CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Five => Big Ten => Topic started by: OrangeAfroMan on April 25, 2019, 05:00:24 PM
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Back to the "What if" CFPs...….here's a year full of debate. 2001: A Playoff Odyssey.
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Please vote as if it's December 10th, 2001. The Huskers lost their last game, but are still #2, etc. No bowls have been played.
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The Teams:
#1 Miami, 11-0, Big East Champions
Scoring offense: 3rd
Scoring defense: 1st
Strength of Schedule: 22st
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The preseason #2 team spent most of the year at #1. Games at #14 FSU, #14 Syracuse, and #12 Washington ended in massive blowout wins, and the season-ender at #14 VT was the only narrow win.
The offense was pretty balanced, passing for 250+ per game and rushing for 200+. QB Dorsey was steady and efficient, tossing to WR Johnson and TE Shockey the most. RB Portis had 1200 yds and 10 TD, with backups McGahee and Gore (9.1 ypc) mopping up. The offense scored 38+ points in 8 of 11 games.
The Canes defense held 8 teams to single-digits. Allowing 270 yards of total defense was all-time great. The strange part was that it was nearly balanced - allowing only 138 passing, but 133 rushing. The Canes were suffocating vs air attacks, allowing just 45% comp rate. They picked off 27 passes, led by S Reed's 9 - leading to 7 total defensive TDs. The Canes created 4.1 turnovers per game.
WR Johnson was an average KR, but CB Buchanan was a great PR, with 15.0 per return and 2 TD.
K Sievers hit 81% of FGs and P Capshaw's 42 ypk were good.
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#2 Nebraska, 11-1, Big 12
scoring offense - 9th
scoring defense - 10th
strength of schedule - 29th
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In the top 5 all season, the Cornhuskers ran roughshod over their schedule. Both ranked opponents were 2-score victories (#17 ND, #2 OU). No one could stay within 10 points of Nebraska until their loss to #14 CU (62-36) in the season finale. Yet, the BCS computers still had Nebraska #2 and participating in the playoff.
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The option offense ran for 315 ypg, led by Heisman-winner QB Crouch. He wasn't a great passer, but did run for 1115 yards and 18 TDs. I-back Diedrick also went over 1,000 (1299) and had 15 TDs himself. Backup RB Collins (6.9 ypc) and FB Davies (6.0) only helped the per-carry average of the team. WR Thomas led the receivers with 616 yds on 37 rec.
On defense, the Blackshirts held teams to 287 total yards per game. They were strong vs the run (117 pg) and pass. A 43% comp rate was really low and 19 INTs were a lot.
Special teams were pretty special, good KR (Davis), PR (Groce), and P (Larson). K Brown only hit 71% of his FG, though.
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#3 Colorado, 10-2, Big 12 Champions
scoring offense - 26th
scoring defense - 52nd
strength of schedule - 9th
The Buffs remarkable run to the playoff started the season unranked and losing to Fresno State! After that, CU settled down and beat 3 ranked teams (#24 CSU, at #12 KSU, and #25 A&M) before another loss at #9 Texas in a blowout. But the Buffs were able to redeem themselves in a huge blowout win over #2 Nebraska, then a revenge victory in the Big 12 CG vs #3 Texas.
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The inconsistent Colorado offense peaked at the right time, ending the season scoring 38, 40, 62, and 39 points. It was pretty balanced, averaging 206 passing and 229 rusing ypg. Using 2 QB (Ochs, Pesavento), the Buffs kept the chains moving enough. Reliable TE Graham was the main target, while RBs Brown and Purifoy each had 900+ yards. Brown set himself apart with 16 TD.
The defense didn't shut many teams down, but made stops when they needed to. Neither the pass D nor run D particularly shined, but they did pick off 17 passes.
Hollowell was an okay KR but a great PR, with 2 TDs and 18 ypr. K Flores hit 75% of his kicks and P Mariscal boomed punts at 44.5 ypk.
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#4 Oregon, 10-1, Pac 10 Champions
scoring offense - 16th
scoring defense - 30th
strength of schedule - 26th
The Ducks started with high expectations and lived up to them, with the lone loss being by 7 points to unranked Stanford. Oregon took care of the 3 ranked teams on the slate by one score vs #22 Wisconsin, at #14 Wazzou, and at #17 UCLA. The Ducks had other close calls as well, but always came out on the right side.
The offense was pretty prolific, and more balanced than most think. QB Harrington did have a good year, but Oregon also had 2 rushers go over 1,000 yards (RB Morris and Smith). WRs Parker and Howry had 9 receiving TDs each.
Defensively, the Ducks were a mess, allowing 285 yards passing per game. Only a 50% comp rate, so they allowed a lot of big plays through the air. The run D was better, but not elite. 21 INTs helped, but the defense was a team weakness.
On special teams, the return game was special, with great KR and PR in RB Smith and WR Howry. The kicking game was weak all around.
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The noteworthy folks of note:
QB Eric Crouch, Nebraska - O'Brien, Heisman, Camp
TE Daniel Graham, Colorado - Mackey, All-American
OT Bryant McKinnie, Miami - Outland, AA
QB Ken Dorsey, Miami - Maxwell
HC Larry Coker, Miami - AFCA, Bryant
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OL Toniu Fonori, Nebraska - AA
OL Andre Gurode, Colorado - AA
S Ed Reed, Miami - AA
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Hmmph....sort of a shortage for this playoff quartet. Oh well.
Who ya got and why?!?
Boy, this sure would be a fun podcast exercise......!!
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Nebraska, obviously.
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This is likely to go Miami-Miami-Miami and all, but the team I'd put 2nd isn't on the list. Ask Maryland who I'm talking about.
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While Miami took Nebraska back behind the woodshed, Colorado just straight up jail sexed the Huskers. So I'm taking the Buffs.
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I think we all have a skewed vision of that CU team.
They weren't a great team. At all. And the beatdown they gave the Huskers? CU only outgained them by 30 yards. It was a turnover issue, -4 for UNL.
Everyone loses when they're -4 in turnovers.
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The halftime score was 42-23. Bad, but not futile.
Halftime for UNL vs Miami, for all the marbles? 34-0.
UNL gained 552 total yards on a very average Buffs defense. The Huskers gained less than half that vs Miami.
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So if you take away all of the winning teams big plays, then the losing team would have fared a little better?
Far out.
If you take away all of Miami's TDs on offense, defense and special teams, Nebraska totally would have won that game!
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You're right that the enduring imagery of that season is CU running all over UNL, but I'm just conversating here. In hindsight, Colorado was a very flawed team and UNL may have happened to be the perfect opponent. Anyone is free to vote for anyone. Anyone is free to promote or question a vote as well.
'Murica!
:91:
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At any rate... it wouldn't have been the Wolverines.
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Miami had more than one narrow win. They were fortunate to win at BC. Crazy ricochet Int with game on the line.
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There was no team worthy of being ranked #2. There were good arguments against all of the contenders after Miami.
Texas (10-1 in the regular season, with only a 14-3 loss to OU) probably should have been the #2 team, but after stomping Colorado 41-7 during the regular season, they got whipped by the Buffs 39-37 in the Big 12 CCG.
I doubt greatly that Texas was interested in that Holiday Bowl game after the inexplicable loss to Colorado.
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When the Canes were on their game, there wasn't another team that could stay close to them.
Certainly not the Buffs
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I've got Miami. And I would have Oregon at #2.
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I'd have the Buffs @ #4
It wouldn't have been the Longhorns.
;)
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I know you are not asking for discussion outside of the four listed teams but I think that this was an interesting season and I believe that the current CFP would NOT have picked these four teams. Miami would have been an obvious #1 but after that, who knows. Miami was 11-0 and BigEast Champions. After that:
AP #2, 10-1 PAC Champion Oregon: The Ducks only loss was close (49-42) but at home and to a good but not great Stanford team.
AP #3, 10-2 B12 Champion Colorado: The Buffs, as discussed above, were not that good. One of their losses was to Fresno State in their opener and the other was a 41-7 beat down at Texas. They blasted previously undefeated Nebraska in the regular season finale then avenged their loss to Texas in the B12CG.
AP #4, 11-1 Nebraska: Nebraska was technically the co-Champion of the B12-N (much like tOSU and Bama were co-champs of their divisions when the CFP selected them recently) but that blowout loss at Colorado would have been hard to overcome.
AP #5, 9-2 Florida: The Gators lost to Tennessee at home on December 1 with the SEC-E on the line.
AP #6, 10-1 ACC Champion Maryland: The Terps lost badly (52-31) at FSU but won the ACC anyway because they took care of business in the rest of their games while the Seminoles lost to the Hurricanes, the Gators and two mediocre ACC foes (UNC, NCST).
AP #7, 10-1 Big11Tenn Champion Illinois: The Illini lost badly (45-20) at Michigan but won the conference anyway because they took care of business in the rest of their games while the Wolverines lost conference games to the Spartans and Buckeyes and an OOC game on the west coast at Washington.
AP #8, 10-2 Tennessee: The Vols took out Florida and won the SEC-E but lost the SECCG to LSU.
AP #9, 10-2 Texas: The Longhorns lost a close game to Oklahoma and another close game in a rematch with Colorado in the B12CG after having previously destroyed the Buffs at home.
AP #10, 10-2 Oklahoma: The Sooners beat Texas but lost at Nebraska and a big upset at home in the Bedlam game to keep them out of the B12CG.
AP #11, 9-2 Stanford: The Cardinal took out Oregon but they didn't win the PAC because they lost to the two Washington schools (WSU at home, UW in Seattle).
AP #12, 9-3 SEC Champion LSU: The Tigers lost badly at home to Florida (44-15) and split with the Vols (lost 26-18 on the road, won 31-20 in the SECCG). The thing that kept them from a higher ranking was an upset home loss to a mediocre Ole Miss team by two scores.
AP #13, 9-2 Washington State: The Cougars lost at home to Oregon (24-17) and on the road in the Apple Cup (26-14).
Everybody else either had at least three losses and was not a conference champion or was not from a major conference.
IMHO:
Miami and Oregon would obviously get in. They were undefeated (Miami) or 1-loss (Oregon) major conference Champions and the CFP has never declined to take such a team.
The real complication is that Maryland and Illinois were also 1-loss major conference champions. Based on what we have seen from the committee over the past five years I think there is a good chance that they would have taken the four undefeated or 1-loss major conference champions (Miami, Oregon, Illinois, Maryland) and left the SEC and B12 out.
The complication is that basically nobody really believed that either Maryland or Illinois were the best teams from their conferences.
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This would have been a fun year to crown Miami national champs and then have like an 8 team tourney for 2nd. The gap from 2 through like 10 seemed smaller than usually.
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unfortunately, the committee hasn't shown the respect for major conference champs
Perhaps they would have back in 2001
the committee has shown conference bias towards the SEC lately and perhaps the Big 12 would have received some of that back in 2001
Especially since the ACC and the Big Ten were not highly thought of back then
the committee has also closely followed the AP poll most seasons
perhaps Maryland jumps Florida and Nebraska, or Florida and Colorado to get the 4th spot
it would have been interesting
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I don’t think the committee has closely followed the AP poll. If anything, I think the AP has tried to follow the CFP once the rankings are released.
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For me, Exhibit A on why a playoff is a bad way to determine a champion: a "hot" team like CU wins a couple of games they're not supposed to and your "champion" lost to Fresno State that year.
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I'll be damned. All these years I thought that Colorado State was the one that got them.
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another reason to hang out here
you could learn something
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This was the year Spurrier coached his last game at Florida.
The Gators would have given Miami a better game than anyone in 2001. #1 in scoring offense, #4 in scoring defense.
Destroyed #21 Miss St, #18 LSU, #14 USCe, and #6 Maryland. But didn't win its division or conference. LSU wound up winning the SEC. The Gators beat them 44-15 in Red Stick. I was at that game. It was embarrassing for them. I got my orange afro wig stolen off my head after a long tug-o-war between a drunk and my friend.
The loss to Tennessee was inexplicable. The run defense just pooped the bed over and over again. It was nuts.
So we go 10-2 with a blowout win in the Orange Bowl, and it's not good enough. The season, from having a possible national championship matchup on Dec 1, was a failure. So Spurrier got tired of that reality and left.
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The loss to Tennessee was inexplicable. The run defense just pooped the bed over and over again. It was nuts.
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sounds Ed Zachery like the Husker game vs Ralphie
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another reason to hang out here
you could learn something
The Buffaloes got Rammed in 99, 00, and 02, but it was the Rams getting Buffaloed in 01.
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I saw that episode of Planet Earth II.
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So we go 10-2 with a blowout win in the Orange Bowl, and it's not good enough. The season, from having a possible national championship matchup on Dec 1, was a failure. So Spurrier got tired of that reality and left.
Spurrier left because Dan Snyder offered him what at the time was the most lucrative deal an NFL coach had ever signed- 5 years and $25 million. NFL coaches before that deal might’ve been making $1mil maybe $2 million a year at best.
He really kicked off that whole coaching salary explosion thing.
Spurrier got a raw deal in Washington. That might be the most dysfunctional front office/ownership there is in the entire NFL. Had Spurrier been able to have more control he probably would’ve been successful there.
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The only correct answer is Miami. What a loaded team that was in 2001. Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, and Frank Gore were the RBs on that team. Gore was actually ahead of McGahee and beat McGahee out in spring ball the following year before he suffered a nasty knee injury in practice. McGahee went on to have a monster year in 2002 before suffering that devastating knee injury vs OSU in the national title game.
Ed Reed was the starting safety and Sean Taylor was a back up. Jeremy Shockey was the starting TE and Kellen Winslow Jr was the back up. Andre Johnson was the star receiver on that team.
You’ll never see that kind of talent on one college team like that ever again.
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truth
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Why doesn't my quote button work???
mdot, thanks for educating me about Spurrier. :67:
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You know how to make a podcast, but you can't figure out how to quote or post pictures?
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Why doesn't my quote button work???
mdot, thanks for educating me about Spurrier. :67:
Yeah, let’s pretend that was the reason Spurrier quit Florida, when the real reason is very simple:
he’s an ego maniac that wanted to prove himself at the highest level there is and he was offered by far the biggest contract in NFL history at the time.
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Obviously, for me, the process in which to quote a post isn't working properly. Thank you for motivating me to take the time to make this post. FFS
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hit control "H"
clear browsing data including cookies
worked for me
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Obviously, for me, the process in which to quote a post isn't working properly. Thank you for motivating me to take the time to make this post. FFS
(https://media1.tenor.com/images/dd05af710c3c59750df511bac8ed9524/tenor.gif?itemid=3428440)
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To nitpick on Miami...
even worse than the BC game, they only beat VT by 2. The mighty Canes almost lost a game in which the opposing QB's line was:
4 comp in 16 att for 81 yards, 0 TD and 4 INT.
Looking over box scores for Miami that year, boy, McGahee and Gore must've not had any grasp of the offense or something. Portis was getting ALL the carries in close games. Maybe they fumbled too much in practice, idk.
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I don’t think the committee has closely followed the AP poll. If anything, I think the AP has tried to follow the CFP once the rankings are released.
This. I'm sure we can dig up the evidence, but I had read somewhere that the biggest shake ups to the AP is week 2, and the week after CFP is announced.
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What I remember about that game in Boulder was that through the 90s, Colorado had lost to Nebraska in just about every conceivable way there was to lose a football game. All of that karma was spectacularly cashed in on that fateful afternoon.
You lawyers that are here know the value of a good closing argument. Allowing Colorado to rush for 380 yards and 7 TDs is not a good closing argument.
Chris Brown just scored again, BTW.
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"Looking over box scores for Miami that year, boy, McGahee and Gore must've not had any grasp of the offense or something. Portis was getting ALL the carries in close games. Maybe they fumbled too much in practice, idk."
I wonder if that was an old-school Pro-Style thing. Like they believed you needed one tailback. I think McGahee hurt his knee, but Gore appears to have won conference rookie of the year.
As for the spots to nitpick. That schedule obviously meant dominance meant murdering everyone. I wonder if that was just a case of, there will be a close game somewhere. Maybe that hurts the all-time case.
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What I remember about that game in Boulder was that through the 90s, Colorado had lost to Nebraska in just about every conceivable way there was to lose a football game. All of that karma was spectacularly cashed in on that fateful afternoon.
You lawyers that are here know the value of a good closing argument. Allowing Colorado to rush for 380 yards and 7 TDs is not a good closing argument.
Chris Brown just scored again, BTW.
2000 NU 34 - CU 32
Josh Brown’s 29-yard field goal as time expired lifted Nebraska to a 34-32 win over Colorado in a game that saw four lead changes in the fourth quarter, two of them in the final minute.
The Huskers drove 47 yards in six plays to set up Brown’s kick after CU had taken the lead with a touchdown and two-point conversion with 47 seconds left.
1999 NU 33 - CU 30
By the slightest of margins, No. 3 Nebraska remained alive in the national championship race.
Colorado’s Jeremy Aldrich missed a 34-yard field goal on the final play of regulation and Nebraska took advantage in overtime as quarterback Eric Crouch dived in from one yard for a 33-30 victory.
1998 NU 16 - CU 14
Lincoln-- Nebraska rode a strong defensive effort and the foot of senior place-kicker Kris Brown to a 16-14 victory over Colorado, extending the Huskers’ streak of nine-win seasons to an NCAA- record 30 years.
The Husker defense turned in one of its best performances of the season, sacking CU quarterback Mike Moschetti six times and forcing three CU turnovers, leading to 10 of the Huskers' 16 points.
1997 NU 27 - CU 24
BOULDER, Colo. -- Looking for a lopsided win to impress the pollsters, Nebraska was lucky to win at all.
Ahman Green rushed for 202 yards and two touchdowns and No. 2 Nebraska survived a fourth-quarter scare to keep its national championship hopes alive with a 27-24 victory over Colorado on Friday.
1996 NU 17 - CU 12
NU Coach Tom Osborne said that the longer the Huskers’ game went, the more he wondered if 18-point underdog Colorado was about to pull an upset.
“I wasn’t sure we were going to win in the second half,” he said. “It was nerve wracking. But our defense did a great job of holding us in there.”
Nebraska, which led 17-6 at halftime, fumbled the ball away three times in the second half and had to punt on five other possessions in the final 30 minutes.
The Huskers also were slowed offensively by two injuries at I-back and six illegal procedure penalties.
Meanwhile, Colorado began applying pressure. Sophomore Jeremy Aldrich, who had never kicked a college field goal before Friday, drilled his third of the game with 7:57 left in the third quarter to cut Nebraska’s lead to 17-9.
With 8:46 left in the game, after Colorado completed passes of 51 and 33 yards on the same drive but couldn’t get into the end zone, Aldrich kicked a fourth field goal to make the score 17-12.
A minute later, Husker quarterback Scott Frost was blindsided while trying to pass. He fumbled and CU linebacker Matt Russell recovered at the NU 24.
But on second-and-seven from the 21, Husker cornerback Michael Booker deflected Colorado quarterback Koy Detmer’s pass into the hands of strongside linebacker Jamel Williams.
NU’s offense went three downs and out. Colorado then drove from its own 44 to the Nebraska 29, but faced fourth-and-11. Detmer dropped back to throw, but a blitzing Williams forced an incomplete pass to give the Huskers the ball back with 2:53 to play.
1995 NU 44 - CU 21
Wasn't close
1994 NU 24 - CU 7
Wasn't close
1993 NU 21 - CU 17
The No. 6/4 (AP/coaches) Huskers jumped out to a 21-3 lead, then turned the game over to the Blackshirts, who provided a gutsy defensive stand to guide Nebraska to a 21-17 win over the No. 18/20 Colorado Buffaloes on a cold day in Boulder. It was NU's second road win over a ranked team on the season.
1992 NU 52 - CU 7
1991 NU 19 - CU 19 tie
Colorado free safety Greg Thomas leaped into the air and, accompanied by a barrage of snowballs, blocked Byron Bennett's attempt to win the game for Nebraska with a 41-yard field-goal on the last play of the game.
And, when the ball rolled out of bounds as time ran out, Nebraska and Colorado had finished in a 19-19 deadlock in their Big Eight showdown at the Buffaloes' frozen Folsom Field
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Ralphie is a COW!!!
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It would have been fun to see a real QB face the '01 Miami defense. Opposing QBs that season threw 5 TDs and 27 INTs. Sickkkkkk.
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5:27?
That sounds impossible, not that I dispute your accuracy.
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Well when you start two 1st round CBs and a HOF Safety, it makes it easier.
Looking at it, 4 teams didn't score a TD, so there's zero on the plus side. I know vs Syracuse, they had a INT. As previously stated, 0 TD, 4 INT vs VT.
I can do a game-by-game when I get home tonight, but in looking around a little at lunchtime, I learned Ken Dorsey didn't get sacked until the 7th game of the season.
It's like the more you look, the more unbelievable they are. What I'm curious to see is of those 5 TD allowed and 27 INTs, how many were the starters responsible for vs. garbage time. A beefy percentage of their season was garbage time....
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That ranks as an "unbelievable stat" to me, which is another interesting topic.
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People would have enjoyed that game - Heisman-level Rexy throwing to two 1,000 yard receivers vs that secondary....405 yds passing per game....
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might not have been fun for the "real" QB
Crouch is obviously NOT a "real" QB, but the 47 yard pick 6 he threw to James Lewis to make the score 21-0 was brutal, ended the game
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Not to knock the numbers, but MAN they faced some bad QBs
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might not have been fun for the "real" QB
Crouch is obviously NOT a "real" QB, but the 47 yard pick 6 he threw to James Lewis to make the score 21-0 was brutal, ended the game
Absolutely right, Spurrier might've had Grossman throwing 50+ passes in vain and things get out of hand....but it would've been more watchable.
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Not to knock the numbers, but MAN they faced some bad QBs
You could put me out there and not do that badly.
Of course, I'd probably be sacked before I could get off a pass.
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you might have tossed a handful of picks
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you might have tossed a handful of picks
Fumbles would be more likely.
My shoulder is a mess, so I can barely throw today at all, which makes baseball a challenge. I imagine at my age getting tackled by one DE would leave me struggling to get up.
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27 and 5 is right. PSU, Pitt, Troy, FSU and BC each got 1.
Only 1 passing TD and 3 rushing TDs allowed over the final 6 regular season games, compared to 26 TOs forced (8 fumbles, 18 INTs)
They also picked off #12 Washington 6 times in beating them 65-7
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I looked up '97 Michigan's pass TD/INT and it was 5 to 23. 6 INT game vs MSU and a 4 INT game vs Colorado in the opener.
That's the only pass defense I could think of that might compare, and they compare favorably. Overall, that UM defense was much better vs the run than the Miami's was. However, UM had fewer blowout wins (worse offense than Miami), so they faced fewer teams trying to run out the clock and not get beaten worse.
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I was gonna say Washington’s QB that year was kinda bad, but without that game, he threw 10 TDs and only nine picks, in 10 games, so I guess he was just mostly mediocre.
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A team that gets ahead quickly, but not too far ahead, can cause the opponent to throw more often obviously, this leading to more chances (of INTs and TDs).
Maybe part of this is that Miami caused the opponent to shirt offensive strategies by 3Q and INts ensued as they forced the ball downfield.
It's a remarkable ratio in any event, probably only surpassed a few times in history, aside from some team that could show 5 INTs and 1 TD somehow back in the Dark Ages which I recall so well.
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It's a difficult line to draw accurately - the line between "modern" pass-happy football and the option, 3 yards and a cloud of dust football played before that. Passing leaders have gradually improved bit by bit as time has progressed, but any line drawn would be more recent than many would think. You wouldn't have to go back to the 70s.
BYU started it, unless you count Tulsa before them. Then Miami got into the big passing offense, and others after them. Florida began it in the SEC with Spurrier. Iowa and Cal had some big-passing teams in the 80s, but that was mostly due to talent at the position more than anything. The Big 8 was late to the passing party.
If I had to set a hard line, I'd say 1992/1993. In the years before that, there'd be 3-4 QBs with a 150+ rating each season, sometimes less. In 1992 there was only 1, but that was just a down year. 1993? 13 QBs finished 150+, which dwarfs the seasons before it. People had time to see Miami succeed with it, then with FSU and Florida, not just winning, but winning by very big scores. I think the rest of the country dove in after that (in terms of not just passing, but passing for success).