Sunday 7: Don't go looking for a rematch just yet
Seven things we learned Sunday ...
The likelihood of a rematch: Well, it was nice to write about for a few hours, but Sunday's latest BCS standings seem to dim Michigan's chances of meeting Ohio State again.
"For people who wanted a rematch, these numbers are not good," BCS guru Jerry Palm said.
|
|
| Rematch? Pete Carroll and the Trojans have other ideas. (Getty Images) |
Playing and winning beats sitting on the couch.
Palm says a flip in as few as one of the six computers could ultimately vault the Trojans past the Wolverines. Michigan currently leads USC in five of the six computers.
USC has a small lead over Michigan in both human polls. At this point, a victory of any kind should help the Trojans because it has two of its biggest rivals left -- Notre Dame and UCLA.
Of course, that could all change next week. Check your local listings.
Heisman voting is over before it has begun: The cash-strapped Heisman Trust could save itself a lot of money by doing away with its tradition of flying in the top three to five candidates.
Ohio State's Troy Smith clinched the hardware Saturday with his fourth four-touchdown game of the season.
| Dodd's Power Poll |
| 1. Ohio State |
| 2. Michigan |
| 3. USC |
| 4. Florida |
| 5. West Virginia |
| 6. Notre Dame |
| 7. Boise State |
| 8. Arkansas |
| 9. Louisville |
| 10. Wisconsin |
| 11. Rutgers |
| 12. Texas |
| 13. LSU |
| 14. Oklahoma |
| 15. Georgia Tech |
| 16. Auburn |
| 17. Wake Forest |
| 18. Boston College |
| 19. Nebraska |
| 20. BYU |
| 21. Virginia Tech |
| 22. Tennessee |
| 23. Cal |
| 24. Houston |
| 25. Hawaii |
To put that in perspective, during the Ten-Year War, Bo's and Woody's teams combined for seven touchdown passes.
Smith has eight in his past two games, 30 for the season.
Saturday practice. Coach says wear the green jerseys: Notre Dame literally used the Army game as a scrimmage for this week's USC game.
Charlie Weis admitted to working on USC schemes all week in practice. Before the 41-9 rout of the Black Knights, he decided the Irish would wear the sacred green jerseys. The last time they were worn, Notre Dame lost to USC on the Bush Push last year 34-31.
So there goes that demon, right?
After the game, Brady Quinn took a victory lap after his final home game to chants of, "Beat SC!"
Can't let go of Saturday night: Or more reasons to demand rematch. These images remain from perhaps the greatest Ohio State-Michigan game ever ...
Lloyd Carr's poignant description of the events surrounding Bo Schembechler's death on Friday.
Carr's voice cracked, and he almost lost it, as he recounted how he found out about his mentor's death. It was about two minutes before a noon team meeting Friday that Carr was told Bo had died.
"So was that hard to tell them (the players)? Yeah that was hard and it was emotional."
Bo demanded to speak to the team on Thursday, but Carr noticed even then that the great coach was short of breath.
"I tried to convince him not to talk ... but he said, no, I'm going to talk to them. ...
"All I can say about him is I loved that man." ...
Michigan linebacker Shawn Crable wants a do-over for his crushing personal foul penalty.
With Ohio State backsliding but leading 35-31, Crable was flagged for a head-to-head hit on Troy Smith as the quarterback was going out of bounds. Smith had thrown incomplete on third-and-15 with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter.
It was a silly, silly penalty that arguably cost Michigan the game. The flag gave Ohio State a first down that allowed it to score the eventual game-winning touchdown. ...
Jim Tressel is quite the play-calling savant. Coming out in five wide and spreading out the tough Michigan defense was brilliant. ...
Columbus airport workers were crying out "O-H" in the terminal early Sunday morning and getting anonymous replies "I-O". ...
The USC song girls: Do they know something we don't? At the end of the Cal victory, they were wearing giant necklaces made of roses. The only way the Trojans go to the Rose Bowl is if they lose and/or there is an Ohio State-Michigan rematch. ...
The Rose Bowl is delighted/confused/screwed: Pick one, because Grandaddy is stumbling around Pasadena with his robe open, babbling on about Boise State. There is a strong possibility the Rose Bowl will miss out on its traditional Pac-10-Big Ten matchup once again.
If there is a Michigan-Ohio State rematch, the Rose gets USC vs. one of these likely at-large candidates -- Notre Dame, LSU, Oklahoma, Louisville, West Virginia or, gulp, Boise State.
If there is no rematch, Michigan goes to Pasadena against one of the same cast of characters.
Notre Dame is a long shot in Pasadena because either way it would be playing a rematch -- against USC or Michigan. ND hasn't played in Pasadena since 1925.
Best guess: LSU or Oklahoma, whichever 10-2 team is highest ranked, goes to Pasadena.
The best way for the Rose Bowl to get its traditional matchup (which would be USC-Michigan in this case) would be for Florida to get to the BCS title game.
Based on all that, here are the latest BCS bowl projections:
BCS title game: Ohio State vs. USC
Fiesta: Texas vs. Boise State
Rose:
Michigan vs. LSU/Oklahoma
Sugar: Florida vs. Notre Dame
Orange:
Louisville vs. Georgia Tech.
That's a Rutgers wrap: It was fun while it lasted and all that, but the Big East is all but out of the championship race.
Rutgers was upset by Cincinnati, meaning the big three (Rutgers, Louisville, West Virginia) all have one loss. The most likely scenario now is for West Virginia to beat Rutgers on Dec. 2. That means Louisville would be in line to get the BCS berth.
The Big East did establish itself as a big-time BCS league, and Rutgers turned on the tri-state area to big-time college football. Steve Slaton is the nation's best running back.
That and the introduction of the Jersey Turnpike to the college road map.
The Humanitarian thing to do: It has come to this for Miami: The 'Canes need to beat Boston College on Thanksgiving to finish 6-6 and become bowl eligible.
The question is, does Miami -- in the middle of this turbulent season and a coaching change -- even want to go to a bowl? The destination most likely would be Boise for the Humanitarian Bowl.
The only advantage would be an extra few weeks of practice. The over-under on number of tickets Miami would sell would be the immediate Shalala family.
Nothing says bowl experience like a flight from South Florida to play on a blue field in a December snowstorm.
