Boise State AD weighs in on CFP ranking as Group of 5 teams vie for Cotton Bowl bid
Boise State Athletic Director Curt Apsey expressed his frustration with the latest College Football Playoff rankings and what he sees as a perception problem for the Mountain West Conference.
“I think there’s a lack of respect for the conference we’re in right now,” Apsey told the media Wednesday.
After completing an 11-1 regular season and an undefeated run through the Mountain West on Friday, Boise climbed just one spot in the season’s penultimate CFP ranking, which was released Tuesday. Memphis (11-1) was ranked No. 17 and Cincinnati (10-2) was No. 20. The Tigers and Bearcats play Saturday in the American Athletic Conference championship game, which gives rise to the possibility of Cincinnati jumping Boise State with a win.
The highest-ranked conference champion from the Group of Five in the final CFP poll earns a berth in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 28 in Arlington, Texas.
“I thought we should have rose more based on the entire body of work we’ve had this season,” Apsey said. “Our body of work means something to me. I’m proud of it and I think it needs to be considered, so when I saw the rankings on Tuesday night, it was disappointing.”
Apsey said it isn’t just Boise State that the CFP selection committee is overlooking. He said it isn’t respecting Hawaii — the Broncos’ opponent in Saturday’s Mountain West championship game in Alberstons Stadium (2 p.m., ESPN) — and he pointed out that Mountain West teams own nine wins over teams from Power Five conferences this season, which is the most of any conference in the Group of Five.
“I look at it as there’s 20 schools playing this weekend for a conference championship out of 115 or however many it is,” Apsey said. “I’m really hoping that this committee takes a very, very close look at the entire body of work, not just with Boise State, but with everybody in there from 15 to 25.”
Apsey did make sure to say that he was “raising his hand” for Boise State, though, and not just because of its record or ranking, but what it has overcome in many of its wins. He pointed to the season opener against Florida State, which was moved on short notice from Jacksonville, Florida, to the Seminoles’ home stadium in Tallahassee because of Hurricane Dorian and required the Broncos to rally from a fourth-quarter deficit to win.
“I don’t think it’s just about the result of that game. It’s about leading up to that game,” said Apsey, adding that Florida State is now bowl eligible at 6-6. “You talk about a resilient team, which really went against the odds in terms of the whole trip.”
Apsey also pointed to the fact that the Broncos are the only 11-1 team in the country that has started three quarterbacks, and he said that should mean something.
“It’s not just about winning the game, obviously,” he said. “There’s a human element to this, which makes it even more important to really take a close look at the body of work, the results and how those games were won and lost.”
Boise State and Memphis lead the race for the New Year’s Six bid, but Cincinnati and Appalachian State are still very much in it. When asked why he thought the Tigers remained ranked ahead of Boise State in the AP Top 25 and CFP, Apsey said he keeps hearing that it’s about strength of schedule.
Though he still believes Boise State’s schedule ranks right up there with any G5 program, he also said taking some of the subjectivity out of this race played a role in the scheduling of many of the Broncos’ future opponents, including American members UCF, South Florida, Houston and East Carolina.
“That’s one way I think you address it, you decide it on the field,” he said.
All speculation aside, Apsey wrapped up his impromptu media session saying the discussion about the Cotton Bowl ends if Boise State doesn’t get the job done on the field against Hawaii.
“We’re playing for something so big this year and something our team has worked on since January,” Apsey said.
Here’s a look at the four Group of Five teams vying for a trip to the Cotton Bowl.
Boise State
Record: 11-1, 8-0 Mountain West
CFP rank: 19
Best wins: at Florida State, vs. Air Force, vs. Marshall, vs. Hawaii, at Utah State
Loss: 28-25 at BYU in a game the Broncos played without starting quarterback Hank Bachmeier, who was injured the week before against Hawaii.
Final pitch: The Broncos own wins over six bowl-eligible opponents, which is tied for No. 5 in the nation. They opened the season with a win over Florida State, won convincingly against 10-win Air Force and nine-win Hawaii and they’re hosting the Mountain West championship game for the third year in a row. They need to put on an impressive performance Saturday against Hawaii. They also need Cincinnati to beat Memphis in the AAC title game and they have to hope that isn’t enough for the Bearcats to jump them in the final CFP ranking.
Memphis
Record: 11-1, 8-0 AAC
CFP rank: 17
Best wins: vs. Ole Miss, vs. No. 24 Navy, vs. SMU, vs. No. 20 Cincinnati
Loss: 30-28 at Temple in a game that included a fourth-down pass with 2:46 to play that was called complete on the field but was overturned on replay.
Final pitch: According to the Sagarin ratings, Memphis’ strength of schedule ranks No. 72 nationally — 16 spots ahead of Boise State. The Tigers won convincingly against nine-win Navy, which is ranked No. 24 in the latest CFP Poll, and last week they beat AAC rival Cincinnati, which is No. 20. They also own a 54-48 win over SMU, which was ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25 at the time. If the Tigers beat Cincinnati on Saturday, they’re heading to the Cotton Bowl.
Cincinnati
Record: 10-2, 7-1 AAC
CFP rank: 20
Best wins: vs. UCLA, vs. UCF, at Marshall, vs. Temple
Losses: 42-0 at No. 1 Ohio State, 34-24 at No. 17 Memphis.
Final pitch: The Bearcats opened the season with a 10-point win over UCLA, and they beat UCF when the Knights were ranked No. 18 in the AP Top 25. Cincinnati owns a 52-14 win over Marshall — a team Boise State hung on to beat 14-7 — and a 15-13 win over Temple, which owns a victory over Memphis. The Bearcats also had close calls at East Carolina and at USF. They need to win in convincing fashion Saturday at Memphis and hope that impresses the CFP selection committee enough to rank them higher than Boise State.
Appalachian State
Record: 11-1, 7-1 Sun Belt
CFP rank: 21
Best wins: at North Carolina, at South Carolina, vs. Charlotte, at Louisiana, vs. Marshall.
Loss: 24-21 vs. Georgia Southern in a loss that snapped the Mountaineers’ 14-game home winning streak
Final pitch: The Mountaineers own upsets at North Carolina and South Carolina, they beat a seven-win team from Charlotte and in Saturday’s Sun Belt championship game they have a chance at a second win over Louisiana, which is 10-2. Nine of their wins have come by at least 10 points, but a loss to Georgia Southern is hard to overlook. Appalachian State needs a dominant win over Louisiana, a loss by Boise State and a close win by Cincinnati, and the Mountaineers have to hope they impress the committee enough to jump the Bearcats in the final CFP ranking.
HAWAII AT NO. 19 BOISE STATE
What: Mountain West championship game
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Albertsons Stadium (36,387), Boise
TV: ESPN (Roy Philpott, Kelly Stouffer, Lauren Sisler)
Radio: KBOI 670 AM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State is 11-1 overall, 8-0 Mountain West; Hawaii is 9-4, 6-2.
Series: Boise State leads 13-3 (last meeting: Boise State won 59-37 on Oct. 12 in Albertsons Stadium)
Vegas line: Boise State by 14
Weather: High of 48 degrees, 60 percent chance of rain, 10 mph wind out of the southeast
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 4:29 PM.
