So it's been a slow day. I made a post earlier saying that it's funny what happens when the SEC isn't given an automatic bid to the championship game and it got me thinking about what may have happened if the Playoff had existed during the SEC's run to championship game appearances. I've pulled the final BCS rankings for each season to the extent that teams would have had an argument to be in the playoff. I started at 2008, because I'm pretty sure there were no BCS championship games in 2006 and 2007.
There are plenty of shortcomings with this, but it's an interesting discussion. I probably should have saved this for the off season when everyone is arguing about Braxton vs. JT.
2008 – National Champ - Florida
Rank Team Record Bowl Result Opponent Bowl Game
1. Oklahoma 12-1 L – 24-14 (2)Florida BCS Championship
2. Florida 12-1 W – 24-14 (1)Oklahoma BCS Championship
3. Texas 11-1 W - 24-21 (10) Ohio State Fiesta Bowl
4. Alabama 12-1 L - 31-17 (6) Utah Sugar Bowl
5. USC 11-1 W – 38-24 (8) Penn St. Rose Bow
6. Utah 12-0 W – 31-17 (4)Alabama Sugar Bowl
Best guess: Unlike the BCS rankings, the Playoff Committee leaves Alabama out in the cold for failing to win their conference. This puts Oklahoma, Florida, Texas, and USC into the four playoff spots, with Oklahoma playing USC and Florida playing Texas. It’s a toss-up who comes out of that group as Champion.
2009 – National Champ - Alabama
Rank Team Record Bowl Result Opponent Bowl Game
1. Alabama 13-0 W –37-21 (2) Texas BCS Championship
2. Texas 13-0 L – 21-37 (1) Alabama BCS Championship
3. Cincinnati 12-0 L –24-51 (5)Florida Sugar Bowl
4. TCU 12-0 L – 17-10 (6)Boise St. Fiesta Bowl
5. Florida 12-1 W – 51-24 (3) Cincinnati Sugar Bowl
6. Boise State 13-0 W – 17-10 (4) TCU Fiesta Bowl
Best guess: BCS got it right. Hard to argue that the BCS got this one wrong. Likely matchups would have been Alabama vs. TCU and Texas vs. Cincinnatti. Considering both TCU and Cincy lost their bowl games, it’s unlikely that they would have had strong shots at taking down ‘Bama and Texas. Ultimately, the championship game ends up with the same result.
2010 – National Champ – Auburn
Rank Team Record Bowl Result Opponent Bowl Game
1. Auburn 13-0 W – 22-19 (2) Oregon BCS Championship
2. Oregon 12-0 L – 19-22 (1) Auburn BCS Champsionship
3. TCU 12-0 W – 21-19 (5) Wisconsin Rose Bowl
4. Stanford 11-1 W –40-12 (13) Va. Tech Orange Bowl
5. Wisconsin 11-1 L –19-21 (3) TCU Rose Bowl
6. Ohio State 11-1 W – 31-26 (8) Ark. Sugar Bowl
Best guess: Playoff Committee likely leaves replaces Stanford with Wisconsin since Stanford wasn’t a league champ. Likely matchups would be Auburn vs Wiscy and Oregon vs. TCU. TCU is the only team with a gripe here, as they actually beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. It’s possible that TCU could have taken down Oregon in a first round matchup. In all likelihood, the BCS got this right though, with Cam Newton’s Auburn team probably being better than TCU.
2011 – National Champ – Alabama
Rank Team Record Bowl Result Opponent Bowl Game
1. LSU 13-0 L – 0-21 (2) Alabama BCS Championship
2. Alabama 11-1 W– 21-0 (1) LSU BCS Champsionship
3. Ok. St. 11-1 W – 41-38 (4) Stanford Fiesta Bowl
4. Stanford 11-1 L – 38-41 (3) Ok. St. Fiesta Bowl
5. Oregon 11-1 L –19-21 (3) TCU Rose Bowl
Best guess: The Playoff Committee probably puts LSU, ‘Bama, Ok. St., and Stanford in, but I imagine that ‘Bama may have been lower than #2 since they were the only one-loss team that didn’t win their conference. If ‘Bama is #4 then they end up playing LSU in the first round to the same result, and meet Ok. St. in the BCS Championship. Winner is a toss-up, but at least the SEC isn’t just handed another BCS Championship.
2012 – National Champ: Alabama
Rank Team Record Bowl Result Opponent Bowl Game
1. Notre Dame 12-0 L – 14-42 (2)Alabama BCS Championship
2. Alabama 12-1 W – 42-14 (1)Notre DameBCS Championship
3. Florida 11-1 L – 33-23 (21)Louisville Sugar Bowl
4. Oregon 11-1 W – 35-17 (5) K State Fiesta Bowl
5. Kansas State 11-1 L – 35-17 (4)Oregon Fiesta Bowl
Best guess: This is one year where I think the playoff was most needed. An overrated, but undefeated ND team could not be kept out of the BCS Championship game, but they ended up being steamrolled. Playoff would likely have consisted of ND vs K. State and Oregon vs. ‘Bama. Does ND get past K-State in the first round? Does ‘Bama get past an Oregon team that ended up beating K-State?
2013 – National Champ: FSU
Rank Team Record Bowl Result Opponent Bowl Game
1. Florida State 13-0 W – 34-31 (2)Auburn BCS Championship
2. Auburn 12-1 L – 31-34 (1)FSU BCS Championship
3. Alabama 11-1 L – 45-31 (11)Oklahoma Sugar Bowl
4. Michigan State 12-1 W – 24-20 (5)Stanford Rose Bowl
5. Stanford 11-2 L – 20-24 (4)MSU Rose Bowl
6. Baylor 11-1 L – 52-42 (15)UCF Fiesta Bowl
Best guess: This is another year where it is highly possible that the championship would have been different. Likely matchups would have been FSU v. Stanford and Auburn vs MSU. It’s very possible that either MSU or Stanford could have knocked off FSU and/or Auburn, as well as they were playing at the end of the year.