In a few hours, we'll know who Ohio State will face on January 8th in Glendale, Arizona. According to the general populace and the media, only two teams have a real argument to be there:
- Michigan (11-1), who lost their last game to Ohio State 39-42 and finished the regular season #2 in their conference
- Florida (12-1), whose one loss came on the road at Auburn in week #7 and who won the SEC Championship game against Arkansas last night.
To me, the answer is simple: FLORIDA.
Michigan had their crack at the Buckeyes and put up a valiant effort that fell short. Yes, I know the game was in Columbus and that the Wolverines might handle them on a neutral site, but who wants to see the same two teams play back to back games? If the Wolverines dispose of Ohio State in the proposed match up, should the 2006 national champion be 2nd in their conference to the team they just beat? I don't think so. Michigan is a fantastic team and I've enjoyed watching them all year long, but they've had their chance. It's too bad they had to face the best team in the land on the last day of their regular season, it really is. A rematch, however, would basically render their last regular season game meaningless and prove the BCS to be a bigger farce than most already think it is.
Oklahoma snuck in the backdoor in 2003 after getting smashed by Kansas State 35-7 in the Big 12 Championship (and they didn't win anyway.) We DO NOT need to see another non-conference champ playing for the national title.
I'll 'fess up to the fact that I'm an SEC apologist, but I wholeheartedly believe that Florida should be the team to go solely based upon the fact that Michigan has already played tOSU.
If the Wolverines get the nod later this evening, maybe I'll spend January 8th celebrating Elvis' birthday instead.
Celebrate the King's b'day instead of the BCS Championship game if Florida gets screwed