The 2002 12-Team Playoff Night Thread (12/09)

For once a non-controversial BCS! Well, almost. Undefeated Big 10 champion Ohio State were obviously sent to the Fiesta Bowl (that year’s BCS national championship bowl) to face undefeated Big East champ Miami. But, this left the Rose Bowl without its traditional Big 10 champion. And due to how BCS bowl rules worked at the time, the Rose didn’t simply get co-champ Iowa instead; Iowa wound up in the Orange Bowl against Pac 10 co-champ USC, while the Rose Bowl featured Big XII champ Oklahoma vs Pac 10 co-champ Washington State. This was a big deal, I guess. Former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler famously said he refused to watch the game in protest of the non-traditional matchup. That Rose Bowl had poor TV ratings and wasn’t a sellout, breaking a streak that dated back to 1944.

But also, pick a pair and grow ’em. The whole point of the BCS was to stop the Rose Bowl’s special little guy syndrome from derailing an obvious 1 vs 2 matchup and creating co-champs. If you, as the Rose Bowl, weren’t comfortable with that then you shouldn’t have agreed to join in the first place! In our world we don’t have to deal with any of that1Though to be fair to the Rose Bowl, they’re the best venue in the sport. So long as I’m wishcasting I’d set the championship game each year at the Rose Bowl, kicking off 2pm local time so you get that perfect sunset over the San Gabriels in the 4th quarter. It wouldn’t be Big 10 v Pac 10 most years, and it probably wouldn’t be New Year’s unless we shifted the schedule around. Bo Schembechler might not like it, but I’m not especially impressed with that man’s judgment to begin with., and we have an obvious and orderly top 4. Georgia, in their second season under Mark Richt, comes in at #3. In real life Mark Richt’s Dawgs would often manage to lose the one game they couldn’t afford to and come up just short of the 2 team BCS. (This year that was the Cocktail Party) The 12-team world is more forgiving, and/or more willing to supply rope with which to hang oneself. Richt would be able to prove if he actually had championship mettle; depending on the result that may or may not be a good thing.

Washington State at 4 likely annoys USC, since the two schools had identical records (including in conference!) and USC ranked ahead of Wazzu in the BCS. But, Washington State had a head-to-head win over the Trojans, so they get the bye. If the Trojans don’t like it, they get a potential rematch in the quarterfinals. Assuming they manage to get there, of course.

That Iowa team the Rose Bowl was so pissy about comes in at #6. Their 4th season under Kirk Ferentz, and the start of the “every few years Iowa gets a favorable conference schedule and we have to pretend like they matter” era. Perhaps this is too mean to the 2002 Hawkeyes who, yes, dodged Ohio State, but drew and beat ranked Penn State and Michigan teams on the road. Am I blaming this Iowa for the sins of the Big 10 West over a decade later? Or am I simply noticing that ¡El Assico!2“¡El Assico!” is a snarky internet nickname for the Iowa/Iowa State rivalry, coined by SB Nation back in the day. It plays on “El Clasico”, the nickname for the Barcelona/Real Madrid soccer rivalry. Except this game is usually kinda ass, often featuring low scoring, back-breaking fumbles, and strange upsets. Also the exclamation points are necessary, the whole point of the name is to yell “¡El Assicooooooooooo!” as loud as possible like a jackass. I love it. loss to a 7-6 Iowa State?

Moving along, we’ve got ourselves a Red River Rematch! Oklahoma, champions of the Big XII, claim the number 7 spot, while also 2-loss Texas comes in at 10. The Sooners won Red River 35-24, which both gave them the tiebreaker to qualify for the Big XII championship and also the right to host the first Red River Shootout since 1923 to be played on campus rather than at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.3Technically the games, though held in Dallas, wouldn’t be held at the Cotton Bowl until 1932, since that stadium wouldn’t even be finished until 1930. I love Red River, as does any college football fan. I love that it’s tied to the Texas State fair. I love the 50/50 split stadium with the stark burnt orange and crimson divide. And I love that it’s still played at the actual Cotton Bowl, rather than at Jerryworld. Still, it’d be fun to get this brief exception, just this once.

Kansas State hosts the final round 1 game. They’re here as Big XII North runners up, having lost to division champs Colorado. The Buffs are decidedly not here; despite a 7-1 conference record they went 2-2 out of conference, with losses to USC and Colorado State keeping them out of the playoff. In real life Kansas State, at #8, were snubbed from the BCS (what else is new?). In our world they continue an impressive streak of playoff berths, against newcomer Notre Dame. Maybe these upstart Fighting Irish can score an upset over the stalwart and dynastic wildcats.

Left angry are BCS #11 Michigan (9-3), #12 Penn State (9-3), and #13 Colorado (9-4, with that 4th coming in the Big XII championship game), all of whom don’t qualify because #14 Florida State (9-4) are once again ACC champions and claim the auto-bid. A bit rude to a collection of teams who were likely better, but also, don’t lose 3 (and certainly not 4, Colorado) games if you want nice things. Our final auto-bid goes to Boise State, here for the first but certainly not last time as WAC champions. The Dan Hawkins->Chris Petersen era Broncos were maybe the mid-major darlings of the 00s (and with Utah and TCU around that’s a real achievement!) They’re here based on AP Poll guestimating (AP #18, above AP #23 Colorado State out of the Mountain West) but in the future they’ll be in the BCS proper. Boy, will they.

Finally, let’s note the absence of Florida and Nebraska, each participants in the last 4 playoffs. Florida had lost long time head coach Steve Spurrier to the NFL, and the Ron Zook era was off to an underwhelming start at 8-4. Nebraska’s slip up under 5th year head coach Frank Solich was less immediately explicable, with the team sliding to 7-6 and exiting the AP poll top 25 for the very first time since October of 1981, a streak that is still an all-time record. Solich would right the ship next year, going 9-3, but was still fired for it because Nebraska expects better than 9-3. Nebraska expects national championships.

Nebraska would never again win a national championship. They will never again appear in these 12-team playoffs.