So Oklahoma passed Texas by .0128 points in the latest BCS standings, leapfrogging their rivals for the #2 spot and breaking the three-way tie in the Big XII South. Longhorn fans cry foul as they point to a 45-35 victory against the Sooners on October 11th. OU fans are quick to remind us of their 65-21 drubbing of Texas Tech and 20-point victory over Oklahoma State; one team that beat then #1 ranked Texas in the final seconds and another team that lost by a mere four points to the 'Horns in Austin. Adding to Oklahoma's argument are non-conference victories against TCU and Cincinnati, two teams ranked 11th and 13th in the BCS, respectively (though to be precise, the Bearcats were not ranked at the time of their meeting). On the flip side, the Longhorns did not play any ranked teams in their non-conference schedule. Yet, Texas' lobbied hard, reminding everyone on the planet of their head-to-head win against the Sooners. Even Mack Brown, had his say during the Oklahoma/Oklahoma State broadcast.
And truth be told, the Longhorns' gripe is legitimate.
Unfortunately, at this point, all Texas fans can do is hope that the Sooners slip up in the Big XII Championship against Missouri. However, that could put yet another school in the BCS title game that didn't win their conference championship, something that sportswriters would be very reluctant about doing again.
Meanwhile, the college football world awaits the result of the SEC Championship game between Alabama (BCS #1) and Florida (BCS #4), as the winner will most likely play in the BCS title game and USC (BCS #5) hopes for a Sooners' loss against the Tigers and for the voters to reject Texas for the reason stated above.
So, the Thanksgiving leftovers are almost gone and college football is in disarray. Just another typical late-season Sunday in the BCS era...or error, depending on your allegiance.
This is nothing new. Join me now, as we take a trip in the wayback machine to revisit the failings of a system meant to create a definitive National Championship game:
1998-1999
The Players:
The Details:
The Kansas State Wildcats squandered a 15-point lead against the Texas A&M Aggies and lost the Big XII Championship game in double overtime. Though ranked #3 in the BCS, they were left out of the party. Instead, #4 BCS Ohio State and #8 BCS Florida (who had two losses) went to the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, respectively. Kansas State was relegated to the Alamo Bowl. To their credit, the Buckeyes and the Gators each won their bowl games. Undefeated Tulane was left out in the cold since they were a member of Conference USA. The following year, the BCS created the "Kansas State Rule", which guaranteed that the 3rd (or 4th) place finisher in the BCS would play in a BCS bowl.
1999-2000
The Players:
The Details:
Ironically, the Wildcats, despite finishing 6th in the BCS, were excluded again, this time by the #8 BCS Michigan Wolverines who ended up beating the Alabama Crimson Tide 35-34 in a thrilling Orange Bowl.
2000-2001
The Players:
The Details:
The Sooners were undefeated and slated to play the one-loss Seminoles in the Orange Bowl for the national title. However, Florida State's one loss came against another one-loss team, Miami, whose one loss was from another one-loss team, Washington. Oklahoma beat Florida State, 13-2, while Miami defeated Florida, 37-20 in the Sugar Bowl and the Huskies bested Purdue, 34-24 in the Rose Bowl. The result was that a "quality win" bonus was added to the BCS equation, which rewarded schools for beating a top-ten team.
2001-2002
The Players:
The Details:
The Huskers suffered a crushing late-season defeat in Boulder at the hands of the Buffaloes, yet Nebraska still came out ahead in the BCS Standings, beating out Colorado for the #2 spot by .05 points. One-loss Oregon was #2 in both the AP and Coaches' polls, but only 4th in the BCS. Nebraska, who didn't even play in their conference championship, failed to benefit from the questionable ranking as they were thumped by the Miami Hurricanes, 37-14 in the Rose Bowl. Colorado didn't fare much better, losing to the Ducks 38-16 in the Fiesta Bowl.
2002-2003
The Players:
The Details:
This one gets convoluted. Traditionally, the Buckeyes (that year's Big Ten champion) would have played in the Rose Bowl against the Pac-10 champ, but they were #2 in the BCS and headed for the Fiesta Bowl. Iowa (#5 BCS) was chosen next by the Orange Bowl, leaving the Rose Bowl with #7 BCS Oklahoma and co-Pac-10 champion, Washington State. The Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl both wanted Southern Cal for their second selection, but per BCS rule, the Orange Bowl (the one with the higher payoff) got the Trojans and, in essence, seemed more like the Rose Bowl than the Rose Bowl. As a result, the Rose Bowl had its lowest attendance to date and failed to sell out for the first time since 1944. It worked out pretty good for Ohio State though, as they defeated Miami in two overtimes, 31-24, in a Fiesta Bowl marred by controversy. Nevertheless, it gave the Buckeyes their first national title in 32 years.
2003-2004
The Players:
The Details:
In a highly competitve year, no team finished undefeated. However, LSU, USC and Oklahoma had one-loss each. OU had lost to Kansas State in the Big XII Championship. As a result, the human voters had ranked them third in both polls. The computers, however, saw it differently and ranked them #1. LSU was ranked #2 in the BCS. Southern Cal, though ranked #1 in both the AP and Coaches' polls, got shut out of the BCS title game because the computers thought their schedule to be the weakest. LSU took care of business and beat the Sooners in the Sugar Bowl, 21-14. Meanwhile, USC defeated Michigan in the Rose Bowl and kept their #1 AP ranking. Despite the Trojans retaining the top spot in the AP poll, the head coaches were contractually obligated to vote for the winner of the BCS Championship game. Three coaches did not. In the end, the result was a split national title between the Tigers and the Trojans; the exact thing the BCS was created to prevent.
2004-2005
The Players:
The Details:
Another long one. The season ended with five undefeated teams: USC, Auburn, Oklahoma, Boise State, and Utah. The Tigers, Broncos and Utes were excluded, the latter two on perceived weak schedules. In the BCS Championship, USC destroyed OU 55-19. The Utes became the first non-BCS team to crash the party, taking care of Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl 35-7. The Tigers, on the other hand, squeaked by Virgina Tech in the Sugar Bowl 16-13. Boise State was left out in the cold. More controversy was added into the mix when the Longhorns passed Cal in the last regular-season poll. Contributing factors were Mack Brown's lobbying to the media and the Golden Bears' lackluster win against Southern Mississippi on the eve of the bowl bids. Texas did beat Michigan in an exciting Rose Bowl, while Cal lost in the Holiday Bowl.
2005-2006
No controversy. Texas handed USC a loss in the Rose Bowl, 41-38. It ranks as one of the greatest college football games of all time.
2006-2007
The Players:
The Details:
At the end of the season, Ohio State was undefeated and #1. Boise State was also undefeated, but like one-loss Louisville and Wisconsin, the media did not feel that they had played as strong a schedule as one-loss Florida and Michigan. The Wolverines lost by three points to the Buckeyes in their annual rivalry game at the end of the regular season. While the computers had Florida and Michigan tied for second, the voters, perhaps not wanting to see Michigan/Ohio State again, gave the nod to the Gators by .0101 points. Michigan, with their #3 ranking went on to the Rose Bowl and lost to #5 BCS Southern Cal, 32-18. Undefeated Boise State prevailed in overtime against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, 43-42. It quickly went down in history as one of the most exciting college football games ever. Meanwhile, the Gators chomped the Buckeyes, 41-14, earning them all the first-place votes but one, which went to the Broncos. On top of all the craziness were three side notes that only strengthened the playoff argument: Louisville won the Orange Bowl against Wake Forest, 24-13. The Badgers were left out of the BCS entirely, because the Big Ten was already represented by Ohio State and Michigan, but prevailed in the Citrus Bowl against a ranked Arkansas team. Two-loss Auburn suffered a similar fate, because Florida and LSU were the SEC representatives, despite the fact that Auburn beat them both that season, 27-17 and 7-3, respectively. They later defeated a ranked Nebraska team in the Cotton Bowl.
2007-2008
The Players:
The Details:
Perhaps the most involved, saved for last.
Despite losing two triple-overtime games against Arkansas and Kentucky, LSU was ranked #7 in the BCS. However, #1 BCS Missouri lost to Oklahoma in the Big XII Championship and #2 BCS West Virginia was shocked by an unranked Pittsburgh team. Ohio State, idle for the last two weeks, vaulted from BCS fifth to first. That left the #2 slot up for grabs. LSU, on the strength of a SEC Championship win against Tennessee, and a convincing win 48-7 win against the Hokies earlier in the season, ended up #2, despite computer rankings of .960 (#1) for Virginia Tech and .950 (#2) for LSU. In the end, LSU beat Ohio State 38-24, making the Tigers the first two-loss BCS Champion. In the AP poll, LSU finished with 60 first-place votes. Georgia crushed previously undefeated Hawai'i, 41-10 in the Sugar Bowl and received three-first place votes. The last two votes went to USC, 49-17 winners over Illinois in the Rose Bowl, and Kansas, Orange Bowl victors against Virginia Tech by a 24-21 score. Missouri was shut out of the BCS since Oklahoma and Kansas had already been picked to represent the Big XII. The Tigers ended up handily defeating the Razorbacks in the Cotton Bowl, 38-7.
So, to make a long story a bit longer, this should be no surprise. It has been going on every year that the BCS has existed, but one.
