It's a long road to earn BCS respect

Boise State and TCU pushed toward the top of the Bowl Championship Series standings last season, only to find there was no room for them there.

Both started the regular season with outsized ambition, finished it undefeated and were rewarded with an unsatisfying matchup against each other in the Fiesta Bowl. Three days later, in a BCS championship game featuring two teams from power conferences, No. 1 Alabama beat No. 2 Texas, 37-21.

"There was still a perception out there that a team like Boise State doesn't belong in the elite group of schools," said Karl Benson, the commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference, voicing a sentiment that many TCU supporters would agree with.

No team from a conference without an automatic BCS bid has reached the title game since the current system began in 1998. This fact has stood as an impassable wall at the end of every unbeaten season for teams like Boise State of the WAC and TCU of the Mountain West.

But this season, the portion of the championship dream over which these teams have no control may be finally working in their favor.

The coaches' poll makes up a third of the BCS standings, and the skepticism that once seemed to limit the teams has been replaced by admiration in the minds of voters.

Boise State is ranked No. 5 after starting last season at No. 16.

TCU is No. 7, a 10-spot improvement from a year ago. The climb to the top is no longer so steep.

"We were a pretty well-kept secret," Boise State coach Chris Petersen said. "But now I think more people are paying attention."

Boise State (third) and TCU (sixth) are ranked even higher in the Associated Press poll, which is not a factor in the BCS standings but does indicate how teams are perceived. The Harris Interactive Poll, which makes up a third of the BCS rankings and is released in late September, is voted on by news media members and former players, coaches and administrators. The final third of a team's ranking is made up of a combination of six computer polls.

"They're being viewed as programs and not just as teams," said Wright Waters, the commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference, which does not have an automatic BCS bid. "The preseason polls are evidence people have recognized them for what they've accomplished. It takes time to get the respect of voters."

For Boise State and TCU, it has taken time as well as a few marquee victories, some not even their own.