Florida State always seems to be in the mix no matter what
system college football uses to decide a national champion.
For the fourth time in the last five seasons, the No. 3
Seminoles (11-1) will play for a national title -- this time against
No. 1 Oklahoma (12-0) in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3.
The Bowl Championship Series' system of rating teams using
polls, computers, schedule strength and losses, placed the
Seminoles second behind the Sooners in its final standings released
Sunday.
The matchup creates the possibility of split national champions.
The AP media poll and the coaches' poll have Oklahoma and Miami
ranked 1-2. If Florida State beats Oklahoma and Miami beats Florida
in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2, there's a chance for co-champions.
The AP poll's sports writers and broadcasters vote independently
of the BCS, but the coaches' poll crowns the Orange Bowl winner as
its champion.
"If that happens, then that will be what it is," BCS
coordinator John Swofford said. "The BCS doesn't eliminate that
possibility. We've known that all along. It does minimize the
chances for it happening."
Florida State coach Bobby Bowden understands his team could
share a national title with the Hurricanes, who beat the Seminoles
27-24 on Oct. 7. Still, he says the BCS formula proves his team
deserves to play in Miami.
"Everything was run through the computer," Bowden said. "We
had nothing to do with it. The facts were fed in during the season
and it came out ranking us second. We will accept that.
"It's No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the BCS and if we were to beat
Oklahoma, then I think we should be No. 1 in the nation in the BCS.
But that probably won't happen in the AP unless Florida beats
Miami."
Miami coach Butch Davis said his team did its best to reach the
BCS title game, being played in its own backyard.
"Regardless of how it turned out, it can't take anything away
from our great season," Davis said. "We had some great games,
against Florida State and then Virginia Tech. We've won nine in a
row and did everything we think we could have."
Florida State (11-1) is trying to become just the seventh school
to win back-to-back national titles and the first since Nebraska in
1994-95.
Oklahoma, the nation's only major unbeaten team after its 27-24
win over Kansas State in the Big 12 title game Saturday night, is
gunning for its sixth national title and first since 1985.
The teams last met in the Orange Bowl in 1981, with the Sooners
winning 18-17.
The remaining BCS bowls were filled Sunday, along with most
other bowl matchups.
In one of the more intriguing games, Miami (10-1) and Florida
(10-2) renew a heated rivalry that ended in 1987. The Big East
champion Hurricanes and SEC champion Gators are scheduled to play
again in 2002.
Because Florida State beat Florida 30-7, Miami may need to win
by a similar or greater margin to have a chance at a co-national
title.
In the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, it's No. 5 Oregon State (10-1) vs.
No. 10 Notre Dame (9-2), putting both schools in a BCS game for the
first time, and leaving No. 6 Virginia Tech (10-1) with a Gator
Bowl date against No. 16 Clemson (9-2).
The Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 has been set for weeks -- it's No. 4
Washington (10-1) vs. No. 14 Purdue (8-3).
Each team playing in a BCS game receives $13.5 million, but only
Notre Dame, an independent, keeps all the money. The other teams
split the payout with conference members.
Last year, the BCS matched unbeatens Florida State against
Virginia Tech, which were ranked 1-2 in both polls, in the Sugar
Bowl. The Seminoles won their second national title with a 46-29
win.
In the 1998 season, Florida State lost to Tennessee in the
Fiesta Bowl -- the BCS' first title game -- and the 'Noles were
beaten by Florida in the Sugar Bowl after the '96 season. Florida
State won its first national title in 1993.
In the final BCS standings, Oklahoma had 3.30 points, Florida
State 5.37 and Miami 5.69. The clinching category for the Seminoles
was computer rankings, where the Seminoles had a 1.28-point edge
over the Hurricanes.
The BCS standings were set up to determine the top two teams,
with the three other bowls in the series choosing from the
remaining qualified schools. Six major conferences received
automatic bids, and Oregon State and Notre Dame received at-large
selections.
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