After a spectacular victory last night in The Horseshoe, the Ohio State Buckeyes remain at the top of both the AP writer’s and USA Today Coaches polls. And, at least in the AP Poll, Michigan didn’t fall out of second even though they lost:
The game of the year didn’t change the top of The Associated Press poll.
Ohio State was No. 1 and Michigan was No. 2 in the Top 25 on Sunday.
The Big Ten rivals have held the top two spots in the media poll since Oct. 15. After the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines 42-39 in Columbus on Saturday in their regular-season finale, the voters decided to keep them there.
Some, particularly fans of Florida and USC, will argue that Michigan should have fallen further, but, after watching that game last night its pretty clear that Ohio State and Michigan really are the best two teams in the country right now.
Rutgers, meanwhile fell from No. 7 to No15 in the AP poll and from No. 8 to No. 16 in the USA Today poll.
Of course, it’s the BCS rankings that matter, and its unlikely that Michigan will stay in the No. 2 spot there, especially since they fell to No. 4 in the Coaches Poll. Nonetheless, there is still a possibility that the Buckeyes and Wolverines could meet again in Glendale in January:
Michigan could still end up in the championship game, too, but that will depend on how the other contenders fare over the next two weeks.
Southern California moved up a spot to No. 3 with a 23-9 victory over California that gave the Trojans the Pac-10’s BCS bid and kept them in the national title hunt. USC (9-1) is only nine points behind Michigan.
In either case, I think it’s pretty clear that, after last night, the National Championship Game will be an anticlimax.
Brendan Loy has a great post about the latest polls and what might happen in the BCS over the next two weeks.
Previous Posts:
Ohio State vs. Michigan: The Ten Best
Bo Schembechler Dies
Anticipation
Four Hours And Counting
Update At the Half: Ohio State 28 Michigan 14
Ohio State 42 Michigan 39
Celebrating A Perfect Season
November 19th, 2006 at 7:07 pm
[...] Ohio State vs. Michigan: The Ten Best Bo Schembechler Dies Anticipation Four Hours And Counting Update At the Half: Ohio State 28 Michigan 14 Ohio State 42 Michigan 39 Celebrating A Perfect Season Ohio State Stays At No. 1, Michigan Not Far Behind [link] [...]
November 20th, 2006 at 12:27 pm
[...] Ohio State vs. Michigan: The Ten Best Bo Schembechler Dies Anticipation Four Hours And Counting Update At the Half: Ohio State 28 Michigan 14 Ohio State 42 Michigan 39 Celebrating A Perfect Season Ohio State Stays At No. 1, Michigan Not Far Behind A Buckeye-Wolverine Rematch Just Became More Likely [link] [...]
November 21st, 2006 at 12:11 am
[...] Ohio State vs. Michigan: The Ten Best Bo Schembechler Dies Anticipation Four Hours And Counting Update At the Half: Ohio State 28 Michigan 14 Ohio State 42 Michigan 39 Celebrating A Perfect Season Ohio State Stays At No. 1, Michigan Not Far Behind A Buckeye-Wolverine Rematch Just Became More Likely Talk About A Coincidence [link] [...]
November 26th, 2006 at 7:17 am
[...] Last weekend began with a classic showdown between Ohio State and Michigan, and ended with speculation that the two times might face each other again in the National Championship in January. After last night’s trouncing of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish by USC, that seems far less likely now: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Too much speed, too much defense, and too much Dwayne Jarrett. [...]