BCS In Brief: Does Michigan Deserve A Rematch?

Take it from this Michigan fan: not really. But they just might get one. The Wolverines are, of course, #2 in the latest BCS standings, two microns above 9-1 USC.

First, let's take care of some stupid arguments. The BCS, whatever it is, is not some sort of finishing line for a season-long playoff. It's just a bunch of bowl games. One bowl game is supposed to match the two best teams in the country as determined by an ever-changing retarded formula. There are no other criteria. Just the two best teams. So save the argument about making Saturday's game meaningless. The idea of two teams splitting two games and having one declared the OMG best national champion ever is stupid. But this is the BCS we're talking about. It's all stupid. If Michigan is the second best team in the country they should go. Them's the rules.

The problem with anointing Michigan #2 after a game that really wasn't all that close is we have no idea how any of the other contenders compare to either team in this game (Notre Dame, for the moment, being excluded -- more later). USC, Arkansas, and Florida have played a total of zero Big Ten teams. Collectively, Michigan and Ohio State played one SEC or Pac-10 team: Vanderbilt. (We'll pick up another point of comparison when USC plays Notre Dame.) So how do you "know" Michigan is the second best team? You don't. No more than you knew Ohio State was two touchdowns worse than Miami in 2002 or USC was the BEST! TEAM! IN THE HISTORY! OF COLLEGE! FOOTBALL! last year.
What we do know: Ohio State was comfortably better than Michigan. Given similar, if not superior, resumes in the hands of hypothetical one-loss USC, Florida, or Arkansas, any of those teams should get into the championship game ahead of Michigan.

As for Notre Dame, they do not have a comparable resume. If we are being generous, a hypothetical win over USC is the equivalent of Michigan's win over ND. Continuing on that path, 11-1 and untested Wisconsin might be approximately equal to Georgia Tech. Michigan State and Penn State are common opponents. UCLA is the vague equivalent of Iowa or Minnesota, and the rest of both teams' schedules are a bunch of terrible teams. Let's not argue over whether North Carolina is better than Indiana. Fairly equal? If you're being generous. Then you've got this:

Three-point loss to undefeated team on the road.
Twenty-six point beatdown to 11-1 team at home who is your main competition for championship game slot.

Yeah... no.

Thankfully, the rest of the universe agrees with me about that. The only argument here is over a one-loss SEC champion, who I say should get in; most others think it's USC or nobody. We'll see.