TCU beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, keeping its hopes of a national championship alive in the FBS playo ... Oops, that's right, how silly of us. But the Horned Frogs did finish the season undefeated. How do they measure up among the best BCS busters ever?

5. 2004 Utah Utes » The first "outsider" to crash the BCS party. Urban Meyer's innovative offense -- and Alex Smith's 328-yard passing effort -- overwhelmed Big East champion Pitt 35-7 in the Fiesta Bowl.

4. 2006 Boise State Broncos » A hook-and-lateral, a halfback pass and a flawlessly executed Statue of Liberty play lifted Jared Zabransky, Ian Johnson and the Broncos to a thrilling 43-42 win over Oklahoma in the most exciting BCS game to date.

3. 2009 Boise State Broncos » The only matchup of two BCS busters (much to the chagrin of those who wanted to see these teams square-off against the big boys) ended with Boise State getting the best of TCU 17-10.

2. 2008 Utah Utes » Heavily favored Alabama -- coming off a loss to Florida in the SEC title game that knocked it out of a spot in the BCS championship -- was overwhelmed by a hungrier, tougher Utah squad 31-17.

1. 2010 TCU Horned Frogs » Led by the best scoring defense in the country, undefeated TCU stonewalled a relentless Wisconsin attack, holding the Badgers to 24 points under their season average in a 21-19 Rose Bowl win.

jirwin@washingtonexaminer.com