Strictly Business

"Boise State's Kellen Moore explodes on Toledo!"

In 1988 EPMD 's debut album was entitled "Strictly Business". The first single was a hot joint called "You Gots To Chill". Twenty-two years later it's the theme song of the Boise State Bronco's. They keep silencing the critics by taking care of business every time they get off of the bus. Even the best of teams will look bad every now and then but not the boyz from the blue turf. The one thing you can count on with them is consistency.

Over the past several years I've spent my time explaining to folks how much of a disadvantage it is for Boise State to be in the national title discussion because of the "cushiness" of their schedule. I don't even know if that's a word bruh! However, when I look over the landscape of college football they are the one team that does what they're supposed to do every week without flaw. If you are playing cup cakes then you're supposed to blow them out and that's exactly what they keep doing. They beat the doors off of Toledo 40-15 on the road.

They showed up to an unexpected fight in the first half until the Rockets self-destructed. I was looking for Ms Melody and Chuck D to break the huddle with Toledo at some point. The Rockets were in a perfect position to knock the Bronco's off but they had the Plaxico Rotavirus. They kept shooting themselves in the leg all night. "Missed Opportunities" should be the name of the Rockets next single because it would go platinum in a week.


Did Boise State look great or did Toledo just keep laying down and taking a beating? I believe that it was the latter of the two. However, the mark of a good team is to have the ability to take advantage of the other teams missed opportunities and turn them into points. So like I've said before, I can't hate on the Bronco's anymore because they are rocking shows like EPMD when they show up.

Now, do they deserve to play for the national title? Only if the Big 12, SEC, Big Ten, and ACC don't have teams that run the table or even have teams with one loss. You simply can't justify putting Boise State in a title game when teams are playing monstrous schedules week in and week out that may end up running the table or even have one loss.


Incredible show downs like today's #1 Oklahoma vs. #5 Florida State or on November 5th #2 Alabama vs. #3 LSU not to mention everything before and after that these teams have to prepare for. I mean, I've got love for Boise State's consistency but they're sitting in the cat bird seat playing teams with Rotavirus' and boyz are out here scraping with healthy opponents. It's hard for me to understand the game of football and justify putting Boise State in the title game because the level of sacrifice to get there isn't the same.

"You Gots To Chill!"

They're strictly business and I can appreciate what they've accomplished but the guys left on the schedule are in hospice at this point. Football is a game of attrition. That means injuries are constantly being suffered and as the season progresses and teams have to go deeper into their depth charts as a result. The deeper you go into your depth chart the less talent you have or the less experience you have. Either way it shows up in missed assignments and mistakes that can cost you a ball game or two against lesser opponents that happen to catch you limping into town.

If you're playing cup cakes all season you rarely suffer the affects of attrition so you show up at the end of the season healthy.

I heard Urban Myer say that when he was at Utah and was undefeated he just wanted a shot at the title because he thought that they could play with anybody. Heck, they beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. However, when he got to Florida he said that he could barely keep the Bentley in the road by seasons end because of the injuries. When you’re dragging down the stretch the little wimp kid that you beat up every morning going to school can run up on you and come away with your sneakers every now and then.

So although I like listening to EPMD. I'd rather be listening to JayZ & Kanye West’s new joint "Watch The Throne" because they've played the monstrous schedule and deserve to be at the top of the pile!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Twitter: @jaygravesreport