The BCS National Championship Game was a postseason college football bowl game that determined the national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). It was first played during the 1998 college football season as one of four designated bowl games, and beginning in the 2006 season, became a standalone event that rotated among the host sites of those bowl games.
The game was organized by a group known as the Bowl Championship Series, consisting of the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Orange Bowl, which sought to match the two highest-ranked teams in a championship game to determine the best team in the country at the end of the season. The participating teams were determined by averaging the results of the final weekly Coaches' Poll, the Harris Poll of media, former players and coaches, and the average of six computer rankings. The Coaches' Poll was contractually required to name the winner of the game as its No. 1 team on the final postseason ranking; hence, the AFCA National Championship Trophy was presented to the winning team during a post-game ceremony.
The methodologies of the BCS system and its selections proved to be controversial. Although in most years the winner of the BCS National Championship would also be designated as the national champion by other organizations and polls (such as the Associated Press poll), the 2003 season was a major exception, as the BCS rankings chose the AP's No. 3-ranked team, the University of Oklahoma, over the No. 1-ranked team in that poll, the University of Southern California, to participate in the national title game (the Sugar Bowl) despite Oklahoma's loss to Kansas State University in the 2003 Big 12 Championship Game. That was the only season during the BCS era when the national championship was split, with Louisiana State University winning the BCS national championship and the University of Southern California winning the AP national championship, plus the football writers' national championship.
The BCS National Championship Game was played for the final time in 2013 after the same organizing group established a new system, the College Football Playoff, a four-team (later 12-team) single elimination tournament, as the successor to the BCS.
History
The first BCS Championship was played at the conclusion of the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season in accordance with an agreement by the Big Ten Conference, the Pac-10 Conference, and the Rose Bowl Game to join the "Bowl Alliance" system. The expanded format was called the Bowl Championship Series.
The Bowl Alliance and its predecessor, the Bowl Coalition, featured championship games for the 1992 through 1997 seasons. However, these could not always ensure a matchup between the top two ranked teams because of the lack of participation by the Big Ten and Pac-10.
The BCS National Championship Game was initially rotated among the four participating bowl games: the Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Rose Bowl. However, beginning with the 2006 season, the BCS National Championship Game was added as a separate contest, played after New Year's Day. The game rotated its location among the Fiesta, Sugar, Orange, and Rose venues.
Game results For Bowl Coalition championship game results from 1992 to 1994, see: Bowl Coalition For Bowl Alliance championship game results from 1995 to 1997, see: Bowl Alliance
SeasonDate Winning team Score Losing team Bowl gameSiteAttendance1998January 4, 19991 TennesseeSEC Champions23–162 Florida StateACC Co-Champions1999 Fiesta BowlSun Devil StadiumTempe, Arizona80,4701999January 4, 20001 Florida StateACC Champions46–292 Virginia TechBig East Champions2000 Sugar BowlLouisiana SuperdomeNew Orleans79,2802000January 3, 20011 OklahomaBig 12 Champions13–22 Florida StateACC Champions2001 Orange BowlPro Player StadiumMiami76,8352001January 3, 20021 Miami (FL)Big East Champions37–142 NebraskaAt-large2002 Rose BowlRose BowlPasadena, California93,7812002January 3, 20032 Ohio StateBig Ten Co-Champions31–24(2OT)1 Miami (FL)Big East Champions2003 Fiesta BowlSun Devil StadiumTempe, Arizona77,5022003January 4, 20042 LSUSEC Champions21–141 OklahomaAt-large2004 Sugar BowlLouisiana SuperdomeNew Orleans79,3422004 January 4, 20051 USC*Pac-10 Champions55–192 OklahomaBig 12 Champions2005 Orange BowlPro Player StadiumMiami Gardens, Florida77,9122005 January 4, 20062 TexasBig 12 Champions41–381 USCPac-10 Champions2006 Rose BowlRose Bowl StadiumPasadena, California93,9862006January 8, 20072 FloridaSEC Champions41–141 Ohio StateBig Ten Champions2007 BCS National Championship GameUniversity of Phoenix StadiumGlendale, Arizona74,6282007January 7, 20082 LSUSEC Champions38–241 Ohio StateBig Ten Champions2008 BCS National Championship GameLouisiana SuperdomeNew Orleans79,6512008January 8, 20092 FloridaSEC Champions24–141 OklahomaBig 12 Champions2009 BCS National Championship GameDolphin StadiumMiami Gardens, Florida78,4682009January 7, 20101 AlabamaSEC Champions37–212 TexasBig 12 Champions2010 BCS National Championship GameRose BowlPasadena, California94,9062010January 10, 20111 AuburnSEC Champions22–192 OregonPac-10 Champions2011 BCS National Championship GameUniversity of Phoenix StadiumGlendale, Arizona78,6032011January 9, 20122 AlabamaAt-large21–01 LSUSEC Champions2012 BCS National Championship GameMercedes-Benz SuperdomeNew Orleans, Louisiana78,2372012January 7, 20132 AlabamaSEC Champions42–141 Notre Dame^Independent2013 BCS National Championship GameSun Life StadiumMiami Gardens, Florida80,1202013January 6, 20141 Florida StateACC Champions34–312 AuburnSEC Champions2014 BCS National Championship GameRose BowlPasadena, California94,208
USC's victory in the 2004 BCS national title game was later vacated due to NCAA violations
^Notre Dame's loss in the 2012 BCS national title game was later vacated due to the use of Ineligible players
Records by team AppearancesSchoolWinsLossesWin PctTitle Season(s) 4 Florida State 2 2 1999, 2013 4 Oklahoma 1 3 2000 3 Alabama 3 0 2009, 2011, 2012 3 LSU 2 1 2003, 2007 3 Ohio State 1 2 2002 2 Florida 2 0 2006, 2008 2 Auburn 1 1 2010 2 Miami (FL) 1 1 2001 2 Texas 1 1 2005 2 USC 2 1 2003, 2004 1 Tennessee 1 0 1998 1 Nebraska 0 1 - 1 Notre Dame 0 1 - 1 Oregon 0 1 - 1 Virginia Tech 0 1 -
Records by conference Conference Appearances Wins Losses Win Pct # of Schools School(s) SEC 11 9** 2** 5Alabama (3–0) LSU (2–1)Florida (2–0)Auburn (1–1)Tennessee (1–0) Big 12 7 2 5 3 Oklahoma (1–3)Texas (1–1)Nebraska (0–1) ACC 4 2 2 1 Florida State (2–2) Big East* 3 1 2 2 Miami (FL) (1–1)Virginia Tech (0–1) Big Ten 3 1 2 1 Ohio State (1–2)Pac-12 3 1 2 2 USC (1–1)Oregon (0–1) Independent 1 0 1 1 Notre Dame (0–1)
Note: Conference affiliations are contemporaneous with the game, which may differ from the current alignment.
* The American Conference was known as the Big East from 1991 to 2012. Following a split between its FBS football schools and non-FBS member institutions, the conference adopted its current name, the American Athletic Conference (AAC), for the 2013 season. Under this realignment, the AAC assumed the football-related rights and responsibilities of the former Big East Conference. However, the restructured Big East continued to operate as a separate conference, primarily for basketball and other non-football sports.
** Alabama defeated fellow SEC member LSU in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game, meaning the SEC was credited with both the victory and the defeat.
Game records
Team Performance vs. Opponent YearMost Points55, USC vs. Oklahoma2005Most Points Combined79, Texas vs. USC2006Fewest Points Allowed0, Alabama vs. LSU2012Fewest Points Combined15, Oklahoma vs. Florida State2001First downs30, Texas vs. USC2006Rushing yards289, Texas (36 att.) vs. USC2006Passing yards374, Oregon vs. Auburn2011Total yards556, Texas (289 rush, 267 pass) vs. USC2006Total plays 85, Auburn vs. Oregon2011Largest comeback 18, Florida State vs. Auburn2014IndividualPerformance, Team vs. OpponentYearTotal offense467, Vince Young, Texas (267 pass, 200 rush) vs. USC2006Rushing yards200, Vince Young (QB), Texas (19 att.) vs. USC2006Rushing TDs3, Vince Young (QB), Texas vs. USC2006Passing yards363, Darron Thomas, Oregon vs. Auburn (28-41-2, 2 TD)2011Passing TDs 5, Matt Leinart, USC vs. Oklahoma2005Receptions11, Kellen Winslow Jr., Miami vs. Ohio State (122 yards, 1 TD)2003Receiving yards (tie)199, Peerless Price, Tennessee vs. Florida State (4 rec., 1 TD)1999Receiving yards (tie)199, Andre Johnson, Miami vs. Nebraska (7 rec., 2 TD)2002Receiving TDs 3, Steve Smith, USC vs. Oklahoma2005Field goals5, Jeremy Shelley, Alabama vs. LSU2012Tackles18, James Laurinaitis, Ohio State vs. LSU2008Sacks3, Derrick Harvey, Florida vs. Ohio State2007Interceptions2, Sean Taylor, Miami vs. Ohio State2003Long PlaysPerformance, Team vs. OpponentYearTouchdown rush65, Chris "Beanie" Wells, Ohio State vs. LSU2008Touchdown pass79, Tee Martin to Peerless Price, Tennessee vs. Florida State1999Pass81, Darron Thomas to Jeff Maehl, Oregon vs. Auburn2011Kickoff return100, Levante Whitfield, Florida State vs. Auburn (TD)2014Punt return71, DeJuan Groce, Nebraska vs. Miami (TD)2002Interception return54, Dwayne Goodrich, Tennessee vs. Florida State (TD)1999Punt63, A.J. Trapasso, Ohio State vs. LSU2008Field goal46, David Pino, Texas vs. USC2006
MVPs +SeasonBowlMVP(s)TeamPosition 19981999 Fiesta BowlPeerless PriceTennesseeWRDwayne GoodrichTennesseeCB19992000 Sugar BowlPeter WarrickFlorida StateWR20002001 Orange BowlTorrance MarshallOklahomaLB20012002 Rose BowlKen DorseyMiami (FL)QBAndre JohnsonMiami (FL)WR20022003 Fiesta BowlCraig KrenzelOhio StateQBMike DossOhio StateS 20032004 Sugar BowlJustin VincentLSURB20042005 Orange BowlMatt LeinartUSCQB20052006 Rose BowlVince YoungTexas QBMichael HuffTexasS20062007 BCS National Championship GameChris LeakFloridaQBDerrick HarveyFloridaDE20072008 BCS National Championship GameMatt FlynnLSUQBRicky Jean-FrancoisLSUDT20082009 BCS National Championship GameTim TebowFloridaQBCarlos DunlapFloridaDE20092010 BCS National Championship GameMark Ingram IIAlabamaRBMarcell DareusAlabamaDT20102011 BCS National Championship GameMichael DyerAuburnRBNick FairleyAuburnDT20112012 BCS National Championship GameA. J. McCarronAlabamaQBCourtney UpshawAlabamaDE20122013 BCS National Championship GameEddie LacyAlabamaRBC.J. MosleyAlabamaLB20132014 BCS National Championship GameJameis WinstonFlorida StateQBP.J. WilliamsFlorida StateDB
Heisman Trophy winners in BCS title games SeasonPlayerSchool ResultStatsNotes2000 Chris Weinke Florida State L 25-52-2 274, 0 TD; 4-7 rush 2001 Eric Crouch Nebraska L 15-5-1 62, 0 TD; 22-114 rush 2003 Jason White Oklahoma L 37-13-2, 102, 0 TD; 7-(-46) rush 2004 Matt Leinart USC W 35-18-0 332, 5 TD; 2-(-11) rush 2005 Reggie Bush USC L 13-82 1 TD; 6-95, 0 TD rec 2006 Troy Smith Ohio State L 14-4-1, 35, 0 TD; 10-(-29) rush 2008 Sam Bradford Oklahoma L 41-26-2, 256, 2 TD; 2-(-18) rush 2009 Mark Ingram II Alabama W 22-116, 2 TD 2010 Cam Newton Auburn W 34-20-1, 265, 2 TD; 22-64 rush 2013 Jameis Winston Florida State W 35-20-0, 237, 2 TD; 11-26 rush
Criticisms and controversy