Hawaii Week: Thanks Everybody  

Posted by Frazier

Well, we wanted to say "thanks" to everyone who took the time to comment or e-mail this week, especially the good folks from Hawaii. Here are some of our favorites:

From the Islands:

As a Hawaii resident and UH fan, I gotta say that emotions in the state are running high! People love the Warriors and this season has generated a whole lot of excitement about UH football.
I think your arguments comparing UH, OSU and WVU are excellent, especially in regards to the SoS discussion. There are a lot of teams with good rankings that have gotten them based on previous seasons accomplishments.
I'd love to see UH in the National Championship game but I don't think that it's possible. There is an inherent unfairness to the BCS, creating a caste system within college football. I think that a similar comment could be made about the Heismann. Colt's statistically-best season last year didn't seem to generate much enthusiasm from New York and even though we talk about him being a contender this year, I don't think it was realistic last year and it's probably less so this year. That doesn't diminish from his and his teams accomplishments, I really thought that he had made the wrong personal decision last year in deciding to play another year but he clearly proved me wrong. I think there'd be a lot of unhappy "big name" football coaches, teams, AD's and fans who would be very vocal about their displeasure if a "little name" school like UH got to the Title Game or if Colt won the Heismann. That's a bit sad but it's probably the way it is.
Of course it's all moot if they don't beat Washington this Saturday. I'm lucky enough to have tickets, it's going to be crazy being at the biggest game in all of UH history! If they win, the Sugar Bowl maybe?
Go Warriors!

-Andrew

Andrew,

It's, at best, a two-tier system. In some ways it's always been like this, but the BCS has really codified it. If Hawaii couldn't break through in the year of upsets, and Colt couldn't break through with his ridiculous stats last year, that's got to take a lot of hope from a lot of programs.

From Big 12 Country:

Sorry guys, Hawaii couldn’t beat Mizzou this year. Hawaii does deserve to be in the top 12, but not in the championship game.

I agree with you on your analysis about Ohio State and WV, but not on your analysis of Hawaii against Mizzou…check out their respective schedules. Just because Hawaii hasn’t lost a game this year doesn’t make them worthy of a higher rating than they currently have. The only real game worthy of note is their victory over Boise St. Also, if the current top 10 BCS teams had Hawaii’s schedule, they also would be undefeated. In that scenario, would Hawaii still be one of the top 2 as per your argument? Also, other top 10 teams wouldn’t have needed OT to beat La Tech or San Jose St like Hawaii did….they would have blown these teams out.

Clint

Dallas, TX




Clint,

Fair point about Missouri. We are only saying that Hawaii would give Missouri a game, not that they are more deserving. Certainly Mizzou has the necessary credentials to be the #1 team in the country right now. We didn't mean to take anything away from them, we just think that it would be a close game. If the Tigers win against Oklahoma, they are an obvious #1.

Our argument is basically that WVU and Ohio St. haven't done enough to overcome a loss to be worthy of playing for the title. I'd contend that there are plenty of teams that could play either of those schedules and be undefeated too!

Basically: Perfect Record + lousy schedule > One loss + mediocre schedule.

However, Missouri has: One loss + Good wins + good schedule. That is certainly more impressive.

From our friend the Baron:

Gentlemen,
Apparently you've been getting a lot of shit for making the case for Hawaii, just wanted to send my support. It's good to see someone has the balls the write about what's really happening in the BCS. Even I would rather see Hawaii play for a national title than Ohio State, because underdogs living and dying with every game is really the heart of college football, not powerhouse schools who rely on their prestige to back into a national title. People who blame Hawaii for the faults of the BCS system are the same people who would be trying to keep Hickory High out of the playoffs because they didn't play enough quality opponents (I know I just mixed my sports metaphors, but you can never go wrong with a good Hoosiers reference). Keep fighting the good fight.
- The Baron

Baron:

Thanks as always for writing. You've been at the forefront of the pro-Hawaii cause. As a life-long Buckeyes fan, this can't be easy for you. It's nice to see that there's at least one reasonable Ohio St. fan out there.

Finally, thanks to:
50 Years of College Football: A Modern History of America's Most
Colorful Sport
by Bob Boyles & Paul Guido

Our favorite reference guide for this debate and every other inane conversation we get into. If we make an error, it's because we can't read, not because those guys got it wrong.

1 comments

Anonymous   says 10:20 AM

"At least one reasonable Ohio State fan out there." Ouch.

We all know that Ohio State doesn't deserve to be the National Champions. We're blindly loyal, though. And we think it would be more fun to travel to New Orleans than Pasadena.

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