GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan, U.S.A. – Inside the historic Rose Bowl football stadium in California Monday night, the Bowl Championship Series era came to an end when #1 Florida State defeated #2 Auburn following an 18-point comeback led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston.
The last-minute comeback win by a team that blew away everyone they played this season proved without a doubt that Florida State really was the best team in the country.
It hasn’t always been so clear.
Since 1998, the BCS has used a computer selection system to determine who would play in the national championship for college football. But all along many have called it unfair.
Next year, the college football world will finally get what many have asked for: a playoff system that will allow the NCAA’s Division One Football Bowl Subdivision championship to be determined the way it should have been all along, on the field.
The BCS series, for all of its faults, has created some memories over the past decade.
The Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl and the BCS National Championship Game have created drama that sports fans will never forget.
From Ohio State’s leading ten BCS game appearances to the upset wins by non-BCS teams over the years, there are many moments that won’t be forgotten.
How about in 2007 when Boise State made its first appearance in the BCS? Thanks to a trick play called the Statue of Liberty, Boise State pulled off a Fiesta Bowl upset over heavily favored Oklahoma that no one could believe.
And how about when Utah completed its undefeated season in 2009 by shocking the sports world by defeating a Nick Saban-led Alabama team 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl?
Alabama was favored in that contest by 10 points. Utah completed that season as the only undefeated team in college football, leading to the well-known controversy about whether it should have played in the national championship match.
Now that the BCS era has come to an end, people will ultimately decide which four teams will reach the college football playoffs.
Though the college football world is finally getting what many have pushed for since 1998, rest assured that controversy will remain.
With a committee similar to the selection committee for the NCAA basketball tournament deciding which four teams reach the playoff, it’s a sure thing that not everyone will be pleased. Who makes the cut will, no doubt, create plenty of controversy next year, and for many years to come.
Aiman Jarrar is a Reporter for Youth Journalism International.
