No Surprises

We humans, relative to other organisms, can both process and store a remarkable amount of information in our brain.

To prevent ourselves from being overwhelmed by all this knowledge, we simplify things through grouping, or labeling.

This process of labeling helps to trigger memories and consolidate our ideas. But sometimes labeling leads to stereotyping.

And unfortunately, stereotypes can often lead to prejudice thoughts -- which tend to give rise to ignorance.

Across the Bowl Subdivision of D1 college football, there's this misguided perception that "mid-majors" -- namely, outsiders to the six major conferences -- are inferior to their BCS conference (or as I like to call them, power conference) counterparts.

This is the farthest thing from the truth -- and the first week of the 2009 season is yet another reminder of that.

Last Thursday night No. 16 Oregon visited No. 14 Boise State, the second game of a home-and-home series between the two programs, as Oregon looked to avenge their home loss to Boise from last season.

The Broncos, ranked only two spots ahead of the Ducks and playing on their signature blue turf, were favored by 3 points, a virtual push.

Prior to the game, Robert Smith of ESPN's College Football Live talked about Oregon's physicality, the weakness of Boise's front seven, and how their personnel simply couldn't match up.

Flash forward to the end of the first half: Oregon has a mere 13 yards of total offense, zero first downs, and is getting shutout by their small-conference neighbors.

I have all the respect in the world for Robert Smith. He was one of my favorite NFL running backs as a child, he does a nice job on-set at ESPN, and he's the epitome of class.

But Mr. Smith and most of his ESPN co-workers continually discount programs such as Boise State. And because ESPN (the unrivaled source for sports news) discounts them, the everyday sports fan does the same.

People assume that Boise and the like can't compete because they don't play "proven" competition on a weekly basis -- whatever that means.

Here are the facts: Boise State went 35-4 from '06-'08, including a 3-1 record versus BCS conference opponents. What more evidence do we need?

Okay, maybe Boise St. didn't surprise you on opening weekend.

But I'm sure BYU did when they met up with third-ranked Oklahoma in Dallas on Saturday night. Although the game was played on a neutral site, it was hardly a neutral crowd.

Despite being twenty three-point underdogs, the Cougars found a way to knock off the Sooners in Big 12 territory.

Yes, I know Sam Bradford (last year's Heisman Trophy winner) was injured during the game. And yes, we could have seen a different outcome had he not left the contest early.

But if Bradford didn't play for OU, or if we knew he was injured prior to the game, wouldn't the Sooners have been heavy favorites anyway?

The problem here is that programs like Brigham Young and Boise State aren't given the same kind of opportunities as traditional powers such as Oklahoma and Oregon.

The pollsters, as well as aloof BCS conference commissioners, either don't have confidence in small-school programs, or they don't want to give away any power.

Mid-major conferences aren't so established. Their players aren't recognized nationally. And they suffer greatly for this -- something they have no control over.

What they do have control over is the product on the field. And when given the rare opportunity to prove themselves, they've stepped up to the challenge.

If I'm going to make a case for D1 mid-majors, I can't forget to mention Utah.

The Utes have finished undefeated twice in the last five years. And of those two unblemished runs, not once did they have an opportunity to play for the national title.

Both seasons ('04 and '08) they only ranked as high as No. 6 entering the postseason. What's worse is, last year they were snubbed for two one-loss teams from BCS conferences.

One of those teams was Florida -- the eventual national champions.

Prior to Florida's National Title Game appearance versus Oklahoma, they knocked off then-No. 1 Alabama in the SEC Title Game. And guess who Utah got matched up with in the Sugar Bowl? You got it -- 'Bama.

The result was a dominating performance by the Utah defense. In fact, Utah played better versus Alabama than Florida did. They allowed less yardage, forced more turnovers, and won by a larger margin.

For all we know, Utah may have been the best team in the nation last year.

Of course, this all comes down to one dilemma: the need for a playoff system in college football.

America is supposed to be a democratic nation. But like our government, major college football functions like a dictatorship that benefits a very small group of people.

The Football Bowl Subdivision of college football needs to: a) implement a playoff system, b) drop the ridiculously long name, and c) stop assuming that David can't beat Goliath.

It doesn't surprise me when mid-majors beat big-conference programs. I look forward to the day that BCS conference commissioners can say the same.