That's a very reasonable assessment. In fact, if the BCS formula had played out properly, two of the six years in this decade would have featured different title game matchups; Oklahoma vs. Miami in 2000 and USC vs. LSU in 2003. So that potentially changes this entire thread and college football history. Miami would have been maybe an 8 point favorite over Oklahoma in that 2000 Orange Bowl, and I doubt the Canes would have lost with a stacked roster that included almost every principle from the 2001 team plus the likes of Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne and Dan Morgan.
A little known masochistic fact about that year: Miami self-inflicted the title shot. The Canes were supposed to open at home against East Carolina, in fact the second game of a home-and-home after East Carolina stunned Miami with a big second half comeback in '99. But East Carolina asked out in spring 2000 since they scheduled one of those early season extra games and didn't want two tough games in a very short time span. Miami was in no obligation to let East Carolina out of the game, but did. Due to the very late date, Miami couldn't find a Division 1 replacement and had to settle for Division II McNeese St. That was a disastrous decision in two respects. First, obviously a game against a weakling did'nt exactly prepare the Canes for the next game on the slate, at Washington. Miami fell far behind in that game and the furious rally fell short.
Much more importantly, the BCS gave Miami no credit for beating McNeese St. According to people who knew the BCS formula, even a 1-point win over East Carolina would have been enough to vault Miami into second place in the BCS standings, and into the title game essentially hosting Oklahoma. So my Canes have very little to cry about. Whenever someone whines about the Glenn Sharpe interference call in '02 I remember the 2000 season and the title that was forfeited via Hecht Athletic Center idiocy, not a tardy referee.
