2009 - The "Fab Five" Undefeated

Actual BCS Bowls (w/ Final BCS rankings):
Rose Bowl: #7 Oregon vs. #8 Ohio State
Sugar Bowl: #5 Florida vs. #3 Cincinnati
Fiesta Bowl: #6 Boise State vs. #4 TCU
Orange Bowl: #10 Iowa vs. #9 Georgia Tech
National Championship: #2 Texas vs. #1 Alabama

This season the BCS has actually done a good job of getting the top 8 teams into BCS bowls. In previous years, there had been at least 1 top 8 team who was relegated to a lesser bowl. So, in a sense, the BCS has done that right this year. However, there is the possibility that there will be three BCS bowl teams that finish the season with undefeated records -- and a guarantee that there will be at least two (Fiesta Bowl & National Championship game winners). Plus, the two non-BCS conference teams (Boise State & TCU) are stuck playing each other in the Fiesta Bowl, so nobody will be able to find out whether or not they could've beaten the BCS conference teams head to head.

This bracket is intruiging because it gives Boise State and TCU a chance to fight their way to a national championship. It also sets up a possible SEC championship rematch in the second round, and gives a very good #7 Oregon team the chance to upset a very beatable #2 Texas team, and then the winner of the Boise State/Cincinnati game to advance to the National Championship game. These are story lines that you can't make up, but that a postseason tournament like this can create. But, alas, we'll never know, and you'll be stuck watching Georgia Tech and Iowa play in the Orange Bowl. Have fun with that.

2008 - Undefeated Utah

Actual BCS Bowls (w/ Final BCS rankings):
Rose Bowl: #5 USC 38, #8 Penn State 24
Orange Bowl: #19 Virginia Tech 20, #12 Cincinnati 7
Sugar Bowl: #6 Utah 31, #4 Alabama 17
Fiesta Bowl: #3 Texas 24, #10 Ohio State 21
National Championship: #2 Florida 24, #1 Oklahoma 14

2008 provided some drama with the BCS as three Big 12 teams (Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma) all were tied for the lead of the South Division -- the champion of which would face Missouri in the Big 12 championship game, where a win would get one of those three teams into the National Championship game. Oklahoma edged the other two and beat Missouri to advance as the #1 BCS seed. Florida beat a previously undefeated Alabama team in the SEC championship game to advance to play Oklahoma. Aside from all of that, Utah had finished their season undefeated, and very much thought that they deserved a chance to play for the national title. Alas, they were denied, and ended up easily defeating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

This bracket allows all of those three Big 12 teams an even shot to advance and earn their way to the championship game, as well as gives Utah their opportunity to continue their undefeated season with an equal chance at winning the championship.

2007 - BCS Chaos

Actual BCS Bowls (w/ Final BCS rankings):
Rose Bowl: #7 USC 49, #13 Illinois 17
Sugar Bowl: #5 Georgia 41, #10 Hawaii 10
Fiesta Bowl: #9 West Virginia 48, #4 Oklahoma 28
Orange Bowl: #8 Kansas 24, #3 Virginia Tech 21
National Championship: #2 LSU 38, #1 Ohio State 24

The 2007 season saw tons of BCS chaos in the final two weeks of the regular season, as the top two teams in the polls were defeated in each of the two weeks. Ohio State, who was idle for the final two weeks, jumped from #5 to #1, and LSU was placed in the National Championship game by the polls. Add to that the fact that Hawaii went 12-0 and made a BCS bowl for the first time in school history (though they didn't fare so well against SEC powerhouse Georgia), and you had a messy end to the college football season.

This bracket is a bit interesting in that undefeated Hawaii (#10) and Fiesta Bowl winner West Virginia (#9) don't even appear in the 8 team tournament. However, Missouri, who was shut out of the BCS bowls this season, would have a shot at making some noise as a #6 seed.

2006 - Boise State: Last Man Standing

Actual BCS Bowls (w/ Final BCS rankings):
Rose Bowl: #5 USC 32, #3 Michigan 18
Fiesta Bowl: #8 Boise State 43, #10 Oklahoma 42 (OT)
Orange Bowl: #6 Louisville 24, #14 Wake Forest 13
Sugar Bowl: #4 LSU 41, #11 Notre Dame 14
National Championship: #2 Florida 41, #1 Ohio State 14

2006 was the first year where the BCS actually created a fifth bowl game, dubbed the "National Championship". The end of the year was not without controversy, though, as #3 Michigan and #1 both were undefeated heading into the annual rivalry game. Ohio State won that game by 3 points, and many thought that the National Championship game should've been a rematch of that game. In the end, #2 Florida was .0101 points ahead of Michigan, and ended up knocking Ohio State from the ranks of the unbeaten in the championship game. At the end of the year only one team was unbeaten: #8 Boise State. Did the BCS get it right? You be the judge.

2005

Actual BCS Bowls (w/ Final BCS rankings)
Fiesta Bowl: #4 Ohio State 34, #6 Notre Dame 20
Sugar Bowl: #11 West Virginia 38, #7 Georgia 35
Orange Bowl: #3 Penn State 26, #22 Florida State 23 (3 OT)
Rose Bowl (National Championship): #2 Texas 41, #1 USC 38

The 2005 season provided a quiet year for the BCS opponents -- the two undefeated teams (USC and Texas) ended the year ranked #1 & #2 and squared off in an epic national championship game. The bummer for college football fans, though, was the fact that due to contractual requirements #11 West Virginia and #22 Florida State both made it into BCS bowl games, while #5 Oregon and #8 Miami (FL) both were stuck in lesser bowls.

This bracket would be an interesting test for USC and Texas, as both were very dominant in '05. I wouldn't be surprised if both made it to the final game, but you never know what kind of upsets might have happened if they'd actually played the games!

2004 - The Undefeated Five & The End of The AP

Actual BCS Bowls (w/ Final BCS rankings)
Rose Bowl: #4 Texas 38, #13 Michigan 37
Fiesta Bowl: #6 Utah 35, #21 Pittsburgh 7
Sugar Bowl: #3 Auburn 16, #8 Virginia Tech 13
Orange Bowl (National Championship): #1 USC 55, #2 Oklahoma 10

The '04 season had five teams finish the regular season with unblemished records: USC, Oklahoma, Auburn, Utah, and Boise State. All but Boise State finished in the top 8 BCS rankings, and with USC, Auburn, and Utah all winning their bowl games, there were three teams at the end of the season with perfect records.

The unfortunate part of this proposed bracket is that two of those unbeaten teams (Auburn and Utah) would be paired against each other in the opening round. Otherwise, it would be interesting to see a potential second round matchup between USC and a motivated California team who was snubbed in the real BCS bowl selections in 2004 due to a late season loss and some very public lobbying by Texas coach Mack Brown. This lobbying for AP votes was the last straw for the AP poll, and they subsequently ceased their affiliation with the BCS after this season.

2003 - The "Split Decision"

Actual BCS Bowls (w/ Final BCS rankings)
Rose Bowl: #3 USC 28, #4 Michigan 14
Orange Bowl: #9 Miami (FL) 16, #7 Florida State 14
Fiesta Bowl: #5 Ohio State 35, #10 Kansas State 28
Sugar Bowl (National Championship: #2 LSU 21, #1 Oklahoma 14

Okay, so 2003 posed a very daunting challenge for the BCS computers and their rankings. It was the first time since 1996 (2 years before the inception of the BCS) that no team finished the season undefeated. In fact, three teams (Oklahoma, LSU, and USC) finished the season with just one loss. To complicate matters, Oklahoma's one loss came in the Big 12 championship game (against Kansas State), but they retained their #1 overall ranking in the BCS despite the late season loss. However, USC ended their regular season ranked #1 in the Associated Press poll, and felt that they had a legitimate claim to being the national champion. In the end, the BCS sent LSU and Oklahoma to the championship game, which LSU won. USC beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl, and was named the AP National Champion, while LSU was dubbed the BCS National Champion.

This bracket is intriguing to me because it allows those three 1 loss teams equal chance to fight their way to the National Championship game. Also, the bracket features a huge rivalry game (which would probably be a rematch from a couple of weeks prior) in Ohio State and Michigan in the top half of the bracket.

2002

Actual BCS Bowls (w/ Final BCS rankings)
Rose Bowl: #7 Oklahoma 34, #6 Washington State 14
Sugar Bowl: #3 Georgia 26, #14 Florida State 13
Orange Bowl: #4 USC 38, #5 Iowa 17
Fiesta Bowl (National Championship): #2 Ohio State 31, #1 Miami (FL) 24 (2 OT)

The 2002 season was a good year for the BCS proponents. Two undefeated teams were slotted #1 & #2 in Miami (FL) and Ohio State -- and the national championship game was a double-overtime thriller that fans will remember for years. There was some grumbling about the Rose Bowl not having a marquee matchup, and the Rose Bowl did fail to sell out for the first time in 58 years.

My proposed bracket is a bit interesting, though, as it does pair the actual Orange Bowl parcipants USC and Iowa against each other in the first round. That's probably the only thing that the BCS and I will ever agree on.

2001: The Nebraska Odyssey

Actual BCS Bowls (w/ Final BCS rankings)
Fiesta Bowl: #4 Oregon 38, #3 Colorado 16
Sugar Bowl: #13 LSU 47, #8 Illinois 34
Orange Bowl: #5 Florida 56, #10 Maryland 23
Rose Bowl (National Championship): #1 Miami 37, #2 Nebraska 14

2001 brought us yet another controversy about who should be the #2 team in the BCS. The #1 was not in doubt, as undefeated Miami was securely slotted in the top spot. However, the BCS computers placed 1 loss Nebraska in the #2 slot, ahead of one loss Oregon and two loss, but Big 12 champion, Colorado. Oregon easily defeated Colorado (the team that had given Nebraska their 1 loss) in the Fiesta Bowl -- further fueling the debate that Oregon should have played Miami.

2000 - A New Century, But Still The Same Ol' BCS

Actual BCS Bowls (w/ Final BCS rankings)
Rose Bowl: #4 Washington 34, #17 Purdue 24
Fiesta Bowl: #6 Oregon State 41, #11 Notre Dame 9
Sugar Bowl: #3 Miami (FL) 27, #7 Florida 20
Orange Bowl (National Championship): #1 Oklahoma 13, #2 Florida State 2

The 2000 season pitted undefeated Oklahoma against 1 loss Florida State, even though Miami was ranked #2 in both human polls. Add to the fact that Washington had just 1 loss, and there were three teams with legitimate claims to the #2 spot.

I like the potential for this bracket because it matches up #6 Oregon State, coached by Dennis Erickson against #3 Miami (FL), Erickson's former team. Also, #2 Florida State and #7 Florida square off in a rivalry game to open up the playoffs. You can't make up better story lines than this! Instead, college football fans got to see Notre Dame stink up Tempe and Florida State score two runs on a 7th inning double... wait, wrong sport. (Wait, they only got two points?!)

1999 Season

Actual BCS Bowls (w/ Final BCS rankings)
Rose Bowl: #7 Wisconsin 17, #22 Stanford 9
Orange Bowl: #8 Michigan 35, #4 Alabama 34 (OT)
Fiesta Bowl: #3 Nebraska 31, #5 Tennessee 21
Sugar Bowl (National Championship): #1 Florida State 46, #2 Virginia Tech 29

The second year of the BCS produced an ideal matchup -- two undefeated teams ranked #1 & #2 playing in the National Championship game. However, like the previous season, Kansas State finished their season ranked #6 in the BCS rankings, but was not selected to play in a BCS bowl, and yet #22 Stanford played against #7 Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

1998 - The first BCS season

Actual BCS Bowls (w/ final BCS rankings):
Rose Bowl: #9 Wisconsin 38, #5 UCLA 31
Sugar Bowl: #4 Ohio State 24, #6 Texas A&M 14
Orange: #8 Florida 31, #15 Syracuse 10
Fiesta (National Championship): #1 Tennessee 23, #2 Florida State 16

The first year of the BCS was not without controversy. 3rd ranked Kansas State was passed over for two BCS bowls and was forced to play in the non-BCS Alamo Bowl. Also, Tulane finished the regular season 11-0 with a C-USA title, but was only ranked 10th in the final BCS rankings. They were selected to play in the Liberty Bowl against BYU, which they won to end their season 12-0.

The playoff scenario I've suggested here would allow Kansas State to participate as the #3 seed, playing Texas A&M in the first round. SEC rivals Tennesse and Florida would square off in the first round, and a Rose Bowl worthy UCLA vs. Ohio State matchup would also be featured in the top half of the bracket.