What Do All BCS Champions Have in Common?

ATLANTA - 2008 marks the 11th season of the BCS. Looking at the numbers, the one trait shared by all ten BCS national championship teams is they all came out week one and played like champions.

Whether beating a top-25 team or dominating a lesser opponent, each and every BCS winner made an immediate statement that they were an elite squad in their very first game. There were no lackadaisical performances, no squeakers against mediocre opponents, no Div I-AA patsies - just ten straight years where the eventual champion took care of business.

Provided below is a recap of the season opener of every BCS champion, along with their corresponding True Style Points rating for that game based on the strength of their opponent, margin of victory and where the game was played.

In all cases the eventual champion looked at least two touchdowns (14+ style points) better than average.

Kicking Off the Season in Style

1998: Tennessee rallies to beat Donovan McNabb’s #17 ranked Syracuse Orangemen in the Carrier Dome on a game winning field goal. {16 Style Points}

1999: Florida State takes to the air to fly past Louisiana Tech by 34. {24 SPs}

2000: Oklahoma rolls past UTEP 55-14. {28 SPs}

2001: Miami goes to Penn State and walks out with a 26-point victory. {32 SPs}

2002: Ohio State whips Texas Tech 45-21. {22 SPs}

2003: LSU thumps Louisiana Monroe 49 – 7. {23 SPs}

2004: USC travels east and beats Virginia Tech by 11 in the BCA Classic in Landover, MD. {27 SPs}

2005: Texas pounds the Louisiana Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns by 57. {40 SPs}

2006: Florida downs Southern Miss by 27 in the Swamp. {25 SPs}

2007: LSU begins their championship run with a 45-point drubbing of Mississippi State. {46 SPs}

So Who’s It Going to Be This Year?

This year, thirteen teams made a championship-caliber statement in week one and remain undefeated after week three. Look for the eventual national champion to emerge from the following pool:

USC {48 Week One Style Points}, Florida {41 SPs}, Alabama {38 SPs}, Oregon {36 SPs}, Kentucky {34 SPs}, Texas {34 SPs}, TCU {24 SPs}, Auburn {23 SPs}, Wake Forest {18 SPs}, Kansas State {17 SPs}, Nebraska {16 SPs}, Missouri {16 SPs}, ECU{16 SPs} or Colorado {15 SPs}.

While it doesn't take rocket science to proclaim that this year's winner might be USC, Florida, Missouri, or Auburn, this harbinger of champions to come does rule out 50% of the current Top 10:

#2 Oklahoma – {Division 1-AA Chattanooga}

#3 Georgia – {Division 1-AA Georgia Southern}

#6 LSU – {Division 1-AA Appalachian State}

#8 Wisconsin – {38-17 winner at home over Akron for 6 Style Points}

#10 Texas Tech – {Division 1-AA Eastern Washington}

Editor’s updated footnote 1/10/09: We can now extend this indicator to 11-straight successful years: 2008: Florida opens the season at home crushing Hawaii 56-10. {41 SPs}