Calling all Michigan Crybabies...
Michigan... you were a very good team. You still are. Maybe even the second best team in the nation, although I think that's something we're only going to know retrospectively.
However, let me size this up: If Michigan went to the championship game, there would be some serious problems. Namely...
1. Florida played a much tougher schedule. The Big-10, minus their two studs, was weak this year. Those wins vs ND and Texas that made their reputation turned out to be straw man victories... those teams weren't what they were cracked up to be. Week in and week out Florida earned the right, and losing to top-10 Auburn on the road is not shameful. They didn't have the luxury of getting worked up for one big game.
2. You can't decide a priori that one conference gets to decide the championship internally. It's not fair to anyone else. Auburn got screwed on this logic 2 years ago and you know what? they were 12-0.
3. There's a penalty for being in a league without a championship game. The penalty for being in a league that has one is you get another game vs a highly rated opponent.. the bonus is that if you win that game, you get more street cred than a team that didn't have to play one. Make sense?
4. Let's say you get a rematch and Michigan wins. Are they the champs? Why? Does 1-1 make you better than your opponent?
All in all the bowls look like a lot of fun this year. Good matchups. The BCS isn't perfect, and until we have a playoff system, they're not going to be. Someone always feels jipped, but I think Florida would have been significantly more jipped.
Plus, i'm not so sure OSU is going to beat the gators. That's right I said it... I don't think this was just a matter of who gets to lose to OSU. Michigan had their chance, now Florda has theirs. If OSU beats the top two opponents from the top 2 conferences, they've earned it. If they hadn't been given that shot, there always would have been questions. Now we'll find out if the buckeyes are for real.
Best of luck to both teams, and congrats on your well-earned and rightly deserved chances.
However, let me size this up: If Michigan went to the championship game, there would be some serious problems. Namely...
1. Florida played a much tougher schedule. The Big-10, minus their two studs, was weak this year. Those wins vs ND and Texas that made their reputation turned out to be straw man victories... those teams weren't what they were cracked up to be. Week in and week out Florida earned the right, and losing to top-10 Auburn on the road is not shameful. They didn't have the luxury of getting worked up for one big game.
2. You can't decide a priori that one conference gets to decide the championship internally. It's not fair to anyone else. Auburn got screwed on this logic 2 years ago and you know what? they were 12-0.
3. There's a penalty for being in a league without a championship game. The penalty for being in a league that has one is you get another game vs a highly rated opponent.. the bonus is that if you win that game, you get more street cred than a team that didn't have to play one. Make sense?
4. Let's say you get a rematch and Michigan wins. Are they the champs? Why? Does 1-1 make you better than your opponent?
All in all the bowls look like a lot of fun this year. Good matchups. The BCS isn't perfect, and until we have a playoff system, they're not going to be. Someone always feels jipped, but I think Florida would have been significantly more jipped.
Plus, i'm not so sure OSU is going to beat the gators. That's right I said it... I don't think this was just a matter of who gets to lose to OSU. Michigan had their chance, now Florda has theirs. If OSU beats the top two opponents from the top 2 conferences, they've earned it. If they hadn't been given that shot, there always would have been questions. Now we'll find out if the buckeyes are for real.
Best of luck to both teams, and congrats on your well-earned and rightly deserved chances.
posted by Roland at 6:41 AM
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