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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 4269388, member: 289"] 1974-75 [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_NCAA_Division_I_football_rankings"]1974 NCAA Division I football rankings - Wikipedia[/URL] [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_NCAA_Division_I_football_rankings"]1975 NCAA Division I football rankings - Wikipedia[/URL] [URL="http://www.tiptop25.com/fixing1974.html"]Fixing the 1974 AP Poll[/URL] [URL="http://www.tiptop25.com/fixing1975.html"]Fixing the 1975 AP Poll[/URL] 1974, like 1971 and 1972, was a ‘no-brainer’. Oklahoma was clearly the best team in the country. They went 11-0-0 and outscored their opposition 473-92. Their only wins over teams that wound up in AP’s final Top 20 were 28-14 over #9 Nebraska and 16-13 over #18 Texas but they had six wins over teams with winning records, including a 72-3 win over Utah State, a team that was otherwise 8-2. It was a much more difficult schedule than Bud Wilkinson’s powerhouses of the 1950’s faced because the Big 8 was a much better conference in the 1970’s. (The Big 7, which it was then, was a grilled cheese sandwich in the 50’s while the Big 8 was rare roast beef in in 70’s.) The 1974 team was Barry Switzer’s masterpiece. They led the country in total offense with 508 yards a game, 57 more than anyone else and rushing, 439 yards per game, 55 more than anyone else. They were 6th in total defense with 232 yards per game. Their tailbacks, Joe Washington and Jim Littrell, both averaged 6.8 yards per game – running the wishbone in either direction - while the Selmon brothers, Lucious, Lee Roy and Dewey, manned the defensive line. Nobody could match that. [MEDIA=youtube]ZA-HMqq-930[/MEDIA] And everybody else lost: Alabama again to a two loss Notre Dame team, this time in the Orange Bowl, Michigan to Ohio State, who had lost to Michigan State and who lost a rubber match to Southern California in the Rose Bowl. The Trojans had a loss to Arkansas and a tie with California. The problem was that the Sooners were still on probation. And this was the first year that the coaches refused to vote for a team on probation, (also the first year they voted after the bowls). To the coaches, the Rose Bowl was the battle for the national title, which they awarded to the Trojans. But everybody knew Oklahoma was the best team in the country. (Note that Vautravers doesn’t even discuss the issue.) In this fantasy I assume that the NCAA agrees with me that violations should be treated with fines for the schools and suspensions and banishments for the individuals involved, not preventing current teams from playing in the post season. Were that the case, the Sooners would have been the consensus champions with no need for additional games. The same thing might have happened in 1975 but on November 8th something happened that hadn’t happened since October 21st, 1972. After 37 games, (and 28 wins in a row since the 7-7 tie with USC early in the 1973), the Sooners lost. The unstoppable wishbone broke: 8 turnovers led to a 3-23 home loss to Kansas, (who wound up 7-5). The machine was still malfunctioning the next week in a 28-27 win over a 6-5 Missouri team. Everybody expected them to lose to a 10-0 Nebraska team but they suddenly got the spark plugs firing on all cylinders and crushed the Cornhuskers 35-10 on national TV. That put them in the Orange Bowl against an 8-1-2 Michigan team, (the probation had ended), whom they beat 14-6 to finish 11-1. The Wolverines were the 8th winning team they’d played that year and the 7th they had beaten. Still, this team was not quite juggernaut of the year before, although the personnel was basically the same. They outscored their opponents 344-154. They gained 354 yards per game, 308 on the ground and gave up 261. But with Ohio State losing in the Rose Bowl, they moved to #1 in both polls. The Buckeyes had been 11-0 and had outscored their opponents 374-79 until they lost to a UCLA team they had defeated 41-20 on October 4th by 13-23 in the Rose Bowl, (launching the Bruins’ coach, Dick Vermeil, into the NFL). It was an eerie sequel to what had happened to Michigan State a decade before. Alabama lost its opener to Missouri 7-20 at home but rallied from that to win 11 games in a row, including Penn State 13-6 in the Sugar Bowl. They outscored their opponents 374-72. Then there was Arizona State, still in the WAC, who ran the table to a 12-0 record, including a Fiesta Bowl win over Nebraska, 17-14 that to some voters verified their status as a big-time team. They outscored their opponents 347-127. Vautravers points out that their credentials exceed that of Brigham Young in 1984 but not Oklahoma’s in 1975. But fans of mid-majors were in love with them. The Fiesta Bowl: No gots. The Sugar Bowl: [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJtnWE8GvnU"]1975 Sugar Bowl, #7 Penn State vs #3 Alabama (Highlights)[/URL] The Rose Bowl: [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTdWfZOcMFk"]1976 Rose Bowl Ohio State vs UCLA No Huddle[/URL] The Orange Bowl: [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdmtsJjF0Yc"]1976 Orange Bowl Oklahoma vs Michigan No Huddle[/URL] The obvious solution: a 4-team playoff. By the AP rankings that’s Oklahoma vs. Ohio State and Arizona State vs. Alabama. Oklahoma vs. Ohio State Oklahoma beat Michigan 14-6 who lost to Ohio State 14-21 = +1 for Oklahoma Oklahoma beat Texas 24-14 who beat Washington 28-0 who beat UCLA 17-13 who lost to Ohio State 20-41 = +23 for Oklahoma Oklahoma beat Nebraska 35-10 who beat Indiana 45-0 who lost to Michigan State 6-14 who lost to Ohio State 0-21 = +41 for Oklahoma Oklahoma beat Colorado 21-20 who beat California 34-27 who lost to UCLA 14-28 who beat Ohio State 23-13 = +4 Oklahoma Oklahoma beat Pittsburgh 46-10 who lost to Penn State 6-7 who lost to Ohio State 9-17 = +27 Oklahoma Result: +96/5 = Oklahoma wins by 19 points – and all five comparisons. Pretty convincing. Arizona State vs. Alabama Believe it or not, they had two common opponents: Arizona State beat Washington 35-12 who lost to Alabama 0-52 = +29 for Alabama Arizona State beat Texas Christian 33-10 who lost to Alabama 0-45 = +22 for Alabama Arizona State beat Nebraska 17-14 who beat Louisiana State 10-7 who beat Rice 16-13 who lost to Vanderbilt 6-9 who lost to Alabama 7-40 = +27 for Alabama Arizona State beat Arizona 24-21 who beat Northwestern 41-6 who beat Purdue 31-25 who lost to Ohio State 6-35 who beat Penn State 17-9 who lost to Alabama 6-13 = +16 for Arizona State Arizona State beat Brigham Young 20-0 who lost to Southern Mississippi 14-42 who lost to Alabama 6-27 = +29 for Alabama Results: +91/5 = Alabama wins by 18 points. Also pretty convincing. Oklahoma vs. Alabama Oklahoma beat Missouri 28-27 who beat Alabama 20-7 = +14 for Oklahoma Oklahoma beat Texas 21-14 who beat Rice 41-9 who lost to Vanderbilt 6-9 who lost to Alabama 7-40 = +3 for Oklahoma Oklahoma beat Nebraska 35-10 who beat Louisiana State 10-7 who lost to Mississippi State 6-16 who lost to Alabama 10-21 = +7 for Oklahoma Oklahoma beat Colorado 21-20 who beat Wyoming 27-10 who lost to Brigham Young 20-33 who lost to Southern Mississippi 14-42 who lost to Alabama 6-27 = +44 for Alabama Oklahoma beat Pittsburgh 46-10 who lost to Penn State 6-7 who lost to Alabama 6-13 = +28 for Oklahoma Result: +8/5 = Oklahoma wins its second straight national championship by 2 points. They may not have been as dominant as in 1974 and had a terrible day vs. Kansas but they came through in the big games. [/QUOTE]

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