Reply #4: Bama is playing Penn State

[lazarus]

Why play Boise? It's a no-win situation. If Bama wins, it's supposed to, because Boise is in the WAC. But if Bama loses, all hell breaks loose.

If you really want to play with the big boys, join a real conference.

Besides, Boise can't even afford to travel to the SEC:

"We're questioning any East Coast kind of travel arrangements," Bleymaier said. "A lot of (the games) have already been contracted for, but we've talked about going forward, you really need to look at regional matchups and figuring out how you can have the best schedule you can have at the lowest cost. And you need to be planning that now for the next year and the year after that."

http://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/story/805045.html

And they charge a ton of money to play them, too:

Boise State likely will be more aggressive in pursuing “guarantee” football games — one-time road games against powerhouse programs for which the Broncos are paid handsomely. Athletic director Gene Bleymaier has sprinkled those into his schedule sparingly in the past but recognizes them as an easy way to increase revenue in tight times. The Broncos have openings in 2010 and 2011 that could be filled by that type of game.

And it doesn't always work out for them:

In recent years, the Broncos have cashed checks from Washington (2007, $550,000), Georgia (2005, $600,000), Arkansas (2002) and South Carolina (2001) — all games the Broncos lost. Bleymaier is considering a guarantee game for 2010, he said. The Broncos already have six home games next year.

So, you want Alabama to shell out big money to play a team that might beat them so that that team can look better? They do things differently in Idaho.