What If There
Was A Playoff? ... 2006
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
| 2009 |
2008 |
2007 |
2006
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2005 |
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2003 |
2002 |
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2000 |
1999 |
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 – Wake Forest
(14)
Big East –
Louisville (6)
Big Ten
– Ohio State (1)
Big 12 – Oklahoma (10)
Pac 10 – USC (5)
SEC – Florida (2)
Non-BCS – Boise State
(8)
Wild Card –
Michigan (3)
Bubble Busted: LSU (4), Wisconsin (7)
LSU was deserving of getting in the Wild
Card, but it would’ve had to settle for a Sugar Bowl appearance
against Notre Dame and a 41-14 destruction. Wisconsin would’ve
had the biggest complaint after going 11-1 with the lone loss
coming at Michigan. There weren’t any big wins, the only one of
note coming against a good Penn State team, but the Badgers
proved they could play with a Capital One Bowl win over
Arkansas. Had the BCS allowed three teams from the same
conference to get in, Wisconsin almost certainly would’ve
knocked out Boise State to play Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.
First Round Matchups
Indianapolis – No. 1 Ohio State vs.
No. 8 Wake Forest
Miami – No. 2 Florida vs. No. 7 Boise State
Dallas – No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 6 Oklahoma
Phoenix – No. 4
USC vs. No. 5. Louisville
Matchup Analysis: Wake
Forest was mistake-free and plucky, but Ohio State’s offense
would’ve been too potent in the home field environment. Boise
State would’ve thrown everything and the kitchen sink against
Florida, but the Gators were tougher than Oklahoma, especially
on defense, and wouldn’t have melted down. Michigan ended the
season with a major disappointment after losing an epic war
against Ohio State before going to the Rose Bowl to lose to USC.
Oklahoma was good, but it wasn’t one of Bob Stoops’ juggernauts.
Adrian Peterson would’ve run wild, but Michigan would’ve moved
on. No one is better in the big games than USC, but a major
assumption is being made here: the team wouldn’t be healthy. The
Trojans blew their shot to play for the national title with a
13-9 loss to UCLA in the season finale mainly because QB John
David Booty had little mobility. In a playoff, he would’ve only
had two weeks, roughly, to heal up, while the offensive
consistency would’ve been an issue. Brian Brohm and Louisville
were the real deal and should’ve been given more consideration
for the national title game after beating seven teams that
finished with a winning record.
Projected Final Four
Rose Bowl – No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Louisville
Sugar Bowl
– No. 2 Florida vs. No. 3 Michigan
Matchup Analysis:
Let’s assume Ohio State is the potent, efficient machine that
ripped through the regular season and not the fat, lazy team
that didn’t show up against Florida. Louisville had the offense
to put up big numbers on the Buckeye D, but Heisman winner Troy
Smith and the Buckeye passing game would’ve gotten the job done.
Florida managed to come up with close win after close win and
was hitting its peak as the season ended. Michigan’s offense
wouldn’t have been able to handle the swarming Gator D.
Projected National
Championship: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Florida
Projected National
Champion: No. 2 Florida
Matchup Analysis:
Remember, this is a tournament. Ohio State wouldn’t have had the
seven weeks off it had between the Michigan win and the Debacle
in the Desert and wouldn’t have been blown out. Even so, the
Gators would’ve been too athletic and too efficient for a
Buckeye team that was great, but showed holes against the
Wolverines.
What If There Was A Playoff ...
-
CFN Playoff Explanation |
2009
|
2008
|
2007
|
2006
-
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
2002
|
2001
|
2000
|
1999 |
1998