College football’s new world order: Boise State vs. UNLV matters a lot

On November 6, 2010, No. 3 TCU visited No. 5 Utah. This was back when both were members of the Mountain West Conference (they are now in the Big 12).

It was a rarity, a top five match-up between teams from outside the so-called power conferences. TCU, led by quarterback Andy Dalton, won big that day, 47-7, but the headline of Sports Illustrated’s story the following week offered a stark reminder of how college football conducted its business.

“Does It Matter?”

Well, every game matters in some way but at least in pursuit of a national title, it didn’t. TCU would finish undefeated but not get a bid to the Bowl Championship Series title game (Auburn beat Oregon, 22-19). TCU got to play (and win) the Rose Bowl as consolation.

Fourteen years later a real playoff, with 12-teams and a path of access to leagues such as the Mountain West, is here. It’s just in time for what may be the most consequential and anticipated non-power conference game in memory.

Boise State at UNLV at 10:30 p.m. ET on Friday night.

Boise is 6-1 and ranked 17th nationally. UNLV is 6-1 but not in the polls. This isn’t close to a top five match-up, but it offers something more significant — a step on the journey to winning the Mountain West title and earning the automatic bid reserved for the best team from the so-called “Group of Five” leagues.

Does it matter? Oh it matters. It’s why the media is hyping it, UNLV is opening up extra sections of Allegiant Stadium to handle ticket demand and CBS Sports Network is expecting a pop in the ratings.

“Obviously it’s a big moment,” UNLV coach Barry Odom said Monday of what is arguably the biggest game in school history. “We know how important this game is. … High level of excitement, not just from our team or our athletic department, but the city of Vegas.”

The 12-team playoff offers automatic bids to the five highest ranked conference champions. Since there are only four “power” leagues — ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC — that means there is a spot for the best of the rest, if you will.

That access to the playoff is a welcome game changer far from the traditional teams and leagues. It’s not that anyone thinks a Boise State or a UNLV will win the national title, but just the chance to reach the playoff adds incalculable excitement, purpose and credibility to their seasons and programs.

“That’s what we work so hard for and that’s why guys are going to come to UNLV, to be a part of games like this,” Odom said.

In the NCAA basketball tournament, a successful season is defined differently by different schools — just making March Madness, for example, or springing an upset or reaching the Sweet Sixteen. Winning it all isn’t the end all and be all.

It’s going to be the same in football. And it’s not just with these two.

Both Army and Navy are still in contention as undefeated contenders in the American Athletic Conference. That’s especially true if either, or both, can beat Notre Dame (the Midshipman’s game Saturday against the Irish has playoff implications for both teams). That simply wouldn’t have occurred in the past. Washington State, Memphis and Liberty all have paths as well.

Too much of college football is run via the spreadsheets of television executives, but the sport is at its best when it’s a true national pursuit.

Critics of playoff expansion spent years arguing that it would cause college football’s regular season to lose meaning.

While it’s true a single loss will no longer end a team’s season (and that was only sometimes the case), there is no sign that the games between top programs are played with less intensity or have lost the interest of fans.

Last Saturday, ABC became the first network to ever broadcast on the same day two games (Alabama-Tennessee and Georgia-Texas) that drew more than 10 million viewers. Ratings and attendance are up all over the place, and we haven’t even gotten to the free-for-all of November, let alone the actual playoff.

The regular season is different, but in this case, it’s not that the game means less, it’s that more games matter more.

Even an October clash out west that will showcase not just Boise’s Heisman candidate running back Ashton Jeanty, but UNLV stars such as wide receiver Ricky White and return man Jacob De Jesus.

“This is going to be an absolute heavyweight fight …” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said. “We all know this is a big-time game. It’s a big-time opponent. It’s in a big-time arena.”

With real, big-time stakes. Nothing has been taken from the major schools; this is an additive to the sport as a whole.

“That’s what you dream of as a player, as a competitor, as a coach, to be in this situation and to have this opportunity,” Odom said.

Fourteen years after a top five showdown that left everyone questioning its relevance, this Mountain West matchup undoubtedly matters.