Sunday, December 03, 2006

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.
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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.

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