Hypothetic college football playoff history

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http://www.postandcourier.com/artic...-football-playoff-had-been-in-place-all-along


Hypothetically, what if the College Football Playoff had been in place all along?


Aaron Brenner Email @Aaron_Brenner

Jul 2 2014 5:18 pm Jul 3 10:21 am








What if we had this magical College Football Playoff all along?
Sure, we're now placing the postseason in the hands of 13 individuals crafting a bracket, rather than a complex set of computerized rankings or the assortment of sportswriters voting on the best teams in the country.


Just play along. What if we could dream about the top four teams in the country, in every year since the birth of the Associated Press poll in 1936, clashing in a scrumptious playoff showdown?With the help of Clemson sports information director Tim Bourret, and data verified by CollegePollArchive.com, we've compiled the list of how history might look under this hypothetical.
One note to know: from 1936-64, the final AP poll was released before bowl invitations, but in 1965, the Associated Press decided to wait until the end of the season. It became permanent in 1968 that the AP poll crowned its national champion following all bowl games.
Therefore, for this study, we used the final AP poll in 1936-64, plus 1966-67, to determine the hypothetical four-team playoff; in 1965, and 1968-97, we used the pre-bowl rankings. From 1998-2013, we utilized the final BCS standings.
(* - denotes actual national champion each year, crowned by AP 1936-97 and BCS 1998-2013)
YearNo. 1 SeedNo. 2 SeedNo. 3 SeedNo. 4 Seed
1936*Minnesota (7-1)LSU (9-0-1)Pittsburgh (7-1-1)Alabama (8-0-1)
1937*Pittsburgh (9-0-1)California (9-0-1)Fordham (7-0-1)Alabama (9-0)
1938*TCU (10-0)Tennessee (10-0)Duke (9-0)Oklahoma (10-0)
1939*Texas A&M (10-0)Tennessee (10-0)Southern Cal (7-0-2)Cornell (8-0)
1940*Minnesota (8-0)Stanford (9-0)Michigan (7-1)Tennessee (10-0)
1941*Minnesota (8-0)Duke (9-0)Notre Dame (8-0-1)Texas (7-1-1)
1942*Ohio State (9-1)Georgia (10-1)Wisconsin (8-1-1)Tulsa (10-0)
1943*Notre Dame (9-1)Iowa Pre-Flight (9-1)Michigan (8-1)Navy (8-1)
1944*Army (9-0)Ohio State (9-0)Randolph Field (10-0)Navy (6-3)
1945*Army (9-0)Alabama (9-0)Navy (7-1-1)Indiana (9-0-1)
1946*Notre Dame (8-0-1)Army (9-0-1)Georgia (10-0)UCLA (10-0)
1947*Notre Dame (9-0)Michigan (9-0)SMU (9-0-1)Penn State (9-0)
1948*Michigan (9-0)Notre Dame (9-0)North Carolina (9-0-1)California (10-0)
1949*Notre Dame (9-0)Oklahoma (10-0)California (10-0)Army (9-0)
1950*Oklahoma (9-0)Army (8-0)Texas (8-1)Tennessee (9-1)
1951*Tennessee (10-0)Michigan St. (9-0)Maryland (9-0)Illinois (8-0-1)
1952*Michigan State (9-0)Georgia Tech (11-0)Notre Dame (7-2-1)Oklahoma (8-1-1)
1953*Maryland (10-0)Notre Dame (8-0-1)Michigan St. (8-1)Oklahoma (8-1-1)
1954*Ohio State (9-0)UCLA (9-0)Oklahoma (10-0)Notre Dame (8-1)
1955*Oklahoma (10-0)Michigan St. (8-1)Maryland (10-0)UCLA (9-1)
1956*Oklahoma (10-0)Tennessee (10-0)Iowa (8-1)Georgia Tech (9-1)
1957*Auburn (10-0)Ohio State (8-1)Michigan St. (8-1)Oklahoma (9-1)
1958*LSU (10-0)Iowa (7-1-1)Army (8-0-1)Auburn (9-0-1)
1959*Syracuse (10-0)Mississippi (9-1)LSU (9-1)Texas (9-1)
1960*Minnesota (8-1)Mississippi (9-0-1)Iowa (8-1)Navy (8-1)
1961*Alabama (10-0)Ohio State (8-0-1)Texas (9-1)LSU (9-1)
1962*Southern Cal (10-0)Wisconsin (8-1)Mississippi (9-0)Texas (9-0-1)
1963*Texas (10-0)Navy (9-1)Illinois (7-1-1)Pittsburgh (9-1)
1964*Alabama (10-0)Arkansas (10-0)Notre Dame (9-1)Michigan (8-1)
1965Michigan St. (10-0)Arkansas (10-0)Nebraska (10-0)*Alabama (8-1-1)
1966*Notre Dame (9-0-1)Michigan St. (9-0-1)Alabama (10-0)Georgia (9-1)
1967Southern Cal (9-1)Tennessee (8-1)*Oklahoma (8-1)Indiana (9-1)
1968*Ohio State (9-0)Southern Cal (9-0-1)Penn State (9-0)Georgia (8-0-2)
1969*Texas (10-0)Penn State (10-0)Arkansas (9-1)Ohio State (8-1)
1970Texas (10-0)Ohio State (9-0)*Nebraska (10-0-1)Tennessee (10-1)
1971*Nebraska (12-0)Alabama (11-0)Oklahoma (10-1)Michigan (11-0)
1972*Southern Cal (11-0)Oklahoma (10-1)Ohio State (9-1)Alabama (10-1)
1973Alabama (11-0)Oklahoma (10-0-1)*Notre Dame (10-0)Ohio State (9-0-1)
1974*Oklahoma (11-0)Alabama (11-0)Ohio State (10-1)Michigan (10-1)
1975Ohio State (11-0)Texas A&M (10-0)*Oklahoma (10-1)Alabama (10-1)
1976*Pittsburgh (11-0)Michigan (10-1)Southern Cal (10-1)Maryland (11-0)
1977Texas (11-0)Oklahoma (10-1)Alabama (10-1)Michigan (10-1)
1978Penn State (11-0)*Alabama (10-1)Southern Cal (11-1)Oklahoma (10-1)
1979Ohio State (11-0)*Alabama (11-0)Southern Cal (10-0-1)Florida State (11-0)
1980*Georgia (11-0)Florida State (10-1)Pittsburgh (10-1)Oklahoma (9-2)
1981*Clemson (11-0)Georgia (9-1)Alabama (9-1-1)Nebraska (9-2)
1982Georgia (11-0)*Penn State (10-1)Nebraska (11-1)SMU (10-0-1)
1983Nebraska (12-0)Texas (11-0)Auburn (10-1)Illinois (10-1)
1984*BYU (12-0)Oklahoma (9-1-1)Florida (9-1-1)Washington (10-1)
1985Penn State (11-0)Miami (10-1)*Oklahoma (10-1)Iowa (10-1)
1986Miami (11-0)*Penn State (11-0)Oklahoma (10-1)Michigan (10-1)
1987Oklahoma (11-0)*Miami (11-0)Florida State (10-1)Syracuse (11-0)
1988*Notre Dame (11-0)Miami (10-1)West Virginia (11-0)Florida State (10-1)
1989Colorado (11-0)*Miami (10-1)Michigan (10-1)Notre Dame (11-1)
1990*Colorado (10-1-1)Georgia Tech (10-0-1)Texas (10-1)Miami (9-2)
1991*Miami (11-0)Washington (11-0)Florida (10-1)Michigan (10-1)
1992Miami (11-0)*Alabama (12-0)Florida State (10-1)Texas A&M (12-0)
1993*Florida State (11-1)Nebraska (11-0)West Virginia (11-0)Notre Dame (10-1)
1994*Nebraska (12-0)Penn State (11-0)Miami (10-1)Colorado (10-1)
1995*Nebraska (11-0)Florida (12-0)Northwestern (10-1)Ohio State (11-1)
1996Florida State (11-0)Arizona State (11-0)*Florida (11-1)Ohio State (10-1)
1997*Michigan (11-0)Nebraska (12-0)Tennessee (11-1)Florida State (10-1)
1998*Tennessee (12-0)Florida State (11-1)Kansas State (11-1)Ohio State (10-1)
1999*Florida State (11-0)Virginia Tech (11-0)Nebraska (11-1)Alabama (10-2)
2000*Oklahoma (12-0)Florida State (11-1)Miami (10-1)Washington (10-1)
2001*Miami (11-0)Nebraska (11-1)Colorado (10-2)Oregon (10-1)
2002Miami (12-0)*Ohio State (13-0)Georgia (12-1)Southern Cal (10-2)
2003Oklahoma (12-1)*LSU (12-1)Southern Cal (11-1)Michigan (10-2)
2004*Southern Cal (12-0)Oklahoma (12-0)Auburn (12-0)Texas (10-1)
2005Southern Cal (12-0)*Texas (12-0)Penn State (10-1)Ohio State (9-2)
2006Ohio State (12-0)*Florida (12-1)Michigan (11-1)LSU (10-2)
2007Ohio State (11-1)*LSU (11-2)Virginia Tech (11-2)Oklahoma (11-2)
2008Oklahoma (12-1)*Florida (12-1)Texas (11-1)Alabama (12-1)
2009*Alabama (13-0)Texas (13-0)Cincinnati (12-0)TCU (12-0)
2010*Auburn (13-0)Oregon (12-0)TCU (12-0)Stanford (11-1)
2011LSU (13-0)*Alabama (11-1)Oklahoma St. (11-1)Stanford (11-1)
2012Notre Dame (12-0)*Alabama (12-1)Florida (11-1)Oregon (11-1)
2013*Florida State (13-0)Auburn (12-1)Alabama (11-1)Michigan State (12-1)
Note: 1977 - Notre Dame won title; 1983 - Miami won title
Five points to ponder if the College Football Playoff had been in place



  1. Ideally, a team that doesn't lose a game before the playoff should get a chance, right? Well, Auburn in 1993 (11-0) would have been left out as the No. 5-ranked team, in favor of No. 4 Notre Dame (10-1.) That's the only school from a power conference who'd still be griping about a four-teamer. Of course, the system has not been kind to independents (besides Notre Dame) or squads from lesser leagues. In the past 40 years, we saw Arizona State (1975), Rutgers (1976), BYU (1979), Tulane (1998), Marshall (1999), Hawaii (2007), Utah (2004, 2008) and, last but certainly not least, Boise State (2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009) go undefeated before the final relevant poll and not earn a top-4 spot.
  2. We haven't had a truly wacky year since 2007, since no team entered bowl season unscathed and Ohio State was the only one-loss squad. LSU, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma each would have had a chance to be a two-loss champion. Out of 312 mythical College Football Playoff qualifiers, only 14 have multiple losses, with Navy in 1944 (6-3) being the only 3-loss contender.
  3. The longest streak of would-be qualifying for one program? Miami, which never once cracked the top four in the first 48 years of the AP poll, finished there eight straight years (1985-92).
  4. Oklahoma holds the title as making the most top fours, with an incredible 27 hypothetical appearances.
  5. Alabama's an all-time titan, its 23 appearances second only to the Sooners. Amazingly, though, the Crimson Tide would only have been the top seed four times, and never consecutively in multiple years - something Minnesota (1940-41), Army (1944-45) and Colorado (1989-90) can boast.
 

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This is great stuff rolltide. The fact that Oklahoma and Alabama have had the most appearances in the top four is a good indicator of the sustained strength of their programs over the years. Even the best programs will have up and down stretches lasting for varying periods. Thanks for sharing.
 

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Lots of interesting hypotheticals and good debates to be had. Thanks for sharing
 

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