The Football Writers Association of America will discuss this week what options it could take if it strips University of Southern California of its 2004 national championship, with a decision expected before the start of the college football season.
"We're in unprecedented territory," said Steve Richardson, executive director of the FWAA, which has awarded the Grantland Rice Trophy to its national champion since 1954. "Because this is the first time that the NCAA has ever vacated one of our winners, so there's never been a reason to before."
USC's 2004 football team finished the season undefeated after defeating Oklahoma in the BCS national championship game. The NCAA recently levied penalties against USC, forcing them to vacate games played with Reggie Bush, who was deemed ineligible. One of those games was the 2004 BCS national championship game.
If those penalties aren't reversed on appeal, one option the FWAA could take includes awarding the title to Auburn, who finished its undefeated 2004 season ranked second in the final poll of the FWAA, as well as the final polls of the AP and BCS.
Auburn Athletic Director Jay Jacobs said he suspects Auburn would claim the 2004 national championship if the FWAA awarded it to Auburn.
"You know, I already claim it," Jacobs said. "When you go undefeated in this league and play like those guys played in '04, they're already champions in my mind, so if somebody else wants to agree with what we already believe is a foregone conclusion, we're fine with that."
Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville, who was the head coach at Auburn in 2004, said he would like the national championship to be awarded to another team, one that played by the rules.
"I think the worst thing that can happen to a team is to have it taken away and be replaced," Tuberville said. "I'd just like to see them do that because, obviously, there were things done the wrong way. I think, obviously, Oklahoma and Auburn would have some say, even Utah."
Tuberville said he thinks the BCS and AP should both strip USC of its 2004 national championship and award it to another team.
"Whatever happens, in my eyes you have to take it away from somebody and give it to somebody else," Tuberville said. "That really penalizes the team that broke the rules and shows college football that, hey, you got to go by the rules, do it the right way, or you lose your title, and somebody else gets it."
Current Auburn coach Gene Chizik, who was the defensive coordinator for Auburn in 2004, said the 2004 season was an important one in Auburn's history.
"That was a very, very special time for the players and me personally -- obviously, because I was a part of it -- and the Auburn family, and everybody," Chizik said. "I don't have a say in it, but obviously it's an important time, and we're very proud of that year. So, you know, whatever they decide to do, we'll certainly be keeping up with it, I'm sure."
Richardson said the FWAA will have a conference call this week with active members, past presidents and officers in the organization to determine available options, which would then be put to a vote in the coming weeks.
"The AP's doing nothing, so I guess that's an option," Richardson said. "The BCS, pending the appeals process, if it remains as it is, would then vacate and probably not do anything, but just vacate USC's title. The other options are to award it to another team that's in the process. Some people would say Oklahoma, but of course, they were in the game, but then again, Auburn was number two in our final poll. So it's just a matter of how you want to interpret some of these things."
Tuberville said he believes there's no reason to have a non-champion in 2004.
"Why have it if you're not going to have a national champion?" Tuberville said. "It's not fair to players of any team. We have rules, and that's the reason we have them, and I think you just go back and revote it, and name somebody champion."
Richardson, who will not have a vote in the decision, said he thinks there is a wide variance of opinion.
"Probably, whatever we do won't please some people, will please some people, won't please some people," Richardson said. "I don't know if there is really a right answer, but there will be an answer at some point as far as we're concerned."
Richardson said no one from the SEC, Auburn, USC, Oklahoma or any other school has lobbied the FWAA for a particular course of action.
"This is purely our process that we're going through here as an organization trying to decide what to do," Richardson said.
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