Let's jump into that DeLorean DMC-12 (ya know, I only saw that first Back to the Future once and none of the sequels, so I don't know if I have the film cred to use that reference) and look back at my college football tourneys starting at 2003-04.
2003-04:
At the time, I was still using an eight team tourney, with the championship game held at one of the BCS bowls, the semi-finals in a dome, and the three BCS bowls as quarterfinals, with one of the non-BCS bowls rotating as the fourth quarterfinal site. Rotation frequency was based on their payout, and in 2003-4, it was the Gator Bowl's turn in Jacksonville. The winners of the four bowls advanced to Saint Louis, and then the winners of the semis went down the mighty Mississipp to meet in the Sugar Bowl.
Number one seed Oklahoma was a big favorite over Big East champ Miami in the Gator Bowl. Oklahoma was a rare number one that was also an at-large team, after losing to Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game. Miami hung tough with the Sooners, giving them all they could handle on this day. But a field goal as time expired gave Oklahoma the win, 24-21.
Oklahoma would meet the winner of the Fiesta Bowl, which matched ACC champ Florida State and Big Ten champion Michigan. It was a mistake plagued game, but Florida State prevailed 17-13 to move on and reach Saint Louis.
On the other side of the bracket, SEC champion and #2 seed LSU played Big 12 champion Kansas State in the Orange Bowl. Many analysts thought KSU would be an upset special in this game after their impressive 35-7 win over Oklahoma, but this was not to be. LSU dominated, winning 28-13 in a game not even as close as the score indicated.
The other quarterfinal was a Rose Bowl with an historic flair. The Rose Bowl seemed like a Rose Bowl, although not quite, as third seed Pac-10 champ USC took on Big Ten at-large Ohio State. Most expected pure SC domination, but the Buckeyes played a solid game. In the end SC was too much, winning 27-17, and advancing to Saint Louis to play the Bayou Bengals.
So the Edward Jones Dome was set, Oklahoma vs Florida State, followed by LSU vs USC, which many figured would determine the national title.
Now at this point, I would end my tournament. The quarterfinals were based on the real games (I use computer rankings and the spreads of the actual games to determine the spread of my fake games), and I had no other games to base the semi-finals on, so I stopped. Hmm, Dave, Auntie Climax is calling. But this year as a big time blogger, I will calculate the chances of who would win the semi-finals and finals, and generate a randomly selected winner and spread based on this.
2004-05:
This season featured semi-finals in San Antonio's Alamo Bowl and the championship at the Orange Bowl. The organizers and local fans of San Antonio games were drooling with anticipation with second seeded Oklahoma and fourth seeded Texas certainly headed to their locale.
The top seed USC stayed close to home to face Big East champion Pittsburgh in the Rose Bowl. With a record of 8-3 and a 20th ranking in the polls, this appeared to be a challenging game for the Panthers. Unusual for Pasadena on New Year's Day, clouds and rain hung over the area. Perhaps Pitt should have seen the dark clouds approaching, enjoyed the parade, and headed to Disneyland, because the Rose Bowl was not the "Happiest Place on Earth" for their fans on this day. The Trojans routed the Panthers 56-7 in a brutal rout. These days in the 10 team tourney, it is hoped that a conference champion like Pitt in 2004 would be screened out by the first round before reaching a BCS bowl. At least they had the chance of running onto the Rose Bowl turf.
Down the road in San Diego, the Holiday Bowl joined the quarterfinal rotation this season, and hosted the game between Texas and Utah. Obviously Texas would have no problem with this non-BCS foe, but the Utes did a bit more than roll over. The Runnin' Utes defeated the Longhorns 35-24, and the Texas fans unpacked their bags for their trip to San Antone. Instead, it would be USC vs Utah in the semi-finals.
On the other side of the bracket, second seed Big 12 champ Oklahoma faced Big Ten champ Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl. Making up for previous season's Fiesta Bowl loss to Florida State, Michigan upended the Sooners 24-19. Again, the Alamo Dome organizers dropped their heads into their hands. At least Michigan travels well.
The Wolverines would face the winner of the Sugar Bowl, a showdown of SEC champion Auburn and ACC champ Virginia Tech. Auburn remained unbeaten, but certainly not as impressive as USC, in their 16-13 victory over VTU.
On their way to San Antonio were semi-finalists USC vs Utah, followed by Michigan vs Auburn.
2005-06:
This season's final game would be played at the Rose Bowl, so Pasadena could not host USC's first game or a match-up of Pac-10 and Big Ten teams. Therefore, top seed SC played 8-4 ACC champ Florida State in the Sugar Bowl, moved to Atlanta this season because of Hurricane Katrina. Moving to the Southeast didn't slow down the Trojans, who beat the Seminoles 29-16.
The Trojans would play the winner of the Citrus Bowl match-up between the two at-large schools: the Big Ten's Ohio State and Oregon of the the Pac-10. The Buckeyes controlled this game, beating the Ducks 27-14.
On the other side of the bracket, Texas was eyeing a return to their home state with the semi-finals being held for the final time in Houston's Astrodome. After a disappointing performance the previous season, losing to Utah to prevent an appearance at the San Antonio final four, the Big 12 champ Longhorns were prepared for Big East champ West Virginia. West Virginia put up a decent fight, but Vince Young and his teammates were too much. Texas won the Fiesta Bowl 41-25 to advance to Houston.
Third seed Penn State was slated for an Orange Bowl with SEC champ Georgia as their opponent. The Big Ten champion prevailed, winning 26-21.
So Houston ended up with a home state team, two Big Ten teams, and a team hoping to return to play in its home state. The Astrodome semi-finals featured USC vs Ohio State, followed by Texas vs Penn State, with the winners facing off in the Rose Bowl.
2006-2007
This season, the tournament expanded to ten teams from eight, one reason was to improve the chances a non-BCS conference school could make the tourney. And maybe even have a little impact.
The inclusion of two more teams created two first round games that would produce opponents for the top two seeds. At-large Wisconsin was the seventh seed from the Big Ten, but rules give regional advantage to teams that win their conference. So tenth seed and ACC champ Wake Forest played the Badgers down the road in Charlotte. The Badgers performed in a workman-like way, and prevailed over the Demon Deacons 15-13 to advance to play second seed Florida.
The 8/9 match-up featured undefeated Boise State against Big 12 at-large team Oklahoma. The tourney does not want to give teams home field advantage in this round, but judged it could not find an alternative within any sort of throw from Boise, so the Broncos were assigned their home blue field. Plus, there was probably a sense that the Sooners would run over, around, and through the Broncos, so letting them play in Boise gave them a shot to keep it close. It would not be the last time the Broncos were underestimated. The Broncos beat the Sooners with an assortment of gimics and gadgets by a score of 38-35. Boise State was Rose Bowl bound, with number one seed Ohio State waiting. Certainly, their dream would end there.
Big Ten champ Ohio State appeared unprepared for the Boise State bag of tricks, the surprising vocality of their fans, and the pressure of a close game as the top seed and an overwhelming favorite. The Broncos stayed close, and when the Buckeyes QB fumbled on the OSU 20 late in the fourth quarter, a BSU lineman scooped it up and ran it in for the TD. Bronco supporters and fans of non-Goliaths erupted, the OSU fans stared silently downward, and Boise State held on for a 17-13 victory and a ticket to the semi-finals in Atlanta.
Boise State would face the winner of the Sugar Bowl, which featured SEC at-large team and fourth seed LSU vs Pac 10 champion USC, which lost the chance at the second seed when it lost to UCLA in their final Pac 10 game. This 4/5 match-up was a classic. It looked like the last team with the ball would win, and that was LSU, who won 41-37 and left the Trojans with too little time to score again. LSU would stay in the Southeast and play Boise State in Atlanta in the final four. Semi-final fixture USC would not be joining the festivities this season.
In Orlando's Citrus Bowl, second seed Florida enjoyed home cooking and took on Wisconsin. The Gators made it look easy, and swamped the Badgers 41-17. Florida punched its ticket for a trip to Hot 'Lanta to face the winner of the Orange Bowl.
The Orange Bowl featured the third seed and Big Ten at-large team Michigan vs Big East champ Louisville. Both teams played raggedly early, but it was the Cardinals which put things together in the second half, and prevailed 20-18. It was a dismal day for the Big Ten: three of the four quarterfinal losses were Big Ten teams. Especially tough to swallow since OSU and Michigan were the first and second teams in the country for most of October and November. OSU's classic victory over Michigan would seem overshadowed by the losses of early 2007.
So, with the winners on their way to the national championship Fiesta Bowl, the Atlanta semi-finals featured Boise State vs Lousiana State followed by Florida vs Louisville.
2007-2008
Well, I cannot find the spreadsheet with the scores. The Ohio State athletic department may be behind it.
What I can remember is the the 7/10 first round game featured Pac 10 champ USC playing WAC champ Hawaii in San Diego. Hawaii's excitement was short lived as they were thoroughly stomped by the Trojans. That was a long trip for that kind of outcome.
In the other first round game, Big East champ West Virginia played Big 12 at-large team Kansas in Pittsburgh. Kansas was game, but eventually the Mountaineers ran over them, advancing to the Rose Bowl to play the number one Ohio State Buckeyes.
For the second straight season, the Rose Bowl was not kind to the Bucks. A close game throughout, but it seemed like West Virginia always had a long run in them when they needed it, and the Mountaineers prevailed to move onto the Minneapolis semi-finals.
USC moved on to play the second seed LSU Tigers, and for the second straight season, LSU stopped an SC trip to the final four.
I recall Missouri beat third seed Virginia Tech, and I think Georgia beat Oklahoma in the 4/5 game.
So, the Minneapolis semi-finals featured West Virginia vs Georgia followed by LSU vs Missouri. An LSU victory would send them to their home state for the championship in New Orleans.
2008-2009
The first round games kicked off in Charlotte, where at-large team from the Big 12, Texas Tech, made its tourney debut against ACC champ Virginia Tech. TTU seemed out of sync early, and the Hokies capitalized, jumping out to a big lead. Texas Tech showed signs of a typical big, splashy comeback, but a late safety on a QB sack sealed the VTU 43-34 victory. The Hokies earned a Sugar Bowl slot against second seed Florida.
The other first round game featured Big Ten champion Penn State and Big East champion Cincinnati playing in Pittsburgh. The Nittany Lions capitalized on Bearcat interceptions, and cruised to a 21-10 victory. Awaiting PSU was a trip to the desert to meet number one seed Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.
The BCS Bowl quarterfinals seemed like three mismatches and one good match-up. It seemed like only USC-Alabama would be competitive, and Oklahoma, Florida, and Texas could start to pack for the Motown semi-finals. But these games will have to be played anyway I guess.
The Fiesta Bowl did not stick to the anticipated script. Oklahoma grabbed an early lead, but Penn State would not roll over. The Sooners held on for a 27-24 win, but certainly provided a more entertaining game than expected.
The Sooners would face the winners of the highly anticipated Rose Bowl match-up of #4 Alabama and #5 USC. However, it appeared that the return to Pasadena returned the Trojans to their tourney dominating ways. 'Bama looked overwhelmed, as USC ran away early in their 35-17 win.
Second seeded Florida faced Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. Although not that close of a game, the Hokies defense surprised analysts and made the game much more competitive than expected. The Gators prevailed 24-6 and were impressive, but most people expected 24-6 at the end of the first quarter.
The Orange Bowl featured Big 12 at-large team Texas and undefeated Mountain West champ Utah. Certainly, after losing to the Utes four years ago in the Holiday Bowl, the Longhorns would be ready for Utah. Analysts again expected a Texas blowout, but instead it was a nail biter. Utah messed with Texas, winning 31-28 to shock the Lone Star State. Again.
So, the first semi-finals to be held in Detroit's Ford Field were set. Oklahoma stumbled in and would take on USC, which rode in sitting high on a white steed. This game would be followed by Florida vs Utah, and intriguing match-of Urban Meyer against his old team. The winners would fight it out in the national championship in Miami.
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