SMQ: What if four teams got into a playoff during the BCS era?

1999

(1) Florida State v. (4) Alabama

(2) Virginia Tech v. (3) Nebraska

FIRST TEAM OUT: Tennessee

Only three teams finished the regular season undefeated in 1999. One, Marshall, was never going to get accepted into the four-team field of any playoff. It didn’t matter whether a computer or humans selected the bracket. The Thundering Herd, a recent addition to the I-A ranks, would have been the odd team out with a perfect record.

The other two teams with undefeated regular seasons, ACC champion Florida State and Big East champion Virginia Tech, would have been the top two seeds in the bracket. Who would have joined the two would have been relatively settled by the time the postseason rolled around in 1999.

Nebraska would prove to be a safe choice.  As the Big 12 champion, the Cornhuskers were just a few years removed from a national title and would have been a worthy adversary. Even then, there still would have been some real controversy about who to put into the last semifinal slot against Florida State.

The two teams on the cusp, No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Tennessee, played one another during the regular season. Phillip Fulmer’s Volunteers knocked off the Crimson Tide 21-7 in Tuscaloosa on October 23. A 23-21 loss to Florida prevented Tennessee from playing in the SEC championship game, though, and the Crimson Tide emerged as the SEC champ instead.