Welcome to a Friday edition of the mailbag. We were a little light this week, with a lot of repeat questions, so please keep your new and exciting queries coming. If I have already answered your question in a previous mailbag, chances are I am not going to do it again. Oh, and Happy Memorial Day one and all!
Uriah Jones in Boise, Idaho, writes: How come the non-BCS schools seem to always be overlooked in the discussion of the national championship? I understand the argument of weaker schedules, yet, as we have had more matchups in premium BCS bowl games, the "mid-major" teams have consistently won against the bigger schools. In fact the little guys are 4-1 against the big guys in BCS bowls! With the only loss being an admittedly weaker team in Hawaii. Why is this statistic not being seen as proof the best of the little schools at least equals the best of the big schools?
Andrea Adelson: There is a simple explanation to all this. The fans of the AQ schools cannot accept, or should I say, do not want to accept that non-AQ teams can compete at the highest level. The argument is the same, tired one: Anyone can win with a long time to prepare, and the AQ team that lost simply was mailing it in. The strength of schedule is what ends up keeping undefeated non-AQs out of BCS national championships, along with a difficulty in finishing No. 1 or No. 2 in the human polls because of the same skeptical national media. How does that old cliche go? Don't let the facts get in the way of your story. So to those who continue to dismiss the non-AQs, that 4-1 record is meaningless because the same old tired storyline is the only one they can believe.
J. Christopher in McKinney, Texas, writes: You have said that Tulsa plays "what could be the most difficult nonconference schedule in the nation" this year. What other teams come close? I know Nevada and a few of the BCS schools face some tough nonconference games, but are any of them as challenging as Tulsa's?
Adelson writes:Perfect time for this question. I wrote a blog post on this earlier Friday, so be sure to check it out! I think Tulsa is the hardest among the top contenders. FAU has a tough stretch to open, but the Owls are not expected to be a bowl team this year.
Ramone in Boise, Idaho, writes: Heard you were at the Big East meetings . . . Keep hearing rumors of some "football only" membership possibilities for the BE. Who would the most attractive candidates be?
Adelson writes: Let's see you are in Boise, so in a roundabout way are you asking about Boise State? If not, my apologies for assuming. But this is a question I have heard more of in the past few days. I do not think a football-only invite to Boise State is going to happen because of the school's geography and because the TV market is simply not going to enhance the type of package the Big East is seeking when it renegotiates its deal. Boise is not exactly easy to get to, either. TCU may appear to be outside the Big East footprint, but travel to Dallas is not too difficult from the northeast. The same cannot be said of travel to Boise. A recent report indicated the possibility of Army or Navy as football-only choices, but I am not sure either service academy would be interested.
Uriah Jones in Boise, Idaho, writes: How come the non-BCS schools seem to always be overlooked in the discussion of the national championship? I understand the argument of weaker schedules, yet, as we have had more matchups in premium BCS bowl games, the "mid-major" teams have consistently won against the bigger schools. In fact the little guys are 4-1 against the big guys in BCS bowls! With the only loss being an admittedly weaker team in Hawaii. Why is this statistic not being seen as proof the best of the little schools at least equals the best of the big schools?
Andrea Adelson: There is a simple explanation to all this. The fans of the AQ schools cannot accept, or should I say, do not want to accept that non-AQ teams can compete at the highest level. The argument is the same, tired one: Anyone can win with a long time to prepare, and the AQ team that lost simply was mailing it in. The strength of schedule is what ends up keeping undefeated non-AQs out of BCS national championships, along with a difficulty in finishing No. 1 or No. 2 in the human polls because of the same skeptical national media. How does that old cliche go? Don't let the facts get in the way of your story. So to those who continue to dismiss the non-AQs, that 4-1 record is meaningless because the same old tired storyline is the only one they can believe.
J. Christopher in McKinney, Texas, writes: You have said that Tulsa plays "what could be the most difficult nonconference schedule in the nation" this year. What other teams come close? I know Nevada and a few of the BCS schools face some tough nonconference games, but are any of them as challenging as Tulsa's?
Adelson writes:Perfect time for this question. I wrote a blog post on this earlier Friday, so be sure to check it out! I think Tulsa is the hardest among the top contenders. FAU has a tough stretch to open, but the Owls are not expected to be a bowl team this year.
Ramone in Boise, Idaho, writes: Heard you were at the Big East meetings . . . Keep hearing rumors of some "football only" membership possibilities for the BE. Who would the most attractive candidates be?
Adelson writes: Let's see you are in Boise, so in a roundabout way are you asking about Boise State? If not, my apologies for assuming. But this is a question I have heard more of in the past few days. I do not think a football-only invite to Boise State is going to happen because of the school's geography and because the TV market is simply not going to enhance the type of package the Big East is seeking when it renegotiates its deal. Boise is not exactly easy to get to, either. TCU may appear to be outside the Big East footprint, but travel to Dallas is not too difficult from the northeast. The same cannot be said of travel to Boise. A recent report indicated the possibility of Army or Navy as football-only choices, but I am not sure either service academy would be interested.
Andrea Adelson | email
College Football- ESPN.com Big East/Nation blogger
- Joined ESPN.com in 2010
- Wrote for The Orlando Sentinel
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