No playoff? No problem. After two years, the Bowl Championship Series appeared to be the solution to picking a true national champion, but all that came to a crashing end in 2000.While undefeated Oklahoma breezed into the title game, the selection of one-loss Florida State marked the beginning of the BCS' fall from grace. The Seminoles were No. 3 in the Associated Press and coaches polls and leapfrogged No. 2 Miami for the spot opposite the Sooners in the Orange Bowl.
The media went berserk, calling into question the credibility of the computers and making note of the Hurricanes' 27-24 victory over the Seminoles. Miami's only loss came at home against Washington, 34-29, and the Huskies lost only once, at Oregon.
Controversy didn't end there. Enter Notre Dame, which was selected by the Fiesta Bowl over four other teams ranked ahead of the two-loss Fighting Irish. Virginia Tech had only one loss, and Nebraska two. One of the Cornhuskers' victories came against Notre Dame at South Bend. The Fighting Irish then were annihilated by Oregon State, 41-9, in Tempe.
2 comments:
Is it really fair to question the BCS selections *outside* of the MNCG?
The BCS has never said they were about picking the best team for the non-MNCG bowls. We may wish for other matchups, but at least they're upfront about what matters to them in those games.
Boring!!!! Nobody cares about the 2000 Fiesta Bowl, just like nobody cares about the Fiesta Bowl when Utah blew out Pittsburg.
The BCS gets #1 vs. #2. Like USC vs. Texas. Under the old system USC would have gone to the Rose and Texas to the Cotton. Under a playoff, it most likly wouldn't have occured because some crappy team with 2 losses got hot and knocked off one of the teams.
The BCS isn't perfect but it gets #1 vs. #2, keeps the regular season important and always ends the season with a big game.
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