Before we could usher out the BCS in favor of the new College Football Playoff, there remained one more Championship Game to be played. Florida State and Auburn played a national championship game for the ages, but it was the Seminoles who came away with an incredible 34-31 comeback victory. Here’s a list of every winner of the BCS era.
BCS Championship Game winners list: Florida State is the 16th (and final) champ
A look back at the end of an era. The Seminoles won win their second BCS title and the fourth for the state of Florida on Monday night at the Rose Bowl.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Season | Winner | Loser |
1998 | Tennessee | Florida State |
1999 | Florida State | Virginia Tech |
2000 | Oklahoma | Florida State |
2001 | Miami | Nebraska |
2002 | Ohio State | Miami |
2003 | LSU | Oklahoma |
2004 | USC (Vacated) | Oklahoma |
2005 | Texas | USC |
2006 | Florida | Ohio State |
2007 | LSU | Ohio State |
2008 | Florida | Oklahoma |
2009 | Alabama | Texas |
2010 | Auburn | Oregon |
2011 | Alabama | LSU |
2012 | Alabama | Notre Dame |
2013 | Florida State | Auburn |
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Let’s go ahead and break down what we can learn from this list, beginning with the most obvious fact of all:
- The SEC has won seven consecutive BCS Championships, a streak that goes back to Tim Tebow’s freshman year at Florida. To those seven consecutive championships, the SEC can add two others, with the 1998 win by Tennessee and the 2003 victory by the LSU Tigers.
- Although past trends don’t indicate future success, it is worth noting that the SEC is 9-1 in BCS Championship Game appearances, with its only loss coming from an intra-conference matchup between Alabama and LSU. Remember that defensive snooze-fest?
- The ACC, on the other hand, has only one championship to its name, courtesy of the 1999 Florida State team. The Seminoles have also lost two other BCSCGs, one to Tennessee and one to Oklahoma.
- Eight BCSCG winners were ranked No. 2, as is Auburn this year. By comparison, No. 1s have won seven BCSCGs, a number that drops to six if you take out USC’s vacated win.
- Those eight wins by No. 2 teams have come in the last 11 years, with 2004 USC, 2010 Auburn, and 2009 Alabama being the most recent No. 1s to win.
- The average score has been 29 to 17 in BCS Championship Games, which would favor the game’s Vegas under (67) if trends hold.
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