The Bowl Championship Series began in 1998 as the successor of the Bowl Alliance. This was accomplished after the Rose Bowl agreed to release the winner of the Big10/Pac10 if it was necessary to force a national championship game. This in turn began the new era of college football.
Since 1998 we have witnessed some of the most electrifying and tantalizing players college football has ever had. Tim Tebow, Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Michael Vick, Matt Leinart, Ed Reed, LaDainian Tomlinson & Pat White, just to name a few. But who would rank in the top 3 of the best college football players of the BCS era? Well, I’ll attempt to rank them.
I have no mathematical formula to rank the following players. I devised my list simply by the “eye test”: which players impressed me the most in the BCS era, and which player I would most want on my team in a critical game or moment. Well, these were the 3 players I decided on.
#3 — Reggie Bush, University of Southern California
Forget about Bush’s now-tainted college football legacy after being retroactively ruled ineligible by the NCAA. That has absolutely no bearing on this list of the best college football players of the BCS era. Reggie Bush was one of the most exciting players to ever grace the fields of college football. His tantalizing, high-flying style of play littered ESPN’s weekly highlights. His will to win kept USC in the 2005 Nat’l Championship race @Notre Dame and vs. Fresno St.
Reggie Bush’s greatest game: November 19th, 2005 — Los Angeles Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA
10-0 #1 USC walks into the Coliseum as the heavy favorite versus Fresno State. Well, after the first 30 minutes of play, USC finds themselves down 21-10. Bush decided he had seen enough. 513 all-purpose yards and 2 touchdowns later, USC escaped with a 50-42 victory. Bush in turn secured himself the now-vacated Heisman.
#2 — Tim Tebow, University of Florida
Florida fans would have a legitimate gripe over why Tebow is not #1 in this ranking, but I ranked these players in order of which one player would make a loaded team the best. Well, I think Tebow finishes behind Vince Young in that aspect.
Tebow had arguably the greatest “career” a college football player has ever had. He helped Florida to the 2006 Nat’l Championship as the backup QB, then followed that up by being the first ever Sophomore to win the Heisman Memorial Trophy.
Tebow was also a great person off the field. He donated a good amount of his time in the off season on missions to impoverished areas, and personified everything that was good about college athletes. His leadership both on and off the field will be quite difficult to ever rival.
Tim Tebow’s greatest game: December 6th, 2008 — Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
11-1 #4 Florida walked into the SEC Championship game against the #1 12-0 Alabama Crimson Tide, with a ticket to the BCS Nat’l Championship game on the line. Tebow would not disappoint the gator nation.
With Florida down 17-20 heading into the 4th quarter, Tebow was determined to “will” his team to victory. Tebow didn’t wait long to start that process, as he marched the Gators to the 1 yard line, where Demps ran in a 1 yard score. The UF defense forced Alabama to a 3 & out, and put the ball back in Tebow’s hands. Tim answered with a touchdown pass to Riley Cooper to seal Florida’s BCS ticket.
Tebow finished the game 14/22 216yds 3tds 0ints | 17 carries 57 yards. Florida would go on to defeat #1 Oklahoma in the BCS Nat’l Championship game, giving Tebow his 2nd Nat’l championship.
#1 — Vince Young, University of Texas
The master of comebacks, a guy who refused to lose. This was Vince Young. Young began his career at Texas in his (RS) Freshman year, splitting time with Chance Mock at quarterback. From the very beginning, anyone who watched Young play knew he was a very special player — a very special player who was currently in a system that was not fully maximizing his god-given talents.
Well, Texas OC Greg Davis & HC Mack Brown designed a new offense for their blue chip athlete — the zone read spread offense. Vince Young immediately began to blossom into the QB most of the country remembers. Electrifying runs, and throws that would steal airtime from Reggie Bush on ESPN Sports center.
But this wasn’t what made Young so great. What made Young the greatest cfb player of the BCS era was his unwillingness to lose. Against Kansas in late 2004, Texas found itself down 20-23 on 4th & 18 late in the 4th quarter. Young refused to let Texas’ BCS dreams fade, as he ran for a miraculous 22 yard 4th down conversion, making Jayhawk defenders look absolutely foolish in the process.
Young would continue to rinse/repeat this throughout his tremendous career. Fans of Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma State & Southern California would join together in Kansas’ pain of watching Vince Young snatch the taste of victory from their tastebuds. Young finished his career at Texas at 30-2 as a starter, with 2 BCS victories and one consensus Nat’l Championship.
Vince Young’s greatest game: January 6th, 2006 — The Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
12-0 #2 Texas had reached their goal of playing for the Nat’l Championship against favored #1 Southern California. Vince Young had used his snub of the Heisman as extra motivation to prove to the world who truly was the best player in college football.
Well, with 6:42 left in the game, it seemed all of VY’s determination was for naught. ABC commentator Dan Fouts, when responding to Keith Jackson’s statement that VY had a lot of success in leading his team back, stated:
“Well, he has had success bringing his team from behind. But this is USC. This is the two time defending Nat’l Champion, with the.. One of the greatest defensive coordinator/head coach of all time. Pete Carroll”
Well, Vince Young was able to march his team 69 yards down the field, in a touchdown that was culminated by a tantalizing 17 yard scramble to the endzone to pull Texas within 5. It was now up to the Texas defense to stop the unstoppable USC offense. The defense knew that if they could stop USC just once, Vince Young would lead them to the promised land. The defense held LenDale White on that 4th & 2, and put the ball back in VY’s hands. Young would not let down his team, as he marched Texas methodically down to the 8 yard line. USC was able to stop Texas’ rapid advance, and forced Texas to a 4th & 5, with the Nat’l Championship on the line. Keith Jackson then called it:
“4th & 5, the Nat’l Championship on the line right here.. He’s going for the corner… HE’s GOT IT! VINCE YOUNG SCORES!”
Vince Young had done it. He had led an implausible 12 point comeback in the last 6 minutes. Young finished the game 30/40 260yds passing, with 200 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. Without doubt, the greatest individual performance in Nat’l Championship history (arguably the greatest individual performance PERIOD in college football history).
Vince Young truly was.. NUMBER ONE!
