How would the history of CFB have changed if..........?

[MassNole]

This seemed like a fun idea that shouldn't create too much hostility. Simply pose a question of what would have happened if something had happened differently. One rule, no playoff discussion.

I'll start it off with a few questions...

What would have happened if Bear Bryant had turned down Alabama and stayed at Texas A&M the rest of his career?

Texas A&M would be the preeminent school in Texas and would have at least 5-6 MNCs in their trophy case. Since unlike Texas they weren't playing Oklahoma every year they would have run through the SWC for years with Bryant at the helm.

As for what would have happened to Alabama, I have no idea.

How would the landscape of CFB be different today if in 1991 the SEC added Florida State and Miami instead of South Carolina and Arkansas?

First I'll admit, FSU probably doesn't go through 2000 in the Top 5 every year. Those Noles teams were good, but somewhere they'd have been tripped up in the SEC.

As for a football heavy conference, wow that would have been loaded adding those two at the time. This would have left Arkansas in the SWC, which may have kept it around. If not, they'd likely have joined the Big 12 over Baylor. SC would be in the ACC. Fairly easy to say the ACC and Big East don't get BCS bids without FSU and Miami. Meaning if the BCS existed it would likely just consist of the SEC, Big 10, Pac 10, and Big 12.

From FSU's perspective by being in the SEC they would have almost been forced to fire or force Bowden to resign years before they did in the ACC. Or at the very least there would have been more accountability for the coaching staff as a whole.

From Miami's perspective they would have been in a better position to have gone through the probation they did. That was when the Dade County area opened up for recruiting, in the SEC despite limited numbers they would have kept more kids home.

What would have happened if Steve Spurrier never left for the NFL? Would he have been there in 2005?

I honestly don't believe that if Spurrier had stayed and put up the kinds of seasons Zook did that Florida would have fired him. Meaning they aren't in the market to hire Urban Meyer, who then likely goes to Notre Dame.

[Cebby]

I'll skip the first for obvious reasons.

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How would the landscape of CFB be different today if in 1991 the SEC added Florida State and Miami instead of South Carolina and Arkansas?

Miami would have had the same trajectory (win in 91, start doing well in the 2000s drop off with Coker), but I think FSU loses more games 91-96, and then wins the SEC every year from 97-2000 with 1-2 championships. In the first part they would have had very good Auburn and Alabama teams to compete with (along with the obvious Miami and FSU) which may not have kept them out of the Sugar Bowl but probably out of the championship race, but once those two and Miami fell off, I think they would have beaten Florida and Tennessee most of the time. Plus they would have received the benefit of the doubt that the SEC gets now.

The ACC probably still gets a BCS bid because they probably would have added VTech, Pitt, and maybe Syracuse.

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What would have happened if Steve Spurrier never left for the NFL? Would he have been there in 2005?

He probably retires in 2003 or 2004.

[Sting]

....if Bobby Dodd didn't get into a spat with Bear Bryant cuz Bryant recruited dirty causing Dodd and Georgia Tech to withdraw from the SEC - we'd have more sidewalk fans



....if Pete Carroll would have simply SPIED Vince all night and made him make the correct reads through the air instead of letting him run around all night - no comment


....if Rich Rodriquez didn't turn down Alabama - they'd be strugglin, boy did they dodge a bullet (although jury's still out on RichRod)


....if there were no preseason polls - then more teams would have a shot at the end


....if Mack Brown didn't leave UNC - they'd have at least one title during his stretch

[boisejames]

Quote: Originally Posted by stingmgt

....if there were no preseason polls - then more teams would have a shot at the end

True for AQ conference teams but not for the non-AQs. Let's say the polls came out in week 4 this year; would Boise State have been #5? No. I doubt they'd be in the top ten. I do not agree with the preseason polls at all but I like that they're there.
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...if the BCS didn't expand to 5 games and make it easier for non-AQs to get into a BCS bowl?

We would have never witnessed the greatest game of all time aside from maybe the 2006 Rose Bowl and we probably would only have had 2 BCS busters, (2004 Utah and 2009 TCU).

[Pheud]

Here's one I know people probably wont care about,but...

...If Marshall joins Conference USA as a football only school in 2000 instead of waiting to be included in 2005 as an all sports school, we probably would have been included in the Big East raid of Conference USA in 2005.

[WazzuRC]

More recent, but if Pete Carroll doesn't take the USC job, I think UCLA and USC flip. UCLA sits at or near the top the Pac-10 for the last 10 years while USC idly stands by saying they've turned the corner every year. UCLA raids all those recruits that USC has gotten as well as helping teams like Oregon, UW, and Cal out.

If Urban Meyer takes the Notre Dame job...

If Maurice Clarett doesn't leave Ohio State early...

[Cebby]

Quote: Originally Posted by WazzuRC

More recent, but if Pete Carroll doesn't take the USC job, I think UCLA and USC flip. UCLA sits at or near the top the Pac-10 for the last 10 years while USC idly stands by saying they've turned the corner every year. UCLA raids all those recruits that USC has gotten as well as helping teams like Oregon, UW, and Cal out.

I highly, highly doubt that.

Not only was UCLA 5-6 and 6-6 the two years prior to Carroll, but a lot of USC's players weren't from LA and it's doubtful they would have chosen to go to a mediocre UCLA team instead.

Quote:

If Urban Meyer takes the Notre Dame job...

I really don't think this would have worked out anywhere near as well as Florida. No Tebow, and I doubt a lot of Florida's players would have gone to Notre Dame (or have been able to get in).

[MassNole]

Quote: Originally Posted by stingmgt

....if Mack Brown didn't leave UNC - they'd have at least one title during his stretch

He was FSU's bitch while he was there, I don't know if he ever could have put an MNC caliber team together at UNC. It is one thing to do it at Texas, in that most competent coaches could, but it just wasn't gonna happen at UNC unless it was between 2001 and 2003.

Quote: Originally Posted by Pheud

Here's one I know people probably wont care about,but... ...If Marshall joins Conference USA as a football only school in 2000 instead of waiting to be included in 2005 as an all sports school, we probably would have been included in the Big East raid of Conference USA in 2005.

Football wise, possibly, but I can't imagine Marshall could begin to compete in the Big East for basketball.

Quote: Originally Posted by Cebby

I really don't think this would have worked out anywhere near as well as Florida. No Tebow, and I doubt a lot of Florida's players would have gone to Notre Dame (or have been able to get in).

Tebow, Percy Harvin, Reggie Nelson, Riley Cooper, Louis Murphy and any Lakeland HS kid, all would have been hard to get in under Notre Dame's admissions, and those are players who had bigger roles in their run, I know that FSU backed off of John Brown and Torey Davis because of grade concerns, meaning no way ND touches them.

Had Meyer gone to ND, that likely means Percy Harvin would have gone to his childhood dream school of Florida State. Hell after the state championship game his junior year he told the local paper if Bobby Bowden was at FSU he would be going there. FSU also likely would have landed the Pouncey twins. If Fisher and Trickett came to FSU in 2007, FSU would have had an interior OL of the Pouncey's and Rodney Hudson, all 3 of whom were All Americans.

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What if Bobby Bowden retired after the 2001 Orange Bowl and Mark Richt took over Florida State?

Homerness aside, if Richt is at FSU I believe they win the 2003 MNC. Chris Rix would have been properly coached and the defense on that team was amazingly talented. These would have largely been his players as juniors and seniors, and Jeff Bowden notwithstanding this team still won 10 games.

I'd also imagine the 00's would have resembled the 90's in terms of FSU's ACC dominance with Richt at the helm. The Top 5 streak still would have ended in 2001, but I don't think there is the steep dropoff we've seen without him.