Mid-Majors in the BCS Era: 1998 Tulane Green Wave

From the outset the BCS provided both roadblocks and opportunities to mid-majors. The Tulane Green Wave were the first to challenge the system in 1998.

As the 1998 season neared, everyone was curious to see how the BCS system would perform in its inaugural campaign replacing the Bowl Alliance. With the Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences and the Rose Bowl now in the fold, the delineation between the haves and the have-nots in college football had effectively been carved down the middle of I-A football. Provisions were in place for teams outside of the big six conferences to reach a BCS bowl game if one were to somehow place in the top six of the final BCS standings.

“There are eight spots for the six conference winners,” Dick Jerardi noted in the Philadelphia Daily News ten weeks before the start of the season. “So more than two ‘outsiders’ would have to crack the top six to create a problem. Remember all the screaming from Brigham Young in 1996? Well, the Cougars wouldn’t have been in the top six under the BCS formula. Their schedule was ranked 76th toughest.”

BYU had clawed into the top six of the human polls two years earlier, but the Cougars had finished just 14th in the final Sagarin computer rating that season and had a composite computer average of 8th. And under the last crucial part of the formula, the 13-1 WAC champion’s relative schedule weaknesses would have doomed it to miss out on an at-large berth in one of the four affiliated bowls. If any team was going to break that threshold, it would need a strong schedule to convince the machines of its worthiness.

Entering preseason practices, the mid-major most thought would challenge for a spot at the elite table was Colorado State. Sonny Lubick had 17 starters returning from a squad that had won 11 games in 1997, and the Rams looked like the indisputable favorites to win their fourth WAC championship in five years. Pegged as the 15th-best team in the nation in the AP’s preseason poll, the only real question about Colorado State was how redshirt senior Ryan Eslinger would handle replacing Rams legend Moses Moreno under center.

The Rams won their season opener on the road against Michigan State, claiming a victory over another preseason top-25 squad. That the win came against a Big Ten school was merely additional fodder for their BCS argument. But the wheels fell off as soon as Colorado State returned home for a neutral-site rivalry game against Colorado at Mile High Stadium in Denver. As the final whistle blew on the Buffaloes’ 42-14 demolition of Eslinger and the Rams, AP voters forgot their preseason predictions. Colorado State lost three more games during the year, failed to appear again in the rankings, and missed out on a bowl berth.

Instead of Colorado State, a charter member and three-time champion of the SEC became the first challenger to the college football establishment that had constructed the BCS. Tulane had bolted the SEC in 1966 for football independence, the august New Orleans institution enjoying only spurts of success over the next three decades. Tulane was trending upward, but its last bowl appearance had come in Mack Brown’s final season as the team’s head coach – a season that ultimately ended in a 6-6 record after the Green Wave lost 24-12 to Washington in the Independence Bowl.

Tulane finally rejoined a conference after thirty years as an independent, helping charter the birth of Conference USA as a football league in 1996. In Buddy Teevens’ last season, the team suffered through yet another 2-9 season. Looking east, they set their sights on Auburn offensive coordinator Tommy Bowden. The Green Wave had slogged through a decade of losing seasons before Bowden took over in 1997, and the new coach immediately turned around fortunes by going 7-4 in his first season.

During 1998 spring practices, New Orleans Times-Picayune reporter Trey Iles unabashedly prognosticated the potential for an undefeated season in Tulane’s second season under Bowden. When Iles’ wife bumped into Bowden at the C-USA meetings in Destin, Florida in May and informed him of her husband’s prediction, he could hardly fathom the possibility.

Taken aback, Bowden paused a moment. Spouting the first words that came to mind at the proposition, the coach retorted, “Trey’s crazy!” Unable to muster any further reply, he smiled and turned to return to his various duties at the conference gathering.

But with ten starters returning to an offense that ranked 14th in the nation operating offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez’s innovative spread attack, including prolific dual-threat quarterback Shaun King, the Green Wave had plenty of firepower back on campus to improve on a campaign where the team had averaged nearly five touchdowns a game. The defense was also stacked with veteran talent, returning eight starters to a unit which had allowed 20 points per contest in 1997 to rank in the top quartile of the country.

While most preseason previews favored defending champion Southern Miss in the conference, the Green Wave had a legitimate argument as one of the league favorites. The Golden Eagles had earned the distinction of being ranked in the preseason AP poll, but Tulane would have the opportunity to decide the debate on the field on the first Saturday of October.

Before Bowden’s crew could get to that point, though, they had to navigate a tricky September schedule. Tulane’s season commenced with a trip to Cincinnati for the conference opener at Nippert Stadium. Bowden was forced to work without ten players lost to academic ineligibility, and the remaining roster started their season by building a big lead in the first half only to get complacent in the latter stages of the contest.

The Rich Rodriguez-coordinated offense flew out of the gate. Shaun King hooked up with receiver Toney Converse on a 41-yard touchdown pass, tailback Jamaican Dartez plunged over the goal line from two yards out with 24 seconds left in the opening frame, and a Brad Palazzo field goal gave the Green Wave a 17-0 lead after one quarter. By the time the two teams reached the locker room for halftime, the Green Wave led 31-6 and held a 260-52 lead in total yards of offense.

Much the same continued after halftime. King found P.J. Franklin for his third touchdown pass of the game on Tulane’s first possession, the Green Wave forced a fumble in the endzone for another touchdown, and King hit Kendal Francis for his fourth passing score. With less than 15 minutes remaining, Tulane’s lead had swelled to 52-14. Throwing caution to the wind, the Bearcats put a scare in Bowden’s team in the final quarter.

Tulane started to rest on its laurels offensively, and the defense started to grow passive in its coverage. Kenner cracked through the Green Wave’s resistance, threading the ball to Jason Collins-Baker for a 20-yard touchdown. A blocked kick provided another quick touchdown as Cincinnati pulled the score back to 52-28. DeJuan Gossett picked off King on the following drive, threaded through the confused Tulane offense, and returned the pick 91 yards for another score. In less than seven minutes, the Bearcats had cut the deficit by more than half.

A tropical storm pounded New Orleans over the next week, and Tulane barely made it to the airport for their flight to Dallas to play SMU the following weekend. In a script similar to the opener, the Green Wave jumped out to an early lead before handing back points. Up 24-0 at halftime, and pushing that lead to 31-0 on King’s 36-yard strike to P.J. Franklin on the opening drive of the second half, the score seemed to placate the team as the large lead had a similar palliative effect as the week before.

Josh McCown, a freshman playing his first serious snaps under center for the Mustangs, punished the soft coverage with a long strike to Albert Johnson that the receiver took the rest of the way for a 75-yard touchdown. McCown and Johnson connected again early in the fourth quarter on a 60-yard play to pull the score to 31-14, and SMU earned another late score on a two-yard burst through the heart of the Tulane defense by Rodnick Phillips. Just as it had been for the Bearcats, the Mustangs ran out of clock, but they had highlighted the Green Wave’s tendency to clam up in the last quarter.

Returning to Louisiana to prepare for their home opener against Navy at the Superdome, the team anxiously followed the weather reports as Hurricane Georges appeared to be on a collision course for New Orleans. The Midshipmen traveled into the city and the game went on as scheduled, the storm a few days from an eventual landfall east of New Orleans. Fighting to focus as their minds were wracked by the ominous weather brewing offshore, the Green Wave were forced out of their stupor after the defense allowed tailback Irv Dingle to punch in the first score of the game for the visitors.

After putting the first points on the scoreboard in each of their first two victories, Tulane’s offense was now forced to trade punches with the Midshipmen. The Green Wave recovered from their first deficit after one quarter to carve out a little breathing room as they took a 21-13 lead into the locker room at the break.

Navy continued to make it difficult for Bowden’s squad after halftime, reducing their deficit to five on Vanderhorst’s third field goal of the game. But Charlie Weatherbie’s team had no hope of knocking off the Green Wave if it continued to match touchdowns with field goals. King needed just two plays to prove the point, connecting with Franklin on a 78-yard touchdown strike that gave Tulane a 28-16 lead with nine minutes left in the third quarter.

At that point the Midshipmen had no more answers as the Green Wave surged over them. A couple of turnovers doomed Navy, and with 12 minutes left in the game Tulane finally built up their familiar lead. The defense conceded one more score, but the Green Wave finally put in a solid 60-minute effort.

Bowden and Rodriguez received bad news after the game, though. King, who had gone 17-of-22 for 235 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for another 65 yards and a score, had broken his left wrist during the course of the Navy game. While he threw with his right arm, the injury would challenge King on every snap and every handoff.

But first they had to evacuate the city, as Hurricane Georges still threatened New Orleans before it eventually veer off to the east. As September flipped over to October, the coaches were faced with the two biggest dilemmas of the season just as they prepared for their biggest conference showdown of the year.

Georges eventually made landfall on the Chandeleur Islands, causing a storm surge that centered around Pointe a la Hache an hour south of New Orleans. Though the hurricane caused $30 million in damage in the state, the impact didn’t extend further up the delta, and Tulane returned to campus to prepare for Southern Mississippi’s visit once everyone cleared out of their temporary refuge in the Superdome. Though the Golden Eagles started their season 1-2 with losses to Penn State and Texas A&M, Jeff Bower’s team could still ruin Tulane’s first 3-0 start in 24 years.

Bowden and Rodriguez, uncertain about King’s status for the matchup, were further hindered by the evacuations of the Tulane campus that cut into practice time during the week. The senior quarterback was leading the nation in passing efficiency after three games, but the broken wrist threatened to end the Cinderella season before it had truly gained national momentum.

Once everyone was reassembled back in New Orleans, the coaching staff prepared backup quarterback Jeff Curtis for the Golden Eagles while still testing out King’s chances of making the start. Neither quarterback was able to get enough repetitions in the truncated week leading up to the first challenge of October. Making a game-time decision, Bowden and Rodriguez to go with King as the starter, after he had shown no difficulty handling snaps despite the break on the opposite arm. With the chance to knock off the defending C-USA champion, the coaches were taking their chances that King could handle the workload.

Once the game kicked off, it became apparent that a defensive battle was destined for the evening. Neither King nor Southern Miss quarterback Lee Roberts could gain any momentum against the opposition, and as minute after scoreless minute ticked away in the first quarter the tenor of the contest favored the Golden Eagles. To this point in Bowden’s tenure at Tulane, the Green Wave had lost all four times they had scored fewer than 25 points and won all ten times they surpassed that threshold.

“I really thought they would have to turn the ball over for us to win,” Bowden gushed after the Southern Miss win. “Our defense took control of the game. The defense won the game today.”

The teams remained gridlocked until late in the opening frame, when safety Alphonso Roundtree returned an interception 59 yards for a 7-0 Tulane lead with 2:39 remaining in the first quarter. Jamaican Dartez added a one-yard dive for a touchdown before halftime, and King threw the 45th touchdown pass of his career on the opening drive of the second half to stretch the Green Wave’s lead to 21-0.

Roberts finally put Southern Mississippi on the scoreboard late in the third quarter, finding Todd Pinkston for an 18-yard touchdown reception. But the Green Wave defense continued to haunt the otherwise-reliable quarterback, and Roberts ended the day with four interceptions. “I really thought they would have to turn the ball over for us to win,” Bowden gushed after the win. “Our defense took control of the game. The defense won the game today.”

King, who finished just 14-of-25 on the night with two interceptions while nursing his left wrist, echoed his coach’s sentiments. “Our defense played real well. This was a special game, but we’re going to have to take it one game at a time. We didn’t stop trying. We kept going and the defense stepped up.”

As the Green Wave took control of the race for the Conference USA title, they finally registered on the national radar. Both the Associated Press and the USA Today Coaches’ Polls had Tulane ranked 25th after their defense stole the show against Southern Miss. Entering their bye week, the players and coaches tried to regain semblance of normalcy after the hurricane scare. Only two games remained until the first BCS standings of the new season, and the Green Wave needed to maintain their focus for Louisville and Rutgers if they were to factor in the calculations.

By the time they welcomed the Cardinals to New Orleans, Tulane had climbed a spot to 24th in both polls despite sitting idle on the second weekend of October. The Louisville game marked the first time the Green Wave played as a ranked team since their appearance against Penn State in the 1979 Liberty Bowl. Bowden’s crew was hoping to avoid posting the same result, as that Tulane squad lost 9-6 to the Nittany Lions in Memphis two decades earlier.

Louisville had just lost to Southern Miss during the Green Wave’s bye week, falling to 3-3 in the standings after posting consecutive wins over Illinois, Boston College and Cincinnati. Tulane’s defense faced the best quarterback it had seen all year, as Chris Redman had already thrown for nearly 2,000 yards midway through the season. But John L. Smith’s defense had been found wanting in the first half of their 1998 campaign, ranked 100th out of 112 I-A teams against the run and 108th against the pass as they allowed over 500 yards per game.

The Cardinals took an early lead on a first quarter Redman touchdown pass, but Dartez tied the game on the first play of the second frame with a two-yard dive over the goal line. Louisville settled for a 40-yard field goal from Jon Hilbert on its next drive, and King — despite continuing to play with a soft cast on his broken left wrist — seized the opportunity his defense had just handed him. On a rapid-fire drive, he moved the Green Wave down the field before hitting Dawson for a 29-yard touchdown. Leroy Collins bulled through the Tulane defense to retake the lead for Louisville on the next possession, but Hilbert missed the point-after attempt.

The Green Wave responded decisively, methodically wearing away the remaining clock before halftime to move into scoring position. With less than a minute remaining, King surveyed the coverage and found Dartez streaking uncovered. Hitting his tailback with a bullet, Dartez in covered the remaining yardage to give Tulane a 21-16 lead heading into the second half. With his second touchdown pass of the game, King also passed Terrence Jones for the school record.

Hilbert atoned for his missed chip shot on the extra point with a 33-yard field goal to pull Louisville within two points of the Green Wave on their first drive of the third quarter. Locked into another tight battle against a conference foe, the defense would once again have to win the game for Tulane. As Louisville within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, the crowd in the Superdome tensed as the clock ticked down toward the denouement of the final whistle.

Lining up for a 47-yard field goal with 66 seconds remaining, kicker Brad Palazzo had the chance to put the game out of reach for Tulane. But the kick veered wide, and Redman retook the field. 70 yards stood between the line of scrimmage and a potential Cardinals upset.

After escaping against Louisville Bowden noted, “In order to stay undefeated, certain things need to be accomplished and we are doing those things.”

The Green Wave rolled over as Redman worked the ball toward the sidelines. Chipping away, Louisville advanced to the Tulane 23 with just over 20 seconds remaining. Redman snapped the ball, stood in the pocket, and hit Charles Sheffield with what looked like the heartbreaking touchdown –but the receiver was taken down at the two-yard line. The Cardinals ran up to the line, Redman spiking the ball to stop the clock. Nine seconds remained.

Two incompletions later, time had expired and Tulane had survived yet another comeback bid. Louisville slipped below .500 after the defeat in New Orleans, but it proved last loss the Cardinals suffered before falling to Marshall in the Motor City Bowl. The defense had held firm once again, congealing at the right time of the season. “Neither team gave up,” Bowden would reflect after escaping with the victory. “They both played hard until the end. In order to stay undefeated, certain things need to be accomplished and we are doing those things.”

The polls still felt the Green Wave had something to prove. Despite being just one of seven unbeaten teams three weeks into October, the AP poll had Tulane at 22nd while the coaches had kept them at 24th. A road trip to New Jersey was the only test remaining before the inaugural BCS standings were released, and Bowden’s crew knew they had to make a statement on the scoreboard to factor into the national discussion.

“It will be a team that will match up with us talent-wise pretty equal across the board,” said Bowden about the Scarlet Knights as Tulane prepared to put their winning streak on the line again. “You hate to play a team that is getting better. They didn’t win any games last season and they already have three this year. They have three and we have five.”

Bowden need not have worried. After the first quarter ended in a 10-10 draw in Piscataway, King threw four touchdown passes in the second quarter as the Green Wave pulled away from Rutgers for a 38-17 halftime lead. The quarterback added two scoring runs in the second half, and Tulane returned home vindicated after demolishing the Scarlet Knights 52-24. By the end, King had gone 23-of-27 for 320 yards and added another 31 yards on the ground in the victory, and the Green Wave had piled up 510 total yards of offense in the blowout.

Now 6-0 and squarely positioned as the team to beat in Conference USA, and with a Halloween contest at home against Southwest Louisiana (later rebranded as Louisiana-Lafayette) looming, Tulane’s quarterback lobbed a premature shot before the BCS standings were released on the last Monday of October. Still basking in the glow of the Rutgers rout, Shaun King boasted, “I feel we’re number one until somebody beats us.”

With six other undefeated teams still standing, the BCS standings had a different opinion of the Green Wave. Tulane, ranked 19th in the AP poll and 18th by the coaches, was slotted 19th when the computers were also factored into the first edition of the revolutionary new system. Bowden’s squad, according to this aggregation of rankings, was worse than 5-2 Missouri and just barely better than a Syracuse team that at that point of the season had already lost four games.

Before they faced off against the Ragin’ Cajuns, Bowden was more introspective about where his team stood. “They have done a good job,” the coach said during the week before the Green Wave’s last test of October. “But I’ve been impressed with the way they have taken it game-to-game. Tulane has not been ranked in 20 years and we’ve taken the best shot of some teams. So I’ve been pleased with the way we have played. But we’ve only won six games and six games will not get you anywhere.”

Haunting an overmatched opponent on Halloween, Tulane put on its best offensive display since 1925 as they forced a national audience to take notice in a 72-20 pounding of Southwest Louisiana. Compiling over 700 yards of total offense, the Green Wave built up a 16-0 lead after one quarter. The Cajuns responded with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Barton Folse to Brandon Stokley early in the second quarter, pulling the gap to 16-7.

Losing the shutout bid, Tulane responded with an offensive onslaught. King threw two long touchdown passes to Dartez and Franklin, Toney Converse and Dartez added scores on the ground, and by halftime the Green Wave built up a 44-7 lead. King added a third touchdown pass on the first drive of the third quarter before exiting the game with the team up by 44 points.

The victory opened eyes among the AP’s assorted congregation and the coaches who participated in the USA Today poll. In the media poll Tulane climbed to a tie for 15th with Syracuse and Virginia Tech; the coaches lifted them up to 16th, the same place the Green Wave would appear in the second release of the BCS standings on November 2. Four games and ten spots remained between perfection and a berth in one of the four premier bowl games of the reconfigured postseason slate. The odds were still long that Tulane could ruin the establishment’s attempt to shut their ilk out of the richest spoils.

“Everybody wants to coach at a program that can compete with Michigan and Nebraska,” Bowden joked, “and I got Nebraska right in front of me and Michigan right behind me. I’m just glad I don’t have to play them.”

November’s run of games opened with a trip to Memphis. Tulane once again reverted to their lackadaisical habit of allowing teams back into games, and a 41-31 victory did nothing to tip the needles further in favor of the Green Wave. Though both human polls had bumped them up to 14th in the nation, Tulane remained mired at 16th in the BCS standings thanks to the combination of low computer rankings, a weak strength of schedule, and lower margins of victory than one might expect of a seemingly dominant mid-major as it rolled through its conference slate.

Bowden realized his team’s run to 8-0 had in many cases been a matter of kismet. “Everybody wants to coach at a program that can compete with Michigan and Nebraska,” he joked, “and I got Nebraska right in front of me and Michigan right behind me. I’m just glad I don’t have to play them.” But stranger things had happened in the world of college football, and a rise up the polls wasn’t inconceivable if Tulane could dispatch the last three opponents on their regular-season schedule. If things aligned right in November, the Green Wave still had a chance of facing the Wolverines or Cornhuskers in one of the BCS showcases.

The game against Army at West Point on November 14 was more detrimental than beneficial for Bowden’s team. Despite winning 49-35 against the Cadets, Tulane’s strength of schedule ranking fell two spots in the next edition of the BCS standings. Even though the AP and coaches polls were warming to the Green Wave, a schedule determined years in advance was dooming them to a reputation that could either be burnished or tarnished with a cornucopia of arguments.

Houston, which visited the Superdome on November 21, further dropped Tulane’s strength of schedule. But with Nebraska idle after their loss to Kansas State the week before and Arkansas, Michigan and Oregon all losing, Tulane snagged enough human ballots and finally turned the computers in their favor enough to leap in front of the Cornhuskers in the BCS standings released three days before Thanksgiving.

With one game left, there was little that the Green Wave could further prove to the human voters, and the computers were about to decide Tulane’s fate according to algorithms unavailable for public scrutiny. But while a victory over Louisiana Tech in the regular-season finale was unlikely to force the BCS into selecting them, a loss to the Bulldogs would wipe out any glimmer of hope.

Tech brought a strong offense to the Superdome for a televised Thursday-night game on November 26 featuring the quarterback-receiver tandem of Tim Rattay and Troy Edwards. Both would set NCAA offensive records during the 1998 season, threatening offenses across the country throughout the season. But while the Bulldogs had a top-five attack, they were in danger of finishing their season at .500 thanks to one of the dozen worst defenses at the I-A level.

Rattay and the visitors struck first, as the quarterback hooked up with James Jordan for a 69-yard touchdown. Just 2:22 into the season finale, Tulane found itself behind on the scoreboard yet again. They pulled even as Converse finished off the home team’s first offensive series with a two-yard score, but the Bulldogs answered back on a long drive. Marching into the red zone, Louisiana Tech was finally stalled by the Green Wave defense and forced to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Trent Wierick.

King quickly hit Kerwin Cook for a 63-yard touchdown reception to reverse the momentum and put Tulane ahead 14-10. After the Bulldogs were forced to punt on their next offensive series, P.J. Franklin finished off the next Green Wave drive with a 21-yard reverse that put his team up by 11 early in the second quarter. Tenaciously fighting to keep the game close, Tech pulled within four as Terry Pratt capped their next possession with a three-yard touchdown run 10:41 before halftime.

Now fully accustomed to the cast on his left arm, King went to work building a lead before the intermission. He connected with Cook a minute after the Bulldog score to restore the double-digit Tulane lead. After the defense forced a three-and-out, King added a third first-half touchdown pass on a 19-yard strike to Joseph Akin midway through the second quarter. The Green Wave headed to their locker room at halftime comfortably ahead 35-16.

Converse extended the lead by another touchdown on Tulane’s first drive of the third quarter, eliminating any hope of a comeback. Rattay found Cedric Williams as Louisiana Tech tried to keep pace, and Bobby Ray Tell added a one-yard plunge with 3:35 left in the third quarter. But it would be too little, too late, as Converse and King kept the scoreboard operator busy en route to a 63-30 victory.

Tulane had completed its first undefeated regular season since 1931. “I would not have written an 11-0 script,” Bowden said after dominating the Bulldogs in the home finale. “A lot of guys coach a long time and never go 11-0 in a career, especially at Tulane.”

Only SEC champion Tennessee could boast the same claim after the end of the 1998 regular season. And after sweeping their Conference USA schedule, the Green Wave had claimed the school’s first league title since winning the 1949 SEC championship under Henry Frnka. But even before the final BCS standings had been released on December 7, Tulane had already been informed by the bowl selectors that there would be no invite to Miami for the Orange Bowl or a hometown coronation in the Sugar Bowl.

“I would not have written an 11-0 script,” Bowden said after the home finale. “A lot of guys coach a long time and never go 11-0 in a career, especially at Tulane.”

Dejected at the snub, the university was forced to accept a Liberty Bowl berth against WAC runner-up BYU. But before the team could prepare for its postseason showdown against the Cougars, it was forced to cope with the impending departure of its leader.

Since October rumors had swirled around Tommy Bowden. After turning Tulane into a national contender in the course of two years, schools around the country salivated at the prospect of nabbing a talented young head coach with the added bonus of the Bowden pedigree. In the waning moments of the season finale at the Superdome, the 37,391 fans in attendance started to serenade the coach with a chant of “Stay, Tommy, Stay”.

Bowden, though, was already preparing to meet with Clemson after the Louisiana Tech game. The Tigers had fired Tommy West before their rivalry game against South Carolina, and Tulane’s coach had done little to hide his ambition for the vacant post. Four days before the final BCS standings would be announced, Clemson and Bowden made the announcement official. Exactly one week after Tulane had completed its coronation as one of two undefeated teams in the nation, it had lost its coach.

The Green Wave quickly scrambled to maintain some semblance of normalcy, installing Rodriguez as the interim coach as the administration ramped up its search for a permanent solution for the vacancy. On the same day the BCS declared Tulane to be just the tenth-best team in the nation, the school introduced Georgia assistant head coach Chris Scelfo as their new head coach.

Rodriguez, who had been one of the candidates for the full-time position, was floored by the decision. “This is a shock,” he replied after hearing the news. “I was so sure, I brought in my green coat and tie this morning. This is so discouraging. I’m disappointed. I thought I’d done all I could to prove myself. I’m worried about the kids.” Despite the disappointment, the offensive coordinator remained with the program to assist Scelfo and the staff with its preparations for the Liberty Bowl before following Bowden to Clemson.

Tulane’s New Year’s Eve opponent in Memphis was no slouch. Fourteen years after its landmark national championship, the last mid-major to finish a season undefeated took on the Green Wave hoping to keep their reputation intact as the preeminent team outside the BCS purview. But this incarnation of LaVell Edwards’ many talented teams in Provo was far from its finest vintage.

Two years removed from its own top-ten season, BYU had only claimed the WAC’s Pacific Division when rival Utah pinged a potential Holy War-winning field goal off the upright. By virtue of their head-to-head win over San Diego State, the Cougars earned a trip to their second WAC championship game in three years. There they would fall to Air Force 20-13 in the championship game in Las Vegas. BYU thus entered the bowl season 9-3, with its only other losses coming against Alabama, Washington, and Fresno State.

Two weeks before the game, BYU announced the suspension of Ronney Jenkins, dealing a serious blow to the Cougars’ fortunes against the Green Wave. Jenkins, who had led the WAC in rushing during the regular season, gave Edwards no choice in the matter as he violated the Mormon university’s honor code and rendered himself ineligible for the biggest game of the year. A few days later, the school would be forced to announce that defensive back Heshimu Robertson had also tipped Edwards’ hand by violating the honor code.

Edwards still had the WAC’s top-rated quarterback, Kevin Feterik, though, and a team stacked with talent both veteran and raw. If the Green Wave could choose anyone outside the BCS selections to test itself against as its postseason reward, the Cougars would rate among the best challenges available. But without important contributors on both sides of the ball, the test for BYU would become even tougher as they tried to preserve their status as the last mid-major to finish a year unbeaten.

The Cougars took the opening kickoff and moved 65 yards in seven plays, setting up Feterik for an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ben Horton six minutes into the first quarter. After an excessive celebration penalty, Tulane blocked the 35-yard extra point attempt to keep the score 6-0.

Tulane was forced to settle for a field goal on its opening drive of the game, as Palazzo came out for the 31-yard kick. After halving the deficit, the Green Wave continued to struggle against the Cougar offense. Feterik and his teammates pushed quickly downfield and threatened to nab another touchdown. But the quarterback failed to pick up Michael Jordan in coverage, and the cornerback jumped a route in the flat and streaked 79 yards up the left sideline. Instead of BYU building upon its lead, the Green Wave had flipped the possession to their advantage.

Demoralized by the turnover, BYU found it increasingly hard to move the ball. The Tulane defense, emboldened after putting points on the board itself, clamped down on the Cougars. King would find Cook for a 37-yard completion, the receiver getting the Green Wave goal down to the BYU 4. Three plays later, Tulane extended their lead as King kept the ball and darted into the endzone on a draw. Palazzo would add another field goal 41 seconds from halftime, and the Green Wave retired to their locker room with a two-touchdown lead.

In the third quarter, King tossed his final two scoring strikes of the season, linking up with Cook on a 60-yard bomb and Dartez out of the backfield on the subsequent drive as Tulane widened their lead to 34-6. But with only one quarter left to play, the Green Wave reverted to old habits as BYU fought back into the contest.

Aaron Cupp catalyzed the Cougars’ belated comeback bid. The receiver scored BYU’s first points early in the frame, taking a sweep in motion and carrying out of the backfield for the three-yard touchdown. After Converse responded with a Tulane touchdown run on its next possession, Cupp reached the endzone again after Feterik found him for a five-yard catch.

“We had something to prove today,” King said after the Liberty Bowl win. “Hopefully, we answered some of our doubters. Any time you go undefeated, you should be ranked in the top five. I’d love to play Tennessee and I think it would be a good game.”

The Green Wave were still ahead by three touchdowns, but the Cougars were charging. King and the offense sputtered on their next series, and BYU quickly worked into scoring position. Junior Mahe, starting in place of the suspended Jenkins, put one more touchdown on the board with 90 seconds remaining. Unable to get the ball back on the onside kick, BYU could do nothing further as King took knees and Tulane capped its undefeated season with a 41-27 conquest of the Liberty Bowl.

“We had something to prove today,” King would declare after erupting for 276 passing yards and 109 rushing yards in the bowl victory. “Hopefully, we answered some of our doubters. Any time you go undefeated, you should be ranked in the top five. I’d love to play Tennessee and I think it would be a good game. We’ve got a great group of guys who work hard and know what it takes to be successful.”

Four days later, the Volunteers completed their own undefeated season as they hung on to defeat Florida State 23-16 in the Fiesta Bowl and claim the inaugural BCS championship. With the win, Tennessee earned its first undisputed, undefeated national championship season since Robert Neyland patrolled the sidelines in 1938.

More from Saturday Blitz

• Michigan State vs. Maryland: Location, time, prediction, and more
• ACC Power Rankings: Can #4 FSU overthrow Clemson at Death Valley East?
• Most heartwarming social media reactions to Nick Chubb’s injury
• Ranking college football’s top 10 quarterbacks after Week 3
• Things are going to get much darker for the Houston Cougars

With the completion of the final game, Tulane was slotted at seventh in both of the final human polls. Ahead of them, the AP and the coaches had rewarded a pair of two-loss teams from the Sunshine State and a couple of blemished Big Ten schools with better rankings. Even after beating BYU in its bowl game and unseating the Cougars as the preeminent mid-major in college football, the Green Wave was still adjudged to be unworthy of the top-six threshold for automatic qualification to one of the four most lucrative and prestigious bowl games.

Tulane would become the first team to be shut out by the BCS, as the new system performed one of its prime goals to perfection. But their struggle, finishing undefeated but without even a long-shot chance at the title, ignited the groundswell of discontent that would grow with each passing year. It also left the Green Wave wondering what might have transpired had they replaced the Seminoles in Tempe.

“We watched all those [BCS bowl] games and thought, ‘You know, we could have played with those guys.’ It would have been great to have had a shot,” backup quarterback Jeff Curtis would reflect a decade later. “But maybe we had something to do with those [non-BCS] teams getting into the games now. We take solace in that.”

Instead of Colorado State, a charter member and three-time champion of the SEC became the first challenger to the college football establishment that had constructed the BCS. Tulane had bolted the SEC in 1966 for football independence, the august New Orleans institution enjoying only spurts of success over the next three decades. Tulane was trending upward, but its last bowl appearance had come in Mack Brown’s final season as the team’s head coach – a season that ultimately ended in a 6-6 record after the Green Wave lost 24-12 to Washington in the Independence Bowl.

Tulane finally rejoined a conference after thirty years as an independent, helping charter the birth of Conference USA as a football league in 1996. In Buddy Teevens’ last season, the team suffered through yet another 2-9 season. Looking east, they set their sights on Auburn offensive coordinator Tommy Bowden. The Green Wave had slogged through a decade of losing seasons before Bowden took over in 1997, and the new coach immediately turned around fortunes by going 7-4 in his first season.

During 1998 spring practices, New Orleans Times-Picayune reporter Trey Iles unabashedly prognosticated the potential for an undefeated season in Tulane’s second season under Bowden. When Iles’ wife bumped into Bowden at the C-USA meetings in Destin, Florida in May and informed him of her husband’s prediction, he could hardly fathom the possibility.

Taken aback, Bowden paused a moment. Spouting the first words that came to mind at the proposition, the coach retorted, “Trey’s crazy!” Unable to muster any further reply, he smiled and turned to return to his various duties at the conference gathering.

But with ten starters returning to an offense that ranked 14th in the nation operating offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez’s innovative spread attack, including prolific dual-threat quarterback Shaun King, the Green Wave had plenty of firepower back on campus to improve on a campaign where the team had averaged nearly five touchdowns a game. The defense was also stacked with veteran talent, returning eight starters to a unit which had allowed 20 points per contest in 1997 to rank in the top quartile of the country.

While most preseason previews favored defending champion Southern Miss in the conference, the Green Wave had a legitimate argument as one of the league favorites. The Golden Eagles had earned the distinction of being ranked in the preseason AP poll, but Tulane would have the opportunity to decide the debate on the field on the first Saturday of October.

Before Bowden’s crew could get to that point, though, they had to navigate a tricky September schedule. Tulane’s season commenced with a trip to Cincinnati for the conference opener at Nippert Stadium. Bowden was forced to work without ten players lost to academic ineligibility, and the remaining roster started their season by building a big lead in the first half only to get complacent in the latter stages of the contest.

The Rich Rodriguez-coordinated offense flew out of the gate. Shaun King hooked up with receiver Toney Converse on a 41-yard touchdown pass, tailback Jamaican Dartez plunged over the goal line from two yards out with 24 seconds left in the opening frame, and a Brad Palazzo field goal gave the Green Wave a 17-0 lead after one quarter. By the time the two teams reached the locker room for halftime, the Green Wave led 31-6 and held a 260-52 lead in total yards of offense.

Much the same continued after halftime. King found P.J. Franklin for his third touchdown pass of the game on Tulane’s first possession, the Green Wave forced a fumble in the endzone for another touchdown, and King hit Kendal Francis for his fourth passing score. With less than 15 minutes remaining, Tulane’s lead had swelled to 52-14. Throwing caution to the wind, the Bearcats put a scare in Bowden’s team in the final quarter.

Tulane started to rest on its laurels offensively, and the defense started to grow passive in its coverage. Kenner cracked through the Green Wave’s resistance, threading the ball to Jason Collins-Baker for a 20-yard touchdown. A blocked kick provided another quick touchdown as Cincinnati pulled the score back to 52-28. DeJuan Gossett picked off King on the following drive, threaded through the confused Tulane offense, and returned the pick 91 yards for another score. In less than seven minutes, the Bearcats had cut the deficit by more than half.

A tropical storm pounded New Orleans over the next week, and Tulane barely made it to the airport for their flight to Dallas to play SMU the following weekend. In a script similar to the opener, the Green Wave jumped out to an early lead before handing back points. Up 24-0 at halftime, and pushing that lead to 31-0 on King’s 36-yard strike to P.J. Franklin on the opening drive of the second half, the score seemed to placate the team as the large lead had a similar palliative effect as the week before.

Josh McCown, a freshman playing his first serious snaps under center for the Mustangs, punished the soft coverage with a long strike to Albert Johnson that the receiver took the rest of the way for a 75-yard touchdown. McCown and Johnson connected again early in the fourth quarter on a 60-yard play to pull the score to 31-14, and SMU earned another late score on a two-yard burst through the heart of the Tulane defense by Rodnick Phillips. Just as it had been for the Bearcats, the Mustangs ran out of clock, but they had highlighted the Green Wave’s tendency to clam up in the last quarter.

Returning to Louisiana to prepare for their home opener against Navy at the Superdome, the team anxiously followed the weather reports as Hurricane Georges appeared to be on a collision course for New Orleans. The Midshipmen traveled into the city and the game went on as scheduled, the storm a few days from an eventual landfall east of New Orleans. Fighting to focus as their minds were wracked by the ominous weather brewing offshore, the Green Wave were forced out of their stupor after the defense allowed tailback Irv Dingle to punch in the first score of the game for the visitors.

After putting the first points on the scoreboard in each of their first two victories, Tulane’s offense was now forced to trade punches with the Midshipmen. The Green Wave recovered from their first deficit after one quarter to carve out a little breathing room as they took a 21-13 lead into the locker room at the break.

Navy continued to make it difficult for Bowden’s squad after halftime, reducing their deficit to five on Vanderhorst’s third field goal of the game. But Charlie Weatherbie’s team had no hope of knocking off the Green Wave if it continued to match touchdowns with field goals. King needed just two plays to prove the point, connecting with Franklin on a 78-yard touchdown strike that gave Tulane a 28-16 lead with nine minutes left in the third quarter.

At that point the Midshipmen had no more answers as the Green Wave surged over them. A couple of turnovers doomed Navy, and with 12 minutes left in the game Tulane finally built up their familiar lead. The defense conceded one more score, but the Green Wave finally put in a solid 60-minute effort.

Bowden and Rodriguez received bad news after the game, though. King, who had gone 17-of-22 for 235 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for another 65 yards and a score, had broken his left wrist during the course of the Navy game. While he threw with his right arm, the injury would challenge King on every snap and every handoff.

But first they had to evacuate the city, as Hurricane Georges still threatened New Orleans before it eventually veer off to the east. As September flipped over to October, the coaches were faced with the two biggest dilemmas of the season just as they prepared for their biggest conference showdown of the year.

Georges eventually made landfall on the Chandeleur Islands, causing a storm surge that centered around Pointe a la Hache an hour south of New Orleans. Though the hurricane caused $30 million in damage in the state, the impact didn’t extend further up the delta, and Tulane returned to campus to prepare for Southern Mississippi’s visit once everyone cleared out of their temporary refuge in the Superdome. Though the Golden Eagles started their season 1-2 with losses to Penn State and Texas A&M, Jeff Bower’s team could still ruin Tulane’s first 3-0 start in 24 years.

Bowden and Rodriguez, uncertain about King’s status for the matchup, were further hindered by the evacuations of the Tulane campus that cut into practice time during the week. The senior quarterback was leading the nation in passing efficiency after three games, but the broken wrist threatened to end the Cinderella season before it had truly gained national momentum.

Once everyone was reassembled back in New Orleans, the coaching staff prepared backup quarterback Jeff Curtis for the Golden Eagles while still testing out King’s chances of making the start. Neither quarterback was able to get enough repetitions in the truncated week leading up to the first challenge of October. Making a game-time decision, Bowden and Rodriguez to go with King as the starter, after he had shown no difficulty handling snaps despite the break on the opposite arm. With the chance to knock off the defending C-USA champion, the coaches were taking their chances that King could handle the workload.

Once the game kicked off, it became apparent that a defensive battle was destined for the evening. Neither King nor Southern Miss quarterback Lee Roberts could gain any momentum against the opposition, and as minute after scoreless minute ticked away in the first quarter the tenor of the contest favored the Golden Eagles. To this point in Bowden’s tenure at Tulane, the Green Wave had lost all four times they had scored fewer than 25 points and won all ten times they surpassed that threshold.

“I really thought they would have to turn the ball over for us to win,” Bowden gushed after the Southern Miss win. “Our defense took control of the game. The defense won the game today.”

The teams remained gridlocked until late in the opening frame, when safety Alphonso Roundtree returned an interception 59 yards for a 7-0 Tulane lead with 2:39 remaining in the first quarter. Jamaican Dartez added a one-yard dive for a touchdown before halftime, and King threw the 45th touchdown pass of his career on the opening drive of the second half to stretch the Green Wave’s lead to 21-0.

Roberts finally put Southern Mississippi on the scoreboard late in the third quarter, finding Todd Pinkston for an 18-yard touchdown reception. But the Green Wave defense continued to haunt the otherwise-reliable quarterback, and Roberts ended the day with four interceptions. “I really thought they would have to turn the ball over for us to win,” Bowden gushed after the win. “Our defense took control of the game. The defense won the game today.”

King, who finished just 14-of-25 on the night with two interceptions while nursing his left wrist, echoed his coach’s sentiments. “Our defense played real well. This was a special game, but we’re going to have to take it one game at a time. We didn’t stop trying. We kept going and the defense stepped up.”

As the Green Wave took control of the race for the Conference USA title, they finally registered on the national radar. Both the Associated Press and the USA Today Coaches’ Polls had Tulane ranked 25th after their defense stole the show against Southern Miss. Entering their bye week, the players and coaches tried to regain semblance of normalcy after the hurricane scare. Only two games remained until the first BCS standings of the new season, and the Green Wave needed to maintain their focus for Louisville and Rutgers if they were to factor in the calculations.

By the time they welcomed the Cardinals to New Orleans, Tulane had climbed a spot to 24th in both polls despite sitting idle on the second weekend of October. The Louisville game marked the first time the Green Wave played as a ranked team since their appearance against Penn State in the 1979 Liberty Bowl. Bowden’s crew was hoping to avoid posting the same result, as that Tulane squad lost 9-6 to the Nittany Lions in Memphis two decades earlier.

Louisville had just lost to Southern Miss during the Green Wave’s bye week, falling to 3-3 in the standings after posting consecutive wins over Illinois, Boston College and Cincinnati. Tulane’s defense faced the best quarterback it had seen all year, as Chris Redman had already thrown for nearly 2,000 yards midway through the season. But John L. Smith’s defense had been found wanting in the first half of their 1998 campaign, ranked 100th out of 112 I-A teams against the run and 108th against the pass as they allowed over 500 yards per game.

The Cardinals took an early lead on a first quarter Redman touchdown pass, but Dartez tied the game on the first play of the second frame with a two-yard dive over the goal line. Louisville settled for a 40-yard field goal from Jon Hilbert on its next drive, and King — despite continuing to play with a soft cast on his broken left wrist — seized the opportunity his defense had just handed him. On a rapid-fire drive, he moved the Green Wave down the field before hitting Dawson for a 29-yard touchdown. Leroy Collins bulled through the Tulane defense to retake the lead for Louisville on the next possession, but Hilbert missed the point-after attempt.

The Green Wave responded decisively, methodically wearing away the remaining clock before halftime to move into scoring position. With less than a minute remaining, King surveyed the coverage and found Dartez streaking uncovered. Hitting his tailback with a bullet, Dartez in covered the remaining yardage to give Tulane a 21-16 lead heading into the second half. With his second touchdown pass of the game, King also passed Terrence Jones for the school record.

Hilbert atoned for his missed chip shot on the extra point with a 33-yard field goal to pull Louisville within two points of the Green Wave on their first drive of the third quarter. Locked into another tight battle against a conference foe, the defense would once again have to win the game for Tulane. As Louisville within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, the crowd in the Superdome tensed as the clock ticked down toward the denouement of the final whistle.

Lining up for a 47-yard field goal with 66 seconds remaining, kicker Brad Palazzo had the chance to put the game out of reach for Tulane. But the kick veered wide, and Redman retook the field. 70 yards stood between the line of scrimmage and a potential Cardinals upset.

After escaping against Louisville Bowden noted, “In order to stay undefeated, certain things need to be accomplished and we are doing those things.”

The Green Wave rolled over as Redman worked the ball toward the sidelines. Chipping away, Louisville advanced to the Tulane 23 with just over 20 seconds remaining. Redman snapped the ball, stood in the pocket, and hit Charles Sheffield with what looked like the heartbreaking touchdown –but the receiver was taken down at the two-yard line. The Cardinals ran up to the line, Redman spiking the ball to stop the clock. Nine seconds remained.

Two incompletions later, time had expired and Tulane had survived yet another comeback bid. Louisville slipped below .500 after the defeat in New Orleans, but it proved last loss the Cardinals suffered before falling to Marshall in the Motor City Bowl. The defense had held firm once again, congealing at the right time of the season. “Neither team gave up,” Bowden would reflect after escaping with the victory. “They both played hard until the end. In order to stay undefeated, certain things need to be accomplished and we are doing those things.”

The polls still felt the Green Wave had something to prove. Despite being just one of seven unbeaten teams three weeks into October, the AP poll had Tulane at 22nd while the coaches had kept them at 24th. A road trip to New Jersey was the only test remaining before the inaugural BCS standings were released, and Bowden’s crew knew they had to make a statement on the scoreboard to factor into the national discussion.

“It will be a team that will match up with us talent-wise pretty equal across the board,” said Bowden about the Scarlet Knights as Tulane prepared to put their winning streak on the line again. “You hate to play a team that is getting better. They didn’t win any games last season and they already have three this year. They have three and we have five.”

Bowden need not have worried. After the first quarter ended in a 10-10 draw in Piscataway, King threw four touchdown passes in the second quarter as the Green Wave pulled away from Rutgers for a 38-17 halftime lead. The quarterback added two scoring runs in the second half, and Tulane returned home vindicated after demolishing the Scarlet Knights 52-24. By the end, King had gone 23-of-27 for 320 yards and added another 31 yards on the ground in the victory, and the Green Wave had piled up 510 total yards of offense in the blowout.

Now 6-0 and squarely positioned as the team to beat in Conference USA, and with a Halloween contest at home against Southwest Louisiana (later rebranded as Louisiana-Lafayette) looming, Tulane’s quarterback lobbed a premature shot before the BCS standings were released on the last Monday of October. Still basking in the glow of the Rutgers rout, Shaun King boasted, “I feel we’re number one until somebody beats us.”

With six other undefeated teams still standing, the BCS standings had a different opinion of the Green Wave. Tulane, ranked 19th in the AP poll and 18th by the coaches, was slotted 19th when the computers were also factored into the first edition of the revolutionary new system. Bowden’s squad, according to this aggregation of rankings, was worse than 5-2 Missouri and just barely better than a Syracuse team that at that point of the season had already lost four games.

Before they faced off against the Ragin’ Cajuns, Bowden was more introspective about where his team stood. “They have done a good job,” the coach said during the week before the Green Wave’s last test of October. “But I’ve been impressed with the way they have taken it game-to-game. Tulane has not been ranked in 20 years and we’ve taken the best shot of some teams. So I’ve been pleased with the way we have played. But we’ve only won six games and six games will not get you anywhere.”

Haunting an overmatched opponent on Halloween, Tulane put on its best offensive display since 1925 as they forced a national audience to take notice in a 72-20 pounding of Southwest Louisiana. Compiling over 700 yards of total offense, the Green Wave built up a 16-0 lead after one quarter. The Cajuns responded with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Barton Folse to Brandon Stokley early in the second quarter, pulling the gap to 16-7.

Losing the shutout bid, Tulane responded with an offensive onslaught. King threw two long touchdown passes to Dartez and Franklin, Toney Converse and Dartez added scores on the ground, and by halftime the Green Wave built up a 44-7 lead. King added a third touchdown pass on the first drive of the third quarter before exiting the game with the team up by 44 points.

The victory opened eyes among the AP’s assorted congregation and the coaches who participated in the USA Today poll. In the media poll Tulane climbed to a tie for 15th with Syracuse and Virginia Tech; the coaches lifted them up to 16th, the same place the Green Wave would appear in the second release of the BCS standings on November 2. Four games and ten spots remained between perfection and a berth in one of the four premier bowl games of the reconfigured postseason slate. The odds were still long that Tulane could ruin the establishment’s attempt to shut their ilk out of the richest spoils.

“Everybody wants to coach at a program that can compete with Michigan and Nebraska,” Bowden joked, “and I got Nebraska right in front of me and Michigan right behind me. I’m just glad I don’t have to play them.”

November’s run of games opened with a trip to Memphis. Tulane once again reverted to their lackadaisical habit of allowing teams back into games, and a 41-31 victory did nothing to tip the needles further in favor of the Green Wave. Though both human polls had bumped them up to 14th in the nation, Tulane remained mired at 16th in the BCS standings thanks to the combination of low computer rankings, a weak strength of schedule, and lower margins of victory than one might expect of a seemingly dominant mid-major as it rolled through its conference slate.

Bowden realized his team’s run to 8-0 had in many cases been a matter of kismet. “Everybody wants to coach at a program that can compete with Michigan and Nebraska,” he joked, “and I got Nebraska right in front of me and Michigan right behind me. I’m just glad I don’t have to play them.” But stranger things had happened in the world of college football, and a rise up the polls wasn’t inconceivable if Tulane could dispatch the last three opponents on their regular-season schedule. If things aligned right in November, the Green Wave still had a chance of facing the Wolverines or Cornhuskers in one of the BCS showcases.

The game against Army at West Point on November 14 was more detrimental than beneficial for Bowden’s team. Despite winning 49-35 against the Cadets, Tulane’s strength of schedule ranking fell two spots in the next edition of the BCS standings. Even though the AP and coaches polls were warming to the Green Wave, a schedule determined years in advance was dooming them to a reputation that could either be burnished or tarnished with a cornucopia of arguments.

Houston, which visited the Superdome on November 21, further dropped Tulane’s strength of schedule. But with Nebraska idle after their loss to Kansas State the week before and Arkansas, Michigan and Oregon all losing, Tulane snagged enough human ballots and finally turned the computers in their favor enough to leap in front of the Cornhuskers in the BCS standings released three days before Thanksgiving.

With one game left, there was little that the Green Wave could further prove to the human voters, and the computers were about to decide Tulane’s fate according to algorithms unavailable for public scrutiny. But while a victory over Louisiana Tech in the regular-season finale was unlikely to force the BCS into selecting them, a loss to the Bulldogs would wipe out any glimmer of hope.

Tech brought a strong offense to the Superdome for a televised Thursday-night game on November 26 featuring the quarterback-receiver tandem of Tim Rattay and Troy Edwards. Both would set NCAA offensive records during the 1998 season, threatening offenses across the country throughout the season. But while the Bulldogs had a top-five attack, they were in danger of finishing their season at .500 thanks to one of the dozen worst defenses at the I-A level.

Rattay and the visitors struck first, as the quarterback hooked up with James Jordan for a 69-yard touchdown. Just 2:22 into the season finale, Tulane found itself behind on the scoreboard yet again. They pulled even as Converse finished off the home team’s first offensive series with a two-yard score, but the Bulldogs answered back on a long drive. Marching into the red zone, Louisiana Tech was finally stalled by the Green Wave defense and forced to settle for a 26-yard field goal by Trent Wierick.

King quickly hit Kerwin Cook for a 63-yard touchdown reception to reverse the momentum and put Tulane ahead 14-10. After the Bulldogs were forced to punt on their next offensive series, P.J. Franklin finished off the next Green Wave drive with a 21-yard reverse that put his team up by 11 early in the second quarter. Tenaciously fighting to keep the game close, Tech pulled within four as Terry Pratt capped their next possession with a three-yard touchdown run 10:41 before halftime.

Now fully accustomed to the cast on his left arm, King went to work building a lead before the intermission. He connected with Cook a minute after the Bulldog score to restore the double-digit Tulane lead. After the defense forced a three-and-out, King added a third first-half touchdown pass on a 19-yard strike to Joseph Akin midway through the second quarter. The Green Wave headed to their locker room at halftime comfortably ahead 35-16.

Converse extended the lead by another touchdown on Tulane’s first drive of the third quarter, eliminating any hope of a comeback. Rattay found Cedric Williams as Louisiana Tech tried to keep pace, and Bobby Ray Tell added a one-yard plunge with 3:35 left in the third quarter. But it would be too little, too late, as Converse and King kept the scoreboard operator busy en route to a 63-30 victory.

Tulane had completed its first undefeated regular season since 1931. “I would not have written an 11-0 script,” Bowden said after dominating the Bulldogs in the home finale. “A lot of guys coach a long time and never go 11-0 in a career, especially at Tulane.”

Only SEC champion Tennessee could boast the same claim after the end of the 1998 regular season. And after sweeping their Conference USA schedule, the Green Wave had claimed the school’s first league title since winning the 1949 SEC championship under Henry Frnka. But even before the final BCS standings had been released on December 7, Tulane had already been informed by the bowl selectors that there would be no invite to Miami for the Orange Bowl or a hometown coronation in the Sugar Bowl.

“I would not have written an 11-0 script,” Bowden said after the home finale. “A lot of guys coach a long time and never go 11-0 in a career, especially at Tulane.”

Dejected at the snub, the university was forced to accept a Liberty Bowl berth against WAC runner-up BYU. But before the team could prepare for its postseason showdown against the Cougars, it was forced to cope with the impending departure of its leader.

Since October rumors had swirled around Tommy Bowden. After turning Tulane into a national contender in the course of two years, schools around the country salivated at the prospect of nabbing a talented young head coach with the added bonus of the Bowden pedigree. In the waning moments of the season finale at the Superdome, the 37,391 fans in attendance started to serenade the coach with a chant of “Stay, Tommy, Stay”.

Bowden, though, was already preparing to meet with Clemson after the Louisiana Tech game. The Tigers had fired Tommy West before their rivalry game against South Carolina, and Tulane’s coach had done little to hide his ambition for the vacant post. Four days before the final BCS standings would be announced, Clemson and Bowden made the announcement official. Exactly one week after Tulane had completed its coronation as one of two undefeated teams in the nation, it had lost its coach.

The Green Wave quickly scrambled to maintain some semblance of normalcy, installing Rodriguez as the interim coach as the administration ramped up its search for a permanent solution for the vacancy. On the same day the BCS declared Tulane to be just the tenth-best team in the nation, the school introduced Georgia assistant head coach Chris Scelfo as their new head coach.

Rodriguez, who had been one of the candidates for the full-time position, was floored by the decision. “This is a shock,” he replied after hearing the news. “I was so sure, I brought in my green coat and tie this morning. This is so discouraging. I’m disappointed. I thought I’d done all I could to prove myself. I’m worried about the kids.” Despite the disappointment, the offensive coordinator remained with the program to assist Scelfo and the staff with its preparations for the Liberty Bowl before following Bowden to Clemson.

Tulane’s New Year’s Eve opponent in Memphis was no slouch. Fourteen years after its landmark national championship, the last mid-major to finish a season undefeated took on the Green Wave hoping to keep their reputation intact as the preeminent team outside the BCS purview. But this incarnation of LaVell Edwards’ many talented teams in Provo was far from its finest vintage.

Two years removed from its own top-ten season, BYU had only claimed the WAC’s Pacific Division when rival Utah pinged a potential Holy War-winning field goal off the upright. By virtue of their head-to-head win over San Diego State, the Cougars earned a trip to their second WAC championship game in three years. There they would fall to Air Force 20-13 in the championship game in Las Vegas. BYU thus entered the bowl season 9-3, with its only other losses coming against Alabama, Washington, and Fresno State.

Two weeks before the game, BYU announced the suspension of Ronney Jenkins, dealing a serious blow to the Cougars’ fortunes against the Green Wave. Jenkins, who had led the WAC in rushing during the regular season, gave Edwards no choice in the matter as he violated the Mormon university’s honor code and rendered himself ineligible for the biggest game of the year. A few days later, the school would be forced to announce that defensive back Heshimu Robertson had also tipped Edwards’ hand by violating the honor code.

Edwards still had the WAC’s top-rated quarterback, Kevin Feterik, though, and a team stacked with talent both veteran and raw. If the Green Wave could choose anyone outside the BCS selections to test itself against as its postseason reward, the Cougars would rate among the best challenges available. But without important contributors on both sides of the ball, the test for BYU would become even tougher as they tried to preserve their status as the last mid-major to finish a year unbeaten.

The Cougars took the opening kickoff and moved 65 yards in seven plays, setting up Feterik for an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ben Horton six minutes into the first quarter. After an excessive celebration penalty, Tulane blocked the 35-yard extra point attempt to keep the score 6-0.

Tulane was forced to settle for a field goal on its opening drive of the game, as Palazzo came out for the 31-yard kick. After halving the deficit, the Green Wave continued to struggle against the Cougar offense. Feterik and his teammates pushed quickly downfield and threatened to nab another touchdown. But the quarterback failed to pick up Michael Jordan in coverage, and the cornerback jumped a route in the flat and streaked 79 yards up the left sideline. Instead of BYU building upon its lead, the Green Wave had flipped the possession to their advantage.

Demoralized by the turnover, BYU found it increasingly hard to move the ball. The Tulane defense, emboldened after putting points on the board itself, clamped down on the Cougars. King would find Cook for a 37-yard completion, the receiver getting the Green Wave goal down to the BYU 4. Three plays later, Tulane extended their lead as King kept the ball and darted into the endzone on a draw. Palazzo would add another field goal 41 seconds from halftime, and the Green Wave retired to their locker room with a two-touchdown lead.

In the third quarter, King tossed his final two scoring strikes of the season, linking up with Cook on a 60-yard bomb and Dartez out of the backfield on the subsequent drive as Tulane widened their lead to 34-6. But with only one quarter left to play, the Green Wave reverted to old habits as BYU fought back into the contest.

Aaron Cupp catalyzed the Cougars’ belated comeback bid. The receiver scored BYU’s first points early in the frame, taking a sweep in motion and carrying out of the backfield for the three-yard touchdown. After Converse responded with a Tulane touchdown run on its next possession, Cupp reached the endzone again after Feterik found him for a five-yard catch.

“We had something to prove today,” King said after the Liberty Bowl win. “Hopefully, we answered some of our doubters. Any time you go undefeated, you should be ranked in the top five. I’d love to play Tennessee and I think it would be a good game.”

The Green Wave were still ahead by three touchdowns, but the Cougars were charging. King and the offense sputtered on their next series, and BYU quickly worked into scoring position. Junior Mahe, starting in place of the suspended Jenkins, put one more touchdown on the board with 90 seconds remaining. Unable to get the ball back on the onside kick, BYU could do nothing further as King took knees and Tulane capped its undefeated season with a 41-27 conquest of the Liberty Bowl.

“We had something to prove today,” King would declare after erupting for 276 passing yards and 109 rushing yards in the bowl victory. “Hopefully, we answered some of our doubters. Any time you go undefeated, you should be ranked in the top five. I’d love to play Tennessee and I think it would be a good game. We’ve got a great group of guys who work hard and know what it takes to be successful.”

Four days later, the Volunteers completed their own undefeated season as they hung on to defeat Florida State 23-16 in the Fiesta Bowl and claim the inaugural BCS championship. With the win, Tennessee earned its first undisputed, undefeated national championship season since Robert Neyland patrolled the sidelines in 1938.

More from Saturday Blitz

• Michigan State vs. Maryland: Location, time, prediction, and more
• ACC Power Rankings: Can #4 FSU overthrow Clemson at Death Valley East?
• Most heartwarming social media reactions to Nick Chubb’s injury
• Ranking college football’s top 10 quarterbacks after Week 3
• Things are going to get much darker for the Houston Cougars

With the completion of the final game, Tulane was slotted at seventh in both of the final human polls. Ahead of them, the AP and the coaches had rewarded a pair of two-loss teams from the Sunshine State and a couple of blemished Big Ten schools with better rankings. Even after beating BYU in its bowl game and unseating the Cougars as the preeminent mid-major in college football, the Green Wave was still adjudged to be unworthy of the top-six threshold for automatic qualification to one of the four most lucrative and prestigious bowl games.

Tulane would become the first team to be shut out by the BCS, as the new system performed one of its prime goals to perfection. But their struggle, finishing undefeated but without even a long-shot chance at the title, ignited the groundswell of discontent that would grow with each passing year. It also left the Green Wave wondering what might have transpired had they replaced the Seminoles in Tempe.

“We watched all those [BCS bowl] games and thought, ‘You know, we could have played with those guys.’ It would have been great to have had a shot,” backup quarterback Jeff Curtis would reflect a decade later. “But maybe we had something to do with those [non-BCS] teams getting into the games now. We take solace in that.”