2000-2001 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
#1 Oklahoma (14-0) vs #2 Florida State (13-1)
Florida State 29 Oklahoma 21 (FSU wins 86.1%, avg. score = FSU 32.9 OKLA 18.8)
It was a tail of two halves as the Florida State Seminoles rallied from a 21-6 halftime deficit to come back and defeat the Oklahoma Sooners 29-21 to win their third consecutive national championship. Leading the way for the Seminoles was running back Travis Minor, who was named the game’s MVP after rushing for 121 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. One of the keys to FSU’s victory was their rush defense, holding the Sooners to just 45 yards on 40 carries. Sooner quarterback Josh Heupel had some success through the air, passing for 299 yards and three touchdowns, but the lack of a running threat enabled the Seminole defense to pin their ears back and come after him. After FSU took a 29-21 lead on Minor’s 37 yard touchdown run with 6:08 left in the fourth quarter, the Sooners had one last chance after Seminole kicker Brett Cimorelli’s 42 yard field goal attempt bounced off the upright with 37 seconds left in the game. Heupel completed a 46 yard pass to Mark Bradley to move the ball down to the Florida State 24 yard line with just 8 seconds remaining. However, on the final play of the game Heupel overthrew Chris Norman in the end zone and the Seminoles held on for the win.
Comparison of the Actual 2001 BCS Championship to the Simulated 12-team playoff
The actual 2001 BCS Championship game was between #1 Oklahoma and #2 Florida State, won by the Sooners in a low scoring 13-2 victory. The Seminoles’ offense didn’t score a single point, and their only score came with 55 seconds left in the game, when, after a high snap, the OU punter ran the ball into his own end zone for a safety to avoid giving Florida State the ball close to the OU goal line in a two-possession game.
There was a fair amount of controversy with the BCS that year. Oklahoma’s selection wasn’t questioned by anyone since they were the only undefeated Division I team in the country. Big East champion Miami had a beef with ACC Champion Florida State’s selection because they narrowly beat the Seminoles in the Orange Bowl back in October, and both teams ended up with 11-1 records. However, Miami lost a non-conference game at Washington in early September, and Washington also finished the season with only one loss, winning the Pac-10 conference title. As a result, there was a lot of circular reasoning with those three teams’ fan bases and coaches’ lobbying for their particular teams.
In our 12-team playoff, there was no such controversy, as all three teams were selected along with the top ranked Sooners, and they all got first round byes. Miami and Florida State got their rematch in the semifinals, with FSU winning an impressive 76.2% of the simulations to advance to the national championship game. Washington was upset by Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals, with the Hokies going on the road and winning a respectable 58.4% of the simulations.
Our 12-team playoff ended up with the same matchup in the national championship game, but Florida State won a convincing 86.1% of the simulations to win the championship.