Bowl Series (1986-1991): Cycle Zero

The Good Old Days

Often cited when discussing a potential playoff scenario for college football is the “good old days” when teams played in traditional bowls and championships were voted on by coaches and sportswriters.

This rhetoric is usually employed to blame today's thirst for a playoff on the BCS. “If we went back to how it was, then fans would stop whining about playoffs.”

This is a false claim. In fact, the current BCS was originally created to avoid the implementation of a playoff.

In this, the first of the Bowl Series articles, we will look at the “good old days” and the situation which forced the creation of what is now known as the BCS.

Independence Of The Fiesta Bowl

Four college bowl games hosted the champions of major conferences. The Big Ten and Pac-10 champions played against each other in the Rose Bowl. The SEC champion played in the Sugar Bowl, the Big Eight champion in the Orange Bowl and the South West Conference (SWC) in the Cotton Bowl.

At first glance it may seem that any one vs. two matchup would be near impossible to achieve. Indeed, this was part of these bowls' prestige; it was difficult for one bowl to annually out-do the other three. This began to change with the rise of the Fiesta Bowl.

The Fiesta Bowl was originally the destination of the WAC champion until Arizona and Arizona State joined the Pac-10. Since then it grew in popularity as a destination for a top independent school. At this time the number of independent schools not only included Notre Dame and the military academies, but also current BCS members Miami, Penn State, Florida State, West Virginia, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Louisville, and Cincinnati.

In 1986 the top two teams in the nation were independents Miami and Penn State. Instead of playing one of the major conference champions in the Orange, Sugar, or Cotton Bowls, the two teams decided to stage a showdown in the Fiesta Bowl.

Thirst For A Championship

Following the defacto National Championship where Penn State defeated Miami in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, the 1988 Orange Bowl scored a similar pairing of No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Miami. Fans of the sport were pumped at the matchup. Prior to these two years the only one vs. two matchups had been the 1979 and 1983 Sugar Bowls, matching Penn State against Alabama and Georgia respectively.

In 1988, the top four teams in the country were all independent. Undefeated Notre Dame accepted a bid to the Fiesta Bowl against undefeated West Virginia. Miami was actually ranked second in the polls but deigned a rematch against the Fighting Irish to play against sixth ranked Nebraska at home in the Orange Bowl.

In 1989 undefeated Colorado and undefeated Notre Dame agreed to play in the Orange Bowl. Unfortunately, in Notre Dame's last game, Miami knocked the Fighting Irish to fourth place, securing second place and an appearance against No. 7 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The college football world was saved from a split championship when Miami defeated Alabama. Had Colorado won they would have been called champions. Colorado lost, and the Hurricanes secured their fourth National Championship of the decade.

Starving For A Change

1n 1990 three conference champions finished at the top of the AP poll, all with one loss. For the first time in four years, independents were on the outside looking in. Of course, because of bowl contracts, none of these three teams could play each other. Top ranked Colorado was playing in the Orange Bowl, Georgia Tech in the Citrus Bowl, and Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

The top independent, two loss Notre Dame, accepted an invitation to play against Colorado. Miami (who lost to the Irish earlier in the season) agreed to play in the Cotton Bowl against Texas. Georgia Tech and the Citrus Bowl only managed to schedule No. 19 Nebraska. Colorado eked out a 10-9 victory over the Irish which allowed Georgia Tech to win a share of the National Title with a 24-point victory over the Cornhuskers.

The dissatisfaction with a split-championship was duplicated the following year when both Miami and Washington won their bowl games, the Orange and Rose respectively, by at least twenty points. While fans called for a playoff between the Huskies and Hurricanes, many of the big bowls, their conference affiliates, and major independent teams began discussing ways to resolve the situation and create an annual National Championship Game.

End Of Bowl Cycle Zero

Change was in the air during the early '90's. Florida State, Miami, and Penn State, shook off independence to join a conference. The SWC began to slowly disintegrate. If change was to happen concerning the crowning of a National Champion it would have to happen now.

After the 1991 season, plans for a new Bowl Coalition were almost dashed when the ACC and newly formed Big East discussed plans of sending their champions to the new Blockbuster Bowl. With the death of independents, the Bowl Coalition created a new cycle of bowl games for the next three years which reflected these changes.