12-team Playoff? A "What-if-Sports" Dynasty to Rectify the Scourge of the BCS

Vegas Vic · 06-23-2021, 01:51 AM

This newly proposed 12-team playoff format that came out last week got me curious about what would happen if I used that selection criteria to go back and replay through the national championships, beginning in the 1998-99 season (the first BCS season).

I'll be using the "what if sports" simulator to simulate the games. The 12-team field will be chosen using what is expected to be the approved format later this summer when the AD's reconvene to finalize this proposal. I'll use the final BCS rankings from each season it was in effect (1998 thru 2013), then the final playoff committee rankings for 2014 thru 2020. As proposed, the six highest ranked conference champions will get automatic bids, with the four highest ranked conference champions getting the top four seeds (and first round byes.) The remainder of the field will consist of the next six highest ranked at large teams. Independents cannot get a first round bye.

I will not be editing rosters for injuries and opt-outs, as I don't have the time or resources to take something like that on. So for instance, in 1998, I know that Florida State's top two QB's were out with injuries, and they had to go with third string QB Marcus Outzen in the BCS Championship game against Tennessee. This would obviously make a significant difference in the probable outcome of that game.

I know there's been some speculation on the sites for the quarterfinal games. There are many AD's who feel it's impractical to play the quarterfinal games and semifinal games within the bowl structure, and the prevailing wisdom seems to be having the first round and quarterfinal games on the home field of the higher seeded team. The semifinals would still be in two of the New Year's Six bowls, and the national championship on a neutral site. So that's how I'm going to roll in this dynasty.

henry296 · 06-23-2021, 08:41 AM

As I'm reading through this, I'm wondering if Brady did lead Michigan to the title game does he get drafted much earlier than the 6th round. Another wrinkle to that what-if.

Vegas Vic · 06-23-2021, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by henry296

As I'm reading through this, I'm wondering if Brady did lead Michigan to the title game does he get drafted much earlier than the 6th round. Another wrinkle to that what-if.

That's a good question. We know that Brady spent much of his college career as a backup to Brian Griese. If he had a chance to show his mettle in these high profile college playoff games, you would think it might have elevated his draft stock.

Chas in Cinti · 06-25-2021, 08:17 AM

I'm enjoying reading this... thanks!

Vegas Vic · 06-26-2021, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chas in Cinti

I'm enjoying reading this... thanks!

Glad to hear it! I plan on working through all of the seasons, then probably update it annually until we actually get to a 12-team playoff.

Vegas Vic · 06-27-2021, 02:44 PM

I wanted to update this for anyone who is following. I've given some thought to this, and I'm going to change the process slightly. Up to this point, I've just been using a one game simulation to determine the winner of each game. While this is obviously more expedient, it yields a significant amount of variance.

What I'm going to do is run 101 simulations of each matchup, with the winner being determined on who wins the majority of those simulations. Then, the actual game of record will be the last game of those simulations that has that particular team winning. So, there will still be blowouts and nail biters, but the likely winner of the game will be more accurately determined. There will still be Cinderella stories. I've already run the 101 simulations of the first round game between the 2003 Miami RedHawks vs Ohio State Buckeyes, and Big Ben's RedHawks won 73.3% of the simulations by an average score of 29.4 to 20.5. So when that game rolls around, the RedHawks will defeat the Buckeyes. That's the only spoiler that I will give.

I've taken down the previous seasons, while I run all of the simulations. I'll repost them with updated results, beginning with the 1998-1999 season.

Vegas Vic · 06-28-2021, 12:50 PM

1998-1999 12-TEAM PLAYOFF

1. Tennessee (12-0) *aq
2. Florida State (11-1) *aq
3. Ohio State (10-1) *aq
4. UCLA (10-1) *aq

5. Kansas State (11-1)
6. Texas A&M (11-2) *aq
7. Arizona (11-1)
8. Florida (9-2)
9. Wisconsin (10-1)
10. Tulane (11-0) *aq
11. Nebraska 9-3
12. Virginia 9-2

1998-1999 FIRST ROUND
#12 Virginia (9-2) at #5 Kansas State (11-1)
#11 Nebraska (9-3) at #6 Texas A&M (11-2)
#10 Tulane (11-0) at #7 Arizona (11-1)
#9 Wisconsin (10-1) at #8 Florida (9-2)

Kansas State 26 Virginia 14 (KSU wins 79.2%, avg. score = KSU 31.0 UVA 19.9)

Marion Charles rushed for 143 yards on just 9 carries to lead the Kansas State Wildcats to a first round win in the playoffs over the Virginia Cavaliers. Neither team generated much offense early, with KSU taking a 9-7 halftime lead on three Martin Gramatica field goals. Midway through the third quarter, Charles broke loose on a 58 yard touchdown run to put the Wildcats up 16-7. Gramatica tacked on his fourth field goal of the day early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 19-7, then KSU put the game away midway through the quarter on a 15 yard touchdown pass from Michael Bishop to Darnell McDonald. The Cavaliers scored late in the game on a 23 yard pass from Aaron Brooks to Kevin Coffey to make the final score more respectable.

Texas A&M 44 Nebraska 20 (TAMU wins 90.1%, avg. score = TAMU 31.8 NEB 9.4)

Randy McCown had a solid outing with 13 completions on 21 attempts for 245 yards 3 TD’s and no interceptions to lead the Big 12 Champion Aggies to a convincing win over the visiting Nebraska Cornhuskers. This was a rematch of a hard fought game played back in October on this same field, also won by the Aggies 28-21. Today’s game came much easier for A&M, as they were never seriously threatened, taking a 20-7 halftime lead. They opened the second half with a 66 yard touchdown pass from McCown to Leroy Hodge to put the Aggies up 27-7. Nebraska was able to cut the lead down to 34-20 early in the fourth quarter on two Kris Brown field goals, but Ja’Mar Toombs answered with a 14 yard touchdown run to put the Aggies up 41-20 with 4:09 left in the game, basically sealing the victory. Dante Hall spearheaded the A&M rushing attack with 109 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Tombs chipped in with 60 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. The Cornhuskers ran the ball effectively, with four players rushing for over 65 yards. Leading the way was DeAngelo Evans with 96 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. However, when Nebraska fell behind, quarterback Eric Crouch was unable to generate anything through the air, completing just 3 passes for 23 yards.

Arizona 41 Tulane 14 (ARIZ wins 86.1%, avg. score = ARIZ 34.6 TULN 18.9)

Arizona had little trouble with visiting Tulane, handing the Conference USA champions their first loss of the year. Running back Trung Canidate had an fine outing, rushing for 198 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries. The Wildcats never gave the Green Wave a chance to get in the game, as they stormed out to a 28-0 lead at halftime. Tulane quarterback Shaun King wasn’t able to get it going today, completing just 14 out of 25 passes for 199 yards, no touchdowns and two passes that were intercepted by Chris McCalister. On a day where the Arizona running attack dominated the game, quarterback Keith Smith had a good outing also, connecting on 16 out of 24 attempts for 175 yards, 3 TD’s and 1 INT.

Florida 27 Wisconsin 23 (OT) (FLA wins 90.1%, avg. score = FLA 32.3 WIS 13.7)

Terry Jackson scored on a game winning 10 yard touchdown run in overtime to spoil a potential upset bid from an inspired Wisconsin Badgers team. The Gators almost didn’t make it to overtime. Trailing 20-17 with 1:16 to go and backed up near their own goal line, Jackson broke loose on a 72 yard run before he was hauled down at the Wisconsin 21 yard line. However, on the next play quarterback Jesse Palmer was sacked by John Favret for a 9 yard loss back to the 30 yard line, taking them out of comfortable field goal range. With 34 seconds left and no timeouts, Palmer hit Robert Gillespie for an 11 yard gain to set up Jeff Chandler’s game tying field goal to send the game to overtime. In the first overtime period Wisconsin couldn’t move the ball and had to settle for a 39 yard Matt Davenport field goal, before Jackson’s touchdown run won the game for the Gators. Florida quarterback Doug Johnson had a rough outing, throwing 4 interceptions before being benched in the fourth quarter by Florida head coach Steve Spurrier and replaced by Palmer. After the game, Spurrier had a look of relief on his face, while a grim Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez slowly walked off the field thinking about what might have been.

1998-1999 QUARTERFINALS
#8 Florida (10-2) at #1 Tennessee (12-0)
#7 Arizona (12-1) at #2 Florida State (11-1)
#6 Texas A&M (12-2) at #3 Ohio State (10-1)
#5 Kansas State (12-1) at #4 UCLA (10-1)

Chas in Cinti · 06-28-2021, 01:54 PM

Should see a lot more holding of serve for the higher seeds with this model I would assume.

Vegas Vic · 06-28-2021, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chas in Cinti

Should see a lot more holding of serve for the higher seeds with this model I would assume.

That's somewhat true, but there are a still a fair amount of lower seeded teams who are winning the simulations. We've got a big one coming up in the next round, which I should have up shortly.

Vegas Vic · 06-28-2021, 10:30 PM

1998-1999 QUARTERFINALS
#8 Florida (10-2) at #1 Tennessee (12-0)
#7 Arizona (12-1) at #2 Florida State (11-1)
#6 Texas A&M (12-2) at #3 Ohio State (10-1)
#5 Kansas State (12-1) at #4 UCLA (10-1)

Florida 24 Tennessee 21 (FLA wins 61.4%, avg. score = FLA 26.2 TENN 25.1)

Doug Johnson passed for 379 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Florida Gators to a stunning upset of #1 Tennessee at Neyland Stadium, knocking the Volunteers out of the playoffs. The game served as redemption for the Florida team, who lost 20-17 in overtime on this same field back in September. In that loss, the Gators turned the ball over five times and missed a short field goal at the end of the first overtime that would have extended the game. Today, they took care of the ball and relied on the arm of Johnson and a defense that pressured UT quarterback Tee Martin most of the day. Martin ended up with 247 yards passing, but was frequently under duress from Jevon Kearse and the rest of the Gators’ front seven, who sacked Martin 4 times. Florida led 21-7 at halftime on three Johnson touchdown passes. The only highlight for Tennessee in the first half came on a 65 yard touchdown run by Jamal Lewis in the first quarter to tie the score at 7-7, but the Gators scored on their next possession to go up 14-7, and would never trail again. However, things got interesting in the final five minutes of the game with the Gators holding a 24-14 lead. Florida kicker Jeff Chandler watched his 41 yard field goal bounce off the right upright. Tennessee promptly marched down the field on a 10 play, 76 yard drive, capped off with a 17 yard touchdown pass from Martin to Cedrick Wilson to cut the lead to 24-21 with 2:45 left in the game. With all three timeouts in their pocket, Tennessee elected to kickoff instead of trying an onside kick. The plan backfired when John Capel, a sprinter on the Gators’ track and field team, returned the kickoff all the way to the Tennessee 26. However, the Vols’ defense stiffened, and a 48 yard field goal attempt by the snake bitten Chandler was wide left, giving Tennessee one last gasp to try and get into field goal range. The Vols were able to cross midfield, but on 4th and 9 from the Florida 47, Martin was sacked by Eugene McCaslin with 59 seconds left in the game, and Florida went into victory formation to run out the clock. The Gator players and coaches stayed on the field to savor the moment. Coach Steve Spurrier said he was delighted to hear the deafening roar of the Neyland Stadium crowd turn into stunned silence. For a dejected UT Coach Phil Fulmer, it was a long walk back to the locker room where he would have face the inevitable questions about how his team’s date with destiny came to an abrupt end.

The epic, or perhaps not so epic finish:

Florida State 46 Arizona 35 (FSU wins 91.1%, avg. score = FSU 36.7 ARIZ 15.8)

The Florida State Seminoles jumped out to a 40-14 lead after three quarters, then withstood a late barrage by the Arizona Wildcats to move on to the quarterfinals next week. A flabbergasted Bobby Bowden wasn’t happy with his team’s fourth quarter performance. “Daddgum it! When we get a team down like that, we need to put them away!” Bowden went on. “That number 30 really hurt us in the fourth quarter. He really did. We knew he was good, but we didn’t know he was that good.” “Number 30” is Arizona running back Trung Canidate, who broke loose on a spectacular 79 yard touchdown run with 3:29 left in the game to cut the lead to 43-35. However, Florida State tacked on a 50 yard field goal from Sebastian Janikowski with 1:02 left to secure the win. Travis Minor led the Seminole ground game with 141 yards and 3 touchdowns on 29 carries. Quarterback Chris Weinke had a good outing, passing for 321 yards and 2 touchdowns, but he was constantly pressured by the Arizona defensive line, which recorded 6 sacks. However, Weinke maintained his composure, didn’t turn the ball over and never seemed rattled. Arizona quarterback Keith Smith passed for 308 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort.

Ohio State 55 Texas A&M 3 (OSU wins 98.0%, avg. score = OSU 39.4 TAMU 10.0)

Joe Montgomery and Michael Wiley combined for 213 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns on 40 carries as the Ohio State Buckeyes steamrolled the visiting Texas A&M Aggies 55-3. OSU receiver David Boston hauled in 7 receptions for 161 yards, with quarterback Joe Germaine passing for 430 yards. Up 28-0 at halftime, the Buckeye onslaught continued in the second half. A&M’s only points of the day came on a 44 yard field goal by Russell Bynum at the end of the third quarter. For the game, Ohio State had 32 first downs to Texas A&M’s 10, and they outgained A&M 682 to 241. Once they started to fall well behind, it was over for the Aggies, who have relied on the running game all season. Their one-two combo of Dante Hall and Ja’Mar Toombs were limited to 111 yards on 30 carries.

UCLA 37 Kansas State 27 (UCLA wins 68.3%, avg. score = UCLA 31.5 KSU 26.3)

In a tight contest at Rose Bowl Stadium, UCLA defeated visiting Kansas State to advance to the national semifinals. The game was close throughout, with three lead changes. KSU running back Eric Hickson scored on a 37 yard touchdown pass from Michael Bishop on the final play of the first half to cut a 10 point UCLA lead to 20-17. The game remained close throughout the third quarter. With 6:30 left in the fourth quarter and leading 30-20, UCLA was driving and appeared to be on the verge of putting the game away when KSU defensive back Gerald Neasman intercepted an errant Cade McNown pass, returning it 57 yards for a touchdown to cut the UCLA lead to 30-27. On the next possession UCLA secured the win when Deshaun Foster capped off a 6 play, 87 yard drive with a 53 yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to put UCLA up 37-27. It’s on to the national semifinals for Coach Bob Toledo and the Bruins, and the end of a fine season for Coach Bill Snyder and the Wildcats.

1998-1999 SEMIFINALS
#4 UCLA (11-1) vs #8 Florida (11-2)
#2 Florida State (12-1) vs #3 Ohio State (11-1)

Vegas Vic · 06-29-2021, 01:12 AM

1998-1999 SEMIFINALS
#4 UCLA (11-1) vs #8 Florida (11-2)
#2 Florida State (12-1) vs #3 Ohio State (11-1)

Florida 52 UCLA 49 (FLA wins 75.2%, avg. score = FLA 39.2 UCLA 29.3)

In a wild and wooly affair that had three ties and four lead changes, Travis Taylor caught a 22 yard touchdown pass from Doug Johnson with just 5 seconds left in the game, sending the Florida Gators to the national championship game. Johnson passed for 485 yards and 6 touchdowns on the day. Neither defense could slow down the opponent’s offense, and it soon became apparent that the last team with the ball was probably going to win. Florida’s Terry Jackson lead all rushers with 144 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. UCLA quarterback Cade McNown played valiantly in defeat, especially late in the fourth quarter where he capped off two consecutive drives with touchdown passes to rally the Bruins from a 45-35 deficit to a 49-45 lead. Here is how the exciting finish unfolded:

Florida State 38 Ohio State 24 (FSU wins 52.5%, avg. score = OSU 25.9 FSU 25.4)

Sebastian Janikowski connected on 8 out of 9 field goal attempts and scored 26 out of Florida State’s 38 points to lead the Seminoles to a 38-24 victory over Ohio State, and into next week’s national championship game, a rematch against arch rival Florida. Janikowski proved to be the difference in a game where FSU drives stalled repeatedly, and his accuracy was sorely needed on a day when the normally potent Seminole offense could only muster two touchdowns. Ohio State led 17-16 at halftime, but two Janikowski third quarter field goals and a 3 yard touchdown run from quarterback Chris Weinke put FSU up 29-17 early in the fourth quarter. Ohio State’s Joe Montgomery then scored on his second rushing touchdown of the day, a 41 yard scamper that cut the FSU lead to 29-24. However, Janikowski would tack on three more field goals for the final score of 38-24. For the Buckeyes, Michael Wiley led their ground game with 135 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. OSU quarterback Joe Jermaine passed for 267 yards, but couldn’t find the end zone and two of his passes were picked off by Florida State defensive back Reggie Durden. It was a disappointing end to a fine season for Coach John Cooper’s Buckeyes.

1998-1999 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
#2 Florida State (13-1) vs #8 Florida (12-2)

Vegas Vic · 06-29-2021, 06:38 PM

1998-1999 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
#2 Florida State (13-1) vs #8 Florida (12-2)

Florida State 37 Florida 16 (FSU wins 75.2%, avg. score = FSU 32.8 FLA 24.0)

Chris Weinke passed for two touchdowns and Jeff Chaney rushed for two more to lead the Florida State Seminoles to a convincing 37-16 win over the Florida Gators in the national championship game. The game was a rematch of the final regular season game for both teams, also won by the Seminoles 23-12. The Gators were able to make a game of it early, taking a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter on Doug Johnson’s 3 yard touchdown pass to Taylor, capping off an 8 play, 87 yard drive. That would be the only sustained drive for Florida all night until late in the fourth quarter when the game was well out of reach. The Seminoles answered in the second quarter with a 59 yard touchdown pass from Weinke to Ron Dugans, followed by Jeff Chaney’s 2 yard rushing touchdown to put the Seminoles up 17-10 at halftime. The third quarter was all Florida State, and they all but put the game out of reach. Another Weinke touchdown pass and Chaney rushing touchdown, together with a 26 yard field goal from Sebastian Janikowski put FSU up 34-10 at the end of the period. Florida did manage to score another touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a 3 yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Travis McGriff, but the game was well out of reach. Janikowski tacked on another short field goal with 1:58 left for the 37-16 final score.

Comparison of the Actual 1999 BCS Championship to the Simulated 12-team playoff

The actual 1999 BCS Championship game was played between #1 Tennessee and #2 Florida State, with the Volunteers coming out on top 23-16. Florida State was without the services of starting quarterback Chris Weinke, who was injured in the final ACC game of the season. Weinke’s backup, sophomore Marcus Outzen was making his second career start. The Volunteers led 14-9 at halftime. They were leading 23-16 with less than 2 minutes to go in the game, when Tennessee RB Travis Henry fumbled and turned the ball over to Florida State. However, Outzen threw an errant pass that was intercepted, which sealed the victory and the national championship for the Vols.

Our 12-team playoff simulation had Florida State (albeit with a healthy Weinke) defeating arch rival Florida in a rematch of the last game of the season (also won by the Seminoles). This was also a rematch of the 1997 Sugar Bowl in the next-to-last season that the polls determined the mythical national champion. Florida was voted national champion in both of the polls after that win.

Of course, the most interesting part of our 12-team playoff simulation is Tennessee’s quarterfinal loss to Florida, knocking the Volunteers out of the playoffs. I think that was a plausible outcome for several reasons. First, although Tennessee finished the regular season 12-0, they were not a juggernaut by any means. They lost a ton of NFL talent from the ’97 team, including quarterback Peyton Manning. His replacement, Tee Martin, was much more mobile, but not a great passer or the type of guy to take a team on his shoulders. Consequently, Tennessee was expected to be good, not great going into the 1998 season.

In the first game of the season, they came from behind to beat Syracuse 34-33 on a last second field goal. The very next week, they played Florida in a much hyped home game. I went back and read through some of the archived blogs leading up to that game, and even most of the Tennessee fans seemed to recognize that Florida was the better team on paper. Tennessee went on to win in overtime 20-17, in a game where Florida turned the ball over five times and missed a short field goal in the first overtime that would have extended the game. Tennessee also won a nail-biter against Arkansas later in the season in a game they could have easily lost. Here’s an excerpt from “Football Study Hall: Now Playing: Arkansas At Tennessee (1998)” : “This truly was one of the biggest gut-punch near-upsets in college football's history. Arkansas did not luck into a lead against No. 1 Tennessee on November 14, 1998 -- they completely and totally outplayed the Vols. And then they lost anyway.”

So there were three games on that schedule that Tennessee could have potentially lost. Usually, an “elite” undefeated team goes through their schedule with maybe one close call, but certainly not three. So let’s give Tennessee credit for what they were, a very good team who took advantage of their opportunities and won all of their games, including a flawed system that rightfully put them in a “one-off” game against Florida State to determine the BCS national championship.

As for Florida knocking off Tennessee in our 12-team playoff, I tend to agree with the simulator, with the Gators winning a healthy 61.4% of the simulations. Given this second opportunity, what are the chances they’re going to self-destruct again like they did in the first game?

At the end of the day, Tennessee deserves a lot of credit for going undefeated and winning the BCS Championship. However, I think it’s unlikely that they would have won three consecutive playoff games to win a 12-team playoff. Coach Phil Fulmer was perhaps the biggest single winner from the BCS system. His national championship probably bought him an additional two or three seasons of goodwill once the program started to slip into mediocrity. He agreed to step down in 2008 (to avoid being fired). Without that win in his pocket, he almost certainly would have been shown the door earlier.

Vegas Vic · 07-01-2021, 12:15 PM

1999-2000 PLAYOFFS

1. Florida State (11-0) *aq
2. Virginia Tech (11-0) *aq
3. Nebraska (11-1) *aq
4. Alabama (10-2) *aq

5. Tennessee (9-2)
6. Kansas State (9-2)
7. Wisconsin (9-2) *aq
8. Michigan (9-2)
9. Michigan State (9-2)
10. Florida (9-3)
11. Penn State (9-3)
12. Marshall (12-0) *aq

1999-2000 FIRST ROUND
#12 Marshall (12-0) at #5 Tennessee (9-2)
#11 Penn State (9-3) at #6 Kansas State (9-2)
#10 Florida (9-3) at #7 Wisconsin (9-2)
#9 Michigan State (9-2) at #8 Michigan (9-2)

Marshall 24 Tennessee 21 (MRSH wins 58.4%, avg. score = MRSH 27.1 TENN 24.3)

MAC champion Marshall defeated Tennessee 24-21 in a stunning upset at Neyland Stadium to move to 13-0 on the season and a berth in the playoff quarterfinals next week. The Volunteers lost their opening playoff game at home for the second year in a row, leaving head coach Phil Fulmer trying to make sense out of what he witnessed. Fulmer was adamant that his team was not overconfident coming into the game. “We watched a lot of film on them, and we knew they were very good.” Marshall didn’t seem to be intimidated at all on the big stage, having played in a similar environment back in September in a 13-10 upset win at Clemson’s “Death Valley”. Neither offense did much in the first quarter, with the only points coming on a 22 yard field goal by Tennessee kicker Alex Walls late in the quarter to put the Vols up 3-0. Marshall started to assert itself in the second quarter, going on a 10 play, 79 yard drive capped off with an 11 yard touchdown pass from Chad Pennington to James Williams to put the Thundering Herd up 7-3 early in the quarter. After a three-and-out by Tennessee, Turner broke loose on a 40 yard touchdown run extend the lead to 14-3. It was three-and-out again for Tennessee, and Marshall took a 17-3 lead on a 37 yard Billy Malashevich field goal. Late in the second quarter, Tennessee cut the lead to 17-10 on a 4 yard touchdown run by Travis Henry, capping off a 7 play, 71 yard drive. That would be the last score of the first half. On the opening drive of the second half, Marshall drove the ball down to the Tennessee 10 yard line, but the drive stalled and Malashevich booted a 27 yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-10 for the only points of the quarter. The teams then traded field goals, with Marshall leading 23-13 with 6:15 left in the game. Tennessee answered with an impressive 9 play, 73 yard drive, culminating on a 5 yard touchdown pass from Tee Martin to Travis Henry, cutting the lead to 23-20. The Volunteers got the ball back on their own 25 yard line with 1:46 left in the game, but on third and one, Martin was sacked for a 7 yard loss by Alonzo Jones, and flushed out of the pocket on fourth down for a just 2 yard gain, turning the ball over on downs with 1:08 left in the game. The Gatorade bath ensued for head coach Bob Pruett as the Thundering Herd lined up in victory formation. The Marshall defense was the big story of the day, holding the tandem of Jamal Lewis and Travis Henry to just 77 yards on 27 carries.

Kansas State 30 Penn State 22 (KSU wins 71.3%, avg. score = KSU 26.0 PSU 17.9)

In a game where Kansas State’s defense bent but didn’t break, the Wildcats came away with a 30-22 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions to move on to the playoff quarterfinals. Penn State outgained KSU 452 to 421, but time after time their drives stalled, with 15 of their 22 points coming via five Travis Forney field goals. Kansas State scored on the final play of the first quarter on a 28 yard touchdown pass from Jonathan Beasley to Shad Meir to take a 7-3 lead. Early in the second quarter, Penn State scored their only touchdown of the game on a 47 yard run by Eric McCoo to take a 10-7 lead. Kansas State led 17-13 at halftime. Much of the second half turned into a battle of field position and field goals, with Penn State taking a 19-17 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 34 yard Forney field goal. On the ensuing drive, Beasley connected with Williams on a 65 yard pass down to the 9 yard line, and Murphy ran it in on the next play for a touchdown, putting the Wildcats back up 24-19. Later in the quarter, another Penn State drive stalled deep in Wildcat territory, and Forney booted a 28 yard field goal to cut the lead to 24-22 with 4:10 left in the game. The fortunes then swung back and forth for both teams on this wild sequence of plays:

Down by 8, Penn State had one more chance, but their final drive was stopped in their own territory, and Kansas State ran out the clock for the victory.

Wisconsin 17 Florida 12 (WIS wins 53.5%, avg. score = WIS 26.2 FLA 24.7)

In a rematch of a heartbreaking overtime playoff loss at Florida last season, the Wisconsin Badgers turned the tables on the Florida Gators at Camp Randall Stadium today. The normally potent Gator offense was limited to just four field goals on the day. The Gators led in almost every statistical category except the final score, and that’s the only one that counts. Three costly interceptions from Florida quarterback Doug Johnson also played a key role in the outcome. Florida led 6-3 at halftime. Wisconsin running back Eddie Faulkner scored the only two touchdowns of the game on runs of 23 and 14 yards, the second of which put the Badgers up 17-9 late in the third quarter. Faulkner ended up with 74 yards on 9 carries, and his teammate Ron Dayne led all rushers with 138 yards on 30 attempts.
Florida cut the lead to 17-12 midway through the fourth quarter on a 35 yard Jeff Chandler field goal, but neither team scored again after that. Florida was driving with a chance to win late in the game, but Johnson threw his third interception of the game, sealing the victory for the Badgers:

Michigan 31 Michigan State 28 (MICH wins 74.3%, avg. score = MICH 28.8 MSU 21.6)

Jeff Del Verne kicked a 40 yard field goal as time expired to lift the Michigan Wolverines to a 31-28 win over instate rival Michigan State, avenging a 34-31 loss earlier this year to Nick Saban’s squad at Spartan Stadium. With the win, the Wolverines advance to the playoff quarterfinals next week. The fourth quarter had plenty of drama, with the Spartans clinging to a 21-13 lead entering the quarter. The Wolverines tied the score 21-21 on a 2 yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to DiAllo Johnson, and a 2-point conversion pass from Brady to Anthony Thomas. The Spartans stormed back on a 7 play, 69 yard drive, capped off with a 19 yard touchdown run from Shawn Foster to take a 28-21 lead with 10:30 left in the game. Here are the final three possessions of the dramatic finish, beginning with the drive of the game, a 14 play 84 yard drive by the Wolverines to tie the score at 28-28:

1999-2000 QUARTERFINALS
#8 Michigan(10-2) at #1 Florida State (11-0)
#7 Wisconsin (10-2) at #2 Virginia Tech (11-0)
#6 Kansas State (10-2) at #3 Nebraska (11-1)
#12 Marshall (13-0) at #4 Alabama (10-2)

Vegas Vic · 07-01-2021, 11:05 PM

1999-2000 QUARTERFINALS
#8 Michigan(10-2) at #1 Florida State (11-0)
#7 Wisconsin (10-2) at #2 Virginia Tech (11-0)
#6 Kansas State (10-2) at #3 Nebraska (11-1)
#12 Marshall (13-0) at #4 Alabama (10-2)

Florida State 30 Michigan 23 (FSU wins 82.2%, avg. score = FSU 33.0 MICH 19.5)

Chris Weinke passed for 331 yards and two touchdowns as the top ranked and undefeated Florida State Seminoles moved to 12-0 with a 30-23 victory over the Michigan Wolverines to advance to the playoff semifinals. His counterpart, Michigan quarterback Tom Brady, played valiantly in defeat, completing 25 out of 37 passes for 303 yards and one touchdown. Although Michigan kept the game close most of the way, their only lead came on Jeff DelVerne’s 45 yard field goal with 4:42 left in the first quarter. Florida State responded with a 9 play, 71 yard drive, capped off with an 8 yard touchdown pass from Weinke to Ron Duggans to put the Seminoles up 7-3 at the end of the first quarter. The teams ended the first half with Florida State leading 17-13. The Noles tacked on a 47 yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal and a 6 yard rushing touchdown from Jeff Chaney to go up 27-13 before Michigan responded with another DelVerne field goal to cut the lead to 27-16 at the end of the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, another Janikowski field goal put FSU ahead 30-16. Michigan got back into the game when Larry Foote intercepted an errant Weinke pass and returned it to the FSU 35 yard line. It took an excruciating 10 plays, including a fourth down and 15 conversion for the Wolverines to score, but they finally did when Brady hit Dave Terrell on a 3 yard touchdown pass to cut the FSU lead to 30-23 with 4:52 left in the game. Michigan would have one last gasp after a Janikowksi 40 yard field goal attempt was no good, keeping the score at 30-23. Michigan took over on their 23 yard line with just 1:34 left in the game, but they turned the ball over on downs and Florida State ran out the clock to secure the victory.

Virginia Tech 30 Wisconsin 12 (VT wins 79.2%, avg. score = VT 27.6 WIS 16.1)

Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick completed 11 out of 13 passes for 253 yards, one touchdown and one interception, as the Hokies took a 26-0 halftime lead and never looked back in a convincing win over Big Ten champion Wisconsin. Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne rushed for 166 yards on 27 carries, but the Hokies’ defense kept him out of the end zone. The Badgers’ only touchdown came on the final play of the game on a 58 yard touchdown pass from Brooks Bollinger to Eddie Faulkner. To Wisconsin’s credit, they did hold Vick to just 36 rushing yards, but Vick made several big key plays with his arm, most notably a 61 yard touchdown pass to Browning Wynn on the final play of the first half. Shyrone Stith spearheaded the Virginia Tech ground game, rushing for 96 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. Hokies’ kicker Shayne Graham made all three of his field goal attempts to lead the always solid Virginia Tech special teams.

Nebraska 34 Kansas State 7 (NEB wins 64.4%, avg. score = NEB 21.9 KSU 16.8)

Dan Alexander rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, as the Big 12 Champion Nebraska Cornhuskers made short work of Kansas State to advance to the national semifinals next week. This was a rematch of a 41-16 Nebraska blowout on this same field back in November. The Husker ground attack rushed for 324 yards and controlled the game throughout. Kansas State was never able to establish their normally reliable ground game, rushing for just 97 yards on 48 carries. Once they fell way behind, quarterback Jonathan Beasley was out of his element, passing for just 169 yards and one interception on the day.

Alabama 27 Marshall 10 (BAMA wins 54.5%, avg. score = BAMA 26.8 MRSH 24.8)

Alabama running back Shaun Alexander rushed for 145 yards and Andrew Zow threw 3 touchdown passes to lead the Alabama Crimson Tide to a 27-10 victory over the Marshall Thundering Herd to advance to the national semifinals. Although the season came to an end for the MAC champions, they earned the respect of the Alabama players and head coach Mike DuBose, finishing the season with a 13-1 record. Marshall kept the game close throughout most of the contest, tying the score at 10-10 on a 19 yard touchdown pass from Chad Pennington to Gregg Kellett midway through the second quarter. Alabama responded with a 10 yard touchdown pass from Zow to Tim Bowens to take a 17-10 halftime lead. The third quarter was a defensive struggle, with the only points coming on a 43 yard Ryan Pflugner field goal to extend the Alabama lead to 20-10. The outcome was still in question, but the Crimson Tide cemented it with a 13 play, 72 yard drive late in the fourth quarter that burned up 6:00, capped off with a 4 yard touchdown pass from Zow to Alexander.

1999-2000 SEMIFINALS
#1 Florida State (12-0) vs #4 Alabama (11-2)
#2 Virginia Tech(12-0) vs #3 Nebraska (12-1)

Vegas Vic · 07-02-2021, 01:17 AM

1999-2000 SEMIFINALS
#1 Florida State (12-0) vs #4 Alabama (11-2)
#2 Virginia Tech(12-0) vs #3 Nebraska (12-1)

Florida State 37 Alabama 23 (FSU wins 72.3%, avg. score = FSU 29.7 BAMA 22.0)

With the score tied 23-23 midway through the fourth quarter, Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke threw two late touchdown passes, as the Seminoles pulled away to defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide 37-23 to advance to the national championship game. Travis Minor spearheaded the FSU rushing attack, gaining 127 yards on 19 carries. Wide receiver Peter Warrick hauled in 7 receptions for 101 yards and two touchdowns. Alabama wasn’t able to generate much offense the entire game. Both of their touchdowns came in the first half on short drives. The Florida State defense limited Alabama to 102 rushing yards on 48 carries. The always reliable Sebastian Janikowski was a perfect 3 for 3 on his field goal attempts. Here is the fourth quarter drive that put the Seminoles ahead:

Virginia Tech 36 Nebraska 7 (VT wins 72.3%, avg. score = VT 24.9 NEB 17.2)

Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer said his team played well in all three phases of the game, but it was their special teams, nicknamed “Beamer Ball” that stole the show in a victory over Big 12 champion Nebraska, sending the Hokies to the national championship game. The special teams accounted for 24 of Virginia Tech’s 36 points, with kicker Shayne Graham connecting on five field goals, and Rickey Hall’s 59 yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter. Bud Foster’s defense limited Nebraska to a season low 12 first downs and 197 total yards. The Hokies’ rushing attack, lead by Shyrone Stith, churned out 300 yards on 66 carries, enabling Virginia Tech to also dominate the time of possession. Quarterback Michael Vick only attempted 8 passes, but completed 7 of them for 103 yards, together with 64 rushing yards.

Vegas Vic · 07-02-2021, 02:35 AM

1999-2000 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
#1 Florida State (13-0) vs #2 Virginia Tech (13-0)

Florida State 28 Virginia Tech 24 (FSU wins 50.5%, avg. score = VT 25.0 FSU 24.1)

Chris Weinke hit Peter Warrick on a 6 yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds left in the game to rally Florida State to a 28-24 victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies in the national championship game, capping off a perfect 14-0 season. Florida State has now won both of the national championship games under the new 12-team playoff format, having defeated Florida last season. FSU running back Travis Minor was named the game’s MVP after rushing for 209 yards on 17 carries, including a 60 yard burst on the Seminoles’ winning drive that set up the go ahead touchdown. Quarterback Chris Weinke had 269 passing yards and two touchdowns. Virginia Tech, the Big East champions, finished the season with a 13-1 record. Running back Shyrone Stith had a fine performance in a losing effort, rushing for 165 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. The game was not decided until late in the fourth quarter, and here’s how the final four minutes played out:

Comparison of the Actual 2000 BCS Championship to the Simulated 12-team playoff

The actual 2000 BCS Championship game was played between the #1 Florida State Seminoles and the #2 Virginia Tech Hokies, with Florida State winning 46-29. Virginia Tech was leading the game 29-28 at the end of the third quarter, but Florida State dominated the fourth quarter and pulled away for the win.

There was no controversy with the selection of Florida State and Virginia Tech because they were the only two undefeated teams from the six major conferences. MAC champion Marshall was also undefeated and finished #12 in the final BCS rankings.

As for our 12-team playoff simulation, Florida State and Virginia Tech also made it to the championship game, with the Seminoles winning a razor thin 50.5% of the simulations.

As for Marshall, they acquitted themselves well in our playoff, winning an impressive 58.4% of the simulations against Tennessee in the first round. That seems a bit generous to me, but Marshall had an excellent team, even though the majority of their statistics were generated against MAC competition. They did go on the road in the season opener and beat Clemson 10-7. The Tigers were not the juggernaut they are now, but they had a pretty good team and went to a bowl game that year. So, I don’t think it’s a long shot that Marshall could have beaten Tennessee in a first round playoff game.

Vegas Vic · 07-02-2021, 03:03 AM

I'll throw this out there. One thing that is becoming apparent to me is that folks had better be prepared for a LOT of rematches when these playoffs come to fruition.

Vegas Vic · 07-03-2021, 01:47 AM

2000-2001 PLAYOFFS

1. Oklahoma (12-0) *aq
2. Florida State (11-1) *aq
3. Miami (10-1) *aq
4. Washington (10-1) *aq

5. Virginia Tech (10-1)
6. Oregon State (10-1)
7. Florida (10-2) *aq
8. Nebraska (9-2)
9. Kansas State (10-3)
10. Oregon (9-2)
11. Notre Dame (9-2)
12. TCU (10-1) *aq

2000-2001 FIRST ROUND
#12 TCU (10-1) at #5 Virginia Tech (10-1)
#11 Notre Dame (9-2) at #6 Oregon State (10-1)
#10 Oregon (9-1) at #7 Florida (10-2)
#9 Kansas State (10-3) at #8 Nebraska (9-2)

Virginia Tech 16 TCU 13 (VT wins 55.4%, avg. score = VT 22.7 TCU 19.8)

In spite of an inspired performance from TCU running back LaDanian Tomlinson, the Virginia Tech Hokies came away with a hard earned 16-13 win to advance to the playoff quarterfinals. Tomlinson rushed for 162 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries. Virginia Tech running back Lee Suggs also had a big day, with 154 yards on 28 carries. With the score tied 3-3 midway through the second quarter, Tomlinson broke loose on a 61 yard touchdown run to put the Horned Frogs up 10-3. TCU led 10-6 at halftime. The two teams traded field goals in the third quarter, and TCU held a 13-9 lead going into the fourth quarter. Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick scored on a 2 yard run with 6:18 left in the game, capping off an 11 play, 77 yard drive to give the Hokies their first lead of the game, 16-13.

TCU tried to get into field goal range on their final drive, but turned the ball over on downs on the Virginia Tech 42 yard line with less than a minute left in the game, securing the Virginia Tech win.

Oregon State 34 Notre Dame 7 (ORST wins 90.1%, avg. score = ORST 30.4 ND 14.3)

Ken Simonton rushed for 162 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Oregon State Beavers to a 34-7 rout over Notre Dame. Beavers’ quarterback Jonathan Smith added 252 passing yards. The Fighting Irish’s only moment of glory came on their opening drive of the game, taking a brief 7-0 lead on a 3 yard touchdown run by Julius Jones. Oregon State led 20-7 at halftime and cruised to victory in the second half. The Beavers’ defense also was a big factor in the decisive win, holding the Irish to just 12 first downs and 238 total yards.

Florida 48 Oregon 13 (FLA wins 90.1%, avg. score = FLA 36.8 ORE 17.8)

Jesse Palmer completed 20 out of 24 passes for 288 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Florida Gators to a 48-13 drubbing over visiting Oregon. Robert Gillespie added 122 rushing yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, as the Gators rolled to a 27-10 halftime lead, and cruised in the second half. Oregon’s only touchdown of the game came on an 84 yard punt return by Keenan Howry late in the second quarter. Ducks’ quarterback Joey Harrington was kept in check by the Gators’ defense, completing just 22 out of 39 passes for 197 yards and an interception.

Kansas State 20 Nebraska 3 (KSU wins 51.5%, avg. score = NEB 19.9 KSU 19.5)

The Kansas State Wildcats used a suffocating defense to defeat the Nebraska Cornhuskers 20-3, handing the Cornhuskers a rare home loss. This game was a rematch of a 29-28 Kansas State victory in Manhattan back in November. This time the stakes were higher, and the Wildcats were able to dominate the game, holding the Cornhusker offense to just 180 total yards. Josh Scobey spearheaded the Wildcats’ run game with 115 yards on 17 carries. Quarterback Jonathan Beasley rushed for 57 yards on 16 carries, and completed 14 out of 22 passes for 156 yards, without turning the ball over.

Vegas Vic · 07-03-2021, 04:26 PM

2000-2001 QUARTERFINALS
#9 Kansas State (11-3) at #1 Oklahoma (12-0)
#7 Florida (11-2) at #2 Florida State (11-1)
#6 Oregon State (11-1) at #3 Miami (10-1)
#5 Virginia Tech (11-1) at #4 Washington (10-1)

Oklahoma 19 Kansas State 14 (OKLA wins 77.2%, avg. score = OKLA 28.7 KSU 18.3)

Quentin Griffin scored on an 8 yard touchdown run with 1:25 left in the game to lift the Oklahoma Sooners to a 19-14 win over Kansas State and a berth in the national semifinals. This was the third meeting between these two teams this season, with Oklahoma winning 41-31 at KSU back in September, and also defeating the Wildcats 27-24 just two weeks ago in the Big 12 championship game at Arrowhead Stadium. This game marked the first time in the modern era of college football that two teams played each other three times in the same season. A relieved Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops joked “I’m waiting to see if we’re advancing, or if we have to play them again for a fourth time in the parking lot.” Kansas State finished the season with a 11-4 record, with three or their four losses coming against Oklahoma. A stoic Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder lamented “We had our chances again today, but in the end, they made one more play than we did.” As with the prior two games against the Wildcats, nothing came easy for the Sooners today. Their high octane offense was held in check for most of the day. KSU took a 14-13 lead with seven minutes left in the game, and then Oklahoma quarterback Josh Heupel orchestrated a game winning 14 play drive to put the Sooners up 19-14, missing the two point conversion attempt. Kansas State had one last chance until Sooner defensive back J. T. Thatcher intercepted an errant pass from Beasley to secure the win:

Florida State 26 Florida 13 (FSU wins 93.1%, avg. score = FSU 41.6 FLA 17.2)

In yet another quirk of the college football playoffs, Florida State ended up playing arch rival Florida in back to back games at Doak Campbell Stadium, having just defeated the Gators 30-7 in their final regular season game. Today’s game didn’t come quite as easy for the Seminoles, but they never trailed, and Florida wasn’t able cut the lead to less than 10 after FSU took a 20-10 halftime lead. Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke completed 21 out of 30 pass attempts for 348 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Travis Minor led the Seminole ground game, rushing for 88 yards on 21 carries. Marvin “Snoop” Minnis hauled in 5 receptions for 130 yards. The Florida State defense shut down the Gators’ run game, holding them to just 46 yards on 32 carries. Without any viable rushing threat, quarterback Jesse Palmer couldn’t generate a consistent passing game, throwing for 279 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Miami 27 Oregon State 9 (MIA wins 91.1%, avg. score = MIA 39.4 ORST 19.4)

The Miami Hurricanes’ defense ruled the day in a 27-9 win over visiting Oregon State, keeping the Beavers out of the end zone for the entire game. Canes’ Quarterback Ken Dorsey played mistake free football, completing 20 out of 29 pass attempts for 249 yards and two touchdowns. James Jackson led the Miami ground game, with 107 yards on 27 carries. Oregon State was able to move the ball at times, but three drives that stalled inside the 30 resulted in three Ryan Cesca field goals for their only points of the day. OSU running back Ken Simonton had 109 yards on 28 carries, while quarterback Jonathan Smith completed 17 out of 33 passes for 248 yards.

Virginia Tech 26 Washington 24 (VT wins 58.4%, avg. score = VT 24.2 WASH 21.0)

Lee Suggs rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown to help lead the Virginia Tech Hokies to a 26-24 upset win over Washington at Husky Stadium. The score was tied 10-10 at halftime, before Virginia Tech took a 17-10 late in the third quarter on a 1 yard touchdown run by Jarrett Ferguson. Washington tied the game 17-17 with 9:28 left in the fourth quarter on a 2 yard run by quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo. After Carter Warley’s 33 yard field goal put them ahead 20-17, the Hokies were able to get a bit of a cushion when Suggs broke loose on a 32 yard touchdown run. However, they missed the extra point, and the score stood at 26-17 with 2:55 remaining. Washington made a late rally, cutting the score to 26-24 on a furious 5 play, 82 yard drive, culminating in a 5 yard touchdown pass from Tuiasosopo to Todd Elstrom with just 1:38 left in the game. However, the Huskies were not able to recover the ensuing onside kick, and Virginia Tech ran out the clock to secure the victory and advance to the national semifinals.

Vegas Vic · 07-03-2021, 11:33 PM

2000-2001 SEMIFINALS
#1 Oklahoma (13-0) vs #5 Virginia Tech (12-1)
#2 Florida State (12-1) vs #3 Miami (11-1)

Oklahoma 33 Virginia Tech 14 (OKLA wins 63.4%, avg. score = OKLA 26.8 VT 20.3)

Josh Heupel completed 22 out of 31 passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Oklahoma Sooners to a 33-14 win over Virginia Tech, sending the Sooners to the national championship game. Oklahoma took control early, with two long scoring drives in the first quarter to take a 13-0 lead. The Hokies got on the board in the second quarter when Andre’ Kendrick scored on a 4 yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 13-7. A 43 yard Tim Duncan field goal late in the second quarter gave the Sooners a 16-7 lead at halftime. Oklahoma extended the lead in the third quarter on another Duncan field goal and a 9 yard touchdown run from Quentin Griffin to give OU a commanding 26-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Sooners put the game away early in the fourth quarter when Griffin scored on a 9 yard touchdown pass from Heupel, putting Oklahoma up 33-7. Virginia Tech scored late in the game on a 1 yard touchdown run by Lee Suggs to make the final score more respectable.

Florida State 24 Miami 10 (FSU wins 76.2%, avg. score = FSU 35.2 MIA 26.9)

Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke passed for 417 yards, and a tough Florida State defense played well in a 24-10 victory over the Miami Hurricanes, sending the Seminoles to the national championship game. The win also avenged a heartbreaking 27-24 last minute loss to the Hurricanes at Miami’s Orange Bowl back in October. The Hurricanes got on the scoreboard first when Ken Dorsey hit Jeremy Shockey on a 52 yard touchdown pass to put Miami up 7-0. They extended the lead to 10-0 midway through the second quarter on a 26 yard Todd Sievers field goal. Late in the second quarter, Weinke hit Atrews Bell on a one yard touchdown pass to cut the Hurricanes’ lead to 10-7 at halftime. The only score of the third quarter came on a 35 yard Brett Cimorelli field goal to tie the score at 10-10. Miami had a chance to take the lead again, but Sievers’ 46 yard field goal was no good, setting up what would turn out to be the game winning drive for Florida State:

Miami would later turn the ball over on downs, and Florida State tacked on an insurance touchdown with a late 10 yard touchdown run from Travis Minor for the 24-10 final score. For the game, the Seminoles outgained the Hurricanes 532-365 and had 32 first downs to Miami’s 16.

Vegas Vic · 07-04-2021, 12:34 PM

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.

QuikSand · 07-04-2021, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vegas Vic

I wanted to update this for anyone who is following. I've given some thought to this, and I'm going to change the process slightly. Up to this point, I've just been using a one game simulation to determine the winner of each game. While this is obviously more expedient, it yields a significant amount of variance.

What I'm going to do is run 101 simulations of each matchup, with the winner being determined on who wins the majority of those simulations. Then, the actual game of record will be the last game of those simulations that has that particular team winning.

Fun logic here.

We hate the "scourge of the BCS" so we want to find out the true champion on the playing field, the way it's supposed to be.

...a little time passes...

OMG this is way too random, the good teams are too bound to lose in a one-off matchup, we need to fix that "variance."

It's almost like forcing the #1 team in the country (that being earned over a full season) a mere one-and-done matchup with the #8 or #9 team is an insufficient way to reward their full year's worth of credentials. Hmm. A tiny bit less scourge-y perhaps.

Vegas Vic · 07-04-2021, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuikSand

It's almost like forcing the #1 team in the country (that being earned over a full season) a mere one-and-done matchup with the #8 or #9 team is an insufficient way to reward their full year's worth of credentials. Hmm. A tiny bit less scourge-y perhaps.

I gave it a good deal of thought before choosing this methodology to move forward. My goal was to try and determine the most likely team to win a playoff, while smoothing out some of the variance. I agree, it would be kind of boring if this resulted in the higher seeded teams always winning, but I'm finding out this isn't always the case (see 1998-1999 #8 Florida over #1 Tennessee). Or 1999-2000 #12 Marshall over #5 Tennessee with Marshall winning the majority of the simulations. On a single simulation, perhaps Tennessee comes out with the win and all is right with the world. "Of course Tennessee is going to win. There's no way a #12 seed is going to go into Neyland Stadium and beat the Vols!"

Vegas Vic · 07-05-2021, 08:39 PM

2001-2002 PLAYOFFS

1. Miami (11-0) *aq
2. Colorado (10-2) *aq
3. Oregon (10-1) *aq
4. Illinois (10-1) *aq

5. Nebraska (11-1)
6. Florida (9-2)
7. Tennessee (10-2)
8. Texas (10-2)
9. Stanford (9-2)
10. Maryland (10-1) *aq
11. Oklahoma (10-2)
12. LSU (9-3) *aq

2001-2002 FIRST ROUND
#12 LSU (9-3) at #5 Nebraska (11-1)
#11 Oklahoma (10-2) at #6 Florida (9-2)
#10 Maryland (10-1) at #7 Tennessee (10-2)
#9 Stanford (9-2) at #8 Texas (10-2)

Nebraska 52 LSU 31 (NEB wins 54.5%, avg. score = NEB 26.1 LSU 22.7)

Dahrran Diedrick rushed for 267 yards and 4 touchdowns on 27 carries to lead the Nebraska Cornhuskers to a convincing first round victory over visiting LSU. The Huskers rushed for 514 yards on the day. The first half was tight, with LSU leading 21-20 at halftime. The second half featured big play after big play for Nebraska, with long touchdown runs from Diedrick, Thunder Collins and Judd Davies putting the game away. LSU played well offensively, but could not match scores with the Nebraska offense in the second half. LaBrandon Toefield led the Tiger rushing game, with 173 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. LSU quarterback Rohan Davey passed for 302 yards in a losing effort.

Florida 29 Oklahoma 14 (FLA wins 97.0%, avg. score = FLA 40.7 OKLA 13.4)

Florida’s defense took center stage, holding the usually potent Oklahoma Sooners to just 203 total yards, as the Gators advanced to the playoff quarterfinals. The Gators’ offense rolled up 499 total yards and 30 first downs to OU’s 13. The only thing that kept the score reasonably close was four turnovers by Florida, but Oklahoma was not able to capitalize, and their season came to an end. Florida quarterback Rex Grossman passed for 352 yards and two touchdowns, running back Earnest Graham rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, and Jabar Gaffney hauled in 7 receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown.

Tennessee 34 Maryland 24 (TENN wins 66.3%, avg. score = TENN 26.7 UMD 19.1)

Casey Clausen passed for 389 yards and four touchdowns to lead Tennessee to a 34-24 first round victory over ACC champion Maryland. Tennessee never trailed in the game, taking a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter on a 5 yard touchdown pass from Clausen to Donte Stallworth. Tennessee extended the lead to 21-10 when Clausen connected with Bobby Graham on a 46 yard touchdown pass on the final play of the first half. Maryland managed to keep the game close in the second half, mainly due to a fine effort from running back Bruce Perry, who rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. With Tennessee ahead 31-24, Alex Walls booted a 27 yard field goal with 2:40 left in the game to cement the win for the Volunteers.

Texas 38 Stanford 24 (TEX wins 86.1%, avg. score = TEX 33.7 STAN 15.8)

Cedric Benson rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns, as the Texas Longhorns defeated the visiting Stanford Cardinal to advance to the playoff quarterfinals. Longhorn quarterback Chris Simms passed for 267 yards and two touchdowns. Texas led 17-7 at halftime, and took command of the game on the opening drive of the second half, capping off a 9 play 57 yard drive with a one yard Benson run to take a 24-7 lead. Stanford was never able to cut the lead below 14 after that. Stanford running back Brian Allen had a good outing, rushing for 150 yards on 19 carries.

Vegas Vic · 07-05-2021, 11:29 PM

2001-2002 QUARTERFINALS
#8 Texas (11-2) at #1 Miami (11-0)
#7 Tennessee (11-2) at #2 Colorado (10-2)
#6 Florida (10-2) at #3 Oregon (10-1)
#5 Nebraska (12-1) at #4 Illinois (10-1)

Miami 24 Texas 19 (MIA wins 84.2%, avg. score = MIA 34.2 TEX 20.1)

An inspired effort from Texas running back Cedric Benson wasn’t enough today, as the Miami Hurricanes held off an upset bid from the pesky Longhorns in a narrow 24-19 victory. Benson rushed for 229 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Miami scored the only touchdown of the first half to take a 7-3 lead late in the second quarter when Ethenic Sands caught a 16 yard touchdown pass from Ken Dorsey. The Hurricanes came out in the third quarter and appeared to be in control of the game after 17 unanswered points, including two short rushing touchdowns from Clinton Portis, to take a 24-3 lead. Benson’s 45 yard touchdown run late in the third quarter cut the Hurricane lead to 24-12. The game tightened up in the fourth quarter when Benson scored on a 6 yard run to trim the lead down to 24-19. Miami was unable to move the ball on their next possession, and then the Hurricane defense rose up and made a valiant goal line stand late in the fourth quarter to preserve the victory:

Colorado 23 Tennessee 17 (COLO wins 66.3%, avg. score = COLO 30.1 TENN 23.3)

Bobby Purify rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown to help the Colorado Buffaloes secure a close win against the visiting Tennessee Volunteers and advance to the national semifinals next week. The Buffaloes led 10-7 at halftime, and then scored on the opening drive of the second half on a 66 yard Purify touchdown run to go up 17-7. Later in the quarter, Chris Brown scored from four yards out to put the Buffaloes up 23-7. Tennessee finally got back on the board with a 42 yard Alex Walls field goal to cut the lead to 23-10. Midway through the fourth quarter, Colorado was driving and appeared to be on the verge of putting the game away until Tennessee defensive back Alex Walls intercepted an errant pass from CU quarterback Bobby Pesavento, returning it for a 72 yard touchdown to cut the lead to 23-17. However, the Volunteers were never able to mount another scoring threat, and Colorado held on for the win.

Florida 33 Oregon 24 (FLA wins 71.3%, avg. score = FLA 38.9 ORE 31.1)

Rex Grossman passed for 316 yards and a touchdown, and Florida kicker Jeff Chandler was a perfect 4 for 4 on field goal attempts, as the visiting Gators pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 33-24 win at Autzen Stadium. Florida took a 17-7 lead late in the second quarter on a 39 yard Chandler field goal. The Ducks answered with an impressive 8 play 65 yard drive, cutting the lead to 17-14 on an 11 yard touchdown pass from Joey Harrington to Onterrio Smith with 1:14 left in the half. On the ensuing possession, Grossman threw an interception that was returned by Steve Smith to the Florida 17 yard line. Jared Siegel then booted a 28 yard field goal to tie the game 17-17 at halftime. Oregon took a 24-17 lead on a 13 yard touchdown pass from Harrington to Samie Parker with 7:32 left in the third quarter, but that would turn out to be the last score of the game for the Ducks. Florida dominated the remainder of the game, scoring the final 16 points to advance to the semifinals.

Illinois 30 Nebraska 6 (ILL wins 52.5%, avg. score = NEB 25.5 ILL 25.4)

Kurt Kittner passed for 423 yards and three touchdowns, and a suffocating Fighting Illini defense kept Nebraska out of the end zone, as the Fighting Illini rolled to surprisingly easy 30-6 home victory over the Cornhuskers. Nebraska did have some success on the ground, with Dahrran Diedrick rushing for 138 yards on 28 carries. Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch also rushed for 81 yards, but when Nebraska started to fall behind, he proved to be totally ineffective in the passing game, completing just 3 passes for 20 yards and throwing two costly interceptions. Nebraska’s only points of the game came on two Josh Brown field goals.

Vegas Vic · 07-06-2021, 04:35 PM

2001-2002 SEMIFINALS
#1 Miami (12-0) vs #4 Illinois (11-1)
#2 Colorado (11-2) vs #6 Florida (11-2)

Miami 44 Illinois 19 (MIA wins 90.1%, avg. score = MIA 41.0 ILL 18.0)

Ken Dorsey completed 20 out of 30 passes for 391 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Miami Hurricanes to a 44-19 rout over Illinois, and a berth in the national championship game. Illinois scored first on a 35 yard field goal by Peter Christofilakos, but it would be their only lead of the game. Miami started to pull away late in the first quarter after Dorsey hit Jeremy Shockey on a 66 yard touchdown pass to put the Canes up 14-3. After that, Miami methodically extended the lead throughout the second half and was never challenged. Illinois quarterback Kurt Kittner passed for 339 yards and a touchdown, but much of his yardage came after his team was well behind. He also threw three interceptions, two of which were picked off by Tanard Davis, resulting in subsequent Hurricane scores. Miami did not turn the ball over during the game.

Florida 44 Colorado 21 (FLA wins 97.0%, avg. score = FLA 44.0 COL 19.9

Rex Grossman passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns as the Florida Gators whipped the Colorado Buffaloes and earned a spot in the national championship game. The Gators stormed out of the gate to take a 24-9 halftime lead and never looked back. Colorado briefly cut the lead to 16 early in the fourth quarter on a 73 yard touchdown pass from Bobby Pesavento to D. J. Hackett, but Florida dominated the rest of way to go up 44-15. Colorado scored a touchdown with less than a minute left in the game to make the final score a bit more respectable at 44-21, but this day belonged to the Gators. Florida defensive back Lito Sheppard had three big interceptions on the day to spearhead the Gators’ defense.

Vegas Vic · 07-06-2021, 10:22 PM

2001-2002 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
#1 Miami (13-0) vs #6 Florida (12-2)

Florida 41 Miami 33 (FLA wins 58.4%, avg. score = FLA 34.9 MIA 33.3)

In a high octane affair that lived up to its billing, the Florida Gators defeated the Miami Hurricanes 41-33 to take home the national championship. This was the first time these former rivals had met since 1987, when their annual series came to an end. On this particular night, “The Ol Ball Coach” Steve Spurrier and the Gators prevailed in an upset win. Florida quarterback Rex Grossman passed for 418 yards and five touchdowns, while his counterpart Ken Dorsey passed for 434 yards and two touchdowns. The Gators jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead on two Grossman touchdown passes, before Miami answered with a touchdown pass from Dorsey to Ethenic Sands to cut the lead to 14-7. The second quarter was where most of the fireworks occurred, with the teams trading blows like two heavyweight fighters. The score was deadlocked 24-24 at halftime. Florida took command of the game in the second half, scoring 17 unanswered points on two more Grossman touchdown passes and a Jeff Chandler field goal to go up 41-24 midway through the fourth quarter. The Hurricanes answered on a 23 yard touchdown pass from Brock Berlin to Kellen Winslow II to cut the lead to 41-31, then cut the lead to 8 after John Square sacked Grossman in the end zone for a safety. Miami would have two more scoring opportunities late in the game, but came up empty:

Comparison of the Actual 2002 BCS Championship to the Simulated 12-team playoff

In the actual 2002 BCS Championship game, Miami easily defeated Nebraska 37-14. This was another very controversial year for the BCS with the selection of Nebraska. Not only were the Cornhuskers blown out by Colorado 62-36 in their final game of the season, they didn’t even qualify for the Big Twelve championship game. There were many fans and coaches around the country who thought Pac 10 champion Oregon or Big Twelve champion Colorado should have gotten the second slot.

Our 12-team playoff enabled the chaos to be sorted out. Since Nebraska didn’t win their conference championship, they were the #5 seed, instead of getting a first round bye as the #2 seed. This ended up costing them, as Big Ten champion Illinois eliminated Nebraska at home in the quarterfinals, winning 52.5% of the simulations. The #2 seed, Oregon, was defeated at home by #6 Florida in the quarterfinals, with the Gators winning an impressive 71.3% of the simulations. Florida also eliminated #3 Colorado in the semifinals, winning an astounding 97.0% of the simulations. This takes us to the national championship game, with the Gators winning 58.4% of the simulations against Miami. With the win, Florida becomes the first team to win our playoff simulation dynasty that was not one of the actual BCS championship participants.

Here’s an interesting sidebar that relates to the outcome of our playoff simulation. Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch won the Heisman Trophy that season, with Florida’s Rex Grossman finishing a very close second. Many felt that Grossman deserved the Heisman, and there’s a modicum of vindication for Grossman leading his team to the National Championship in our playoff simulation, while Crouch and the Cornhuskers were bounced in the quarterfinals.

Finally, how feasible would it have been for the Gators to win a 12-team playoff that year? I don’t think it’s much of a stretch at all. They were the preseason #1, and lost two games by a combined 5 points. They demolished ACC champion Maryland in the Orange Bowl and finished ranked #3 in both the AP and Coaches’ poll.

Vegas Vic · 07-07-2021, 10:15 PM

2002-2003 PLAYOFFS

1. Miami (12-0) *aq
2. Ohio State (13-0) *aq
3. Georgia (12-1) *aq
4. Washington State (10-2) *aq

5. USC (10-2)
6. Iowa (11-1)
7. Oklahoma (11-2) *aq
8. Kansas State (10-2)
9. Notre Dame (10-2)
10. Texas (10-2)
11. Michigan (9-3)
12. Florida State (9-4) *aq

2002-2003 FIRST ROUND
#12 Florida State (9-4) at #5 USC (10-2)
#11 Michigan (9-3) at #6 Iowa (11-1)
#10 Texas (10-2) at #7 Oklahoma (11-2)
#9 Notre Dame (10-2) at #8 Kansas State (10-2)

USC 26 Florida State 21 (USC wins 86.1%, avg. score = USC 35.1 FSU 18.3)

Carson Palmer hit Alex Holmes on a game winning 18 yard touchdown pass with 3:06 remaining in the fourth quarter to complete a second half comeback against Florida State, and send USC to the playoff quarterfinals next week. The underdog Seminoles controlled the game for much of the first half, taking a 7-0 lead on a 47 yard touchdown pass from Chris Rix to Anquan Bolden midway through the first quarter. Two long second quarter rushing touchdowns from Greg Jones gave FSU a 21-10 halftime lead. After USC pulled ahead 26-21 late in the fourth quarter, Florida State had one last chance, and they drove the ball to the USC 15 before turning the ball over on downs with just 8 seconds left in the game:

Iowa 52 Michigan 13 (IOWA wins 88.1%, avg. score = IOWA 31.7 MICH 15.1)

Fred Russell rushed for 288 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Iowa Hawkeyes to a 52-13 blowout over the Michigan Wolverines. The game was a rematch of a 34-9 Iowa rout over Michigan in Ann Arbor back in October. Michigan was able to keep it close in the first half, with Iowa leading 21-13 at halftime. Iowa scored 31 unanswered points in the second half, aided by three Michigan turnovers. The Hawkeyes did not turn the ball over during the contest, and they capitalized on the Michigan mistakes to run up the large margin of victory. Hawkeye quarterback Brad Banks was an efficient game manager, passing for 188 yards and two touchdowns.

Oklahoma 31 Texas 26 (OKLA wins 72.3%, avg. score = OKLA 28.0 TEX 19.7)

The last time the Texas Longhorns came to Norman, Oklahoma they defeated the Sooners 32-7 on November 18, 1922. The Sooners waited 80 years to get their payback at home, and it came today with a hard fought 31-26 win. Since 1929, the two schools have played their annual “Red River Shootout” at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, with the Sooners also prevailing 35-24 is this season’s version. Today, it was OU running back Quentin Griffin who led the way for the Sooners. Griffin rushed for 213 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. The Sooners led 17-13 at halftime, but Texas came out on their opening possession of the second half and took a 20-17 lead on a 4 yard touchdown run by quarterback Chris Simms. Oklahoma regained the lead 24-20 on a 14 yard Griffin touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter. On the ensuing drive, Oklahoma safety Brandon Everage intercepted an errant Simms’ pass and returned it to the Texas 22 yard line. Five plays later, the Sooners took a 31-20 lead on a 2 yard touchdown pass from Nate Hybl to Trent Smith. Texas scored with just 7 seconds left in the game on a 5 yard touchdown pass from Simms to Sloan Thomas, but the Longhorns failed to convert the two-point conversion attempt. OU recovered the ensuing onside kick to secure the victory.

Kansas State 33 Notre Dame 3 (KSU wins 94.1%, avg. score = KSU 26.7 ND 7.5)

Darren Sproles rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries to lead the Kansas State Wildcats to an easy victory over visiting Notre Dame in the first round of the playoffs. The Notre Dame offense was essentially shut down by an inspired Kansas State defense, gaining only 160 total yards and 7 first downs. The only points of the game for the Fighting Irish came on a 25 yard field goal from Nicholas Setta at the end of the first half to cut the KSU lead to 17-3. Wildcats’ defensive back Terence Newman made life miserable for Notre Dame quarterback Pat Dillingham, picking him off three times. The Kansas State defense and rushing game were so dominant that quarterback Ell Roberson only attempted 5 passes, completing two, including a 32 yard touchdown pass to James Terry.

Vegas Vic · 07-08-2021, 12:03 PM

2002-2003 QUARTERFINALS
#8 Kansas State (11-2) at #1 Miami (12-0)
#7 Oklahoma (12-2) at #2 Ohio State (13-0)
#6 Iowa (12-1) at #3 Georgia (12-1)
#5 USC (11-2) at #4 Washington State (10-2)

Miami 31 Kansas State 17 (MIA wins 79.2%, avg. score = MIA 32.7 KSU 19.6)

Ken Dorsey passed for 306 yards and two touchdowns, and Willis McGahee rushed for 109 yards to lead the top ranked Miami Hurricanes to a victory over Kansas State and a berth in the semifinals. The Wildcats managed to keep the score close throughout much of the game. Trailing 17-3 midway through the third quarter, Daniel Davis scored on a 34 yard touchdown run to cut Miami’s lead to 17-10. From that point on, Miami started to pull away. Dorsey connected with Ethenic Sands on a 62 yard touchdown pass to put the Canes up 24-10. After a subsequent three-and-out by Kansas State, the Hurricanes took a commanding 31-10 lead on a 21 yard touchdown run by Jason Geathers. Kansas State scored late in the game on an 8 yard touchdown run by Ell Roberson to make the final score more respectable at 31-17.

Ohio State 26 Oklahoma 23 (OSU wins 54.5%, avg. score = OKLA 23.1 OSU 22.2)

Mike Nugent kicked a 27 yard field goal with 1:55 left in the game to lift the Ohio State Buckeyes to a 26-23 win over the Oklahoma Sooners. The game was close throughout with six lead changes. Oklahoma’s final lead of the game came early in the fourth quarter on a 68 yard interception return for a touchdown by Antonio Perkins, putting the Sooners up 23-20. Nugent tied the score 23-23 on a 48 yard field goal with 10:04 left in the game. After Nugent put the Buckeyes up 26-23 late in the game, the Sooners had one final opportunity, but they turned the ball over on downs on the Ohio State 46 yard line while trying to drive into field goal range. Maurice Clarett led the Buckeye rushing attack with 116 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Sooner running back Quentin Griffin rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. The Ohio State defense did a good job limiting the Oklahoma passing game. Nate Hybl completed just 17 out of 40 passes for 201 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel threw for 279 yards, with one touchdown and an interception.

Georgia 37 Iowa 13 (UGA wins 67.3%, avg. score = UGA 27.6 IOWA 21.8)

David Greene completed 23 out of 35 pass attempts for 287 yards and two touchdowns to lead SEC champion Georgia to a convincing 37-13 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes. Bulldog running back Musa Smith chipped in with 130 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. The game was close at halftime, with Georgia holding a 14-13 lead. However, the UGA defense shut out the Hawkeyes in the second half. The Bulldogs seized control of the game in the third quarter, scoring 16 unanswered points on three Billy Bennett field goals and a 19 yard touchdown run by Smith. Tony Milton scored on a 15 yard run late in the fourth quarter to add the exclamation point for UGA. Iowa quarterback Brad Banks had a tough outing, throwing four interceptions and no touchdown passes.

USC 23 Washington State 13 (USC wins 57.4%, avg. score =USC 28.2 WSU 26.2)

In quarterfinal playoff action, visiting USC defeated Washington State 23-13 to avenge an earlier overtime loss on this same field back in October. Leading the way for the Trojans was running back Sulton McCullough, who rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer played an efficient game, passing for 239 yards without an interception. His counterpart, WSU quarterback Jason Gesser, passed for 292 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Washington State never led in the game, and the game wasn't as competitive as the final score indicated. USC held the Cougars to just 6 points on two Drew Dunning field goals until late in the game when Gesser hit Mike Bush on a 3 yard touchdown pass for the 23-13 final score.

Vegas Vic · 07-08-2021, 02:47 PM

2002-2003 SEMIFINALS
#1 Miami (13-0) vs #5 USC (12-2)
#2 Ohio State (14-0) vs #3 Georgia (13-1)

Miami 45 USC 20 (MIA wins 62.4%, avg. score = MIA 31.7 USC 28.4)

Behind a strong performance from their special teams, the Miami Hurricanes defeated the USC Trojans 45-20 to advance to the national championship game. Roscoe Parrish had two long punt return touchdowns, and field position played a key role for Miami throughout the contest, as they were actually outgained by the Trojans in total yardage. Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer played a valiant game in defeat, passing for 283 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions. All four of the non-special teams touchdowns for Miami came on the ground, with two from Jason Geathers and one each from Willis McGahee and Jarrett Payton.

Georgia 30 Ohio State 27 (UGA wins 66.3%, avg. score = UGA 26.7 OSU 20.9)

Billy Bennett kicked a 57 yard field goal as time expired to lift the Georgia Bulldogs to a 30-27 upset of previously undefeated Ohio State, sending the Bulldogs to the national championship game. With Ohio State holding a narrow 21-20 lead, the teams traded scores on the final four possessions of the game:

Musa Smith led the Georgia ground game, with 120 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. David Greene added 302 passing yards, with a touchdown and interception. Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett played well in defeat, rushing for 173 yards on 24 carries. Quarterback Craig Krenzel had a rough outing, completing just 12 out of 26 passes for 319 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. The Bulldogs won the turnover battle 4 to 1.

Vegas Vic · 07-08-2021, 09:21 PM

2002-2003 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
#1 Miami (14-0) vs #3 Georgia (14-1)

Miami 34 Georgia 22 (MIA wins 60.4%, avg. score = MIA 30.0 UGA 25.6)

Behind a strong rushing performance from Willis McGahee, the Miami Hurricanes rallied from a 19-10 halftime deficit to defeat the Georgia Bulldogs 34-22 in the national championship game. McGahee rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. His 32 yard touchdown run late in the third quarter put the Hurricanes ahead for good, 24-19. He scored again on a 2 yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to give Miami a little breathing room with a 31-19 lead. Georgia quarterback David Greene had a fine game, completing 24 out of 32 passes for 238 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Hurricane quarterback Ken Dorsey also had a fine outing, completing 23 out of 33 passes for 370 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Even though the season ended with a loss for Coach Mark Richt and the Bulldogs, it could not diminish their great run in winning the SEC championship and making it to the national title game. Georgia finished the season at 14-2, while Larry Coker’s Miami Hurricanes finished with a perfect 15-0 record.

Comparison of the Actual 2003 BCS Championship to the Simulated 12-team playoff

Miami and Ohio State were the only two undefeated teams in Division I, so there was no controversy with their selection to play in the BCS Championship game. The controversy came after Miami appeared to have won the game 24-17 in overtime, when on 4th down and 3, Craig Krenzel’s pass attempt bounced off of the hands of intended receiver Chris Gamble in the end zone and was ruled incomplete by the line judge. The Miami fans and team, believing the game was over, began to rush the field. However, the field judge had thrown a very late flag for pass interference in the end zone. The replay showed that Miami defensive back Glenn Sharpe had great coverage on Gamble, and there did not appear to be any interference. ABC color commentator Dan Fouts summed it up succinctly, “Bad call! BAD CALL!” The ball was placed first and goal on the one yard line, and Ohio State tied the game 24-24 on a Krenzel quarterback sneak and subsequent extra point to send it to double overtime, where the Buckeyes won it 31-24. To this day, Miami fans and many neutral fans think the Hurricanes were robbed of a national championship by the officials.

In our 12-team playoff, Miami defeated Georgia to win the national championship, winning 60.4% of the simulations. Ohio State was eliminated by Georgia in the semifinals, with the Bulldogs winning an impressive 66.3% of the simulations.

That 2002 Georgia team was very good, finishing the season with a 13-1 record, including a 30-3 blowout win over Arkansas in the SEC Championship game and subsequent win over Florida State in the Orange Bowl. They finished the season ranked #3 in both polls. Their lone loss of the season came against Florida, 20-13, in early November. If not for that one slipup, the Bulldogs would have certainly been in the mix for one of the two BCS slots.

07-01-2021, 12:15 PM	#13
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	1999-2000 PLAYOFFS 1. Florida State (11-0) aq 2. Virginia Tech (11-0) aq 3. Nebraska (11-1) aq 4. Alabama (10-2) aq 5. Tennessee (9-2) 6. Kansas State (9-2) 7. Wisconsin (9-2) aq 8. Michigan (9-2) 9. Michigan State (9-2) 10. Florida (9-3) 11. Penn State (9-3) 12. Marshall (12-0) aq 1999-2000 FIRST ROUND #12 Marshall (12-0) at #5 Tennessee (9-2) #11 Penn State (9-3) at #6 Kansas State (9-2) #10 Florida (9-3) at #7 Wisconsin (9-2) #9 Michigan State (9-2) at #8 Michigan (9-2) Marshall 24 Tennessee 21 (MRSH wins 58.4%, avg. score = MRSH 27.1 TENN 24.3) MAC champion Marshall defeated Tennessee 24-21 in a stunning upset at Neyland Stadium to move to 13-0 on the season and a berth in the playoff quarterfinals next week. The Volunteers lost their opening playoff game at home for the second year in a row, leaving head coach Phil Fulmer trying to make sense out of what he witnessed. Fulmer was adamant that his team was not overconfident coming into the game. “We watched a lot of film on them, and we knew they were very good.” Marshall didn’t seem to be intimidated at all on the big stage, having played in a similar environment back in September in a 13-10 upset win at Clemson’s “Death Valley”. Neither offense did much in the first quarter, with the only points coming on a 22 yard field goal by Tennessee kicker Alex Walls late in the quarter to put the Vols up 3-0. Marshall started to assert itself in the second quarter, going on a 10 play, 79 yard drive capped off with an 11 yard touchdown pass from Chad Pennington to James Williams to put the Thundering Herd up 7-3 early in the quarter. After a three-and-out by Tennessee, Turner broke loose on a 40 yard touchdown run extend the lead to 14-3. It was three-and-out again for Tennessee, and Marshall took a 17-3 lead on a 37 yard Billy Malashevich field goal. Late in the second quarter, Tennessee cut the lead to 17-10 on a 4 yard touchdown run by Travis Henry, capping off a 7 play, 71 yard drive. That would be the last score of the first half. On the opening drive of the second half, Marshall drove the ball down to the Tennessee 10 yard line, but the drive stalled and Malashevich booted a 27 yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-10 for the only points of the quarter. The teams then traded field goals, with Marshall leading 23-13 with 6:15 left in the game. Tennessee answered with an impressive 9 play, 73 yard drive, culminating on a 5 yard touchdown pass from Tee Martin to Travis Henry, cutting the lead to 23-20. The Volunteers got the ball back on their own 25 yard line with 1:46 left in the game, but on third and one, Martin was sacked for a 7 yard loss by Alonzo Jones, and flushed out of the pocket on fourth down for a just 2 yard gain, turning the ball over on downs with 1:08 left in the game. The Gatorade bath ensued for head coach Bob Pruett as the Thundering Herd lined up in victory formation. The Marshall defense was the big story of the day, holding the tandem of Jamal Lewis and Travis Henry to just 77 yards on 27 carries. Kansas State 30 Penn State 22 (KSU wins 71.3%, avg. score = KSU 26.0 PSU 17.9) In a game where Kansas State’s defense bent but didn’t break, the Wildcats came away with a 30-22 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions to move on to the playoff quarterfinals. Penn State outgained KSU 452 to 421, but time after time their drives stalled, with 15 of their 22 points coming via five Travis Forney field goals. Kansas State scored on the final play of the first quarter on a 28 yard touchdown pass from Jonathan Beasley to Shad Meir to take a 7-3 lead. Early in the second quarter, Penn State scored their only touchdown of the game on a 47 yard run by Eric McCoo to take a 10-7 lead. Kansas State led 17-13 at halftime. Much of the second half turned into a battle of field position and field goals, with Penn State taking a 19-17 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 34 yard Forney field goal. On the ensuing drive, Beasley connected with Williams on a 65 yard pass down to the 9 yard line, and Murphy ran it in on the next play for a touchdown, putting the Wildcats back up 24-19. Later in the quarter, another Penn State drive stalled deep in Wildcat territory, and Forney booted a 28 yard field goal to cut the lead to 24-22 with 4:10 left in the game. The fortunes then swung back and forth for both teams on this wild sequence of plays: Down by 8, Penn State had one more chance, but their final drive was stopped in their own territory, and Kansas State ran out the clock for the victory. Wisconsin 17 Florida 12 (WIS wins 53.5%, avg. score = WIS 26.2 FLA 24.7) In a rematch of a heartbreaking overtime playoff loss at Florida last season, the Wisconsin Badgers turned the tables on the Florida Gators at Camp Randall Stadium today. The normally potent Gator offense was limited to just four field goals on the day. The Gators led in almost every statistical category except the final score, and that’s the only one that counts. Three costly interceptions from Florida quarterback Doug Johnson also played a key role in the outcome. Florida led 6-3 at halftime. Wisconsin running back Eddie Faulkner scored the only two touchdowns of the game on runs of 23 and 14 yards, the second of which put the Badgers up 17-9 late in the third quarter. Faulkner ended up with 74 yards on 9 carries, and his teammate Ron Dayne led all rushers with 138 yards on 30 attempts. Florida cut the lead to 17-12 midway through the fourth quarter on a 35 yard Jeff Chandler field goal, but neither team scored again after that. Florida was driving with a chance to win late in the game, but Johnson threw his third interception of the game, sealing the victory for the Badgers: Michigan 31 Michigan State 28 (MICH wins 74.3%, avg. score = MICH 28.8 MSU 21.6) Jeff Del Verne kicked a 40 yard field goal as time expired to lift the Michigan Wolverines to a 31-28 win over instate rival Michigan State, avenging a 34-31 loss earlier this year to Nick Saban’s squad at Spartan Stadium. With the win, the Wolverines advance to the playoff quarterfinals next week. The fourth quarter had plenty of drama, with the Spartans clinging to a 21-13 lead entering the quarter. The Wolverines tied the score 21-21 on a 2 yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to DiAllo Johnson, and a 2-point conversion pass from Brady to Anthony Thomas. The Spartans stormed back on a 7 play, 69 yard drive, capped off with a 19 yard touchdown run from Shawn Foster to take a 28-21 lead with 10:30 left in the game. Here are the final three possessions of the dramatic finish, beginning with the drive of the game, a 14 play 84 yard drive by the Wolverines to tie the score at 28-28: 1999-2000 QUARTERFINALS #8 Michigan(10-2) at #1 Florida State (11-0) #7 Wisconsin (10-2) at #2 Virginia Tech (11-0) #6 Kansas State (10-2) at #3 Nebraska (11-1) #12 Marshall (13-0) at #4 Alabama (10-2) Last edited by Vegas Vic : 07-03-2021 at 12:04 PM.

07-01-2021, 11:05 PM	#14
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	1999-2000 QUARTERFINALS #8 Michigan(10-2) at #1 Florida State (11-0) #7 Wisconsin (10-2) at #2 Virginia Tech (11-0) #6 Kansas State (10-2) at #3 Nebraska (11-1) #12 Marshall (13-0) at #4 Alabama (10-2) Florida State 30 Michigan 23 (FSU wins 82.2%, avg. score = FSU 33.0 MICH 19.5) Chris Weinke passed for 331 yards and two touchdowns as the top ranked and undefeated Florida State Seminoles moved to 12-0 with a 30-23 victory over the Michigan Wolverines to advance to the playoff semifinals. His counterpart, Michigan quarterback Tom Brady, played valiantly in defeat, completing 25 out of 37 passes for 303 yards and one touchdown. Although Michigan kept the game close most of the way, their only lead came on Jeff DelVerne’s 45 yard field goal with 4:42 left in the first quarter. Florida State responded with a 9 play, 71 yard drive, capped off with an 8 yard touchdown pass from Weinke to Ron Duggans to put the Seminoles up 7-3 at the end of the first quarter. The teams ended the first half with Florida State leading 17-13. The Noles tacked on a 47 yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal and a 6 yard rushing touchdown from Jeff Chaney to go up 27-13 before Michigan responded with another DelVerne field goal to cut the lead to 27-16 at the end of the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, another Janikowski field goal put FSU ahead 30-16. Michigan got back into the game when Larry Foote intercepted an errant Weinke pass and returned it to the FSU 35 yard line. It took an excruciating 10 plays, including a fourth down and 15 conversion for the Wolverines to score, but they finally did when Brady hit Dave Terrell on a 3 yard touchdown pass to cut the FSU lead to 30-23 with 4:52 left in the game. Michigan would have one last gasp after a Janikowksi 40 yard field goal attempt was no good, keeping the score at 30-23. Michigan took over on their 23 yard line with just 1:34 left in the game, but they turned the ball over on downs and Florida State ran out the clock to secure the victory. Virginia Tech 30 Wisconsin 12 (VT wins 79.2%, avg. score = VT 27.6 WIS 16.1) Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick completed 11 out of 13 passes for 253 yards, one touchdown and one interception, as the Hokies took a 26-0 halftime lead and never looked back in a convincing win over Big Ten champion Wisconsin. Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne rushed for 166 yards on 27 carries, but the Hokies’ defense kept him out of the end zone. The Badgers’ only touchdown came on the final play of the game on a 58 yard touchdown pass from Brooks Bollinger to Eddie Faulkner. To Wisconsin’s credit, they did hold Vick to just 36 rushing yards, but Vick made several big key plays with his arm, most notably a 61 yard touchdown pass to Browning Wynn on the final play of the first half. Shyrone Stith spearheaded the Virginia Tech ground game, rushing for 96 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. Hokies’ kicker Shayne Graham made all three of his field goal attempts to lead the always solid Virginia Tech special teams. Nebraska 34 Kansas State 7 (NEB wins 64.4%, avg. score = NEB 21.9 KSU 16.8) Dan Alexander rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, as the Big 12 Champion Nebraska Cornhuskers made short work of Kansas State to advance to the national semifinals next week. This was a rematch of a 41-16 Nebraska blowout on this same field back in November. The Husker ground attack rushed for 324 yards and controlled the game throughout. Kansas State was never able to establish their normally reliable ground game, rushing for just 97 yards on 48 carries. Once they fell way behind, quarterback Jonathan Beasley was out of his element, passing for just 169 yards and one interception on the day. Alabama 27 Marshall 10 (BAMA wins 54.5%, avg. score = BAMA 26.8 MRSH 24.8) Alabama running back Shaun Alexander rushed for 145 yards and Andrew Zow threw 3 touchdown passes to lead the Alabama Crimson Tide to a 27-10 victory over the Marshall Thundering Herd to advance to the national semifinals. Although the season came to an end for the MAC champions, they earned the respect of the Alabama players and head coach Mike DuBose, finishing the season with a 13-1 record. Marshall kept the game close throughout most of the contest, tying the score at 10-10 on a 19 yard touchdown pass from Chad Pennington to Gregg Kellett midway through the second quarter. Alabama responded with a 10 yard touchdown pass from Zow to Tim Bowens to take a 17-10 halftime lead. The third quarter was a defensive struggle, with the only points coming on a 43 yard Ryan Pflugner field goal to extend the Alabama lead to 20-10. The outcome was still in question, but the Crimson Tide cemented it with a 13 play, 72 yard drive late in the fourth quarter that burned up 6:00, capped off with a 4 yard touchdown pass from Zow to Alexander. 1999-2000 SEMIFINALS #1 Florida State (12-0) vs #4 Alabama (11-2) #2 Virginia Tech(12-0) vs #3 Nebraska (12-1) Last edited by Vegas Vic : 07-02-2021 at 02:38 AM.

07-02-2021, 02:35 AM	#16
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	1999-2000 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP #1 Florida State (13-0) vs #2 Virginia Tech (13-0) Florida State 28 Virginia Tech 24 (FSU wins 50.5%, avg. score = VT 25.0 FSU 24.1) Chris Weinke hit Peter Warrick on a 6 yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds left in the game to rally Florida State to a 28-24 victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies in the national championship game, capping off a perfect 14-0 season. Florida State has now won both of the national championship games under the new 12-team playoff format, having defeated Florida last season. FSU running back Travis Minor was named the game’s MVP after rushing for 209 yards on 17 carries, including a 60 yard burst on the Seminoles’ winning drive that set up the go ahead touchdown. Quarterback Chris Weinke had 269 passing yards and two touchdowns. Virginia Tech, the Big East champions, finished the season with a 13-1 record. Running back Shyrone Stith had a fine performance in a losing effort, rushing for 165 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. The game was not decided until late in the fourth quarter, and here’s how the final four minutes played out: Comparison of the Actual 2000 BCS Championship to the Simulated 12-team playoff The actual 2000 BCS Championship game was played between the #1 Florida State Seminoles and the #2 Virginia Tech Hokies, with Florida State winning 46-29. Virginia Tech was leading the game 29-28 at the end of the third quarter, but Florida State dominated the fourth quarter and pulled away for the win. There was no controversy with the selection of Florida State and Virginia Tech because they were the only two undefeated teams from the six major conferences. MAC champion Marshall was also undefeated and finished #12 in the final BCS rankings. As for our 12-team playoff simulation, Florida State and Virginia Tech also made it to the championship game, with the Seminoles winning a razor thin 50.5% of the simulations. As for Marshall, they acquitted themselves well in our playoff, winning an impressive 58.4% of the simulations against Tennessee in the first round. That seems a bit generous to me, but Marshall had an excellent team, even though the majority of their statistics were generated against MAC competition. They did go on the road in the season opener and beat Clemson 10-7. The Tigers were not the juggernaut they are now, but they had a pretty good team and went to a bowl game that year. So, I don’t think it’s a long shot that Marshall could have beaten Tennessee in a first round playoff game. Last edited by Vegas Vic : 07-03-2021 at 01:48 AM.

07-03-2021, 01:47 AM	#18
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	2000-2001 PLAYOFFS 1. Oklahoma (12-0) aq 2. Florida State (11-1) aq 3. Miami (10-1) aq 4. Washington (10-1) aq 5. Virginia Tech (10-1) 6. Oregon State (10-1) 7. Florida (10-2) aq 8. Nebraska (9-2) 9. Kansas State (10-3) 10. Oregon (9-2) 11. Notre Dame (9-2) 12. TCU (10-1) aq 2000-2001 FIRST ROUND #12 TCU (10-1) at #5 Virginia Tech (10-1) #11 Notre Dame (9-2) at #6 Oregon State (10-1) #10 Oregon (9-1) at #7 Florida (10-2) #9 Kansas State (10-3) at #8 Nebraska (9-2) Virginia Tech 16 TCU 13 (VT wins 55.4%, avg. score = VT 22.7 TCU 19.8) In spite of an inspired performance from TCU running back LaDanian Tomlinson, the Virginia Tech Hokies came away with a hard earned 16-13 win to advance to the playoff quarterfinals. Tomlinson rushed for 162 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries. Virginia Tech running back Lee Suggs also had a big day, with 154 yards on 28 carries. With the score tied 3-3 midway through the second quarter, Tomlinson broke loose on a 61 yard touchdown run to put the Horned Frogs up 10-3. TCU led 10-6 at halftime. The two teams traded field goals in the third quarter, and TCU held a 13-9 lead going into the fourth quarter. Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick scored on a 2 yard run with 6:18 left in the game, capping off an 11 play, 77 yard drive to give the Hokies their first lead of the game, 16-13. TCU tried to get into field goal range on their final drive, but turned the ball over on downs on the Virginia Tech 42 yard line with less than a minute left in the game, securing the Virginia Tech win. Oregon State 34 Notre Dame 7 (ORST wins 90.1%, avg. score = ORST 30.4 ND 14.3) Ken Simonton rushed for 162 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Oregon State Beavers to a 34-7 rout over Notre Dame. Beavers’ quarterback Jonathan Smith added 252 passing yards. The Fighting Irish’s only moment of glory came on their opening drive of the game, taking a brief 7-0 lead on a 3 yard touchdown run by Julius Jones. Oregon State led 20-7 at halftime and cruised to victory in the second half. The Beavers’ defense also was a big factor in the decisive win, holding the Irish to just 12 first downs and 238 total yards. Florida 48 Oregon 13 (FLA wins 90.1%, avg. score = FLA 36.8 ORE 17.8) Jesse Palmer completed 20 out of 24 passes for 288 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Florida Gators to a 48-13 drubbing over visiting Oregon. Robert Gillespie added 122 rushing yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, as the Gators rolled to a 27-10 halftime lead, and cruised in the second half. Oregon’s only touchdown of the game came on an 84 yard punt return by Keenan Howry late in the second quarter. Ducks’ quarterback Joey Harrington was kept in check by the Gators’ defense, completing just 22 out of 39 passes for 197 yards and an interception. Kansas State 20 Nebraska 3 (KSU wins 51.5%, avg. score = NEB 19.9 KSU 19.5) The Kansas State Wildcats used a suffocating defense to defeat the Nebraska Cornhuskers 20-3, handing the Cornhuskers a rare home loss. This game was a rematch of a 29-28 Kansas State victory in Manhattan back in November. This time the stakes were higher, and the Wildcats were able to dominate the game, holding the Cornhusker offense to just 180 total yards. Josh Scobey spearheaded the Wildcats’ run game with 115 yards on 17 carries. Quarterback Jonathan Beasley rushed for 57 yards on 16 carries, and completed 14 out of 22 passes for 156 yards, without turning the ball over. Last edited by Vegas Vic : 07-03-2021 at 12:07 PM.

07-05-2021, 08:39 PM	#24
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	2001-2002 PLAYOFFS 1. Miami (11-0) aq 2. Colorado (10-2) aq 3. Oregon (10-1) aq 4. Illinois (10-1) aq 5. Nebraska (11-1) 6. Florida (9-2) 7. Tennessee (10-2) 8. Texas (10-2) 9. Stanford (9-2) 10. Maryland (10-1) aq 11. Oklahoma (10-2) 12. LSU (9-3) aq 2001-2002 FIRST ROUND #12 LSU (9-3) at #5 Nebraska (11-1) #11 Oklahoma (10-2) at #6 Florida (9-2) #10 Maryland (10-1) at #7 Tennessee (10-2) #9 Stanford (9-2) at #8 Texas (10-2) Nebraska 52 LSU 31 (NEB wins 54.5%, avg. score = NEB 26.1 LSU 22.7) Dahrran Diedrick rushed for 267 yards and 4 touchdowns on 27 carries to lead the Nebraska Cornhuskers to a convincing first round victory over visiting LSU. The Huskers rushed for 514 yards on the day. The first half was tight, with LSU leading 21-20 at halftime. The second half featured big play after big play for Nebraska, with long touchdown runs from Diedrick, Thunder Collins and Judd Davies putting the game away. LSU played well offensively, but could not match scores with the Nebraska offense in the second half. LaBrandon Toefield led the Tiger rushing game, with 173 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. LSU quarterback Rohan Davey passed for 302 yards in a losing effort. Florida 29 Oklahoma 14 (FLA wins 97.0%, avg. score = FLA 40.7 OKLA 13.4) Florida’s defense took center stage, holding the usually potent Oklahoma Sooners to just 203 total yards, as the Gators advanced to the playoff quarterfinals. The Gators’ offense rolled up 499 total yards and 30 first downs to OU’s 13. The only thing that kept the score reasonably close was four turnovers by Florida, but Oklahoma was not able to capitalize, and their season came to an end. Florida quarterback Rex Grossman passed for 352 yards and two touchdowns, running back Earnest Graham rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, and Jabar Gaffney hauled in 7 receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown. Tennessee 34 Maryland 24 (TENN wins 66.3%, avg. score = TENN 26.7 UMD 19.1) Casey Clausen passed for 389 yards and four touchdowns to lead Tennessee to a 34-24 first round victory over ACC champion Maryland. Tennessee never trailed in the game, taking a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter on a 5 yard touchdown pass from Clausen to Donte Stallworth. Tennessee extended the lead to 21-10 when Clausen connected with Bobby Graham on a 46 yard touchdown pass on the final play of the first half. Maryland managed to keep the game close in the second half, mainly due to a fine effort from running back Bruce Perry, who rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. With Tennessee ahead 31-24, Alex Walls booted a 27 yard field goal with 2:40 left in the game to cement the win for the Volunteers. Texas 38 Stanford 24 (TEX wins 86.1%, avg. score = TEX 33.7 STAN 15.8) Cedric Benson rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns, as the Texas Longhorns defeated the visiting Stanford Cardinal to advance to the playoff quarterfinals. Longhorn quarterback Chris Simms passed for 267 yards and two touchdowns. Texas led 17-7 at halftime, and took command of the game on the opening drive of the second half, capping off a 9 play 57 yard drive with a one yard Benson run to take a 24-7 lead. Stanford was never able to cut the lead below 14 after that. Stanford running back Brian Allen had a good outing, rushing for 150 yards on 19 carries. Last edited by Vegas Vic : 07-05-2021 at 08:42 PM.

06-23-2021, 08:41 AM	#2
henry296 College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Pittsburgh, PA	As I'm reading through this, I'm wondering if Brady did lead Michigan to the title game does he get drafted much earlier than the 6th round. Another wrinkle to that what-if. __________________ "It's a great day for hockey" - "Badger" Bob Johnson

06-25-2021, 08:17 AM	#4
Chas in Cinti High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Cincinnati, OH	I'm enjoying reading this... thanks! __________________ Email: [email protected]

06-27-2021, 02:44 PM	#6
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	I wanted to update this for anyone who is following. I've given some thought to this, and I'm going to change the process slightly. Up to this point, I've just been using a one game simulation to determine the winner of each game. While this is obviously more expedient, it yields a significant amount of variance. What I'm going to do is run 101 simulations of each matchup, with the winner being determined on who wins the majority of those simulations. Then, the actual game of record will be the last game of those simulations that has that particular team winning. So, there will still be blowouts and nail biters, but the likely winner of the game will be more accurately determined. There will still be Cinderella stories. I've already run the 101 simulations of the first round game between the 2003 Miami RedHawks vs Ohio State Buckeyes, and Big Ben's RedHawks won 73.3% of the simulations by an average score of 29.4 to 20.5. So when that game rolls around, the RedHawks will defeat the Buckeyes. That's the only spoiler that I will give. I've taken down the previous seasons, while I run all of the simulations. I'll repost them with updated results, beginning with the 1998-1999 season. Last edited by Vegas Vic : 06-27-2021 at 10:45 PM.

06-28-2021, 12:50 PM	#7
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	1998-1999 12-TEAM PLAYOFF 1. Tennessee (12-0) aq 2. Florida State (11-1) aq 3. Ohio State (10-1) aq 4. UCLA (10-1) aq 5. Kansas State (11-1) 6. Texas A&M (11-2) aq 7. Arizona (11-1) 8. Florida (9-2) 9. Wisconsin (10-1) 10. Tulane (11-0) aq 11. Nebraska 9-3 12. Virginia 9-2 1998-1999 FIRST ROUND #12 Virginia (9-2) at #5 Kansas State (11-1) #11 Nebraska (9-3) at #6 Texas A&M (11-2) #10 Tulane (11-0) at #7 Arizona (11-1) #9 Wisconsin (10-1) at #8 Florida (9-2) Kansas State 26 Virginia 14 (KSU wins 79.2%, avg. score = KSU 31.0 UVA 19.9) Marion Charles rushed for 143 yards on just 9 carries to lead the Kansas State Wildcats to a first round win in the playoffs over the Virginia Cavaliers. Neither team generated much offense early, with KSU taking a 9-7 halftime lead on three Martin Gramatica field goals. Midway through the third quarter, Charles broke loose on a 58 yard touchdown run to put the Wildcats up 16-7. Gramatica tacked on his fourth field goal of the day early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 19-7, then KSU put the game away midway through the quarter on a 15 yard touchdown pass from Michael Bishop to Darnell McDonald. The Cavaliers scored late in the game on a 23 yard pass from Aaron Brooks to Kevin Coffey to make the final score more respectable. Texas A&M 44 Nebraska 20 (TAMU wins 90.1%, avg. score = TAMU 31.8 NEB 9.4) Randy McCown had a solid outing with 13 completions on 21 attempts for 245 yards 3 TD’s and no interceptions to lead the Big 12 Champion Aggies to a convincing win over the visiting Nebraska Cornhuskers. This was a rematch of a hard fought game played back in October on this same field, also won by the Aggies 28-21. Today’s game came much easier for A&M, as they were never seriously threatened, taking a 20-7 halftime lead. They opened the second half with a 66 yard touchdown pass from McCown to Leroy Hodge to put the Aggies up 27-7. Nebraska was able to cut the lead down to 34-20 early in the fourth quarter on two Kris Brown field goals, but Ja’Mar Toombs answered with a 14 yard touchdown run to put the Aggies up 41-20 with 4:09 left in the game, basically sealing the victory. Dante Hall spearheaded the A&M rushing attack with 109 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Tombs chipped in with 60 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. The Cornhuskers ran the ball effectively, with four players rushing for over 65 yards. Leading the way was DeAngelo Evans with 96 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. However, when Nebraska fell behind, quarterback Eric Crouch was unable to generate anything through the air, completing just 3 passes for 23 yards. Arizona 41 Tulane 14 (ARIZ wins 86.1%, avg. score = ARIZ 34.6 TULN 18.9) Arizona had little trouble with visiting Tulane, handing the Conference USA champions their first loss of the year. Running back Trung Canidate had an fine outing, rushing for 198 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries. The Wildcats never gave the Green Wave a chance to get in the game, as they stormed out to a 28-0 lead at halftime. Tulane quarterback Shaun King wasn’t able to get it going today, completing just 14 out of 25 passes for 199 yards, no touchdowns and two passes that were intercepted by Chris McCalister. On a day where the Arizona running attack dominated the game, quarterback Keith Smith had a good outing also, connecting on 16 out of 24 attempts for 175 yards, 3 TD’s and 1 INT. Florida 27 Wisconsin 23 (OT) (FLA wins 90.1%, avg. score = FLA 32.3 WIS 13.7) Terry Jackson scored on a game winning 10 yard touchdown run in overtime to spoil a potential upset bid from an inspired Wisconsin Badgers team. The Gators almost didn’t make it to overtime. Trailing 20-17 with 1:16 to go and backed up near their own goal line, Jackson broke loose on a 72 yard run before he was hauled down at the Wisconsin 21 yard line. However, on the next play quarterback Jesse Palmer was sacked by John Favret for a 9 yard loss back to the 30 yard line, taking them out of comfortable field goal range. With 34 seconds left and no timeouts, Palmer hit Robert Gillespie for an 11 yard gain to set up Jeff Chandler’s game tying field goal to send the game to overtime. In the first overtime period Wisconsin couldn’t move the ball and had to settle for a 39 yard Matt Davenport field goal, before Jackson’s touchdown run won the game for the Gators. Florida quarterback Doug Johnson had a rough outing, throwing 4 interceptions before being benched in the fourth quarter by Florida head coach Steve Spurrier and replaced by Palmer. After the game, Spurrier had a look of relief on his face, while a grim Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez slowly walked off the field thinking about what might have been. 1998-1999 QUARTERFINALS #8 Florida (10-2) at #1 Tennessee (12-0) #7 Arizona (12-1) at #2 Florida State (11-1) #6 Texas A&M (12-2) at #3 Ohio State (10-1) #5 Kansas State (12-1) at #4 UCLA (10-1) Last edited by Vegas Vic : 06-29-2021 at 01:44 AM.

06-28-2021, 01:54 PM	#8
Chas in Cinti High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Cincinnati, OH	Should see a lot more holding of serve for the higher seeds with this model I would assume. __________________ Email: [email protected]

06-28-2021, 10:30 PM	#10
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	1998-1999 QUARTERFINALS #8 Florida (10-2) at #1 Tennessee (12-0) #7 Arizona (12-1) at #2 Florida State (11-1) #6 Texas A&M (12-2) at #3 Ohio State (10-1) #5 Kansas State (12-1) at #4 UCLA (10-1) Florida 24 Tennessee 21 (FLA wins 61.4%, avg. score = FLA 26.2 TENN 25.1) Doug Johnson passed for 379 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Florida Gators to a stunning upset of #1 Tennessee at Neyland Stadium, knocking the Volunteers out of the playoffs. The game served as redemption for the Florida team, who lost 20-17 in overtime on this same field back in September. In that loss, the Gators turned the ball over five times and missed a short field goal at the end of the first overtime that would have extended the game. Today, they took care of the ball and relied on the arm of Johnson and a defense that pressured UT quarterback Tee Martin most of the day. Martin ended up with 247 yards passing, but was frequently under duress from Jevon Kearse and the rest of the Gators’ front seven, who sacked Martin 4 times. Florida led 21-7 at halftime on three Johnson touchdown passes. The only highlight for Tennessee in the first half came on a 65 yard touchdown run by Jamal Lewis in the first quarter to tie the score at 7-7, but the Gators scored on their next possession to go up 14-7, and would never trail again. However, things got interesting in the final five minutes of the game with the Gators holding a 24-14 lead. Florida kicker Jeff Chandler watched his 41 yard field goal bounce off the right upright. Tennessee promptly marched down the field on a 10 play, 76 yard drive, capped off with a 17 yard touchdown pass from Martin to Cedrick Wilson to cut the lead to 24-21 with 2:45 left in the game. With all three timeouts in their pocket, Tennessee elected to kickoff instead of trying an onside kick. The plan backfired when John Capel, a sprinter on the Gators’ track and field team, returned the kickoff all the way to the Tennessee 26. However, the Vols’ defense stiffened, and a 48 yard field goal attempt by the snake bitten Chandler was wide left, giving Tennessee one last gasp to try and get into field goal range. The Vols were able to cross midfield, but on 4th and 9 from the Florida 47, Martin was sacked by Eugene McCaslin with 59 seconds left in the game, and Florida went into victory formation to run out the clock. The Gator players and coaches stayed on the field to savor the moment. Coach Steve Spurrier said he was delighted to hear the deafening roar of the Neyland Stadium crowd turn into stunned silence. For a dejected UT Coach Phil Fulmer, it was a long walk back to the locker room where he would have face the inevitable questions about how his team’s date with destiny came to an abrupt end. The epic, or perhaps not so epic finish: Florida State 46 Arizona 35 (FSU wins 91.1%, avg. score = FSU 36.7 ARIZ 15.8) The Florida State Seminoles jumped out to a 40-14 lead after three quarters, then withstood a late barrage by the Arizona Wildcats to move on to the quarterfinals next week. A flabbergasted Bobby Bowden wasn’t happy with his team’s fourth quarter performance. “Daddgum it! When we get a team down like that, we need to put them away!” Bowden went on. “That number 30 really hurt us in the fourth quarter. He really did. We knew he was good, but we didn’t know he was that good.” “Number 30” is Arizona running back Trung Canidate, who broke loose on a spectacular 79 yard touchdown run with 3:29 left in the game to cut the lead to 43-35. However, Florida State tacked on a 50 yard field goal from Sebastian Janikowski with 1:02 left to secure the win. Travis Minor led the Seminole ground game with 141 yards and 3 touchdowns on 29 carries. Quarterback Chris Weinke had a good outing, passing for 321 yards and 2 touchdowns, but he was constantly pressured by the Arizona defensive line, which recorded 6 sacks. However, Weinke maintained his composure, didn’t turn the ball over and never seemed rattled. Arizona quarterback Keith Smith passed for 308 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort. Ohio State 55 Texas A&M 3 (OSU wins 98.0%, avg. score = OSU 39.4 TAMU 10.0) Joe Montgomery and Michael Wiley combined for 213 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns on 40 carries as the Ohio State Buckeyes steamrolled the visiting Texas A&M Aggies 55-3. OSU receiver David Boston hauled in 7 receptions for 161 yards, with quarterback Joe Germaine passing for 430 yards. Up 28-0 at halftime, the Buckeye onslaught continued in the second half. A&M’s only points of the day came on a 44 yard field goal by Russell Bynum at the end of the third quarter. For the game, Ohio State had 32 first downs to Texas A&M’s 10, and they outgained A&M 682 to 241. Once they started to fall well behind, it was over for the Aggies, who have relied on the running game all season. Their one-two combo of Dante Hall and Ja’Mar Toombs were limited to 111 yards on 30 carries. UCLA 37 Kansas State 27 (UCLA wins 68.3%, avg. score = UCLA 31.5 KSU 26.3) In a tight contest at Rose Bowl Stadium, UCLA defeated visiting Kansas State to advance to the national semifinals. The game was close throughout, with three lead changes. KSU running back Eric Hickson scored on a 37 yard touchdown pass from Michael Bishop on the final play of the first half to cut a 10 point UCLA lead to 20-17. The game remained close throughout the third quarter. With 6:30 left in the fourth quarter and leading 30-20, UCLA was driving and appeared to be on the verge of putting the game away when KSU defensive back Gerald Neasman intercepted an errant Cade McNown pass, returning it 57 yards for a touchdown to cut the UCLA lead to 30-27. On the next possession UCLA secured the win when Deshaun Foster capped off a 6 play, 87 yard drive with a 53 yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to put UCLA up 37-27. It’s on to the national semifinals for Coach Bob Toledo and the Bruins, and the end of a fine season for Coach Bill Snyder and the Wildcats. 1998-1999 SEMIFINALS #4 UCLA (11-1) vs #8 Florida (11-2) #2 Florida State (12-1) vs #3 Ohio State (11-1) Last edited by Vegas Vic : 07-02-2021 at 03:01 AM.

06-29-2021, 01:12 AM	#11
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	1998-1999 SEMIFINALS #4 UCLA (11-1) vs #8 Florida (11-2) #2 Florida State (12-1) vs #3 Ohio State (11-1) Florida 52 UCLA 49 (FLA wins 75.2%, avg. score = FLA 39.2 UCLA 29.3) In a wild and wooly affair that had three ties and four lead changes, Travis Taylor caught a 22 yard touchdown pass from Doug Johnson with just 5 seconds left in the game, sending the Florida Gators to the national championship game. Johnson passed for 485 yards and 6 touchdowns on the day. Neither defense could slow down the opponent’s offense, and it soon became apparent that the last team with the ball was probably going to win. Florida’s Terry Jackson lead all rushers with 144 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. UCLA quarterback Cade McNown played valiantly in defeat, especially late in the fourth quarter where he capped off two consecutive drives with touchdown passes to rally the Bruins from a 45-35 deficit to a 49-45 lead. Here is how the exciting finish unfolded: Florida State 38 Ohio State 24 (FSU wins 52.5%, avg. score = OSU 25.9 FSU 25.4) Sebastian Janikowski connected on 8 out of 9 field goal attempts and scored 26 out of Florida State’s 38 points to lead the Seminoles to a 38-24 victory over Ohio State, and into next week’s national championship game, a rematch against arch rival Florida. Janikowski proved to be the difference in a game where FSU drives stalled repeatedly, and his accuracy was sorely needed on a day when the normally potent Seminole offense could only muster two touchdowns. Ohio State led 17-16 at halftime, but two Janikowski third quarter field goals and a 3 yard touchdown run from quarterback Chris Weinke put FSU up 29-17 early in the fourth quarter. Ohio State’s Joe Montgomery then scored on his second rushing touchdown of the day, a 41 yard scamper that cut the FSU lead to 29-24. However, Janikowski would tack on three more field goals for the final score of 38-24. For the Buckeyes, Michael Wiley led their ground game with 135 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. OSU quarterback Joe Jermaine passed for 267 yards, but couldn’t find the end zone and two of his passes were picked off by Florida State defensive back Reggie Durden. It was a disappointing end to a fine season for Coach John Cooper’s Buckeyes. 1998-1999 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP #2 Florida State (13-1) vs #8 Florida (12-2)

06-29-2021, 06:38 PM	#12
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	1998-1999 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP #2 Florida State (13-1) vs #8 Florida (12-2) Florida State 37 Florida 16 (FSU wins 75.2%, avg. score = FSU 32.8 FLA 24.0) Chris Weinke passed for two touchdowns and Jeff Chaney rushed for two more to lead the Florida State Seminoles to a convincing 37-16 win over the Florida Gators in the national championship game. The game was a rematch of the final regular season game for both teams, also won by the Seminoles 23-12. The Gators were able to make a game of it early, taking a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter on Doug Johnson’s 3 yard touchdown pass to Taylor, capping off an 8 play, 87 yard drive. That would be the only sustained drive for Florida all night until late in the fourth quarter when the game was well out of reach. The Seminoles answered in the second quarter with a 59 yard touchdown pass from Weinke to Ron Dugans, followed by Jeff Chaney’s 2 yard rushing touchdown to put the Seminoles up 17-10 at halftime. The third quarter was all Florida State, and they all but put the game out of reach. Another Weinke touchdown pass and Chaney rushing touchdown, together with a 26 yard field goal from Sebastian Janikowski put FSU up 34-10 at the end of the period. Florida did manage to score another touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a 3 yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Travis McGriff, but the game was well out of reach. Janikowski tacked on another short field goal with 1:58 left for the 37-16 final score. Comparison of the Actual 1999 BCS Championship to the Simulated 12-team playoff The actual 1999 BCS Championship game was played between #1 Tennessee and #2 Florida State, with the Volunteers coming out on top 23-16. Florida State was without the services of starting quarterback Chris Weinke, who was injured in the final ACC game of the season. Weinke’s backup, sophomore Marcus Outzen was making his second career start. The Volunteers led 14-9 at halftime. They were leading 23-16 with less than 2 minutes to go in the game, when Tennessee RB Travis Henry fumbled and turned the ball over to Florida State. However, Outzen threw an errant pass that was intercepted, which sealed the victory and the national championship for the Vols. Our 12-team playoff simulation had Florida State (albeit with a healthy Weinke) defeating arch rival Florida in a rematch of the last game of the season (also won by the Seminoles). This was also a rematch of the 1997 Sugar Bowl in the next-to-last season that the polls determined the mythical national champion. Florida was voted national champion in both of the polls after that win. Of course, the most interesting part of our 12-team playoff simulation is Tennessee’s quarterfinal loss to Florida, knocking the Volunteers out of the playoffs. I think that was a plausible outcome for several reasons. First, although Tennessee finished the regular season 12-0, they were not a juggernaut by any means. They lost a ton of NFL talent from the ’97 team, including quarterback Peyton Manning. His replacement, Tee Martin, was much more mobile, but not a great passer or the type of guy to take a team on his shoulders. Consequently, Tennessee was expected to be good, not great going into the 1998 season. In the first game of the season, they came from behind to beat Syracuse 34-33 on a last second field goal. The very next week, they played Florida in a much hyped home game. I went back and read through some of the archived blogs leading up to that game, and even most of the Tennessee fans seemed to recognize that Florida was the better team on paper. Tennessee went on to win in overtime 20-17, in a game where Florida turned the ball over five times and missed a short field goal in the first overtime that would have extended the game. Tennessee also won a nail-biter against Arkansas later in the season in a game they could have easily lost. Here’s an excerpt from “Football Study Hall: Now Playing: Arkansas At Tennessee (1998)” : “This truly was one of the biggest gut-punch near-upsets in college football's history. Arkansas did not luck into a lead against No. 1 Tennessee on November 14, 1998 -- they completely and totally outplayed the Vols. And then they lost anyway.” So there were three games on that schedule that Tennessee could have potentially lost. Usually, an “elite” undefeated team goes through their schedule with maybe one close call, but certainly not three. So let’s give Tennessee credit for what they were, a very good team who took advantage of their opportunities and won all of their games, including a flawed system that rightfully put them in a “one-off” game against Florida State to determine the BCS national championship. As for Florida knocking off Tennessee in our 12-team playoff, I tend to agree with the simulator, with the Gators winning a healthy 61.4% of the simulations. Given this second opportunity, what are the chances they’re going to self-destruct again like they did in the first game? At the end of the day, Tennessee deserves a lot of credit for going undefeated and winning the BCS Championship. However, I think it’s unlikely that they would have won three consecutive playoff games to win a 12-team playoff. Coach Phil Fulmer was perhaps the biggest single winner from the BCS system. His national championship probably bought him an additional two or three seasons of goodwill once the program started to slip into mediocrity. He agreed to step down in 2008 (to avoid being fired). Without that win in his pocket, he almost certainly would have been shown the door earlier. Last edited by Vegas Vic : 06-29-2021 at 07:19 PM.

07-02-2021, 01:17 AM	#15
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	1999-2000 SEMIFINALS #1 Florida State (12-0) vs #4 Alabama (11-2) #2 Virginia Tech(12-0) vs #3 Nebraska (12-1) Florida State 37 Alabama 23 (FSU wins 72.3%, avg. score = FSU 29.7 BAMA 22.0) With the score tied 23-23 midway through the fourth quarter, Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke threw two late touchdown passes, as the Seminoles pulled away to defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide 37-23 to advance to the national championship game. Travis Minor spearheaded the FSU rushing attack, gaining 127 yards on 19 carries. Wide receiver Peter Warrick hauled in 7 receptions for 101 yards and two touchdowns. Alabama wasn’t able to generate much offense the entire game. Both of their touchdowns came in the first half on short drives. The Florida State defense limited Alabama to 102 rushing yards on 48 carries. The always reliable Sebastian Janikowski was a perfect 3 for 3 on his field goal attempts. Here is the fourth quarter drive that put the Seminoles ahead: Virginia Tech 36 Nebraska 7 (VT wins 72.3%, avg. score = VT 24.9 NEB 17.2) Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer said his team played well in all three phases of the game, but it was their special teams, nicknamed “Beamer Ball” that stole the show in a victory over Big 12 champion Nebraska, sending the Hokies to the national championship game. The special teams accounted for 24 of Virginia Tech’s 36 points, with kicker Shayne Graham connecting on five field goals, and Rickey Hall’s 59 yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter. Bud Foster’s defense limited Nebraska to a season low 12 first downs and 197 total yards. The Hokies’ rushing attack, lead by Shyrone Stith, churned out 300 yards on 66 carries, enabling Virginia Tech to also dominate the time of possession. Quarterback Michael Vick only attempted 8 passes, but completed 7 of them for 103 yards, together with 64 rushing yards.

07-02-2021, 03:03 AM	#17
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	I'll throw this out there. One thing that is becoming apparent to me is that folks had better be prepared for a LOT of rematches when these playoffs come to fruition.

07-03-2021, 04:26 PM	#19
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	2000-2001 QUARTERFINALS #9 Kansas State (11-3) at #1 Oklahoma (12-0) #7 Florida (11-2) at #2 Florida State (11-1) #6 Oregon State (11-1) at #3 Miami (10-1) #5 Virginia Tech (11-1) at #4 Washington (10-1) Oklahoma 19 Kansas State 14 (OKLA wins 77.2%, avg. score = OKLA 28.7 KSU 18.3) Quentin Griffin scored on an 8 yard touchdown run with 1:25 left in the game to lift the Oklahoma Sooners to a 19-14 win over Kansas State and a berth in the national semifinals. This was the third meeting between these two teams this season, with Oklahoma winning 41-31 at KSU back in September, and also defeating the Wildcats 27-24 just two weeks ago in the Big 12 championship game at Arrowhead Stadium. This game marked the first time in the modern era of college football that two teams played each other three times in the same season. A relieved Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops joked “I’m waiting to see if we’re advancing, or if we have to play them again for a fourth time in the parking lot.” Kansas State finished the season with a 11-4 record, with three or their four losses coming against Oklahoma. A stoic Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder lamented “We had our chances again today, but in the end, they made one more play than we did.” As with the prior two games against the Wildcats, nothing came easy for the Sooners today. Their high octane offense was held in check for most of the day. KSU took a 14-13 lead with seven minutes left in the game, and then Oklahoma quarterback Josh Heupel orchestrated a game winning 14 play drive to put the Sooners up 19-14, missing the two point conversion attempt. Kansas State had one last chance until Sooner defensive back J. T. Thatcher intercepted an errant pass from Beasley to secure the win: Florida State 26 Florida 13 (FSU wins 93.1%, avg. score = FSU 41.6 FLA 17.2) In yet another quirk of the college football playoffs, Florida State ended up playing arch rival Florida in back to back games at Doak Campbell Stadium, having just defeated the Gators 30-7 in their final regular season game. Today’s game didn’t come quite as easy for the Seminoles, but they never trailed, and Florida wasn’t able cut the lead to less than 10 after FSU took a 20-10 halftime lead. Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke completed 21 out of 30 pass attempts for 348 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Travis Minor led the Seminole ground game, rushing for 88 yards on 21 carries. Marvin “Snoop” Minnis hauled in 5 receptions for 130 yards. The Florida State defense shut down the Gators’ run game, holding them to just 46 yards on 32 carries. Without any viable rushing threat, quarterback Jesse Palmer couldn’t generate a consistent passing game, throwing for 279 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Miami 27 Oregon State 9 (MIA wins 91.1%, avg. score = MIA 39.4 ORST 19.4) The Miami Hurricanes’ defense ruled the day in a 27-9 win over visiting Oregon State, keeping the Beavers out of the end zone for the entire game. Canes’ Quarterback Ken Dorsey played mistake free football, completing 20 out of 29 pass attempts for 249 yards and two touchdowns. James Jackson led the Miami ground game, with 107 yards on 27 carries. Oregon State was able to move the ball at times, but three drives that stalled inside the 30 resulted in three Ryan Cesca field goals for their only points of the day. OSU running back Ken Simonton had 109 yards on 28 carries, while quarterback Jonathan Smith completed 17 out of 33 passes for 248 yards. Virginia Tech 26 Washington 24 (VT wins 58.4%, avg. score = VT 24.2 WASH 21.0) Lee Suggs rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown to help lead the Virginia Tech Hokies to a 26-24 upset win over Washington at Husky Stadium. The score was tied 10-10 at halftime, before Virginia Tech took a 17-10 late in the third quarter on a 1 yard touchdown run by Jarrett Ferguson. Washington tied the game 17-17 with 9:28 left in the fourth quarter on a 2 yard run by quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo. After Carter Warley’s 33 yard field goal put them ahead 20-17, the Hokies were able to get a bit of a cushion when Suggs broke loose on a 32 yard touchdown run. However, they missed the extra point, and the score stood at 26-17 with 2:55 remaining. Washington made a late rally, cutting the score to 26-24 on a furious 5 play, 82 yard drive, culminating in a 5 yard touchdown pass from Tuiasosopo to Todd Elstrom with just 1:38 left in the game. However, the Huskies were not able to recover the ensuing onside kick, and Virginia Tech ran out the clock to secure the victory and advance to the national semifinals.

07-03-2021, 11:33 PM	#20
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	2000-2001 SEMIFINALS #1 Oklahoma (13-0) vs #5 Virginia Tech (12-1) #2 Florida State (12-1) vs #3 Miami (11-1) Oklahoma 33 Virginia Tech 14 (OKLA wins 63.4%, avg. score = OKLA 26.8 VT 20.3) Josh Heupel completed 22 out of 31 passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Oklahoma Sooners to a 33-14 win over Virginia Tech, sending the Sooners to the national championship game. Oklahoma took control early, with two long scoring drives in the first quarter to take a 13-0 lead. The Hokies got on the board in the second quarter when Andre’ Kendrick scored on a 4 yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 13-7. A 43 yard Tim Duncan field goal late in the second quarter gave the Sooners a 16-7 lead at halftime. Oklahoma extended the lead in the third quarter on another Duncan field goal and a 9 yard touchdown run from Quentin Griffin to give OU a commanding 26-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Sooners put the game away early in the fourth quarter when Griffin scored on a 9 yard touchdown pass from Heupel, putting Oklahoma up 33-7. Virginia Tech scored late in the game on a 1 yard touchdown run by Lee Suggs to make the final score more respectable. Florida State 24 Miami 10 (FSU wins 76.2%, avg. score = FSU 35.2 MIA 26.9) Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke passed for 417 yards, and a tough Florida State defense played well in a 24-10 victory over the Miami Hurricanes, sending the Seminoles to the national championship game. The win also avenged a heartbreaking 27-24 last minute loss to the Hurricanes at Miami’s Orange Bowl back in October. The Hurricanes got on the scoreboard first when Ken Dorsey hit Jeremy Shockey on a 52 yard touchdown pass to put Miami up 7-0. They extended the lead to 10-0 midway through the second quarter on a 26 yard Todd Sievers field goal. Late in the second quarter, Weinke hit Atrews Bell on a one yard touchdown pass to cut the Hurricanes’ lead to 10-7 at halftime. The only score of the third quarter came on a 35 yard Brett Cimorelli field goal to tie the score at 10-10. Miami had a chance to take the lead again, but Sievers’ 46 yard field goal was no good, setting up what would turn out to be the game winning drive for Florida State: Miami would later turn the ball over on downs, and Florida State tacked on an insurance touchdown with a late 10 yard touchdown run from Travis Minor for the 24-10 final score. For the game, the Seminoles outgained the Hurricanes 532-365 and had 32 first downs to Miami’s 16.

07-04-2021, 12:34 PM	#21
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	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.

07-05-2021, 11:29 PM	#25
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	2001-2002 QUARTERFINALS #8 Texas (11-2) at #1 Miami (11-0) #7 Tennessee (11-2) at #2 Colorado (10-2) #6 Florida (10-2) at #3 Oregon (10-1) #5 Nebraska (12-1) at #4 Illinois (10-1) Miami 24 Texas 19 (MIA wins 84.2%, avg. score = MIA 34.2 TEX 20.1) An inspired effort from Texas running back Cedric Benson wasn’t enough today, as the Miami Hurricanes held off an upset bid from the pesky Longhorns in a narrow 24-19 victory. Benson rushed for 229 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Miami scored the only touchdown of the first half to take a 7-3 lead late in the second quarter when Ethenic Sands caught a 16 yard touchdown pass from Ken Dorsey. The Hurricanes came out in the third quarter and appeared to be in control of the game after 17 unanswered points, including two short rushing touchdowns from Clinton Portis, to take a 24-3 lead. Benson’s 45 yard touchdown run late in the third quarter cut the Hurricane lead to 24-12. The game tightened up in the fourth quarter when Benson scored on a 6 yard run to trim the lead down to 24-19. Miami was unable to move the ball on their next possession, and then the Hurricane defense rose up and made a valiant goal line stand late in the fourth quarter to preserve the victory: Colorado 23 Tennessee 17 (COLO wins 66.3%, avg. score = COLO 30.1 TENN 23.3) Bobby Purify rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown to help the Colorado Buffaloes secure a close win against the visiting Tennessee Volunteers and advance to the national semifinals next week. The Buffaloes led 10-7 at halftime, and then scored on the opening drive of the second half on a 66 yard Purify touchdown run to go up 17-7. Later in the quarter, Chris Brown scored from four yards out to put the Buffaloes up 23-7. Tennessee finally got back on the board with a 42 yard Alex Walls field goal to cut the lead to 23-10. Midway through the fourth quarter, Colorado was driving and appeared to be on the verge of putting the game away until Tennessee defensive back Alex Walls intercepted an errant pass from CU quarterback Bobby Pesavento, returning it for a 72 yard touchdown to cut the lead to 23-17. However, the Volunteers were never able to mount another scoring threat, and Colorado held on for the win. Florida 33 Oregon 24 (FLA wins 71.3%, avg. score = FLA 38.9 ORE 31.1) Rex Grossman passed for 316 yards and a touchdown, and Florida kicker Jeff Chandler was a perfect 4 for 4 on field goal attempts, as the visiting Gators pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 33-24 win at Autzen Stadium. Florida took a 17-7 lead late in the second quarter on a 39 yard Chandler field goal. The Ducks answered with an impressive 8 play 65 yard drive, cutting the lead to 17-14 on an 11 yard touchdown pass from Joey Harrington to Onterrio Smith with 1:14 left in the half. On the ensuing possession, Grossman threw an interception that was returned by Steve Smith to the Florida 17 yard line. Jared Siegel then booted a 28 yard field goal to tie the game 17-17 at halftime. Oregon took a 24-17 lead on a 13 yard touchdown pass from Harrington to Samie Parker with 7:32 left in the third quarter, but that would turn out to be the last score of the game for the Ducks. Florida dominated the remainder of the game, scoring the final 16 points to advance to the semifinals. Illinois 30 Nebraska 6 (ILL wins 52.5%, avg. score = NEB 25.5 ILL 25.4) Kurt Kittner passed for 423 yards and three touchdowns, and a suffocating Fighting Illini defense kept Nebraska out of the end zone, as the Fighting Illini rolled to surprisingly easy 30-6 home victory over the Cornhuskers. Nebraska did have some success on the ground, with Dahrran Diedrick rushing for 138 yards on 28 carries. Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch also rushed for 81 yards, but when Nebraska started to fall behind, he proved to be totally ineffective in the passing game, completing just 3 passes for 20 yards and throwing two costly interceptions. Nebraska’s only points of the game came on two Josh Brown field goals.

07-06-2021, 04:35 PM	#26
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	2001-2002 SEMIFINALS #1 Miami (12-0) vs #4 Illinois (11-1) #2 Colorado (11-2) vs #6 Florida (11-2) Miami 44 Illinois 19 (MIA wins 90.1%, avg. score = MIA 41.0 ILL 18.0) Ken Dorsey completed 20 out of 30 passes for 391 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Miami Hurricanes to a 44-19 rout over Illinois, and a berth in the national championship game. Illinois scored first on a 35 yard field goal by Peter Christofilakos, but it would be their only lead of the game. Miami started to pull away late in the first quarter after Dorsey hit Jeremy Shockey on a 66 yard touchdown pass to put the Canes up 14-3. After that, Miami methodically extended the lead throughout the second half and was never challenged. Illinois quarterback Kurt Kittner passed for 339 yards and a touchdown, but much of his yardage came after his team was well behind. He also threw three interceptions, two of which were picked off by Tanard Davis, resulting in subsequent Hurricane scores. Miami did not turn the ball over during the game. Florida 44 Colorado 21 (FLA wins 97.0%, avg. score = FLA 44.0 COL 19.9 Rex Grossman passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns as the Florida Gators whipped the Colorado Buffaloes and earned a spot in the national championship game. The Gators stormed out of the gate to take a 24-9 halftime lead and never looked back. Colorado briefly cut the lead to 16 early in the fourth quarter on a 73 yard touchdown pass from Bobby Pesavento to D. J. Hackett, but Florida dominated the rest of way to go up 44-15. Colorado scored a touchdown with less than a minute left in the game to make the final score a bit more respectable at 44-21, but this day belonged to the Gators. Florida defensive back Lito Sheppard had three big interceptions on the day to spearhead the Gators’ defense. Last edited by Vegas Vic : 07-06-2021 at 09:01 PM.

07-06-2021, 10:22 PM	#27
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	2001-2002 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP #1 Miami (13-0) vs #6 Florida (12-2) Florida 41 Miami 33 (FLA wins 58.4%, avg. score = FLA 34.9 MIA 33.3) In a high octane affair that lived up to its billing, the Florida Gators defeated the Miami Hurricanes 41-33 to take home the national championship. This was the first time these former rivals had met since 1987, when their annual series came to an end. On this particular night, “The Ol Ball Coach” Steve Spurrier and the Gators prevailed in an upset win. Florida quarterback Rex Grossman passed for 418 yards and five touchdowns, while his counterpart Ken Dorsey passed for 434 yards and two touchdowns. The Gators jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead on two Grossman touchdown passes, before Miami answered with a touchdown pass from Dorsey to Ethenic Sands to cut the lead to 14-7. The second quarter was where most of the fireworks occurred, with the teams trading blows like two heavyweight fighters. The score was deadlocked 24-24 at halftime. Florida took command of the game in the second half, scoring 17 unanswered points on two more Grossman touchdown passes and a Jeff Chandler field goal to go up 41-24 midway through the fourth quarter. The Hurricanes answered on a 23 yard touchdown pass from Brock Berlin to Kellen Winslow II to cut the lead to 41-31, then cut the lead to 8 after John Square sacked Grossman in the end zone for a safety. Miami would have two more scoring opportunities late in the game, but came up empty: Comparison of the Actual 2002 BCS Championship to the Simulated 12-team playoff In the actual 2002 BCS Championship game, Miami easily defeated Nebraska 37-14. This was another very controversial year for the BCS with the selection of Nebraska. Not only were the Cornhuskers blown out by Colorado 62-36 in their final game of the season, they didn’t even qualify for the Big Twelve championship game. There were many fans and coaches around the country who thought Pac 10 champion Oregon or Big Twelve champion Colorado should have gotten the second slot. Our 12-team playoff enabled the chaos to be sorted out. Since Nebraska didn’t win their conference championship, they were the #5 seed, instead of getting a first round bye as the #2 seed. This ended up costing them, as Big Ten champion Illinois eliminated Nebraska at home in the quarterfinals, winning 52.5% of the simulations. The #2 seed, Oregon, was defeated at home by #6 Florida in the quarterfinals, with the Gators winning an impressive 71.3% of the simulations. Florida also eliminated #3 Colorado in the semifinals, winning an astounding 97.0% of the simulations. This takes us to the national championship game, with the Gators winning 58.4% of the simulations against Miami. With the win, Florida becomes the first team to win our playoff simulation dynasty that was not one of the actual BCS championship participants. Here’s an interesting sidebar that relates to the outcome of our playoff simulation. Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch won the Heisman Trophy that season, with Florida’s Rex Grossman finishing a very close second. Many felt that Grossman deserved the Heisman, and there’s a modicum of vindication for Grossman leading his team to the National Championship in our playoff simulation, while Crouch and the Cornhuskers were bounced in the quarterfinals. Finally, how feasible would it have been for the Gators to win a 12-team playoff that year? I don’t think it’s much of a stretch at all. They were the preseason #1, and lost two games by a combined 5 points. They demolished ACC champion Maryland in the Orange Bowl and finished ranked #3 in both the AP and Coaches’ poll.

07-07-2021, 10:15 PM	#28
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	2002-2003 PLAYOFFS 1. Miami (12-0) aq 2. Ohio State (13-0) aq 3. Georgia (12-1) aq 4. Washington State (10-2) aq 5. USC (10-2) 6. Iowa (11-1) 7. Oklahoma (11-2) aq 8. Kansas State (10-2) 9. Notre Dame (10-2) 10. Texas (10-2) 11. Michigan (9-3) 12. Florida State (9-4) aq 2002-2003 FIRST ROUND #12 Florida State (9-4) at #5 USC (10-2) #11 Michigan (9-3) at #6 Iowa (11-1) #10 Texas (10-2) at #7 Oklahoma (11-2) #9 Notre Dame (10-2) at #8 Kansas State (10-2) USC 26 Florida State 21 (USC wins 86.1%, avg. score = USC 35.1 FSU 18.3) Carson Palmer hit Alex Holmes on a game winning 18 yard touchdown pass with 3:06 remaining in the fourth quarter to complete a second half comeback against Florida State, and send USC to the playoff quarterfinals next week. The underdog Seminoles controlled the game for much of the first half, taking a 7-0 lead on a 47 yard touchdown pass from Chris Rix to Anquan Bolden midway through the first quarter. Two long second quarter rushing touchdowns from Greg Jones gave FSU a 21-10 halftime lead. After USC pulled ahead 26-21 late in the fourth quarter, Florida State had one last chance, and they drove the ball to the USC 15 before turning the ball over on downs with just 8 seconds left in the game: Iowa 52 Michigan 13 (IOWA wins 88.1%, avg. score = IOWA 31.7 MICH 15.1) Fred Russell rushed for 288 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Iowa Hawkeyes to a 52-13 blowout over the Michigan Wolverines. The game was a rematch of a 34-9 Iowa rout over Michigan in Ann Arbor back in October. Michigan was able to keep it close in the first half, with Iowa leading 21-13 at halftime. Iowa scored 31 unanswered points in the second half, aided by three Michigan turnovers. The Hawkeyes did not turn the ball over during the contest, and they capitalized on the Michigan mistakes to run up the large margin of victory. Hawkeye quarterback Brad Banks was an efficient game manager, passing for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Oklahoma 31 Texas 26 (OKLA wins 72.3%, avg. score = OKLA 28.0 TEX 19.7) The last time the Texas Longhorns came to Norman, Oklahoma they defeated the Sooners 32-7 on November 18, 1922. The Sooners waited 80 years to get their payback at home, and it came today with a hard fought 31-26 win. Since 1929, the two schools have played their annual “Red River Shootout” at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, with the Sooners also prevailing 35-24 is this season’s version. Today, it was OU running back Quentin Griffin who led the way for the Sooners. Griffin rushed for 213 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. The Sooners led 17-13 at halftime, but Texas came out on their opening possession of the second half and took a 20-17 lead on a 4 yard touchdown run by quarterback Chris Simms. Oklahoma regained the lead 24-20 on a 14 yard Griffin touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter. On the ensuing drive, Oklahoma safety Brandon Everage intercepted an errant Simms’ pass and returned it to the Texas 22 yard line. Five plays later, the Sooners took a 31-20 lead on a 2 yard touchdown pass from Nate Hybl to Trent Smith. Texas scored with just 7 seconds left in the game on a 5 yard touchdown pass from Simms to Sloan Thomas, but the Longhorns failed to convert the two-point conversion attempt. OU recovered the ensuing onside kick to secure the victory. Kansas State 33 Notre Dame 3 (KSU wins 94.1%, avg. score = KSU 26.7 ND 7.5) Darren Sproles rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries to lead the Kansas State Wildcats to an easy victory over visiting Notre Dame in the first round of the playoffs. The Notre Dame offense was essentially shut down by an inspired Kansas State defense, gaining only 160 total yards and 7 first downs. The only points of the game for the Fighting Irish came on a 25 yard field goal from Nicholas Setta at the end of the first half to cut the KSU lead to 17-3. Wildcats’ defensive back Terence Newman made life miserable for Notre Dame quarterback Pat Dillingham, picking him off three times. The Kansas State defense and rushing game were so dominant that quarterback Ell Roberson only attempted 5 passes, completing two, including a 32 yard touchdown pass to James Terry.

07-08-2021, 12:03 PM	#29
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	2002-2003 QUARTERFINALS #8 Kansas State (11-2) at #1 Miami (12-0) #7 Oklahoma (12-2) at #2 Ohio State (13-0) #6 Iowa (12-1) at #3 Georgia (12-1) #5 USC (11-2) at #4 Washington State (10-2) Miami 31 Kansas State 17 (MIA wins 79.2%, avg. score = MIA 32.7 KSU 19.6) Ken Dorsey passed for 306 yards and two touchdowns, and Willis McGahee rushed for 109 yards to lead the top ranked Miami Hurricanes to a victory over Kansas State and a berth in the semifinals. The Wildcats managed to keep the score close throughout much of the game. Trailing 17-3 midway through the third quarter, Daniel Davis scored on a 34 yard touchdown run to cut Miami’s lead to 17-10. From that point on, Miami started to pull away. Dorsey connected with Ethenic Sands on a 62 yard touchdown pass to put the Canes up 24-10. After a subsequent three-and-out by Kansas State, the Hurricanes took a commanding 31-10 lead on a 21 yard touchdown run by Jason Geathers. Kansas State scored late in the game on an 8 yard touchdown run by Ell Roberson to make the final score more respectable at 31-17. Ohio State 26 Oklahoma 23 (OSU wins 54.5%, avg. score = OKLA 23.1 OSU 22.2) Mike Nugent kicked a 27 yard field goal with 1:55 left in the game to lift the Ohio State Buckeyes to a 26-23 win over the Oklahoma Sooners. The game was close throughout with six lead changes. Oklahoma’s final lead of the game came early in the fourth quarter on a 68 yard interception return for a touchdown by Antonio Perkins, putting the Sooners up 23-20. Nugent tied the score 23-23 on a 48 yard field goal with 10:04 left in the game. After Nugent put the Buckeyes up 26-23 late in the game, the Sooners had one final opportunity, but they turned the ball over on downs on the Ohio State 46 yard line while trying to drive into field goal range. Maurice Clarett led the Buckeye rushing attack with 116 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Sooner running back Quentin Griffin rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. The Ohio State defense did a good job limiting the Oklahoma passing game. Nate Hybl completed just 17 out of 40 passes for 201 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel threw for 279 yards, with one touchdown and an interception. Georgia 37 Iowa 13 (UGA wins 67.3%, avg. score = UGA 27.6 IOWA 21.8) David Greene completed 23 out of 35 pass attempts for 287 yards and two touchdowns to lead SEC champion Georgia to a convincing 37-13 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes. Bulldog running back Musa Smith chipped in with 130 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. The game was close at halftime, with Georgia holding a 14-13 lead. However, the UGA defense shut out the Hawkeyes in the second half. The Bulldogs seized control of the game in the third quarter, scoring 16 unanswered points on three Billy Bennett field goals and a 19 yard touchdown run by Smith. Tony Milton scored on a 15 yard run late in the fourth quarter to add the exclamation point for UGA. Iowa quarterback Brad Banks had a tough outing, throwing four interceptions and no touchdown passes. USC 23 Washington State 13 (USC wins 57.4%, avg. score =USC 28.2 WSU 26.2) In quarterfinal playoff action, visiting USC defeated Washington State 23-13 to avenge an earlier overtime loss on this same field back in October. Leading the way for the Trojans was running back Sulton McCullough, who rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer played an efficient game, passing for 239 yards without an interception. His counterpart, WSU quarterback Jason Gesser, passed for 292 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Washington State never led in the game, and the game wasn't as competitive as the final score indicated. USC held the Cougars to just 6 points on two Drew Dunning field goals until late in the game when Gesser hit Mike Bush on a 3 yard touchdown pass for the 23-13 final score. Last edited by Vegas Vic : 07-08-2021 at 09:18 PM.

07-08-2021, 02:47 PM	#30
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	2002-2003 SEMIFINALS #1 Miami (13-0) vs #5 USC (12-2) #2 Ohio State (14-0) vs #3 Georgia (13-1) Miami 45 USC 20 (MIA wins 62.4%, avg. score = MIA 31.7 USC 28.4) Behind a strong performance from their special teams, the Miami Hurricanes defeated the USC Trojans 45-20 to advance to the national championship game. Roscoe Parrish had two long punt return touchdowns, and field position played a key role for Miami throughout the contest, as they were actually outgained by the Trojans in total yardage. Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer played a valiant game in defeat, passing for 283 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions. All four of the non-special teams touchdowns for Miami came on the ground, with two from Jason Geathers and one each from Willis McGahee and Jarrett Payton. Georgia 30 Ohio State 27 (UGA wins 66.3%, avg. score = UGA 26.7 OSU 20.9) Billy Bennett kicked a 57 yard field goal as time expired to lift the Georgia Bulldogs to a 30-27 upset of previously undefeated Ohio State, sending the Bulldogs to the national championship game. With Ohio State holding a narrow 21-20 lead, the teams traded scores on the final four possessions of the game: Musa Smith led the Georgia ground game, with 120 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. David Greene added 302 passing yards, with a touchdown and interception. Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett played well in defeat, rushing for 173 yards on 24 carries. Quarterback Craig Krenzel had a rough outing, completing just 12 out of 26 passes for 319 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. The Bulldogs won the turnover battle 4 to 1. Last edited by Vegas Vic : 07-08-2021 at 09:18 PM.

07-08-2021, 09:21 PM	#31
Vegas Vic Checkraising Tourists Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cocoa Beach, FL	2002-2003 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP #1 Miami (14-0) vs #3 Georgia (14-1) Miami 34 Georgia 22 (MIA wins 60.4%, avg. score = MIA 30.0 UGA 25.6) Behind a strong rushing performance from Willis McGahee, the Miami Hurricanes rallied from a 19-10 halftime deficit to defeat the Georgia Bulldogs 34-22 in the national championship game. McGahee rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. His 32 yard touchdown run late in the third quarter put the Hurricanes ahead for good, 24-19. He scored again on a 2 yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to give Miami a little breathing room with a 31-19 lead. Georgia quarterback David Greene had a fine game, completing 24 out of 32 passes for 238 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Hurricane quarterback Ken Dorsey also had a fine outing, completing 23 out of 33 passes for 370 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Even though the season ended with a loss for Coach Mark Richt and the Bulldogs, it could not diminish their great run in winning the SEC championship and making it to the national title game. Georgia finished the season at 14-2, while Larry Coker’s Miami Hurricanes finished with a perfect 15-0 record. Comparison of the Actual 2003 BCS Championship to the Simulated 12-team playoff Miami and Ohio State were the only two undefeated teams in Division I, so there was no controversy with their selection to play in the BCS Championship game. The controversy came after Miami appeared to have won the game 24-17 in overtime, when on 4th down and 3, Craig Krenzel’s pass attempt bounced off of the hands of intended receiver Chris Gamble in the end zone and was ruled incomplete by the line judge. The Miami fans and team, believing the game was over, began to rush the field. However, the field judge had thrown a very late flag for pass interference in the end zone. The replay showed that Miami defensive back Glenn Sharpe had great coverage on Gamble, and there did not appear to be any interference. ABC color commentator Dan Fouts summed it up succinctly, “Bad call! BAD CALL!” The ball was placed first and goal on the one yard line, and Ohio State tied the game 24-24 on a Krenzel quarterback sneak and subsequent extra point to send it to double overtime, where the Buckeyes won it 31-24. To this day, Miami fans and many neutral fans think the Hurricanes were robbed of a national championship by the officials. In our 12-team playoff, Miami defeated Georgia to win the national championship, winning 60.4% of the simulations. Ohio State was eliminated by Georgia in the semifinals, with the Bulldogs winning an impressive 66.3% of the simulations. That 2002 Georgia team was very good, finishing the season with a 13-1 record, including a 30-3 blowout win over Arkansas in the SEC Championship game and subsequent win over Florida State in the Orange Bowl. They finished the season ranked #3 in both polls. Their lone loss of the season came against Florida, 20-13, in early November. If not for that one slipup, the Bulldogs would have certainly been in the mix for one of the two BCS slots. Last edited by Vegas Vic : 07-08-2021 at 09:27 PM.

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