Hosed!
So, who got hosed this year? In the ten years of the BCS, most people would say that the more appropriate questions are how many teams got hosed and how badly. So let's go back and figure it out, shall we?
Teams that might have a beef with the system will be graded on a scale of 1-10, 1 being "Eh, quit your bellyachin'", 10 being "Dude, you're TOTALLY gettin' hosed!" All of the rankings below are the official BCS rankings, teams in blue are conference champions or automatic picks, while teams in red are at-large choices. We'll also break it down into two areas: teams that got screwed out of playing for a national championship and teams that got screwed out of going to a BCS bowl game.
| 1998 | |||||
| Fiesta Bowl (NC): | #1 Tennessee | (12-0, SEC) | vs | #2 Florida State | (11-1, ACC) |
| Rose Bowl: | #9 Wisconsin | (10-1, Big 10) | vs | #5 UCLA | (10-1, Pac 10) |
| Sugar Bowl: | #4 Ohio State | (10-1, Big 10) | vs | #6 Texas A&M | (11-2, Big 12) |
| Orange Bowl: | #8 Florida | (9-2, SEC) | vs | #15 Syracuse | (8-3, Big East) |
| Left Out: | #3 Kansas State (11-1, Big 12) | ||||
| #7 Arizona (11-1, Pac 10) | |||||
| #10 Tulane (11-0, C-USA) | |||||
Championship Arguments:
Tulane = Went undefeated, but against lousy competition. Bonus points since one of the teams in the championship was a 1-loss. +3
BCS Bowl Arguments:
Kansas State = Was #3, but got shut out in place of Ohio State & Florida. Ouch. Bonus points for having an inclusion ruled named after them the following year. +5
Arizona = Passed up for an at-large spot by a lower-ranked team with more losses. +2
Tulane = Adding insult to injury, they had to settle for the Liberty Bowl. +2
| 1999 | |||||
| Sugar Bowl (NC): | #1 Florida State | (11-0, ACC) | vs | #2 Virginia Tech | (11-0, Big East) |
| Rose Bowl: | #7 Wisconsin | (9-2, Big 10) | vs | Stanford | (8-3, Pac 10) |
| Fiesta Bowl: | #3 Nebraska | (11-1, Big 12) | vs | #5 Tennessee | (9-2, SEC) |
| Orange Bowl: | #8 Michigan | (9-2, Big 10) | vs | #4 Alabama | (10-2, SEC) |
| Left Out: | #6 Kansas State (10-1, Big 12) | ||||
| #12 Marshall (12-0, MAC) | |||||
Championship Arguments:
Marshall = Like the Green Wave the year before, the Herd went undefeated, but against inferior competition. Less points because both teams in the championship were also undefeated. +1
BCS Bowl Arguments:
Kansas State = Screwed again, by the Orange Bowl again. +2
Marshall = Settled for the Motor City Bowl. +2
| 2000 | |||||
| Orange Bowl (NC): | #1 Oklahoma | (12-0, Big 12) | vs | #2 Florida State | (11-1, ACC) |
| Rose Bowl: | #4 Washington | (10-1, Pac 10) | vs | Purdue | (8-3, Big 10) |
| Fiesta Bowl: | #6 Oregon State | (10-1, Pac 10) | vs | #11 Notre Dame | (9-2, Indy) |
| Sugar Bowl: | #3 Miami (FL) | (10-1, Big East) | vs | #7 Florida | (10-2, SEC) |
| Left Out: | #5 Virginia Tech (10-1, Big East) | ||||
| #8 Nebraska (9-2, Big 12) | |||||
| #9 Kansas State (10-3, Big 12) | |||||
| #10 Oregon (9-2, Pac 10) | |||||
Championship Arguments:
Miami (FL) = Passed up by a team they had beaten earlier in the year. Less points for winning 1 less game and having a weaker schedule, bonus points for being #2 in both the polls and being responsible for the creation of a new BCS rankings component (quality wins) the next year. +8
Washington = Beat Miami (FL), & had the same record as them, but weren't as highly ranked by the polls. +5
Florida State = Outrage!!! How could they?!? They lost to the Hurricanes on the field! -7
BCS Bowl Arguments:
Virginia Tech = Better ranking than the two at-larges & better record than the Irish, but they didn't win their conference. +3
Nebraska = Again, good record but they didn't even make it to their conf. championship game. +1
Oregon = Same record but better ranking than the Irish, but the Pac 10 already had two teams in. 0
Kansas State = Solid year, but they lost their last game of the season. 0
| 2001 | |||||
| Rose Bowl (NC): | #1 Miami (FL) | (11-0, Big East) | vs | #2 Nebraska | (11-1, Big 12) |
| Orange Bowl: | #5 Florida | (9-2, SEC) | vs | #10 Maryland | (10-1, ACC) |
| Fiesta Bowl: | #4 Oregon | (10-1, Pac 10) | vs | #3 Colorado | (10-2, Big 12) |
| Sugar Bowl: | #13 LSU | (9-3, SEC) | vs | #8 Illinois | (10-1, Big 10) |
| Left Out: | None | ||||
Championship Arguments:
Oregon = Higher ranking in both the polls, better record than Colorado. +7
Colorado = Beat the Huskers in a head-to-head matchup then won their conference championship to finish strong. +7
Nebraska = Nobody wanted them in the championship game. NOBODY! -8
BCS Bowl Arguments: None - the at-larges were both ranked in the top 5.
| 2002 | |||||
| Fiesta Bowl (NC): | #1 Ohio State | (13-0, Big 10) | vs | #2 Miami (FL) | (12-0, Big East) |
| Rose Bowl: | #6 Washington State | (10-2, Pac 10) | vs | #7 Oklahoma | (11-2, Big 12) |
| Sugar Bowl: | #3 Georgia | (12-1, SEC) | vs | #14 Florida State | (9-4, ACC) |
| Orange Bowl: | #4 USC | (10-2, Pac 10) | vs | #5 Iowa | (11-1, Big 10) |
| Left Out: | None: | ||||
Championship Arguments: None.
BCS Bowl Arguments: None - the BCS worked flawlessly this year.
| 2003 | |||||
| Sugar Bowl (NC): | #1 Oklahoma | (12-1, Big 12) | vs | #2 LSU | (12-1, SEC) |
| Rose Bowl: | #3 USC | (11-1, Pac 10) | vs | #4 Michigan | (10-2, Big 10) |
| Fiesta Bowl: | #5 Ohio State | (10-2, Big 10) | vs | #10 Kansas State | (11-3, Big 12) |
| Orange Bowl: | #9 Miami (FL) | (10-2, Big East) | vs | #7 Florida State | (10-2, ACC) |
| Left Out: | #11 Miami (OH) (12-1, MAC) | ||||
| #17 Boise State (12-1, WAC) | |||||
| #18 TCU (11-1, C-USA) | |||||
Championship Arguments:
USC = Ranked #1 in both polls but only #3 in the BCS. +8
Miami (OH) = Played solid competition and lost at the beginning of the year, but weren't very high in the rankings. +4
Oklahoma = Got whupped in their last game of the season, but still stayed at #1. -7.5
BCS Bowl Arguments:
Miami (OH) = Had to settle for playing Louisville inthe GMAC Bowl. +1
Boise State = Weak schedule & low rankings, but still were good. +2
TCU = Lost their second to last game of the season. +1
| 2004 | |||||
| Orange Bowl (NC): | #1 USC | (12-0, Pac 10) | vs | #2 Oklahoma | (12-0, Big 12) |
| Rose Bowl: | #4 Texas | (10-1, Big 12) | vs | #13 Michigan | (9-2, Big 10) |
| Fiesta Bowl: | #6 Utah | (11-0, Mtn West) | vs | #Pittsburgh | (8-3, Big East) |
| Sugar Bowl: | #3 Auburn | (12-0, SEC) | vs | #8 Virginia Tech | (10-2, ACC) |
| Left Out: | #5 California (10-1, Pac 10) | ||||
| #9 Boise State (11-0, WAC) | |||||
Championship Arguments:
Auburn = Ranked #3 in both polls, mainly because of their weak non-conference slate. Still should've had some shot though. +7
Utah = A great all-around season for the Utes, but there were better teams ahead of them. +2
BCS Bowl Arguments:
Boise State = Undefeated and shut out of the BCS bowls. Double-whammy. +3
California = The polls flip-flopped them with Texas in the last week of the season after Mack Brown's politiking. +1
| 2005 | |||||
| Rose Bowl (NC): | #1 USC | (12-0, Pac 10) | vs | #2 Texas | (12-0, Big 12) |
| Orange Bowl: | #3 Penn State | (10-1, Big 10) | vs | Florida State | (8-4, ACC) |
| Fiesta Bowl: | #4 Ohio State | (9-2, Big 10) | vs | #6 Notre Dame | (9-2, Indy) |
| Sugar Bowl: | #11 West Virginia | (10-1, Big East) | vs | #7 Georgia | (10-2, SEC) |
| Left Out: | #5 Oregon (10-1, Pac 10) | ||||
Championship Arguments: None - an almost perfect year for the BCS
BCS Bowl Arguments:
Oregon = Better ranking & record than Notre Dame. +1
| 2006 | |||||
| Natl. Championship: | #1 Ohio State | (12-0, Big 10) | vs | #2 Florida | (12-1, SEC) |
| Rose Bowl: | #3 Michigan | (11-1, Big 10) | vs | #5 USC | (10-2, Pac 10) |
| Fiesta Bowl: | #8 Boise State | (12-0, WAC) | vs | #10 Oklahoma | (11-2, Big 12) |
| Sugar Bowl: | #4 LSU | (10-2, SEC) | vs | #11 Notre Dame | (10-2, Indy) |
| Orange Bowl: | #6 Louisville | (11-1, Big East) | vs | #14 Wake Forest | (11-2, ACC) |
| Left Out: | #7 Wisconsin (11-1, Big 10) | ||||
| #9 Auburn (10-2, SEC) | |||||
Championship Arguments:
Michigan = Yeah, maybe. But they had their chance during the regular season and blew it. +4
Boise State = Undefeated, but against so-so competition. Bonus points since one of the teams in the championship was a 1-loss. +3
BCS Bowl Arguments:
Auburn = Great season, but didn't win their conference, which already had two teams in the BCS. +1
Wisconsin = Ditto, plus they got beaten by one of those at-large teams. 0
| 2007 | |||||
| Natl. Championship: | #1 Ohio State | (11-1, Big 10) | vs | #2 LSU | (11-2, SEC) |
| Rose Bowl: | #7 USC | (10-2, Pac 10) | vs | #13 Illinois | (9-3, Big 10) |
| Fiesta Bowl: | #4 Oklahoma | (11-2, Big 12) | vs | #9 West Virginia | (10-2, Big East) |
| Sugar Bowl: | #5 Georgia | (10-2, SEC) | vs | #10 Hawaii | (12-0, WAC) |
| Orange Bowl: | #3 Virginia Tech | (11-2, ACC) | vs | #8 Kansas | (11-1, Big 12) |
| Left Out: | #6 Missouri (11-2, Big 12) | ||||
| #11 Arizona State (10-2, Pac 10) | |||||
| #12 Florida (9-3, SEC) | |||||
Championship Arguments:
Oklahoma = Sure they beat the #1 team (at the time), but losses by the #1 or #2 teams in the rankings were a dime a dozen this year. Had a couple losses that weren't pretty. +3
Georgia = Were #4 in the rankings the week before #1 & #2 got knocked off - dropped to #5. That sucked. But they didn't even get to their conference game & had 2 "shouldn't have been" losses. +2
Virginia Tech = Had more losses than Ohio State & lost to LSU. 0
USC = Only one solid win all year (Arizona State) and one horrendous loss. 0
BCS Bowl Arguments:
Missouri = Great season, but they lost their last game of the year. +2
Arizona State = Two solid losses, passed up by their own state. +1
Florida = Lost to both of the other SEC teams that got into the BCS. 0
Alrighty, so in adding up all the hosed-points, we see that five teams have been hosed to the tune of 8 H-points, but Boise State can lay claim to the title of "Most Hosed" because of their hosings ocurred over three seasons. As much as they think they might have been screwed by the BCS this year, overall the system has helped Oklahoma and it's definitely benefitted Florida State and Nebraska.
| # of times hosed | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Boise State | 8 |
| 2 | Oregon | 8 |
| 2 | Auburn | 8 |
| 1 | USC | 8 |
| 1 | Miami (FL) | 8 |
| 2 | Kansas State | 7 |
| 1 | Colorado | 7 |
| 1 | Miami (OH) | 5 |
| 1 | Tulane | 5 |
| 1 | Washington | 5 |
| 1 | Michigan | 4 |
| 1 | Virginia Tech | 3 |
| 1 | Marshall | 3 |
| 1 | Arizona | 2 |
| 1 | Georgia | 2 |
| 1 | Missouri | 2 |
| 1 | Utah | 2 |
| 1 | Arizona State | 1 |
| 1 | California | 1 |
| 1 | TCU | 1 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | -4.5 |
| 1 | Florida State | -6 |
| 2 | Nebraska | -7 |
As for the conference that's gotten hosed the most, it's the Pac 10 by far, with 7 hosings of 6 of their 10 teams for a total of 25 H-points. Wow. The Big 12 was hosed 6 times, but the benefit of having Nebraska & Oklahoma make it to the championship game when they probably shouldn't have more than makes up for that. A distant 2nd & 3rd are the Big East and SEC. While the ACC has not only remained hose-free in ten years, they actually were in the negative because of Florida State. Well done, ACC.
| # of times hosed | Conference | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Pac 10 | 25 |
| 2 | Big East | 11 |
| 3 | SEC | 10 |
| 3 | WAC | 8 |
| 2 | MAC | 8 |
| 2 | Conf. USA | 6 |
| 6 | Big 12 | 4.5 |
| 1 | Big 10 | 4 |
| 1 | Mtn. West | 2 |
| 0 | ACC | -6 |
As far as the seasons themselves go, contrary to all the "Get Rid of the BCS!" and "the BCS must DIE!" chatter, this year is only middle of the road as far as hosed-points go. 2004 tops the list because of the number of unbeaten teams that didn't make it to the championship or a BCS bowl game, while right behind them is 1998.
| Year | # of points |
|---|---|
| 2004 | 13 |
| 1998 | 12 |
| 2000 | 11 |
| 2003 | 8.5 |
| 2006 | 8 |
| 2007 | 8 |
| 2001 | 6 |
| 1999 | 5 |
| 2005 | 1 |
| 2002 | 0 |
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