Peterson needs to tell it like it is

Okay Spice Girls, you win. I’ll tell you what I really, really want.

I want to see Chris Peterson come on the set of College Gameday Special this Thursday night before the BCS national championship game. Not only do I want to see him on the set, but also I want to hear the Boise State head coach do his best Muhammad Ali impression, with a little Barack Obama thrown in for good flavor.

Peterson needs to tell anyone and everyone who will listen just how good he thinks his Broncos really are. Along the lines of this...

Chris Fowler: “So, coach…how good are you guys? Can you beat Alabama or Texas for a national championship?”

Peterson: “We are the greatest! Yes we can!”

Boise State is an elite-level program that happens to play in a conference with a bunch of glorified junior college teams. They are no longer that gimmicky, trick-play running bunch from Idaho that plays on that funny blue field.

The Broncos are as good as just about anyone, or at least they can say they are.

If you asked 100,000 football fans who the better team in America was: Boise State or Alabama, the best estimate of how many would favor the Tide would be around 995,000 (there’s about 5,000 people in the state of Idaho, right?).

But how many people thought Utah could beat Alabama last year, or Boise over Oklahoma in 2007? Or Stanford over USC the following season?

Games are not played on paper for a reason, which needn’t be discussed in further detail thanks to Peterson and the Broncos’ Fiesta Bowl win three years ago…and hell, this year too.

TCU was supposed to be that first runner-up for the national title game. When Texas slid into the slot opposite Alabama for Thursday’s game, the outcries for the little guy revealed themselves stretching from Forth Worth all the way to Cincinnati.

Not much love for the Broncos. Why not? Of the ten teams playing in BCS bowls this year, only three had beaten another BCS participant. Ohio State beat Iowa, Alabama beat Florida, and Boise State beat Oregon.

Quality win, check.

Now, I’m not a big fan of the idea that any undefeated team automatically deserves a share of the national title. You mean to tell me that Tim Tebow couldn’t have led the Gators through that schedule the same way Kellen Moore carried the Broncos?

Let them play the big guys, and see how it goes.

Make no mistake about it - TCU is a big guy. The Horned Frogs blasted BYU, Utah, and also beat ACC runner-up Clemson on the road. They were a very worthy opponent for the Broncos; not only that, but they were the favorites.

So the Broncos need more than just a one-game shot at an Oklahoma, or a TCU in one bowl game.

If I’m king of college football for a day, I say next week, the winner of Thursday’s game faced off with the Broncos for a more true national championship game. George W. Bush never sniffed the approval ratings I’d be getting.

There are plenty more logistical issues to the problem than just adding one more game to the bowl season (shortening the layoff between the regular season is number one), but what fans, players, and I’m betting coach Peterson want to see is Boise State earn its stripes by trying to run through a couple big-name teams on the way to a title.

Are they going to win the championship? Maybe, probably not, but they would have had a fair shake, as well as all the other highly ranked teams.

Woah, deep breath. I’m getting dangerously close to the BCS vs. Playoff never-ending debate. That’s not my angle.

I simply want to see Boise State proclaim itself worthy of making a run at an honest, undisputed championship. They’ve earned enough respect to make that claim.

What’s the worst that can happen? ESPN’s TBL (The Bottom Line, for those of you who realize there are more channels on DirectTV unlike myself) reads “Boise State’s Peterson says his team is best in country.”

Wow! Let’s get this guy on the air and hear him state his case!

I could use something other than Brett Favre or Tiger Woods scrolling across the screen for change.

Fiesta Bowl: TCU (12-0) vs. Boise State (13-0)

Synopsis:

This is the game that neither of these teams wanted. First of all, the two Gonzagas of college football already faced one another last postseason in the Poinsettia Bowl. Secondly, both programs desperately wanted a chance to play a “big boy.” For TCU, it was dangerously close to making the national championship game against Alabama. Boise State was hoping to square off with a team like Florida or Georgia Tech. Instead, fans must settle for a sensational matchup of high-powered offense vs. dominant defense.

Player to watch: Jerry Hughes is a star in the making at defensive end for TCU. He is one of the nation’s leaders in sacks, despite facing constant double-teams from his opponents. He is undersized for a professional defensive end, so he will most likely transfer back to a linebacker in a 3-4 scheme at the next level. His rare combination of strength and speed in his 250-pound frame will be on full display in the Fiesta Bowl.

Who has the edge?

TCU has rolled through all of its most difficult opponents, and has played its best football the last month of the season. That being said, the Horned Frogs were clearly doing their best to impress the pollsters in hopes they would vote them into the national title game. Now that that dream is history, who knows how sharp TCU will be come Jan. 4? Kellen Moore leads Boise State on offense with a prolific scoring attack.

Prediction:

Boise State 34

TCU 31

On the Docket: Utah-TCU

Where: TCU

When: 7:30 p.m. ET

Why it matters: For one, the slim hopes of TCU’s national championship game appearance hangs in the balance. The Horned Frogs need to finish the season undefeated, and likely would need a convincing win this Saturday to make a strong case for the pollsters.

This is also a de facto Mountain West championship game. Both teams enter the game with a 5-0 conference record.

If Utah wins, the season finale against BYU still stands in the way of a conference title, but the Utes should be favored in that game. If TCU wins, they have already played the Cougars, and would all but seal a championship.

TCU has not beaten the Utes since 2005, but this time around the fourth-ranked Horned Frogs are favored and confident.

They are participating in Nike’s new Pro Combat uniform unveiling this weekend, and will be dressed in an revolutionary uniform that will swirl the excitement in Fort Worth.

Player to Watch: Andy Dalton has gone largely unnoticed this season across the country. Why that is so is hard to know. Dalton has completed 64 percent of his passes while throwing 16 touchdowns and three interceptions.

In the Horned Frogs’ biggest games this season (Clemson and BYU), Dalton has completed 30-of-50 passes for 467 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. He will need to continue his superior play on Saturday.

Who has the edge? TCU has looked incredibly sharp in every game this season, especially when they have come across the better opponents. That fact alone puts a lot of faith in the Horned Frogs’ chances.

That being said, Utah is more than a formidable opponent, and is probably the toughest team TCU has faced to date. The pressure is squarely on the Horned Frogs, because most of the national attention for non-BCS schools has come their way.

With every game the Horned Frogs draw closer to a perfect record, that pressure amplifies. Nevertheless, they still have the better team.