It’s tough to believe it’s been over four years since Ian Johnson dashed into the endzone in the final seconds of the Fiesta Bowl, granting Boise State a huge upset over Oklahoma in one of college football’s greatest games. It was this game that indisputably set off the cry for the little guy, the thought that a team like the Broncos who finished their schedule without a loss should get a chance to play for the national championship, regardless of their conference affiliation. The game opened the door for other non-automatic qualifiers like Hawaii, Utah, and TCU to play in BCS bowls with similar stakes—even Boise themselves made a return appearance in 2009 on the heels of a second straight undefeated season, where they once again notched a Fiesta Bowl win.
And yet here we are, nearing the end of the fourth season since that magical game, and nothing has changed. TCU was 2010’s non-AQ representative, defeating Wisconsin in a game in which the Badgers appeared half interested. Furthermore, when Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson triumphantly declared “We one this won for the little guys!” in a postgame interview, the phrase seemed to have been sapped of all its originality—was not that what Boise and Utah had exclaimed every single year since 2006? So why were the so-called “little guys” still waiting for the payoff?
2010 seemed like the year it would finally come. Boise State began the year ranked third, theoretically one Alabama or Ohio State loss away from becoming the first BCS-era non-AQ to play for the national title. They vanquished their biggest test, future ACC Champions Virginia Tech, in the first week of the season, and were soon joined by TCU within a few weeks near the top of the rankings. Alabama and Ohio State would lose much quicker than most expected, but were smoothly replaced by Auburn and Oregon in the 1-2 spots before the Broncos or Frogs could stake a legitimate claim. Still, when Boise visited Nevada on November 26th, they still had a national championship appearance in their sights. When they left as victims of a 34-31 upset, the dreams of the little guys had died with them. TCU proceeded to take their spot in the rankings, but they lacked the strength of schedule and national appeal necessary to make a title run and cruised into bowl season in the number three spot.
TCU and Boise State will undoubtedly secure top five spots when the dust clears after the bowls, but 2010 will be remembered more for what it could have been—a chance for Cinderella to step onto a bigger stage and play for the national title. Instead, it will serve as the year where the clock officially struck midnight in college football. With Utah departing the non-AQ ranks for the Pac-10 in 2011 and TCU joining the Big East a year after, the non-BCS conferences don’t just lose two of their biggest programs, they lose the spotlight that will undeniably shift to the power conferences. Boise State will have a few years as the lone representative of the little guys, but they’ll only be waiting so long before the depleted Big 12 is sure to come calling. While these teams are sure to achieve even more success in time against tougher competition, their departure will signify the end of one of college football’s greatest novelties—the David vs. Goliath showdown—and will rob fans of a chance to ever see such a matchup in the national championship. On a chilly Friday night in Reno, the Nevada Wolfpack saw to it that the Cinderella era in college football had officially ended.