The Boise State Broncos are breathing some rare BCS air.

The fifth-ranked Broncos have climbed higher and faster than any non-BCS team in the controversial system's 12-year history.

The Broncos, pride of the Western Athletic Conference, have shouldered in front of three storied powers — USC, Oklahoma and Ohio State, each with one loss. Now Boise State is trying to scale the college football equivalent of Mount Everest and become the first team from outside the six BCS conferences to play for a national title.

Best known for their blue field and an exhilarating Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma, the Broncos have ignited a debate that figures to grow hotter after the first BCS standings are released Oct. 18.

"It is unprecedented," WAC commissioner Karl Benson said Wednesday from his office in Colorado. "The stars are kind of lining up for Boise State."

But BCS numbers-cruncher Jerry Palm advised the Broncos to take a photo of the summit, because he doubts they'll ever reach it. He believes that once-beaten teams from major conferences will climb past the Broncos down the stretch.

"There's a chance that Boise has peaked earlier than anyone else in their position has peaked," said Palm, editor of collegebcs.com. "But maybe not."

It's the "maybe not" that has the college football world buzzing this week.

The Broncos have introduced the shadow of a doubt into the sport's convoluted system for selecting the teams that will play for its Waterford Crystal championship trophy.

And the Broncos aren't alone. No. 11 Texas Christian of the Mountain West Conference and 12th-ranked Houston of Conference USA are also clamoring for BCS recognition.

"I think people like the Cinderella," TCU coach Gary Patterson said this week. "They like the underdog. It makes a great story."

The rise of the BCS outsiders comes after an offseason that saw more threats — but no real action — by politicians to dismantle the lucrative system that grants automatic berths to the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Southeastern conferences. The gist of the politicians' argument is that the BCS is unfair to schools outside the six richest conferences.

BCS honchos bowed to Congressional pressure when they added a fifth game in 2006 and eased access for outsiders.

For Boise State, that tweak in the BCS paid off in 2006. The Broncos went unbeaten, rose to No. 8 in the BCS standings and stunned No. 10 Oklahoma, 43-42, in an overtime Fiesta Bowl thriller.