Written by Mike Furlan

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Furls returns from a well deserved sabbatical, and delivers a phenomenal piece this morning as he attempts to make sense of Florida leapfrogging Michigan right into the national championship game. Furls argues that the pollsters got a little too full of themselves in manufacturing this matchup ... and that classless politicking by crybaby Urban Meyer played a big part as well. A great read.

And there is plenty of it to go around.

For crying out loud, don’t call me a Michigan sympathizer (or even apologist).  I could care less if the entire state lived, died, or grew mushrooms in their collective “crack.”  What really has me spun up is the sudden resurgence of hypocrisy in the national media.  Winning the SEC while suffering only one loss is an impressive feat.  It is a tough schedule and a tough conference.  But what has my panties in a bunch is the fact that Florida leap-frogged Michigan as a result of the hypocritical blabbering of their head coach and the inactivity of the Wolverines, not as a result of their own play.

Had the Trojans won their game against UCLA the BCS championship game would have been set, Ohio State vs. USC, the national media approved of the match up in spite of USC’s obvious faults, but hell, they are USC and that is worth something.  It didn’t matter what Florida did, the finish was going to be: 

1. Ohio State
2. USC
3. Michigan
4. Florida

But something funny happened to the Trojans on their way to Glendale.  That is when all hell broke loose and college football writers lost their minds.  All of a sudden the weight of a national title fell squarely on the small, squirrelly little shoulders of self-indulgent writers and coaches turned match up makers.  It was not their duty to decide whether or not they want a rematch between Ohio State and Michigan; it was their duty to decide who the best two teams in the country were, a decision they made following the Ohio State vs. Michigan game.

Immediately following the game, Michigan fell to #3 in the BCS (which was to be expected) behind USC, but what was not expected was the meteoric rise of the Gators following the Trojans loss.  A rise that was a product of media members and coaches voting outside the criteria of the polls, for it is the duty of the media to rank teams in order of skill and play, not to create match ups that they like.

Had the media decided that Florida was better than Michigan immediately following their loss, I would have been OK with that position, but what really irks me is the timing; I watched the SEC Championship Game and to be honest I was not particularly impressed with Florida’s play.  I cannot see how an objective, non-matchmaking observer, could watch that game and vault Florida over Michigan as a result.

Adding insult to injury was the classless politicking of Florida Coach Urban Meyer and SEC Championship Game announcers Gary Danielson and Vern Lundquist.  Meyer was an absolute disgrace offering the following inappropriate comment, “If that [rematch] does happen, all the [university] presidents need to get together immediately and put together a playoff system,” he said. “I mean like now, January or whenever to get that done.”  Why in the hell is he offering commentary like that?  Oh, that’s right, it is because his team wasn’t getting the treatment he wanted at the time (immediately following Michigan’s tough loss in Columbus), shades of Utah in 2004.

Remember that?  This is the same guy that was pleading that a team that is undefeated deserves its chance, especially the little team from the Mountain West that could, regardless of its conference.  But when it was an undefeated Rutgers or Louisville that was seeking a bid in the title game did Meyer have their back?  Was he championing the cause of the little guy then?  Nope he undermined those teams as well, I guess equity and fairness are relative to who you coach and where they are ranked.

Now Danielson and Lundquist are supposed to be objective, right?  Well, I saw the game on Saturday and let me tell you, their allegiances could not be any clearer if they were wearing blue and orange suits.  It was disgusting.  Does anyone else find it suspicious that CBS, the station that carried that game (and pays their inflated salaries) has a deal with SEC?  I might need to call Oliver Stone to get to the bottom of this.

Unfortunately, the Bull Crap part of the BCS system does not stop there.  Am I the only person that noticed that yet again Notre Dame is occupying a BCS spot that it does not deserve?  Anytime that Notre Dame has played a good team in the last two years, they have been embarrassed.  They have defeated no one of significance and have nearly lost to a couple of mediocre opponents this season.  Well, at least we can see that the BCS is not in the business of creating $$Matchups$$.  The system is a joke.

The BCS has become a political mess that would make Capitol Hill look tame.  This should not be worrisome for a guy that has a coach nicknamed the “Senator” leading his alma mater, but it is.  This hypocritical crap undermines the entire system and the BCS title that my Buckeyes are a mere six weeks away from winning.

Surprisingly, the criteria for the BCS is very simple for the voters; their role is to rank teams in the order of their ability, not to create matchups or determine whether a team should win its conference to compete in the title game.  As the BCS rules currently stand, that discussion is not anymore relevant to the discussion than the “what the people would like to see” argument, championed now by Urban Meyer (official voice of the masses when it is convenient to him), despite what match up makers would lead you to believe.  The “Nebraska Clause” does not exist.  Should it?  Again, that discussion is not relevant; it is not in the voting or BCS criteria.

Have you ever wondered why there is no Division I college football playoffs?  I have, and my question was answered last year by yet more hypocrisy.  Since the dawn of the “Playoff Argument” university presidents have argued that a playoff was not feasible because the additional play requirements would create undue hardship on the student athletes, yet they added conference championship games and expanded the season by one more game (to twelve) in the same breath.  All the while the bowl season has been extended so that every team with a .500 record is assured an invitation.

Anyone know what teams do while preparing for a bowl?  They do the same thing that they do while preparing for a game during the regular season; they practice.  Games are played on Saturday and have very little effect on the ability of student athletes to attend class.  What competes with their study time?  Practice… go figure.

So why no playoff?  Well some would lead you to believe that a playoff would decrease the intensity and purpose of the regular season, but that explanation falls well short of explaining it.  If seeding and berths were tied to regular season records, that would not diminish the regular season one bit; teams would jockey for playoff position just like they jockey for BCS position right now.

Others would have you to believe that the logistics were not possible.  Are you serious?  If you offered me 1% of the revenues, I am pretty sure I could found a company to take care of that.  All logistics are possible given enough money, and there is plenty to go around in college football.

Speaking of money, what if money was the contributing factor?  What if politicians in bowl cities, university presidents, athletic directors, and bowl committee fat cats were worried about their future revenues?  Would that be enough to stop a play off in its tracks?  Hmmm… who would control a decision to establish a playoff?  (I’ll give you a hint, reread the paragraph for the answer).

Urban Meyer, media members, and other concerned parties, your Gators are like the dog that chased the car.  You caught it, now what are you going to do with it?  My guess is that you will be smashed under the weight of it, much like the second best team in the nation, Michigan.  Let’s just hope that this ridiculous system ends sometime soon, that is something that even my counterparts in that cesspool up North and I can agree on.