Well, if I thought reseeding 1999 was a bitch, I had seen nothing yet. 2000 could only be described by a word I won't use on here.
Seeds 1-2 remain the same. Swapping Miami and Washington prevents the rematch between Florida State and Miami in the Final Four. The shuffling of seeds 5-8 was a process of trial and error. I needed to get Florida out of Florida State's region, but as long as the Gators were linked with Kansas State I couldn't put them in Oklahoma's region either, so Florida had to become either a 5 or a 6 seed.
I also needed to move Virginia Tech to the south side of the bracket to get them away from Miami, so the Hokies had to become either a 6 or a 7 seed. Finally, I obviously needed to move Nebraska out of Oklahoma's region, and I was further restrained by my inability to put them in Washington's region because of their connection to Oregon.
That left only one possible destination for Nebraska and Oregon: the 7-10 spot. Things fell into place quickly after that. Virginia Tech could only move to No. 6, and thus Florida could only move to No. 5, while Oregon State slid down to No. 8.
If I were reseeding this field from scratch, several of the 1st round matches would likely change. Specifically, TCU is way too low and Colorado State and Louisville are a bit too high. That said, this bracket was, of the three, the most constrained by helmet problems, and I would not have had much flexibility. As before, the important thing is that all theoretical rematches have now been postponed until at least the Final Four, and conference conflicts have been solved.
2000: The Field
No. 1 seed Oklahoma Sooners (12-0; BCS #1): Big 12 Champion (automatic bid)
1st playoff appearance
Notable Wins: BCS #12 Texas, BCS #9 Kansas State (x2), BCS #8 Nebraska
Losses: none
Head Coach: Bob Stoops
Offensive Style: West Coast
Quarterback: Josh Heupel
Running Backs: Quentin Griffin and Renaldo Works
Wide Receivers: Antwone Savage and Curtis Fagan
Tight End: Trent Smith
No. 2 seed Florida State Seminoles (11-1; BCS #2): ACC Champion (automatic bid)
3rd consecutive playoff appearance
- 1998: 3rd round elimination
- 1999: 3rd round elimination
Notable Wins: BCS #13 Georgia Tech, BCS #15 Clemson, BCS #7 Florida
Losses: BCS #3 Miami
Head Coach: Bobby Bowden (4-2 playoff record)
Offensive Style: Balanced
Quarterback: Chris Weinke
Running Backs: Travis Minor and Jeff Chaney
Wide Receivers: Marvin Minnis and Anquan Boldin
Tight End: Ryan Sprague
No. 3 seed Washington Huskies (10-1; BCS #4): Pac-10 Co-Champion (automatic bid)
1st playoff appearance
Notable Wins: BCS #3 Miami, BCS #6 Oregon State
Losses: BCS #10 Oregon
Head Coach: Rick Neuheisel
Offensive Style: Heavy Run
Quarterback: Marques Tuiasosopo
Running Backs: Rich Alexis and Willie Hurst
Wide Receivers: Todd Elstrom and Justin Robbins
Tight End: Jerramy Stevens
No. 4 seed Miami Hurricanes (10-1; BCS #3): Big East Champion (automatic bid)
1st playoff appearance
Notable Wins: BCS #2 Florida State, BCS #5 Virginia Tech
Losses: BCS #4 Washington
Head Coach: Butch Davis
Offensive Style: Favor Run
Quarterback: Ken Dorsey
Running Backs: James Jackson and Clinton Portis
Wide Receivers: Santana Moss and Reggie Wayne
Tight End: Jeremy Shockey
No. 5 seed Florida Gators (10-2; BCS #7): SEC Champion (automatic bid)
3rd consecutive playoff appearance
- 1998: 2nd round elimination
- 1999: 1st round elimination
Notable Wins: none
Losses: Mississippi State, BCS #2 Florida State
Head Coach: Steve Spurrier (1-2 playoff record)
Offensive Style: Favor Pass
Quarterback: Jesse Palmer
Running Backs: Robert Gillespie and Earnest Graham
Wide Receivers: Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell
Tight End: Kirk Wells
No. 6 seed Virginia Tech Hokies (10-1; BCS #5): at-large bid
2nd consecutive playoff appearance
- 1999: 4th round elimination
Notable Wins: none
Losses: BCS #3 Miami
Head Coach: Frank Beamer (3-1 playoff record)
Offensive Style: Heavy Run
Quarterback: Michael Vick
Running Backs: Lee Suggs and Andre Kendrick
Wide Receivers: Emmett Johnson and Andre Davis
Tight End: Browning Wynn
No. 7 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-2; BCS #8): Big 12 North Co-Champion (at-large bid)
3rd consecutive playoff appearance
- 1998: 1st round elimination
- 1999: 1st round elimination
Notable Wins: BCS #11 Notre Dame
Losses: BCS #1 Oklahoma, BCS #9 Kansas State
Head Coach: Frank Solich (0-2 playoff record)
Offensive Style: Heavy Run
Quarterback: Eric Crouch
Running Backs: Dan Alexander and Correll Buckhalter
Wide Receivers: Matt Davison and Bobby Newcombe
Tight End: Tracey Wistrom
No. 8 seed Oregon State Beavers (10-1; BCS #6): Pac-10 Co-Champion (at-large bid)
1st playoff appearance
Notable Wins: BCS #10 Oregon
Losses: BCS #4 Washington
Head Coach: Dennis Erickson
Offensive Style: Heavy Run
Quarterback: Jonathan Smith
Running Backs: Ken Simonton and Patrick McCall
Wide Receivers: T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson
Tight End: Martin Maurer
No. 9 seed Louisville Cardinals (9-2; Sagarin #27*): C-USA Champion (automatic bid)
1st playoff appearance
Notable Wins: none
Losses: BCS #2 Florida State, ECU
Head Coach: John L. Smith
Offensive Style: Balanced
Quarterback: Dave Ragone
Running Backs: Tony Stallings and T.J. Patterson
Wide Receivers: Deion Branch and Arnold Jackson
Tight End: Ronnie Ghent
No. 10 seed Oregon Ducks (9-2; BCS #10): Pac-10 Co-Champion (at-large bid)
1st playoff appearance
Notable Wins: BCS #4 Washington
Losses: Wisconsin, BCS #6 Oregon State
Head Coach: Mike Bellotti
Offensive Style: Balanced
Quarterback: Joey Harrington
Running Backs: Maurice Morris and Allan Amundson
Wide Receivers: Marshaun Tucker and Keenan Howry
Tight End: Justin Peelle
No. 11 seed Colorado State Rams (9-2; Sagarin #33*): Mountain West Champion (automatic bid)
1st playoff appearance
Notable Wins: none
Losses: Arizona State, Air Force
Head Coach: Sonny Lubick
Offensive Style: Balanced
Quarterback: Matt Newton
Running Backs: Cecil Sapp and Rashaan Sanders
Wide Receivers: Pete Rebstock and Frank Rice
Tight End: Cory Woolstenhulme
No. 12 seed Kansas State Wildcats (10-3; BCS #9): Big 12 North Co-Champion (at-large bid)
3rd consecutive playoff appearance
- 1998: National Champion
- 1999: National Champion
Notable Wins: BCS #8 Nebraska
Losses: BCS #1 Oklahoma (x2), Texas A&M
Head Coach: Bill Snyder (8-0 playoff record)
Offensive Style: Favor Run
Quarterback: Jonathan Beasley
Running Backs: Josh Scobey and David Allen
Wide Receivers: Quincy Morgan and Aaron Lockett
Tight End: Shad Meier
No. 13 seed Purdue Boilermakers (8-3; Sagarin #19*): Big Ten Co-Champion (automatic bid)
1st playoff appearance
Notable Wins: none
Losses: BCS #11 Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan State
Head Coach: Joe Tiller
Offensive Style: West Coast
Quarterback: Drew Brees
Running Backs: Montrell Lowe and Jacob Rowe
Wide Receivers: Vinny Sutherland and John Standeford
Tight End: Tim Stratton
No. 14 seed TCU Horned Frogs (10-1; BCS #14): WAC Co-Champion (automatic bid)
2nd consecutive playoff appearance
- 1999: 2nd round elimination
Notable Wins: none
Losses: San Jose State
Head Coach: Dennis Franchione (1-1 playoff record)/Gary Patterson**
Offensive Style: Heavy Run
Quarterback: Sean Stilley
Running Backs: LaDainian Tomlinson and Kenny Hayter
Wide Receivers: Tim Maiden and Cedric James
Tight End: B.J. Roberts
No. 15 seed Boise State Broncos (9-2; Sagarin #36*): Big West Champion (automatic bid)
2nd consecutive playoff appearance
- 1999: 1st round elimination
Notable Wins: none
Losses: Arkansas, Washington State
Head Coach: Dirk Koetter (0-1 playoff record)/Dan Hawkins***
Offensive Style: unavailable****
Quarterback: unavailable****
Running Backs: unavailable****
Wide Receivers: unavailable****
Tight End: unavailable****
No. 16 seed Marshall Thundering Herd (7-5; Sagarin #76*): MAC Champion (automatic bid)
3rd consecutive playoff appearance
- 1998: 1st round elimination
- 1999: 3rd round elimination
Notable Wins: none
Losses: Michigan State, North Carolina, Western Michigan, Toledo, Ohio
Head Coach: Bob Pruett (2-2 playoff record)
Offensive Style: Favor Pass
Quarterback: Byron Leftwich
Running Backs: Butchie Wallace and Chanston Rodgers
Wide Receivers: Nate Poole and David Foye
Tight End: Gregg Kellett
*BCS rankings only went from #1-15 from 1998-2002, so I used Sagarin rankings to seed all teams not listed in the BCS Top 15.
**Dennis Franchione departed before the Mobile Bowl, in which the team was coached by Gary Patterson. It is reasonable to hypothesize, however, that Franchione would have remained at TCU until the team was eliminated from the playoff.
***Dirk Koetter departed before the Humanitarian Bowl, in which the team was coached by Dan Hawkins. It is reasonable to hypothesize, however, that Koetter would have remained at Boise State until the team was eliminated from the playoff.
****The database for Boise State only goes back to 2001. Since they will most likely lose to No. 2 seed Florida State anyway, I will use the 2001 team for simulation purposes.
2nd Round Bowl Selection
Sugar Bowl: The Sugar Bowl is obligated to try and take an SEC team and there was only one option in 2001 - the Florida region. The fact that Miami resided in that region as well is a nice bonus, considering K-State knocked Florida out.
Cotton Bowl: The obvious choice for the Cotton Bowl was Big 12 Champion Oklahoma's region, with the only SEC team already taken.
Citrus Bowl: With the only Big Ten and SEC teams off the board already, the Citrus Bowl took the Florida State region to ensure a good crowd. A Florida team will almost always end up in this game, I suspect.
Holiday Bowl: The Holiday Bowl expected a Virginia Tech-Washington game. Virginia Tech traveled well the previous year and with three Pac-10 teams in the field, it would be nice for the Holiday's sake if they finally hosted one. Too bad TCU was in that region, too...
Sweet Sixteen (Day 1)
Game 1: No. 16 Marshall Thundering Herd (7-5) VS. No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners (12-0)
Oklahoma Memorial Stadium - Norman, Okla.
Friday, Dec. 15, 2000 - 10 AM CST
Precipitation: None
Temperature: 30
Wind: Calm
Final Score: Oklahoma 31, Marshall 9
Player of the Game
Oklahoma RB Quentin Griffin
Game 2: No. 4 Miami Hurricanes (10-1) VS. No. 13 Purdue Boilermakers (8-3)
Miami Orange Bowl - Miami, Fla.
Friday, Dec. 15, 2000 - 1 PM EST
Precipitation: None
Temperature: 75
Wind: SE 11 MPH
Final Score: Miami 51, Purdue 17
Player of the Game
Miami RB James Jackson
Game 3: No. 12 Kansas State Wildcats (10-3) VS. No. 5 Florida Gators (10-2)
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium - Gainesville, Fla.
Friday, Dec. 15, 2000 - 4:30 PM EST
Precipitation: None
Temperature: 78
Wind: WSW 13 MPH
Final Score: Kansas State 20, Florida 3
Player of the Game
Kansas State RB Chris Claybon
Game 4: No. 9 Louisville Cardinals (9-2) VS. No. 8 Oregon State Beavers (10-1)
Reser Stadium - Corvallis, Ore.
Friday, Dec. 15, 2000 - 5 PM PST
Precipitation: None
Temperature: 53
Wind: SW 12 MPH
Final Score: Louisville 17, Oregon State 10
Player of the Game
Oregon State WR Patrick McCall
Sweet Sixteen (Day 2)
Game 1: No. 2 Florida State Seminoles (11-1) VS. No. 15 Boise State Broncos (9-2)
Doak Campbell Stadium - Tallahassee, Fla.
Saturday, Dec. 16, 2000 - 11 AM EST
Precipitation: None
Temperature: 69
Wind: S 12 MPH
Final Score: Florida State 34, Boise State 7
Player of the Game
Florida State RB Travis Minor
Game 2: No. 3 Washington Huskies (10-1) VS. No. 14 TCU Horned Frogs (10-1)
Husky Stadium - Seattle, Wash.
Saturday, Dec. 16, 2000 - 10 AM PST
Precipitation: None
Temperature: 46
Wind: S 10 MPH
Final Score: TCU 45, Washington 10
Player of the Game
TCU RB LaDainian Tomlinson
Game 3: No. 11 Colorado State Rams (9-2) VS. No. 6 Virginia Tech Hokies (10-1)
Lane Stadium - Blacksburg, Va.
Saturday, Dec. 16, 2000 - 4:30 PM EST
Precipitation: None
Temperature: 54
Wind: W 8 MPH
Final Score: Virginia Tech 30, Colorado State 17
Player of the Game
Virginia Tech RB Lee Suggs
Game 4: No. 10 Oregon Ducks (9-2) VS. No. 7 Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-2)
Nebraska Memorial Stadium - Lincoln, Neb.
Saturday, Dec. 16, 2000 - 7 PM CST
Precipitation: None
Temperature: 36
Wind: SW 18 MPH
Final Score: Nebraska 24, Oregon 7
Player of the Game
Nebraska RB Dan Alexander
3rd Round Bowl Selection
Rose Bowl: Considering all Big Ten and Pac-10 teams were eliminated in the 1st round, this was sort of a crappy year for the Rose Bowl to have the top pick in the Final Four. They tried to make do by selecting the north side of the bracket, hoping for and receiving a prime TV match-up of Oklahoma and Miami.
Fiesta Bowl: That left the Fiesta Bowl with Florida State and Virginia Tech, who were expected to play for the national championship in 1999. Not too shabby.
Elite Eight
Game 1: No. 2 Florida State Seminoles (12-1) VS. No. 7 Nebraska Cornhuskers (10-2)
Ourhouse.com Florida Citrus Bowl
Florida Citrus Bowl - Orlando, Fla.
Saturday, Dec. 23, 2000 - 11 AM EST
Precipitation: None
Temperature: 69
Wind: W 22 MPH
Final Score: Florida State 25, Nebraska 10
Player of the Game
Florida State RB Travis Minor
Game 2: No. 9 Louisville Cardinals (10-2) VS. No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners (13-0)
SBC Communications Cotton Bowl Classic
Cotton Bowl - Dallas, Texas
Saturday, Dec. 23, 2000 - 12 PM CST
Precipitation: None
Temperature: 59
Wind: W 8 MPH
Final Score: Oklahoma 42, Louisville 10
Player of the Game
Oklahoma QB Josh Heupel
Game 3: No. 6 Virginia Tech Hokies (11-1) VS. No. 14 TCU Horned Frogs (11-1)
Culligan Holiday Bowl
Qualcomm Stadium - San Diego, Calif.
Saturday, Dec. 23, 2000 - 1:30 PM PST
Precipitation: None
Temperature: 63
Wind: NW 14 MPH
Final Score: Virginia Tech 29, TCU 17
Player of the Game
Virginia Tech RB Lee Suggs
Game 4: No. 4 Miami Hurricanes (11-1) VS. No. 12 Kansas State Wildcats (11-3)
Nokia Sugar Bowl
Louisiana Superdome - New Orleans, La.
Saturday, Dec. 23, 2000 - 8 PM EST
Precipitation: None (dome)
Temperature: 70 (dome)
Wind: None (dome)
Final Score: Miami 34, Kansas State 7
Player of the Game
Miami RB James Jackson
Final Four
Game 1: No. 2 Florida State Seminoles (13-1) VS. No. 6 Virginia Tech Hokies (12-1)
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Sun Devil Stadium - Tempe, Ariz.
Saturday, Dec. 30, 2000 - 2:30 PM MST
Precipitation: None
Temperature: 64
Wind: SSW 3 MPH
Final Score: Florida State 30, Virginia Tech 9
Player of the Game
Florida State QB Chris Weinke
Game 2: No. 4 Miami Hurricanes (12-1) VS. No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners (14-0)
The Rose Bowl Game presented by AT&T
Rose Bowl - Pasadena, Calif.
Saturday, Dec. 30, 2000 - 5 PM PST
Precipitation: None
Temperature: 73
Wind: WSW 5 MPH
Final Score: Oklahoma 13, Miami 10
Player of the Game
Miami RB Clinton Portis
2001 FBS National Championship
No. 2 Florida State Seminoles (14-1) VS. No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners (15-0)
FedEx Orange Bowl
Pro Player Stadium - Miami Gardens, Fla.
Saturday, Jan. 6, 2001 - 8 PM EST
Precipitation: None
Temperature: 69
Wind: NE 7 MPH
Final Score: Florida State 40, Oklahoma 21
Player of the Game
Florida State RB Travis Minor
Discussion
Now that feels a little more realistic.
Nebraska knocking out the real champion, Oklahoma, in the Cotton Bowl just felt weird to me and was my first indication that I needed to revisit how I seed these things. It's ironic that it is still Florida State who ejects the Huskers, like so many times before, but this time it's in the 2nd round and not the national championship.
Poor Louisville. They at least played Miami close the first time around but the Sooners just stomped a hole in them. This is a little more true to reality, I think. Oklahoma may not have been the best team that year, but they were better than an Elite Eight exit.
Strange that with all that shuffling we end up with the exact same Holiday Bowl match-up. Oh, well - one less game I had to re-simulate. And now K-State falls to Miami instead of Florida State. Different team, same result. If Snyder's 9-game winning streak had to end, and not at the hands of the eventual champ, I suppose I can live with it coming at the hands of one of the most talented teams in the country.
Finally Florida State and Virginia Tech meet. It took four tries but it finally happened. And just like in reality, Old Man Bowden got the better of Michael "Leavenworth" Vick. Meanwhile, Miami got its chance to put up or shut up and Oklahoma made sure they shut up. Eat that, Shockey.
So, after three seasons and six attempts, we finally get the same exact title match as happened in reality, but it's a lot more satisfying when they have to run the gauntlet to get here, isn't it? Now I don't feel like Oklahoma was such a fluke, and Miami and Washington have no case because they lost to Oklahoma and TCU, respectively. Much less controversy this way.
Of course, it wouldn't be complete without the happy ending: After 14 wins, Sooner Magic comes to a sad end in Miami, that wonderful place where Oklahoma's national championship aspirations go to die (just like in 2004 and 2008). You know - the way it was supposed to happen. LOL.
Original 2000 Bracket
Revised 2000 Bracket
Final Associated Press Poll (with final game result)
- Florida State (15-1) - beat Oklahoma 40-21 in the Orange Bowl
- Oklahoma (15-1) - lost to Florida State 21-40 in the Orange Bowl
- Miami (12-2) - lost to Oklahoma 10-13 in the Rose Bowl
- Virginia Tech (12-2) - lost to Florida State 9-30 in the Fiesta Bowl
- Washington (11-2) - beat Purdue 34-24 in the Silicon Valley Bowl
- Oregon State (11-2) - beat Notre Dame 41-9 in the Insight.com Bowl
- TCU (11-2) - lost to Virginia Tech 17-29 in the Holiday Bowl
- Kansas State (11-4) - lost to Miami 7-34 in the Sugar Bowl
- Oregon (10-3) - beat Texas 35-30 in the Poinsettia Bowl
- Nebraska (10-3) - lost to Florida State 10-25 in the Citrus Bowl
- Colorado State (10-3) - beat Arkansas 22-14 in the Liberty Bowl
- Louisville (10-3) - lost to Oklahoma 10-42 in the Citrus Bowl
- Florida (10-4) - lost to West Virginia 49-20 in the Music City Bowl
- Michigan (9-3) - beat Auburn 31-28 in the Tangerine Bowl
- Texas (9-3) - lost to Oregon 30-35 in the Poinsettia Bowl
- Notre Dame (9-3) - lost to Oregon State 9-41 in the Insight.com Bowl
- Clemson (9-3) - lost to Boston College 31-20 in the Gator Bowl
- Georgia Tech (9-3) - lost to LSU 28-14 in the Peach Bowl
- Auburn (9-4) - lost to Michigan 28-31 in the Tangerine Bowl
- Wisconsin (9-4) - beat UCLA 21-20 in the Sun Bowl
- South Carolina (8-4) - beat Ohio State 24-7 in the Outback Bowl
- Georgia (8-4) - beat Virginia 37-14 in the Oahu Bowl
- LSU (8-4) - beat Georgia Tech 28-14 in the Peach Bowl
- Mississippi State (8-4) - beat Texas A&M 43-41 in overtime in the Independence Bowl
- Purdue (8-5) - lost to Washington 24-34 in the Silicon Valley Bowl
BracketCat's Protest Playoff Archives
1998: Selection Sunday | Sweet 16 (1) | Sweet 16 (2) | Elite 8 | Final 4 | Fiesta | Data | Encore
1999: Selection Sunday | Sweet 16 (1) | Sweet 16 (2) | Elite 8 | Final 4 | Sugar | Data | Encore
2000: Selection Sunday | Sweet 16 (1) | Sweet 16 (2) | Elite 8 | Final 4 | Orange | Data
2001: Selection Sunday | Sweet 16 (1) | Sweet 16 (2) | Elite 8 | Final 4