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View Full Version : Yahoo - BCS as a Playoff: Does Oklahoma still play Florida State for the 2000 title?



Jenni Carlson
1/20/2014, 03:10 PM
Welcome to Dr. Saturday's BCS as the College Football Playoff feature. This week we'll go through each of the 16 years of the BCS and hypothesize if the national championship would have changed hands under the new College Football Playoff. Since we don't have the benefit of a selection committee, we're taking the top four teams from the BCS standings entering bowl season. Who's ready to replicate the 2001 Orange Bowl? No. 1 Oklahoma (13-0) Coach: Bob Stoops Notable players: QB Josh Heupel, RB Quentin Griffin, WR Andre Woolfolk, WR Curtis Fagan, LB Rocky Calmus, LB Torrance Marshall, DB Roy Williams Oklahoma's season: The Sooners ended up playing six ranked teams in 2000, including five during Big 12 play. After demolishing Texas in the Red River Rivalry, Oklahoma went on the road the following week and beat then-No. 2 Kansas State 41-31. The Sooners escaped at Texas A&M and clinched the Big 12 title by beating KSU again, 27-24. Heupel threw for 3,606 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. No. 2 Florida State (11-2) Coach: Bobby Bowden Notable players: QB Chris Weinke, RB Travis Minor, WR Anquan Boldin, DE Jamal Reynolds, LB Tommy Polley, DB Derrick Gibson Florida State's season: Weinke led the nation in passing as he won the Heisman Trophy. He threw for 4,167 yards, 33 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. FSU lost to rival Miami on Oct. 7, 27-24 for its only regular season loss. However, since Miami was still in the Big East, it wasn't a conference loss. FSU was undefeated in conference play and stomped Florida in the final game of the season. No. 3 Miami (11-1) Coach: Butch Davis Notable Players: QB Ken Dorsey, RB James Jackson, WR Santana Moss, WR Reggie Wayne, TE Jeremy Shockey, LB Dan Morgan, S Ed Reed Miami's season: The Hurricanes' only loss came in week two to the team that's next on this list. Behind Dorsey's 2,737 yards passing, 25 touchdowns and five interceptions, Miami steamrolled the Big East. Its' closest conference game was a 20 point win against Virginia Tech. Plus, this team had Clinton Portis and Andre Johnson, among others, in backup roles. No. 4 Washington (10-1) Coach: Rick Neuheisel Notable Players: QB Marques Tuiasosopo, RB Rich Alexis, WR Todd Elstrom, TE Jerramy Stevens, LB Jeremiah Pharms, DB Hakim Akbar Washington's season: After the Huskies beat Miami, an undefeated season would likely have been enough to vault Florida State for the No. 2 ranking. But on Sep. 30, Washington lost at Oregon 23-16. The Huskies got the Pac-10's Rose Bowl berth by winning a three-way-tie between the Ducks and Oregon State. --- The 2001 Orange Bowl: It's the oddest final score in BCS Championship history. Oklahoma's defense stifled Weinke and FSU's ground game as the Seminoles didn't get an offensive score throughout the entire game. After Oklahoma field goals in the first and third quarters, Griffin finally scored the first touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter for a 13-0 lead. The Noles got a safety late, but that was it. The Sooners were national champs after a 13-2 win. The Playoff matchups: No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 4 Washington, No. 2 Florida State vs. No. 3 Miami Just missing out: No. 5 Virginia Tech, No. 6 Oregon State The semifinals: Tuiasosopo was a heck of a college quarterback, but Heupel had a great season as well. Heupel also had the better supporting cast, so we've got to take Oklahoma here. The other semifinal may be one of the most intriguing matchups of our series. However, we're not sure how close it would be. Miami improved as the season went on, and that team beats Florida State again. It's larger than three points too. The final: Miami had much more NFL talent than Oklahoma did. But that doesn't mean we're taking the Hurricanes in this one. We can almost guarantee that this matchup would be more entertaining than the Orange Bowl was, but Oklahoma's defense stifles Dorsey and the Hurricanes. Add in a Heupel touchdown or two and Oklahoma would still be the champion. - - - - - - - Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @NickBromberg

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