Yikes, was that the same two teams we watched this season? I know it wasn’t the same Troy Smith out there but oh well. You can’t deny the dominance that the Gators dropped on the Buckeyes. It was admittedly painful to watch as a Michigan fan and a Big Ten fan. This said, you have to think the big lay off had something to do with this, you have to think that coaching had something to do with it. Tressel going for it on fourth down on the Florida 30, down 10 in the second quarter was just wrong. I heard Brent Musburger make some comments on the radio broadcast about “people in Michigan” and what they thought about Michigan’s claim to BCS #2. Thanks Brent, but most of that talk died the evening of New Year’s Day. But what happened after the BCS Championship teams were set doesn’t change what happened before. Anything can happen in college football on any given day. As posted here, I didn’t have a major issue with Florida being BCS #2. All I’m saying is that the regular season determines who plays in the championship. After Ohio State laid an egg, would you have rather seen USC play Florida? Maybe, but you know that’s ridiculous because no one doubted Ohio State’s credentials coming into…
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Media Medicine: Take It
Here’s a set of the harshest quotes from the major local writers that covered the game. Jim Carty, Ann Arbor News “No imagination, no fun meant no chance for victory” “When’s the last time Michigan let it rip?” “[Michigan has] so many players that Carr can play it safe and still end up 11-2.” “..there isn’t an offensive skill [high school] player who’d pick the Wolverines over Southern Cal or Boise State. Not one.” Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press
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Happy New Year – Go Blue!
Ahh, New Year’s Day is here with a full slate of great games headlined by the much-hyped Rose Bowl. Speaking of the hype, wow, the ABC/ESPN machine really went after it in the past couple days, huh? How about that coundown to the Rose Bowl running on ESPN? I told the gang here I wish they’d do that for every Michigan game. As far as the game, I’m thinking Michigan will have a little too much for J.D. Booty and the Trojans and will win a tight one: 26-20. The keys? Getting pressure on Booty and containing Jarrett. It’s been so long since the Ohio State game and I’m looking forward to seeing David Harris fly around the field and see what trouble Woodley and Branch can cause up front. Prescott Burgess is completely healthy and it’ll be interesting to see his impact. Here’s some more New Year’s Day predictions for you, against the spread: Wisconsin +2 over Arkansas Tennessee -4 over Penn State Nebraska +1.5 over Auburn Georgia Tech +9 over West Virginia Oklahoma -8 over Boise State
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Lawry’s Beef Bowl Today
Today is the annual Rose Bowl tradition, the Lawry’s Beef Bowl, where the 2 teams square-off in a competition to eat the most beef. Over/under on Michigan’s beef consumption: 615 pounds. Line: Michigan favored by 40 pounds of beef. Rationale? It is well known that the Wolverines take these little bowl competitions pretty seriously so they’ll be going right after it. Also, I have to imagine that the Californianess of USC will result in a few more vegetarian Nancy boys on the Trojan side of the table. Go Blue!
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Onion Sports: Bowl Game Gifts
I grabbed a copy of the fake news newspaper, The Onion, while in Minneapolis this week. There were some real classic articles in the Onion Sports section. Check out some lines from an Onion “Sportsgraphic”, higlighting some of the gifts that are awarded to this year’s bowl participants: Sugar Bowl: In keeping with college-football tradition, Notre Dame and LSU will receive different gifts of equivalent value: Each Notre Dame player will receive a 2007 Saturn Sky roadster, a PlayStation 3, and a video iPod; the LSU team will receive an autographed football signed by the entire 2006 Notre Dame Squad. Liberty Bowl: Upon satisfactory conclusion of the game, participants will be given the most precious gift of all—–liberty. Rose Bowl: USC and Michigan players will follow trails of rose petals to their locker rooms. Upon entering the changing area, they will find the rooms lit by the flames of 1,000 red candles and filled with string-quartet music and hundreds of bouquets of roses; both teams will then slowly begin tearing up as bowl officals present them with engagement rings.
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CFN on the Michigan Split
I’ve already speculated the on the chances of a split title earlier this week. He’s CFN.com addressing the issue in its weekly Q&A: For the sake of argument, let’s say that Michigan comes out and trounces USC in the Rose Bowl, and Florida barely/controversially/soundly/however beats OSU. Do you see a scenario in which the AP voters, who don’t have to answer to the BCS honks, vote Michigan as the #1 team? I know it’s WAY out there, but I was wondering if you guys had thought about it. Thanks. -PJ Kendall
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Gary vs. Herbie on 1270 WXYT
Check out this post on the king of Michigan blogs, Brian at mgoblog. He presents the audio clips from WXYT’s interviews with Gary Danielson and Kirk Herbstreit back to back. Danielson actually admits that he would have taken just about any other conference champion over Michigan.
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Split Indecision?
With all the craziness of this year, would it be a shock if Michigan was thrust back into the conversation after the Rose Bowl? A national title split is unlikely under any circumstance, but Michigan is a close enough #3 in the AP poll that some voters could be swayed to take Michigan under the right conditions after the season is through. Having been tossed out of the BCS poll of choice in favor of the low-brow Harris Poll makes the ‘let’s stick it to the BCS’ a scenario within the realm of discussion. Side note: Don’t know much about the Harris Poll? Here are a few data points for you:– Boomer Esaison is a voter.– One voter, former Iowa State coach Jim Walden, actually took Florida #1 in the final poll. WHAT?– I heard a couple of voters put Florida #5. Equally as ridiculous. Anyway, here’s how the split title would have to play out, along with the chances of each scenario:– Florida eeks out a sloppy win over Ohio State (three or fewer points) with – 20% chance– Michigan smokes USC by 14+ and looks good doing it – 25% chance AP voters would have to then have Michigan leapfrog over Florida and the now 1 loss team that already beat Michigan (Ohio State). The arguments would have…
