History Lesson of BCS: For All the Current Haters

With all the bellowing on TV, radio and the Internet, I thought a quick history lesson might be in order.  I think the current backlash has more to do with the SEC and specifically Alabama.

The 1998 and 2001 conference co-champs played in the national championship game.  These two teams were Florida State and Nebraska.  FSU had lost to NC State earlier in the year and Nebraska had lost to Colorado 62-36 in their last game.  They tied for the north, and Colorado played Texas in the conference championship game.

In 2003 the University of Oklahoma won the south portion of the Big 12, was ranked #1 and played Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship Game.  At that game, they were destroyed 35-7.  USC lost in triple overtime to California (a team that finished 8-6) and was left out of the BCS championship game.  The two teams that did play were Oklahoma and LSU.

Now fast-forward to the current season.  The end of the world is near because Alabama is going to play in the championship game.  They lost 9-6 (in overtime) to the #1 team in the polls. (By the way, a rematch has occurred before, although it was before BCS method.  Florida and FSU played January 2, 1997.)

If the current system needed to be fixed; why wasn't it corrected after the 2001 debacle?  The critics had another chance after the 2003 mess.  In 2004 Auburn was left out of the championship game even thought they had four wins against ranked teams; USC and Oklahoma only had two wins each against ranked teams.

So I ask this question: What is the problem?  A non-conference champion playing has happened before.  A rematch that no one wants to see has happened before.  I think it lies a little further under the radar.  It is Alabama and it is the SEC.  If Ohio State and Michigan were playing it would be great for football.  If Texas and Oklahoma were playing it would be a game everyone would want to see. 

The real problem may be that Roy Kramer outsmarted everyone with this system.  The BCS is still better than the voters picking.  I won't get into the history of southern schools being passed over or ripped off by voters in the past.  So with that, I leave you to ponder the facts. 

Bringing Championships Southeast