Never has an Ohio State/Michigan game been so big and meant so little. Arguably the greatest rivalry in sports, the 42-39 epic between the two programs last Saturday may have been the most exciting installment of the series ever. The new BCS standings could render the classic battle meaningless, however. With Michigan ranked number two behind the Buckeyes, the once improbable notion of a rematch is now more than a possibility, it is a probability. This would be a terrible injustice to the rest of the teams playing for a shot at the Buckeyes in Glendale, and the most convincing proof to date that college football needs a playoff. Michigan is a great team. And yes, they lost to the best team in the country by only three points. But does that alone qualify them as the second best team in the nation? Let’s examine the facts.
Strength of Schedule
Michigan’s out of conference schedule was a joke with the exception of Notre Dame. They destroyed Vanderbilt and Central Michigan while USC was battling Arkansas and Nebraska. They smashed Notre Dame in the third week of the season, when the Irish weren’t exactly performing up to their abilities. Who else did they beat? Well, there’s Wisconsin, the weakest one loss team in the nation according to the polls and the computers. Other than that, Michigan played a mediocre Big Ten schedule and lost against the only quality team they played in Ohio State. Florida has won all but one game in their brutal SEC schedule, including wins over LSU, Tennesee, Georgia, and South Carolina. Their loss was to Auburn, the strongest two loss team in the nation. Even Arkansas, with wins over LSU and Florida in their next two games coupled with their opening game loss to the third ranked Trojans, have a better national championship resume than the Wolverines.
Equal Opportunity
In the interest of fairness, let’s give somebody else a shot. Would Boise State be complaining if they had a chance to beat the Buckeyes and go on to a national championship game? Michigan had the joysticks, they controlled their own destiny and had a hand in the outcome. They lost. They had a chance and they blew it. Not every team is lucky enough to have the perfect opportunity to put themselves in the championship game with an unbeaten season. Even sore loser Michael Hart agrees, saying, “If we don’t get another shot at ’em, that’s our fault.” We as college football fans have been hearing all season long how much better the SEC is than the other conferences around the nation. Why then is Michigan, the SECOND PLACE team in the mediocre Big Ten, in line for a second chance at the Buckeyes? If they didn’t even win their own conference, how can anyone seriously call them a National Champion? The one loss team who wins the championship of the best conference in the nation should get a shot before a one loss team who finished second in a weak conference and already lost to the team they’ll be playing in Glendale.
Let’s Be Honest….
The game in Columbus last Saturday was not as close as the 42-39 score would indicate. Michigan scored 17 points off of turnovers, mistakes that the Buckeyes made, not ones that Michigan forced. Two fumbled shotgun snaps and a deflected pass are not products of the Michigan defense. Ohio State was comfortably in control for the entire game, moving the ball at will on the ground and through the air against what was supposed to be one of the best defenses in the country. Sure, Henne and Hart put up some numbers, but when the Buckeyes’ defense needed stops they got them. The game was really a ten point victory. Any game involving a desperate on-side kick attempt in the final minutes is really not that close.
If Not Michigan, Who?
USC or Florida. That is what it ultimately boils down to. If USC beats Notre Dame and UCLA to finish out the season, they would more than likely jump Michigan in the BCS standings. If USC loses and Florida defeats an 11-1 Arkansas team in the SEC championship, the Gators could sneak in past the Wolverines. Notre Dame’s chances are slim and none, having been trounced by Michigan at home.
Regardless of whether or not Michigan gets its rematch, the current system in college football is severely flawed. The BCS claims to be protecting tradition by keeping bowl games instead of implementing a playoff, but if Ohio State must face a Michigan team that it already defeated again in Glendale for the National Championship, it will mar one of the greatest games in college football history, and make the BCS the laughing stock of the entire sporting world.
4 replies on “The Argument Against Michigan”
sec As a Gator fan, I must disagree with your assessment of the SEC. The conference just isn’t that good. Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Vandi flat-out suck. Kentucky has a very good chance to finish 2nd in the East. You can’t in good conscience claim that the SEC is that much better than the Big Ten when Kentucky will finish 2nd in the east if it beats a mediocre Tennessee team and can finish no worse than 3rd. Remember, they beat Louisiana-Monroe last week 42-40. The SEC is outrageously overrated.
The schedule strength is not that significantly better for Florida. Also, Florida’s non-conference schedule was pederstrian, even if we forgive them for the embarrasment that is Florida State. At least Michigan played 4 1-A teams.
nice article good read. I think the 3 pt difference was a little bit of a mirage myself in terms of how the two teams were playing. Ohio State was clearly the better team. However… you could say that the Crable penalty really screwed them on the comeback attempt and they might have pulled it out.
overrated? Are you kidding me? Name one conference that has produced more quality teams and close games than the SEC? “Mediocre” Tennessee pounded Cal, the second best team in the PAC-10. Beyond Ohio State, Michigan, and maybe Wisconsin, the Big 10 is a joke. The Big 12 is way down this year. The ACC just flat-out sucks without Florida State and Miami being good. And the Big East teams would all crumble with a tougher schedule, besides maybe West Virginia.
Florida, Auburn, LSU, and Tennessee have been ranked all season. Alabama, South Carolina, and Georgia would probably be ranked if they played in a different conference. If anything, the SEC is underrated.
alabama Alabama is terrible. That said, the SEC may be the best conference, but it isn’t by that much. Georgia should have lost to Colorado. Arkansas, the best team in the SEC, got raped by the best team in the PAC-10 at home.
The SEC is not this unbeatable power.