2006
THE RANKINGS
B.C.S. Top Ten: 1. Ohio State, 2. Florida, 3. Michigan, 4. LSU, 5. USC, 6. Louisville, 7. Wisconsin, 8. Boise State, 9. Auburn, 10. Oklahoma
A.P. Top Ten: 1. Ohio State, 2. Florida, 3. Michigan, 4. LSU, 5. Louisville, 6. Wisconsin, 7. Oklahoma, 8. USC, 9. Boise State, 10. Auburn
Andrew: This was the first year under a new TV contract with Fox that the B.C.S. had its own championship game outside of the four traditional bowls with rotating locations. Like 2005, both polls are in agreement about how the top four should go, but there was a much more contentious debate about who was #2. After beating Michigan in a battle of #1 vs. #2 at the end of the season, Ohio State (the preseason #1) captured the Big Ten behind Heisman winner Troy Smith and was the only undefeated team in the country left outside of Boise State. Many immediately pined for a rematch in the title game between the Big Ten powers, but Urban Meyer and the 12-1 Florida Gators (and their stingy defense) had something to say about that. They had played through a really tough SEC schedule as the conference champions with only one road loss to highly ranked Auburn back in October. After beating Arkansas in the conference title game while Michigan stayed idle at 11-1, Florida got the #2 spot and made the most of it with a 41-14 dismantling of Smith and the Buckeyes. LSU was the next best team in the SEC, but had two road losses early in the year, one of which was to Florida, and they did not play in the SEC Championship Game. Other potential suitors for #2 were USC (who still had a great defense but lost their last game to UCLA), Louisville (who would have gone undefeated had they not lost at Rutgers in a great game), and West Virginia (who lost two games in the month of November). Boise State did shock the world by beating Oklahoma in a magnificent Fiesta Bowl, but they had no shot of playing for it all.
THE COMMITTEE SAYS…
Todd: Man, looking at it now, that Florida team had one hell of a coaching staff. Urban Meyer, personal opinions aside, could be the best coach of the BCS era not named Saban. He had two fairly successful head coaches as his coordinators, Mullen bringing the spread offense almost all of college football would try to copy the next five years and Strong leading a great defense that was overlooked due to the fun offense. That’s not even getting into the first time we heard names like ***TIM TEBOW*** and Percy Harvin. This was also the first year of a pretty rough stretch for Ohio State, but as it stood, they ran the table in a still very good Big 10 and had a Heisman winner throwing the rock. Troy Smith’s 2006 season is one of the more forgotten Heisman campaigns because of the quarterbacks who would immediately follow him in winning the award, but the guy was pretty damn good. They beat a Texas team in Austin that would go on to win the Rose Bowl, won at #13 Iowa which is a tough place to play when the Hawkeyes are good and beat #2 Michigan to end the season. That’s a very impressive resume and without the benefit of hindsight, there was no reason to even think of keeping the Buckeyes out of the #1 spot. It is tempting for me to edge Boise State closer to the top 4, given their Fiesta Bowl performance, but I’ll act as though this was pre-bowl season in 2006 and go: 1. Ohio State, 2. Florida, 3. Michigan, 4. LSU).
Greg: I was one of the people who thought a Michigan-Ohio State rematch was warranted. The game was just so close, and as we’ll see in later years, I have no moral opposition to rematches in bowl games. Florida was a solid choice for either two or three, riding an exciting Chris Leak/Tim Tebow one-two punch on offense and a stifling defense. For the four-spot, I’m tempted to give Louisville a shot here, but the Cardinals lost their only true road test. LSU was, to my eyes, a better team playing in a better conference, but had a glaring 13-point loss to the Gators. I’ll give the Tigers a shot here, tentatively. I have my reservations, but we’ll go with Ohio State, Michigan, Florida and LSU.
Andrew: This is another one of those seasons where the debate would be much more of a cakewalk if we had this playoff system instead of that dreaded, archaic B.C.S. crap that Fox bought into for four more miserable years. Florida did make their case with muster after demolishing Ohio State in the national title game, but we did not know this at the time and Ohio State was the odds-on favorite going in. I think Florida at #2 and Michigan at #3 is just fine because they are going to be playing each other in the semis regardless of who was ranked ahead of whom. LSU was a perfect example of a team that passed the “eye test” with so many NFL players on both sides of the ball. The offensive coordinator was future Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher and he had QB JaMarcus Russell to go with wideouts Dwayne Bowe, Early Doucet, and Buster Davis. The defense, led by LaRon Landry, was 4th in the country, by the way. They would play Ohio State. (#1 Ohio State, #2 Florida, #3 Michigan, #4 LSU)
The Decision: There is some back-and-forth about who should have been second and third while Ohio State sits at #1. Florida goes in at #2 while Michigan is their semis opponent at #3. LSU was picked by all three at #4.
THE FINAL FOUR
#1 Ohio State vs. #4 LSU in the Fiesta Bowl, #2 Florida vs. #3 Michigan in the Chick-fil-A Bowl
Todd: Ohio State is into “Ohio State” territory by this time, meaning I wouldn’t dare pick them in a meaningful postseason game if my life depended on it, even if they did earn a #1 seed. LSU was not an explosive team, so they’d keep it close, but still, there’s just no way I’d see OSU winning this one. Russell was a dynamic player who really played Big 10 style football in a lot of ways and could take it to the Buckeyes at their own game. I could see this one being won by a touchdown or less, but really not being in contention for the last 10 minutes or so. LSU 24-17. As for Florida, I think they handle Michigan fairly easily. This was a damn good Gator team and the spread offense at the time was pretty unstoppable because nobody was running it as efficiently as Florida. I think that really goes into their favor this year. Everyone would mimic this sort of offensive philosophy for the next few years, although mostly outside of the SEC. Still, at this point in time, coordinators were still trying to find the silver bullet to shorten the field against the spread in the worst way. Gators win 35-20.
Greg: The Buckeyes-Tigers matchup in the Fiesta would be a huge style clash between Ohio State’s Troy Smith-led offensive assault and LSU’s dominating defense. We’ve seen one cliche prove true in college football in the last 10 years: defense wins championships. Even though I always felt JaMarcus Russell was overrated, I think he makes just enough plays (or, rather, his tremendous receivers make enough plays) to move the ball, while Smith might not even finish the game after being hit hard throughout. LSU grinds out a 17-10 win. While the Wolverines would prove a thorn in the Gators’ side a few years later, this Florida team was a different animal. Urban Meyer’s spread offense would cause fits for Lloyd Carr’s bunch, especially in the first half. I think the “secret weapon” of Tebow makes the difference late, as the Gators win 27-20.
Andrew: We saw this game play out in 2007 when LSU lost a few players and Ohio State lost most of their starting offense, and LSU rolled them in the Superdome. This game would have been in the Fiesta Bowl, and although I do not envision a beating like the Gators gave them in the title game, I see LSU’s defense and JaMarcus Russell’s efficiency at quarterback giving the Buckeyes fits. Michigan had a really good defense that underachieved in big games, and Florida’s spread attack would have been the perfect answer to whatever Lloyd Carr drew up for Chris Leak. And Florida’s defense was so good. I don’t know if Mike Hart would have gained more than 50 yards on the ground. The Big Ten goes down in the semis again.
THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
#2 Florida vs. #4 LSU
Todd: Not a lot to this one, at least in my opinion. I think in a few of these years, the mid 2000s, the teams that ended up going all the way were just too good to think otherwise, 2005’s Trojans being the lone exception. Florida keeps hot and takes out LSU in an ugly game, 17-10.
Greg: I could see this one being a down-and-dirty defensive classic, better than their regular season encounter. LSU’s defense causes problems for Chris Leak, but the Gators’ skill position superiority plays out late in the game. Florida wins an SEC classic, 20-17.
Andrew: They played in October in the Swamp, and Florida got the jump on LSU after they committed a flurry of turnovers in the first half and the start of the second half. It would be serendipitous to think that the Tigers would have played a squeaky-clean game the second time around, but Florida lived off of defense and special teams along with the two-headed quarterback attack of Chris Leak and Tim Tebow on third downs. Florida beats LSU again, but it’s a much closer game, by the score of 24-21.
The 2006 B.C.S. Busters Champion is… the Florida Gators!
Next on B.C.S. Busters: We revisit the most wide-open season in the history of the B.C.S., Texas and Oklahoma look to face off one more time in ’08, and which undefeated team in ’09 gets left out of the Final Four?
