The National Title game SHOULD be...

[IBTG81]

Your inability to stick up for yourself after my comment futher proves that I am probably correct.

 

Were you attending RU games when Jacki Crooks was in the RU backfield?  I was.

 

1/1 says NO for you.

857356[/snapback]

 

My first RU game was in 1998, so yes, I saw Jacki.

I've been attending regularly since 2000.

[Cripes]

There's no argument to absolutely prove Florida does or doesn't deserve it.

 

But I think it's fair to say the conference title requirement is a good minimum standard. Yeah, it may not be fair that a great conference can't get a wild card, but it's the closest thing we have to on-field merit. If you're not the best team in your group of 10 or 12 regional counterparts, then you can't be the best in the whole country. It doesn't matter if you're No.2 or No.3 or No.4 -- Michigan can't be No.1, unless you want to argue now that what we saw in November was moot.

 

If somebody wants to make Michigan's case because of strength of schedule or quality wins, then they need to argue to return to the rock-paper-scissor formula that handed OU a free pass in 2003.

[smokinandjokin]

I would like to hear more of your reasoning on why Florida has earned this national title shot and why Michigan has not earned it.

857428[/snapback]

 

Michigan did earn their title shot by winning their first 11 games. They got that title shot in their 12th game, and they lost. It was close, a 3-point defeat, and while UM played admirably in a hostile environment, OSU proved they are the class of the conference. Michigan's stout defense gave up 42 points in the one game that they needed to be at their best.

 

The SEC has been touted as the nation's toughest conference. Florida, by winning the nation's toughest conference, (and like Michigan, suffered just one loss in a hostile environment on the road,) has earned their crack at Ohio State.

 

Michigan may very well be better than Florida. But who knows? My thinking, again flawed as it may be, is that a national champion should be able to win their conference. There is no way to remove the subjectivity. Is the 2nd-best team in the Big Ten better than the best team in the SEC? Who's to say? It's impossible to compare. Without a playoff, I'm much more comfortable giving a conference champion a shot rather than letting a team who couldn't win their conference and couldn't stop their opponent's offense a crack at a rematch.

[JimBob2232]

The fact we even have to talk about this makes me laugh...

[Mark Vader]

smokinandjokin Posted Yesterday, 09:59 AM

  QUOTE(MarkVaderr50 @ Dec 4 2006, 09:41 PM)

I would like to hear more of your reasoning on why Florida has earned this national title shot and why Michigan has not earned it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michigan did earn their title shot by winning their first 11 games. They got that title shot in their 12th game, and they lost. It was close, a 3-point defeat, and while UM played admirably in a hostile environment, OSU proved they are the class of the conference. Michigan's stout defense gave up 42 points in the one game that they needed to be at their best.

 

The SEC has been touted as the nation's toughest conference. Florida, by winning the nation's toughest conference, (and like Michigan, suffered just one loss in a hostile environment on the road,) has earned their crack at Ohio State.

 

Michigan may very well be better than Florida. But who knows? My thinking, again flawed as it may be, is that a national champion should be able to win their conference. There is no way to remove the subjectivity. Is the 2nd-best team in the Big Ten better than the best team in the SEC? Who's to say? It's impossible to compare. Without a playoff, I'm much more comfortable giving a conference champion a shot rather than letting a team who couldn't win their conference and couldn't stop their opponent's offense a crack at a rematch.

If that is how you feel about the national title, then why are you not pushing for Boise State to get a shot at Ohio State?

The Broncos are undefeated and won their conference?

Yet they get the Fiesta Bowl. Is that fair?

True Michigan's stout defense gave up 42 points, at the same time Ohio State's defense gave up 39 points.

[smokinandjokin]

If that is how you feel about the national title, then why are you not pushing for Boise State to get a shot at Ohio State?

The Broncos are undefeated and won their conference?

Yet they get the Fiesta Bowl. Is that fair?

True Michigan's stout defense gave up 42 points, at the same time Ohio State's defense gave up 39 points.

858557[/snapback]

 

We can continue to give both sides of every argument for every potential team, and it's already been done in this forum and elsewhere thousands of times. What point exactly are you trying to make here?

 

Is Michigan deserving? Sure. Even though they already lost to OSU.

Is Florida deserving? Sure. I would say winning the SEC is more difficult than winning any other conference.

Is Boise State deserving? Sure. Even though 15 other teams would've gone undefeated playing their schedule, they didn't lose. Can't fault 'em.

Louisville? Sure. One loss on the road on the last play of the game.

 

The point is, with the exception of weak-scheduled Boise State, not one of those teams took care of their own business, thus leaving everything open for interpretation.

 

We could go back and forth on this for hours. A playoff seems logical. But perhaps the debate and conversation about the BCS teams is exactly what the NCAA wants. Look at us, we're talking about it.

[buckeyemike]

Ohio State vs. Florida. Simple as that. I'm not a big fan of the BCS, but they got this one right, IMO.

 

Michigan? No, I don't wanna see them again. Not because of the closeness of the game. As far as I'm concerned, they took their shot and missed.

 

I am not discounting that Florida could beat the Buckeyes, but Ohio State is far and away the better team. The Gators would have to play much better than OSU in order to win.

 

In 2002, Ohio State had everything go right for them. That team was probably not as talented as some of the John Cooper era teams, but they were always prepared, were extremely well-coached, and caught lucky breaks along the way (and that does NOT include the interference call in the Fiesta Bowl...Miami had one more chance to tie that game, and they couldn't do it).

 

The 2006 Buckeyes may be the best Ohio State team ever. They would beat the 2002 team by two touchdowns. I don't see a loss here, but anything is possible. The roles are reversed from 2002, and Ohio State will be the heavy favorite.

 

Prediction? Ohio State 31, Florida 13.