Rick Reilly, Have a Clue about Boise

Rick Reilly is a columnist for ESPN.com, and he makes periodic appearances on ESPN.  He thrives upon composing humorous and entertainment based sports stories that don’t always hit the main issues themselves.  I have been a strong critic of Reilly’s style for a very long time.  He is a national pundit in every sense of the word; he focuses far too much on general stereotypes and often says things without processing them and the consequences of his statements.

For example, in one ESPN feature, Reilly inadvertently disrespected every US soccer player by speculating about how good the national team would be if players such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Ryan Miller, and other star athletes played soccer instead of their own sports.  He sent the message that our current players weren’t the best the country could produce, and I took major offense to that belief and subsequent statement on national television.

In another feature, Reilly degraded the entire Philadelphia fanbase by arguing that Donovan McNabb was mistreated in Philly.  He stated that the fans should be apologizing to McNabb, and that nothing makes them happy. Of course, as with most pundits, one of his major points was that the fans threw snowballs at Santa Claus.  Hey Rick, that happened in the 1960s, get over it.  The fact that he simply stated that Philadelphia fans are not classy was unfounded and unprofessional.

So what must he have done this time to perturb me enough to write a blog entry?  This entry is a response to Rick Reilly’s article on ESPN.com, “Broncos Can’t Buck this Trend” (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=5725597).  I recommend reading it, but if you would rather not, here is a general summary.  Reilly believes that Boise State should be ranked above Auburn and Oregon, and should claim the top spot in the BCS rankings.  He feels that the Broncos are consistently disrespected, and argues that the resume of the Broncos trumps that of any other college football team.  If he wants to make that argument, that is fine, but my problem is with the lack of logic and intelligence with which he did so.

First, Reilly argues that Boise should be ranked above Auburn, and gives the stat that Auburn has 13 less wins in the last 5 seasons than Boise.  I have 3 problems with this statement.  First, and most obvious, the rankings are not based upon past years, the rankings are solely based upon what has happened this year.  Second, Auburn plays in the SEC, and doesn’t play Louisiana Tech and Idaho on a yearly basis.  Instead, the Tigers play LSU, Alabama, Florida, and Arkansas on a yearly basis.  Just a hunch, but I feel that playing Idaho and Louisiana Tech each year might lend itself to a few more wins per season than a team playing in the SEC.  So explain the thought process behind that stat, Rick.  Finally, the personnel is completely different at Auburn from even 2 years ago.  Head coach Gene Chizik was hired in 2009 after Tommy Tuberville was fired, and Heisman contender Cam Newton is a first year starter at Auburn.  But clearly, Rick Reilly thought all that through when he decided that the basis for his Boise State over Auburn argument was a difference of 13 wins in the last 5 years.

Second, Reilly defends the Broncos by arguing that they beat Oregon 19-8 last season at home, and that the Ducks undeservingly sit ahead of Boise.  Hey Rick, who was the starting quarterback for Oregon last year?  That’s right, it was Jeremiah Masoli, now the quarterback of Ole Miss.  Rick, meet Darren Thomas, the 2010 starter for the Ducks, who is tearing up the Pac 10 and everyone else right now.  When you make an argument about a head to head matchup, and the starting quarterback isn’t the same for the losing team in a previous season, that is stupid and inane, and has no bearing on anything whatsoever.

Third, Rick Reilly argues that Boise State plays and beats whoever is throw at them.  He states that Boise State beat San Jose State 48-0, and Wisconsin, who beat Ohio State and Iowa, only beat San Jose State by 13.  Compelling argument Rick, but I have a question, where are Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Iowa ranked in the BCS?  10, 11, and 18, respectively.  How about Boise? Number 3.  What exactly are you arguing, Rick?  That Boise should be ranked higher than Wisconsin? Done.  Higher than Ohio State? They already are.  Higher than Iowa?  They have been all year.  How your stat makes an argument that Boise State should be ranked above Auburn and Oregon is beyond me.

Fourth, Reilly argues that since Boise crushed Wyoming 51-6, who almost beat Air Force, who almost beat Oklahoma, Boise could absolutely beat Oklahoma.  Again, my question to Rick is, where is Oklahoma ranked?  That’s right, 9th, 6 spots behind Boise.  Is it me, Rick, or are your arguments becoming less and less relevant as your article continues?

If you didn’t think it could get worse, it did.  He then stated, with regards to Boise State beating Oklahoma, “Oh wait, it already did [happen].”  Rick, that was January 1st, 2007.  Jared Zabransky and Ian Johnson are not playing for the Broncos anymore, and Paul Thompson and Adrian Peterson are not playing for the Sooners anymore.  A comparison to a game 4 years ago is completely ridiculous, and is embarrassing to you as a journalist, Rick.

Finally, Reilly argues that Boise would “carve up” the ACC because the Broncos “whipped” Virginia Tech on the road (I have a hard time calling a 33-30 game a “whipping,” and it technically was not a home game for Tech, either).  But Rick, tell me, what team in the ACC is ranked higher than Boise State, thus in your mind disrespecting the Broncos?  None.  Get your facts and logic straight, and then come back to me.

Pardon the point-by-point analysis, but I found nearly everything included in this article to be completely ridiculous and unprofessional in nature.  There was no logic involved, it was simply a biased opinion based upon readily available and popular facts that were thrown together in a way that made no sense whatsoever and negated every one of the points he tried to make.

The fact is that Boise is lucky to be ranked #3.  Missouri is undefeated with more quality wins than Boise State, and Alabama I have ranked ahead of Boise because of 3 quality wins that trump Boise’s top win over Virginia Tech.  So please, Rick Reilly, and all other national pundits who want to make an argument about Boise State, you can make the argument, but before doing so, please, have a clue.