JR's Random Anger

ed. note: I started writing this entry before I found out that Bo Schembechler died.  As if there wasn't enough drama surrounding the game this week, one of the great architects of this greatest rivalry in sports is gone.  There might be so much emotion from both sides of the Shoe tomorrow, that the whole stadium may explode.  Well, let's just hope it falls down after Michigan wins.  GO BLUE!

For the first time in forever, my two favorite teams, Michigan and Saint Joe's have begun their respective seasons a combined 11-0! Sure, Michigan has accounted for 10 of those wins, but hey, both the Hawks and Wolverines are undefeated! So, I figured I'd better start writing before things change and I can't honestly make the undefeated claim anymore.

I love underdogs and there was nothing more enjoyable than waching Rutgers (yes...Rutgers!) come back on Louisville and throw their hats over the wall and into the National Championship race. So, I'm about to type something I never thought I would ever type in a college football article.

But not yet...

Without a playoff system and while everything is still based on preseason rankings, we are lucky enough to have a relative sense of symmetry and finality to the final month of the season. Every single team in the top 8 of the BCS Standings, plays another member of the top 8. USC and Notre Dame play the Glamour Game in LA. Florida and Arkansas will play each other in the SEC Championship. Rutgers and West Virginia will play the last regular season game. Oh, yeah, there's one more this weekend, and it has something to do with Ohio State and Michigan.

Now in a perfect world, all of these teams would play and the winners would play each other until Jan. 8th. But, we know college football is good for at least one thing...creating arguments. So here are some of them as we head into the "elimination rounds".

This may be repeating an argument already made by someone, but here's my take. West Virginia was the first Big East team to have the "if they go undefeated, they'll play for the national championship" tag. After Louisville beat them the Cards had that tag. So you would think the natural progression would be that Rutgers would play for the National Championship if they go undefeated. Right? Well, why are Florida, Notre Dame and USC ahead of Rutgers in the current BCS Standings? Why is no one saying that Rutgers should be in line for the national title? Look, if RU is one of the two remaining schools that play in a BCS conference that is undefeated at the end of the season, they SHOULD play for the title. No questions asked. If there was another undefeated team in the mix then RU would be out. But if RU finishes undefeated, they will have beaten two top 10 teams on their way to an undefeated record. Do you know the only other team that can lay claim to that stature? The winner of the UM-OSU game.

But I was glad to watch the Rutgers win last week. Every year, there is a resurgent or up-and-coming team that faces a daunting game against a more mainstream opponent. A loss in that game has led to catastrophic collapses in the past. Fresno State was a quarter away from knocking off USC last year, but fell short. They haven't been the same since. BYU also had a great season derailed by a late-season loss to Miami in 2000 and they vanished from the college football landscape until just recently. I really thought that a loss to Louisville would be crippling to the advancement of the program. Now, even a loss to West Virginia shouldn't be crippling to the program. They are definitely built to stay.

Because the national media has already written off the possibility of an undefeated Rutgers playing for a national title, the big question swirling around college football has been: Who's the best one-loss team in College Football? Everyone has put their two cents in and nominated just about every team possible. Well, every team but one...

Now there can be great arguments made for all the applicable team. But why has no one actually said that the best one-loss team in America will be the loser of the Michigan-Ohio State game? Can you honestly think of a better team? Is USC, or Florida, or Arkansas, or Notre Dame a better team than either Michigan or Ohio State? Let me just answer it plainly for you. NO!

I am one of those guys who doesn't think that the game is cheapened if they indeed to play each other again in January. Hell, it might be the first national championship game in years that has actually meant something to the combatants. Maybe it will add an extra edge to the championship. We'll probably never get to see it, because the football know-it-alls think it's more logical to have a team that lost badly in the beginning of the year (ND, Ark.) or a team that blew a conference game (Fla., USC), play in the championship over a team that lost it's only game to either the #1 or #2 team after 11 straight wins.

And you wonder why people are clamoring for a playoff system.

Frankly, I don't know of anyone that would get excited over being the 12th best in anything. I mean it's great to be the 12th best football team in the country, but it also means that there are 11 better teams. I mean the fans of Rutgers and Wake Forest, would get excited about any number in front of their school when it comes to football. Hell, when Saint Joseph's were ranked #25 when I was a student there, it made the front page of the school paper (cleverly named The Hawk). But for a team that has been ranked at some point during the last 3 years...#12 might not be that exciting. In 2004, they finished #10! But Boise State is happy to sit at #12.

Well, maybe I should put it another way: "We're gonna make millions of dollars!" That's basically the difference between playing on New Year's in Arizona and paying a few days before that in Boise. Well, that and warmer weather. And playing before a prime time national television audience.

But 12 is the magic number for Boise State, because a 12th place finish or higher in the final BCS Standings means the Broncos are guaranteed a spot in one of the five biggest bowl games in college football. 12, also translates to the amount of wins needed to get there. So, all that stands in the way of the BCS and the guardians of the Smurf Turf are Utah State and Nevada.

And for those that will carp and whine and moan that a team from Boise, Idaho that plays on blue astroturf, will be performing on the biggest of College Football stages, I need only pull out this stat. Among Boise State's 10 victims this season is Oregon State. Yes, the very same Oregon State team that beat the current #3 team in the country, USC.

Boise State belongs!

Speaking of belonging amongst the elite...here's my current BCS projections:

National Championship: UM-OSU Winner vs. USC.

Don't get too comfortable with the Trojans. They still have Cal and Notre Dame to play.

Rose Bowl Game: UM-OSU Loser vs. Notre Dame.

What if Michigan loses? Won't people complain about this possible rematch?

Sugar Bowl: Florida vs. ACC Champ.

Can you honestly believe that the ACC will be decided between Maryland, Georgia Tech, and WAKE FOREST?

Orange Bowl: Arkansas vs. RUTGERS.

And by the way, when I mentioned something that I would type that I never thought I would ever type. That was it.

Fiesta Bowl: Texas vs. Boise State.

Hey, I called this one last time. Nothing changed. How boring!

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