What If There
Was A Playoff? ... 1998
Looking at what might have happened over the years
By Pete Fiutak
What If There Was A Playoff ...
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CFN Playoff Explanation
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2006
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2005 |
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1998
Take the six BCS conference champions and give them automatic bids. Take
the highest ranked non-BCS team (Notre
Dame included), and give it an automatic
bid. The eighth and final slot would be
a Wild Card going to the top ranked team
in the BCS that isn’t already in. With
that in mind, here are the eight teams
that would be in and the best guess
about what would happen.
Final BCS Ranking in
parentheses
ACC – Florida State (2)
Big East – Syracuse (15)
Big Ten – Ohio State (4)
Big 12 – Texas A&M (6)
Pac 10 – UCLA (5)
SEC – Tennessee (1)
Non-BCS – Tulane (10)
Wild Card – Kansas State (3)
Bubble Busted:
Arizona (7), Florida (8), Wisconsin (9)
Texas A&M’s shocking win
over Kansas State in the Big 12
championship would’ve ruined the dreams
of Arizona, who would’ve ended up
getting the Wild Card. There would’ve
been a big debate and a major
controversy about the Big Ten
tie-breaker with Wisconsin, Ohio State,
and Michigan all finishing 7-1 in
conference play. The Badgers’ lone loss
came to Michigan and they didn’t play
Ohio State, while Michigan’s Big Ten
loss came in Columbus. OSU lost in the
final moments against Michigan State for
its only loss of the season. Assuming
the tie-breaker would then be the BCS
rankings, OSU was fourth and Wisconsin
ninth.
Arizona would’ve been ticked off
after going 11-1 with the lone loss
coming to UCLA, while Florida’s
late-season loss to Florida State all
but ended any hope of the Wild Card
First Round Matchups
Indianapolis
– No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Texas A&M
Miami – No. 2 Florida State vs. No. 7
Syracuse
Dallas – No. 1 Tennessee vs.
No. 8 Tulane
Phoenix – No. 3 Kansas
State vs. No. 6 UCLA
Matchup Analysis: Kansas State, even
with the loss in the Big 12 title game,
would’ve received a No. 3 seed, but it
would’ve been punished by having to go
to Phoenix where UCLA would’ve had a Pac
10 home field advantage. UCLA would’ve
deserved the higher seed than A&M, but
would’ve been given a 6 seed to for
geographic interests.
The
high-powered Bruin offense likely
would’ve won a shootout over Michael
Bishop’s Wildcats. Tulane and Shaun King
would’ve put up a fight before giving up
a big fourth quarter in a loss to
Tennessee. Remember, even though the
Green Wave went unbeaten, there were
only two regular season wins over teams
that finished with a winning record. The
best victory came over a Louisville team
that went 7-5. Donovan McNabb and
Syracuse would’ve been shut down by
Florida State’s phenomenal defense, and
Ohio State, who beat Texas A&M in the
1999 Sugar Bowl 24-14, would’ve beaten
the Aggies in Indy.
Projected Final Four
Rose Bowl –
No. 1 Tennessee vs. No. 6 UCLA
Sugar
Bowl – No. 2 Florida State vs. No. 4
Ohio State
Matchup Analysis: Tennessee found
ways to win. UCLA couldn’t stop the run
and would’ve been run over by the Vols,
even though the game would’ve been
played in Pasadena. As good as Florida
State was defensively, Marcus Outzen and
the offense would’ve struggled. The
Buckeyes would’ve kept the Seminole O in
check to get to the national title game.
Projected National Championship: No.
1 Tennessee vs. No. 4 Ohio State
Projected National Champion: No. 4
Ohio State
Matchup Analysis: The 1998 Ohio
State team was better than it ever
received credit for with five future
first round picks playing key roles, a
steady quarterback in Joe Germaine, and
a defense that was a rock. The D had a
bad fourth quarter in the 28-24 loss to
Michigan State, but that was it as the
Buckeyes didn’t allow more than 17
points against anyone else. Tennessee
was magical and managed to pull out
close games … flip a coin. Tennessee’s
offense was fine, and had an explosive
element in WR Peerless Price, but the
call would’ve been a huge win for Jon
Cooper and Ohio State in an ugly war.
What If There Was A Playoff ...
-
CFN Playoff Explanation |
2009
|
2008
|
2007
|
2006
-
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
2002
|
2001
|
2000
|
1999 |
1998