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.

Coaching Carousel ready to crank up

Last Monday, the annual shuffle of head coaches across the country kicked off with Memphis’ firing of Tommy West. Before the nameplates are officially scratched off the doors, here is a look of who is likely on their way out (via firing/retirement), and the most likely replacement.

ACC

Virginia- Out: Al Groh, In: Mike London (Head Coach, Richmond)

·      Groh is all but gone already; nine seasons at Virginia and he finally has bottomed out. London is a former assistant who is having loads of success at Richmond, winning the FCS national championship last season, and the Spiders are the favorites to win it all again. London is a disciplinarian, but a spectacular recruiter. He was the biggest reason the Cavaliers landed some of their best talent over the last decade. His return to Charlottesville would undoubtedly bring more success than Groh’s tenure.

Florida State- Out: Bobby Bowden, In: Jimbo Fisher (Current offensive coordinator)*

·      Bowden needs to go. His mind-blowing postgame interview following the Clemson game, where he needed to be reminded of several key points in the game, shows he is past his time. Fisher is the coach-in-waiting, and if he doesn’t get promoted soon, he may bolt the slowly declining program.

Maryland – Out: Ralph Friedgen, In: James Franklin (Curent offensive coordinator)*

·      This program is just a mess in general, but Friedgen’s failures have to be taking a toll, and with an already-named successor in Franklin, the entire Terrapin community senses the time for change have come. Simple as that.

Big XII

Colorado – Out: Dan Hawkins, In: Mike Shanahan (Former Denver Broncos head coach)

·      This is the biggest reach, but Shanahan would clearly have name-brand recognition throughout the state of Colorado and surrounding area. Recruiting would not be an issue. He has not indicated a dying desire to return to the NFL, and he would treated as royalty in Boulder. If the Buffaloes landed him, it would be a huge step for their program.

Big East

Louisville – Out: Steve Kragthorpe, In: Gus Malzahn (Offensive coordinator, Auburn)

·      Kragthorpe never made it at Louisville, and the Cardinals must now lick their wounds and move on. Malzahn is the fastest rising offensive genius in the country. It is he who is primarily responsible for bringing the wildcat offense to college football. He has been at three schools in three years as their offensive coordinator, but should he land this job, it would be a huge leap for a guy who was coaching high school ball in Arkansas four years ago.

Big Ten

Michigan – Out: Rich Rodriguez, In: Brian Kelly (Head Coach, Cincinnati)

·      Kelly is a winner, from Grand Valley State in Division II to Central Michigan to Cincinnati; Kelly has turned each program he’s been to into the dominant team of the conference. He has never left the Midwest, and is currently recruiting kids to the Bearcats better than Rodriguez is to Michigan. Given the Wolverines facilities and budget, Kelly would turn Michigan into a top-five program very quickly. The Wolverines need to put out this Rich Rodriguez fire before it burns out of control.

Conference USA

Memphis – Out: Tommy West, In: Charlie Strong (Defensive Coordinator, Florida)

·      Strong is an established defensive genius, excellent recruiter in the southeast, and has been pushed for head jobs in recent years. His charisma would fit perfectly in Memphis, and would undoubtedly change the landscape of Conference USA as its head coach.

Independent

Notre Dame – Out: Charlie Weis, In: Chris Petersen (Head Coach, Boise State)

·      Peterson is one of the more underrated coaches in America. He has taken Dan Hawkins’s juggernaut at Boise State and made them invincible. Peterson is the next Urban Meyer, in terms of his offensive creativity and his demand for excellence. He is a perfect fit at Notre Dame, and would surely love the opportunity to bank off of his success at Boise; he has nothing left to accomplish there, and this year’s undefeated season that may not even result in a BCS bowl is proof.

 

*Denotes coach-in-waiting