What If There
Was A Playoff? ... 2004
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 – Virginia Tech
(8)
Big East –
Pitt (21)
Big Ten –
Michigan (13)
Big
12 – Oklahoma (2)
Pac 10 – USC (1)
SEC – Auburn (3)
Non-BCS – Utah (6)
Wild Card – Texas (4)
Bubble Busted:
California (5), Boise State (9), Louisville (10), Iowa (12)
There
would’ve been some tremendously disappointed teams that deserved
a spot in the playoffs more than some of the automatic choices.
10-1 Cal would prove it wasn’t all that great with a loss to
Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl, but Bear fans would’ve gone
ballistic with the lone regular season loss coming to USC
(23-17). Iowa would’ve been a little bit upset after finishing
ahead of Michigan in the BCS even after losing the head-to-head
battle. Boise State was 11-0 and Louisville 10-1, with the lone
loss a 41-38 thriller at Miami, but they picked the wrong year
to be great; Utah was the obvious non-BCS pick. The Broncos and
Cardinals played an amazing Liberty Bowl with Louisville winning
44-40.
First
Round Matchups
Indianapolis – No. 4 Texas vs. No. 5
Michigan
Miami – No. 3 Auburn vs. No. 6 Utah
Dallas – No.
2 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Virginia Tech
Phoenix – No. 1 USC vs.
No. 8 Pitt
Matchup
Analysis: The Texas – Michigan showdown would’ve been a
thriller. Vince Young was just a wee bit better than Braylon
Edwards in the Rose Bowl shootout, the Longhorns won 38-37, but
with Michigan getting a bit more of a home field advantage, the
razor-thin edge would’ve likely have tipped the other way.
Auburn was the team left without a chair when the music stopped
in the national title chase in 2004, and Jason Campbell,
Cadillac Williams, and Ronnie Brown’s offense would’ve been
expected to show up and shine in the tournament. There have to
be upsets somewhere in the tournament, and Utah’s spread attack,
coached by Urban Meyer and led by Alex Smith, would’ve been the
perfect team to pull it off. Sound crazy? That Utah team was
better than the one that ripped through Alabama in the 2009
Sugar Bowl, and 2004 Auburn struggled against Virginia Tech in
the Sugar. The other big upset call would be Virginia Tech over
Oklahoma. The Hokies were
just good enough on defense to keep Jason White and the
high-powered Sooners (who didn’t blow up on many defenses with
pulses) from exploding, while Bryan Randall and the inconsistent
Tech offense was just flaky enough to come up with one big game
to pull off the shocker. USC would’ve blasted Pitt by 40.
Projected Final Four
Rose Bowl – No. 1 USC vs. No. 5 Michigan
Sugar Bowl – No. 6
Utah vs. No. 7 Virginia Tech
Matchup Analysis:
Michigan had the talent to hang around with USC, but it wouldn’t
do it. Matt Leinart and the Trojan attack would’ve hung 40+ on
the board and the Wolverines wouldn’t have been able to keep up.
Virginia Tech’s defense would’ve given Smith and the spread a
hard time for about a half, but Utah was the real deal.
Remember, in 2004 no one had quite figured out the spread yet
and Utah was running it with tremendous speed and precision.
Projected National
Championship: No. 1 USC vs. No. 6 Utah
Projected National
Champion: No. 1 USC
Matchup Analysis: Utah
was good, really good, but USC would’ve been on a big game
mission. The Trojans struggled at times throughout the season,
most notably in a battle with UCLA at the end of the regular
season, but they would’ve been focused and workmanlike to win
the national title in a fun shootout.
What If There Was A Playoff ...
-
CFN Playoff Explanation |
2009
|
2008
|
2007
|
2006
-
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
2002
|
2001
|
2000
|
1999 |
1998