"It’s over": the coaches’ poll is out, and Florida has leapfrogged Michigan by such a margin that it’s almost certain they will be #2 in the final BCS standings:
What we know now:
• The computers are exceedingly likely to be tied.
• 71% of coaches went for Florida.
• Michigan was ahead on about 86 of 114 Harris poll ballots [last week].
• They need 81 of those to get in unless they get an Anderson-Hester miracle [i.e., unless they unexpectedly stay ahead of Florida in the Anderson-Hester computer poll, in which case the Wolverines would need to hold onto “50-ish of the Harris poll votes” — still a much higher percentage than what they got in the coaches’ poll].
So, it’ll be USC vs. Michigan in the Rose Bowl and Notre Dame vs. LSU in the Sugar Bowl, then.
GOOOOO IRISH, BEEEEEAT TIGERS!!!
FIGHT ON, TROJANS!!! BEAT THE WOLVERINES!!!
P.S. Wouldn’t it be odd if USC beats Michigan, meaning that I would have seen USC, but not Notre Dame, beat Notre Dame’s biggest non-USC rival (Michigan) this year, in addition to seeing Notre Dame, but not USC, beat the Trojans’ biggest non-Notre Dame rival (UCLA) this year? It’s an upside-world for an Irish Trojan!
UPDATE: The above-linked post just added: “AP poll goes to Florida by 3 points. Not relevant, but another indicator that Michigan is hopelessly unlikely to get the Harris landslide that is their last hope.�
Actually, it is relevant, for split-championship purposes (with Florida ahead of Michigan, albeit just barely, in the AP poll, it would take an awfully impressive win over USC to vault Michigan to #1 if Florida beats Ohio State — since any win over Ohio State is obviously very impressive, and is something Michigan failed to accomplish), and also for purposes of assessing the voters’ motivations. The AP voters presumably aren’t thinking about avoiding a rematch, since that’s not within their power — and yet a goodly number of them still saw fit to leapfrog Florida ahead of Michigan. That weakens, though it certainly doesn’t eviscerate, the argument that “voters are just doing this to avoid a rematch.� I guess people were really impressed by the win over Arkansas.
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Categories: College Football
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December 3rd, 2006 at 2:08:28 pm
Any word on the women’s soccer game? I can’t find a score online.
December 3rd, 2006 at 2:11:49 pm
North Carolina leads 2-0 in the second half :(
December 3rd, 2006 at 2:12:50 pm
What’s a guy gotta do to get a freakin’ hat tip around here?
:)
December 3rd, 2006 at 2:17:12 pm
Heh, I just added your hat tip. :)
December 3rd, 2006 at 2:26:43 pm
Well Damn.
December 3rd, 2006 at 2:31:13 pm
Notre Dame just scored! It’s 2-1 North Carolina with 6 minutes left (plus stoppage time, I assume).
December 3rd, 2006 at 2:36:56 pm
Has there ever been a Rose Bowl in which both teams were UPSET at the fact they had to go there?
December 3rd, 2006 at 2:37:01 pm
Stoppage time…so dumb….
Anyway, if those Coaches voted for Florida because they think Florida is the second best team, well that i have no problem with. If, on the other hand, they voted Florida ahead of Michigan because they didn’t want a rematch, but still think Michigan is better than Florida, well i think thats pretty sad.
December 3rd, 2006 at 2:38:56 pm
Correction: apparently there’s no stoppage time in college women’s soccer.
Game over; North Carolina wins, 2-1. The Irish had a golden opportunity with two minutes left… a free kick, or whatever you call it, not a penalty kick but the next-best thing… but couldn’t score. The player who missed the kick immediately pulled an Adam Morrison and started crying in the middle of the field, even though there was still time left.
December 3rd, 2006 at 2:39:54 pm
Reggie Bush just scored his 2nd TD today — still in the 1st HALF.
December 3rd, 2006 at 3:15:26 pm
[…] after being at No. 13 the week before. Not too bad. Further thoughts from Brendan Loy. Bookmark to: […]
December 3rd, 2006 at 3:58:16 pm
Brendan, will you give the SEC some respect if Notre Dame loses to LSU and Florida beats Ohio State?
December 3rd, 2006 at 4:02:12 pm
FLORIDA for me
December 3rd, 2006 at 4:04:11 pm
Patrick, I’m curious what you mean by that. As far as I can recall Brendan, myself, and others have been critical of the SEC’s claims that they are monumentally better than all the other conferences, not that they aren’t a legitimate conference with legitimate teams.
But will you acknowledge that they are vastly overrated in the eyes of SEC partisans if said teams lose both games?
December 3rd, 2006 at 4:09:03 pm
Is the SEC tougher than the BIG 10? yes it is IMHO. the talent is the SEC is much better and I have not looked yet but I am sure they have more draft picks than the Big 10, I think
December 3rd, 2006 at 4:12:27 pm
“A report in the Los Angeles Times, citing a BCS source, said that Florida will indeed be the No. 2 team in the final BCS standings that will be officially announced later Sunday.”
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has a vote in the coaches’ poll, but abstained this week.
“We are excited to play in the BCS title game against a tremendous opponent,” he said in a statement. “After consultation with my director of athletics, Gene Smith, and based upon our unique position in the BCS standings, I believe it is only fair that we not participate in the final poll.”
December 3rd, 2006 at 4:12:30 pm
The LA Times, quoting a “BCS” source says that it is Florida in the championship game:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/football/la-sp-bcs4dec04,0,6645854.story?coll=la-home-headlines
December 3rd, 2006 at 4:23:02 pm
I echo what David said. I have never tried to claim that the SEC isn’t a good conference, indeed I’ve often explicitly said that it’s a very good conference. I’ve simply pointed out that it’s ridiculous to claim that the SEC conference schedule is a “war” and “like the NFL” and that SEC teams should therefore be able to routinely schedule crap teams like Buffalo and Western F***ing Carolina and still be able to brag about how their strong schedules are (see Urban Meyer’s ridiculous whining, back when he Florida’s competition for the titleg-game spot still included USC, not just Michigan, and yet he was cluelessly saying that the Gators should get in because their schedule is so strong–HA! compared to USC’s schedule?? LOL!).
I give the SEC ton of respect. They’re a very good conference. I just don’t bow down before it or concede that it’s always, every single year, “the best conference from top to bottom,” without seeing some actual EVIDENCE to back that claim up.
By the way, which non-conference Top 15 teams in the BCS standings has a team from the SEC beaten this year? Oh yeah, NONE, NOT ONE, FROM THE ENTIRE CONFERENCE. Which is a key aspect of my point — the SEC hasn’t proven whether it’s merely good or actually great, and I’m not going to concede that the SEC is better than everybody else until it’s actually proven; I’m not going to concede that point based on reputation alone.
So, yes, if LSU and Florida win their bowl games, that will obviously go a long way toward suggesting that the SEC was the best conference in America this year. Of course, there are other bowl games between SEC teams and big-conference teams, so we’ll have to look at the whole picture, not just those two games, especially since you SEC folks are so fond of talking about “top to bottom,” which entails more than just Florida and LSU. :)
December 3rd, 2006 at 4:24:40 pm
I am sure they have more draft picks than the Big 10, I think
Since this year’s NFL Draft hasn’t happened yet, you can only be talking about previous NFL Drafts. And previous year’s NFL Drafts obviously have no relevant whatsoever to the relative strengths of the conferences this year.
That said, of course the SEC is stronger than the Big 10 this year.
December 3rd, 2006 at 5:51:00 pm
Florida’s Strength of Schedule is #1, and the W. Car example you cite is a good one, but #1 is #1
December 3rd, 2006 at 5:56:49 pm
Scott, based on what criteria is florida’s SOS number 1?
December 3rd, 2006 at 5:59:26 pm
Scott - the only SOS I know that has Florida #1 is where the W. Carolina game is EXCLUDED from the schedule strength calculation. (I am referring to the SOS calculated on the NCAA.org website) FWIW, in virtually every other SOS calculation, Florida is quite high, generally higher than Michigan, but not #1.
December 3rd, 2006 at 7:42:57 pm
Ken, check out Sagarin’s rankings, Floridas SOS is 19, Michigans is 13.