After the Bowl Championship Series screwed Texas this Sunday, I spent some time thinking about the long, proud history the BCS has in producing bad results. Here are what I consider to be the top seven most egregious calls.
7. Kansas State Wildcats, 1999
The Wildcats get a repeat screw job (see below), when lower ranked Michigan and Tennessee receive BCS bids, but not Kansas State.
6. Kansas State Wildcats, 1998
Ohio State and Florida receive BCS bids over higher ranked Kansas State, who was sent to the Alamo Bowl. Kansas State’s only loss was in a double-overtime heartbreaker to Texas A&M in the Big 12 Championship Game.
5. Oregon Ducks, 2001
Fourth ranked Nebraska reaches the national championship game over second ranked Oregon, even after Nebraska lost 62-36 to a two-loss Colorado team.
4. Texas Longhorns, 2008
Bet you expected this to be number one, huh? I’m a homer, but not that much of one. The Longhorns played the toughest schedule in arguably the toughest conference, and made it through with only one loss, which happened a in a road game, on an amazing play, by the best receiver in the country, in the last second of the game. An Oklahoma team which Texas beat by double digits, jumps them in the BCS rankings, heads to the conference championship game, and has the inside track for the national championship game.
I’ll happily pull Texas from the list, should Mizzou pull off the miracle on Saturday.
3. Miami Hurricanes, 2000
Miami beats Florida State head-to-head, but Florida State is sent to the national championship game. Does that sound familiar? As a bonus, Virginia Tech is passed over for a BCS birth by lower ranked Notre Dame and Oregon State.
2. USC Trojans, 2003
A three way tie of one-loss teams sends LSU and OU to the national championship game, even after Oklahoma lost 35-7 in the Big 12 Championship Game. A split national championship is awarded, which is part of what the BCS was supposed to prevent.
This split, which allowed USC to claim part of a title without even playing LSU, keeps them out of the top, which goes to:
1. Auburn Tigers, 2004
An undefeated Auburn runs the table in a very good year for the SEC. USC and OU go to the national championship, where the Sooners are exposed. The Associated Press pulls out of the BCS formula.
With no realistic chance of the BCS being replaced by something fair, such as a playoff, this list of screw jobs is just going to grow and grow.
As all you other homers, you forget to mention a couple things on your #4… 1. TTU led the entire game excepting the few seconds before the “amazing play” and 2. There was three-way tie…do I need to go into the point differentials?
Barking Carnival addresses this seeming paradox quite well.
Nice writing. However, based totally on speculation. Not reality. If they would have all played at a neutral site….
Might as well say, well, if they all played now, instead of earlier in the season, OU, who is playing best of all of them right now, would win.
Or, if I wasn’t a boy, I’d be a girl…