UF-OSU

The same can be said with Florida against Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina. It's just too much a task of splitting hairs. It will be interesting to see how the game turns out.

Although if you wanna play the common opponents game UM dominated Vandy more than Florida did. WE OWN THE SEC BABY!! ;D ;D ;D

It's a joke..

AND whay can't the top 2 teams be in the same conference? Happens in HS all the time. Top 2 teams in the state in 4A in Iowa were Valley and Dowling, and they were in the same conference.

knighter -

Why is Michigan better than UF? What statistical basis do you have for making that claim?

* Florida beat nine teams that are projected to play in bowl games. Michigan beat six.

* Michigan beat five teams that finished the season with losing records. Florida beat two teams with sub-.500 records.

* The 12 teams Florida defeated finished the season with 11 combined wins against opponents which were ranked in the AP Top 25 poll at the time the game was played. The opponents Michigan defeated claim just three wins against ranked teams (Notre Dame beat Penn State. Indiana beat Iowa. Vanderbilt beat Georgia. The Nittany Lions, Hawkeyes and Bulldogs, it should be noted, haven't been ranked in seven weeks).

* The Gators went 3-1 against ranked opponents, beating then-No. 13 Tennessee, No. 9 LSU and No. 8 Arkansas and losing at No. 11 Auburn. The Wolverines went 1-1 against ranked opponents, beating a highly overrated No. 2 Notre Dame team (that lost to Michigan and USC by a combined total of 46 points) and losing at No. 1 Ohio State 42-39 on Nov. 18.

I think that Florida and Michigan are pretty even and either one deserved a chance to play OSU. Sorry, but I think that your claim that Michigan got the shaft and Florida has no business playing in the national championship game is crazy talk.

I think there should be a playoff and that the SEC is the toughest conferernce and that the BCS is definitely flawed. It only works when there are 2 and only 2 undefeated teams, and what idiot couldn't pair up the two teams then. (I am leaving out Boise State for the sake of this argument although they really shouldn't be.)

All that said, here is the best reason Florida should be in the national championship. If Ohio State wins, there is no doubt that OSU is champs. If Florida wins, there is no doubt that Florida is champs. Finished SEC champs and beat the Big 10 champ who beat Michigan. As a matter of fact Ohio State should still stay ranked ahead of Michigan if they get beat and Michigan wins. But if Michigan went and won, are they really champs? Are they really better than Ohio State who they split with? Are they really better than Florida (assuming Florida wins in the other game)? You still have a controversy. This way there is no doubt about who is champs when the game is over. (Except Boise State - another reason why we need a playoff).

I can say it, and I did, and I will again.

UF does not deserve to play in the BCS championship game over UM.

There I said it again.

I did watch the game, and Michigan was CLOSE. Take away Bo's death and the distraction that goes along with it, and they beat t OSU. Play it at a neutral site, UM wins. Let's agree that UM did not play as well as they could have either. tOSU did not have their best game defensively either, giving up 400+ of offense to UM.

I for one say rematch. Otherwise the true NATL. CHAMPIONSHIP game was played in the regular season. Again the only people who say the SEC is the best conference are the SEC people. I for one think the SEC of old was awful tough, but that was a few years ago. Some of the mighty have fallen and that conference is not as good as it used to be. Now I am not saying the Big 10 is the best, nor am I saying the Big 12 is either, but stack your SEC best in the Big 10 or Big 12 and let's see who is better?

And 1 more time in case you did not read it correctly

Florida does not deserve to be in the national championship game. That is my opinion and I ams ticking to it.

Well, that's why you aren't in charge, because Florida most definately does deserve to play for the national championship.

Once again, Huey...that's all I'm sayin'. Heck, I'm a Big Ten guy! I live in NW Illinois! Would LOVE to see an all-Big Ten national championship game. With that being said, it is completely RIDICULOUS to suggest that Florida has no right whatsoever to be playing in this. Anyone who suggests otherwise has serious ulterior motives and is being a big-time homer.

I wouldnt go as far as to say that if Bo would not have passed away than Michigan would have won. They played a great game for the talent they had. I couldnt imagine them playing a much better game in any other circumstances. It was only the second time in 20 or 25 games that Hart has gone over 100 yards and they have not won the game.

Now as far as the SEC and the Big 10 are concerned you have to go with the SEC being much stronger from top to bottom.

Top 4 Teams in Big 10:
Ohio State
Michigan
Wisconsin
Penn State
Purdue

Top 5 Teams in SEC:
Florida
Arkansas
LSU
Auburn
Tennessee

I have lived in Big 10 country my entire life but have to say this year from top to bottom the SEC was very solid and the voters saw it that way too

Just read a great article in Stewart Mandel's "mailbag" today (Sports Illustrated columnist). Discusses the BCS & playoff scenario. Good perspective & analogy. Thought I would share a portion.

---

Everyone wants to ditch BCS, but here's the reality

If I could sum up the BCS/playoff conundrum using a real-life analogy, it would be this:

Let's say you work in an office and you come into work on Monday to find that the copier has died. There would seem to be one clear, obvious solution to this problem: Replace the copier. After discussing the matter with several of your co-workers, they're all in agreement: the copier is broken and it needs to be replaced. You bring this up to your office manager, and she also agrees that, yes, something needs to be done about the broken copier.

Three weeks later, you walk into work and the same, non-functioning copier is sitting right where you left it. Why? Because your office manager needs clearance from her supervisor before making such a major purchase. And while the supervisor shares everyone's concerns about the copier, he's facing pressure from his supervisor to reduce spending in the office and is going to need a thorough review of company copying needs before determining whether a new copier is truly the best course of action. Finally, your office has a longstanding relationship with Kinko's, and Kinko's has been reminding your boss on a weekly basis how loyal it's been to your company over the years and how it hopes you will keep that in mind when making any future copying decisions.

The end result of all this is that, while nearly everyone involved agrees that something should be done about the broken copier, it will wind up staying there for the conceivable future.

The broken copier represents the BCS.

You and your co-workers represent the vast majority of college football fans and coaches who feel that replacing the current system with a playoff should be a no-brainer.

The office manager represents college athletic directors, who, while firmly in control of their own domains, are largely powerless to make changes to the broader sport.

The office manager's supervisor represents conference commissioners, most of whom are in favor of going to at least a plus-one game. But although they're the ones who operate and administer the BCS, they still need the approval of a higher power before making any sweeping changes.

The supervisor's supervisor represents that higher power: university presidents. They're the ones who have the ultimate say, and they remain unsold on the merits of a playoff, mostly because it's their lone remaining stand in the debate over athletics' place in academia (even though we all know that ship sailed a long, long time ago).

And Kinko's represents the bowl games, whose opposition to a playoff is understandably grounded in their own business interests and whose long-standing loyalty to the sport makes all the aforementioned leaders hesitant to do anything that would potentially hurt the bowls.

I tried to figure out a way to work the NCAA -- which would have to officially sanction any change to the current bowl system -- into the analogy as well. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of an every-day office equivalent to a large governing body that would likely form a committee, which would then prepare a report to be forwarded to another committee, which would then make its recommendations to a third committee before agreeing to buy the copier.

So as you can see, the situation is infinitely more complicated than any 600-word newspaper column or 30-second television rant would have you believe. "Throw out the BCS," you say. "Give us a freaking playoff, already." Fair enough. All you've got to do is get the thousands of men and women who comprise all the aforementioned parties to agree how to do it.

click here to read the rest of Stewart Mandel's College Football Mailbag

I seem to remember Florida and FSU playing a back to back rematch for a National Title just before the BCS came into being.

Part of the problem here stems from the Harris poll!

Some people in that poll had Michigan ranked 7th!!!! But the week before had them ranked 2nd or 3rd.

Funny... how that change happened in ONE weeks time. It is a CLEAR manipulation of the poll numbers to vault one team over another.

Urban Meyer's whining clearly had a roll to play - yes... Florida played ONE more game... against a Div-1AA opponent (W. Carolina).

By that logic if Michigan had have scheduled say... N.D. State on Thanksgiving weekend would they have been a better shot because they had beaten a completely rediculous opponent?

Let's not forget in 1997 Phil Fulmer had an undefeated Michigan ranked 11th in his final coaches poll when we question the motives and ethics of coaches in the NCAA.

Recruiting had ALOT to do with the result in the BCS - do you really think any other conference wanted to see TWO team from the same conference in the title game - MAN what a recruiting (and cash) advantage for the entire conference!!!!

The one person I have total respect for is Lloyd Carr - the man didn't whine, bitch, or politik his way into the BCS. He did the honest way - and Bo woulda been proud.

Interesting observation:

Under the old bowl system OSU & USC would have met in the Rose.... and Michigan and Florida likely would have met in either the Orange or Sugar Bowls

So... has USC beat OSU... the UM vs Florida winner would have been the national champion!

Now who says the "old" bowl system was so flawed?

I think Wildcat has a point about Tressel and Zook. Tressel abstained because he said he did not think it was proper to vote on who to play; by abstaining he made it very clear he did not want to play Mich. again. He knows that beating a team twice in 5/6 weeks is not easy especially when you had a tough game on a non-neutral site. As far as Zook is concerned , it did not surprise me that he voted for Fla because he recruited a lot of those kids to that school.