BCS-A look back at 2000

I failed to mention it in my first blog post regarding this topic, but I absolutely hate how pre-season rankings can have an effect on who plays for the “National Championship.” Nobody should judge teams until the middle of October if you want to make this process more fair. The year 2000 was a perfect example of how pathetic pre-season rankings can be. The Alabama Crimson Tide began the year #3 in The Associated Press Poll. The Crimson Tide won the SEC Title in 1999 and rode that momentum into the 2000 season. In the end, The Crimson Tide finished 3-8 and made many, if not all voters, looking foolish in the process.

At the end of the 2000 season, the BCS formula spitted out two teams to play for the National Championship in the Federal Express Orange Bowl (ah, don’t you love corporate sponsors). #1 Oklahoma (12-0), Champions of the Big 12, would take on #2 Florida State (11-1), Champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Looking back, Oklahoma was a clear cut #1 team heading into The Orange Bowl. Ranked #18 in the preseason, Oklahoma won their first four games to climb up in the rankings. It had been over a decade since Oklahoma was a National Power, so it was nice to see them doing well. Out of nowhere, Oklahoma, went from a nice 4-0 team, to the #1 team in the country by demolishing 3 top ten teams (Texas, Kansas State, and Nebraska) in the span of four weeks. After a comeback victory on the road against Texas A&M, the Sooners held off rival Oklahoma State in the annual “bedlam” game before appearing in their first Big 12 Title game. In a rematch, Oklahoma held off Kansas State 27-24 to head off to The Orange Bowl.

The battle for #2 was much more controversial and much criticism was raised into the final BCS results. After it was all said and done, this is how #2, #3, and #4 in the BCS shook out:

#2 Florida State 5.37 (ACC)
#3 Miami 5.69 (Big East)
#4 Washington 10.67 (Pac 10)

http://espn.go.com/abcsports/bcs/rankings_full/2000-2001.html

So, did “every game count” in this situation? Well, hardly. During the regular season, where like I have mentioned, supposedly every game counts, Miami defeated Florida State 27-24 during October in what is widely known as the “Wide Right III” game. To make matters even more complicated, Washington defeated Miami 34-29 during a September contest. So, in the end, #3 beat #2, and #4 beat #3.

How did these results make the regular season important? Wouldn’t putting all these teams (and others) in a playoff made more sense? I think so, but in the end, numbers were crunched and through the power of soul-less computers, Florida State came out on top.

In the end, Oklahoma defeated Florida State 13-2 in the worst Orange Bowl since 1992 (Miami 22 Nebraska 0). Miami wrapped up the State of Florida championship by demolishing Florida in The Sugar Bowl. Washington went off to the Rose Bowl and defeated Drew Brees and Purdue to finish the year with one loss. Miami and Washington were left wondering what could have been, while Oklahoma celebrated their school claiming another “National Championship.”

What could have been….if only we had a playoff that year…..then Every Game Would Have Counted!