The Chaotic Beauty of the 1983 National Championship

[@robthornton7357]

And 30+ years later, I still watch Nebraska's 2-point attempt and pray that somehow it will be successful. Big-time respect to Coach Osborne for not taking the easy way out by playing for a tie.

[@erikpeterson-r9y]

The fumblerooski is the all time greatest play I’ve ever seen in college football. And Bernie Kosar and Alonzo Highsmith were absolute beasts in that game. It doesn’t show up in the stats, but Highsmith picked up every blitzed who came at Kosar. It was incredible. The blitzes were like waves breaking on the beach; all that energy dissolving into harmless foam.

[@TheRasiani]

Speed killed the Wishbone.

[@johnliberty3647]

Highsmith pick up blitzes well in Houston too. Might be why Warren Moon did so well

[@daviddejesus5376]

I also noticed that about Highsmith. He was a great player in college and the NFL.

[@markd.5471]

Fantastic video. The poll era was a phenomenal time to become a college football fan.

[@gridironlore33-18]

I appreciate the love man. Poll era is so unique, I can’t help but appreciate the chaos. I actually like that era better than the BCS era, simply because everyone understood that #1 and #2 probably weren’t going to play each other, and bowl games mattered way more. While in the BCS plenty of undefeated teams got left out of the national championship game which made their season feel like a waste or lesser than it could’ve been.

[@JorgeDiaz-ly5qp]

I gotta say, I had NO horse in the 1983 race. That said, this was THE BEST and MOST OBJECTIVE recap of January 2nd, 1984 I have ever seen or heard. I would drive to Florida State the next day (Tues., 01.03.1984) to start my junior year as a student. UM's Eddie Brown (#40, WR) was a high school teammate and Jack Fernandez (#51, ILB - who had a pick in the game, a slew of tackles and was named defensive MVP for the game!) was a classmate at Miami-Dade College; I was able to attend the game that night - one of the most exciting nights in Orange Bowl (The Stadium) history. A win that built a microwave dynasty that would last over two decades. Because I spent the day hanging with friends at a tailgate - a simpler time with no phones, no easy access to TVs or tech, and scratchy-sounding transistor radios - I never got a clear and explicit picture of what fully happened that day in the other games. This video is a literal time-travel portal to a younger and happy time in my life, and does an EXCELLENT job of delineating the day's events concisely and clinically, with a slew of facts that I never knew about. Thank you! I am now a fan or your channel.

[@JessicaAbbott-k8c]

I enjoyed the hell out of this. Excellent job. I miss this era of college football

[@gridironlore33-18]

I appreciate the love!

[@hunter24seven]

I hope we can one day see Nebraska rise from the ashes. They lost that day but earned the respect of everyone watching. Those Nebraska teams of the 90s were nasty.

[@guycoburn1633]

Great video. I was at that Orange Bowl game! My seat was in the corner of the end zone where that missed two-point conversion happened. I still have my game program at home. As you said, it was in effect, a home game for Miami. In those days, the Orange Bowl game was always the Big 10 Champion versus the next best available team. We were used to seeing either Nebraska or Oklahoma every year. (I used to go to the Orange Bowl game every year.)The SEC champion went to the Sugar Bowl, and the Rose Bowl was the Pac-10 champion vs. the Big 12 champion. The Cotton Bowl was for the SWC Champion. That game was also remarkable to those of us who were there -- because the game was dramatically affected by the energy of the crowd. In the beginning of the game, the crowd was loud and energetic, and the Hurricanes picked up on that energy with fantastic play on the field. That's why they got a great lead. As the game went on, the crowd got tired, and Nebraska started playing better as the 'Canes lost their energy. But at the end of that game, the crowd had found new energy to get the 'Canes to play better. Still, Nebraska was the stronger team, while Miami relied on finesse. I was in law school at Miami and had been to every home game. That was, by far, the best football came I have ever attended. I lost my voice for several days.

[@scarpfish]

As a lifelong Nebraska fan, this game weighed on my mind heavily for the next eleven years.

[@liceafilms]

As a Miami fan, I’m wondering why Nebraska didn’t go for the tie lol

[@Feelsbadman23]

Auburn played a brutal schedule and received nothing for it. Considering Auburn went undefeated in 2004 and got nothing, id say Auburn has been rather unlucky in these scenarios

[@Maestrohbill]

I'm a lifelong Alabama fan, and I'll say it - Auburn got absolutely HOSED in 1983. 2004, not their fault and could go either way, but the sheer brutality of their schedule should have counted for something in 1983.

[@wewin03]

I was living in Miami at the time. A great day I remember well.

[@lladnar69]

Fantastic summary. Great use of the music underneath the narrative. Great job, from this life-long Auburn Tiger.

[@accaricuvell8624]

Birth of the Hurricanes' legacy

[@gynandroidhead]

First of all, I want to commend you for doing an excellent job of summing up this historic day of college football. I was a senior in high school, and in my second full year of Nebraska fandom. A COUPLE OF MINOR POINTS 1) The games were played on January 2 because January 1 was on a Sunday, which interfered with the NFL Playoffs. 2) Miami and Illinois were flip-flopped 4th and 5th ranked in the AP and UPI polls (Illinois was 4th in the AP Poll). 3) You have the order of the games played down pat, but the start times might be off. ----------- With Texas losing to Georgia, the Orange Bowl immediately became the de facto National Championship game. It didn't matter what anyone else did. Auburn's only loss was to Texas, and Miami wasn't going to be denied a Natty if they beat Nebraska. That meant if Nebraska finished 13-0 or 12-0-1, they were certain to unanimously win a National Championship. Nebraska overcame an injury to RB Mike Rozier (who won the Heisman), and would've bolted back from 17 and 14-point deficits, yet alone on Miami's home field. Besides, they would've never denied Coach Osborne as long as Nebraska didn't lose given his history of being so close on multiple occasions. ------------ Where Nebraska went wrong was failing to attempt a two-point conversion when they scored the first 4th quarter TD and were behind 31-23. This was actually mentioned by the commentary crew of Don Criqui and John Brodie, and the gaming mathematician in me agreed with this strategy. It's important to note that Coach Osborne agreed he should've done this in hindsight many years later, given the important premise that he wanted to go for the win if given a choice if he were down by seven points in an endgame scenario, which they were at 31-24 with 0:48 remaining. This decision also had important precdent from the 1969 Texas vs. Arkansas game. Texas won the game 15-14, and went for a two point conversion after scoring their first TD behind 14-0 in the 4th quarter in order to avoid a tie scenario that plagued the 1966 Notre Dame Michigan State game. Going for risk when you do not absolutely have is the right call. -------- If Nebraska had converted a two-point attempt, they would have been behind 31-25. The last Nebraska TD would've tied the game 31-31 before a conversion, which in this case would've been an extra point. Even if the extra point was missed (you couldn't return a blocked conversion for points back then), the game is still tied, and if it remained that way, it's not a tie that you chose. Same if the two-point conversion failed at 31-23. They would've been behind 31-29 after their last TD, and naturally would have no other play but to go for a two-point conversion. Last time I checked, losing 31-29 or 31-30 is still losing, but a 31-31 tie isn't considered "backing into it." All of these scenarios take into consideration Miami scoring after Nebraska's first 4th quarter TD and the game having 0:48 remaining. ------------- Though underlying for some, a big reason why Coach Osborne didn't want to trot his kicker out there behind 31-30 was one of compassion for the kicker if he had missed that conversion and would've had to live the rest of his life. Instead, he made the correct decision down 31-30 to send out the offensive machine who had things going their way, who clamored the opportunity to go out with honor either way. If you;ve gotten this far. Thank you. Once again, you did an excellent job, or I would not have gotten to this extent to reply.

[@gridironlore33-18]

I appreciate the love man. All of the start times should be correct unless the wiki pages for the games got them wrong. As for lining up the Sugar bowl and Orange bowl, I did my best based on the few queues given by the broadcasts, but it is certainly far from perfect. The only thing I'm sure I got right was the time the Sugar bowl ended. Also good point on the 2 point conversion strategy I had never considered that before. While I have immense respect for Coach Osborne for going for 2 at the end, I have personally always thought that he should have kicked the extra point since Miami was going to try and score whether it was tied or they were losing. However the Nebraska players decided at the beginning of the season that they wanted to go 13-0, so they didn't hesitate to go for 2. So much to consider in hindsight, I'm glad the Huskers and Osborne got their national championships in the end, otherwise this one would've stung a lot more.

[@Cancel1991]

Fantastic video. You do a great job of knowing when to narrate and when to let the highlights play. The highlight selection was also really good. For the most part, it showed the plays that told the story of the game. I like the score overlay at the bottom that you put on there. Great editing too. Awesome content!!

[@gridironlore33-18]

I appreciate the love man, glad you enjoyed the style of my content

[@umrd001]

I was eight years old on January 2, 1984, but I remember this day. My family lived in Minnesota, and we had seen Nebraska crush the Minnesota Gophers 84-13. I saw most of the Cornhusker games that year and witnessed their offense put up staggering numbers. My stepdad wanted to watch the B10 games on January 2, so we primarily watched Ohio State and Pitt, Illinois vs. UCLA, and Michigan vs. Auburn. I was surprised to see Texas lose to Georgia. I distinctly remember switching the channel knob during a Sugar Bowl commercial and seeing Nebraska down 17-0 to Miami. I was stunned. I had watched Illinois get blown out in the Rose Bowl, but the PAC 10 had dominated the Big Ten in recent years. I recall waking up the following day and walking out to the end of the driveway to get the newspaper. The front page of the paper contained the bowl game scores, and I was stunned to see the score Miami 31, Nebraska 30.

[@KornPop96]

I took a rather painful poop watching this video. Started sweating and everything.

[@gb6710]

I can only get so aroused.

[@TimmyTheTinman]

TMI dude

[@KornPop96]

@TimmyTheTinman I still have nightmares about that poop.

[@HonestUAWElectrician]

We've all been there with a growler we gotta go to battle with.

[@crittoneida958]

“That’s right buddy…show that turd who’s boss. Just grab a hold of something bite ur lip & give it hell!” Tom Arnold - Austin Powers

[@prplhze2000]

Nebraska was beating teams so bad that year it was out of shape for the Orange Bowl. Their starters were usually sitting at halftime so when they had to play four quarters in Miami, they were worn out. That roster of Miami's was full of NFL players as well.

[@daviddejesus5376]

Excellent analysis. Though Nebraska did outscore um 13 - 0 in the 4th quarter.

[@prplhze2000]

@@daviddejesus5376 yes but if you are watching the broadcast, the announcers say it in the second half. Had to use some trick plays to get back in it. Nebraska was simply not used to being punched in the mouth.

[@JB-wv9jo]

Great video man I enjoyed this

[@socermomuva]

Thanks for posting great memories brought back college football was totally different than not the network saturated with games. It was a treat to see teams on TV play. I remember this day well thanks for the hard work you put into post this.

[@TheRasiani]

40 freaking years later and I still get choked up watching the sheer EMOTION on display in this game. I was all in on Nebraska when I was young - I loved the Wishbone. But - as we've seen - "speed kills" on defense became the future, as it could kill the run game.

[@jaylenbarnes2.079]

Amazing Video this game was definitely one of the greatest games in CFB history

[@JacobJKL]

Bro, so close for Nebraska to get that title, but Tom Osborne and the Cornhuskers going for 2 point conversion to win was right. They wanted to go undefeated. That shows you why Tom Osborne has 3 national titles and one of the best CFB coaches of all time.

[@jrodlange8099]

One of the best recaps I've seen on this game/poll situation. Personally, to this day, by far my favorite college football game ever!! 83' was a great year (although this game was technically played on 1-1-84) for college sports. My all time favorite college hoops game was 8-9 months earlier when NC State beat Houston. Both games left me shocked but realizing at the time what I was seeing was special.

[@mouldie17]

Great video - you are correct in a weird way the poll system somehow worked in College Football - it’s hard to describe but I loved that era - bowl games were played with pride - fans argued for their team at the end of the year - the debate was good - wish we could go back to those days - bowl season was so much fun - no portals, biased playoff committees (they won’t say it but they work for the networks and you know outside forces pushed for best tv ratings and school recognition over anything else), NIL and coaches being overpaid - I understand the game has changed, but some CFB fans love tradition - winning a bowl game has no weight anymore - take for instance a 9-3 team who wins their bowl game should be commended instead of being an afterthought

[@dougzerjal7076]

Great stuff man

[@gridironlore33-18]

Thanks man!

[@jlh4jc]

Besides the polls, the other issue with determining who won the Natty was the bowls were strictly tied to conferences. SWC champ went to the Cotton Bowl, Big 8 to Orange, SEC to Sugar, and the Big 10 and Pac 10 champs played in the Rose. Therefore #1 and #2 time and time again did not meet each other in postseason on the field to decide the issue. Nebraska with that explosive offense vs Texas with that impenetrable defense would have been a matchup for the ages. But the Bowl system put the kibosh on it.

[@gridironlore33-18]

Great point. We seemingly only got #1 vs #2 when one of the independents like Notre Dame or Penn State was ranked in the top 2 making it easier to get a bowl game for the national championship

[@prplhze2000]

Right. Miami, FSU, and Notre Dam sort of broke up the logjam, a little, because as independents, they could play the top ranked teams in bowl games if they themselves were ranked high. Oh, and Penn State was an indy also.

[@DMS-pq8]

40yrs later and that Cotton bowl game still hurts

[@CollegeSportsSuperfan]

I think this video is going to cause you to blow up on YT! Great work!

[@gridironlore33-18]

That would be awesome. I appreciate the love man

[@fp387]

Remember watching this game in a motel in Danville, VA., with my girlfriend. I was 21, man time flies.

[@frequentuser360]

Top notch work

[@gridironlore33-18]

Thanks man!

[@floridapmi]

Was sitting on the second row at the Cotton Bowl, the Texas players were standing on the benches so we couldn't see what happened on the muff punt. All we saw was the Georgia band and fans going nuts, we knew at that moment something went terribly wrong.

[@redmustangredmustang]

That muff punt sent Texas down the toilet. From 1984 to 1994 Texas A&M won 10 out of the next 11 games against the Longhorns. That muff punt really destroyed the Texas football team for a long time.

[@RollTide1987]

Point of order, in 1977 - Notre Dame also jumped from #5 to #1 after being top ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

[@vplexico]

I will go to my grave salty about this incredible injustice. War Damn Eagle.

[@goatstrategies]

Excellent video!!!!

[@gridironlore33-18]

Much appreciated

[@MN04]

25:56 Miami didn’t win the national championship in 1989 Orange Bowl (1988 season). Notre Dame won that year. Miami won the 1989 championship winning the 1990 Sugar Bowl.

[@gridironlore33-18]

Wow great catch, you really know your history. Just to make it a little more clear to those reading this, all of the years I listed are correct, however my statement that the “winner of each orange bowl won the national championship” is incorrect. Miami won the 1989 Orange bowl (1988 season) and finished #2 in the polls behind Notre Dame. They went on to win the national championship the following year in the 1989 season after beating Alabama in the 1990 Sugar bowl. The bowl games occurring the following calendar year mistakenly led me to equate the 1989 Orange bowl to the 1989 Miami national championship team.

[@scottscottsdale7868]

Two things: I need that right guard fumble rusky in my life in the worst way possible. Wow what a play. Also, michigan State claiming that 1960’s era national championship is just typical of them.

[@Grafknar]

Kids these days bash that system. They don’t even think that it’s the same thing as a committee selecting a playoff of one after the bowls instead of picking 12. If you can pick the 12 best teams, why not just pick #1? The game got corporatized and millions of idiots saw it as nothing more than a cool TV show on fall Saturdays.

[@NoOrdinaryStix]

Hey man, this was a very well put together video and you did a fantastic job. I also really like how you put the scoreboard at the bottom of the screen, ive always wished people would do that in recaps of old games with no scoreboard. I did want to add that while your thumbnail was insanely well made, it was kind of confusing as it features the Nebraska player breaking a tackle, which runs contrary to the text in the thumbnail referencing miami winning the game. Other than that, i cant think of anything to criticize here. Keep it up

[@gridironlore33-18]

@@NoOrdinaryStix Ay I appreciate the love man, glad u liked the scoreboards, I always think it’s worth the effort to include those. Fair point on the thumbnail, I’ll definitely keep that in mind for next time👍

[@ronsmac]

Notre Dame also jumped from number 5 to number 1 when they beat Texas in the Cotton Bowl Jan. 1st 1978.

[@gridironlore33-18]

Yep, that year was scarily similar to this one with #2 and #4 losing, #3 winning and #5 beating #1 to finish as consensus national champion. What it lacks is the dramatic finishes that 1983 had, though it did have some bigger names in Joe Montana (Notre Dame) and Earl Campbell (Texas)

[@kramer2312]

I've been looking for videos like this. Many years where multiple games were in the mix to decide the Natty. Would love to see more videos about the many other years like this. I've been throwing together lists with game videos and/or highlights here on YT but nothing like you've done here to bring it together. Thanks.

[@gridironlore33-18]

I appreciate the love man. Let me know what other years you would want to see

[@kramer2312]

@@gridironlore33-18 cool, I will do that. Thanks man

[@kramer2312]

1 i can think of is 81-82, the year Clemson won the Natty. It seems like, at least 4 teams in 3 games had a chance but possibly more. Pitt was #1 and lost to Penn State on final wk of regular season, Penn State lost games earlier but was sniffing around at the end but seemed like Clemson, GA, TX and Bama all had a legit shot if they'd won their bowl games. Possibly more teams but I'm not sure. Also the 76-77 bowl season seemed pretty hectic to me.

[@gridironlore33-18]

@@kramer2312 Ya 1977 was pretty crazy. A ton of parallels between that season and ‘83 in the way it ended. I’ll have to look at those other ones as well

[@robfalter2522]

texas absolutely choked away the national title

[@pauls6677]

Thank you no offense Fred akers

[@zakeeameen167]

I was a Nebraska fan. One of the greatest games lve seen. If Nebraska kicks the extra point, they're the champions. Osborne went for the win going for two. Final score Miami 31 Nebraska 30.

[@Phil-tt3xg]

They never should've outlawed the fumblerooski.

[@RedElephantStampede]

Notre dame jumped from #5 to #1 in 1977 after beating top ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

[@J.P.-dd6ij]

Here's some scoop most don't know. Coach S told the team Miam had this. However, everyone was sworn to secrecy. Supposedly, Nebraska had the greatest team on history. Any they teally didn't respo Mismi (until later that night). Coach S was the Miami Dolphins OC when they were dominating the NFL. In those days the U was a balanced offense and generally an offensively dominated team. It wasn't until coach J came that the team started dominating on defense. He put emphasis on outside containment and "assignment" football to end the Wishbone.

[@JRFrancisco20088]

Remember watching Miami and Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Great game. Nebraska running back Mike Rozier even switched his jersey for a different number during the game to confuse Miami. The commentators discussed if it was legal or not. The officials didn't care.

[@csmith1298]

@JRFrancisco20088 Not quite true. Rozier didn't switch his jersey number for another. CB Dave Burke swapped jersey #'s with S (or "Monster Back") Mike McCashland in an attempt to confuse Kosar. Obviously, that didn't work real well until maybe the 4th quarter. However, as far as I know, this was legal. Nebraska notified the officials about this change before the game, after all. I do remember the announcers talking about it, though. Such a proud, yet somewhat hurtful moment, when Osborne went for 2. Showed everyone that Nebraska doesn't believe in tying for the title. And yet, to lose on a fingertip pass breakup by Calhoun (props to him for making the play) after an incredible 24 yard touchdown on an option run by Smith after the perfect pitch from Gill was an extreme up and down moment that not every college football fan experiences in their lifetime, for better or worse. Each time I see a replay, the ball seems to get farther away from Calhoun and closer to Jeff Smith. I know this is an illusion/delusion brought on by wishful thinking, but I still can't help but think that, maybe, some day, Smith will catch that pass... Nebraska had such great teams in '82 as well as '83. It still seems a shame that that particular football team went ringless, but these things happen. Good video. Cheers.

[@JRFrancisco20088]

@@csmith1298 Thanks. This was 40 years ago and maybe the name Rozier got burned into my brain to this day. I'm sure of one thing: Rozier never tackled himself. Osborne had no choice but win the game because you can't win a championship by playing for a tie. Jimmy Johson did the same thing against Notre Dame in Miami's 31-30 loss in the "Catholics vs Convicts" game in 1988. That was the real championship game that year, not Notre Dame beating up on West Virginia. But that's why we love college football, which is getting harder and harder these days with all that conference realignment, transfer portal, and opting out that's going on. Thanks again for clearing up the Rozier thing.

[@csmith1298]

@JRFrancisco20088 Yup. You're welcome. Certainly agree with you that NIL, the portal, etc., are making it more difficult to love college football, though I still do for now. While I also agree with you about Osborne having little to no choice but to go for 2, I do remember quite a few people who disagreed. For example, Ara Parseighan (sp?) was fairly adamant that Osborne and Nebraska should've kicked the extra point and tied the game. I learned years later that he had done the same thing against Michigan State when he coached Notre Dame in the 60's (1966?), so maybe he was covering his own. Regardless, you WIN national championships. You don't tie for 'em. That game will always be a source of pride - and pain - for Husker fans. Cheers.

[@anthonygonzalez9422]

Bernie Kosar was fearless. Still the best quarterback in Cleveland Browns history not named Otto.

[@redmustangredmustang]

The worst part about that muff punt for Texas is that they would go down the toilet real quick. Against Texas A&M, from 1984 to 1994 the Aggies would beat the Longhorns the next 10 out of 11 match ups. The only time Texas won was in 1990 28-27 in Austin. The Aggies could've tied the game but decided to go for two which they did not make Texas. Got the ball and Aggies never got the ball back.

[@kevinkhoy7171]

Should have gone too Auburn? But the orange bowl was the last game of the night! Against The #1 Team in 🇺🇸 Quite a Game!

[@JosePerez-vz1qq]

...and in the Kickoff Classic just eight months later, Miami (FL) beat up Auburn to settle the lingering grumbling.

[@TheRealDill93]

Look at how much harder these QBs are throwing the ball? Damn. I swear in the 80s and 90s throwing the ball as hard as possible was some sort of fad.

[@humperdink1979]

Looking back on what college football was, and what it is now, I kind of miss the poll system. It's imprecision and subjectivity made it worth arguing about.

[@pauls6677]

Then the next year what did college football get BYU as national champion who played 6-5 Michigan in the holiday bowl

[@jab1289]

The bowl wins that UCLA and Auburn had were springboards to high 1984 pre-season ratings. One magazine had UCLA as pre-season #1, and I think the AP had Auburn as their #1.

[@miche1df]

I'll go to my grave believing we were robbed in 1983. We beat the Florida team that blew out Miami and the computers are pretty adamant that we were the best team that year.

[@markstepanekii388]

You were not gonna not get jumped by a team that beat Nebraska in their bowl game that season.

[@352ucanes9]

I was chasing suns to the article circle

[@mr.g1758]

In 1977, Notre Dame went from #5 to #1 after beating #1 Texas 38-10 in Dallas. #2 and #4 lost but #3 Alabama scored an impressive 35-6 win over a #8 Ohio State. The Irish had lost 20-13 to an Ole Miss team that Alabama had defeated 34-13. I always felt Bama should have gotten a split title that year. We lost to Nebraska in Lincoln but beat #1 USC in L.A. The end of the video criticizes Alabama for claimimg the 1941 title. That poll that ranked us was sanctioned by the NCAA, so despite the AP ranking it would count as we were recognized by an independent group authenticated by the regulatory body.

[@gridironlore33-18]

Ya 1977 was freakishly similar to 1983, the only thing it lacked was the exciting finishes. As for the Houlgate system being NCAA sanctioned that doesn’t really matter. There are several polls like that and teams usually don’t claim a title unless they were #1 in AP or Coaches Poll. It truly baffles me that Alabama chooses to claim the 1941 national title for a team that did not deserve it, but chooses not to claim the 1945 national title for a Crimson Tide team that went 10-0 and won the Rose Bowl. That team is recognized as the NCF national champions, which is another poll sanctioned by the NCAA

[@centrist1008]

It’s never mentioned the betting scandal for Nebraska

[@dawsondudark]

Awesome awesome stuff man! And yes, Alabama is 13 time national champs. Not 18 :) not sorry Bama

[@redmustangredmustang]

The funny thing that earlier that day, Texas, who is number two lost in the Cotton Bowl 10 to 9 to Georgia. So if the Nebraska lost this, then Texas would've been national champions.

[@o0Raine0o]

the flawed poll was better than the current playoff shit where 2 and 3 loss teams play for a natty

[@gridironlore33-18]

Going to fundamentally disagree with you there. While the poll era had its moments, determining a national champion by voting instead of a playoff system is just bizarre. Far too many teams went undefeated in that era and weren't even in the national title conversation, which kind of defeats the entire point.

[@BrothaGoneBased]

Heavy Disagree lol. The amount of confusion with them is goofy

[@mauricioponce1853]

LETS GO CANES

[@wewin03]

The poll era was way better than the BCS in my opinion.

[@gridironlore33-18]

I agree to a certain extent. In the BCS era teams were far more likely to get “robbed” and not make the national championship game (2004 Auburn), or the computers would put a weird team in like Oklahoma in 2003 or Nebraska in 2002. Meanwhile in the poll era teams knew that they most likely weren’t going to get a national championship game no matter what, and the bowl games mattered a lot more. We did get a good few classic national championship games during the BCS though so I can appreciate that aspect of it.

[@claytonloper5299]

I’m a Alabama fan but Auburn deserved the National Championship. At the very least a split

[@gridironlore33-18]

I agree. I wish the national title would have been split with Miami taking the AP national title and Auburn taking the Coaches national title. I can’t blame the voters though, Nebraska was considered to be unbeatable at the time and all eyes were on the Orange Bowl that day.

[@bucksdiaryfan]

You are correct -- according to SRS (which is the team's average margin of victory plus their opponent's average margin of victory), the best "objective" measure of team strength besides DVOA (which is not available for college), Auburn finished number one with a 23.43, Nebraska number two with a 22.61, FLORIDA number three with a 20.18, and Miami number four... oh btw, Texas didn't even finish in the top 10 by SRS

[@QBAN2010]

Kenny Calhoun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Longenecker1776]

There was chaos that kept the best teams from winning, at times, like in 1994 when Penn St would’ve crushed Nebraska.

[@gridironlore33-18]

I don’t know if they would’ve crushed Nebraska, but Penn State got screwed by the polling system several times. They went undefeated in 1968, 1969, 1973, and 1994 and didn’t win a single national title in those years. Finished #2 in 1968, 1969, and 1994 and #5 in 1973

[@Marc_Masters]

UCLA also played a home game.....

[@JohnNiiggington]

Was Ron Lott on the wolverines

[@indanekwaffles7074]

No, they just shared the Lott surname. The HOF safety Ronnie Lott played at University of Southern California.

[@ZeusAmun-pt9dc]

Hey there 👋, guy who invented football and sports ad a concept here and in my world/original timeline possibly any team that finished the regular season undefeated was given a national title and bowl games where simply exhibition games after the season. However between January 10-17 there was a "national championship game held between two of the champions or two of the top teams if none went undefeated. However what you people refer to as national championship we called #1 ranking. Also the Holiday bowl and the humanitarian bowl were really big deals. And also we only had one season between 1862-1999 where there were no undefeated teams leading to West Virginia beating Miami in 1989 which lead us to the inaugural 4 team playoff in 2000 which we had done before sporadically when we had 4 undefeated champions.

[@gridironlore33-18]

Can you point me to some articles talking about the January 10-17 national championship games? That sounds incredible interesting I’ve never heard of that before.

[@indanekwaffles7074]

@@gridironlore33-18 It's the BCS title games from 2010 - 2017 he's talking about. The dude's first sentence is some sad form of sarcasm calling you 'guy who invented football and sports.' Who is 'you people' as opposed to 'we' regarding a national title or number one ranking? BYU wins a Holiday Bowl they were contractually obligated to play while undefeated, the next day the polls had them as split champs. And yeah, when a less-talented WVU beats Miami the result is Athletic Directors from the top programs inventing a playoff with more teams so the cream will rise to the top. Alabama lost three games but they'll spank over half the tournament teams; Bama has way more talented players than Boise St. and a much tougher schedule. Rozier out with an 'injury,' Fryar drops a touchdown, two missed field goals, a 'fumble' inside the Miami five-yard line -- the fix was in.

[@Jagnole101]

Texas definitely choked away their shot

[@pauls6677]

That year Texas had an awful and uncreative offense. After that season Akers was nicknamed no offense Fred

[@bucksdiaryfan]

Inspired by your video, I went back and counted how many times the strongest team by SRS was national champions. It rarely happened in the poll era -- 4 times in the 1960s, 5 times in the 1970s, 3 times in the 1980s, and 4 times in the 1990s... this century, the strongest team by SRS has won 16 of the 23 championships... in fairness to the "poll era" the strongest team was often "knocked out" by losing its bowl game, just as the "strongest team" in the NFL is often knocked out in the playoffs... BUT, the "BCS Era" seemed to have been the most "legitimate" -- it will be interesting to see how this fares in the "Playoff Era"

[@markstepanekii388]

SRS doesn't mean anything. This is settled on the field, no matter the opponent.

[@bucksdiaryfan]

@@markstepanekii388 That's certainly how fans like it. The NFL didn't explode in popularity until it introduced the playoff system... same with the NCAA tournament

[@pauls6677]

In 1970 Ohio state claimed a natty and got their butts kicked in rose bowl

[@Riles3152]

Plain and simple, Auburn got screwed. Whether it was an impressive victory or not, they won there game as the #3 ranked team, ranked ahead of Miami, and #2 Texas lost there game. At the very least, it should have been a Co-national champion situation.

[@TheJasonJackson84]

You're 1st 16 seconds are pretty much totally wrong, totally false. The poll era actually had less bickering than what we saw with the BCS or this CFP era. In the past 26 years there has been more complaining and whining than there ever was before 1998. College football has been more chaotic since the advent of the BCS.

[@Jagnole101]

#3 didn’t happen and #2 did, and they didn’t give Auburn even a share. Should’ve gotten a piece of the pie that year.

[@jasonvoorhees6416]

I just changed my mind on who the greatest option qb ever was . …. It’s turner gill

[@crittoneida958]

Nah….take a look at Thomas Lott and jc watts during those OU Billy sims yrs…..might make you change your mind again…..their games are on KZbin