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

2000

(1) Oklahoma v. (4) Washington

(2) Florida State v. (3) Miami

FIRST TEAM OUT: Virginia Tech

Just like Alabama at the beginning of the College Football Playoff, Florida State was one of the dominant teams at the beginning of the BCS era. As the kings of the ACC, the Seminoles made three straight BCS title games from 1998 to 2000. They would have been right in the thick of a playoff chase, and their most likely opponent would have been a familiar foe.

Miami was the source of Florida State’s only loss during the regular season. The Hurricanes topped the Seminoles 27-24 at the Orange Bowl on the first weekend of October. An early loss at Washington, though, knocked Miami to third in the BCS standings. Miami’s head-to-head win over the Seminoles didn’t tip the scales in their favor.

Were there a playoff right away in the BCS era, that would not matter. The Hurricanes and Seminoles would be pitted against one another in one semifinal, while the other would feature Pac-10 champion Washington against top-ranked Big 12 champion Oklahoma.

Just on the outside would be Virginia Tech. The Hokies lost 41-21 against Miami to finish second in the Big East. Neither a selection committee nor any of the iterations of the BCS system would have put the Hokies into a top-four spot, and there is no reason to think history would transpire any differently. Conspicuous in their absence is the SEC, which saw Florida win the league at 10-2.