Posted on 12/03/2006 2:41:24 PM PST by BurbankKarl
There isn't going to be a rematch.
No. 1 Ohio State will play No. 2 Florida, not Michigan, for the Bowl Championship Series national title on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.
According to a BCS source, Florida moved from fourth to second today ahead of No. 3 Michigan in the final BCS standings.
An official announcement will come this evening in a televised unveiling on Fox.
The news means that USC will play Michigan, not Louisiana State, in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
LSU had pre-sold more than 42,000 tickets in advance of making its first-ever Rose Bowl appearance, but UCLA's upset win over previously No. 2 USC on Saturday, coupled with Florida's win over Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference championship game, changed the final pairings.
The BCS bowl lineup is now expected to be:
Rose: USC vs. Michigan.
Sugar: Notre Dame vs. LSU.
Orange: Louisville vs. Wake Forest.
Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. Boise State.
Florida's jump over No. 3 Michigan, which was idle Saturday and has not played since a three-point loss to No. 1 Ohio State on Nov. 18, likely will cause more uproar in BCS circles.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Ya think?
Rightly so. BCS does the right thing for once.
its all about ratings!
I hate to agree with the LA Times, but their BCS sources are correct. The coaches gave Florida a substantial advantage, with Florida getting 44 2nd place votes and Michigan just 18. Three of the six computers polls gave Florida 2nd last week, so Michigan is in trouble there. The third BSC poll is the Harris poll and Michigan's lead there was too small. Florida is in, eventhough the other polls are not known yet.
GO BUCKS!! No matter who is number 2 going into the BCS game, they'll just have to be happy with that!
And I'm sure the "computer" is programmed to take that into consideration ;)
It may be the right thing, but Michigan is the 2nd best team in the country. The coaches just did not want a rematch. That is why they magically jumped USC ahead of Michigan last week and did the same with Florida this week. But when OSU dominates, it will just prove we did not really have the true national championship game.
Florida doesn't have a chance against OSU. At least Michigan would have a shot at winning.
I admit that I have loathed the BCS from the very beginning when they threw out all the traditions of the College Bowl system in favor of TV bucks. It was supposed to take all the guesswork out of who was number one, it's just added to the confusion. IMHO, of course.
That is screwy...but, then again, the whole BCS system is screwy.
I fell sorry for LSU fans...they thought they had a chance to get to sunny SO Cal...but instead will have to play in New Orleans...dang.
Chew on that.
No matter who plays the Buckeyes, someone will scream "We was robbed". Until the NCAA comes up with a #1 vs. #4 and #2 vs. #3, with the winner of each playing for the title, this will not be settled. The conferences, AD's and NCAA would reap millions for such a playoff.
I'm a Wolverine through and through, yet I won't object if this story pans out. It will always be somewhat subjective to assign rankings among teams who play in different regions. No one can say whether Florida or Michgan "should" be the BCS #2. I'm happy with a Rose Bowl matchup against USC. Should Michigan win that game, and Ohio State beat Florida, then OSU and Michigan will be #1 and #2, just like they were on November 18, when #1 beat #2 in a closely fought game on #1's home field. Fine.
Yeah. But now I have to root for Ohio State. A rematch would have saved me from that.
I don't think anyone has a shot at OSU although Mich made it a game by winning the turnover battle 3-0.
The problem is, it is really hard to run against OSU and then if you get 1 dimensional, you are really screwed.
Of course it is. The whole BCS shindig is a demon spawn of the networks' sports departments.
However, I have to go with OSU in the NC game. Florida has one big weakness, and that is Chris Leak (despite his numbers). The weakness, Leak gets extremely happy feet when pressured. The key to beating Florida is to hit Leak early and often. Once he feels that pressure, he rushes throws and forces throws. Every game Florida has lost over the past 3 seasons can be traced directly to pressure on leak.
OSU's strength -- pass rush. They are relentless. IF they get pressure, Leak folds and the rout is on. If Florida's line can come up with a scheme to keep Leak protected, then we could have another OSU-Mich shootout -- but I honestly don't see it happening.
Initial prediction, barring injuries or suspensions before the game. OHIO ST 38 FLORIDA 24.
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