BYU '84 ... Are they in the '84 BCS if it existed then?

Even Wisconsin, whose one loss came to ... Michigan?

I still don't like this idea that a loss to the top team in the country should hurt you MORE than a loss to a lower-ranked or unranked team, but that's an argument for eight or 10 other threads.

 

Since BYU was, as tony pointed out, No. 1 in both polls heading into the bowls, it almost certainly would have played in the title game, likely against an Oklahoma squad that was exposed as a fraud (for 1984, anyway) by Washington in the Orange Bowl.

It should also be noted that the Holiday Bowl had to settle for Michigan because a number of highly-ranked at-large teams (most notably, Washington) turned down invitations to play BYU to take a bigger payday somewhere else.

As far as projecting what a BCS would have looked like, using a five-game format, I'll take a stab at it. ACC, Big Eight, Big Ten, Pac-10, SEC, SWC and the highest-ranked independent get automatic bids. That leaves three at-large bids.

Orange: No. 1 BYU (at-large) vs. No. 2 Oklahoma (Big Eight champion)
Sugar: No. 7 South Carolina (independent) vs. No. 11 LSU (SEC champion)
Rose: No. 18 USC (Pac-10 champion) vs. No. 6 Ohio State (Big Ten champion)
Cotton: No. 14 Maryland (ACC champion) vs. unranked Houston (SWC champion)
Fiesta: No. 5 Nebraska (at-large) vs. No. 4 Washington (at-large)

No. 8 Boston College and Heisman winner Doug Flutie are screwed out of at at-large berth. I know the ACC was not a power football conference at this time, but it had a national champion just three years earlier and, with help from its basketball reputation, likely would have been part of the BCS. If you disagree, you can slip BC into the Cotton slot to face the champion of a SWC that was dreadful in '84.

It's been debated ad nauseum, including on this board recently, but I think BYU was the best choice for No. 1. Go down the final rankings and find me a more deserving team. Washington couldn't win its own conference, and refused to play BYU. Oklahoma had two losses. Florida had a loss and a tie but was on probation.

 

Wasn't the ACC champ obligated to the then-Citrus Bowl at the time, or did that not happen until later?