BCS Redo: 2001

This is a 16-part series. I will compare what the BCS actually gave us over the past 16 years with what we could've seen if my BCS Playoff System was used instead. This will also give an outlook as to why this system would be best for college football's future. Note - the Big East counts as an automatic qualifier here, and has a main tie of the Orange Bowl. Also, the rankings used are from the BCS standings of the time, not my preferred formula.

What we saw in the 2001-2002 season:

Fiesta Bowl - Tuesday, January 1
3 Colorado (10-2, Big 12 Champion) vs 4 Oregon (10-1, Pac-10 Champion)

Sugar Bowl - Tuesday, January 1
8 Illinois (10-1, Big Ten Champion) vs 13 LSU (9-3, SEC Champion)

Orange Bowl - Wednesday, January 2
5 Florida (9-2, At-Large) vs 10 Maryland (10-1, ACC Champion)

Rose Bowl (National Championship Game) - Thursday, January 3
1 Miami (11-0, Big East Champion) vs 2 Nebraska (11-1, AQ)

Passed over: 6 Tennessee (10-2), 7 Texas (10-2), 9 Stanford (9-2)

Using my BCS Playoff System:

Selection Order:
Tier 1: Rose, Sugar, Orange
Tier 2: Peach, Cotton, Fiesta

Semifinal #1 - Saturday, December 29
3 Colorado (10-2, Big 12 Champion) @ 2 Nebraska (11-1, AQ)

Semifinal #2 - Saturday, December 29
4 Oregon (10-1, Pac-10 Champion) @ 1 Miami (11-0, Big East Champion)

Rose Bowl - Tuesday, January 1
8 Illinois (10-1, Big Ten Champion) vs 9 Stanford (9-2, AQ)

Sugar Bowl - Tuesday, January 1
5 Florida (9-2, AQ) vs 7 Texas (10-2, AQ)

Orange Bowl - Wednesday, January 2
6 Tennessee (10-2, AQ) vs 10 Maryland (10-1, ACC Champion)

Peach Bowl - Thursday, January 3
11 Oklahoma (10-2, AQ) vs 14 South Carolina (8-3, At-Large)

Cotton Bowl - Friday, January 4
12 Washington St. (9-2, AQ) vs 13 LSU (9-3, SEC Champion)

Fiesta Bowl - Saturday, January 5
15 Washington (8-3, At-Large) vs BYU (12-1, MWC Champion)

National Championship Game - Monday, January 7
Semifinal #1 Winner vs Semifinal #2 Winner

Analysis:

In Year 4 of my playoff plan, the top 4 teams all qualify for the playoff, which is always good news. We do experience something new, though, as Nebraska is the first team to not win its conference and be included.

For the Tier 1 bowls, the Rose grabs Illinois and Stanford to keep its traditional Big Ten-Pac-10 match-up alive. The Sugar can't follow Rule 6 due to 5 Florida already playing 6 Tennessee, but 7 Texas provides the Big 12-SEC match-up this bowl likes. The Orange takes 10 Maryland to complete the ACC tie, and with no ranked Big East teams available to choose from, gladly takes Tennessee.

The Peach grabs Oklahoma and South Carolina to kick off things for Tier 2 bowls. The Cotton must take SEC Champion LSU, and brings in Washington St. next. The Fiesta is left with a good selection as BYU (who is unranked solely because there were not 25 ranked teams at the time) and Washington should allow for a sell-out crowd.

Past BCS Redo Seasons:

2000
1999
1998