The Answer To The BCS
Anti-Trust Debate
How would past seasons have gone?
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CFN
Analysis - The BCS Anti-Trust Debate
By
Pete Fiutak
The answer to all of our problems is so simple and
so easy that it's literally insane to not make it
happen.
If the government types really do find out that the
BCS violates anti-trust laws and there's a need for
a simple solution that allows everyone an equal shot
to win the national title, we've got it.
The CFN solution has always been an eight team
playoff with the six BCS conference winners, the
top-ranked non-BCS conference champion, and one
wild-card, but that might not be good enough if
Washington really doesn't like the idea of the six
big conferences getting preferential treatment.
Instead, just have an eight team playoff of the top
eight ranked conference champions, with the caveat
that if either Notre Dame, Navy, or Army finishes in
the top eight.
There. Quick, simple, easy, very, very profitable,
and very, very doable.
All of BCS director Bill Hancock's bullspit
arguments (with the corporate PR spin laughably put on-line
with BCS PRESS WIRE articles that look like they're written by
The Onion at bcsfootball.org) would be answered
and destroyed because of the extreme ease to put
this plan in place.
You'd still have the bowl system in its current
form. All the same people who watch the non-BCS
bowls now would still be interested, if not more so
because there'd be even more of a college football
buzz. The integrity of the regular season would be
kept intact since we're limiting this to just
conference champions, and to make the sport even
better, there'd be no excuse and no reason
whatsoever to not schedule great non-conference
matchups. It wouldn't matter if you didn't win a
non-conference game against elite teams since your
ultimate goal is to win the conference title, as it
should be. The national title combatants would only
play two extra games; they're football players and
they want to play football. The concerns about
schoolwork would be totally moot, at least compared
to the time lost for college basketball teams during
March Madness, since the playoff would start over
winter break.
Everything else stays the same. Around Christmas
Day, the first round would be played at the home
sites of the top four teams. Logistics and economics
have to be taken into consideration, and getting the
home game would be a major reward. The Final Four
would be played on New Year's Day with the rest of
the bowls, the Gator, the Cotton, the Outback, and
the Capital One still going off as is with one of
the current BCS bowl games (among the Rose, Sugar,
Fiesta and Orange) getting a good matchup of the top
teams who didn't get into the playoffs. The extra
BCS Championship Game would be eliminated with the
the national title to be played in a rotation of the
four current BCS bowls (and played at least a week
after New Year's Day), and the Final Four would be
played at the end of New Year's Day in a rotation of
two of the four current BCS bowls. That way, the BCS
bowls, and Hancock, get all their money and
attention, the other bowls are still in place, and
there's a quick, clean, three-week playoff that
doesn't do anything to disturb the current way
college football is run.
You're welcome, Barack.
So how would this have worked if it was in place
from the start of the BCS era instead of the
cockamamie thing we have in place now? As you'll
see, all the big boys still get represented, the
little guys get their shot, and remembering that you
shouldn't be able to win the national title if you
can't win the conference championship, this would
ultimately be very, very fair.
Remember, the top eight conference champions are
selected and then seeded accordingly. The seeds
don't necessarily correspond with the final rank in
the BCS standings. For example. Kansas State
finished third in the final 1998 BCS Rankings, but
lost to Texas A&M in the Big 12 championship so Ohio
State, the Big Ten champion, gets the No. 3 seed.
1998
No. 1 Tennessee (SEC) vs. No. 8 Marshall
(MAC)
No. 2 Florida State (ACC) vs. No. 7 Syracuse (Big
East)
No. 3 Ohio State (Big Ten) vs. No. 6 Tulane (C-USA)
No. 4 UCLA (Pac 10) vs. No. 5 Texas A&M (Big 12)
The BCS title game result in 1998: Tennessee 23,
Florida State 16
Wisconsin would've been hosed since it tied Ohio
State for the title, but it finished ninth in the
final BCS rankings and Ohio State finished fourth.
The top four seeds would've won in a walk, the
Tennessee vs. UCLA shootout would've been a classic,
and Ohio State likely would've beaten the Marcus
Outzen-led Seminoles. It likely would've been an
Ohio State vs. Tennessee national championship in a
coin-toss of a game.
1999
No. 1 Florida State (ACC) vs. No. 8 Boise
State (Big West)
No. 2 Virginia Tech (Big East) vs. No. 7 Stanford
(Pac 10)
No. 3 Nebraska (Big 12) vs. No. 6 Marshall (MAC)
No. 4 Alabama (SEC) vs. No. 5 Wisconsin (Big Ten)
The BCS title game result in 1999: Florida State 46,
Virginia Tech 29
The
Florida State team of that year, led by Chris Weinke
and Peter Warrick, would've rolled through for the
national championship, but Nebraska would've made
things interesting after getting by Ron Dayne's
Wisconsin team that likely would've outslugged Shaun
Alexander's Alabama. The upset potential would've
been there as an explosive Marshall team would've
given the Huskers all they could've handled, but in
the end it would've likely been a Seminole-Nebraska
matchup for the title.
2000
No. 1 Oklahoma (Big 12) vs. No. 8 Colorado
State (Mountain West)
No. 2 Florida State (ACC) vs. No. 7 Purdue (Big Ten)
No. 3 Miami (Big East) vs. No. 6 TCU (WAC)
No. 4 Washington (Pac 10) vs. No. 5 Florida (SEC)
The BCS title game result in 2000: Oklahoma 13,
Florida State 2
The first round matchup of Chris Weinke and Florida
State vs. Drew Brees and Purdue would a wild and fun
shootout. Florida was good, but it wasn't the
monster that it was about to become and would likely
have had major problems with Marques Tuisasosopo's
Washington squad. Miami would've rolled through TCU,
would've likely have won the rematch with Miami, and
would've likely beaten a very good, very sound
Oklahoma for the national title. Remember, there was
a controversy at the time that Florida State, who
lost to Miami, got into the national championship
over the Canes.
2001
No. 1 Miami (Big East) vs. No. 8 Louisville
(C-USA)
No. 2 Colorado (Big 12) vs. No. 7 BYU (Mountain
West)
No. 3 Oregon (Pac 10) vs. No. 6 LSU (SEC)
No. 4 Illinois (Big Ten) vs. No. 5 Maryland (ACC)
The BCS title game result in 2001: Miami 37,
Nebraska 14
There would've been a major uproar over the playoff
matchups, but the conference championship games
would be to blame. Florida was probably the best
team in the SEC, and finished fifth in the BCS
rankings, but it didn't even get to the SEC title
game. Nebraska was No. 2 in the BCS rankings but it
didn't get to the Big 12 title game after getting
steamrolled over by Colorado. With Tennessee, the
SEC title game loser, ranked sixth, that would've
meant that three of the top six teams in the BCS
rankings wouldn't be in the playoffs. Again, though,
if you don't win your conference championship, you
don't deserve a chance at the national title. BYU
would've had a decent shot at Colorado and
Louisville might have given Miami a bit of a run.
Miami, Colorado, Oregon and Maryland would've likely
won in the first round and the Canes would've rolled
with ease to the title.
2002
No. 1 Miami (Big East) vs. No. 8 Colorado
State (Mountain West)
No. 2 Ohio State (Big Ten) vs. No. 7 Boise State
(WAC)
No. 3 Georgia (SEC) vs. No. 6 Florida State (ACC)
No. 4 Washington State (Pac 10) vs. No. 5 Oklahoma
(Big 12)
The BCS title game result in 2002: Ohio State 31,
Miami 24 OT
There would've been some screaming. USC was fourth
in the final BCS rankings and ended up tied in Pac
10 play with Washington State, but the Cougars won
the head-to-head battle and ended up winning the
tie-breaker to get to the Rose Bowl. So despite
being ranked lower, Wazzu gets in. Iowa also would
be grouchy after going unbeaten in Big Ten play, but
it was 11-1 going into the bowl season and Ohio
State was unbeaten. Notre Dame would've just been on
the outside looking in finishing ninth in the BCS
rankings. Oklahoma beats Washington State, Georgia
whumps a bad Florida State team, Ohio State and
Miami win without a problem. On a neutral field,
let's go on a limb and say the red-hot Bulldogs find
a way to beat a Buckeye team that won game after
game by the skin of its teeth. Miami beats Georgia
for the national title.
2003
No. 1 LSU (SEC) vs. No. 8 Boise
State (WAC)
No. 2 USC (Pac 10) vs. No. 7 Miami University (MAC)
No. 3 Michigan (Big Ten) vs. No. 6 Kansas State (Big 12)
No. 4 Florida State (ACC) vs. No. 5 Miami (Big East)
The BCS title game result in 2003: LSU 21, Oklahoma
14
The mega-controversy of the 2003 season would've
been avoided (but another would arise) when USC, who was ranked No. 1 in both
human polls, missed out on the national title game
because of the computers. In what would be the
wackiest of all scenarios, Oklahoma, who was ranked
No. 1 by the BCS at the end of the regular season,
wouldn't be in the playoffs after getting routed by
Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship. That would
move LSU up to No. 1 and would likely end up
creating the LSU vs. USC matchup that many thought
should've happened at the time. The MAC gets into
the mix as Ben Roethisberger's Miami
team would've gotten a shot and a strong Boise State
team would've gotten its cut against LSU.
2004
No. 1 USC (Pac 10) vs. No. 8 Michigan (Big
Ten)
No. 2 Oklahoma (Big 12) vs. No. 7 Louisville (C-USA)
No. 3 Auburn (SEC) vs. No. 6 Boise State (WAC)
No. 4 Utah (Mountain West) vs. No. 5 Virginia Tech
(ACC)
The BCS title game result in 2004: USC 55, Oklahoma
19
This was the worst season ever for the BCS with
three deserving unbeaten teams for two national
title spots. Auburn was the odd team out, and as
unlikely as it might seem now for the SEC champion
to miss out on the national championship, there was
a lot of room for debate. For the first time one of
the traditional BCS conference champions would've
been out with Pitt, ranked 21st in the BCS rankings,
not giving the Big East a representative. The
Mountain West, WAC, and Conference USA would each
get in deserving teams and Urban Meyer, Alex Smith
and Utah would get a shot. In the most interesting
playoffs ever, USC would've cruised past Michigan,
would've outlasted Utah, and would've beaten Auburn
for the national championship.
2005
No. 1 USC (Pac 10) vs. No. 8 Florida State
(ACC)
No. 2 Texas (Big 12) vs. No. 7 TCU (M-West)
No. 3 Penn State (Big Ten) vs. No. 6 West Virginia
(Big East)
No. 4 Notre Dame (Ind.) vs. No. 5 Georgia
(SEC)
The BCS title game result in 2005: Texas 41, USC 38
It was the cleanest of BCS Championships with no one
having a problem with Reggie Bush and USC facing
Vince Young and Texas. In a first round upset, West
Virginia might have gotten past Penn State and Notre
Dame, who finally bust in the playoffs after being
ranked sixth in the final BCS rankings, would've
gotten rolled by Georgia. In the end, it would've
been USC vs. Texas again, and hopefully there
would've been the same type of game.
2006
No. 1 Ohio State (Big Ten) vs. No. 8 BYU
(Mountain West)
No. 2 Florida (SEC) vs. No. 7 Wake Forest (ACC)
No. 3 USC (Pac 10) vs. No. 6 Oklahoma (Big 12)
No. 4 Louisville (Big East) vs. No. 5 Boise State
(WAC)
The BCS title game result in 2006: Florida 41, Ohio
State 14
At the time, Michigan, who lost a classic game to
Ohio State, would've had a beef, but it turned out
that it didn't deserve to be in the playoffs.
Florida ended up winning the national title by
steamrolling the Buckeyes, but it would've been a
rough ride to get past USC on a neutral field. That
would be the national title game as the winner
would've beaten Ohio State.
2007
No. 1 Ohio State (Big Ten) vs. No. 8 BYU
(Mountain West)
No. 2 LSU (SEC) vs. No. 7 Hawaii (WAC)
No. 3 Virginia Tech (ACC) vs. No. 6 West Virginia
(Big East)
No. 4 Oklahoma (Big 12) vs. No. 5 USC (Pac 10)
The BCS title game result in 2007: LSU 38, Ohio
State 24
This was a mess of a season that desperately needed
the playoffs. USC beats Ohio State in the second
round and beats a battered and bruised LSU in the
national championship. That LSU team, two losses and
all, might have been the best in the nation, but it
needed every second of layoff time before the BCS
Championship and might have had a problem dealing
with three straight playoff games.
2008
No. 1 Oklahoma (Big 12) vs. No. 8 Virginia
Tech (ACC)
No. 2 Florida (SEC) vs. No. 7 Cincinnati (Big East)
No. 3 USC (Pac 10) vs. No. 6 Boise State (WAC)
No. 4 Utah (Mountain West) vs. No. 5 Penn State (Big
Ten)
The BCS title game result in 2008: Florida 24,
Oklahoma 14
The season that started the whole anti-trust
brouhaha in the first place. Had Penn State tried,
which it would've, Utah would've been bounced out of
the first round. But Florida was by far the best
team and would've cranked out three straight wins
beating out Oklahoma for the national title.
2009
No. 1 Alabama (SEC) vs. No. 8 Georgia Tech
(ACC)
No. 2 Texas (Big 12) vs. No. 7 Ohio State (Big Ten)
No. 3 Cincinnati (Big East) vs. No. 6 Oregon (Pac
10)
No. 4 TCU (Mountain West) vs. No. 5 Boise State
(WAC)
The BCS title game result in 2009: Alabama 37, Texas
21
Boise State beats TCU, Oregon blows past Cincinnati,
and Alabama and Texas get through. The Tide and
Longhorns would've ended up playing for the national
title, and hopefully this time around, Colt McCoy
can feel his right arm.