Doug Martin dives into the endzone against TCU in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl to score the deciding touchdown.

Boise State has done it again…torn the country in half. Halvsies may be ambitious, as I think the Doubting Thomases still account for nearly three-quarters of the college football nation. Boise has become more than simply a cute story with an improbable ending, yet public perception, by and large, is that Boise State has no place at the BCS table. And, now, TCU will feel the wrath…they have fallen from the popular people’s choice for a shot at the BCS title to just another overrated mid-major.

As incredible a game and victory last night was for the Bronco Nation, it was disheartening to see syndicated columnists portray the game as nothing more entertaining than a high school football jamboree. Wrote one, “The game didn’t lay an egg; it laid an omelet.” This same writer, assuredly, would have claimed a 10-10 game going into the 4th quarter of the SEC Championship game to be a “defensive slugfest with punches being traded by two stingy giants”, or something similarly big-conference suck-uppy. Yes, suck-uppy. Another columnist, however, had a wonderful line with regard to this and in support of the BSU/TCU matchup…he wrote, loosely, “You know what they call a 10-10 SEC rivalry game heading into the 4th quarter? The 2009 Iron Bowl.” Some people will simply refuse to give a mid-major the respect a deserving mid-major is due…no matter the evidence laid out before them. Ask any coach, in any sport, of any team, at any level of competition and he or she will undoubtedly tell you that going undefeated is no easy task.

That said, I give the you the BSU PR campaign opening the 2009/2010 season: The Decade of Dominance.

• 108 Total Number of Wins, second most in the nation.

  97.0 Home Winning Percentage (64-2 record), the best in the nation.

  93.3 Conference Winning Percentage (70-5 record), the best in the nation.

  84.4 Overall Winning Percentage (108-20 record), the best in the nation.

  70 Number of Conference Wins, the best in the nation.

  60-4 Overall Record in WAC Games, a winning percentage of 93.8%.

  40.5 Points Per Game Scoring Average, the best in the nation.

  37 Games played on National Television (30-7 record).

  31 Straight WAC Wins from 2001-2005, a conference record.

  31 Straight Home Wins from 2001-2005, a school record.

  31 Games With 50+ Points.

  10 Straight Winning Seasons.

  9 Bowl Appearances (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008).

  8 Conference Championships (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008).

  8 10-Win Seasons (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008).

  7 Consecutive Years Ranked in the Top 25.

  7 Years Ranked in Top 10 Nationally in Scoring Offense.

  6 Western Athletic Conference Championships.

  6 Undefeated Conference Seasons (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008).

  5 Seasons With 11 or More Wins (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008).

  5 Seasons Ranked in the Final Top 20 Poll.

  5 Boise State’s Season Ending National Ranking in 2006, the highest in school history.

  3 Unbeaten Regular Seasons (2004, 2006 and 2008).

  3 Seasons Ranked in the BCS Top 10 (2004, 2006, 2008).

  0 Seasons With Fewer Than 8 Wins.

  It is an impressive list, no matter your conference. And this list includes absolutely none of the 14 wins against 0 losses BSU amassed this season. And a Fiesta Bowl Championship. They now have two BCS bowl wins…as many as Michigan, Penn State and Alabama have combined. BSU became only the second team in history to finsih 14-0. Granted, there will be a third after the BCS title game is concluded. That, however, should take nothing away from BSU’s accomplishments. I mean, they beat as many ranked teams this year as has Texas (2). Basically, this is a long, slow battle to win the hearts and minds of the big conference homers and the dollars of deep-pocketed advertisers . BSU finds itself in the peak of the Gonzaga Curve…and Gonzaga basketball is no longer an anomaly, but a serious program that has staying power.

It's like deja blue, all over again.

Pat Forde is generally spot on, but his assertion that “Having the BCS is worse than having shingles” is simply not true. (See article here). We’re not pro-BCS, necessarily, but we’re pretty sure we’d rather watch a psuedo-National Championship game than suffering if not the indignity, than certainly the pain, of shingles.

Additionally, we are not sure there is any indignity associated with shingles. No offense to all you shingles sufferers out there.

Homerism is not unlike optimism in that our cup runneth over here in the 208. There is no doubt that Boise, as a whole, believes TCU could and even should be playing a few days from now against Alabama. Even so, you would also be hard-pressed to find anybody in Boise picking against BSU tonight. It’s just how it goes in a small town. I’m not saying we are hanging our entire emotional, spiritual and financial outlook for 2010 on tonight’s game…just the first 4 months or so of the New Year until Spring Camp opens.