PERSPECTIVE: TCU or Boise State--Who should go BCS bowling?

Whether we want to admit it or not, both TCU and Boise State probably won't go to a BCS bowl game. I will be the first to say they both deserve to go if they finish undefeated, but the reality of the system is that only one will go. Ironically, Oregon could end up going as an at-large team while Boise State plays, yet again, in a lesser bowl. Therefore, the question becomes, who should go BCS bowling if both TCU and Boise State finish the year undefeated?

The answer: TCU, and it isn't even close. Consider the following facts:

1. TCU beat Boise State last year in the Poinsettia Bowl, thus showing TCU was the better team last year, and in the absence of a head-to-head contest this year this is the best barometer of who is better this year.
2. Boise State has had three perfect regular seasons this decade (2004, 2006, and 2008). In 2004 and 2008, Boise State did not play in BCS games. Not only did they not play in BCS games, but they LOST their bowl games (Liberty Bowl in 2004 to Louisville, 44-40, and the aforementioned Poinsettia Bowl, 17-16). These losses completely legitimized the BCS snubbing Boise State those years. They also legitimize the BCS selecting another team from a non-automatic qualifying conference instead of Boise State, even if the Broncos are undefeated.
   

This debate is as simple as that. We don't need to get into points per game, who beat who, etc. The two teams played each other in the last game of the year last year and TCU showed it was better then, and there is no compelling evidence that things have changed. Boise State has not proven in the past that a perfect regular season record against their schedule is a very accurate measuring stick for their ability to compete against elite competition.