Ranking the Best Championship Games of the BCS Era
Before college football fans had a playoff system to complain about, there was the Bowl Championship Series setup that determined who played for a national title from 1998 through 2013.
The BCS system took subjectivity largely out of the equation and instead relied on a combination of polls and a computer selection system to determine who played in the five BCS bowl games, including the national championship.
Ahead, we've combed through the 16 championship games of the BCS era and ranked the best of the best based on quality of participants, competitiveness of the game and overall level of talent on the field.
For reference, we'll start by including the nine games that didn't make the cut before diving into our ranking of the top seven.
Away we go.
Didn't Make the Cut
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These BCS championship games didn't crack our ranking of the top matchups:
- 1998-99: Tennessee 23, Florida State 16
- 1999-2000: Florida State 46, Virginia Tech 29
- 2000-01: Oklahoma 13, Florida State 2
- 2001-02: Miami 37, Nebraska 14
- 2004-05: USC 55, Oklahoma 19
- 2006-07: Florida 41, Ohio State 14
- 2007-08: LSU 38, Ohio State 24
- 2011-12: Alabama 21, LSU 0
- 2012-13: Alabama 42, Notre Dame 14
7. LSU 21, Oklahoma 14 (2004 Sugar Bowl)
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This game makes the list for the controversy that followed.
Billed as a meeting of high-powered offenses, the 2004 Sugar Bowl quickly turned into a defensive battle, and LSU came out on top by completely shutting down Heisman Trophy winner Jason White.
The Oklahoma quarterback completed just 13 of 37 passes for 102 yards with a pair of interceptions, and a pick-six from Marcus Spears proved to be the winning score for the Tigers.
The victory left LSU with a 13-1 record on the year and a national championship by BCS standards, along with the No. 1 spot in the USA Today Coaches Poll, which was contractually obligated to slot the BCS winner into the top spot.
However, the AP poll voted 12-1 USC to the No. 1 spot in its final rankings following a 28-14 victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl, leaving college football without a consensus national champion.
6. Alabama 37, Texas 21 (2010 BCS Championship)
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A seemingly run-of-the-mill hit on Texas quarterback Colt McCoy in the first quarter turned the 2010 BCS championship game on its head.
With their Heisman Trophy candidate watching from the sidelines, the Longhorns turned to true freshman Garrett Gilbert, who had thrown just 26 passes all season.
After some initial shakiness, Gilbert led Texas on a pair of touchdown drives in the second half to pull within 24-21 with 6:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.
"It's a hard learning curve but he learned fast," Texas coach Mack Brown told reporters. "At one point, I thought he was going to win the ball game."
The Crimson Tide eventually clamped down on defense, and rushing touchdowns from Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson put the game out of reach, but it was a compelling matchup from start to finish.
Gilbert's final line—15-of-40, 186 yards, two touchdowns, four interceptions—doesn't come close to doing his performance justice against a stacked defense on the biggest stage in college football.
5. Florida 24, Oklahoma 14 (2009 BCS Championship)
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This game was the crowning moment for Tim Tebow during his illustrious career at the University of Florida.
His final stat line doesn't jump off the page—he completed 18 of 30 passes for 231 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, adding another 109 rushing yards on 22 carries.
However, he stepped up when it mattered most.
It was a 7-7 game when the senior quarterback gave an impassioned halftime speech to his teammates. Before that, it had been a sloppy showing from both sides despite a pair of Heisman Trophy winners under center, with Sam Bradford also turning in a shaky performance for Oklahoma.
The two teams traded touchdowns in the second half before a 27-yard field goal with 10:45 left in the fourth quarter put the Gators up for good. Tebow drove the final nail into the coffin when he hit David Nelson in the end zone with his signature jump pass from four yards out with 3:07 to play.
4. Auburn 22, Oregon 19 (2011 BCS Championship)
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It was a long, winding road that led Cam Newton to Auburn University.
He began his collegiate career at the University of Florida but was suspended from the team and faced potential expulsion his sophomore season. He chose to transfer to Blinn College, where he led the Buccaneers to the 2009 NJCAA championship before returning to the major conference level when he chose Auburn over Oklahoma and Mississippi State.
His lone season with the Tigers ended in Heisman Trophy honors, and he led Auburn to a national championship, but it was Michael Dyer who was the hero in the BCS title game.
The freshman running back carried the ball 22 times for 143 yards, and no touch was bigger than his 37-yard run on the final drive of the game to set up the game-winning field goal.
Prior tot hat, the Tigers appeared to be in control with a 19-11 lead late in the fourth quarter, but Newton fumbled the ball away, and Oregon ripped off an eight-play, 40-yard drive and completed the two-point conversion to tie the game with 2:33 remaining.
Dyer ripped off his 37-yard run on the second play of the ensuing Auburn drive, and he added a 16-yard run three plays later to turn Wes Byrum's game-winning kick into a chip shot.
3. Florida State 34, Auburn 31 (2014 BCS Championship Game)
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The 2013 Florida State Seminoles are one of the most dominant teams in college football history, outscoring opponents 689-139 during an undefeated regular season in which they were never really tested.
When they fell behind 21-3 in the second quarter of the BCS championship game, it was uncharted territory.
The Seminoles slowly clawed their way back into the game from there, but they still trailed 24-20 when Auburn kicker Cody Parkey tacked on a 22-yard field goal with 4:42 left in the fourth quarter.
Florida State returner Levonte Whitfield took the ensuing kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown, giving the Seminoles their first lead since they were up 3-0 in the first quarter
However, Auburn answered with an eight-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a 37-yard touchdown run from Tre Mason, and the Tigers were back on top with 1:19 left to play.
That was all the time Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston needed.
He took the Seminoles 80 yards in seven plays, completing six of his seven pass attempts on the drive, including the game-winning two-yard strike to Kelvin Benjamin with 13 seconds on the clock.
2. Ohio State 31, Miami 24 2OT (2003 Fiesta Bowl)
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Let's call this one "1A" in the rankings rather than 2.
In a game littered with future NFL talent on both sidelines, it was fitting that it took two overtimes to crown a winner even though the Miami Hurricanes entered the game heavily favored.
"It was just like two great heavyweights slugging it out," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel told reporters.
No one would have guessed this game was headed for an all-time great finish during a first half that featured five punts, three interceptions and a fumble en route to a 14-7 Ohio State lead at the break.
It took a 40-yard field goal from Miami kicker Todd Sievers as time expired in regulation to send the game to overtime after a 50-yard punt return from Roscoe Parrish gave the Hurricanes terrific field position for their final drive.
Ken Dorsey connected with tight end Kellen Winslow ll for a seven-yard touchdown on Miami's first overtime possession, and it looked like the Hurricanes had won it when Ohio State came up empty on a 4th-and-3 attempt on their subsequent possession. However, a pass interference call gave Ohio State new life, and quarterback Craig Krenzel eventually punched it in from one yard out.
Buckeyes running back Maurice Clarett capped off a five-play drive in the second overtime with a five-yard touchdown, and the Ohio State defense held off four attempts from Miami inside the 2-yard line to seal the victory.
I was 14 years old at the time, and this was the best college football game I had ever seen. Three years later, that would change.
1. Texas 41, USC 38 (2006 Rose Bowl)
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Aside from a tight 34-31 victory over Brady Quinn and Notre Dame, a stacked USC team had steamrolled the field en route to a 12-0 regular season.
Reggie Bush (2,218 yards from scrimmage, 18 TD) and LenDale White (1,521 yards from scrimmage, 26 TD) were a lethal two-headed monster out of the backfield, while future NFL receivers Dwayne Jarrett (91 catches, 1,274 yards, 16 TD) and Steve Smith (60 catches, 957 yards, 5 TD) gave 2004 Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart (3,815 yards, 28 TD, 8 INT) a pair of dangerous weapons in the passing game.
Meanwhile, the Texas Longhorns had the most dynamic quarterback in the nation in Vince Young, who threw for 3,036 yards and 26 touchdowns while piling up another 1,050 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns on the ground.
The Trojans were heavy favorites, but the Longhorns couldn't be taken lightly.
It was a back-and-forth game the entire way, but USC appeared to seize control when fourth-quarter touchdowns from Bush and Jarrett gave the Trojans a 38-26 lead with 6:42 left on the clock.
The Longhorns trimmed the deficit with an eight-play, 69-yard drive, but time was not on their side when they kicked off with 3:58 remaining.
USC went 22 yards in six plays as they looked to ice the game, but White couldn't convert on 4th-and-2 from the Texas 45-yard line, and they turned it over on downs with 2:13 to play.
That set up the drive that would make Young a college football legend.
After a methodical nine-play drive, it all came down to 4th-and-5 from the 8-yard line, trailing by five points with 19 seconds remaining.
Young kept the ball himself and went untouched into the end zone for the go-ahead score, providing one of the sport's enduring images and cementing his place as an all-time collegiate great.
"This is what it's all about, 41-38 in the final game," Leinart told reporters after the championship. "You couldn't ask for anything better. This was a great football game. We gave our hearts, they gave their hearts and they came out on top."
All stats courtesy of Sports Reference
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