But before anyone gets too excited about it meaning anything...

Naturally, it's clear that in the NCAA, as in the NFL, various rules and regulations have created greater parity.

But, as various writers have pointed out, Boise St. would never run a playoff system to a championship. They competed admirably, never gave up. It was a terriby exciting game. My theory about football, though, is if you need to execute 3 trick plays to win a last-gasp game, you couldn't win going head to head. This isn't to take credit away from BSU for executing, or Peterson for having the nerve to make the calls. But they were in a no-lose situation, and OU was in a no-win situation.

And Boise St. also benefited greatly from an Oklahoma team playing its worst game since they lost to Texas. What was clear when OU wasn't handing Boise St. points was that they were physically superior. But since OU's players obviously didn't take Boise St. all that seriously, they found themselves in a hole, and kept digging themselves deeper. Even so, their superiority showed in outscoring BSU 25-0 in coming back and taking the lead.

Their arrogance showed in assuming the game was over at 35-28. BSU's character, or desire, showed in not making the same assumption. But anyone who has watched this OU team over the course of the season has seen them assert dominance, then take the foot off the gas. More than once. They're a team with more talent, but a team playing with a makeshift quarterback, who also lost their top receiver during the game. Many potential blowouts have turned into close games. This was not a vintage OU team, but one who had turned a lot of adversity into an improbable Big 12 championship. Paul Thompson underthrowing two wide open receivers on potential game-breaking plays shows why Rhett Bomar beat him out last year. Of course, Bomar turned out to be an idiot. But Bob Stoops kicked Bomar off the team for his idiocy, and Jim Tressel kept Troy Smith despite the same infraction.

Adrian Peterson's TD run of 25 yards on the first play of overtime would have been the story of the entire game had OU not blown a coverage on play action and then fumbled during two consecutive possessions to spot BSU 14 points and guarantee a long uphill slog the rest of the night by giving BSU hope. Thompson's interceptions were a career worst, and they weren't the result of BSU's tremendous ability. Two badly thrown balls, and a tip that fell perfectly. OU for their part had three potential interceptions, one a sure touchdown, that they didn't convert. Bottom line, BSU played as good as they could and OU played like...well, about as unevenly as they could. And Boise didn't have much to do with that, truth be told.

My hat's off to BSU in what you rightly describe as a fantastic exhibition game. No one can doubt their heart or character. But a playoff system would only guarantee that the next big boys they faced would've been hip to the endless bag of tricks required to win and probably destroyed BSU. Whether they got to play for a championship or not, they should enjoy the big win, and we should all leave it at that. The NCAA Basketball tournament has produced the occassional miracle, but they're miracles, not common occurences. For a reason.

So I wouldn't read too much into it. We've seen a number of NFL teams get surprised by season-long slouches in the last few weeks. On any given day...That's why they play the game. But I'd be willing to wager my house that if BSU and OU scheduled each other the next two years, or four, BSU would never smell 17 points, let alone 43.