The poll voters explain why it’s the Gators and not the Wolverines who are going to Glendale:
Avoid a rematch. Stronger schedule. Conference champion. Those were the main reasons cited Monday by many poll voters for jumping Florida over Michigan on their final ballots, setting up a Gators-Buckeyes matchup in the BCS national title game Jan. 8.
“If you beat a team one time, why do they get the national championship if they win the second time?” said Earle Bruce, the former Ohio State coach who votes in the Harris Interactive poll and moved Florida ahead of Michigan. “I mean, they’ve already played one time and lost.”
Granted, Earle Bruce is a former Buckeye and may be somewhat biased, but he’s not alone:
“At the end of the day, Florida won its conference championship. Michigan did not,” said Harris poll voter Ray Melick of The Birmingham News.
(…)
“Michigan had its shot,” said Harris voter Joe Biddle of The Tennessean. “If you replayed that game it would be nothing more than a Big Ten championship _ and I don’t think you get mulligans in college football.”
(…)
AP poll voter Michael Vega of The Boston Globe said he wasn’t against a rematch but found it hard to justify one this time.
“I had to reconcile a fundamental problem with giving Michigan a chance to win the national championship when it didn’t even win a conference championship,” he said.
The sentiment was pretty clear across the board. As much as everyone in Ann Arbor, and not a few people in Buckeye Nation, might have loved to see an OSU-Michigan rematch in Glendale, a lot of people didn’t think Michigan deserved another shot. That’s the way the system works.
Whether it’s better than a playoff where a team like Michigan could’ve lost to, say, Notre Dame in a playoff even though they beat them in the regular season, is another question.
Further thoughts from Captain Ed
Previous Posts:
Florida Passes Michigan To Reach No. 2
BCS Leak: It?s The Buckeyes vs. The Gators
It?s Official: Ohio State vs. Florida January 8th
A Buckeye-Wolverine Rematch Just Became More Likely
Ohio State Stays At No. 1, Michigan Not Far Behind
Yes I agree with you, I also thought that Michigan did not deserve another shot, but it the way it goes, like you said it.
Thank you for sharing this story with me !
As a Gator, I feel crappy pointing this out, but when UF won the National Championship in 1996, it was by beating FSU, who had beat them in the regular season. Of course, it was an even more bizarre “perfect storm” situation that set that up. I have nothing against rematches if they are warranted, and the reason a team you beat early can beat you for the championship is that it’s the END of the season that matters. Teams don’t stay the same level throughout the season – true champions take their mistakes and learn and improve and peak at the end of the season.
That’s why we need a playoff system.
That said, I still think Florida deserves the berth more than Michigan on strength of schedule.
Let?s get rid of the BCS mess. Urge the NCAA to finally sack the BCS system for a playoff. Sign onto our petition here: http://ga4.org/campaign/sackthebcs
With your help, we can change the system.