CFB: What If the CFP Began In 2007?

The College Football Playoff was discussed for over a decade, but it didn't actually come to fruition until the 2014 season. But what if the committee sprouted in 2007, instead? Prior to the 2014 campaign, from 1999-2013, college football teams strived to be apart of the BCS. This selected the top two teams in the country, and had them face off in the national championship. Meanwhile, teams 3-10 or so were usually left playing one another in other BCS bowl games like the Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and Rose Bowl. But they were left out of the big game, and that (more often that not) resulted in varying levels of controversy. So I am going to take us back a decade and see what might have happened if the CFP was implemented sooner.

2007: The Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1) would have entered the College Football Playoff with the No. 1 seed with their only loss coming to Illinois, 28-21. The LSU Tigers (11-2), who actually won the BCS title in 2007, lost a pair of games in triple overtime to Kentucky and Arkansas, but because of everyone having 2+ losses, they’d be the No. 2 seed with wins over six (!) ranked teams (including Virginia Tech, Florida, and Alabama). The No. 3 seed would go to the Oklahoma Sooners (11-2) who were fresh off of a Big 12 title victory over No. 1 Missouri. But because of inexcusable losses to Texas Tech and Colorado, they'd have to settle for the No. 3 slot. And lastly, the USC Trojans (10-2) would get the final spot over Virginia Tech (11-2) because of the Trojans' pedigree and their schedule difficulty. The CFP Committee has said that a teams schedule difficulty has a huge impact on selections, and with victories over Nebraska, Notre Dame, California, Arizona State, and UCLA, the Trojans would squeak in. And with Mark Sanchez at the helm and freshman running back Joe McKnight emerging, the Trojans would pull off back-to-back upsets and win the championship, especially with how fine tuned they looked in the 2007 Rose Bowl, defeating Illinois, 49-17.

Semifinal: (1) Ohio State 21 - (4) USC 27.

Semifinal: (2) LSU 24 - (3) Oklahoma 35.

Championship: (3) Oklahoma 26 - (4) USC 31

2008: The Oklahoma Sooners (12-1) and Florida Gators (12-1) faced off in the 2008 BCS title game, with Tim Tebow's team winning it all, but that's following one of the most controversial seasons in history. The Big 12 South had three top-10 teams (Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech) that all beat one another, and the Sooners won the tiebreak to advance to the Big 12 title, which they won. Texas, though, beat Oklahoma 45-35 earlier in the season and was snubbed. With a four-team playoff, they would have gotten another shot at the Sooners, though. Utah (12-0) would be the team on the oust. No. 1 Oklahoma would take on No. 4 Texas (11-1) and the Longhorns would once again take down their biggest rival, this time in the semifinals. Colt McCoy, Jordan Shipley, and Quan Crosby proved to be too much for the Sooners during the season, and they'd do so again. No. 2 Florida would also have a rematch set with No. 3 Alabama (12-1), who they had just beaten in the SEC title. The Gators would back it up with another victory, and keep the momentum going with a championship win over the Longhorns.

Semifinal: (1) Oklahoma 28 - (4) Texas 35.

Semifinal: (2) Florida 23 - (3) Alabama 14.

Championship: (2) Florida 27 - (4) Texas 21

2009: No. 1 Alabama (13-0) was riding high, getting a revenge win over Florida in the SEC championship game, and having Heisman winner Mark Ingram in their backfield. They'd get an undefeated No. 4 TCU (12-0) team and make quick work of them. Meanwhile, No. 2 Texas (13-0) would get No. 3 Boise State (13-0) who finally cracked through for a CFP berth after many years of coming close. They'd get the nod over the Cincinnati Bearcats (13-0). The Broncos' ride would end shortly though with Mack Brown and McCoy leading the way for the 'Horns. But, we have to assume that with an Alabama versus Texas showdown, a similar game would happen, as McCoy would go down with a season-ending injury in the first quarter and Alabama would roll as they did in real life.

Semifinal: (1) Alabama 35 - (4) TCU 20.

Semifinal: (2) Texas 33 - (3) Boise State 21.

Championship: (1) Alabama 37 - (2) Texas 21

2010: The No. 1 Auburn Tigers (13-0) had no shortage of talent with Heisman winner Cam Newton, Michael Dyer, and Nick Fairley on the field, and they were the clear top dog. No. 2 Oregon (12-0) was the Pac-10 champion, and would get in ahead of Stanford (11-1). No. 3 TCU (12-0) had another undefeated season and would get the Ducks in the semifinals. And the last spot would go to the Big Ten champion between Ohio State (11-1) and No. 4 Wisconsin (11-1) and given the Badgers' win over the Buckeyes, Wisconsin would slide in with star running back Montee Ball. He wouldn't be enough to get past Auburn, though, and on the other end, LaMichael James would be too much for Andy Dalton's Horned Frogs. In the title game, the Tigers would once again take down the Ducks on a game-winning field goal, winning 22-19.

Semifinal: (1) Auburn 33 - (4) Wisconsin 27.

Semifinal: (2) Oregon 26 - (3) TCU 24.

Championship: (1) Auburn 22 - (2) Oregon 19

2011: The No. 1 LSU Tigers (13-0) were far and away the best team in terms of schedule, given their victories over Oregon and West Virginia in the non-conference and their huge 9-6 victory on the road against No. 2 Alabama (11-1). Not to mention that the Tigers owned the SEC title, the best conference at the time. Alabama, similarly to real life, would earn the second slot ahead of No. 3 Oklahoma State (11-1), but it'd be a moot point since they'd face off. No. 4 would be a battle between the Pac-10 champion, Stanford (11-1) and Boise State (11-1). The Cardinal would have the edge because of their higher conference level, but they would lose to LSU in the semifinals. The Stanford defense wasn't goo enough to keep up with Jordan Jefferson and the powerful running back trio of Spencer Ware, Alfred Blue, and Michael Ford. Oklahoma State would put up a good fight, with their high powered offense of Brandon Weeden and James Blackmon but Alabama's defense would prove to be too much. And the same would be said for the title game against the Tigers.

Semifinal: (1) LSU 24 - (4) Stanford 21.

Semifinal: (2) Alabama 23 - (3) Oklahoma State 16.

Championship: (1) LSU 0 - (2) Alabama 21

2012: I think it's all in agreement that the No. 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-0) were a good team this season, but they weren't even close to the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide (12-1), even though the latter lost to Johnny Manziel and the Texas A&M Aggies during the year. A second SEC team would join the Tide, as the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators each reached the 11-win plateau. Even though the Bulldogs won their annual matchup with the Gators, Florida would reach because of one less loss. No. 3 Florida (11-1) would unfortunately have to face Alabama, who they'd lose to, pretty quickly. The final spot would go to the No. 4 Oregon Ducks (11-1) for winning the Pac-12 title, and they'd get in over Kansas State (11-1), who they ironically beat in the 2012 Fiesta Bowl. And I believe the Ducks, with Marcus Mariota and De'Anthony Thomas, would take down Notre Dame. In the final, we'd actually get to see an Alabama versus Oregon title, something that we almost (but never) had from 2010-2014. And Alabama would take the 'ship, but it'd be much closer than their game against the Fighting Irish.

Semifinal: (1) Notre Dame 21 - (4) Oregon 41.

Semifinal: (2) Alabama 28 - (3) Florida 20.

Championship: (2) Alabama 33 - (4) Oregon 26

2013: The No. 1 Florida State Seminoles (13-0) ran through their competition during the entire season, behind Heisman winner Jameis Winston. And they rightfully earned the top seed, but were they truly the best team? Yes, they beat Auburn in the BCS national championship, but looking back, if there were a CFP, the 'Noles might not have even gotten that far. No. 2 Auburn (12-1) would reach the playoffs, after Tre Mason's incredible second half of the season. And No. 3 Michigan State (12-1) would have the task of slowing him down, following their upset of Ohio State, knocking the Buckeyes from CFP contention. No. 4 Alabama (11-1) would get the final slot over Stanford (11-2), with their only loss coming to the Tigers in the Iron Bowl. In my scenario, Alabama would upset Florida State with revenge on their mind. The strength of Bama's defense this year was the defensive backs with Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Landon Collins, and Vinnie Sunseri. Those three guys would shut down Winston and Kelvin Benjamin just enough to advance. But after Auburn ran all over the Spartans, they'd have a rematch with the Crimson Tide. I think it'd be yet another classic, and in the first game, Auburn proved their run game couldn't be stopped by Nick Saban's crew. Alabama's defensive weaknesses have always been two things, 1) dual-threat quarterbacks and 2) tempo. That's right up Auburn's wheelhouse.

Semifinal: (1) Florida State 23 - (4) Alabama 27.

Semifinal: (2) Auburn 31 - (3) Michigan State 17.

Championship: (2) Auburn 30 - (4) Alabama 23

Photo Credit: ESPN.