The Bowl Championship Series: How It Paved the Way for the College Football Playoff

The Bowl Championship Series was the bridge between the Bowl Coalition and Bowl Alliance. Unlike its predecessor, the BCS system had some staying power, being used from 1998 to 2013. Some legendary games were played as BCS games.

While the BCS was not a playoff, it did help set the stage for a playoff format to finally be instituted, leading into the 2014 season with four teams participating in the playoffs. While there was no such thing as a Bowl Championship Series playoff, it did help the college football decision-makers make the long-awaited move to a playoff at the highest level of college football.

Breaking Down The Bowl Championship Series History

BCS Format: A Step In The Right Direction

College football decision-makers struggled to find a solution when the best teams were invited to the national championship meeting.

The Bowl Coalition ran from 1992 to 1994, with the No. 1 and No. 2 teams playing in what was viewed as the national championship game, with Alabama, Florida State, and Nebraska winning the No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups.

However, the best teams from the Big Ten and the Pac-10 were tied into the Rose Bowl.

The Bowl Alliance replaced the Bowl Coalition. It was a step in the right direction, with each of the power conferences’ champions and Notre Dame among the teams that could participate in the Bowl Alliance.

The conference tie-ins were not a part of the Bowl Alliance.

However, in the three years of the Bowl Alliance, the No. 1 and No. 2 teams met only once in the championship.

Looking Back At The First BCS Schedule

The Bowl Championship Series era began on Jan. 1, 1999, when No. 9 Wisconsin topped No. 5 UCLA 38-31 in the Rose Bowl and No. 4 Ohio State posted a 24-14 victory against No. 6 Texas A&M.

The next day, No. 8 Florida had no issues with No. 15 Syracuse, and the Gators won 31-10. That set the stage for top-ranked Tennessee out of the SEC, which won 23-16 against ACC champion and No. 2 Florida State at the Fiesta Bowl.

One issue with the system was that the No. 3 and No. 5 teams were not involved in the BCS games, as the focus was on rewarding conference champions.

Let’s Look At The Top Teams

During the Bowl Championship Series era, no team participated in more BCS bowl games than Ohio State.

The Buckeyes played in 10 BCS bowls, but the 2011 Sugar Bowl win was vacated. Ohio State also lost back-to-back BCS National Championship Games in 2007 and 2008.

USC and Florida won the most BCS games. USC was 6-1 in BCS games, but the 2005 Orange Bowl and 2006 Rose Bowl appearances were vacated.

Florida went 5-2 with wins in the 2007 and 2009 Bowl Series Championship Games.

Alabama went 3-0 in BCS title games, while Florida, Florida State, and LSU held up the national championship trophy twice during the BCS era.

End Of An Era

The BCS era ended following the 2013 season with five games.

No. 4 Michigan State edged No. 5 Stanford in the Rose Bowl, and on the same day, No. 15 UCF, out of the American Athletic Conference, won an offensive slugfest against Big 12 champion Baylor 52-42.

The higher seeds won the next two games. No. 11 Oklahoma upset No. 3 Alabama 45-31 in the Sugar Bowl, and No. 12 Clemson won a 40-35 thriller against No. 7 Ohio State.

The final BCS matchup saw No. 1 Florida State cap a perfect season by beating Auburn 34-31 in a bowl championship game. While this matchup brought a successful conclusion to the 2013 season, it also opened up a massive change in the college football world, with the College Football Playoff system beginning the following season.