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It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.
It was the age of winning. It was the age of losing.
It was the epoch of dominance. It was the epoch of submission.
It was the season of the Big West. It was the season of the Western Athletic.
If Charles Dickens were alive in the 21st century, he would have no problems finding a parallel between his famous 1859 novel about two cities, and now the college football fable of Reno and Boise. Reno used to be the center of college football in the West outside of the Pac-10 conference when the Pack ruled the Big Sky and Big West. Boise was an average team.
Since leaving these two conferences, the fortunes have revolutionized for the Idaho team as Boise State is now the center of college football outside the six major conferences. Nevada, well, that's a different story.
What has happened to a team that used to dominate the Big Sky and Big West, including Boise, but has had difficulty repeating that success in the WAC? Before joining the WAC in 2000 (Nevada) and 2001 (Boise State), both teams were evenly matched when no team would win more than three games in a row in the series. Before joining the WAC, the Wolf Pack had the upper hand against the Broncos, whether the game was in Reno or Boise. Nevada won the series, 4-2, including a three-game winning streak, when both teams were in the Big West from 1992 to 2000.
Now, the football table's turned directions.
Since joining the WAC, Boise State has been college football's most successful nonBCS program. No one has come close to battling the Broncos' consistency. Boise State has been near-flawless in the WAC.
And it doesn't look like that will change anytime soon.
Again, how did this tale of two cities suddenly flip and send Charles Dickens' football masterpiece into a spiral twist? How did Boise State become incredibly successful while its Nevada counterpart remained the same, even now?
The last time Boise State was on the losing end in this series came on Halloween in 1998 when the Wolf Pack destroyed the Broncos, 52-24, at Mackay Stadium. For the past 10 games, it's been all Boise but Nevada tried to shrink the deficit in each of the last three meetings. A quadruple-overtime thriller, a seven-point shortfall and Friday night's 11-point loss are signs that Nevada is getting close to beating Boise State.
But it will never happen.
Nevada will never beat a team like Boise State because it's not a team like Boise State. Nevada lacks in recruiting talent beyond three-star athletes, and is too stubborn to heavily focus on the Silver State's talent while Boise State cashes in (see Chris Carr). Nevada lacks community support, which is evident by the empty seats at Mackay Stadium. Nevada lacks confidence and always chokes during the “big game” (see Notre Dame, Texas Tech, Missouri and Boise State).
But for Boise State, these factors have created the Broncos into a national non-BCS powerhouse.
Since that defeat to Nevada 11 years ago, these two teams couldn't be any more different.
• Boise State has never lost more than four games in a season under former coach Dan Hawkins and one game under current coach Chris Peterson. Nevada has lost no fewer than three games and 10 at most under Chris Tormey and Chris Ault.
• Boise State is 68-4 in WAC games. Nevada is 43-37.
• Boise State has been to nine bowl games and is heading to its 10th this decade. Nevada will be going to its fifth.
• Boise State has won seven WAC championships. Nevada has won one shared title.
• Pending next week, Boise State will finish its seventh undefeated WAC season. Nevada has none — only two one-loss seasons (2005 and 2009).
• Boise State has finished six seasons with 11 or more wins. Nevada has won no more than nine games.
• Boise State has finished the season ranked in the final Top 15 poll five times. Nevada has never been ranked.
• Boise State is 4-4 against the Pac-10 and 7-1 against the Mountain West. Nevada is 1-5 against the Pac-10 and 8-13 against the Mountain West. Five of those MW wins are against UNLV.
• Boise State has been ranked in the BCS Top 10 for the fourth time and won its only BCS bowl appearance, an overtime shocker over Oklahoma. Nevada has never been outside a conference-affiliated bowl.
This revised Charles Dickens tale is a masterpiece about how a program can go from a bottom-dweller in the Big West and Big Sky to one of the most storied programs in college football.
What happened to the other city?
Reno is still trying to figure that out.
Thomas Ranson can be contacted at transon@lahontanvalleynews.com.
It was the age of winning. It was the age of losing.
It was the epoch of dominance. It was the epoch of submission.
It was the season of the Big West. It was the season of the Western Athletic.
If Charles Dickens were alive in the 21st century, he would have no problems finding a parallel between his famous 1859 novel about two cities, and now the college football fable of Reno and Boise. Reno used to be the center of college football in the West outside of the Pac-10 conference when the Pack ruled the Big Sky and Big West. Boise was an average team.
Since leaving these two conferences, the fortunes have revolutionized for the Idaho team as Boise State is now the center of college football outside the six major conferences. Nevada, well, that's a different story.
What has happened to a team that used to dominate the Big Sky and Big West, including Boise, but has had difficulty repeating that success in the WAC? Before joining the WAC in 2000 (Nevada) and 2001 (Boise State), both teams were evenly matched when no team would win more than three games in a row in the series. Before joining the WAC, the Wolf Pack had the upper hand against the Broncos, whether the game was in Reno or Boise. Nevada won the series, 4-2, including a three-game winning streak, when both teams were in the Big West from 1992 to 2000.
Now, the football table's turned directions.
Since joining the WAC, Boise State has been college football's most successful nonBCS program. No one has come close to battling the Broncos' consistency. Boise State has been near-flawless in the WAC.
And it doesn't look like that will change anytime soon.
Again, how did this tale of two cities suddenly flip and send Charles Dickens' football masterpiece into a spiral twist? How did Boise State become incredibly successful while its Nevada counterpart remained the same, even now?
The last time Boise State was on the losing end in this series came on Halloween in 1998 when the Wolf Pack destroyed the Broncos, 52-24, at Mackay Stadium. For the past 10 games, it's been all Boise but Nevada tried to shrink the deficit in each of the last three meetings. A quadruple-overtime thriller, a seven-point shortfall and Friday night's 11-point loss are signs that Nevada is getting close to beating Boise State.
But it will never happen.
Nevada will never beat a team like Boise State because it's not a team like Boise State. Nevada lacks in recruiting talent beyond three-star athletes, and is too stubborn to heavily focus on the Silver State's talent while Boise State cashes in (see Chris Carr). Nevada lacks community support, which is evident by the empty seats at Mackay Stadium. Nevada lacks confidence and always chokes during the “big game” (see Notre Dame, Texas Tech, Missouri and Boise State).
But for Boise State, these factors have created the Broncos into a national non-BCS powerhouse.
Since that defeat to Nevada 11 years ago, these two teams couldn't be any more different.
• Boise State has never lost more than four games in a season under former coach Dan Hawkins and one game under current coach Chris Peterson. Nevada has lost no fewer than three games and 10 at most under Chris Tormey and Chris Ault.
• Boise State is 68-4 in WAC games. Nevada is 43-37.
• Boise State has been to nine bowl games and is heading to its 10th this decade. Nevada will be going to its fifth.
• Boise State has won seven WAC championships. Nevada has won one shared title.
• Pending next week, Boise State will finish its seventh undefeated WAC season. Nevada has none — only two one-loss seasons (2005 and 2009).
• Boise State has finished six seasons with 11 or more wins. Nevada has won no more than nine games.
• Boise State has finished the season ranked in the final Top 15 poll five times. Nevada has never been ranked.
• Boise State is 4-4 against the Pac-10 and 7-1 against the Mountain West. Nevada is 1-5 against the Pac-10 and 8-13 against the Mountain West. Five of those MW wins are against UNLV.
• Boise State has been ranked in the BCS Top 10 for the fourth time and won its only BCS bowl appearance, an overtime shocker over Oklahoma. Nevada has never been outside a conference-affiliated bowl.
This revised Charles Dickens tale is a masterpiece about how a program can go from a bottom-dweller in the Big West and Big Sky to one of the most storied programs in college football.
What happened to the other city?
Reno is still trying to figure that out.
Thomas Ranson can be contacted at transon@lahontanvalleynews.com.
