This class is comparable to their 2009 class. Good, not great. My point is this. They have not one, but two BCS bowl titles and yet their recruiting seems to have peaked. I'm not sure they can go much higher unless they get to a BCS conference and even then...
Tcu has been steadily rising in the recruiting arena. Yes, yes, I know the stars mean nothing, but they do correlate with perception. Our Rose bowl bump had infinitely more impact than either of Boise's wins. I think this is a sign of a schools potential IMO (I.e., how far can you go and is it sustainable). If Boise starts losing, their star may fall very quickly and that is why they must beat us next year.
1) Why would anyone who is a TCU fan be in the very least concerned about how the Boise program may or may not be affected by a loss to TCU? Boise's status matters to TCU next year because they are in the same conference and our game against Boise has the potential to determine who, if anyone, gets the non-AQ automatic spot in the BCS bowls next year.
2) The chances of Boise being undefeated going into next years' TCU v Boise game on the blue turf is far better than 50/50 given their schedule and the number of returning starters they have. It is also considerably better IMO than TCU's chance of being undefeated at that time. Depending on how high they start in the pre-season rankings, they could very well lose the game to TCU and still get to a BCS bowl if TCU has more than one loss on the season.
3) After next year we get Zero benefit from Boise continuing to rise as a program, or for that matter staying at the level they are now. Under the current BCS system, we are better off with Boise and all the other non-AQ schools (and ND) not being high enough ranked to get an automatic bid for a BCS game. The fewer teams that qualify from outside the AQ conferences, the more at-large bids there are for AQ conference teams and the higher chance that the Big East gets two teams in BCS Bowl games which puts more money in our pockets. Now having two Big East BCS bowl teams seems like a real long shot given the state of the league this past year, but things go in cycles and in two or three years having 4 at large spots instead of 3 could make the difference.
4) Boise does have a limit to how high their program can go being outside the big money conferences, but losing one game next year to TCU won't be any more the death of their program than losing to TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl was after the 2008 season. Why any TCU fan would be worried about what happens to Boise if we beat them, remains a mystery.
