The difference between No. 2 and No. 3 in the final BCS standings

By now, we all know that the gap between Alabama and OSU–a measly 0.0086 points–is the smallest ever between the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the final Bowl Championship standings.

I thought it might be interesting to list out how the No. 2 and No. 3 teams finished in every final BCS poll since college football started using the system in 1998. I went by year, then from smallest gap to largest gap. Take note of the different way of calculating a team’s BCS ranking from 1998 to 2003.

Chronological order

1998
Florida State: 4.91
Kansas State: 9.96
Difference: 5.05

1999
Virginia Tech: 6.12
Nebraska: 7.42
Difference: 1.3

2000
Florida State: 5.37
Miami: 5.69
Difference: 0.32

2001
Nebraska: 7.23
Colorado: 7.28
Difference: 0.05

2002
Ohio State: 3.97
Georgia: 8.37
Difference: 4.4

2003
LSU: 5.99
USC: 6.15
Difference: 0.16

2004
Oklahoma: 0.9681
Auburn: 0.9331
Difference: 0.0350

2005
Texas: 0.9732
Penn State: 0.9187
Difference: 0.0545

2006
Florida: 0.9445
Michigan: 0.9344
Difference: 0.0101