The BCS is an imperfect system as everyone knows and these imperfections leave a team feeling like they were snubbed more often than not. The BCS was instituted in the 1998 season and during its 9 seasons (including this one), there have been 5 legitimate cases for a team to claim that it was snubbed from the national championship game. The formula has changed over the years and since the first two seasons where the formula seemed to work out without any controversy, there have only been 2 cases where there were only 2 undefeated teams standing at the end of the season in 2002 with Ohio State and Miami and 2005 with USC and Texas. Here are the 5 championship game snubs during the BCS era ranked in descending order based on validity of snub argument and the factors surrounding the claim:
   
5. 2006 Michigan Wolverines

    Everyone knows the story of this year's Wolverines who feel they were snubbed for various reasons. It may seem preposterous that it is only the 5th biggest snub due to the BCS but Michigan does not have a more convincing claim then the teams that follow them on this list and all of the other snubs were vindicated by on field proof following the snub, which obviously could not have happened yet. But the thing about the Wolverines is, unlike each of these other teams, they do not have an obvious claim to being snubbed because either way the number 3 team would have claimed that they gotten snubbed. It was considered somewhat questionable by some people but was not nearly as questionable as the preceding snubs. The debate will probably continue to go back and forth until the bowl games are decided to see if the voters made the correct decisions. The Gators were conference champions, a claim that many teams who were snubbed had, and the Wolverines were not. The Wolverines only lost to the best team in the nation and the Gators lost a similarly close game when down by 1 with less than a minute to go. Both teams claim they could have won those games. Both teams faced what could be perceived as questionable "jumps" since they each had a two week span where they were jumped two weeks in a row by a team when they felt it was their turn to move up. Florida was jumped by Louisville and USC on November 5 and 12 while Michigan was jumped by USC and Florida on November 26 and December 3. The reason that Michigan is sitting at number 5 on the list is that every debate could go either way and if Michigan made it then Florida would have claimed snub, something that would not have happened if any of the following teams got their shot. The voters were probably in a lose-lose situation. It remains to be seen how the voters' choices fare. We may never truly know who the correct team was but the bowl results may help clear the fog.

4. 2001 Oregon Ducks

    The 2001 Oregon Ducks are a pretty major snub and most people do not really remember the incident. In what would become a regular controversy in the BCS, a team that did not win its conference made the National Championship Game. Nebraska went into the Big 12 Title Game with an undefeated mark and were completely destroyed by Colorado 62-36. Strangely, the win boosted a 2 loss Colorado over the 1 loss Ducks, who seemed poised to jump into the title game. Even stranger was the fact that after this loss, Nebraska staked claim to the number 2 spot after losing their last game by 26 points. The Big 12 would not prove its questionable rankings that season either as Nebraska lost to Miami 37-14 in the title game while Oregon exacted its revenge by winning 38-16 over the other team that inexplicably jumped over them, Colorado.

3. 2000 Miami Hurricanes

    The 2000 season would be a turning point in the BCS era, a changing of the guard if you will. The first two seasons, Florida State made the championship game and were in the discussion to have a third spot in the national championship game along with Miami for the right to play Oklahoma. It is unclear what influenced the system to put Florida State in the championship game because the Hurricanes had already beaten the Seminoles that season. It was one of the most straightforward arguments that a team had as far as being a snub. If there is a debate between team 2 and team 3, why wouldn't the team who won the head to head matchup be ranked higher? Who knows? It could have been the momentum carried forward from being in the previous two title games. The results also showed that Miami probably should have been ahead of Florida State, who was held to 2 points in a championship loss. The snub carried Miami, who appeared in the next two title games and not losing a single game during that stretch until they ran into Ohio State for the 2002 title.

2. 2004 Auburn Tigers

    The 2004 Auburn Tigers may go down as the only major conference team to go undefeated and not get a chance to play for the national championship. It was a strange year in college football since 3 teams finished the season with undefeated records, the first time since 1970 that such an occurrence happened. Auburn was basically in the wrong place at the wrong time. USC was carrying their momentum after their snub the year before, so voters would not let them be snubbed a second year in a row. Oklahoma was a proven veteran on the BCS scene so voters thought they knew what they were getting. Auburn played in what was considered the toughest conference and finished unscathed, something many people claim to be nearly impossible to repeat. It could have been a backlash from the year before when an SEC team was let in over USC. The most puzzling thing was the fact that Oklahoma was let in over Auburn after being questioned for their loss in the title game the year before. The voters were proven wrong again as USC slaughtered Oklahoma in the title game 55-19. Auburn still wonders what could have been and what more could they have done since they had no blemishes.

1. 2003 USC Trojans

   Even the team who seems to get favoritism in the polls at times was once snubbed, and this event might be the reason why favoritism is now received. The most controversial BCS snub came in 2003 when the USC Trojans were ranked #1 in both the AP and Coaches' Poll that year yet they still finished 3rd in the BCS standings so were left out of the title game. In a common theme in the BCS world, a Big 12 Conference Title Game loser somehow squeaked into the national title game over a more deserving team and proceeded to lose in the national title game. Just like before, the conference title game was not even close as Oklahoma lost 35-7 to Kansas State. This fiasco single handedly increased the weight of human polls in the BCS system since the unanimous number 1 team was not even allowed to play for the championship. It also caused a split national championship, something the BCS was supposed to avoid. USC then went on to play in the next two national championship games just like Miami did.