they are not only playing against their opposition, but also the goodwill of those that determine the rankings and bowl match-ups.
Of the most irritating tactics in this campaign, retrospectively attempting to down-grade victories against ranked opposition is perhaps the most mindless. After Boise legitimately beat then #10-ranked Virginia Tech in a tight and exciting game on national television to open the season, Tech lost to FCS James Madison. In certain critics eyes, this was reason enough to render Boise's win less impressive.
Not even appreciating that the James Madison loss was up there as one of the shock results of the year in the sport, such analysis ignored the fact that Virginia Tech played Boise as a #10-ranked team would both physically and mentally, that perhaps the loss to Boise had in fact subsequently affected the VT efforts against James Madison, and that if Tech were not as strong as the coaches and media had assessed before the season, that it was the fault of the system, not Boise State.
The archaic nature of the college football system has long been cross-questioned and argued over, and there have been calls for a playoff system for a significant number of years now. But if Boise had gone unbeaten again this year as they did last and were again denied a berth in the Championship game (last year both unbeaten Boise and TCU were matched up against each other in the Fiesta Bowl to fudge the issue), it would have been deeply unfair to deny them a shot at a National Championship once more.
The current system essentially prays for there to only be two unbeaten sides come the conclusion of the regular season, and if Boise and TCU are in a list of several unbeatens, their lack of historical prestige and conference strength will always play against them. But without the ability to play the bigger teams (who are eager to avoid such match-ups for obvious reasons; they have everything to lose), Boise and TCU can never break that vicious cycle.
In cases such as these where there are multiple undefeated teams, they should be matched up in a semi-final (where #1 plays #4, #2 plays #3) and final series. These additional games would attract huge television audiences and commercial potential, and most importantly, would be a step towards fairness.
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