3.12.06
BCS: Did you really expect anything less? Ohio State, obviously, is in. Their opponent is less obvious. Well, there are 116 Division I-A teams that we can eliminate from the MNC conversation. Ed: Get on with it! Okay, okay!
Florida: Went 11-1 against I-A competition (and won 62-0 against I-AA Western Carolina).
Michigan: Went 11-1 against I-A competition (has never played against a team in a lower division, to its credit).
Florida: Won against teams ranked #5, 9 & 16 (LSU, Arkansas and Tennessee, for those counting at home).
Michigan: Won against teams ranked #7 & 10 (Wisconsin & Notre Dame).
Florida: Lost to BCS #11 (Auburn)
Michigan: Lost to BCS #1 (Ohio State)
Florida: Was (is, actually) the Southeastern Conference Champion.
Michigan: Umm...beat the Mid-American Conference Champion.
Enough. If I had my druthers, I'd pick Florida to play for the title. For several reasons. Not least because I think that they're the better team than Michigan. The most impressive wins of both of the BCS-ranked teams that Michigan has beaten this season involve Purdue & Penn State, two 8-win teams that, let's be honest, inspire no one. Yeah, I know. I'm leaving out Notre Dame's inspiring win over Georgia Tech. Sure, the Jackets beat my beloved Hokies, but they lost to Wake Forest. Wake-Freaking-Forest! Sigh.
Florida, on the other hand, has beaten teams which beat Cal (BCS #18), beaten up on each other, and its opponents have a better W-L record than do Michigan's.
(As an aside, some have attributed that, at least partly, to the SEC's "Sun Belt World Tour". Certainly true, and it would be nice to see more good, solid, intersectional matchups. But a reason that the SEC plays the Sun Belt so much is that the Big Ten - like my Hokies, unfortunately - has a MAC fetish. Why schedule Tennessee when you can schedule Ohio? Why schedule Louisiana State when you can schedule Kent State? Just a thought. Although that could be turned around: Why schedule Penn State when you can schedule Arkansas State? Why schedule Wisconsin when you can schedule Middle Tennessee?)
And, yeah, Florida won their conference. Something Michigan had a chance, and signally failed, to do. The teams would be playing for a chance to beat Ohio State, something Michigan had a chance, and failed, to do.
So it's liable to be close, but Florida deserves it. Some have made snide comments about the popularity of a Florida-Ohio State matchup ("Who, outside Gainesville...?"), and perhaps with reason. Florida, certainly, is flawed. But who outside Ann Arbor wants to see a rematch? Who, outside Ann Arbor, wants to cheapen The Game? Who, outside Ann Arbor, wants to give the Wolverines a mulligan? The NCAA has nothing to do with the BCS. Clearly. Because they wouldn't give a Michigan golfer a mulligan. But will the BCS give one to the football team?
We shall see.
The Poll: Well, my poll, actually.
- Florida
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- Louisville
- Southern Cal
- Boise State
- Louisiana State
- Auburn
- Oklahoma
- West Virginia
- Rutgers
- Notre Dame
- Virginia Tech
- Tennessee
- Wisconsin
- Texas
- Arkansas
- Cal
- Wake Forest
- Boston College
- Brigham Young
- Texas A&M
- Oregon State
- Houston
- Nebraska
Florida's rank is largely due to its strong schedule. They have the 5th strongest schedule in I-A by my mark, compared with Ohio State (70th) & Michigan (28th). Schedule strength does not include I-AA teams, so Western Carolina's 2-9 record isn't included. Nor did Florida (or any other team) earn any points for beating a I-AA team.
In any case, we'll know within the hour which team plays Ohio State (and where everyone else is headed, too).
R.
UPDATE: Florida vs. Ohio State. Michigan vs. USC. LSU vs. ND. Louisville vs. Wake. Boise St. vs Oklahoma. The BCS title game looks interesting, as does the Rose (as has been noted elsewhere). But LSU has home field advantage in the Sugar...not that it matters. They could play the game under the shadow of Touchdown Jesus and LSU would still whip Notre Dame's ass. ND just isn't good enough. Ol' Cheeseburger Charlie can whine about other teams being overrated, or being ranked based on past glory, or whatever, but his team is by far the biggest recipient of rankings of that nature. I don't know what to say about Wake-Louisville. U of Hell probably ought to win by 2 or 3 touchdowns, but, it's Wake. They were damn impressive when they travelled to play Champs Sports Bowl-bound Maryland, and, hell, they did beat Georgia Tech to win the conference (although they were much less impressive hosting Virginia Tech).
Labels: college football
