newsobserver.com blogs
Talking Points
Here's the online home of News & Observer sports columnist Luke DeCock. Check in for Luke's thoughts on the Carolina Hurricanes, the ACC, pro sports and whatever else catches his eye.
Send Luke an e-mail
Tuesday Top Five: BCS title games
Submitted by ldecock on 01/06/2009 - 02:58
Until college football comes up with some sort of a playoff, whether it’s a “plus-one” game after the bowls or an eight-team playoff, we’re stuck with the lyrically named BCS National Championship Game, which this year will be contested Thursday between Oklahoma and Florida.
This is the third time an additional bowl game has been played to determine the national champion (allegedly, anyway), preceded by eight BCS-determined title matchups in existing bowls.
We’re stuck with this system for at least another six years, but these are the best of the bunch so far — Tuesday’s Top Five:
5. Tennessee 23, Florida State 16; Fiesta Bowl; Jan. 4, 1999: Notable primarily for two reasons: The Volunteers shut down Florida State star Peter Warrick and Tee Martin won a national title when Peyton Manning couldn’t.
4. Louisiana State 38, Ohio State 24; BCS National Championship Game; Jan. 7, 2008: The previously undefeated Buckeyes, looking to atone for their dismal performance a year earlier against Florida, jumped out to a 10-0 only to be overwhelmed by the speed of yet another SEC team as LSU became the first two-loss team to win a national title in almost 50 years.
3. Oklahoma 13, Florida State 2; Orange Bowl; Jan. 3, 2001; In only two years, Bob Stoops restored Oklahoma as a national power, culminating in this defensive demolition of Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke and the Seminoles.
2. Texas 41, Southern Cal 38; Rose Bowl; Jan. 4, 2006: Vince Young’s NFL career may have stalled, but he’ll always have Pasadena. He threw for 267 yards and ran for 200, including a 17-yard scramble that put the Longhorns ahead for good as Texas ended USC’s 34-game winning streak. Reggie Bush won the Heisman battle, but Young won the war.
1. Ohio State 31, Miami 24; Fiesta Bowl; Jan. 3, 2003: The ex post facto exposure of Maurice Clarett as a sleaze and the perpetual style penalty on Jim Tressel’s sweater vest don’t take away from this double-overtime duel, which had everything from a questionable pass-interference call in the first overtime to a boatload of future NFL stars (Andre Johnson, Willis McGahee, Chris Gamble, Michael Jenkins, Kellen Winslow and the late Sean Taylor).
Advertisements
Luke DeCock
Luke has worked for The N&O since 2000. He covered the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL before becoming a sports columnist in August 2008. A native of Evanston, Ill., he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at 829-8947 or luke.decock@newsobserver.com.
© Copyright 2008, The News & Observer Publishing Company
A subsidiary of The McClatchy Company
Comments
LSU-OSU
Tue, 01/06/2009 - 14:00 — ecnidasDon't think there was anything particularly remarkable about that game. Perhaps LSU-Oklahoma in 2004 would have been a better choice?
Leaving out the LSU-OSU game also would have prevented you from making a factual error that could have been easily checked, since Ohio State was not undefeated last year heading into the game and in fact had to have a number of circumstances fall into place over the final weeks of the season to even squeak into the game.