alternatehistory.com
2012-3
2012 season
The Big 10 title situation got weird in it's very first season in the new set up. Ohio St went undefeated but was banned from post season play (and therefore the Big 10 title game) as was Penn St. Oklahoma went 10-2 with a loss to Notre Dame out of conference and a surprise loss at Wisconsin to be 8-1 in conference. They won the West Division and as the highest ranked eligible team made the Big 10 championship game. The only other ranked team was Nebraska at 9-3 and 7-2 in conference (losses to Oklahoma, Penn St, and UCLA). But with Penn St ineligible this technically made Nebraska the winner of the Laureates Pod, and thus they got the rematch with OU in the Big 10 title game, where they lost to them again. This was just as well as if there weren't two ranked eligible teams the 2nd spot in the title game would have to have been resolved by a vote of athletic directors.
The SEC had a very strong year with 7 schools ranked in the final top 20 (including all 4 schools in the east division). Newcomer Texas A+M, behind the electric play of Johnny Football, went 11-1 and took down Alabama, but failed to win the West due to a loss to 11-1 LSU. With the East schools beating each other up the SEC title game was a rematch of Alabama and LSU, which Alabama also won.
The PAC saw the continued dual dominance of Oregon and Stanford with this year Stanford having 2 losses but winning the PAC and Oregon completing the season with one loss.
The (re)-newly named Big 8 saw Kansas St go 11-1 in win the conference, with the only blemish a surprising loss in Waco to Baylor.
Clemson went undefeated in the new 8 team ACC, losing their only game to SEC rival South Carolina.
The Big East saw yet another 3-way tie, with Louisville getting the tie breaker this time.
Notre Dame finished the season undefeated, including wins over conference champs Stanford and Oklahoma. They fished the season ranked #1.
10-2 and 15th ranked Boise St got in as the non-AQ representative, to the great disappointment of the MAC where 16th ranked N. Illinois had gone 12-1.
BCS BOWLS
autobid teams in italics
Rose Bowl: (8) Stanford over (10) Oklahoma, 38-20
Cotton Bowl: (3) Texas A+M over (19) Louisville, 47-34
Fiesta Bowl: (5) Kansas St. over (15) Boise St, 27-24
Sugar Bowl: (2) Alabama over (1) Notre Dame, 42-14
Orange Bowl: (4) Oregon over (7) Clemson, 35-27
Notes: All team selections were in by rule before the selection pool expanded to 12 teams for the first time, the AQ champs, Notre Dame via the Notre Dame rule, A+M and Oregon in by the 3-4 ranked rule, and Boise St in by the non-AQ rule.
Alabama's impressive win in what in other systems could have been the title game made it a lock to play in the championship game. The 2nd spot was highly debatable. A+M and Oregon were ranked 3 and 4 and won their bowl games, but hadn't even won their divisions. A+M had beaten Alabama in the regular season, but Oregon's bowl opponent was tougher. Kansas St as a one loss champion and bowl winner was barely considered. In the end voters held firm and gave Alabama a chance to avenge their only loss of their season. Which they did as not even Johnny Football could beat Saban twice in a season and Alabama pocketed back to back titles, beating A+M 27-17.
2013 Off-season
Much of the college football power structure reacted poorly to the all SEC title game and it raised discontent with the unseeded plus one plan to new levels, but it was far from the only complaint about the system. To start with the concept was always kinda silly. Having the BCS games be “semi-finals” but with uneven matchups (a 1 vs. 2, 3 vs. 19, 4 vs. 7 as this year) was criticized. And to their credit, the SEC had always pushed for a seeded plan that would be a de facto 4 team playoff. And now ESPN was lobbying for an outright playoff. The SEC also had complaints that the 2 teams per conference rule was keeping their schools out of the major bowl games they deserved and that this would now be worse with their conference at 16 schools.
The Big East, ACC, and Big 8 (now that OU was gone and Texas was struggling) and the PAC to an extent, felt that their conferences were being overlooked and their teams under-ranked and feared the growing financial gap between the SEC and the Big 10 and their conferences. These things would result and more than just a change in the postseason system.
However deciding on a replacement, if indeed the plus one unseeded system was to be replaced ,was not easy. Slive once again proposed his seeded plus one plan, but the AQ conferences that felt slighted by the ratings did not think that would help necessarily, and the non-AQ conferences felt that it wold likely shut them out of any chance at the title game. The Big 10 and the PAC weren't eager to upset their guaranteed Rose Bowl matchup, but might consider it if the right plan emerged. They lead the push for any “playoff,” which the seeded plan was in all but name, to have only conference champions, or at least, greatly favor conference champions. They did not want something like it would have been this year, 2 teams in it that didn't even win their divisions. But of course with 6 major conferences 2 champions would be sure to be left out every year in a 4 team playoff, even if it were all champions. The SEC counter-argued that prioritizing champions would be unfair to them with their 16 schools, compared to the 8 of some conferences, and that besides their conference was stronger anyways....
No decision would be reached in 2013.
The Big 10 title situation got weird in it's very first season in the new set up. Ohio St went undefeated but was banned from post season play (and therefore the Big 10 title game) as was Penn St. Oklahoma went 10-2 with a loss to Notre Dame out of conference and a surprise loss at Wisconsin to be 8-1 in conference. They won the West Division and as the highest ranked eligible team made the Big 10 championship game. The only other ranked team was Nebraska at 9-3 and 7-2 in conference (losses to Oklahoma, Penn St, and UCLA). But with Penn St ineligible this technically made Nebraska the winner of the Laureates Pod, and thus they got the rematch with OU in the Big 10 title game, where they lost to them again. This was just as well as if there weren't two ranked eligible teams the 2nd spot in the title game would have to have been resolved by a vote of athletic directors.
The SEC had a very strong year with 7 schools ranked in the final top 20 (including all 4 schools in the east division). Newcomer Texas A+M, behind the electric play of Johnny Football, went 11-1 and took down Alabama, but failed to win the West due to a loss to 11-1 LSU. With the East schools beating each other up the SEC title game was a rematch of Alabama and LSU, which Alabama also won.
The PAC saw the continued dual dominance of Oregon and Stanford with this year Stanford having 2 losses but winning the PAC and Oregon completing the season with one loss.
The (re)-newly named Big 8 saw Kansas St go 11-1 in win the conference, with the only blemish a surprising loss in Waco to Baylor.
Clemson went undefeated in the new 8 team ACC, losing their only game to SEC rival South Carolina.
The Big East saw yet another 3-way tie, with Louisville getting the tie breaker this time.
Notre Dame finished the season undefeated, including wins over conference champs Stanford and Oklahoma. They fished the season ranked #1.
10-2 and 15th ranked Boise St got in as the non-AQ representative, to the great disappointment of the MAC where 16th ranked N. Illinois had gone 12-1.
BCS BOWLS
autobid teams in italics
Rose Bowl: (8) Stanford over (10) Oklahoma, 38-20
Cotton Bowl: (3) Texas A+M over (19) Louisville, 47-34
Fiesta Bowl: (5) Kansas St. over (15) Boise St, 27-24
Sugar Bowl: (2) Alabama over (1) Notre Dame, 42-14
Orange Bowl: (4) Oregon over (7) Clemson, 35-27
Notes: All team selections were in by rule before the selection pool expanded to 12 teams for the first time, the AQ champs, Notre Dame via the Notre Dame rule, A+M and Oregon in by the 3-4 ranked rule, and Boise St in by the non-AQ rule.
Alabama's impressive win in what in other systems could have been the title game made it a lock to play in the championship game. The 2nd spot was highly debatable. A+M and Oregon were ranked 3 and 4 and won their bowl games, but hadn't even won their divisions. A+M had beaten Alabama in the regular season, but Oregon's bowl opponent was tougher. Kansas St as a one loss champion and bowl winner was barely considered. In the end voters held firm and gave Alabama a chance to avenge their only loss of their season. Which they did as not even Johnny Football could beat Saban twice in a season and Alabama pocketed back to back titles, beating A+M 27-17.
2013 Off-season
Much of the college football power structure reacted poorly to the all SEC title game and it raised discontent with the unseeded plus one plan to new levels, but it was far from the only complaint about the system. To start with the concept was always kinda silly. Having the BCS games be “semi-finals” but with uneven matchups (a 1 vs. 2, 3 vs. 19, 4 vs. 7 as this year) was criticized. And to their credit, the SEC had always pushed for a seeded plan that would be a de facto 4 team playoff. And now ESPN was lobbying for an outright playoff. The SEC also had complaints that the 2 teams per conference rule was keeping their schools out of the major bowl games they deserved and that this would now be worse with their conference at 16 schools.
The Big East, ACC, and Big 8 (now that OU was gone and Texas was struggling) and the PAC to an extent, felt that their conferences were being overlooked and their teams under-ranked and feared the growing financial gap between the SEC and the Big 10 and their conferences. These things would result and more than just a change in the postseason system.
However deciding on a replacement, if indeed the plus one unseeded system was to be replaced ,was not easy. Slive once again proposed his seeded plus one plan, but the AQ conferences that felt slighted by the ratings did not think that would help necessarily, and the non-AQ conferences felt that it wold likely shut them out of any chance at the title game. The Big 10 and the PAC weren't eager to upset their guaranteed Rose Bowl matchup, but might consider it if the right plan emerged. They lead the push for any “playoff,” which the seeded plan was in all but name, to have only conference champions, or at least, greatly favor conference champions. They did not want something like it would have been this year, 2 teams in it that didn't even win their divisions. But of course with 6 major conferences 2 champions would be sure to be left out every year in a 4 team playoff, even if it were all champions. The SEC counter-argued that prioritizing champions would be unfair to them with their 16 schools, compared to the 8 of some conferences, and that besides their conference was stronger anyways....
No decision would be reached in 2013.
- Jasen777
- Word Count: 1k