The Jan. 8 BCS title game should be a Michigan-Ohio State rematch.
That’s the fitting pairing in the wake of the instant classic played Saturday at Ohio Stadium, and also of the other college football results over the weekend.
The Buckeyes and Wolverines were 1-2 in the BCS rankings released Sunday, and if justice is served, they should stay that way, regardless of what happens to other teams in the next two weeks.
The Wolverines deserve another shot at the Buckeyes – this time, on the neutral field in Glendale, Ariz.
It’s unfortunate that those of us in the media can’t stop quoting the alleged BCS “analysts” as if they are the intellectual successors to Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer as they ponder the human factor in the voting and dissect the data, and instead concede that common sense should rule.
Michigan-Ohio State II. Winged helmets vs. buckeye leaf decals. Chad Henne dueling Troy Smith. Woody and Bo watching from a sky box. All for the No. 1 spot in the final BCS rankings.
Michigan already has a better case for title-game selection than Notre Dame, USC, Arkansas, Florida or other once-beaten teams still harboring hopes, legitimate or faint, of making it to Glendale. The inevitable attrition in the once-beaten ranks in remaining regular-season and conference championship games will only strengthen it.
The deciding factor should be that Michigan, with Henne playing with poise and throwing for 267 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, went into Columbus and played the Buckeyes tough, losing 42-39.
The game deserves to be worthy of “classic” mention in the same paragraphs as other late-season conference rivalry showdowns – including USC’s 21-20 victory over UCLA in 1967, Texas’ 15-14 win over Arkansas in 1969, and Nebraska’s thrilling 35-31 victory over Oklahoma in 1971.
All of those games were worthy of sequels, and now the BCS has a chance to present one.
I’m fully willing to admit this: If Michigan had won Saturday, even on a last-second, 60-yard field goal, I wouldn’t be advocating a rematch. Instead, I’d be saying if USC won out, the Trojans should play Michigan in the championship game. It’s not the Buckeyes’ fault that this was their turn to play the rivalry game at home, but anyone objective should have come away from the television or the press box wondering if Michigan would have won – and perhaps even easily – at home.
Rather than recoil at the thought of a rematch, Ohio State should welcome it as a chance to show that Saturday’s victory wasn’t mainly the product of the home-field, home-crowd, horseshoe-in-the-pads-pocket advantage.
USC manhandled Arkansas on the road in the opening week of the season. Victories over Notre Dame and UCLA in the next two weeks would provide more fodder for the Trojans. Yet I, for one, can’t get it out of my head that USC is the best of a league in a down season, and that Oregon State’s victory over the Trojans a few weeks ago didn’t look at all flukish, despite that two-point final margin.
Michigan’s win over Notre Dame trumps the Irish.
Florida? Leaving the Gators out of the Jan. 8 game would be a tough call, especially if the Gators beat Florida State and then Arkansas on Dec. 2 in the Southeastern Conference championship. But the nod still should go to Michigan over the SEC winner, in part because of the potential for an entertaining sequel.
Plus, the SEC champ or anyone else outside the BCS title game still could pull for a Michigan victory over Ohio State and a split national championship. That would play into the hands of those who believe that given the choice between eradicating world hunger and implementing an NCAA Division I-A football playoff system, all right-thinking Americans should select the latter. And I admit it’s fun seeing those folks become so irate over the relatively unimportant.
The BCS title game could be “Godfather II” – as good as, or even better than, the original.
Even if it doesn’t turn out to be another classic game, Michigan deserves another chance.
Staff writer Terry Frei can be reached at 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
