What If There
Was A Playoff? ... 2008
Looking at what might have happened over the years
By Pete Fiutak
What If There Was A Playoff ...
-
CFN Playoff Explanation
| 2009 |
2008 |
2007 |
2006
-
2005 |
2004 |
2003 |
2002 |
2001 |
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 – Virginia Tech
(19)
Big East –
Cincinnati (12)
Big
Ten – Penn State (8)
Big 12 – Oklahoma (1)
Pac 10 – USC (5)
SEC – Florida (2)
Non-BCS – Utah (6)
Wild Card – Texas (3)
Bubble Busted:
Alabama (4), Texas Tech (7), Boise State (9)
Alabama
would’ve gone from No. 1 and unbeaten to out of the tournament
after a tough fourth quarter in the SEC title game. Texas Tech
would’ve been ticked that it tied Oklahoma and Texas for the Big
12 South title yet was left out (and wouldn’t even be
considered). Boise State was one of two unbeaten teams at the
end of the year but would’ve been bumped out of the Non-BCS slot
by Utah.
First
Round Matchups
Indianapolis – No. 4 Penn State vs. No. 5
USC
Miami – No. 2 Florida vs. No. 7 Cincinnati
Dallas –
No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 8 Virginia Tech
Phoenix – No. 3 Texas
vs. No. 6 Utah
Matchup Analysis: Cincinnati would’ve hung around with
Florida for about a quarter before the roof caved in. Virginia
Tech wouldn’t have had much of a chance to keep up with the
point-a-minute Oklahoma juggernaut. Texas vs. Utah would’ve been
interesting, and while the Utes proved they could play with the
big boys in the Sugar Bowl blasting of Alabama, they wouldn’t
have been able to deal with the precision of a hot Colt McCoy.
It would’ve gone down to the wire, but no one, including Brian
Johnson, was better at coming up with the big late drive than
McCoy. Penn State couldn’t get the offense going against the
all-timer of a USC defense until it was too late in the loss in
the Rose Bowl. The Trojans wouldn’t have won in a walk, but they
would’ve moved on.
Projected Final Four
Rose Bowl – No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Texas
Sugar Bowl – No. 1
Florida vs. No. 5 USC
Matchup Analysis:
Texas had Oklahoma’s number the first time around, but the
Oklahoma offense was playing at a different level by the end of
the season. It’s hard to beat the same team twice, and OU had
the linebacker situation figured out after losing Ryan Reynolds
in the first matchup. Don’t discount how big that was. Reynolds
was knocked out, Colt McCoy picked apart the middle of the
field, and UT won. Florida’s defense would’ve stopped the
inconsistent USC offense (don’t forget the Cal and Arizona
games), while the key for the Gator O would’ve been the health
of Percy Harvin. Assume he’s playing, and assume the Gators do
to the Trojan defense what Penn State was able to do in the
second half of the Rose Bowl.
Projected National
Championship: No. 1
Florida vs. No. 2 Oklahoma
Projected National
Champion: No. 1 Florida
Matchup Analysis:
Florida, as long as Harvin was healthy, was the best team in
America in all areas and would’ve been the pick if Texas had
gotten here. However, don’t forget just how close OU was to
pulling off the win.
What If There Was A Playoff ...
-
CFN Playoff Explanation |
2009
|
2008
|
2007
|
2006
-
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
2002
|
2001
|
2000
|
1999 |
1998