Major college football national championships are all in the eye of the beholder, and this beholder will never acknowledge Brigham Young '84 as a "national champion." So who is champ? For me, it's a split title between Washington and Florida. Washington had the best record and the best win (28-17 over #6 Oklahoma), but Florida played a much tougher schedule. Look at it this way-- Florida was 3-1-1 against the AP top 20, and 5-1-1 against the fixed top 25, while Washington was 1-1 against both. And Washington had 1 close win over an unrated opponent, Florida none. So for my money, Florida should definitely be #1.
On the other hand, none of those rated teams Florida defeated were top 10, while Washington did beat a top 10 opponent. Florida's results, however impressive in sum, are lacking a win with "oomph" factor like Washington got in the Orange Bowl. In other words, none of Florida's wins makes you say, "Wow, now there's a national champion," whereas Washington's Orange Bowl win does. And Washington's upset loss came to the #10 team-- higher ranked than anyone Florida beat, and higher ranked than the team Florida lost to.
So while the difference in schedule here is immense, the case for Washington has just enough merit, I think, to allow for a compromise. Move Florida up into a tie with Washington. They're both #1.
