could select Penn State vs. Miami was because both schools were Independents with no bowl tie ins. Whereas FSU and VT were both members of a conference. I guess there is a possibility that 1 or both could have opted to remain a football independent. However, under that scenario it is likely that VT wouldn't have played the same schedule it did in 1999 and it would be hard to predict if VT would have still gone undefeated that year or not. If we assume that both are members of their respective conference, then we would have to look at the bowl tie ins for the 1992-93 season since it was the last season before the BCA Era started.

Orange Bowl: ACC Champion vs. Big 8 Champion (FSU vs. Nebraska)
Sugar Bowl: SEC Champion vs. Big East Champion (Alabama vs. Miami)
Rose Bowl: Big Ten Champion vs. Pac-10 Champion (Michigan vs. UDub)
Fiesta Bowl: At-large vs. At-large (Syracuse vs. Colorado)
Cotton Bowl: SWC Champion vs. At-large (TAMU vs. ND)

Since the Big 8 and SWC didn't exist in 1999, it is possible the Big XII could have its tie in with either the Cotton Bowl or Orange Bowl. If it is the Cotton Bowl and assuming the other tie-ins remain unchanged, then 1999 (under the pre-BCA system) could have looked like this:

Orange Bowl: #1 FSU vs. #5 Michigan
Sugar Bowl: #8 Alabama vs. #2 VT
Rose Bowl: #4 Wisconsin vs. Stanford
Fiesta Bowl: #6 K-State vs. #9 Tennessee
Cotton Bowl: #3 Nebraska vs. #7 Michigan State

There might be flexibility on where the at-large teams (i.e. Michigan, K-State, Tennessee, and Michigan State) ended up that year. Also, I guess there is a possibility the Orange Bowl could have selected VT as an at-large opponent given that I don't think the Big East always had a tie-in for its champion (reference to BCA and BCS Eras). FWIW the 1992-93 season was the inaugural year for the Big East Football Conference.


[Post edited by VTHokie2000 at 11/24/2021 08:45AM]