2001 McMNC: Miami-FL Hurricanes

AP Top 10: Final Record -- Key Bowl Results

1. Miami-FL: 12-0-0 -- W, Rose, 37-14
2. Oregon: 11-1-0 -- W, Fiesta, 38-16
3. Florida: 10-2-0 -- W, Orange, 56-21
4. Tennessee: 11-2-0 -- W, Citrus, 45-17
5. Texas: 11-2-0 -- W, Holiday, 47-43
6. Oklahoma: 11-2-0 -- W, Cotton, 10-3
7. Louisiana State: 10-3-0 -- W, Sugar, 47-34
8. Nebraska: 11-2-0 -- L, Rose, 14-37
9. Colorado: 10-3-0 -- L, Fiesta, 16-38
10. Washington State: 10-2-0 -- W, Sun, 33-27

Yet another fuck-up by the BCS. Sensing a theme here?

The Hurricanes deserved their spot in the title game, based on an unblemished record and a 57% SOS rating. They beat AP #15 Florida State by 22 points on the road, they beat AP #21 Boston College on the road by 11 points, they beat AP #14 Syracuse by 59 points at home (shutout), they beat AP #19 Washington at home by 58 points, they beat AP #18 Virginia Tech by two points on the road, and they beat #8 Nebraska in the Rose Bowl by 23 points. Six wins over ranked teams is impressive, although no team ranked higher than eighth by the end of the season.

So why was Nebraska chosen, as a non-conference winner, over Oregon? The Ducks were ranked higher and had won their conference, while the Huskers had a 26-point loss in their last regular season game. The Ducks' one loss was at home by seven points to AP #16 Stanford, by the way. Nebraska is ineligible for the McMNC, of course, since they didn't win their conference. Do the Ducks have enough to overcome Miami's unblemished record?

Oregon had a 53% SOS rating, with wins over #10 Washington State on the road by seven points and #9 Colorado by 22 points in the Fiesta Bowl. They didn't play a tough schedule, obviously. Transitive score fun works here, though: Oregon beat Colorado by 22 points, Colorado beat Nebraska by 26 points, and Miami only beat Nebraska by 23 points.

But like 1999 and 2000, there is just no way to tell what might have happened in a head-to-head matchup between the Hurricanes and the Ducks. The BCS fucked it up AGAIN: on paper, the Ducks don't have enough to overcome the Hurricanes' perfect record.

What a shame we'll never know who the true college football champion was in 2001.

McMNC Revisions
1. Miami-FL
2. Oregon
3. Nebraska
4. Washington State
5. Tennessee

RUNNING SCORECARD:
Penn State: +1977, +1981, =1982, =1986, +1994
USC: -1962, =1967, +1969, =1972, +1978, +1979
Tennessee: +1938, +1942, +1950, -1951, =1998
Washington: +1960, +1991
Georgia Tech: +1952, +1990
Pittsburgh: +1936, -1937, =1976, +1980
UCLA: +1965
Arkansas: +1964
Mississippi: +1962
Iowa: +1956
Illinois: +1951
Purdue: +1943
Stanford: +1940
California: +1937
Florida: =1996
BYU: =1984
Syracuse: =1959
LSU: =1958
Texas A&M: =1939
Auburn: -1957, +1983
Georgia: +1946, -1980
Michigan State: -1952, +1953
Michigan: +1947, =1948, -1997
Ohio State: -1942, +1944, =1954, =1968
Nebraska: =1970, =1971, -1994, =1995, +1997
Oklahoma: +1949, -1950, =1955, -1956, +1957, =1975, =1986, =2000
TCU: -1938
Maryland: -1953
Clemson: -1981
Colorado: -1990
Florida State: -1993, =1999
Texas: =1963, -1969
Army: -1944, -1945
Miami-FL: -1983, =1987, =1989, -1991, =2001
Minnesota: -1936, -1940, =1941, -1960
Alabama: +1945, =1961, -1964, -1965, -1978, -1979, =1992
Notre Dame: -1943, -1946, -1947, -1949, =1966, =1973, -1977, =1988, +1993