Bowl Predictions

Jan. 8	Title	Ohio State 55 Florida 12
Jan. 3	Sugar	LSU 36 Notre Dame 31
Jan. 2	Orange	Louisville 35 Wake Forest 21
Jan. 1	Fiesta	Boise State 38 Oklahoma 24
Jan. 1	Rose	Michigan 45 USC 21
Jan. 1	Capital One	Wisconsin 35 Arkansas 9
Jan. 1	Gator	West Virginia 31 Georgia Tech 14
Jan. 1	Outback	Penn State 28 Tennessee 21
Jan. 1	Cotton	Nebraska 21 Auburn 17
Jan. 6	International	Western Michigan 28 Cincinnati 24
Dec. 31	MPC Computers	Miami 28 - Nevada 17
Dec. 30	Chick-fil-A	Virginia Tech 31 - Georgia 7
Dec. 30	Alamo	Iowa 31 - Texas 28
Dec. 29	Champs Sports	Purdue 41 - Maryland 38
Dec. 29	Insight	Minnesota 28 - Texas Tech 21
Dec. 28	Holiday	Texas A&M 38 - Cal 21
Dec. 26	Motor City	Central Michigan 28 - Middle Tennessee St.* 17
Dec. 24	Hawaii	Hawaii 41 - Arizona State 21

Big Ten will Dominate in BCS - SEC is Overated

On the positive side of today's (outrageous/unfathomable/unconstitutional/absurd/explicative deleted) outcome, splitting up Michigan and OSU into separate bowl matchups gives the Big Ten a chance to showcase themselves as the strongest conference in the nation, finally putting to rest the mythical notion that the SEC is in some way superior in every way.

National Championship #1 Ohio State vs #2 Florida. OSU is going to completely obliterate #2 Florida. This is going to be a joke. Final Score: OSU 55 - Florida 12

Rose Bowl - #3 Michigan vs. #5 USC - Michigan will destroy #5 USC. USC has been the most consistanly overrated school all season long. UCLA shut USC down defensively, and Michigan has the #1 defense in the nation. Mario Manningham, Prescott Burgess and Willis Berringer will all be 100% healthy. Final Score: Michigan 45 - USC 21.

Capitol One Bowl- #7 Wisconsin vs #12 Arkansas. Wisconsin has done everything they can to demonstrate that they are one of the best schools in the country, but they continue to be disrespected. The Arkansas-Florida SEC championship was a joke, and the Razerbacks are way too one-dimensional. The Wisconsin defense will stop the running game of Arkansas in it's tracks. Final Score: Wisconsin 35 - Arkansas 9

Outback Bowl -#28 Penn State vs #17 Tennessee. Penn State has been disrespected all season long, although they have a very strong defense, and great tailback in Tony Hunt. Penn State's 8-4 record looks somewhat mediocre, but those 4 losses came against teams (Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame) that have a combined record of 45 - 4. Someone had to lose those games, and PSU was just a notch below the top level talent in the Big Ten. Tennessee's #17 ranking is undeserved, and is just a byproduct of the media's continual fascination with overrating all things SEC. Final Score: Penn State 28 - Tennessee 21.

Alamo Bowl - #19 Texas vs (One Time #13) Iowa - A matchup of two of the most overrated programs in the nation. Colt McCoy should have time to heal up, so this game should be interesting. Iowa did little to impress in their final six weeks of the season, with their lone win against Northern Illinois. I have a hard time believing Iowa will be competitive in this matchup, although perhaps Drew Tate can pull one last masterpiece out of his repository to impress NFL scouts enough for a decent draft selection. Although I don't really have any confidence in it, I'm going to predict a Final Score of Iowa 31 - Texas 28.

Insight Bowl - Minnesota vs Texas Tech - This is where I start to wonder why they hold so many bowl games. Minnesota managed to win 4 of their last 5 games to pull back to .500 and secure a bowl matchup. They were robbed of a win against Penn State on a bad pass interference call in OT, and I really didn't see much of them outside of decently impressive performance at the Metrodome against Michigan. Amer Pinnix was the only man to rush for 100 yards against Michigan all season until the field-induced disaster against OSU. Texas Tech almost pulled off an upset vs. (overrated) Texas, but nothing else on their schedule jumps out at me as something to worry about. Final Score Minnesota 28 - Texas Tech 21

Champs Sports Bowl - Purdue vs. Maryland - Purdue launched out of the gate with a 4-0 start against teams my adult rec league could probably beat. The Boilermakers had the easiest Big Ten schedule in history, skipping both Michigan and OSU, and playing an incredibly weak out-of-conference schedule, yet all they managed to come up with was an 8-4 record. At one point in the season, they had the best offense in the country, and the worst defense in the country. The only time I heard Maryland mentioned in the news is when they were cited as the top opponent West Virginia had faced in the country before their eventual loss to Louisville - that has to count for something, I suppose. Maryland actually has a few AP and Coach's poll votes, placing them are #32 in the country, so I suppose this might be somewhat of a mismatch, as nobody in their right mind would consider Purdue to be in that league. Maryland's 4 losses came against ranked opponents (West Virginia, Boston College, Georgia Tech, and Wake Forest), and the managed to pull out a win against Clemson. I suppose I should probably respect them for that, but I watched the ACC championship, and I don't think I'll ever take anyone from that conference seriously again*. Final Score - Purdue 41 - Maryland 38

Outside of the Lousville-Rutgers, and Arkansas-LSU matchups, I have walked away unimpressed with every football game outside of the Big Ten I've watched this season. I don't really expect the Big Ten to go 6-0 in the bowl season this year, as it would take a miracle for Minnesota, Iowa, or Purdue to pull out a victory, but I do expect Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin to impress the nation with convincing victories. How sweet would it be to see the Big Ten ranked #1, #2, and #3 at the end of the season. Perhaps then we can finally do away with the mythical notion that the SEC is in every way superior to everyone else, so they have no need to play anybody besides the Sun Belt in their out-of-conference schedules.

*Regarding the ACC Championship game: I was mildly curious as to what Georgia Tech and Wake Forest had to offer, since I witnessed those teams hanging around the bottom third of the BCS rankings every once in a while.

The Georgia Tech offense was supposed to be the Calvin Johnson show - supposedly, this guy is unarguably the most talented player in college football. Johnson 117 yards on 8 receptions, but he also dropped an easy pass, tipped a pass up in the air for an easy interception, and let a pass fall on the ground in front of him that I would've certainly been able to catch. The Georgia Tech offense focused entirely around Reggie Ball throwing the ball 50 yards down the field, and hoping the defense would occasionally bump into one of the Johnson twins and draw the inevitable pass interference call. Reggie Ball successfully drew 3 pass interference calls during the game, but he also went 9-for-29, and those 45 yards would've come a lot easier if they were actually trying for pass completions.

The Wake Forest offense was no better. The Demon Deacons offense consisted entirely of reverses and end-arounds, which was the offensive approach I actually recommended Michigan take vs. Northwestern earlier this year, due to the inclement weather. It was hilarious watching Wake Forest attempt an elaborate reverse that took twenty second to run, and produced 2 yards, and then turn around and reproduce the exact same play on second down for no gain, and then run the same play again on third down, resulting in a 5-yard sack.

The offense on both teams was inept, yet somebody had to win. Eventually, time expired, and Wake Forest limped off the field with a hard-fought, nausea inducing 9-6 victory.

Reggie Fish Destroys Michigan's National Title Hopes

The BCS is BS, and CBS had as much to do with that as anybody. I'll never watch another college football game on that station after their blatant and biased attempt to sway BCS voters away from a rematch. Someone even had the gall to vote Florida #1 in the Harris Interactive Poll ???


As a Michigan fan, that interception by Eric McNeal had me at the highest point this season since Breaston caught that two point conversion to close the score to within 3 with a few minutes to play. All of that emotion dropped to an emotional numbness when Reggie Fish dropped that punt inside the ten yard line, giving the Gators a free touchdown, and a renewed life. I had no idea that the BCS voters would be so braindead as to swap places between Michigan and Florida after such a mediocre performance on the field -- I feel numb.

I've been calling for a playoff all season long, and after getting snubbed like this, I've never felt so adamant about it. There is really no strong argument against a playoff:

1. The players are college students first and foremost - True, but other College sports play a lot more than 13 games. Drop the twelfth game of season, start a week earlier in the summer, and your more than halfway there. Have the top eight teams play in a single elimination tournament, which amounts to a total of 7 games played, and a maximum of three playoff games. Since you've dropped one game from the regular season, and one of the bowl games, that amounts to only one extra game played for the national champion.

2. There is too much money involved in the Bowls - The quarterfinal, semifinal and final games can all be considered bowl games, and they can all keep corporate sponsorships. Teams not involved in the eight team playoff are free to continue playing in minor bowls, and teams that drop out of the championship series early can still play in consolation bowls.

3. A playoff devalues the regular season - No, it doesn't. USC lost against unranked Oregon State, and yet they were still in the running for the national championship until they blew it in the final week of the season, against UCLA. Florida lost to Auburn, yet somehow made it into the national championship game, ahead of a team that only lost by 3 points on the road to the eventual national champions. A team has to finish in the top eight to make the championship playoff series, and the top ranked teams face an easier matchup in the first round, so there is as much motivation to win as ever. If a team loses their final game of the season, they are as likely as ever to drop out of the top eight teams. Arkansas lost the SEC championship game, and fell all the way to #12.
----

A few weeks ago, Urban "Crybaby" Meyer was whining and lobbying for the immediate dismantlement of the BCS system, and the installation of a playoff system. Meyer got his way, and hopefully he'll follow through with his demands to initiate discussions for the immediate dismantlement of the BCS system. Lloyd Carr is too proud and stoic to stoop to the levels of Meyer, but surely everybody can see the injustice and complete arbitrariness of the system currently in place.

BCS Update - It's Election Night all over Again

It feels like the night of the 2000 and 2004 elections. The race is so close, but I have the impending feeling of doom. I already have every reason in the world to hate the state of Florida after the election fiasco. Does poetic justice not account for anything?

MGoblog has already declared Florida the winner, after they took 71% of the 2nd place ballots in the coach's poll. After USC lost, I was almost sure that Michigan and Florida would split those 2nd place ballots up for grabs, but it looks like they went unanimously for Florida.

It's down to the computer polls and the Harris Interactive Polls. Florida is up .948 to .933, or .017. Last week, Michigan held a comfortable 0.0302 lead in the Harris Interactive poll, but it looks like the entire country was swayed by that mockery of a football game that was the SEC championship, and the blatant lobbying of coach "crybaby" Urban Meyer, and the staff of the CBS broadcasting team.

I'm still desperately hoping that Michigan can pick up an advantage in the computer polls, and that the Harris Interactive voters have some level of independent though process. What I know:

Sagarin has Michigan #2, Florida #3
Wolfe has Michigan #2, Florida #3
Billingsley - Michigan had a massive lead over Florida in Billingsley, and should hold on
Anderson-Hester - Michigan had a slight 0.004 lead last week, and might hold on
Massey -Already had Florida at #3, and Michigan at #4. Should finish #2 and #3, with USC falling
Colley - Already had Florida at #3 and Michigan #4. Should finishe #2 and #3, with USC falling

So - If Anderson-Hester goes to Florida, we have:
Michigan S2, W2, B2, A3, M3, C3
Florida S3, W3, B3, A2, M2, C2

The highest and lowest rankings are dropped off, so we finish with a virtual tie.

If Anderson-Hester goes to Michigan, we have:
Michigan S2, W2, B2, A2, M3, C3
Florida S3, W3, B3, A3, M2, C2

Michigan - 3 Second Place and 1 Third Place votes
Florida - 1 Second Place, and 3 Third Place votes

Overall, this would give Michigan a commanding .0300 lead in the computer ranking, and would completely wipe out the .017 lead given to Florida over the Coach's poll. Since Michigan had a comfortable 0.0302 lead over Florida in the Harris Interactive, they might have enough to hold on should this scenario pan out.

*CROSSING FINGERS, HOPING, AND PRAYING FOR AN ANDERSON-HESTER MIRACLE, ALONG WITH SANE VOTERS IN THE HARRIS INTERACTIVE*

BCS Results Trickling In *CROSSING FINGERS, PRAYING, AND HOPING*

Sagarin Ratings

#1 Ohio State
#2 Michigan
#3 Florida
#4 USC
#5 LSU
#6 Boise State

Wolfe Ratings

#1 Ohio State
#2 Michigan
#3 Florida
#4 USC
#5 Louisville
#6 LSU
#7 Boise State

Colley projected to go to Florida
Billingsly projected to go to Michigan
Anderson-Hester is projected as a slight lead to Michigan

It looks like the Computer rankings comes down to Anderson-Hester. Since the best and worst result are thrown out, whoever finishes with the #2 ranking in Anderson-Hester should gain an important 0.010 edge in the overall rank


The Coach's poll is out, and it doesn't look good.

Michigan actually lost a vote, dropping from 1,445 to 1,444. How can that be? A team above them falls, and they lose a vote? Someone is obviously gaming the system? I wonder how many SEC-biased coaches have Michigan ranked #4 or lower? Meanwhile, Florida picks up the entire boost from USC's loss, gaining 65 votes, jumping from #4 to #2, with 1470 votes.


BCS Rank to date:

Florida (1460/1575 votes - .9333)
Michigan (1444/1575 votes - .9175) Florida has a .0158 edge in the Coaches poll.

If Michigan takes the Anderson-Hester, the edge should fall to .0058, making it all come down to the Harris Interactive. Last week, Michigan had 2614 votes, while Florida had 2528. That gave Michigan a .0302 advantage, which would be more than enough to give them the BCS birth. If Michigan can hold on to a seventeen vote lead (currently 97), it should be enough. It all comes down to which team claims more USC votes (I still can't believe Michigan lost votes in the coach's poll. What the hell?)

*CROSSING FINGERS, PRAYING AND HOPING*

Why Michigan should be #2 (The Vanberbilt Addendum)

It seems like the entire sports world is lobbying for Florida to take the #2 spot over Michigan, for a variety of inane reasons. Michigan is clearly a superior football team to Florida, and I'm just trying to bring some sanity to the world. If you haven't already done so, first check out my last two blog entries, BCS Talking Points (AKA: Why Michigan Deserves a Rematch) and OthelloRank Strength of Schedule.

The SEC isn't not the super-powerhouse that everyone is making it out to be. Last season, #21 Wisconsin exposed this with a convincing 24-10 over #7 Auburn in the Capitol One bowl. This season, USC exposed this with a 50-14 beatdown on the road against #8 Arkansas, which was one muffed punt away from winning the SEC championship.

The SEC's winning %s are overinflated, due to a weak out of conference schedule that featured 15 matchups against Division I-AA opponents. The lone impressive out-of-conference win for the SEC was Tennessee's 35-18 win over Cal, who turned out to be rather mediocre anyway.

Let's take a look at Vanberbilt's record. Vanderbilt is the only common opponent between Michigan and Florida. In the first week of the season, Michigan handed Vanderbilt a 27-7 drubbing, outgaining them by over 200 yards, and holding the Commodores to 171 total offensive yards.

Let's look at how Vanberbilt performed against the rest of the SEC:

Vs. Florida: Loss 25-19. Vanderbilt puts up 391 yards, outgaining the Gators by 60 yards. Florida throws three interceptions. Florida manages to salvage a victory when they recover Vanderbilt's onside kick attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining.

Vs. Arkansas: Loss 21-19. Vanderbilt puts up 364 yards, but a failed 2 point conversion in the 4th quarter keeps them from tying up the game against the team that was a muffed punt away from winning the SEC Championship.

Vs. Georgia: Win 24-22. Georgia was at one time ranked as high as #7 in the coaches poll, falls to the SEC bottom feeders.

Vs. Alabama: Loss 13-10.

Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina all easily handled Vanderbilt, but the point remains that several of the supposed to top-tier teams in the SEC struggled against this supposed bottom feeder. This has all the markings of a mediocre/overrated conference.

There is little to no evidence to support the claim that the SEC is a tougher conference than the Big Ten. In fact, most evidence points to the contrary. The SEC is composed of a bunch of middling/overrated teams that are exposed each time they face a stronger out-of-conference opponent. (See Wisconsin vs. Auburn, USC vs. Arkansas, Michigan vs. Vanderbilt)

Florida's out-of-conference schedule featured C-USA opponents Southern Miss and UCF, along with Division II-A bottom feeder Western Carolina (who finished 0-7 in a Division II-A Conference. Western Carolina's only two wins of the season came against Chowan (???), who lost every game of the season, and Eastern Kentucky, of the OVC (???)). This out of conference schedule tells us nothing, and the fact that SEC is overrated exposes the fact that Florida's supposedly toughest schedule in the nation is vastly overrated.

My own strength of schedule calculations show that the Big Ten has vastly superior top end talent in Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin. Florida struggled for many portions of the season, and consistently looked mediocre on their route to an 12-1 season. Michigan, meanwhile, dominated in every facet of every game this season, and truly looked like a national title contender. Their only loss was by 3 points, on the road, to the #1 team in the nation. They truly deserve a rematch on neutral territory to determine who the #1 team in the nation should be.

OthelloRank Strength of Schedule - Michigan's tougher than Florida

I've put together the updated strength-of-schedule component from OthelloRank.

1. Illinois - 63.415
2. Stanford - 67.238
3. Connecticut - 69.199
4. Michigan - 70.084
5. Minnesota - 72.134
6. Florida - 74.279
7. South Carolina - 78.599
8. Arizona - 79.779
9. Cincinnati - 80.923
10. Indiana - 82.160
11. Mississippi State - 84.571
12. Kentucky - 86.663
13. USC - 87.165
14. Iowa - 89.291
15. Penn State - 90.316

Things to note:

• Michigan is ahead of Florida
• 6 of the top 15 teams are from the Big Ten, while only 4 reside in the SEC. Big Ten schedules are considered tough because they had to face Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. I through out matchups against Division I-AA opponents entirely, but if I included those games, the SEC would be a lot worse off, since the Big Ten faced only 9 D-IAA opponents all season, while the SEC faced 15.
• Face it - the SEC was overrated all season long, and Florida did not have a stronger schedule than Michigan. When you factor in how dominant Michigan looked all season long, while Florida limped through much of the season, this shouldn't even be close.

BCS Talking Points (AKA Why Michigan Deserves a rematch over the Gators)

• Michigan completely dominated every opponent they faced this season, save the #1 team in the country, on the road. Florida needed two blocked field goals to get by unranked South Carolina, and they struggled against mediocre teams like Georgia and Florida State. Michigan played like a national championship contender for the entire season, while Florida struggled for much of the season, and managed to limp there way to an 12-1 season.
• Michigan's only loss came on the road to the #1 team in the country. They lost by 3 points. Florida lost convincingly to Auburn, a team which later lost to Georgia, who went 4-4 in the SEC.
  
• The argument that the SEC is a stronger conference is a myth. Michigan's top end victories (Blowout vs. Notre Dame, impressive wins vs. Wisconsin and Penn State on the road) are more impressive than Florida's (Impressive win vs. LSU, fluky win over Arkansas, squeaking by Tennessee 21-20) According to Jeff Sagarin, Michigan has a stronger strength of schedule than Florida.
  
• The only reason people feel that Florida's schedule is more impressive is the strength of the middling/mediocore opponents they played. Is defeating 8-4 Georgia, 7-5 Kentucky, 6-6 Alabama and 7-5 South Carolina really that much more impressive than defeating 8-4 Penn State, 9-4 Central Michigan 6-6 Minnesota, and 6-6 Iowa. We're talking about national championship contenders, and the argument is over which team faced more mediocre opponents. National championship contenders are supposed to breeze by this type of competition. Michigan did, and Florida struggled.
• The SEC's win loss records are bolstered by an impressive array of wins over Division I-AA schools. Florida's opponents defeated 15 D-I AA opponents, while Michigan's opponents faced only 9. Florida's direct opposition have a slight edge in winning percentage, at .580 vs .579, but when you look at opponents-opponents winning percentages, Michigan has a .526 vs. .518 edge. If you factor in the fact that most D-I AA schools would've gone 0-11 vs DI-A competition, the edge is .454 vs. .419. Sagarin's rankings show that Michigan had a stronger schedule than Florida, and I tend to agree with him.
• The SEC championship game was a joke. Punt Returner Fish handed them the ball game with a poor decision to field a punt over his shoulder, when it clearly would've gone in for a touchback. The game was filled with ridiculous coaching decisions, like Meyer pulling out a fake punt from his own 15 yard line in the 4th quarter (referee-aided, by neglecting to call a blatant hold) Meyer showed terrible clock management by burning all three timeouts in the third quarter, including one that resulted in a decision to punt the ball (The previously aforementioned Fish muff. Chris Leak threw a "pitch" six to Arkansas. Dick did everything he can to giftwrap the game to the Gators, as Arkansas managed to throw three interceptions while they were trying to mount a comeback. The game was a comedy of errors.
  
• There is no way you can watch this Florida team from last night, that barely eaked out a win against unranked Florida State, squeaked out a 21-20 win vs. Tennessee, and had to block a field goal as time expired to hold out a victory over unranked South Carolina, and came close to losing to unranked Vanderbilt, and declare this team the #2 team in the country.
  
• The only common opponent shared between Michigan and Florida was Vanderbilt. Michigan soundly defeated the Commodores 27-7, and outgained them by over 200 yards. Florida was outgained by Vanderbilt, and won by less than a touchdown 25-19.
• Urban Meyer is a whining crybaby. You don't reward these people by giving them what they want.
• Vegas says Michigan is a 6 point favorite in a head-to-head matchup over Florida
• Yahoo Sports says nationwide, Fans want to see Michigan-Ohio State over Florida.
  

Updated OthelloRank rankings

If it was up to my computer ranking algorithm, Michigan would play in the national title game, but by the slimmest of margins. With my algorithm, Michigan has wins against 4 of the top 26 teams (#6 Wisconsin, #7 Notre Dame, #22 Penn State and #26 Central Michigan), while Florida has wins against 3 (#8 LSU, #14 Arkansas and #16 Tennessee)


1. Ohio State 73.000
2. Michigan 66.920
3. Florida 66.670
4. Boise State 65.000
5. Louisville 49.330
6. Wisconsin 48.360
7. Notre Dame 33.750
8. LSU 31.500
9. Auburn 20.080
10. West Virginia 17.640
11. Oklahoma 15.540
12. USC 14.750
13. Wake Forest 14.170
14. Arkansas 10.420
15. Rutgers 9.820
16. Tennessee 9.250
17. Hawaii 3.910
18. Virginia Tech 2.730
19. TCU 0.090
20. Brigham Young - 6.170
21. Texas - 8.550
22. Penn State - 9.820
23. California - 20.910
24. Navy - 27.550
25. Texas A&M - 29.820
26. Central Michigan - 37.850

Gary Danielson is a Second Rate Announcer

I just left a complaint for CBS on their feedback form:

The team covering the SEC Championship was horrible. There is no call for such an obvious and openly biased attempt to sway the opinion of BCS voters. I'm tempted to boycott CBS entirely, and never again watch a televised college football game on your station. It is completely irresponsible to play favorites when broadcasting a nationally televised championship football, and attempting to undermine and overtly influence the BCS voting process. Quotes from Gary Danielson during the game:

"Let's face it, Michigan is a second place team".

"This is the SEC. WE don't call that".

Let's face it - Gary Danielson is a second rate announcer, and has no business openly lobbying for and attempting to influence the outcome of the final BCS ballot.

Screw you, CBS - The BCS Mess - Michigan or Florida

These CBS commentators are obnoxious. They are openly lobbying for a Florida-OSU national championship game on a national broadcast. this is downright ludicrous. Why should two homer broadcasters have so much influence and power over the BCS selection process.

There is no reason that Florida should jump ahead of Michigan. The standard argument is that Florida has played a tougher schedule, but I just don't believe that to be true. Tennessee, Auburn, and Georgia have all proved to be overrated, so the only truly impressive victories wins this season are over LSU and Arkansas. Florida had two one-point victories -

21-20 vs. Tennessee
17-16 vs. South Carolina

Against South Carolina, they needed two blocked field goal attempts, including a second blocked field goal as time expired to pull out the victory.

Florida struggled to pull out a 25-19 victory over Vanderbilt, the only common opponent, which Michigan defeated handily, winning 27-7.

Florida won 4 games by 7 points or less. Michigan lost 2.

Michigan's only sin for the season was dropping a game by 3 points, on the road, on terrible field conditions, against the #1 team in the nation.

If only Fish made this all a lot easier by letting that muffed punt return go into the endzone, instead of foolishly trying to handle it. That play turned the entire complexion of the game, and the BCS standings. Arizona had just come back from a seventeen point deficit, with 21 straight points, and the ball in their possession. Florida scored the next 14 points, and never looked back. That play was the difference in the game.

Urban Meyer has been a crybaby all season long, openly lobbying for the immediate dismantlement of the BCS system if a Michigan/OSU rematch does occur. What kind of coach calls a fake punt from their own 15 in the third quarter? What kind of commentator lauds praises on this man after a mockery of a football game?

I leave you with the current Wikipedia entry on Gary Danielson, the CBS commentator who felt the need to make an open case for Florida advancing to the National Championship over Michigan:

Gary Danielson is a biased sportscaster who makes bold statements without basis. He broadcasts for the Southeast conference as the Big 10 does not want him. He's without question an embarrassment.

Admittedly, looking at the edit log for this article reveals that this is vandalism, as a direct result of his open lobbying on national television, but I pretty much agree with the sentiment. The openly biased opinion of these CBS commentators was disgusting and uncalled for.

The SEC is a joke

All I hear is everybody talking about how great the SEC is, but this Arkansas/Florida matchup is a mockery of football. Urban Meyer calls a fake punt from his own fifteen, down by four in the third quarter, and manages to avoid looking by a fool because the refs choose to ignore a blatant holding call. Meyer than proceeds to burn all three timeouts for no apparent reason; Chris Leaks throws a "pitch" six; Arkansas responds with a gift of their own, when punt returner Fish turns his back on a deep punt, and instead of letting it go into the endzone, he muffs the punt, and leaves the ball lying on the ground in the endzone, for a free Gators touchdown, allowing them to get back in the game.

Florida is up 24-21 with 14:21 to go, but I don't see how anybody can vote Florida ahead of Michigan after this mess. The last coaches ballots are made public, so anybody voting Michigan lower than #4 will look like a complete ass, no matter how this game ends up. A rematch should be inevitable, but a 65-yard rushing touchdown by the Gators has me back on pins and needles. I really want Arkansas to pull out the win, so I can rest easily tonight, and we can all avoid a "BCS Mess".

USC bows out; Go Razerbacks!

Wow! What an upset! UCLA pulls off the miracle win, and renews Michigan's chances at a national championship in one fell swoop. What a defensive performance by the Bruins, capped by a tipped ball, and an interception by Eric McNeal. It's down to Michigan and Florida, and the Wolverines have the inside track, since they have a decent edge in the BCS standings.

If Florida pulls out a win in the SEC championship, it will come down to style points. You have to assume that Michigan and Florida would split the #2 votes up for grabs, and Michigan would hold on, but the combination of bandwagon jumping by the media, short memories by those voting, an SEC bias, and the anti-rematch vote, are enough that Florida moving into the #2 spot is still a possibility.

The good news is that after falling down 17-0 early, Arkansas just picked off an interception, and Swiss Army Knife Darren McFadden just threw a touchdown pass to make it 17-14 Florida. Here's to holding out hope that Arkansas pulls out the win so I actually sleep tonight.

Thank you, once again, UCLA, for a fine defensive performance :)

UCLA Takes the lead!

Woohoo! Come on' Bruins! 5:45 seconds and one quarter to play. The Bruins are up 10-9 late in the third quarter, and are on their way to playing the role of spoiler. The UCLA defense is coming up big, and bringing the faint hopes of a Michigan National Championship back to life. LETS GO BRUINS!