You're right about the loss and I've made this point. In 1983 there were five one-loss teams in the final poll. Miami got the title because they lost game one; Nebraska and Texas lost it because they lost their bowl games. Georgia beat Texas but lost out because Auburn beat them. Auburn lost to Texas but beat Georgia. Auburn beat Florida who beat Miami.Here's the bump in current CFB logic that just baffles me:
The champion of the season should be primarily based on who's the best team right now and the date of your loss.
Makes zero sense to me. We hear every year about NCAA tourney teams that got hot at the end of the year but didn't make it in. The Houston Texans finished weak but their body of work for the season still earned them an opportunity to win their way to the SB.
Personally, I've long been in favor of a 12-16 team format for CFB. I'd love to see smaller schools get their piece of the pie. How about if NIU had played and beat ND?? Certainly feasible, all things considered. I think that would've been good for CFB.
Yet only the losses by Nebraska & Texas really meant much.
The BCS does fix that to a degree.