UPDATE: For my BCS National Title Game Preview, check here.Let the debate begin. After moving up in the Coaches Poll and the Harris Poll, the Gators jumped the Wolverines into the #2 spot in the BCS, pitting them against Ohio St. in the National Championship game. Throughout this whole process, I have held to two beliefs:
(1) Michigan is a better team than Florida
(2) Florida has done more to deserve the title spot than Michigan.
I'm not much into the argument that Michigan should not be in the title game because they didn't win their conference. Just because the best team in the country happens to be in their conference does not mean that they are not the second best team. The other argument I don't like is the sentiment that Michigan had their chance so there should not be a rematch. Look, if the goal of the BCS is simply to match the 2 best teams in the National Championship game, then it should not matter if they already met earlier this season. That is completely irrelevant.
Really, the only issue is (or at least should be) whether the fact that the only loss Michigan had this year was by 3 points on the road at Ohio St. outweighed by the fact that Florida had the overall tougher schedule? That's a matter of opinion, and I won't and can't even attempt to answer that question. It can't be answered definitively.
So at the end of the day, I'm not upset Florida is in the BCS Title Game over Michigan, and I wouldn't have been upset if Michigan was in the BCS Title Game over Florida. The only thing that I'm upset about is that this has to be an either/or situation. No, a playoff system is not a perfectly fair way to determine a national champion, but it's the fairest way, and it sure works well in every other sport that I know of.
One other question, and this is purely speculation, would Florida have jumped Michigan in the polls if USC had won? How many people didn't want to see a rematch and so they voted Florida ahead of Michigan? Again, this is pure speculation and we have no way of knowing if this is true, but I have my doubts that Florida would have jumped Michigan if USC had won. And I find that to be a little bit of a problem.
But in the end, we have Florida vs. Ohio St. As The Sports Pulse writes, the consensus seems to be that Florida has no shot in this game. I think that's a badly mistaken thought. Florida will be the best defense the Buckeyes have played all year. Florida has the playmakers offensively (see Harvin, Percy) to put points on the board. I think Florida is being underrated a little bit by a lot of people, but the fact is they are a very good team. Better than Michigan? Well, since we don't have a playoff system, we'll never know. Which is really too bad.
9 comments:
CONTROVERSY! love it! playoff is near...
I posted on the same topic and gave you a link.
http://publicfiguresbeware.blogspot.com/2006/12/bcs-mess-michigan-should-be-in-title.html
Let's try this. LINK to my post
Like I said, I hope this infuritates Lloyd Carr enough to make it his mission to get a playoff system. Urban Meyer, though making it to #2, has still said there needs to be a playoff system. I hope enough coaches feel the same way. It's up to the college presidents to do something about it.
I just hate hearing the BCS head saying how this system is working just fine and it makes game meaningful every weekend. That is true but then it just causes huge debates that basically divide the football world around this time every year.
There are many arguments why Michigan should have another chance. Many why they shouldn't. The same for Florida.
In every other sport, that's the beauty of a playoff. Like you said, one team could beat another team 3 times in the regular season. But if they win that one game in the championship game they are champions. We're all use to playoffs and understand if you win when it matters then you are the champions no matter the previous result.
But the system is flawed and it sucks. I hate it so much.
Does anyone else find it interesting that the head of the SEC is also the head of the BCS selections?
I still don't see how the debate/controversy is bad for college football. It makes people talk about it. Until TV ratings and attendance decline, I don't see why the system would be changed.
The Coaches' Poll might be as big a travesty as the Harris Poll (in which four voters took Michigan fourth!). It is all about allegiance. Every SEC coach voted Florida over Michigan. Every Big Ten coach (excluding Tressel, who didn't vote, and Ron Zook, who coached at a certain SEC school recently) voted Michigan over Florida. Every coach of a team that lost to Florida... voted for Florida. Ditto with Michigan. Most of Michigan's 17 votes came from the North while Florida owned the South.
It's almost too predictable.
I think that this system is a total failure, the beauty in the sports is that Championships are won on the field, and not by "Votes", this is not a reality show, this is not the "American Idol", i never saw any thing like this in any other sport, I posted on the same topic, you can find it here.
I guess the answer was clearly right now that USC spanked Michigan, and Florida destroyed Ohio State.
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