SteelClip49
5/16/2008, 10:21 AM
By no means am I disregarding 1975, moreso comparing it to the UPI and AP decision in 1984 (BYU) in comparison to 1975.
In 1937....Fordham, Dartmouth, Santa Clara went undefeated and/or had 1 tie while others were undefeated and/or finished with 2 ties. Minnesota finished in the top five with two losses ahead of several unbeated and one loss teams. Again, Minnesota comes up in the discussion.
Since the AP has been around since 1936, they have chosen their NC before the bowl games 1964 and back. 1938 provided one hell of a quandry (records before bowl): 1. Texas Christian (10-0), 2. Tennessee (10-0), 3. Duke (9-0), 4. Oklahoma (10-0), 11. Texas Tech (10-0). So, who really deserved the title that season? As far as the stand out personnel is concerned, Tennessee was led by General Neyland who did defeated Oklahoma 17-0 in the Orange Bowl. TCU would defeat Carnegie Mellon in the Sugar Bowl. TCU was led by some qb named Sammy Baugh. in Neyland's first stint, Tennessee was known as a team who had a defense that stopped everyone pretty much. So, why was TCU awarded the NC over Tennessee?
1939 was another great run for Tennessee, which was stopped by USC in the Rose Bowl but the NC is already awarded. Before the bowls...Texas A&M, Tennessee, USC (2 ties), Cornell, Tulane, UCLA (4 ties) and Duquesne all went undefeated/unbeaten. Clearly, the win/loss record indicates who deserved the title but back then and for many years, the win/loss record did not matter for the NC. Texas A&M wins the NC going 10-0 and finishes the season at 11-0. USC finished 7-0-2 before the bowls and finished off the season defeating an unbeatable Tennesse in the Rose Bowl. Politics= Mike Garrett coming forward in 2004 before the season began to recognize the remaining members of the 39 squad as NC. There is nothing wrong with honoring them but now to claim a national title 65 years later and add that to your total?
1940= what does the press have against Tennessee? 3 straight undefeated regular seasons and no nationally recognized NC. Minnesota, Stanford, Tennessee, Boston College and Mississippi State (of the major schools) go unbeaten in the regular season; some listed lost their bowl; but is moot because the AP decided before the bowls. Stanford claims the 1940 NC because of several selectors that chose them. Minnesota, who had fewer wins than Stanford, Tennessee and BC....wins the NC yet again. Minnesota just can't seem to go away.
After the bowls in 1942, no one in the top 20 finished undefeated. I bet the AP had fun with this one. This was a consensus NC for Georgia but not an officially recognized NC for the Dawgs. Say what you want UGA fans but the only recognized legit NC of 1942 belongs to Paul Brown and The Ohio State University.
Army repeated as national champion in 1945. Speaking of Alabama....they were one of four to be undefeated in the regular season along with Indiana, Oklahoma State and Army. There really isn't much of a fuss here unless you are a Bammer fan and try to claim every title just because you go undefeated.
In 1946...Notre Dame, Georgia, Army and UCLA all finished undefeated in the regular season. Who deserved it the most? Well, as you know, there has never been a back-to-back-to-back NC in the AP era so Army is out of the equation. Well, if Bammer isn't in the mix then the obvious choice is to go with Notre Dame.
Now, this is when it gets very suspicious and no it does not involve USC, Alabama and Minnesota. Four teams finish the season undefeated and in the top four= Notre Dame, Michigan, SMU and Penn State. It can't be possible for there to be a split NC yet considering the United Press didn't come into play until 1950. But wait, there is. Notre Dame is the 1947 national champion but after the season ended, the AP did another final poll, which is legit but from a national standpoint is unrecognized, and named Michigan as their NC. While many view Michigan only with 2 national titles since the AP began, the official count is 3 because of 1947 and since it is the AP it is recognized. So, just once in history there has been a co-AP champ.
1948 Michigan and Notre Dame finished #1 and #2 in the AP. Other undefeated regular season squads consisted of North Carolina, California, Clemson and Army. Politics= clearly those 4 mentioned couldn't compete with the already rich traditional powerhouses of Michigan and Notre Dame who already had several titles won. Only Michigan won the national title.
1949..California had another undefeated run and got no respect. Oklahoma was another as well as Pacific and Army. This probably should have been the NC for OU rather than 1950 but the whole damn system is messed up anyways.
1950....Oklahoma, Army, California, Princeton, Clemson and Miami all go undefeated before the bowls. When it was all said and done, Oklahoma wins the AP and UPI titles. Kentucky tries really hard to claim this as their title (coached by The Bear) as does Tennessee. Army finished #2, Tennessee #4 and Kentucky #7. UK claims the title because they defeated OU in the Sugar Bowl but UK fails to realize that the NC was decided before the bowl. Besides, Tennessee has more of a claim than UK does. UK won the SEC outright in 1950 because they played more SEC games than Tennessee. UK's only loss that year was to Tennessee. 1950 is just an example of what was to come in later years.
1951= Tennessee, Michigan State, Maryland, Illinois, Georgia Tech, Princeton and San Francisco all finish the regular season undefeated. Of those teams mentioned all but one finished the season undefeated. The one that suffered a loss was Tennessee after they were awarded the UPI and AP titles. I bet the AP and UPI had fun with this one but after previous years the AP had screwed Tennessee over, this might have set the precedent and General Neyland was not going to be denied.
1952 was not all that confusing as the national title was either going to be awarded to Michigan State or former SEC power Georgia Tech. Both went undefeated. Again, the win/loss record does not matter- MSU wins 9 and GIT wins 12. GT lays claim to the crown but the 2 major selectors went with Sparty.
1953 was basically decided between Maryland and Notre Dame and there is no way Notre Dame would be denied considering who they are....oops, I am wrong and the AP/UPI thought outside the traditional powers box. Notre Dame did end the season as the only unbeaaten squad while Maryland suffered a bowl loss but nonetheless, Maryland was the unanimous national champion.
1954...the AP and UPI knew how good Oklahoma was and they found out even more the next two years but it was OU who finished 10-0; Ohio State 10-0; UCLA 9-0; Va Tech 8-0-1. For the first time (not counting 1947), there is a difference of opinion. UCLA and Ohio State share the glory together.
1957 two teams finish undefeated: Arizona State and Auburn. ASU was considered a midget then and got very little recognition. Auburn deserved to be outright champs correct? Perhaps, but a team on probation can't be awarded the UPI title (board of coaches selector) and that honor went to Ohio State. Auburn did win the AP.
1960- Ole Miss finished the season at 10-0-1 but was never in the mix to win the title. The AP and UPI was set to name Missouri as the national champion until they lost to Kansas. But it was later learned that KU had an ineligible player and this was caught way later when the polls had been updated. Missouri was later awarded the win but it was too late and Minnesota rose up the polls and eventually was named the national champion. What's even more messed up is that they finished 8-2 with the bowl loss. Before LSU in 2007, Minnesota was the only AP/UPI 2 loss national champion.
Welcome to one of the most historic years in college football as the conclusion of the 1964 season resulted in the AP deciding to name their champion after the bowls starting in 1965. Alabama is considered an annoyance by many and 1964 is a prime example. The national title was going to be between Arkansas and Alabama. The AP and UPI named Alabama as their national champion over Arkansas. Both were undefeated at the end of the regular season. Alabama loses to Texas in the bowl game. Arkansas beat Texas in the regular season. So, who had the rightful claim? Clearly Arkansas did.
AP and their love fest continued with Alabama in 1965 but since they waited til after the bowls, there is no issue regarding Alabama's claim. Michigan State, Arkansas and Nebraska finish at 10-0 in the regular season. Alabama finished 8-1-1. There is no way Alabama had a shot unless the undefeateds lost their bowl. Guess what, it happened. Since the UPI still named their national champion B4 the bowls, they went with Michigan State who eventually lost in the Rose to UCLA. With those 3 losing and Bama winning, they emerged to the top and was awarded the AP.
1966 came down to the first Game of the Century. Notre Dame or Michigan State would be the national champions. Both are 9-0 heading into the game with each other. Notre Dame was #1 in both polls heading in and instead of winning, they played for the tie to keep their #1 rankings. Basically I look at that as a loss and neither MSU or Notre Dame deserved the title. Notre Dame was named the national champion by both polls but people can understand why Alabama fans are miffed about this not being one of theirs as they finished the season by going 11-0 (they finished #3).
1968 would be the first of four undefeated Joe Paterno PSU squad to go undefeated and not win the national title. Some PSU fans I have talked with thought their schedule wasn't as fashionable to compete with the Buckeyes. Ohio State was the only other undefeated squad and they won both selectors.
1969 Texas, Penn State and USC go undefeated. Again, some thought PSU's schedule wasn't that flashy. nonetheless, they went undefeated so why not the love? USC ended up with a tie and Texas ended up at 11-0. Texas was named as the champion of both selectors.
1970 Nebraska, Notre Dame, Texas and Arizona State all went undefeated in the regular season. Only Texas suffered a bowl loss. Nebraska wins the AP title by going going 11-0-1 and Texas was named the UPI champion before their loss to undefeated Notre Dame. But if Richard Nixon says Texas is the national champion they by golly they are, lol. Arizona State was playing under Frank Kush while in the WAC and because of them being in the WAC hurt their chances as being nationally legit. This would not be the first time.
Alabama and their annoyance to many is back and the year is 1973. This season was one of the most ****-eyed. Here is the reason why: final records= Alabama (11-1), Oklahoma (10-0-1), Ohio State (10-0-1), Michigan (10-0-1), Notre Dame (11-0), Penn State (12-0). Oklahoma was on probation thanks to infractions made by Chuck Fairbanks in the 1972 season but they could have still been named the AP champion. OU received a lot of other selectors but none were the AP or UPI. Ohio State and Michigan tied each other 10-10 in their final game. Penn State with another undefeated year and no love. The UPI named Alabama as their champion before their bowl matchup with Notre Dame. The Irish had to win the game to stay #1 in the AP. So, going in to the bowl matchup, it was UPI NC Alabama vs. AP #1 Notre Dame. Basically, Alabama is just playing for the outright crown. Notre Dame wins 24-23 and captures the AP title. The UPI finally makes the decision starting in 1974 to wait until after the bowls to name their NC. Alabama made it all possible in 1964 and 1973 for this to happen.
Oklahoma was on probation in 1974 therefore was nowhere in the UPI top 20 but they did however win the AP title going 11-0. USC, Alabama and Michigan all wind up with 1 loss and USC was the only one to end up with a loss and a tie. USC ended up with the UPI crown.
1975...Oklahoma, Alabama and Ohio State end the season with one loss and Arizona State ends up 12-0. Alabama's first loss of the season was to Missouri. OU beat Missouri. Ohio State beat UCLA in the regular season and had the NC locked up due to OU's mid season blunder to Kansas but not so fast. UCLA got revenge on the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl and prevented the Buckeyes from winning the title. So, Oklahoma ended up as the most logical choice, right? Well, this Sooner fan disagrees. ASU was still being looked down upon because of their schedule and being in the WAC but if that was the case, then why did they finish as high as #2 in both polls? Arizona State did defeat Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl and that should have been evident enough to have given the Sun Devils the title over Oklahoma.
1977 by the end of the regular season had 7 teams in contention for the national title: Oklahoma (10-2), Kentucky (10-1), Penn State (11-1), Texas (11-1), Arkansas (11-1), Alabama (11-1), Notre Dame (11-1). Alabama lost to Nebraska. Oklahoma beat Nebraska. Kentucky beat Penn State. Notre Dame lost to Mississippi. Hell, it just goes on. Arkansas lost to Texas and gave Oklahoma the open door to capture the NC until they were blown out by Arkansas in the Orange Bowl. At the end, the title would come down to Texas and Notre Dame and it was Notre Dame that was victorious.
It's 1978 and Alabama is back. 3 teams had a legit claim to the NC: Oklahoma, Clemson and USC. Oklahoma lost to Nebraska. Clemson lost to Georgia. USC lost and Alabama lost to USC. Oklahoma got revenge on Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. My take is that no one wanted to face Oklahoma or Nebraska in the bowl therefore OU had no shot at the title even though they deserved at least a split. If not a split then USC deserved to be the NC outright considering they beat Alabama in Birmingham. USC wins the UPI and Bammer wins the AP.
1979- The least the AP could do and UPI was to honor USC as repeat NC for going 11-0-1. Oh, but I guess because of the tie they weren't worthy of the national title because of the tie. UPI & AP awarded their titles to 12-0 Alabama.
Imagine that, Joe Paterno's first national title (1982) came in a season where PSU had one loss. They did beat one loss Georgia for the title and one loss Nebraska earlier in the season. I guess you can't argue with PSU's title unless you want to make a case for Southern Methodist who went 11-0-1 and finished #2 in both polls.
The 1983 title basically came down to the Miami/Nebraska Orange Bowl although they weren't the only teams who were playing for it. Had Texas defeated Georgia, the Longhorns would have capped off an undefeated season and possibly the title. Miami was #4 going into the Orange Bowl and won 31-30 over the Cornhuskers. Auburn has a strong case here to be the NC. Auburn did beat Florida in the regular season while Miami lost to Florida. Miami jumped Auburn after their win over NU to win both polls.
Miami, Notre Dame, Colorado and Tennessee all ended the 1989 season with one loss. Miami lost to Florida State. Colorado lost to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. Notre Dame lost to Miami. Tennessee lost to Alabama. Only gripe I see is Tennessee not getting consideration. Had Colorado won over the Irish, the Buffaloes would have won the title outright.
1990 is obvious that Georgia Tech at (11-0-1) deserved to be the outright NC. Perhaps the AP looked at Colorado's schedule and realized it was as good as undefeated even though they finished (11-1-1). CU lost by 1 to Illinois and tied Tennessee. There was also that fifth down ordeal as well but the polls don't look at that. There is no question that Georgia Tech should have been the only NC of 1990.
1991 Miami and Washington go undefeated and both split the NC. Nothing more that can be said here. Only thing that would have solved the issue is had they played in a bowl vs each other.
1993...Florida State (12-1) loses to Notre Dame but defeated the new monster Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Notre Dame (11-1) defeated FSU late in the season. So, kind of like 1978, it would have been logical to split the title right? Guess not as FSU won the Coaches and AP titles.
1994 Penn State and Nebraska both go undefeated and Nebraska is the one who wins the title outright while Joe Paterno goes undefeated for a fourth time without winning a title.
1996...Florida loses to FSU but gets revenge two games later and throttles FSU to win the NC. Granted several other teams such as Ohio State, Nebraska and Arizona State blew it at the end to give UF the opportunity but this seems awfully familiar. Oklahoma loses to Nebraska but a couple games later defeats Nebraska (1978) but no title recognition. Florida wins both polls.
1997...Penn State wonders how a split happened this time. Michigan and Nebraska both go undefeated and both are named NC.
In 1937....Fordham, Dartmouth, Santa Clara went undefeated and/or had 1 tie while others were undefeated and/or finished with 2 ties. Minnesota finished in the top five with two losses ahead of several unbeated and one loss teams. Again, Minnesota comes up in the discussion.
Since the AP has been around since 1936, they have chosen their NC before the bowl games 1964 and back. 1938 provided one hell of a quandry (records before bowl): 1. Texas Christian (10-0), 2. Tennessee (10-0), 3. Duke (9-0), 4. Oklahoma (10-0), 11. Texas Tech (10-0). So, who really deserved the title that season? As far as the stand out personnel is concerned, Tennessee was led by General Neyland who did defeated Oklahoma 17-0 in the Orange Bowl. TCU would defeat Carnegie Mellon in the Sugar Bowl. TCU was led by some qb named Sammy Baugh. in Neyland's first stint, Tennessee was known as a team who had a defense that stopped everyone pretty much. So, why was TCU awarded the NC over Tennessee?
1939 was another great run for Tennessee, which was stopped by USC in the Rose Bowl but the NC is already awarded. Before the bowls...Texas A&M, Tennessee, USC (2 ties), Cornell, Tulane, UCLA (4 ties) and Duquesne all went undefeated/unbeaten. Clearly, the win/loss record indicates who deserved the title but back then and for many years, the win/loss record did not matter for the NC. Texas A&M wins the NC going 10-0 and finishes the season at 11-0. USC finished 7-0-2 before the bowls and finished off the season defeating an unbeatable Tennesse in the Rose Bowl. Politics= Mike Garrett coming forward in 2004 before the season began to recognize the remaining members of the 39 squad as NC. There is nothing wrong with honoring them but now to claim a national title 65 years later and add that to your total?
1940= what does the press have against Tennessee? 3 straight undefeated regular seasons and no nationally recognized NC. Minnesota, Stanford, Tennessee, Boston College and Mississippi State (of the major schools) go unbeaten in the regular season; some listed lost their bowl; but is moot because the AP decided before the bowls. Stanford claims the 1940 NC because of several selectors that chose them. Minnesota, who had fewer wins than Stanford, Tennessee and BC....wins the NC yet again. Minnesota just can't seem to go away.
After the bowls in 1942, no one in the top 20 finished undefeated. I bet the AP had fun with this one. This was a consensus NC for Georgia but not an officially recognized NC for the Dawgs. Say what you want UGA fans but the only recognized legit NC of 1942 belongs to Paul Brown and The Ohio State University.
Army repeated as national champion in 1945. Speaking of Alabama....they were one of four to be undefeated in the regular season along with Indiana, Oklahoma State and Army. There really isn't much of a fuss here unless you are a Bammer fan and try to claim every title just because you go undefeated.
In 1946...Notre Dame, Georgia, Army and UCLA all finished undefeated in the regular season. Who deserved it the most? Well, as you know, there has never been a back-to-back-to-back NC in the AP era so Army is out of the equation. Well, if Bammer isn't in the mix then the obvious choice is to go with Notre Dame.
Now, this is when it gets very suspicious and no it does not involve USC, Alabama and Minnesota. Four teams finish the season undefeated and in the top four= Notre Dame, Michigan, SMU and Penn State. It can't be possible for there to be a split NC yet considering the United Press didn't come into play until 1950. But wait, there is. Notre Dame is the 1947 national champion but after the season ended, the AP did another final poll, which is legit but from a national standpoint is unrecognized, and named Michigan as their NC. While many view Michigan only with 2 national titles since the AP began, the official count is 3 because of 1947 and since it is the AP it is recognized. So, just once in history there has been a co-AP champ.
1948 Michigan and Notre Dame finished #1 and #2 in the AP. Other undefeated regular season squads consisted of North Carolina, California, Clemson and Army. Politics= clearly those 4 mentioned couldn't compete with the already rich traditional powerhouses of Michigan and Notre Dame who already had several titles won. Only Michigan won the national title.
1949..California had another undefeated run and got no respect. Oklahoma was another as well as Pacific and Army. This probably should have been the NC for OU rather than 1950 but the whole damn system is messed up anyways.
1950....Oklahoma, Army, California, Princeton, Clemson and Miami all go undefeated before the bowls. When it was all said and done, Oklahoma wins the AP and UPI titles. Kentucky tries really hard to claim this as their title (coached by The Bear) as does Tennessee. Army finished #2, Tennessee #4 and Kentucky #7. UK claims the title because they defeated OU in the Sugar Bowl but UK fails to realize that the NC was decided before the bowl. Besides, Tennessee has more of a claim than UK does. UK won the SEC outright in 1950 because they played more SEC games than Tennessee. UK's only loss that year was to Tennessee. 1950 is just an example of what was to come in later years.
1951= Tennessee, Michigan State, Maryland, Illinois, Georgia Tech, Princeton and San Francisco all finish the regular season undefeated. Of those teams mentioned all but one finished the season undefeated. The one that suffered a loss was Tennessee after they were awarded the UPI and AP titles. I bet the AP and UPI had fun with this one but after previous years the AP had screwed Tennessee over, this might have set the precedent and General Neyland was not going to be denied.
1952 was not all that confusing as the national title was either going to be awarded to Michigan State or former SEC power Georgia Tech. Both went undefeated. Again, the win/loss record does not matter- MSU wins 9 and GIT wins 12. GT lays claim to the crown but the 2 major selectors went with Sparty.
1953 was basically decided between Maryland and Notre Dame and there is no way Notre Dame would be denied considering who they are....oops, I am wrong and the AP/UPI thought outside the traditional powers box. Notre Dame did end the season as the only unbeaaten squad while Maryland suffered a bowl loss but nonetheless, Maryland was the unanimous national champion.
1954...the AP and UPI knew how good Oklahoma was and they found out even more the next two years but it was OU who finished 10-0; Ohio State 10-0; UCLA 9-0; Va Tech 8-0-1. For the first time (not counting 1947), there is a difference of opinion. UCLA and Ohio State share the glory together.
1957 two teams finish undefeated: Arizona State and Auburn. ASU was considered a midget then and got very little recognition. Auburn deserved to be outright champs correct? Perhaps, but a team on probation can't be awarded the UPI title (board of coaches selector) and that honor went to Ohio State. Auburn did win the AP.
1960- Ole Miss finished the season at 10-0-1 but was never in the mix to win the title. The AP and UPI was set to name Missouri as the national champion until they lost to Kansas. But it was later learned that KU had an ineligible player and this was caught way later when the polls had been updated. Missouri was later awarded the win but it was too late and Minnesota rose up the polls and eventually was named the national champion. What's even more messed up is that they finished 8-2 with the bowl loss. Before LSU in 2007, Minnesota was the only AP/UPI 2 loss national champion.
Welcome to one of the most historic years in college football as the conclusion of the 1964 season resulted in the AP deciding to name their champion after the bowls starting in 1965. Alabama is considered an annoyance by many and 1964 is a prime example. The national title was going to be between Arkansas and Alabama. The AP and UPI named Alabama as their national champion over Arkansas. Both were undefeated at the end of the regular season. Alabama loses to Texas in the bowl game. Arkansas beat Texas in the regular season. So, who had the rightful claim? Clearly Arkansas did.
AP and their love fest continued with Alabama in 1965 but since they waited til after the bowls, there is no issue regarding Alabama's claim. Michigan State, Arkansas and Nebraska finish at 10-0 in the regular season. Alabama finished 8-1-1. There is no way Alabama had a shot unless the undefeateds lost their bowl. Guess what, it happened. Since the UPI still named their national champion B4 the bowls, they went with Michigan State who eventually lost in the Rose to UCLA. With those 3 losing and Bama winning, they emerged to the top and was awarded the AP.
1966 came down to the first Game of the Century. Notre Dame or Michigan State would be the national champions. Both are 9-0 heading into the game with each other. Notre Dame was #1 in both polls heading in and instead of winning, they played for the tie to keep their #1 rankings. Basically I look at that as a loss and neither MSU or Notre Dame deserved the title. Notre Dame was named the national champion by both polls but people can understand why Alabama fans are miffed about this not being one of theirs as they finished the season by going 11-0 (they finished #3).
1968 would be the first of four undefeated Joe Paterno PSU squad to go undefeated and not win the national title. Some PSU fans I have talked with thought their schedule wasn't as fashionable to compete with the Buckeyes. Ohio State was the only other undefeated squad and they won both selectors.
1969 Texas, Penn State and USC go undefeated. Again, some thought PSU's schedule wasn't that flashy. nonetheless, they went undefeated so why not the love? USC ended up with a tie and Texas ended up at 11-0. Texas was named as the champion of both selectors.
1970 Nebraska, Notre Dame, Texas and Arizona State all went undefeated in the regular season. Only Texas suffered a bowl loss. Nebraska wins the AP title by going going 11-0-1 and Texas was named the UPI champion before their loss to undefeated Notre Dame. But if Richard Nixon says Texas is the national champion they by golly they are, lol. Arizona State was playing under Frank Kush while in the WAC and because of them being in the WAC hurt their chances as being nationally legit. This would not be the first time.
Alabama and their annoyance to many is back and the year is 1973. This season was one of the most ****-eyed. Here is the reason why: final records= Alabama (11-1), Oklahoma (10-0-1), Ohio State (10-0-1), Michigan (10-0-1), Notre Dame (11-0), Penn State (12-0). Oklahoma was on probation thanks to infractions made by Chuck Fairbanks in the 1972 season but they could have still been named the AP champion. OU received a lot of other selectors but none were the AP or UPI. Ohio State and Michigan tied each other 10-10 in their final game. Penn State with another undefeated year and no love. The UPI named Alabama as their champion before their bowl matchup with Notre Dame. The Irish had to win the game to stay #1 in the AP. So, going in to the bowl matchup, it was UPI NC Alabama vs. AP #1 Notre Dame. Basically, Alabama is just playing for the outright crown. Notre Dame wins 24-23 and captures the AP title. The UPI finally makes the decision starting in 1974 to wait until after the bowls to name their NC. Alabama made it all possible in 1964 and 1973 for this to happen.
Oklahoma was on probation in 1974 therefore was nowhere in the UPI top 20 but they did however win the AP title going 11-0. USC, Alabama and Michigan all wind up with 1 loss and USC was the only one to end up with a loss and a tie. USC ended up with the UPI crown.
1975...Oklahoma, Alabama and Ohio State end the season with one loss and Arizona State ends up 12-0. Alabama's first loss of the season was to Missouri. OU beat Missouri. Ohio State beat UCLA in the regular season and had the NC locked up due to OU's mid season blunder to Kansas but not so fast. UCLA got revenge on the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl and prevented the Buckeyes from winning the title. So, Oklahoma ended up as the most logical choice, right? Well, this Sooner fan disagrees. ASU was still being looked down upon because of their schedule and being in the WAC but if that was the case, then why did they finish as high as #2 in both polls? Arizona State did defeat Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl and that should have been evident enough to have given the Sun Devils the title over Oklahoma.
1977 by the end of the regular season had 7 teams in contention for the national title: Oklahoma (10-2), Kentucky (10-1), Penn State (11-1), Texas (11-1), Arkansas (11-1), Alabama (11-1), Notre Dame (11-1). Alabama lost to Nebraska. Oklahoma beat Nebraska. Kentucky beat Penn State. Notre Dame lost to Mississippi. Hell, it just goes on. Arkansas lost to Texas and gave Oklahoma the open door to capture the NC until they were blown out by Arkansas in the Orange Bowl. At the end, the title would come down to Texas and Notre Dame and it was Notre Dame that was victorious.
It's 1978 and Alabama is back. 3 teams had a legit claim to the NC: Oklahoma, Clemson and USC. Oklahoma lost to Nebraska. Clemson lost to Georgia. USC lost and Alabama lost to USC. Oklahoma got revenge on Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. My take is that no one wanted to face Oklahoma or Nebraska in the bowl therefore OU had no shot at the title even though they deserved at least a split. If not a split then USC deserved to be the NC outright considering they beat Alabama in Birmingham. USC wins the UPI and Bammer wins the AP.
1979- The least the AP could do and UPI was to honor USC as repeat NC for going 11-0-1. Oh, but I guess because of the tie they weren't worthy of the national title because of the tie. UPI & AP awarded their titles to 12-0 Alabama.
Imagine that, Joe Paterno's first national title (1982) came in a season where PSU had one loss. They did beat one loss Georgia for the title and one loss Nebraska earlier in the season. I guess you can't argue with PSU's title unless you want to make a case for Southern Methodist who went 11-0-1 and finished #2 in both polls.
The 1983 title basically came down to the Miami/Nebraska Orange Bowl although they weren't the only teams who were playing for it. Had Texas defeated Georgia, the Longhorns would have capped off an undefeated season and possibly the title. Miami was #4 going into the Orange Bowl and won 31-30 over the Cornhuskers. Auburn has a strong case here to be the NC. Auburn did beat Florida in the regular season while Miami lost to Florida. Miami jumped Auburn after their win over NU to win both polls.
Miami, Notre Dame, Colorado and Tennessee all ended the 1989 season with one loss. Miami lost to Florida State. Colorado lost to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. Notre Dame lost to Miami. Tennessee lost to Alabama. Only gripe I see is Tennessee not getting consideration. Had Colorado won over the Irish, the Buffaloes would have won the title outright.
1990 is obvious that Georgia Tech at (11-0-1) deserved to be the outright NC. Perhaps the AP looked at Colorado's schedule and realized it was as good as undefeated even though they finished (11-1-1). CU lost by 1 to Illinois and tied Tennessee. There was also that fifth down ordeal as well but the polls don't look at that. There is no question that Georgia Tech should have been the only NC of 1990.
1991 Miami and Washington go undefeated and both split the NC. Nothing more that can be said here. Only thing that would have solved the issue is had they played in a bowl vs each other.
1993...Florida State (12-1) loses to Notre Dame but defeated the new monster Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Notre Dame (11-1) defeated FSU late in the season. So, kind of like 1978, it would have been logical to split the title right? Guess not as FSU won the Coaches and AP titles.
1994 Penn State and Nebraska both go undefeated and Nebraska is the one who wins the title outright while Joe Paterno goes undefeated for a fourth time without winning a title.
1996...Florida loses to FSU but gets revenge two games later and throttles FSU to win the NC. Granted several other teams such as Ohio State, Nebraska and Arizona State blew it at the end to give UF the opportunity but this seems awfully familiar. Oklahoma loses to Nebraska but a couple games later defeats Nebraska (1978) but no title recognition. Florida wins both polls.
1997...Penn State wonders how a split happened this time. Michigan and Nebraska both go undefeated and both are named NC.