Man, just look at this linked picture: There sits a soul trying to stare down a shattering failure, struck with the grim visage of John Huston and the poorly plotted tattoos of a Jiffy Lube shift manager.
The Idaho Statesman rationalizes Jared Zabransky's historic six turnover first half against Georgia in 2005 as the washing clean of BCS aspiration sins today's upstart Boise State Broncos now cannot suffer thanks to one bad game a long time ago, an analogy which, when applied across "big stage" college football games, proves our theory that Bob Stoops is in purgatory.
Rejoice in your certain win this Saturday, Bronco Nation. Unlike any other emerging college power acknowledging the limits of their relative success, you rationalized a 48-13 loss to the SEC a half-decade ago as one system quarterback's sacrifice to a higher purpose. Behold the flawless logic of Zabransky, embracing literal fatalism somewhere between the fourth interception and Boise's third BCS bid:
As ugly as the 2005 game was for the blue and orange, that experience — the first high-profile flop in school history — might have done more to advance the program than damage it.
In the past five years, the Broncos have finished in the top 11 in the nation four times and posted a 6-1 record against teams from college football’s six power conferences.
"That whole process was such a learning experience for myself — that changed my career, to go through that," said Zabransky, who was 33-5 at Boise State. "… I definitely believe in my heart that we wouldn’t have done what we did in 2006 if it wasn’t for what happened in 2005."
Be sure to thank Zabransky in person for a single-half performance so improbable that EA NCAA Football is specifically programmed to prevent you from replicating as he signs autographs and blesses the small children of Idaho at the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff FanZone this Saturday.