How Does BYU's Vegas Bowl Win Over Oregon State Impact College Football?

BYU beat Oregon State last night 44-20. What did we all learn from last night’s game? What does that mean for BYU, Oregon State, the Mountain West Conference, and the PAC-10?

Not much.

The bowl season is a tradition in college football, and a part of that tradition is trying to extrapolate conclusions based on the results of bowl games.

Why?

The college bowl system is the most backwards system of postseason play in all of sports. Even the Salem Witch Trials laugh at the absurdities and backwards logic of college football bowls.

Add to the ridiculous nature of the bowl system itself the have-have-not system of the BCS. This turns every low level bowl game between automatic qualifying conference and non-automatic qualifying conference teams into a protest game against the establishment of college football.

Major college football experts would have people think, before the start of the bowl games, that if the non-automatic qualifying conference team wins it means the BCS is wrong, and if the automatic qualifying conference team wins then the BCS is right.

Of course, no matter which team wins, there is little to no change in the system of college football.

The anti-BCS crowd will use BYU’s victory over Oregon State as another piece of evidence against the asinine nature of the BCS. They will make the argument that BYU and Oregon State both ended the season in second place in their conference (Oregon State ended in a tie for second place in the PAC-10, although they finished lower due to tie-breakers); therefore, the Mountain West Conference must be better than the PAC-10.

This argument doesn’t hold water.

The BCS crowd will counter with excuses. The wind helped BYU win. This argument is hard to justify, did the heavens hold back the wind every time BYU touched the ball? The officiating favored BYU. While it is understandable for PAC-10 teams to miss their homer officials, both teams ended the game with an equal amount of penalties called against them.

Yet, these arguments are incredibly credible compared to the typical fallacies that BCS and automatic qualifying conference usually use. The automatic qualifying conference team didn’t have any motivation to play. It seems this argument is used far too often to explain an unexpected outcome. What, have football players magically transformed themselves into thespians? Do they need to have a drive and motivation in order to get into character?

The motivation argument is stale from use, but the new vogue argument of BCS supports is: Any team can play one game against an automatic qualifying school, but they can’t play a full schedule in a BCS conference. Wow! So you want teams from non-automatic qualifying conferences to have less money, be at a recruiting disadvantage, play games at neutral sites or on the road, and still discredit them when they beat a bigger name school. That is like asking someone to juggle five chainsaws blindfolded, seeing it, and then scoffing at the juggler because you don’t think he can juggle ten.

The arguments of both sides are normally ludicrous and hardly stand up to scrutiny; however, the arguments just reflect the system they are commenting on.

The reality is that teams like BYU, Utah, TCU, Houston, Boise State, Fresno State, and Air Force could compete just fine in the automatic qualifying conferences. Teams like San Diego State, UNLV, Idaho, and SMU would struggle if they were in a BCS conference. Yet, teams like Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Washington State, and UConn would struggle in the Mountain West Conference.

There just isn’t a huge difference between the average non-automatic qualifying conference team, and an average automatic qualifying conference team.

It didn’t take BYU beating Oregon State to prove that.

Or Utah beating Alabama.

Or Boise State beating Oregon.

Or Houston beating Oklahoma State.

Or TCU beating Clemson.

It doesn’t matter though because both sides, much like the current political landscape, have bunkered down to their separate ideologies. A college football fan is either pro-BCS or anti-BCS and there isn’t any room for a sane middle ground.

There are too many instant reactions in college football. Oregon State is a good football team, and they were beat by a better BYU football team in Las Vegas. No excuses, and sadly due to the current system of college football there cannot be any conclusions drawn from the game.

Until there is a change in college football’s postseason—arguments will try to decide what should be decided on the football field.

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The Big Podcast Episode 34: BYU Football Podcast

Breaking Down Oregon State and The Las Vegas Bowl...

Here is an outline of what hosts Jake Stowell and Mark Welling talked about in this week's podcast.

• Oregon State has everything that BYU struggles to contain. Fast, athletic, play-makers.
• James and Jacquizz Rodgers will cause problems for BYU's defense.
• Sean Canfield and Max Hall should be a epic senior quarterbacking matchup.
• BYU and Oregon State on paper are remarkably similar.
• How will BYU compete with Oregon State's speed?
• Will Brian Logan be the surprise hero of the Las Vegas Bowl?
• Did Pitta deserve to win the John Mackey Award?
• How big is the Las Vegas Bowl for the Mountain West Conference's aspiration gain an automatic BCS-bid.
• Predict the winner and final score of the Las Vegas Bowl.

Download here (Right click and save as) or listen with the player below.

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Las Vegas Bowl: BYU & Oregon State Is A Must See Non-BCS Bowl

BYU and Oregon State's similarities should make for an interesting game...

The December 22^nd Las Vegas Bowl Matchup of BYU and Oregon is one of the best non-BCS bowl games of the bowl season. The matchup of the Beavers and the Cougars has all the makings of an entertaining instant classic bowl game.

Both BYU and Oregon State are filled with offensive weapons. Both are teams with efficient senior quarterbacks, 1,000 yard rushers, and are loaded with a talented stable of pass catchers.

BYU ended the season ranked 14^th in the BCS and Oregon State finished 18^th; however, both teams had opportunities this season to go to bigger and better places.

Oregon State ended the season being a mere four points away from taking Oregon’s place in the Rose Bowl. BYU, after upsetting then highly ranked Oklahoma, was in National Championship conversations. That was until Florida State came to Provo and humiliated the Cougars on their home field.

Both teams have something left to prove in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Even though both BYU and Oregon State have 1,000 yard running back, both move the ball primarily through the air. The offensive stats for both teams are very similar to each other.

BYU is ranked 18^th in total offense averaging 437.08 yards per game, with 148.17 yards per game coming on the ground (ranked 60^th), and 288.92 yards per game coming through the air (ranked 12^th). Oregon State is ranked 28^th in total offense averaging 419.42 yards per game, with 144.17 yards per game rushing (ranked 64^th), and 275.25 yards per game passing (ranked 21^st).

Although BYU is higher ranked nationally, both teams’ numbers are virtually identical. The proportion of passing offense to rushing offense is especially shockingly similar.

On defense the similarities between the two schools continue. Both teams are much better at stopping the run than the pass. BYU is ranked 23^rd in rushing defense allowing 112 yards a game, but ranked 65^th in passing defense giving up 219.08 yards a game. Oregon State is ranked 25^th in rushing defense holding teams to 114.25 yards per game, and ranked 87^th in passing defense allowing 238.67 yards per game through the air.

Again BYU is ranked slightly higher nationally in both categories, but the actual numbers are remarkably similar for both teams.

The Las Vegas Bowl won’t be the first time both teams have played as Sam Boyd Stadium. Both teams faced off early in the season against UNLV. The Beavers needed a late field goal, after a game saving pass interference call, in order to best the Rebels 23-21. The Cougars on the other hand rolled to an easy 59-21 victory over UNLV, and had 611 yards of total offense.

While using the UNLV game as a comparison of the two schools is convenient and accepted in college football. The use of a common opponent is fallacious argument. BYU played UNLV after the Rebel’s were decimated by in-state rival Nevada. When the Rebels played BYU it was clear UNLV gave up on the game early in the second quarter.

On paper it looks like the Las Vegas Bowl should be a hard fought, and high scoring game between two offensive powers. Yet, for BYU this game is not only important to the school, but also to the Mountain West Conference’s claim to legitimacy.

Starting last summer the Mountain West Conference has made a big push claiming they play a high enough level of football to be considered a BCS caliber conference.

BYU is the second place team in the Mountain West Conference. In order to validate the Mountain West Conference’s claim to belong among the BCS conferences—BYU must beat Oregon State, a third place(after tie-breakers) Pac-10 team.

The Beavers come into the game with less pressure. They are the underdogs according to the rankings, and can play without the pressure of playing against the BCS system.

The game should be a fun one to watch. The Las Vegas Bowl pitting two ranked teams against each other, for the first time in the bowl’s history, is easily one of the three best non-BCS bowl matchups on paper—if not the very best non-BCS bowl matchup.

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