No sport invites as much chaos and debate in crowning a champion as college football. Even now, in the inaugural season of the 12-team College Football Playoff, plenty of politicking lies ahead in the conversation over whether, say, a fourth Big Ten team, a fifth SEC squad or the Big 12’s runner-up deserves the final at-large spot.
But this new system has nothing on the sport’s past controversies. Until 1968, the Associated Press named its national champion before the postseason. Big Ten teams weren’t allowed to play in any bowls outside of the Rose until 1975. Most conferences had exclusive contracts to send their champions to specific bowls, which led to split national titles and arguments that linger to this day.
But what if we could turn back the clock and apply a new postseason to one of those seasons? Today, we examine five lightning-rod seasons prior to the introduction of the Bowl Championship Series in 1998 and provided them with an upgraded postseason. The fixes available include the new 12-team Playoff, the four-team Playoff (2014-23), the BCS championship (1998-2013), the pre-BCS era (1975-1997) and merely selecting a better opponent.
1966
Final regular-season AP vote: 1. Notre Dame (9-0-1); 2. Michigan State (9-0-1); 3. Alabama (10-0); 4. Georgia (9-1); 5. UCLA (9-1); 6. Nebraska (9-1); 7. Purdue (8-2); 8. Georgia Tech (9-1); 9. Miami (7-2-1); 10. SMU (8-2)
The situation: There was no year quite like 1966. Alabama was gunning for its third straight national title. Notre Dame had a national title contender, as did preseason No. 1 Michigan State. Georgia, UCLA, USC, Miami, Nebraska, Purdue and SMU also were considered national title hopefuls.
Michigan State flipped spots with Notre Dame in mid-October after beating Purdue 41-20. (The Irish opened the season with a 26-14 win against the Boilermakers.) Alabama under quarterback Kenny Stabler outscored its 10 foes 267-37, including six shutouts. Notre Dame also shut out six teams and outscored opponents 362-38.
The Spartans hosted the Irish on Nov. 19 in one of the sport’s most anticipated regular-season showdowns. With the teams deadlocked at 10 late in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian chose to run the ball on four straight plays, even unsuccessfully on fourth down, to preserve a tie.
“Some people say a tie is meaningless. Not me!” Parseghian told reporters after the game.
Lansing State Journal columnist Bob Hoerner wrote, “The name of the game is win and although the Spartans didn’t quite make it against Notre Dame, they at least tried right up to the final bell. Notre Dame didn’t.”
There was nearly as much controversy on the West Coast. UCLA beat USC 14-7 to seemingly earn a Rose Bowl nod. But among the members of the Athletic Association of Western Universities — a loose organization between the defunct Pacific Coast Conference (1959) and Pacific-8 (1968) —USC had a 4-1 record while UCLA and Washington were 3-1.
After a vote among the schools, USC was chosen as the Rose Bowl representative. UCLA athletic director J.D. Morgan told the L.A. Times, “Personally, this is the deepest blow I’ve ever experienced. For the coaches, the players and myself, the disappointment is tremendous. I hoped that would not happen. There is no way to know how the voting went. It is a shock.”
In what the L.A. Times called “The Grandmother of Them All,” unranked USC faced No. 7 Purdue in the Rose Bowl. Per Big Ten rules (which were changed in 1972), Michigan State was not allowed to participate because it had played in Pasadena the previous season and it wasn’t allowed to play in another bowl game. So the Spartans and the Bruins stayed home, as did Notre Dame, which didn’t participate in bowls after 1924 through 1969.
Alabama didn’t play a single ranked opponent but shut out their final four regular-season foes, including LSU and Auburn. Unfortunately, Alabama didn’t face Georgia, which also finished unbeaten in the SEC but lost 7-6 to Miami in a nonconference game.
After the AAWU vote, USC faced Notre Dame in the regular-season finale, which the Irish won 51-0. When the polls crowned Notre Dame the champ, Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant offered his congratulations but no other comment. The Tide then beat Big Eight champion Nebraska 34-7 in the Sugar Bowl. Georgia powered past SMU 24-9 in the Cotton Bowl.
The fix: A four-team playoff — Notre Dame, Michigan State, Alabama, Georgia. Four hall of fame coaches and the four best teams. Enough said.
1973
Final regular-season AP vote: 1. Alabama (11-0); 2. Oklahoma (10-0-1); 3. Notre Dame (10-0); 4. Ohio State (10-0-1); 5. Michigan (10-0-1); 6. Penn State (11-0); 7. USC (9-1-1); 8. Texas (8-2); 9. UCLA (9-2); 10. Arizona State (10-1); 11. Texas Tech (10-1); 12. Nebraska (9-1-1)
The situation: If ever a season before 2014 demanded a full-scale playoff, it was 1973. The top six teams were unbeaten, but only one bowl game between any of them took place. Oklahoma couldn’t participate because it was on probation. And no story about 1973 is complete without mentioning the Ohio State-Michigan tiebreaker controversy.
When they met as unbeatens in Ann Arbor, at the height of the Woody Hayes-Bo Schembechler rivalry, the Buckeyes were the defending Big Ten champions and ranked No. 1 while Michigan was No. 4. The teams played to a 10-10 tie. In the game, Michigan quarterback Dennis Franklin suffered a broken collarbone.
Before 1972, Michigan would have qualified for the Rose Bowl, win or lose. But in 1972, the Big Ten changed its rule that mandated a new team be sent to Pasadena each year. With no system for determining the Big Ten representative, commissioner Wayne Duke chose a vote among the league’s 10 athletic directors to pick the team to best represent the Big Ten. In what was determined as a 6-4 in-person vote, Ohio State became the choice.
In honor of #ElectionDay2018 , let’s revisit the most famous “vote” in @B1Gfootball history: the vote that awarded the 1973 B1G 🏈🏆.
In my contribution the the @BigTenNetwork movie, “Tiebreaker,” Michigan broadcaster Bob Ufer breaks down who he thought voted for OSU & 〽️. 😬🤔 pic.twitter.com/rp0f2uCKf1— Dr. Sap (@DrSap4UM) November 6, 2018
Schembechler accused Duke of engineering the vote because of Franklin’s injury and told reporters, “I’m not going to let this drop. I’m going to get him. I’m going to get this thing settled.”
The vote prompted change in the Big Ten. On June 10, 1975, Michigan became the sixth school to rescind the league mandate on sending only its champion to the Rose Bowl.
Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, USC and NC State were unbeaten in their conferences, just like Michigan and Ohio State. Penn State and Notre Dame were independent but did not play each other. In the premier postseason matchup, No. 3 Notre Dame edged No. 1 Alabama, 24-23, in the Sugar Bowl to win the national title. Ohio State throttled USC in the Rose, 42-21, while Penn State beat LSU in the Orange Bowl, 16-9.
The fix: The present-day 12-team playoff, tweaked based on 1973 conference makeup — Alabama (SEC champion), Oklahoma (Big Eight, sans probation), Ohio State (Big Ten) and USC (Pac-8) receive byes. Notre Dame (at-large), Michigan (at-large), Penn State (at-large), Texas (SWC champion), UCLA (at-large), Arizona State (WAC champion), Texas Tech (at-large) and NC State (ACC champion) also qualify in order.
1960
Final regular season AP vote: 1. Minnesota (8-1); 2. Ole Miss (9-0-1); 3. Iowa (8-1); 4. Navy (8-1); 5. Missouri (8-1); 6. Washington (9-1); 7. Arkansas (8-2); 8. Ohio State (7-2-1); 9. Alabama (8-1-1); 10. Duke (7-2); 11. Kansas (7-2-1); 12. Baylor (8-2)
The situation: This season was a snapshot of poll lunacy. In the season’s most pivotal game, No. 3 Minnesota upset No. 1 Iowa, 27-10, thanks to a string of second-half turnovers and a bad snap on a punt. After replacing Iowa atop the rankings, No. 1 Minnesota lost the next week to Purdue 23-14 and dropped to No. 4. Meanwhile, No. 5 Iowa steamrolled No. 3 Ohio State 35-12 and bounced to No. 2. Missouri moved to No. 1 and Ole Miss inched up to No. 3.
The weekend before Thanksgiving, Missouri lost 23-7 to Kansas, which had fallen out of the rankings. Minnesota beat Wisconsin 26-7 and jumped from No. 4 to No. 1. Iowa shut out Notre Dame 28-0 and earned the most first-place votes but stayed at No. 2. Ole Miss was idle at No. 3. Then in the Egg Bowl a week later, Ole Miss topped Mississippi State 26-7 and moved past Iowa to No. 2.
In the closest three-way vote in AP history, Minnesota (433.5 points) edged Ole Miss (411) and Iowa (407.5) for the national title. As was the case before 1968, the final poll took place before the bowl games. In the Rose Bowl, Minnesota lost to No. 4 Washington, 17-7. Ole Miss took on No. 12 Rice in the Sugar Bowl and earned a 14-6 win. Iowa was not allowed to participate in a bowl.
Even if the AP had waited, several teams had claims to the title. Washington lost only once (No. 4 Navy) but had three one-point victories, including two against unranked opponents. Missouri, Ole Miss and Minnesota each beat two ranked opponents during the season. Iowa’s first eight games were against ranked opponents, including seven in the top 13. The Hawkeyes also beat Kansas 21-7, and their only unranked foe was Notre Dame.
The fix: The traditional bowl alignment and AP championship crowning procedures from 1975 to 1997 would have sufficed. If the Big Ten had allowed Iowa to compete in the postseason, the Hawkeyes could have faced Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl. Then, from among Washington-Minnesota in the Rose Bowl, Ole Miss-Iowa in the Sugar Bowl and Missouri-Navy in the Orange Bowl, voters could have voted fairly for the national champion.
1984
Final regular season AP vote: 1. BYU (12-0); 2. Oklahoma (9-1-1); 3. Florida (9-1-1); Washington (10-1); 5. Nebraska (9-2); 6. Ohio State (9-2); 7. South Carolina (10-1); 8. Boston College (9-2); 9. Oklahoma State (9-2); 10. SMU (9-2)
The situation: The screwiest season this side of 2007 belonged to 1984. Washington and Florida were the only major-conference programs to finish with fewer than two losses, and the Gators were on probation and ineligible for the Sugar Bowl.
The Huskies were ranked No. 1 for four weeks before stumbling in mid-November at USC, 16-7. That enabled BYU to step in at No. 1 without a significant win. The Cougars opened the season with a 20-14 victory against No. 3 Pittsburgh, but the Panthers finished 3-7-1. BYU next played Baylor, which was 5-6. Only three BYU three opponents posted winning records, and as WAC champions, the Cougars were mandated to play in the Holiday Bowl. They faced Michigan (6-5) and won 24-17.
With USC snagging the Pac-10’s Rose Bowl slot, No. 4 Washington met No. 2 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. The Huskies won 28-17 and believed they had won the national title. Instead, BYU had a plurality of first-place votes and edged Washington by 20 points to claim the championship.
The fix: This sweet mess of a season ended just about perfectly — outside of a high-quality postseason opponent for BYU. The Holiday Bowl chose not to budge on its Dec. 21 game date, and organizers had seven schools turn them down because of final exams. The game had a syndicated broadcasting contract instead of rights through a major TV network, which kept the payout to about $475,000 per team, low even for the mid-tier bowls. Had the Holiday Bowl lured No. 8 Boston College and Doug Flutie or No. 10 SMU, it would have legitimized BYU’s championship — or spoiled it.
1991
The situation: From the 1997 split title between Michigan and Nebraska to the Huskers besting Penn State in 1994, there were several years when the Big Ten and Pac-10’s relationship with the Rose Bowl prevented de facto championship games between unbeaten teams.
But the 1991 season has gotten overlooked in this discussion, and there is a legitimate debate over its champion. Both Miami and Washington ended the season 12-0. The Hurricanes beat No. 11 Nebraska 22-0 in the Orange Bowl. The Huskies trounced No. 4 Michigan 34-14 in the Rose Bowl. Miami beat four ranked teams and outscored its opponents 364-100. Washington topped three ranked teams and outscored its foes 461-101. The teams were equal, and the voters were just as split. In the closest vote in AP poll history, Miami’s 32 first-place votes to Washington’s 28 secured the Hurricanes the title by four points.
The fix: As in 1994 and 1997, this was the perfect season for a winner-take-all Bowl Championship Series game.
(Photo: Rich Clarkson / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
