From 1998 through 2013, the BCS – the Bowl Championship Series – used a combination of polls and computer calculations to determine the two opponents who would face off in the BCS National Championship Game. Marred with controversy for nearly its entire existence, the BCS was eventually replaced with the current format, the College Football Playoff.
Despite the controversy, the BCS gave us a handful of classic national championship games, and a few snoozers as well. Suffering from football withdrawals, I decided to go back and watch every single game to determine how good these games actually were and decided to rank them all.
Similar to the CFP rankings I did, which you can read here, these games are based on many factors — storylines, memorable moments and intrigue all play a factor in the rankings.
16. 2012 BCS National Championship Game — Alabama 21, LSU 0
Alabama and LSU met for the second time this season, meeting in early November in a game that LSU won 9-6 in an all field-goal snooze fest. This game was not much better. LSU had nothing offensively and didn’t reach Alabama territory until halfway in the fourth quarter. Don’t let the score fool you though; the 21 points Alabama scored did not come from three touchdowns. No, it was five field goals by Jeremy Shelley and a garbage-time touchdown, in which Shelley ironically missed the extra point, totaling the 21 points. I forgot everything about this game the moment the clock hit 0:00.
15. 2013 BCS National Championship Game — Alabama 42, Notre Dame 14
The game that followed the worst BCS title game did not fare much better. I think it’s fair that anyone outside of Notre Dame fans knew this was not going to be pretty. After surviving a classic game against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, Alabama completely outclassed the Fighting Irish. A combination of a suffocating defense and a surgically effective offense catapulted Alabama to a 35-0 lead halfway into the third quarter. A couple of garbage-time touchdowns gave the Irish a little pride at the end, but even the 28-point final score does not do justice to how dominant the Tide were. These two games, in my opinion, sealed the BCS’ fate, as the CFP was officially announced the following year.
14. 2001 Orange Bowl — Oklahoma 13, Florida State 2
Florida State came into the game as an 11.5-point favorite, and many expected the Noles to easily beat up-and-coming Oklahoma. What resulted was an absolute snoozer as neither offense really brought anything to the field. Sloppy, uninspired performances by both offenses really put an ugly taste in my mouth after watching this. The Sooners led 6-0 after three quarters and scored the game’s only touchdown with 7:46 left in the fourth quarter. With Florida State’s only points coming on a safety with under a minute to play in the game, Oklahoma shut down the Seminoles the rest of the way, completing one of the biggest upsets in college football history.
13. 2002 Rose Bowl — Miami (FL) 37, Nebraska 14
Arguably the greatest team ever, Miami completely dominated Nebraska from the jump in Pasadena. Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey was effective early, throwing three touchdown passes in the first half, helping the Hurricanes jump out to a 34-0 lead at halftime. With the game pretty much in hand, Miami parked the bus and ran the clock out in the second half to complete one of the greatest seasons of all time. Two garbage-time touchdowns by Nebraska made the score closer than it really was.
12. 2005 Orange Bowl — USC 55, Oklahoma 19*
A matchup that included four of the five Heisman Trophy finalists that season, this game looked intriguing on paper. Unfortunately for Oklahoma, football isn’t played on paper. Despite taking an early 7-0 lead, Oklahoma was absolutely pummeled to submission by a historic USC offense. Led by Heisman winner Matt Leinart, USC followed the early deficit by going on a 55-3 run before a garbage-time score by OU, to cap off one of the greatest offensive performances in BCS title game history.
* Technically this game doesn’t count as the NCAA vacated the result due to violations committed by USC, but we all saw it and the footage exists so it definitely counts in my book.
11. 2007 BCS National Championship Game — Florida 41, Ohio State 14
All signs pointed to Ohio State winning this game. The Buckeyes were favored by seven, had the Heisman winner in quarterback Troy Smith and shot out of the gates immediately with Ted Ginn Jr. returning the opening kickoff back for a touchdown. Unfortunately, Ginn injured himself in the ensuing celebration, knocking him out for the game, and it was all downhill from there. Florida responded emphatically with a 34-7 run and the game was over by halftime. Smith was held to only four completions and OSU had 82 yards on offense as a whole, resulting in one of the best defensive performances in BCS history.
10. 2008 BCS National Championship — LSU 38, Ohio State 24
After one of, if not the craziest college football seasons of all time, the LSU Tigers found themselves in the title game despite having two losses. That did not make them underdogs, however. Despite a 10-0 deficit to start, quarterback Matt Flynn led the Tigers’ offense to 24 unanswered points to go into halftime up by 14. Running back Beanie Wells did all he could to get OSU back it, but that was as close as it got. LSU became the first team since 1960’s Minnesota to win it all despite having two losses, which is a perfect way to end a wacky season.
9. 2010 BCS National Championship — Alabama 37, Texas 21
The college football world was robbed of a great game early when Texas’ Heisman finalist quarterback Colt McCoy was knocked out of the game early following a tackle on a QB option play, with the Longhorns forced to finish the game with unproven true freshman Garrett Gilbert. Alabama took advantage of a stiff and nervous Gilbert and jumped out to a 24-6 halftime lead. Despite inconsistent play, Gilbert was able to get the Longhorns within three deep in the fourth quarter, trailing 24-21 with under five minutes to play. Alabama would not be denied, however, as a running back tandem of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson finished off Texas, sparking a run of six titles in 14 years for Alabama and head coach Nick Saban.
8. 2004 Sugar Bowl — LSU 21, Oklahoma 14
Speaking of Nick Saban, this marked his first of MANY title game appearances, coaching the LSU Tigers against BCS mainstay Bob Stoops and his Sooners. Despite facing the Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Jason White, Saban’s No. 1 ranked defense held OU to just 32 yards and seven points in the first half. The game was a grueling defensive grudge match, and despite never leading, OU remained within striking distance the majority of the game. After a Sooners touchdown made it a 21-14 game, LSU’s defense held serve and did not allow another point in the final 11:01 of the game, capping Saban’s first of a record seven national titles over the next two decades.
7. 1999 Fiesta Bowl — Tennessee 23, Florida State 16
The inaugural BCS title game pitted two teams with incredible talent on the defensive side of the ball against each other, and it definitely played an impact on the game. The teams combined to produce seven turnovers, and there was no scoring in each of the first and third quarters. Both teams had to claw and fight their way to put any type of points on the board, and it felt like one big play could be the difference in the game. Well, it was two big plays that pushed the Vols over the top; a 54-yard interception return touchdown by Dwayne Goodrich, and a 79-yard touchdown pass from Tee Martin to Peerless Price. Both touchdowns would put the Vols up double digits, with the latter putting them for good as Tennessee became the first ever BCS national champion.
6. 2009 BCS National Championship Game — Florida 24, Oklahoma 14
A battle between two Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks —Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Florida’s Tim Tebow — this game was slated to be an offensive battle. Both defenses, however, were the story of the game as neither team could find a rhythm offensively. Both teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter after a scoreless first quarter to head into halftime tied 7-7. The scoring woes continued in the third quarter as a Percy Harvin touchdown was the only score of the quarter that gave the Gators a 14-7 lead going into the fourth. Oklahoma answered early in the fourth to tie the game at 14-14, setting up a fantastic finish. Florida had different plans, however, scoring the game’s final 10 points and securing its second title in three seasons.
5. 2000 Sugar Bowl — Florida State 46, Virginia Tech 29
Don’t let the final score fool you; this game was a lot better than what the final score says. Undefeated Florida State was seen as a big favorite over an also undefeated Virginia Tech squad, which was led by revolutionary quarterback Michael Vick. FSU looked like it was heading to an easy victory after jumping out to a 28-7 lead early in the second quarter. Vick, however, showed he was a superstar by spearheading a run of 22 unanswered points, including 15 unanswered in the third quarter to take a 29-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Motivated to not let another title game slip through their fingers, FSU’s quarterback Chris Weinke and wide receiver Peter Warrick went on a tear in the fourth quarter. An 18-0 run by the Seminoles put the game away and gave them their first championship of the BCS era.
4. 2011 BCS National Championship Game — Auburn 22, Oregon 19
While Oregon had the nation’s best offense and Auburn had the Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Cam Newton, both defenses came to play in this one. After a scoreless first quarter, both offenses showed some flashes in the second, with Newton and Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas leading their teams to scoring drives. A touchdown drive at the end of the half and a field goal in the third quarter gave Auburn a 19-11 lead heading into the final quarter. With their backs against the wall, Thomas led a game-tying touchdown drive, capped off by LaMichael James’ second touchdown, with 2:33 to go. In the ensuing drive, Auburn running back Michael Dyer would have one of the most memorable plays in college football history when, while on his own 40-yard line, he was seemingly tackled after a short gain before realizing he fell on top of the defender and was never down. With everyone thinking the ball was dead, Dyer continued to run before finally being tackled inside the Oregon 25-yard line with 1:56 to go. Auburn continued to run the ball and the clock before finally hitting a game-winning field goal as time expired, giving Auburn its first title since 1957.
3. 2014 BCS National Championship Game — Florida State 34, Auburn 31
The Cinderella Auburn Tigers came into this game as heavy underdogs, following two memorable wins against Georgia and Alabama late in the season, against the undefeated Florida State Seminoles. Despite this, Auburn went on the attack early, using an up-tempo offense to jump out to a 21-3 lead. Heisman winner Jameis Winston led a touchdown drive to go into halftime with his Seminoles down 21-10, and a field goal in the third trimmed the lead to 21-13 going into the final quarter. After an FSU touchdown and an Auburn field goal to start the quarter, the Seminoles landed a big punch with Kermit Whitfield returning the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, completing an 18-point comeback and giving FSU its first lead at 27-24 with 4:31 to play. Auburn responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive to retake the lead with only 1:19 to go. The Seminoles capped this incredible game with an 80-yard drive, climaxing with a touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin with 13 seconds left, completing the biggest comeback in BCS history and ending the BCS era in incredible fashion, with one of the greatest games in college football history.
2. 2003 Fiesta Bowl — Ohio State 31, Miami (FL) 24
Underdogs by 11.5 points, the Ohio State Buckeyes’ win over Miami marked the second time in three seasons that that big of an underdog won in the BCS era. Unlike the previous game though — the 2001 Orange Bowl — this was an instant classic. The Buckeyes, looking to shock the world, jumped out to a 14-7 halftime lead. They continued to lead late in the game and found themselves on the cusp of the greatest upset in CFB history with a 17-14 lead with under two to go. Miami showed its greatness on the final drive by driving down the field and kicking a game-tying field goal to send the game to overtime. In overtime, Miami scored first on a Kellen Winslow, Jr. touchdown to take the lead 24-17. With the Buckeyes facing a fourth-and-3 on the ensuing drive, Miami appeared to break up a pass in the end zone to secure the win and players rushed the field, but a controversial defensive pass interference call allowed the Buckeyes to tie the game and send it to another OT. In the second overtime, OSU scored first and was able to stop Miami on fourth down, giving OSU the title and completing one of the biggest upsets of all time. The pass interference call continues to cause controversy to this day, which just adds another layer to this historic game.
1. 2006 Rose Bowl — Texas 41, USC 38
I mean, this is the obvious choice here. This is THE greatest college football game of all time. Everything about this game is legendary; the Rose Bowl, Keith Jackson on the call, two blue bloods fighting for the ultimate prize, incredible talent on both sides of the ball, Matthew McConaughey on the sidelines. You could not write a better script than this. USC came into the game as the defending champion and riding a 34-game winning streak, the longest in the country at the time. The second-longest winning streak was 19 straight, owned by, you guessed it, the Texas Longhorns. Both teams came out swinging and never relented. The score remained within single digits the majority of the night until Matt Leinart and the USC offense put together back-to-back touchdown drives to take a 38-26 lead late in the fourth. Down 12 with time winding down, Texas quarterback Vince Young led one of the greatest comebacks of all time, orchestrating two touchdown drives. On the final drive, Young had one of the most iconic plays in history with a momentous eight-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-5 with 19 seconds to go to give the Longhorns a 41-38 win. To this day this game gives me goosebumps. It encapsulated everything there is to love about college football, and this game will be remembered for generations to come.
About the author
I was raised in Texas, but I am a Georgian by heart. I come from a long line of Dawgs. I have been a diehard Georgia Bulldogs fan since the day I was born. I have hosted multiple podcasts, and college football has always been my passion. I went to the University of Texas at San Antonio to study education, but I plan on returning to get a degree in Journalism. Go Dawgs! P.S. Tyler Simmons was onsides.
