What is the worst college football team to win/share a national title?

[Bubbler]

Getting back to the original two shots at BYU. Why do feel that way. Because they played in the old WAC? And if Boise or TCU wins, will they get the same scorn?

No, Boise and TCU would be far more deserving than that BYU team was. BYU's big non-conference game that year was a 20-14 win over a crappy Pitt team that finished 3-7-1; and BYU's bowl game was a 24-17 Holiday Bowl win over a very poor Michigan team that finished 6-6 that year. I don't believe they had a Top 25 opponent that entire season.

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On the other hand, would any team in a major conference in 1984 step up and play BYU in a bowl for a national title? No, they all shut them out, forcing BYU to play a 5-loss Michigan team in the Holiday Bowl. And this was during a period where the bowls could basically do whatever the heck they wanted, short of the Big Ten-Pac 10 matchup in the Rose Bowl. It isn't BYU's fault the powers that be wouldn't "lower" themselves to let them play in a major bowl.

those major conference powers who you say wouldn't lower themselves had bowl obligations, didn't they? the big 8 champ had to play in the orange, the swc in the cotton, the sec in the sugar, etc.

Yeah, but their opponents weren't locked in. They could play anybody they wanted in those bowls.

The Orange Bowl chose No. 4 Washington to play against No. 2 Oklahoma in 1984. Fine, but the Orange Bowl could have invited No. 1 BYU, or, Washington -- who didn't win the Pac 10 that year -- could have played BYU in the Holiday Bowl.

Turns out, if Washington had played BYU, they might have won the national title, instead of finishing No. 2. Depends also on what Oklahoma, who was No. 2 going into its Orange Bowl, would have done.

 

[Stoney]

I've been covering college football for 26 years now and the only time I thought the final vote was a tough decision was in 1997 between Michigan and Nebraska.

I don't know how anybody who puts real thought into it could believe this, there've been so many years when a vote easily could go either way. For example, how were Nebraska over Penn State in 94, and FSU over ND in 93 not "tough decisions", at the very least? I see little basis for those votes other than perhaps regional bias and the sentimental desire to give it to the coach who'd not won it yet.

FSU's title in 1993 was the Bobby Bowden Lifetime Achievement Award.

I believe the same thing could be said for Osborne in 94. As I recall, Penn State had the tougher schedule and had beaten up its schedule just as convincingly as the Huskers, and Penn State had been ranked No. 1 and Nebraska 2 the entire season until around week 10 or 11 when the voters decided to flip em for no legitimate reason. Anyone who thinks that wasn't at least "a tough decision" should not have a vote.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Wasn't the WAC winner (at the time) locked into the Holiday Bowl?

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I've been covering college football for 26 years now and the only time I thought the final vote was a tough decision was in 1997 between Michigan and Nebraska.

I don't know how anybody who puts real thought into it could believe this, there've been so many years when a vote easily could go either way. For example, how were Nebraska over Penn State in 94, and FSU over ND in 93 not "tough decisions", at the very least? I see little basis for those votes other than perhaps regional bias and the sentimental desire to give it to the coach who'd not won it yet.

FSU's title in 1993 was the Bobby Bowden Lifetime Achievement Award.

I believe the same thing could be said for Osborne in 94. As I recall, Penn State had the tougher schedule, Penn State had beaten up its schedule just as convincingly as the Huskers, Penn State had been ranked No. 1 ande Nebraska 2 the entire season until around week 10 or 11 when the voters decided to flip em for no legitimate reason. Anyone who thinks that wasn't at least "a tough decision" should not have a vote.

That's interesting considering how the vote wasn't even close that year.

 

[Bubbler]

Wasn't the WAC winner (at the time) locked into the Holiday Bowl?

Yes. Washington turned down an invite to play BYU in the Holiday Bowl.

As I recall, and I could be wrong on this, BYU was willing to buy their way out of its Holiday Bowl commitment if a major bowl came calling, but none of them did.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I've been covering college football for 26 years now and the only time I thought the final vote was a tough decision was in 1997 between Michigan and Nebraska.

I don't know how anybody who puts real thought into it could believe this, there've been so many years when a vote easily could go either way. For example, how were Nebraska over Penn State in 94, and FSU over ND in 93 not "tough decisions", at the very least? I see little basis for those votes other than perhaps regional bias and the sentimental desire to give it to the coach who'd not won it yet.

FSU's title in 1993 was the Bobby Bowden Lifetime Achievement Award.

I believe the same thing could be said for Osborne in 94. As I recall, Penn State had the tougher schedule, Penn State had beaten up its schedule just as convincingly as the Huskers, Penn State had been ranked No. 1 ande Nebraska 2 the entire season until around week 10 or 11 when the voters decided to flip em for no legitimate reason. Anyone who thinks that wasn't at least "a tough decision" should not have a vote.

That's interesting considering how the vote wasn't even close that year.

The "reason" the voters switched Penn State and Nebraska that year was that on the last play of the game, Indiana scored a touchdown and two-point conversion to cut Penn State's lead to eight points. When it came across the ticker that PSU had "struggled" against Indiana, that basically decided the national championship.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Wasn't the WAC winner (at the time) locked into the Holiday Bowl?

Yes. Washington turned down an invite to play BYU in the Holiday Bowl.

As I recall, and I could be wrong on this, BYU was willing to buy their way out of its Holiday Bowl commitment if a major bowl came calling, but none of them did.

Wow, that's interesting. I'd never heard that. Good stuff...

 

[Bubbler]

I've been covering college football for 26 years now and the only time I thought the final vote was a tough decision was in 1997 between Michigan and Nebraska.

I don't know how anybody who puts real thought into it could believe this, there've been so many years when a vote easily could go either way. For example, how were Nebraska over Penn State in 94, and FSU over ND in 93 not "tough decisions", at the very least? I see little basis for those votes other than perhaps regional bias and the sentimental desire to give it to the coach who'd not won it yet.

FSU's title in 1993 was the Bobby Bowden Lifetime Achievement Award.

I believe the same thing could be said for Osborne in 94. As I recall, Penn State had the tougher schedule and had beaten up its schedule just as convincingly as the Huskers, and Penn State had been ranked No. 1 and Nebraska 2 the entire season until around week 10 or 11 when the voters decided to flip em for no legitimate reason. Anyone who thinks that wasn't at least "a tough decision" should not have a vote.

Penn State was only ranked No. 1 for two weeks in 1994. Their goose was cooked when they only beat Indiana by six and Illinois by four late in that Big Ten season.

 

[Bubbler]

Wasn't the WAC winner (at the time) locked into the Holiday Bowl?

Yes. Washington turned down an invite to play BYU in the Holiday Bowl.

As I recall, and I could be wrong on this, BYU was willing to buy their way out of its Holiday Bowl commitment if a major bowl came calling, but none of them did.

Wow, that's interesting. I'd never heard that. Good stuff...

Like I said, I could be wrong on that, so don't take it as gospel. 8)

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I've been covering college football for 26 years now and the only time I thought the final vote was a tough decision was in 1997 between Michigan and Nebraska.

I don't know how anybody who puts real thought into it could believe this, there've been so many years when a vote easily could go either way. For example, how were Nebraska over Penn State in 94, and FSU over ND in 93 not "tough decisions", at the very least? I see little basis for those votes other than perhaps regional bias and the sentimental desire to give it to the coach who'd not won it yet.

FSU's title in 1993 was the Bobby Bowden Lifetime Achievement Award.

I believe the same thing could be said for Osborne in 94. As I recall, Penn State had the tougher schedule, Penn State had beaten up its schedule just as convincingly as the Huskers, Penn State had been ranked No. 1 ande Nebraska 2 the entire season until around week 10 or 11 when the voters decided to flip em for no legitimate reason. Anyone who thinks that wasn't at least "a tough decision" should not have a vote.

That's interesting considering how the vote wasn't even close that year.

The "reason" the voters switched Penn State and Nebraska that year was that on the last play of the game, Indiana scored a touchdown and two-point conversion to cut Penn State's lead to eight points. When it came across the ticker that PSU had "struggled" against Indiana, that basically decided the national championship.

I think that was also before Nebraska crushed Colorado, which ended that season ranked No. 3 in the country.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Wasn't the WAC winner (at the time) locked into the Holiday Bowl?

Yes. Washington turned down an invite to play BYU in the Holiday Bowl.

As I recall, and I could be wrong on this, BYU was willing to buy their way out of its Holiday Bowl commitment if a major bowl came calling, but none of them did.

Wow, that's interesting. I'd never heard that. Good stuff...

Like I said, I could be wrong on that, so don't take it as gospel. 8)

I take everything you say as gospel. It goes:

1. My wife
2. Bubbler
3. God

 

[Stoney]

I've been covering college football for 26 years now and the only time I thought the final vote was a tough decision was in 1997 between Michigan and Nebraska.

I don't know how anybody who puts real thought into it could believe this, there've been so many years when a vote easily could go either way. For example, how were Nebraska over Penn State in 94, and FSU over ND in 93 not "tough decisions", at the very least? I see little basis for those votes other than perhaps regional bias and the sentimental desire to give it to the coach who'd not won it yet.

FSU's title in 1993 was the Bobby Bowden Lifetime Achievement Award.

I believe the same thing could be said for Osborne in 94. As I recall, Penn State had the tougher schedule, Penn State had beaten up its schedule just as convincingly as the Huskers, Penn State had been ranked No. 1 ande Nebraska 2 the entire season until around week 10 or 11 when the voters decided to flip em for no legitimate reason. Anyone who thinks that wasn't at least "a tough decision" should not have a vote.

That's interesting considering how the vote wasn't even close that year.

Doesn't make it any more legitimate. The week the 1/2 order flipped was after Penn State had played at Indiana and won by a misleadingly close 35-29 score. And the only reason people could figure for the flip was that Penn State was being penalized for not blowing IU off the field.

But what those voters didn't bother to notice is that Penn State HAD BEEN blowing IU out, but IU had gotten a couple garbage touchdowns in the final couple minutes (including on a tipped hail mary in the final seconds) that resulted in a very misleading final score. Also, that IU team finished 6-5 and wasn't that bad. Paterno essentially lost a national title that year because he chose not to run up the score in a game. Classic example of how arbitrary and silly picking a champ by voting can be.