Still on a high from Ohio State’s exciting win over Michigan. Now I’m watching USC v. Cal. For most of the first half it was 3-2. Did I mention I’m watching football - not baseball? And, on top of it, Rutgers is getting killed by UC. So, this is fueling some spirited debate between John Saunders, Craig James and Doug Flutie regarding the national championship game.
I’m listening to all of it and it’s not changing my mind on how black and white this decision should be. It comes down to one question: who is the second best team? You just got done watching them as the answer is of course Michigan. So, they should be in the championship game, right? Well, Flutie is saying they had their chance at the title game, today against Ohio State. How so? This wasn’t the title game. This was a chance to play in the title game. So, to that point, they haven’t had their chance at the title game. They now fall into the shrinking pool of eligible teams to play in Arizona. Right now that should be Michigan, Arkansas, Florida, Notre Dame and USC (if they win). Here’s how I see this playing out, which should further the case for Michigan: USC will lose tonight. Notre Dame will lose to USC next week. Florida will lose to Arkansas in the SEC title game, leaving them and Michigan. Now, the question is still easy: who is the better team? Even if Notre Dame/USC makes it to the end with one loss, they aren’t better than Michigan. Same with Florida.
But the real easy answer is to revamp the BSC. A whole other post. I mean, you need look no further than the fact that going into this week the computer rankings had Michigan first, Rutgers second and Ohio State third for an example of how flawed this system truly is. However, this is the system. And if we’re going to determine who plays where based on this system, then we must stick to it. And as much as I hate Michigan, they are the second best team, right?
