System Failure: 12 Times the BCS Got it Wrong

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Since its inception in 1998, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) has been used to determine the NCAA Division I-A (now FBS) national champions of college football.

The goal of the BCS is to ensure that the top two college football teams in the country will meet to determine who will be crowned national champions, but it doesn't always work out that way.

In my estimation, the flaws if the BCS system are most clearly seen in the following scenarios.

1) A team can go undefeated in the regular season and be denied a chance at competing for the national championship.

2) After the bowls are played, there are different teams atop the AP and coaches' polls. In this case, the team ahead in the BCS rankings is crowned the national champions and the other has to cling to an empty moral victory.

The system is flawed, and it has failed over and over again.

Since 2004, there have been more undefeated non-champions than undefeated champions.

Teams from non-BCS conferences are 3-1 in BCS bowls against teams from the power conferences.

Yet, here we are with an obviously flawed system that 60 to 65 percent of college football enthusiasts don't like—a system that "will get it right 80 percent of the time," according to an article found on bcsfootball.org.

Here are 12 examples of the other 20 percent.

Is it too much to ask for a system that gets it right every time?

The "powers that be" seem to think so.

1998, Tulane

The 1998-1999 season saw two NCAA Division I football teams go undefeated, the Tennessee Volunteers and the Tulane Green Wave.

At the end of the regular season, Tennessee would earn the right to play in the Fiesta Bowl against 11-1 Florida State for the BCS National Championship.

Tulane wouldn't even get invited to play in a BCS bowl. Instead, they defeated BYU in the Liberty Bowl 41-27.

The end result—Tulane finished 12-0 and was ranked seventh in both the AP and Coaches' Polls.

Thanks for playing Tulane, but you're not invited to the party.

I'm not saying that Tulane would have beaten either Tennessee or Florida State, but shouldn't they have been given a chance to prove themselves on the field?

If Tulane was given a chance to play for the BCS title and if they could have pulled off a miracle, it would have gone down as one of the greatest “Cinderella” stories in sports history.

Lest you think that it could never happen, let me remind you of Appalachian State beating the University of Michigan—the school with the most wins in FBS history.

1999, Marshall

The very next year, the Marshall Thundering Herd, led by Chad Pennington, finished the regular season 12-0 and were crowned the MAC Champions.

Like Tulane the year before, Marshall would be denied the chance to play in a BCS bowl—let alone the BCS Championship Game.

Instead, the 11th ranked Thundering Herd would play in the Motor City Bowl and dominate 25th ranked BYU 21-3.

In the game that really mattered, Florida State beat Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl 46-29.

Florida State and Marshall would both finish their seasons 13-0.

2003, USC

In 2003, controversy would erupt as there were no undefeated teams at the end of the regular season.

Instead, three one-loss teams sat atop the polls.

The Trojans of USC would finish the regular season ranked first in both the AP and Coaches' Polls, LSU would finish second in both polls, and Oklahoma would finish third.

However, the BCS computers picked LSU and Oklahoma to play in the championship game, and USC was picked to play fourth-ranked Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

LSU and USC would both win their bowl games.

When the final polls were released, USC was number one in the AP Poll and LSU was number one in the Coaches' Poll.

Prior to the creation of the BCS system, both teams would have been given a share of the national title.

That happened last in 1997 when Michigan and Nebraska were each ranked number one in the different polls.

However, since only the winner of the BCS Championship Game is considered the champion, LSU was given sole claim to the title.

2004, Auburn

A year after nearly being fired, Tommy Tuberville led the Auburn Tigers to a 12-0 regular season and an SEC title.

However, they finished the season ranked third in the BCS standings and were denied the opportunity to play in the Orange Bowl for the BCS Championship.

Instead, the Tigers would be invited to the Sugar Bowl where they would score a 16-13 win over Virginia Tech.

In the Orange Bowl, USC would capture the title they were denied a year before by beating Oklahoma 55-19.

2004, Utah

Auburn wasn't the only team snubbed in 2004.

Utah also went undefeated through the regular season and was left out of the championship picture.

Under Urban Meyer, the Utes became the first school from a non-BCS conference to be invited to a BCS bowl game.

They would make the most of the opportunity by trouncing 20th ranked Pittsburgh 35-7.

Still, Utah would have to settle for an undefeated 13-0 season without a shot at a national championship.

At least they weren't alone that year.

2006, Boise State

Two years later, Boise State would play the role of BCS party crasher.

Although Boise and Ohio State were the only two undefeated teams at the end of the regular season, it was the Buckeyes that got a chance at a BCS title and not the Broncos.

Ohio State would go on to lose to 11-1 Florida in the Tostitos National Championship Game 41-14.

Boise State would pull off a monumental upset by beating powerhouse Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime on the famous Statue of Liberty play.

The Broncos would be the only team that season to have an unblemished record, but it was 12-1 Florida who would be crowned the national champions.

2007, Hawaii

In 2007, Colt Brennan would lead Hawaii to an undefeated 12-0 regular season and would defeat Boise State to claim the school's first outright WAC title.

Like so many others before them, Hawaii would be denied a chance to play for a national championship.

Instead, they would lose to fourth-ranked Georgia in the 2008 Sugar Bowl.

They are still the only team from a non-BCS conference to lose a BCS bowl game against a team from a major conference.

Hawaii would finish the 2007 season 12-1 while the national champion LSU Tigers would finish the season 12-2.

Note: Kansas would finish the season tied for the best record at 12-1 after beating Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

2008, Utah

In 2008, Utah found themselves in a familiar situation—undefeated and on the outside looking in.

The Utes capped off another 12-0 regular season with another conference championship and another BCS bowl bid.

However, they still were left out of the national championship picture.

Florida and Oklahoma were penciled in to face each other for the title in the FedEx National Championship Game. Both teams had 12-1 records.

Utah would face Alabama in the Allstate Sugar Bowl and beat them 31-17 to secure a 13-0 record.

Days later, Urban Meyer, the coach of the 2004 Utah team, won his second BCS title with Florida by defeating the Sooners 24-14.

Utah got its perfect season, but Urban got the hardware...again.

2008, Boise State

The Utes were not the only non-BCS conference team to go undefeated in the 2008-2009 regular season.

The Broncos of Boise State accomplished the feat again for the second time in three seasons.

This year, however, Boise would not be invited to a BCS bowl even though they had proven they could compete against schools from the power conferences.

Instead, they would receive a bid to play in the prestigious San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl against the 11th ranked Horned Frogs of TCU.

They would lose that game 17-16.

I'm going to chalk that one up to the "let-down" factor.

2009, TCU

2009 saw five teams go undefeated in the regular season—one of those being TCU.

In one of two BCS bowl games to feature two undefeated teams, TCU squared off with Boise State for the second straight year and the third time since 2003.

This time, Boise would get the upper hand 17-10.

Of course, when there are five undefeated teams, three of them are going to be left out of the championship picture. It's unfortunate.

It wouldn't have to be that way if...there was a PLAYOFF SYSTEM.

2009, Boise State

Yes, Boise State exacted revenge on TCU and capped off their second undefeated season since 2006.

Congratulations Boise. I'm pulling for you in 2010-2011.

In the other game that featured two undefeated teams (the one that mattered to the BCS, Alabama defeated a Texas team that played virtually the entire game without star quarterback Colt McCoy.

Nick Saban won his second national championship...we all know how the story goes.