It?s unfortunate that OSU rematch against Michigan could take place
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
BOB HUNTER
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There?s a good chance Michigan is No. 2.
No, check that. Michigan is No. 2. If we eliminate a complicated formula created to make the selection process look complex and scientific, simple logic says as much.
Among the one-loss teams in competition for a spot in the national championship game opposite No. 1 Ohio State, Michigan has far and away the most compelling argument. No. 3 Southern California lost to unranked Oregon State. No. 4 Florida lost to twicebeaten Auburn. USC hammered No. 6 Arkansas at the start of the season. Michigan, a three-point loser to Ohio State in Ohio Stadium on Saturday, kicked the shamrocks out of the No. 5 Irish at Notre Dame.
So if USC beats Notre Dame, how does that prove the Trojans are more deserving than Michigan? If the Irish beat USC, what does that prove? Florida might ? might ? beat Florida State and Arkansas, but again, how does that propel the Gators past Michigan?
It shouldn?t, but that kind of illogical solution has dogged the geniuses who devised the various Bowl Championship Series formulas. In the college presidents? dogged determination not to have a college playoff, they have watched their good friends at the BCS tweak and tweak their formula without ever getting it right.
It looks as if it could happen again. BCS analyst Jerry Palm told The Dispatch a few days ago that although Michigan is No. 2, it likely won?t be after the dust has settled. So this could be just another case where the BCS faux title game starts more arguments than it settles.
Having said that, let me also say this: I hope the appropriate Ohio State-Michigan rematch doesn?t happen.
As it is, the Michigan-OSU setup is just about perfect. It bothers me that a game in the desert in January could not only upstage it but serve as a harbinger of change. If Ohio State and Michigan play at night on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz., will it seem more acceptable to do that for TV next November in Ann Arbor?
Will it make the proposals for a Big Ten championship game, one that creates a big game after Ohio State-Michigan, seem more palatable? It is a worrisome possibility. This beautiful rivalry should not be tinkered with.
A rematch also would create a situation for those who want to see a legitimate championship. If Michigan couldn?t win its conference championship, how can it play for the national title in a system that allows only two teams to play for it? The Wolverines might be the second-best team in the country, but when other one-loss teams have won conference titles, is the logic of comparative scores strong enough?
Then there?s the nuisance factor. Since the Buckeyes won Saturday, one phrase has probably been uttered, in some form or other, a couple of million times in Franklin County alone:
If Ohio State loses to Michigan in the national championship game and the teams are 1-1, what would that prove?
I?ve heard this so much in the past few days I?ve come to fear the potential fallout: For the next 75 years, or until every die-hard Ohio State fan in this generation is dead, this would be a near-constant topic, so much so that some of us might eventually have to leave the state to preserve our sanity.
A lot of Buckeyes fans would never accept the finality of a second-game loss, and to a point you can?t blame them. The Buckeyes won the game they had to win to play for the title; Michigan would have "earned" its way into the title game off a narrow loss.
In an ideal world ? i.e., one without the BCS ? the champions of each major conference would qualify for a playoff, and the team that survives would be the champion, regardless of whether they met during the regular season.
In the world we live in, Ohio State can lose to Michigan in Arizona, and a half-dozen teams, including the Buckeyes, can feel that they were robbed.
Bob Hunter is a sports columnist for The Dispatch.
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