In 2001, Oregon, ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll, was bypassed in favor of Nebraska despite Nebraska's blowout loss in its final regular season game.

Last year LSU became the first team with two losses to win the national championship, which set off another controversy.

Now the BCS finds itself with more confusion and disagreement, with four teams vying for No. 1. For the second time in five years, Utah is unbeaten and the lone non-BCS blueblood to crash the party.

While we're at it, let's state Utah's case for a national championship. Four reasons to vote the Utes No. 1:

1 — Anything that causes headaches for the BCS is a good thing. So a vote for Utah — and, for that matter, USC or Texas, but not Florida or Oklahoma — is a vote for a playoff system, a rebellion, a message to the BCS to — how should we put this delicately? — stick it. Count on this: After the national champion is declared Thursday night, there are going to be a lot of players, fans and coaches who feel cheated by the system. Good. The more unrest there is, the better chance for change.

2 — The Utes are 13-0 — as in unbeaten and untied. No other team can make that claim. They beat all comers. That includes wins over four teams that were nationally ranked at the time they played the Utes — Oregon State, TCU, BYU, Alabama.

3 — Alabama was ranked No. 1 in the country during the last five weeks of the regular season. The Utes beat them 31-17 on what amounted to Alabama's home field, and it wasn't that close. This was no fluke. The Utes outplayed them and outcoached them. The Utes saw on film that Alabama's big linemen tired easily, so they came out in a no-huddle offense and after only a few plays 'Bama's linemen were so gassed that, as one Ute recalled later, they were just leaning on Ute blockers. On defense, they confused Alabama's blocking assignments by shifting just before the snap of the ball and with constant stunting and blitzing. The Tide rushed for 31 yards after averaging 196 per game this season.

4 — The Utes had a huge disadvantage. If they had been in a BCS conference, they would have worked their way up to the top of the national rankings much earlier in the season and been in a better position to play for the championship. They had much more to overcome to reach a BCS bowl than, say, Florida or Texas. People recognized late in the game that they are a legitimate force.

E-mail: drob@desnews.com