The topic or controversy of the day in college football remains Florida St being left out of the College Football Playoff. The Seminoles are the only Power Five team in the history of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee to be left out, going undefeated (13-0) and winning their conference Championship. And there is something to be said for doing that. But not having Jordan Travis, their top quarterback, also matters. Style Points matter, which everyone thought went away when we got rid of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Computers.
For the most part, the BCS relied on the AP Top 25, Coaches Poll, and a combination of other polls along with computer selection methods to determine the relative rankings. Also strength of schedule and margin of victory, and how a team lost factored in. Remember, style points matter. This would narrow the field down to two teams to play in the BCS National Championship Game. It was from the Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC, ACC, Big East at the time, and Big 12. Again, this was brought in to avoid split National Champions.
In addition, the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Orange Bowl would still keep their conference affiliations along with at-large teams based on the rankings.
And remember, College Football is based on controversy. We have seen it with split National Champions. And it is ok for a sport to have it. We also understand you want one true National Champion, but what if a team has the same record as the National Champion or has a better record than the National Champion? What then?
Well, in the history of the BCS, there was a split National Champion once. It happened in 2003 with LSU playing in the BCS National Championship Game and winning it. While USC was voted number one by the AP, USA Today, and ESPN Coaches’ Polls. But for the most part, the BCS got the teams right in the National Championship Game.
Throughout the history of the BCS from 1998-2014, there have been one or two controversies. In 2011, Auburn, Oregon, and TCU all finished the season unbeaten. TCU, at the time, played out of the Mountain West. The BCS was not going to admit a non-power 5 school to the dance. Thus, Auburn and Oregon played in the National Championship Game. However, TCU and Auburn both finished the season unbeaten and you could have made the case for a plus-one game or split National Champion.
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The other time it happened, and the reason why we went to the four-team College Football Playoff was because in the 2011-12 season, Alabama and LSU played twice. One in the regular season and then again in the National Championship. The Crimson Tide did not win the SEC Championship that year, but they were voted number 2 by the BCS over an 11-1 Oklahoma State Big 12 Champion.
But again, College Football is filled with controversy. Even the computers took into account style points and name recognition despite having no formula to factor name recognition in. Winning and how you won mattered. As previously mentioned. But what if the BCS existed today? What would the final rankings have been, then?
Well, we don’t have to wonder, thanks to BCS Know How. They continue to run the BCS Rankings. As you can see, Florida State would have been in the Top Four and not Texas. And that is where the controversy would have been. Texas beat Alabama, the SEC Champion in Week 2 of the season. Texas won the Big 12 by a significant margin, but their strength of schedule would have kept them out.
Here it is, what we’ve all been waiting for — the season-ending simulated #BCS rankings. The BCS chooses Florida State at No. 4 by the slimmest of margins. Will the @CFBPlayoff follow suit? pic.twitter.com/1yHXdHwo86
— BCSKnowHow.com (@BCSKnowHow) December 3, 2023
No system is perfect. But 13 people selecting the four best teams for eight weeks is tough. However, this is a made-for-TV event and the College Football Playoff ruined the sport. More in another article.
But back to the BCS. According to the BCS, these would be the four best teams. Again, the argument can be made that without Jordan Travis, Florida St is not one of the four best teams in the nation. Texas has a legitimate argument in this scenario. However, going undefeated in this scenario matters as well.
Again, no system is perfect. People did not like the newspapers. Nobody liked the Bowl Championship Series. Now, nobody likes the College Football Playoff Committee. But if you think about the BCS did a better job than what the Committee has done. As we have seen over the years, the criteria have changed. That criteria did not change with the BCS.
So again, was the Bowl Championship Series a bad thing?