The BCS creates endless controversy (Article Provded by: http://www.sportsmanagementdegrees.org/)
The BCS and controversy go together like maize and blue, scarlet and grey, crimson and cream or burnt orange and white. In most seasons since the system’s inception, there has been heated debate pertaining to which teams should compete in the BCS games, and more importantly, the national championship game. Unfortunately, only so many spots are available -two in the case of national championship game – so as parity continues in college football, more problems will arise akin to the several listed below. Here are the season-by-season BCS controversies from 1998 to 2010.
1998-99- K-State’s first exclusion
Heading into the Big 12 Championship Game, No. 2 Kansas State was on a collision course for the inaugural BCS National Championship Game in Tempe, Arizona. Standing in the way of the Wildcats was Texas A&M, which was recovering from a narrow defeat at the hands of rival Texas. The Aggies would upset the Cats in the Big 12 Championship Game, mounting a comeback in regulation that led to Sir Parker’s game winning touchdown in the second overtime. After the defeat, the Wildcats fell to No. 3 in the BCS standings, and without the automatic BCS berth they would’ve earned had they beaten the Aggies, they were relegated to the Alamo Bowl. Two-loss Florida and No. 4 Ohio State received BCS invitations instead. The result of their exclusion was creation of the “Kansas State Rule,” which ensures the third or fourth ranked team in the BCS standings receives an invitation to play in a BCS bowl game.
Also excluded from the BCS slate of games in ‘98 was undefeated Tulane, led by head coach Tommy Bowden, offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez and quarterback Shaun King. The Green Wave’s weak strength of schedule was cited as the reason it was left out, though it finished ranked No. 7 in the AP and Coaches’ polls.
1999-00 – K-State’s second exclusion
A season later, K-State finished ranked two spots below the requirement established by the rule named in its honor, and Michigan received an at-large invitation from the Orange Bowl despite being ranked No. 8 – two spots below the Wildcats.
2000-01 – OU vs. who?
By the end of the 2000 season, three one-loss teams appeared deserving of a shot at the national title, though Florida State was selected to face undefeated Oklahoma. The problem was that the Noles’ one loss came to rival Miami, which also had one loss and was No. 2 in the human polls. And which team was responsible for the Canes’ one loss? One-loss Washington. Both teams excluded from the national championship game won their bowl games, while FSU lost to Oklahoma 13-2. In order to make up for the omission, the BCS included a new “quality of win” bonus to the ranking process.
2001-02 – Nebraska backs in
After suffering a crushing 62-36 defeat against Colorado, title-hungry Nebraska lost a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game, shaking up the BCS standings. But not all was lost for the Huskers. Conference championship week produced a whirlwind of games in which title hopefuls Tennessee and Texas fell to lesser-ranked opponents. As a result, the Huskers were given a spot in the national championship game despite their No. 4 ranking in both human polls and lack of a conference title. The consensus among college football followers at the time was that Oregon, which was ranked No. 2 in both human polls, deserved to play Miami in the Rose Bowl. In the end, the Huskers lost to the Canes 37-14, and the Ducks soundly defeated the Buffaloes 38-16.
2002-03 – Rose Bowl East
Miami and Ohio State – both undefeated – were the clear-cut choices for the national championship game in the Fiesta Bowl, depriving the Rose Bowl game of its usual Big 10 champion. The Orange Bowl was next in the pecking order, selecting Iowa. The Rose Bowl then chose Oklahoma with its first pick, allowing for the Orange Bowl to take Pac-10 co-champion USC, becoming the “Rose Bowl East.” The real Rose Bowl’s odd matchup between Pac-10 co-champion Washington State and OU resulted in the game’s lowest attendance in almost 60 years.
2003-04 – Three’s company
Oklahoma stayed atop the polls all season long, and its string of blowout victories caused writers, pundits and fans to speculate about its place in college football lore. But the Sooners’ wheels abruptly fell off during the Big 12 Championship Game in which they lost to K-State by four touchdowns. Despite the upset, OU remained No. 1 in the BCS rankings and dropped to No. 3 in the human polls, while one-loss USC became No. 1 in the human polls and No. 3 in the BCS rankings. In the middle was LSU, which was No. 2 in the human polls and BCS rankings. The Tigers earned the BCS championship with a 21-14 victory over the Sooners in the Sugar Bowl, and USC captured the AP title after defeating Michigan 28-14 in the Rose Bowl. The coaches who previously voted USC No. 1 in the coaches’ poll were contractually obligated to change their votes to the BCS winner, and all but three complied.Because Oklahoma didn’t win its conference championship, most college football followers believed it didn’t deserve to play for the championship and the true champion wasn’t determined because LSU and USC never faced off. Then-Gateway CEO Ted Waitt attempted to come up with a solution, offering LSU and USC $30 million in scholarship money to play each other in late January, but the NCAA quickly asserted that neither school could accept such an offer.
2004-05 – No-losses, no title shot
Until a controversy of even greater magnitude, Auburn will remain the poster child for teams screwed over by the BCS. The Tigers went undefeated in the SEC, becoming the third of four teams to accomplish the feat in the last 20 years. Their strength of schedule was strong, they won all but two games by double-digits, their scoring defense ranked first in the nation and their scoring offense ranked in the top-20. Despite the impressive resume, Auburn was excluded from the national championship game, as USC and Oklahoma were regarded as the top two teams in the country. But the national championship game failed to live up to the hype – USC pounded OU 55-19, leaving college football fans wondering if Auburn would have given the Trojans a better fight.In addition to Auburn, Utah finished the season undefeated with a win over Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl, earning recognition as the original “BCS Buster.” Boise State entered its bowl game undefeated, but the Broncos didn’t receive a BCS invite and lost to Louisville in the Liberty Bowl. More controversy surrounded the Rose Bowl when Texas was selected to compete in the game after jumping California in the polls. The Horns’ rise in the rankings was attributed to the public lobbying of head coach Mack Brown, who wanted his team to earn an at-large bid. Because of the Texas situation, the AP ended its relationship with the BCS.
2005-06 – Everything’s rosy
The 2005 season was surprisingly devoid of controversy. The slate of BCS games were entertaining, especially the national championship game at the Rose Bowl between Texas and USC – perhaps the greatest college football game of all-time.
2006-07 – OSU vs. who?
Ohio State started the season ranked No. 1 in the country and entered the national championship game in the same position and undefeated after an epic 42-39 victory over rival Michigan. The possibility of a rematch between the Big 10 foes existed, because Michigan was one of five one-loss teams at the end of the season -Florida, Wisconsin, Louisville and Boise State were the others. Louisville and Boise State weren’t seriously considered because of their weak schedules, and Wisconsin was eliminated because it lost to Michigan; Florida was the only other legitimate choice. The Gators were tied with the Wolverines in the computer rankings, giving the voters final say in the matter. Most didn’t want to see a rematch, so Florida was voted second. This time, the voters seemed to make the right decision. The Gators routed the Buckeyes 41-14 and Michigan lost to USC 32-18 in the Rose Bowl.Florida received all but one first place vote, which went to undefeated Boise State after it scored one for the little guys with its dramatic upset of Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. The victory sparked debate about whether or not the Broncos deserved real consideration for the title. Some college football followers felt one-loss Wisconsin and one-loss Louisville deserved shots as well.
2007-08 – Upsets galore
The 2007 season was abounding with upsets, and come early December nothing was clear. The madness began the day after Thanksgiving, when LSU lost to Arkansas in triple-overtime – the Tigers’ second triple-overtime loss of the season as the No. 1-ranked team. Missouri assumed the No. 1 position after defeating No. 4 Kansas, but lost 38-17 to OU in the Big 12 Championship Game a week later. The same day, No. 2 West Virginia fell to lowly Pittsburgh at home in the Backyard Brawl, and LSU defeated Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game.Having finished its season two weeks earlier, Ohio State jumped from No. 5 to No. 1 in the BCS standings as the only one-loss team. LSU jumped from No. 7 to No. 2, passing two-loss Georgia and two-loss Virginia Tech. The Bulldogs were denied a shot at the title because they failed to win the Eastern Division of the SEC, and the Hokies failed to earn a shot because they were blown out by LSU 48-7 early in the season. Some college football followers believed one-loss Kansas, two-loss USC and undefeated Hawaii deserved to compete for the title as well, though Hawaii was shellacked by Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. But LSU proved its worth by defeating Ohio State 38-24, becoming the first two-loss BCS champion.
2008-09 – The tiebreaker
The Big 12 South was a confused mess before the conference’s championship game. At the top of the division were three one-loss teams – Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. Texas defeated Oklahoma in a shootout in Dallas early in the season. Texas Tech beat Texas on a last-second touchdown pass from Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree. And then Oklahoma routed Texas Tech 65-21, muddying the waters completely. A tiebreaker was to determine which team would represent the division in the Big 12 Championship Game and thus have a shot at the national championship. Because each team had one conference loss, their positions in the BCS standings were used as the next tiebreaker. The Sooners received a better ranking because of their superior strength of schedule, enraging Longhorns fans who watched UT beat OU several weeks earlier. Oklahoma lost to Florida 24-14 in the BCS Championship Game and Texas narrowly defeated Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.There were two undefeated teams before bowl season that didn’t receive BCS title game consideration – Utah and Boise State. Because the runners-up of the BCS conferences possessed impressive resumes, only one non-BCS school would be invited to play in a BCS game. Utah was selected because of its higher ranking, and the Utes stunned Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl, lending credence to the belief they deserved a shot at the title. Boise State lost to TCU 17-16 in the Poinsettia Bowl. During the offseason, Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson proposed an eight-team playoff as a solution, but it was rejected by the BCS presidents.
2009-10 – No losses, still no title shot
Although it was clear that undefeated Alabama and undefeated Texas would meet in the national championship game, there was still a stink in the air due to the exclusion of the three other undefeated teams from competing for the title – Boise State, TCU and Cincinnati. The main gripe was that Texas benefitted from playing in a weakened Big 12, and the Horns struggled to defeat the more difficult teams on their schedule, including an undermanned Sooners squad and the Huskers in the Big 12 Championship Game. The three other undefeated teams played in what were deemed inferior conferences, but Cincinnati belonged to a BCS conference, the Big East, and TCU defeated Oregon State, Clemson and Virginia in its non-conference schedule.More outrage occurred when TCU and Boise State were matched up in the Fiesta Bowl, denying them the chance to compete and prove their worth against traditional BCS powers. The 2010 bowl season concluded with the Broncos defeating the Horned Frogs 17-10, the Gators chomping the Bearcats 51-24 in the Sugar Bowl and the Crimson Tide rolling the Colt McCoy-less Horns 37-21 in the BCS National Championship Game.
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