Fiesta Bowl Bound

Wow. What a game! 42-39 was the final of this incredibly year's OSU vs UM game. ESPN.com has a pretty cool write up and some good video clips. I have to admit, I was nervous going into this game. My nervousness was well grounded. I had some pains in my stomach as the Wolverines scored easily on their first possession. OSU rallied and scored the next 21 points of the game. That made me relax a bit. I was worried going into the game because UM's defense is (statistically speaking) the best the the Buckeyes had to face this year. They only allowed the opposing offenses an average of 29 yards running the ball. That is crazy! Of course, that stat was destroyed by the Ohio State offense who put up 187 yards on the ground, including two 50+ yard runs for touchdowns. Troy Smith threw the ball for 316 yards, and Ohio State ran up 42 points. Really, this game was never as close as the scoreboard made it look. 10 of Michigan's 39 points were off of OSU mistakes: an interception and a fumble. Even with these errors, there was never a moment in the game (well, except for when UM scored the first TD) that I thought OSU was going to lose. Take away the 10 points from OSU mistakes, and the score would have been OSU 42 UM 29.

Since I haven't had a chance to watch the local news, I don't know if campus blew itself up after the game or not. One of the embarassing things about being an Ohio State fan is that everyone thinks we are all obnoxios pyromaniacs looking for a reason to light transh and couches on fire. As I was sitting beside my couch fire in the back yard, I was wondering, 'Why?'. Just kidding. It was way too cold for a couch fire in the back yard last night. Seriously though, a few crazy students have really put a bad face on the proud group of OSU students, alumni, and fans. Not all of us are crazed pyros. And really, look at other cities in the country. Didn't Detroit have the same problem a few years back when the Pistons won the NBA title? Well, all I know is, Ohio State and it's Alumni are trying very hard to change the behavior and image of the OSU students and fans. I just hope that it worked.

The question now goes to who will play Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl? The #3, #4, and #5 teams all won this week and all of them have only one loss. Come to think of it, the #2 team has one loss as well. Let's take a look:

#2 Michigan
#3 USC
#4 Florida
#5 Notre Dame

Michigan has already lost to Ohio State. Yes, it was a close game, but do they deserve a remach? If you watch the clips on ESPN.com (follow the 2nd link on this post) you can see UM running back Hart saying that he thinks UM beats OSU in a rematch. Honestly, I think UM is the second best team in the nation and deserves to play in the title game, but if OSU already beat them, why should they get a second chance?

USC plays Notre Dame next Saturday. That will knock off one of these two contenders. If USC wins, it will probably put them in the Fiesta Bowl vs. OSU. However, if Notre Dame wins, how can you tell Michigan that the Irish get to go to Tempe when Michigan STOMPED the Irish earlier in the season?

Florida should be the team that will go to the Fiesta Bowl if Notre Dame beats USC and Florida wins the rest of their games. They had a rough schedule and, with only one loss, would deserve the nod if they only lose one game.

The bottom line is that the BCS sucks when there is one unbeaten team and several one loss teams when it comes down to selecting the national title game. In my opinion, the best bet is to take the top four teams and have a little play off. That was, there is a clear champion and no one can whine about being left out of the picture.