by Travis Normand

Question of the day: How many teams have won the BCS National Championship with an undefeated record?

Answer: Of the 15 BCS Championships (since 1998), 9 have been won by teams with perfect records.

However, if you look at the history of these undefeated teams, it appears as if going undefeated is becoming less and less common.  For example, from 1998 to 2005, every BCS Champion was undefeated, except for the 2003 LSU Tigers (7/8 or 87.5%).  Since 2005, the BCS crown has gone to an undefeated team only twice (2/5 or 40%).

Also, as you have probably heard, the last 7 BCS titles have been won by a member of the SEC.  In fact, the SEC has won 9 of the 15 BCS Championships overall (60%), and has only lost one BCS title game (2011, when LSU lost to Alabama).  In other words, a SEC team has never lost a BCS title game to a team from another conference — putting the SEC at a perfect 9-0 mark in BCS title games.

Here are some other fairly interesting stats on BCS winners.  

– Only three teams have won the BCS title undefeated with at least 14 wins (Auburn, Alabama, and Ohio State).

– The SEC has had 3 teams win the BCS undefeated, while the Big 12 has done it twice.  The ACC, Big East, Big 10, and Pac-12 have all done it only once.

I am sure there are other ways to look at this information, and if I missed something please feel free to leave me a comment and let me know.  After all, it’s the off-season and this is nothing more than a bunch of random observations . . . but if you have a better way to pass the time, I am all ears.

List of Undefeated BCS Champions:

• 2010 Auburn Tigers (14-0) – SEC
• 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide (14-0) – SEC
• 2005 Texas Longhorns (13-0) – Big 12
• 2004 USC (13-0) – Pac-12
• 2002 Ohio State (14-0) – Big 10
• 2001 Miami Hurricanes (12-0) – Big East
• 2000 Oklahoma Sooners (12-0) – Big 12
• 1999 Florida State Seminoles (12-0) – ACC
• 1998 Tennessee Volunteers (13-0) – SEC