You would need to be making a claim about now. I don't have time to break down all of this, but there is a lot more than "cuz they say so" to back Michigan's position. I have looked into the factual stuff a bit and concluded that neither Florida nor Michigan have a clear claim. It is simply too close a call otherwise. This is not to say that Florida has not had an extraordinary year. They clearly have. They are champions of the SEC. Fair and square. However, the evidence that Florida is better than Michigan is neither clear nor convincing. I would think it would need to be both for Florida to jump the Wolverines in the polls. Thus, the voters decision to switch them must have other origins. So for the purposes of promoting debate on the board, I offer the following hypothesis for Florida's jumping Michigan: past discrimination against Auburn and the SEC in 2004. As another poster has suggested privately, Florida is the "affirmative action" pick for the championship game. Let's examine what you have written and hold the hysteria. The facts support my proposition that it is two close to call and, under ordinary circumstances, one would expect Michigan to hold its place.
just as they should have. Can you make the argument that based on the body of work over the season, they deserve equal consideration? Sure. Can you say that logically it should matter so much when you lose whether it be early in the season or late in the season? Absolutely! Should you therefore treat a late season loss the same as an early season loss? No way in hell. "WHAT???" you ask. Damned right. Why? Because that's the way its always been done. [In 2001, why didn't a one loss Illinois from a BCS conference pass Nebraska in the polls after Nebraska's late season loss? I don't have time to go through all the poll gyrations from the past few years, but there is no rule that an undefeated team that loses late has to be dropped below all other teams with the same loss count. That is absurd ("obsurd" for you Bama fans). Couple that with the two examples in the last 5 years of teams losing their very last game and continuing on to the BCS championship and Michigan fans are justifiably outraged.] Those are the rules [are they written down? Where?], that is the system, everybody damned well knew that before the season and it would be totally unfair to Florida to suddenly change the rules this year. [Au contraire, it was a change in custom that victimized Michigan, not Florida. Please cite me an instance in which a team that was first or second in the BCS at the conclusion of its season subsequently lost its position in the championship game].Them's the breaks. fsu was one of the best programs in the country for 15 years in a row. We had to play them in the last game of the regular season with precious little opportunity to recover in the polls if we lost. You know what? If we lost it was just too damned bad for us. [Actually, it wasn't in 1996, but that was a different system].Well it is and should be the same for them. [Again we anxiously await your citation of a case where a team that was first or second in the BCS formula at the conslusion of its season was subsequently divested of that postion]. They played a weaker schedule [not according to Billingley and Sagarin, which are components of the BCS formula. In fact if you use an average strength of schedule score from the 5 computer polls that rate strength of schedule, then Michigan has a tougher schedule on average. To be fair, three of the services rank UF's tougher. The differences according to those who rank schedules for the BCS are not material. So, when you say UM played a weaker schedule, that is just cuz you say so. The applicable standards are not nearly so clear], had a lower average margin of victory [Only if one counts UF's 62-0 victory over I-AA Western Carolina. Apples to apples, when comparing average margain of victory over Division I teams, Michigan has a 4 point per game advantage], only beat two ranked teams all year (who themselves combined to beat ZERO ranked teams) [you are correct here, but are you suggesting that Wisconsin is not a very strong team? I saw all of their bowl game last year and several of their games this season. They would be competitive in the SEC. Maybe top tier. Notre Dame must be good, right? So. Cal jumped Michigan in the BCS formula after they beat the Irish, even though Michigan did not play] and gave up 42 points while losing their last game [Yes but they scored 39 on the No. 1 ranked team that had yielded but 86 total in 11 previous games]. They don't have a leg to stand on. [Now, you are being silly] Their whole argument comes down to "cuz I said so" because they have nothing else. [Bull#badword#. See above.] ABC/ESPN lobbied for over a month for them. [Actually, no, I think they were on the USC bandwagon until it lost a wheel in Pasadena] Until this year I had never seen a team accomplish as much as UF did this year and receive so much scorn, contempt and derision as I saw from ABC/ESPN this year. [Neither have I. But I did see a team accomplish more than UF did this year and receive as much, if not more, of the scorn, contempt, and derision from the Disney boys. Seems like it was about 2 years ago, in fact. That year, I was advised that one could not be expected to jump a team with the same record if it was already in front of you. Seems I got bad advice]. Did Danielson make Florida's case? Hell yes he did! He was the first one who laid out the FACTS rather than mere spin and "cuz I said so" arguments a la Herbie and other. [Facts abound to support Michigan's argument. You just don't want to acknowledge them]. His ONE QUARTER of lobbying-no matter how fierce doesn't even come remotely close to a whole MONTH of that crap from ABC/ESPN and he never belittled Michigan the way they constantly heaped scorn on UF. I don't know about you but I would just love to see OSU/Michigan try to take on Tennessee and Bama and LSU and Auburn and Georgia and Arkansas and the Cocks and fsu in one season. The mediots say UF doesn't win pretty or its stats aren't as great (UF averages a whole 12 yards fewer per game than OSU.....SURPRISE!....bet you didn't hear that before). [Lies, damned lies and statistics. It's more like 25 fewer than OSU against D-I opponents. Nearly one quarter of UF's total offensive yardage for the 13 game season was gained against Western Carolina and Central Florida, two wretched teams.] OK. Let's see what happens to your oh-so-beautiful stats when you actually PLAY SOMEONE. Did you know UTx led the nation in rush defense? Then they played aTm. What happened to the beautiful stats for them? Same thing would happen to those overblown Big 10 teams had they had to play in the SEC methinks. [I am an SEC guy. There is no tougher conference this year 1 through bottom as the SEC -- particularly since midseason when Ole Miss and MSU started playing much better. Still, I think Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin would do just fine in the SEC this year. They are good teams. One of them got jobbed at the end. Here's to hoping that the Gators take advantage of their good fortune. Luck is part of opportunity, too.].
Go Gators!. Beat the Ohio State University in the Affirmative Action Bowl.
