BCS HISTORICAL RECORDS GUIDE 2014-15 EDITION TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 History of the BCS 13 All-Time NCG Results 15 BCS Game Results 18 BCS Bowl Game All-Time Win-Loss Records 20 Results of Bowl Coalition and Bowl Alliance Games 22 Weekly BCS Standings Leaders 25 All-Time BCS Standings Appearances 42 BCS Standings Week-by-Week 59 BCS National Championship Game HISTORY OF THE BCS Recaps 92 BCS Selections History 101 BCS Individual Records 114 BCS Team Records 129 BCS National Championship Game Players of the Game HISTORY OF THE BCS HISTORY OF THE BCS 1992-BOWL COALITION 1995-BOWL ALLIANCE 1997 After a lengthy series of meetings in 1991 and early In 1995, the relationships between the conferences Although the Alliance was successful, the conference 1992, the commissioners of several conferences and (except the Big Ten and Pac-10) and the bowls were commissioners and chief executive officers began representatives of Notre Dame, along with four bowl modified in order to retain the historic bowl venues discussions about the possibility of integrating the committees, created the Bowl Coalition agreement. while increasing the likelihood of matching the No. 1 Big Ten and Pac-10 champions into a bowl arrangement The Coalition provided a structure which enabled and No. 2 teams in the country. that would allow for an annual pairing of the top the champions of the Big East Conference and two teams in the nation. The Big Ten, Pac-10 and Atlantic Coast Conference and Notre Dame to meet The Alliance system was designed to allow the Rose Bowl agreed that the Rose Bowl would host either the champion of the Big Eight (in the Orange champions of the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Eight, a national championship game in rotation with the Bowl), Southeastern (Sugar Bowl) or Southwest Southeastern and Southwest Conferences along other bowls, and that the Big Ten or Pac-10 champions (Cotton Bowl) conferences. with an at-large team to be matched in the three would not play their traditional game in Pasadena alliance bowls-Fiesta, Sugar and Orange. A second on New Year’s Day if the teams were ranked No. 1 or In addition, if the champions of the Big East or ACC at-large team was added beginning with the 1996 No. 2. Similarly, the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowls BEFORE 1992 or Notre Dame had been ranked No. 1 or 2 at the regular season when the Big 12 Conference replaced enthusiastically supported the new approach, which end of the regular season, they would have met in the old Big Eight and Southwest Conferences. was informally called the “Super Alliance.” Later, of Bowls have had affiliations and relationships with the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship. Their course, it became the Bowl Championship Series. conferences for many years. Most notably, the Big vacated spots in either the Orange, Sugar or Cotton The Bowl Alliance instituted two major changes Ten and Pac-10 champions met in the Rose Bowl Bowls would have been filled from a pool of at-large which enhanced the opportunity to produce a From the beginning, the BCS was designed to pair every year from January 1947 until the inception teams made up of the number two teams from national championship game. It eliminated confer- the two top-rated teams in a national championship of the BCS. Other conferences developed similar the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Eight, Pac-10 and ence-champion tie-ins in the three bowls, which game and to create competitive matchups among relationships with other bowls-for example, the Big Southwest conferences. To guarantee those at-large gave those bowls the flexibility to choose the best highly regarded teams in three other games as part Eight Conference with the Orange, Southeastern teams a post-season home, the conferences match-ups. And it included two at-large spots of the bowl system. However, it was not intended with the Sugar and Southwest with the Cotton. contracted with the Gator and John Hancock Bowls to which were open to all Division I-A teams that won that the next six ranked teams automatically would Those bowls selected the best available teams to provide three additional slots for number two teams. at least eight regular season games or were ranked be either paired in the other three bowls, or even play their affiliated conference champs. in the top 12 or no lower than the lowest-ranked guaranteed participation. The bowls were to be The Coalition was in place for the bowl games after conference champion participating in the Alliance. provided flexibility to exercise freedom of selection The relationships proved valuable to both the bowls the 1992, 1993 and 1994 regular seasons. that would create locally attractive games to and the conferences. Because of these affiliations, None of the participating conference champions enhance ticket sales. a berth in a particular bowl became the reward In the previous 56 years of post-season play, the was committed to play in any bowl game as they for a conference championship. The close ties number one and number two teams had met only had been in the past under the conference-bowl A new mathematical formula, the BCS standings, between institutions in a conference and a particular eight times. Given its narrow parameters and aims, affiliation arrangements. This selection procedure was created to determine the participants. The bowl encouraged fans to travel to the host city and the Coalition arrangement was quite successful-it permitted the Alliance bowls to match conference standings consisted of four elements: subjective helped the bowls develop solid economic bases paired the top two teams in two of the three years champions in games that would not have been polls of writers and coaches, the average of three from which they have supported many educational, that it existed. But it had limitations. It could not, for played under the previous conference-bowl computer rankings (Sagarin, Seattle Times and New charitable and community initiatives. Today, example, pair the champions of the Big Eight and affiliation arrangements. For example, after the York Times), the teams’ records, and a strength-of- conference-and-bowl affiliations remain a vital SEC in any bowl game. And because neither the Big 1995 regular season, the Alliance arrangement schedule index based on the records of a team’s part of college football. Ten nor Pacific-10 champions participated, the created a national championship game in the opponents and its opponents’ opponents. Coalition could not pair either of those champions Fiesta Bowl between the only two unbeaten teams However, the prevalence of conference-bowl with an opponent from another conference. in the nation, Nebraska and Florida. The champions of the six founding conferences affiliation arrangements usually precluded matchups (Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 between highly ranked conference champions The Coalition was a nine-year contractual agreement, The Alliance continued for three seasons - the bowl and Southeastern) were awarded annual automatic because the champion of one conference might be subject to review every three years. After the first games after the 1995, 1996 and 1997 regular seasons. qualification. committed to participate in one bowl game and the three years, in January 1995, at the same time that champion of another conference might be committed a number of the existing conference-bowl affiliation Also, any Division I-A independent team or champion to play in another game. Thus the bowl system was arrangements also expired, the parties agreed of the Western Athletic Conference, Conference not particularly suited to matching the top two to end the agreement in favor of an improved USA or any other Division I-A conference qualified teams in a national championship game. system-the Bowl Alliance. for a berth if it ranked sixth or higher in the BCS standings. If such a team did qualify by finishing sixth or higher, Notre Dame also would qualify if it was ranked in the top 10 in the final BCS standings or had won at least nine games. If more than two 4 BCS HISTORICAL RECORDS GUIDE BCS HISTORICAL RECORDS GUIDE 5 HISTORY OF THE BCS HISTORY OF THE BCS teams met the standard, the bowls would select The conferences agreed that if a second team from To further emphasize the importance of a team’s It was decided that if the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in their participants from among the qualifiers. one of the six automatic-qualifying conferences was strength of schedule, a fifth component, “quality the BCS standings were from the same conference selected for a BCS game, the conference would wins,” was added to the standings formula. Teams but neither was the conference champion, since no If berths remained open after all automatic qualifiers receive $6 million for its appearance. with regular-season victories over opponents conference could be represented by more than two were identified, the bowls would select their ranked in the top 15 of the BCS standings received teams, the conference champion was eliminated participants from a pool of eligible at-large teams. bonus points-from 1.5 points for a victory over the from consideration. The pool was comprised of all Division I-A teams 1999 top-ranked team to 0.1 points for a victory over the that won at least eight games and were ranked team ranked No. 15. Similarly if an automatic-qualifying conference had a among the top 12 teams in the BCS standings. Five more computer rankings were added, making team ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the BCS standings and a total of eight in the standings.