Let the Games Begin

The college bowl games are finally set. Not everyone's happy (especially Michigan) but it looks like there will be some good games to watch over the holiday season.

Gators Will Face Buckeyes for BCS TitleFlorida beat Michigan on Sunday in the only game that mattered. The Gators, who lobbied hard for this victory, were picked to play No. 1 Ohio State for college football's national championship, ending any chance for the Wolverines to get the rematch they so desired and thought they deserved. But Florida got in by a whisker _ just a hundredth of a point in the Bowl Championship Series standings.

The Gators had a BCS average of .944, and the Wolverines were just behind at .934. The teams were tied in the computer ratings, but Florida had a 38-point lead in the Harris poll and a 26-point advantage in the coaches' poll.

Michigan's consolation prize is a Rose Bowl bid to play USC (10-2), a classic Big Ten vs. Pac-10 matchup of teams left to wonder what could have been.

"I don't think they (Florida) would have moved ahead of us if USC would have won the game," said Michigan coach Lloyd Carr.

In other bowls:
_ Big 12 champion Oklahoma will meet unbeaten Boise State in the Fiesta on Jan. 1.
_ Big East champion Louisville will play ACC champion Wake Forest in the Orange on Jan. 2.
_ LSU will take Florida's spot in the Sugar and play Notre Dame on Jan. 3.

Complete Bowl Schedule

Ed Morrissey at Captain's Quarters is calling for a play-off system that is still suspect. Any reduction in regular season games or a format that might only fill stadiums half way seems to stifle any system that takes MONEY out of the university's pockets. Ed seems to think the Woverines got shafted:

"So what happened? Two polls shifted Florida above Michigan, despite a moderately effective win against Arkansas and a bye week for the Wolverines. Had USC beaten UCLA as expected, Michigan would have likely remained in third place -- but the coaches and sports writers decided to skew the polls in order to prevent a rematch of Michigan against Ohio State for the national championship." (link)

Personally, I think the USC/Michigan game will be a good one. And we'll see soon if Florida is deserving of a title shot. With all due respect to the Cap, too many "if's" are present.

Expert picks to be posted later.........