tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70904652024-03-07T13:49:44.538-05:00groupThinkmarkh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comBlogger235125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-13044202586030695432008-03-23T16:36:00.002-04:002008-03-23T16:40:03.359-04:00Will the Real Toronto Maple Leafs Please Stand up?Toronto's record:<br /><br />1st 53 games of the season: 20-24-9 (13 games below .500)<br /> On pace for a 69 point season<br />Last 23 games of the season: 15-7-1 (7 games over .500)<br /> On pace for a 111 point season<br /><br />Just wanted to point out how well the Leafs have played over a pretty decent chunk of the schedule. What could have been? So many should've, could've, would've scenarios to talk about. Over the last quarter of the season, Toronto is on pace to have the best record in the NHL.<br /><br />What changed?<br /><ul><li>Toskala has started every one of those games. </li><li>Wozniewski was removed from the lineup. </li><li>The young kids were brought in and injected energy into the lineup</li><li>The NTC 5 have stepped and showed that they deserve the big contracts that they were rewarded. </li><li>Sundin has been HUGE!!! (Mr. Clutch is coming back on Tuesday!)<br /></li></ul> I think Toronto will go 6-0 from here-on out. Whether or not it's going to be enough to squeak into 8th spot, or take over that familiar and seemingly predestined 9th place spot at this time, only time will tell. This team is playing with heart and emotion, and doing everything they can to will themselves into the playoffs.<br /><br />Current Pace:<br /><ul><li> Philadelphia - 75 gp, 84 pts, pace: 92 points, potential: 98 pts, 44 wins</li><li> Boston - 75 gp, 84 pts, pace: 92 points, potential: 98 pts, 44 wins</li><li> Washington - 76 gp, 82 pts, 88 pts, potential: 94 pts, 43 wins</li><li> Buffalo - 75 gp, 81 pts, 88 pts, potential: 95 pts, 42 wins</li><li> Florida - 76 gp, 81 pts, 87 pts, potential: 93 pts, 42 wins</li><li> Toronto - 76 gp, 80 pts, 86 pts, potential: 92 pts, 42 wins</li></ul> IF Toronto goes 6-0 from hereon out, they will be very, very close to a playoff spot. They need 5 of the following six to happen:<br /><br /><ul><li> Florida to 5-1 or worse</li><li> Buffalo to go 5-1-1 or worse (Leafs would win tiebreaker with more wins)</li><li> Washington to 4-1-1 or worse (Leafs/Caps are 2-2 head-to-head this season, so tiebreaker would come down to goal differential, where the Caps have a -2 to -16 advantage)</li><li> Boston to go 4-3 or worse (Considering the Leafs play Boston twice, two regulation wins are a must. Toronto would win tiebreaker on wins. It comes down to hoping the Bruins lose at least one more game in their remaining 5)</li><li> Philadelphia to 4-3 or worse (Toronto would also win tiebreaker here on wins)</li></ul><br />It all comes down to Toronto going 6-0. I think this team will refuse to lie down and go silently into that good night. We can't count on Philly losing three of their remaining seven games, but I think the other five are definitely in the realm of high probability. It comes down to Toronto going 6-0. They've shown that they have the heart, determination and talent to get the job done. I know I've been fooled twice by late season heroics that came just a few days too late, but I refuse to not support the team in this playoff run. If they manage to get in, this team is good enough to beat anybody.<br /><br />My prediction (all based on a hypothetical 6-0 run by the Leafs to end the season):<br /><br /><ul><li style="font-weight: bold;"> #7 Philadelphia, 93 points (4-2-1 to finish out season)</li><li style="font-weight: bold;"> #8 Toronto, 92 points (6-0 baby)</li><li> #9 Washington, 91 points (They scare me the most - Toronto needs to rely on Carolina to take care of the Caps in 2 remaining games)</li><li> #10 Buffalo, 91 points (Loss to Leafs and one loss in the three games against the Canadiens or Sens will eliminate the Sabres)</li><li> #10 Boston, 90 points (Lose two to the Leafs and one against the Sabres)</li><li> #11 Florida, 89 points (I don't see Florida going 6-0, although they are 8-1-1 in their last 10)<br /></li></ul>markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-55318844270921658742008-03-08T14:03:00.002-05:002008-03-08T14:06:05.243-05:00A Delusional Fan Riding the Leafs Playoff BandwagonThe playoffs are still in the Leaf's own hands at this point. That loss to Jersey earlier this week really hurt their chances. They basically have 2 losses to give this season if they want any chance of getting in. <a href="http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHL/Eastern/Northeast/MapleLeafs.html">Sport Club Stats</a> gives them an 84.5% chance of getting in at 11-2. Any higher than that is essentially a lock. 11-1-1 is a 95.4%. The loss to Jersey officially eliminated the Leafs from the running for 1st overall in the Eastern conference, in case you were in any was curios.<br /><br />I know we're grasping at straws at this point, but I've given up any hope at a lottery pick with the way everyone is playing now. If Toskala plays every game until they are mathematically eliminated, I think they'll go at least 8-4, which will put them solidly in the middle of the non-playoff pack. <br /><br />I've witnessed the last two playoff runs, and I know what this team is capable of. Last season, they were playing well enough that they might have surprised a few teams in the playoffs, and we can only say "what if" about that poor outing vs. Wade Dubielewicz and the shootout loss by these same New Jersey Devils. A couple seasons ago, the team was almost carried into the playoffs on the back of J.S. Aubin, a career backup/minor leaguer. This season we have Mats Sundin, apparently hungrier than ever to lead Toronto to the playoffs, and Vesa Toskala, a warrior in net, trying to do everything he can to lead them.<br /><br />It's unfortunate that this team seems to take 5 months to come out of hibernation each season. There are so many "what ifs" this year:<br /><br /><ul><li>The refusal to quickly abandon the strange high-pressure forecheck early this season when it was readily apparent that it wasn't going to work this team. </li><li>Essentially every appearance Raycroft made this season, save for the shutout over Buffalo early in the season. 2 wins in 17 appearances has gone a long way to destroying any chance this team had in making the big show.</li><li>The mid-season groin injury to Toskala. He had a stretch where he was 1-5-1, including going 0-3 when he returned from the injury, which leads me to believe he was playing hurt for a few games before he went on the IR. </li><li>The injury to McCabe. We all love to rag on the guy, but the results speak for themselves. This team is a playoff hockey club, maybe not a very good one, but a playoff club none-the-less, when McCabe is in the lineup.<br /></li></ul>I'm sick of not seeing the Leafs in the playoffs since 2003. The Leafs were 1 point out of last overall a little over a month ago, and I was in full support of a fire sale, tanking, and the christening of Steven Stamkos the new savior of the organization. The NTC essentially destroyed that dream, but now they are responding to the critics in a big way, and as Leafs fan, I'm going to support them all the way, and hang on to those last few straws dangling off the edge of the playoff bandwagon and hope that we all somehow manage to hang on.<br /><br />GO LEAFS GO! :yo:markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-52824661672215796522007-05-24T12:19:00.000-04:002007-05-24T12:22:21.693-04:00Life Imitates Art<span style="font-size:100%;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/24/egypt.snakes.ap/index.html">Man with 700 snakes arrested at airport</a></span>. Samuel L. Jackson was unavailable for comment.markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-42188472406039175462007-05-20T21:03:00.000-04:002007-05-20T21:32:57.919-04:00Selanne's Ketchup Flows Once AgainAfter finishing the season 3rd overall with 48 goals, and 11th overall with 94 points, Teemu Selanne picked a inopportune moment to fall into a scoring slump. Prior to Thursday's game #4, Selanne had just 6 points in the first 12 games of the playoffs. Things have changed quickly, as Teeemu has 5 points in the past two games, including the Game five OT winner. The 5 points in two games gives him 11 points in 15 games, which is still well off what we have come to expect from the Finnish Flash, but it is good enough to be tied with Ryan Getzlaf for 12th overall in league playoff scoring. <br /><br />If the Ducks want to win the Stanley Cup, Selanne is going to have to continue to play a bigger role, as he has during the past two games. It's not as if he wasn't playing well earlier in the playoffs. I actually think Selanne's best playoff performances so far have come during the Vancouver series - games where he was held off the scoresheet but was all over the ice. Prior to finally scoring in Game #4, Selanne was getting his opportunities, but perhaps just rushing his shot a little bi - squeezing his stick to hard as they say. <br /><br />A quote from <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/stanleycup2006/storyview.html?/story/stanleycup2006/national/2006/05/10/teemu-selanne.html">Selanne during the 2006 playoffs</a>:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />"You know how you can't get the ketchup out of the bottle and you keep beating on it and beating on it, and nothing comes out," he told the Orange County Register. "Then, all of a sudden, here it comes — splat!<br /><br />"That's how it is with goal scorers. You have to be patient. As long as you keep getting your chances, you feel it's going to happen. "</span><br /><br />Anaheim is now up 3-2, with a chance to close out the series on home ice in game #6. Living in the greater Detroit area, I would get the occasional odd glance cheering the Toronto Maple Leafs on during the regular season. The Anaheim Ducks are my second team. Cheering for Selanne and the Ducks has made the playoffs a lot less painful these past two seasons, as Toronto fell just short for the second year in a row. <br /><br />I plan to go out Tuesday and cheer the Ducks on - I'll have a burger and fries, with a healthy dose of ketchup. I just hope they don't kick me out for making some noise after Selanne breaks the hearts of the Wings faithful.markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-32195344012564539682007-05-19T11:12:00.000-04:002007-05-19T11:16:21.680-04:00Mark's Clip of the Day (05-19-2007)Who can ever forget that ridiculous brawl between Happy Gilmore and Bob Barker? Adam Sandler pays a surprise visit to the Price is Right as Bob reminisces on the movie scene from ten years ago.<br /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.flicklife.com/40c699190e2d8c029fa9/Adam_Sandler_Makes_a_Surprise_Visit_on_Price_Is_Right.html">Click Here...</a>markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1165201394124873212006-12-03T21:49:00.000-05:002006-12-03T22:03:14.190-05:00Bowl Predictions<table class="cnnTM" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1" width="100%"><tbody><tr class="cnnIERowAltBG"><td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Jan. 8</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(234, 250, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Title</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ohio </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">State </span>55 <span style="font-weight: bold;">Florida</span> 12<br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Jan. 3</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(172, 195, 209) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Sugar</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><span style="font-weight: bold;">LSU </span>36 <span style="font-weight: bold;">Notre Dame </span>31</td></tr><tr class="cnnIERowAltBG"><td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Jan. 2</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(234, 250, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Orange</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><b>Louisville</b> 35 <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wake Forest </span>21<br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Jan. 1</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(172, 195, 209) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Fiesta</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><b>Boise State</b> 38 <span style="font-weight: bold;">Oklahoma </span>24</td> </tr> <tr class="cnnIERowAltBG"> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Jan. 1</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(234, 250, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Rose</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Michigan </span>45 <span style="font-weight: bold;">USC </span>21</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Jan. 1</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(172, 195, 209) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Capital One</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><b>Wisconsin</b> 35 <span style="font-weight: bold;">Arkansas </span>9</td> </tr> <tr class="cnnIERowAltBG"> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Jan. 1</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(234, 250, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Gator</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><b>West Virginia</b> 31 <span style="font-weight: bold;">Georgia Tech </span>14</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Jan. 1</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(172, 195, 209) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Outback</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><b>Penn State</b> 28 <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tennessee </span>21</td> </tr> <tr class="cnnIERowAltBG"> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Jan. 1</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(234, 250, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Cotton</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><b>Nebraska</b> 21 <span style="font-weight: bold;">Auburn </span>17<br /></td></tr><tr><td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Jan. 6</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(172, 195, 209) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>International</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><b>Western Michigan</b> 28 <b style="font-weight: bold;">Cincinnati</b><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>24<br /></td> </tr> <tr class="cnnIERowAltBG"> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Dec. 31</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(234, 250, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>MPC Computers</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><b>Miami</b> 28 - <b>Nevada</b> 17</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Dec. 30</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(172, 195, 209) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Chick-fil-A</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><b>Virginia Tech</b> 31 - <b>Georgia</b> 7</td></tr><tr class="cnnIERowAltBG"><td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Dec. 30</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(234, 250, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Alamo</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><b>Iowa</b> 31 - <b>Texas</b> 28</td> </tr><tr class="cnnIERowAltBG"><td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Dec. 29</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(234, 250, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Champs Sports</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><b>Purdue</b> 41 - <b>Maryland</b> 38</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Dec. 29</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(172, 195, 209) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Insight</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><b>Minnesota</b> 28 - <b>Texas Tech</b> 21 </td></tr><tr class="cnnIERowAltBG"><td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Dec. 28</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(234, 250, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Holiday</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><b>Texas A&M</b> 38 - <b>Cal</b> 21</td></tr><tr><td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Dec. 26</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(172, 195, 209) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Motor City</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><b>Central Michigan</b> 28 - <b>Middle Tennessee St.</b>* 17</td></tr><tr class="cnnIERowAltBG"><td class="cnnIEColTxtC">Dec. 24</td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtC" style="background: rgb(234, 250, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><strong>Hawaii</strong></td> <td class="cnnIEColTxtL"><b>Hawaii</b> 41 - <b>Arizona State</b> 21</td> </tr></tbody></table>markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1165199945011510822006-12-03T21:04:00.000-05:002006-12-03T21:39:17.683-05:00Big Ten will Dominate in BCS - SEC is OveratedOn the positive side of today's (outrageous/unfathomable/unconstitutional/absurd/explicative deleted) outcome, splitting up Michigan and OSU into separate bowl matchups gives the Big Ten a chance to showcase themselves as the strongest conference in the nation, finally putting to rest the mythical notion that the SEC is in some way superior in every way.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">National Championship </span>#1 Ohio State vs #2 Florida. OSU is going to completely obliterate #2 Florida. This is going to be a joke. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Final Score: OSU 55 - Florida 12</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rose Bowl </span>- #3 Michigan vs. #5 USC - Michigan will destroy #5 USC. USC has been the most consistanly overrated school all season long. UCLA shut USC down defensively, and Michigan has the #1 defense in the nation. Mario Manningham, Prescott Burgess and Willis Berringer will all be 100% healthy. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Final Score: Michigan 45 - USC 21</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Capitol One Bowl- </span>#7 Wisconsin vs #12 Arkansas. Wisconsin has done everything they can to demonstrate that they are one of the best schools in the country, but they continue to be disrespected. The Arkansas-Florida SEC championship was a joke, and the Razerbacks are way too one-dimensional. The Wisconsin defense will stop the running game of Arkansas in it's tracks. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Final Score: Wisconsin 35 - Arkansas 9</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Outback Bowl </span>-#28 Penn State vs #17 Tennessee. Penn State has been disrespected all season long, although they have a very strong defense, and great tailback in Tony Hunt. Penn State's 8-4 record looks somewhat mediocre, but those 4 losses came against teams (Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame) that have a combined record of 45 - 4. Someone had to lose those games, and PSU was just a notch below the top level talent in the Big Ten. Tennessee's #17 ranking is undeserved, and is just a byproduct of the media's continual fascination with overrating all things SEC. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Final Score: Penn State 28 - Tennessee 21</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Alamo Bowl </span>- #19 Texas vs (One Time #13) Iowa - A matchup of two of the most overrated programs in the nation. Colt McCoy should have time to heal up, so this game should be interesting. Iowa did little to impress in their final six weeks of the season, with their lone win against Northern Illinois. I have a hard time believing Iowa will be competitive in this matchup, although perhaps Drew Tate can pull one last masterpiece out of his repository to impress NFL scouts enough for a decent draft selection. Although I don't really have any confidence in it, I'm going to predict a <span style="font-weight: bold;">Final Score </span>of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Iowa 31 - Texas 28</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Insight Bowl </span>- Minnesota vs Texas Tech - This is where I start to wonder why they hold so many bowl games. Minnesota managed to win 4 of their last 5 games to pull back to .500 and secure a bowl matchup. They were robbed of a win against Penn State on a bad pass interference call in OT, and I really didn't see much of them outside of decently impressive performance at the Metrodome against Michigan. Amer Pinnix was the only man to rush for 100 yards against Michigan all season until the field-induced disaster against OSU. Texas Tech almost pulled off an upset vs. (overrated) Texas, but nothing else on their schedule jumps out at me as something to worry about. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Final Score</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Minnesota 28 - Texas Tech 21</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Champs Sports Bowl </span>- Purdue vs. Maryland - Purdue launched out of the gate with a 4-0 start against teams my adult rec league could probably beat. The Boilermakers had the easiest Big Ten schedule in history, skipping both Michigan and OSU, and playing an incredibly weak out-of-conference schedule, yet all they managed to come up with was an 8-4 record. At one point in the season, they had the best offense in the country, and the worst defense in the country. The only time I heard Maryland mentioned in the news is when they were cited as the top opponent West Virginia had faced in the country before their eventual loss to Louisville - that has to count for something, I suppose. Maryland actually has a few AP and Coach's poll votes, placing them are #32 in the country, so I suppose this might be somewhat of a mismatch, as nobody in their right mind would consider Purdue to be in that league. Maryland's 4 losses came against ranked opponents (West Virginia, Boston College, Georgia Tech, and Wake Forest), and the managed to pull out a win against Clemson. I suppose I should probably respect them for that, but I watched the ACC championship, and I don't think I'll ever take anyone from that conference seriously again*. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Final Score - Purdue 41 - Maryland 38</span><br /><br />Outside of the Lousville-Rutgers, and Arkansas-LSU matchups, I have walked away unimpressed with every football game outside of the Big Ten I've watched this season. I don't really expect the Big Ten to go 6-0 in the bowl season this year, as it would take a miracle for Minnesota, Iowa, or Purdue to pull out a victory, but I do expect Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin to impress the nation with convincing victories. How sweet would it be to see the Big Ten ranked #1, #2, and #3 at the end of the season. Perhaps then we can finally do away with the mythical notion that the SEC is in every way superior to everyone else, so they have no need to play anybody besides the Sun Belt in their out-of-conference schedules.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">*Regarding the ACC Championship game: I was mildly curious as to what Georgia Tech and Wake Forest had to offer, since I witnessed those teams hanging around the bottom third of the BCS rankings every once in a while. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Georgia Tech offense was supposed to be the Calvin Johnson show - supposedly, this guy is unarguably the most talented player in college football. Johnson 117 yards on 8 receptions, but he also dropped an easy pass, tipped a pass up in the air for an easy interception, and let a pass fall on the ground in front of him that I would've certainly been able to catch. The Georgia Tech offense focused entirely around Reggie Ball throwing the ball 50 yards down the field, and hoping the defense would occasionally bump into one of the Johnson twins and draw the inevitable pass interference call. Reggie Ball successfully drew 3 pass interference calls during the game, but he also went 9-for-29, and those 45 yards would've come a lot easier if they were actually trying for pass completions. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Wake Forest offense was no better. The Demon Deacons offense consisted entirely of reverses and end-arounds, which was the offensive approach I actually recommended Michigan take vs. Northwestern earlier this year, due to the inclement weather. It was hilarious watching Wake Forest attempt an elaborate reverse that took twenty second to run, and produced 2 yards, and then turn around and reproduce the exact same play on second down for no gain, and then run the same play again on third down, resulting in a 5-yard sack. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The offense on both teams was inept, yet somebody had to win. Eventually, time expired, and Wake Forest limped off the field with a hard-fought, nausea inducing 9-6 victory. </span>markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1165196312827455152006-12-03T20:15:00.000-05:002006-12-03T21:03:21.670-05:00Reggie Fish Destroys Michigan's National Title HopesThe BCS is BS, and CBS had as much to do with that as anybody. I'll never watch another college football game on that station after their blatant and biased attempt to sway BCS voters away from a rematch. Someone even had the gall to vote Florida #1 in the Harris Interactive Poll ???<br /><br /><br />As a Michigan fan, that interception by Eric McNeal had me at the highest point this season since Breaston caught that two point conversion to close the score to within 3 with a few minutes to play. All of that emotion dropped to an emotional numbness when Reggie Fish dropped that punt inside the ten yard line, giving the Gators a free touchdown, and a renewed life. I had no idea that the BCS voters would be so braindead as to swap places between Michigan and Florida after such a mediocre performance on the field -- I feel numb.<br /><br />I've been calling for a playoff all season long, and after getting snubbed like this, I've never felt so adamant about it. There is really no strong argument against a playoff:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. The players are college students first and foremost</span> - True, but other College sports play a lot more than 13 games. Drop the twelfth game of season, start a week earlier in the summer, and your more than halfway there. Have the top eight teams play in a single elimination tournament, which amounts to a total of 7 games played, and a maximum of three playoff games. Since you've dropped one game from the regular season, and one of the bowl games, that amounts to only one extra game played for the national champion.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. There is too much money involved in the Bowls </span>- The quarterfinal, semifinal and final games can all be considered bowl games, and they can all keep corporate sponsorships. Teams not involved in the eight team playoff are free to continue playing in minor bowls, and teams that drop out of the championship series early can still play in consolation bowls.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. A playoff devalues the regular season</span> - No, it doesn't. USC lost against unranked Oregon State, and yet they were still in the running for the national championship until they blew it in the final week of the season, against UCLA. Florida lost to Auburn, yet somehow made it into the national championship game, ahead of a team that only lost by 3 points on the road to the eventual national champions. A team has to finish in the top eight to make the championship playoff series, and the top ranked teams face an easier matchup in the first round, so there is as much motivation to win as ever. If a team loses their final game of the season, they are as likely as ever to drop out of the top eight teams. Arkansas lost the SEC championship game, and fell all the way to #12.<br />----<br /><br />A few weeks ago, Urban "Crybaby" Meyer was whining and lobbying for the immediate dismantlement of the BCS system, and the installation of a playoff system. Meyer got his way, and hopefully he'll follow through with his demands to initiate discussions for the immediate dismantlement of the BCS system. Lloyd Carr is too proud and stoic to stoop to the levels of Meyer, but surely everybody can see the injustice and complete arbitrariness of the system currently in place.markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1165177432215576722006-12-03T14:58:00.000-05:002006-12-03T15:23:53.176-05:00BCS Update - It's Election Night all over AgainIt feels like the night of the 2000 and 2004 elections. The race is so close, but I have the impending feeling of doom. I already have every reason in the world to hate the state of Florida after the election fiasco. Does poetic justice not account for anything?<br /><br />MGoblog has already <a href="http://mgoblog.blogspot.com/2006/12/its-florida.html">declared Florida the winner</a>, after they took 71% of the 2nd place ballots in the coach's poll. After USC lost, I was almost sure that Michigan and Florida would split those 2nd place ballots up for grabs, but it looks like they went unanimously for Florida.<br /><br />It's down to the computer polls and the Harris Interactive Polls. Florida is up .948 to .933, or .017. Last week, Michigan held a comfortable 0.0302 lead in the Harris Interactive poll, but it looks like the entire country was swayed by that mockery of a football game that was the SEC championship, and the blatant lobbying of coach "crybaby" Urban Meyer, and the staff of the CBS broadcasting team. <br /><br />I'm still desperately hoping that Michigan can pick up an advantage in the computer polls, and that the Harris Interactive voters have some level of independent though process. What I know:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt06.htm">Sagarin</a> has Michigan #2, Florida #3<br /><a href="http://prwolfe.bol.ucla.edu/cfootball/ratings.htm">Wolfe</a> has Michigan #2, Florida #3<br /><a href="http://www.cfrc.com/">Billingsley</a> - Michigan had a massive lead over Florida in Billingsley, and should hold on<br /><a href="http://www.andersonsports.com/football/ACF_frnk.html">Anderson-Hester</a> - Michigan had a slight 0.004 lead last week, and might hold on<br /><a href="http://www.mratings.com/rate.php?lg=cf">Massey</a> -Already had Florida at #3, and Michigan at #4. Should finish #2 and #3, with USC falling<br /><a href="http://www.colleyrankings.com/currank.html">Colley</a> - Already had Florida at #3 and Michigan #4. Should finishe #2 and #3, with USC falling<br /><br />So - If Anderson-Hester goes to Florida, we have:<br />Michigan S2, W2, B2, A3, M3, C3 <br />Florida S3, W3, B3, A2, M2, C2<br /><br />The highest and lowest rankings are dropped off, so we finish with a virtual tie.<br /><br />If Anderson-Hester goes to Michigan, we have:<br />Michigan S2, W2, B2, A2, M3, C3 <br />Florida S3, W3, B3, A3, M2, C2<br /><br />Michigan - 3 Second Place and 1 Third Place votes<br />Florida - 1 Second Place, and 3 Third Place votes<br /><br />Overall, this would give Michigan a commanding .0300 lead in the computer ranking, and would completely wipe out the .017 lead given to Florida over the Coach's poll. Since Michigan had a comfortable 0.0302 lead over Florida in the Harris Interactive, they might have enough to hold on should this scenario pan out.<br /><br />*CROSSING FINGERS, HOPING, AND PRAYING FOR AN <a href="http://www.andersonsports.com/football/ACF_frnk.html">ANDERSON-HESTER</a> MIRACLE, ALONG WITH SANE VOTERS IN THE HARRIS INTERACTIVE*markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1165172698561233812006-12-03T14:03:00.000-05:002006-12-03T14:04:58.586-05:00BCS Results Trickling In *CROSSING FINGERS, PRAYING, AND HOPING*<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt06.htm">Sagarin Ratings<br /><br /></a>#1 Ohio State<br />#2 Michigan<br />#3 Florida<br />#4 USC<br />#5 LSU<br />#6 Boise State<br /><br /><a href="http://prwolfe.bol.ucla.edu/cfootball/rothman.txt">Wolfe Ratings<br /><br /></a>#1 Ohio State<br />#2 Michigan<br />#3 Florida<br />#4 USC<br />#5 Louisville<br />#6 LSU<br />#7 Boise State<br /><br />Colley projected to go to Florida<br />Billingsly projected to go to Michigan<br />Anderson-Hester is projected as a slight lead to Michigan<br /><br />It looks like the Computer rankings comes down to Anderson-Hester. Since the best and worst result are thrown out, whoever finishes with the #2 ranking in Anderson-Hester should gain an important 0.010 edge in the overall rank<br /><br /><br />The <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/rankingsindex">Coach's poll</a> is out, and it doesn't look good. <br /><br />Michigan actually lost a vote, dropping from 1,445 to 1,444. How can that be? A team above them falls, and they lose a vote? Someone is obviously gaming the system? I wonder how many SEC-biased coaches have Michigan ranked #4 or lower? Meanwhile, Florida picks up the entire boost from USC's loss, gaining 65 votes, jumping from #4 to #2, with 1470 votes.<br /><br /><br />BCS Rank to date:<br /><br />Florida (1460/1575 votes - .9333)<br />Michigan (1444/1575 votes - .9175) Florida has a .0158 edge in the Coaches poll.<br /><br />If Michigan takes the Anderson-Hester, the edge should fall to .0058, making it all come down to the Harris Interactive. Last week, Michigan had 2614 votes, while Florida had 2528. That gave Michigan a .0302 advantage, which would be more than enough to give them the BCS birth. If Michigan can hold on to a seventeen vote lead (currently 97), it should be enough. It all comes down to which team claims more USC votes (I still can't believe Michigan lost votes in the coach's poll. What the hell?)<br /><br />*CROSSING FINGERS, PRAYING AND HOPING*markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1165170809181676562006-12-03T12:54:00.000-05:002006-12-03T13:33:29.546-05:00Why Michigan should be #2 (The Vanberbilt Addendum)It seems like the entire sports world is lobbying for Florida to take the #2 spot over Michigan, for a variety of inane reasons. Michigan is clearly a superior football team to Florida, and I'm just trying to bring some sanity to the world. If you haven't already done so, first check out my last two blog entries, <a href="http://markheimonen.blogspot.com/2006/12/bcs-talking-points-aka-why-michigan.html">BCS Talking Points (AKA: Why Michigan Deserves a Rematch)</a> and <a href="http://markheimonen.blogspot.com/2006/12/othellorank-strength-of-schedule.html">OthelloRank Strength of Schedule</a>.<br /><br />The SEC isn't not the super-powerhouse that everyone is making it out to be. Last season, #21 Wisconsin exposed this with a convincing 24-10 over #7 Auburn in the Capitol One bowl. This season, USC exposed this with a 50-14 beatdown on the road against #8 Arkansas, which was one muffed punt away from winning the SEC championship. <br /><br />The SEC's winning %s are overinflated, due to a weak out of conference schedule that featured 15 matchups against Division I-AA opponents. The lone impressive out-of-conference win for the SEC was Tennessee's 35-18 win over Cal, who turned out to be rather mediocre anyway. <br /><br />Let's take a look at Vanberbilt's record. Vanderbilt is the only common opponent between Michigan and Florida. In the first week of the season, Michigan handed Vanderbilt a 27-7 drubbing, outgaining them by over 200 yards, and holding the Commodores to 171 total offensive yards.<br /><br />Let's look at how Vanberbilt performed against the rest of the SEC:<br /><br />Vs. Florida: Loss 25-19. Vanderbilt puts up 391 yards, outgaining the Gators by 60 yards. Florida throws three interceptions. Florida manages to salvage a victory when they recover Vanderbilt's onside kick attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining.<br /><br />Vs. Arkansas: Loss 21-19. Vanderbilt puts up 364 yards, but a failed 2 point conversion in the 4th quarter keeps them from tying up the game against the team that was a muffed punt away from winning the SEC Championship.<br /><br />Vs. Georgia: Win 24-22. Georgia was at one time ranked as high as #7 in the coaches poll, falls to the SEC bottom feeders.<br /><br />Vs. Alabama: Loss 13-10.<br /><br />Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina all easily handled Vanderbilt, but the point remains that several of the supposed to top-tier teams in the SEC struggled against this supposed bottom feeder. This has all the markings of a mediocre/overrated conference.<br /><br />There is little to no evidence to support the claim that the SEC is a tougher conference than the Big Ten. In fact, most evidence points to the contrary. The SEC is composed of a bunch of middling/overrated teams that are exposed each time they face a stronger out-of-conference opponent. (See Wisconsin vs. Auburn, USC vs. Arkansas, Michigan vs. Vanderbilt)<br /><br />Florida's out-of-conference schedule featured C-USA opponents Southern Miss and UCF, along with Division II-A bottom feeder Western Carolina (who finished 0-7 in a Division II-A Conference. Western Carolina's only two wins of the season came against <a href="http://www.chowan.edu/athlet/Football/2006/schedule.htm">Chowan</a> (???), who lost every game of the season, and <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=2198">Eastern Kentucky</a>, of the OVC (???)). This out of conference schedule tells us nothing, and the fact that SEC is overrated exposes the fact that Florida's supposedly toughest schedule in the nation is vastly overrated.<br /><br />My own strength of schedule calculations show that the Big Ten has vastly superior top end talent in Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin. Florida struggled for many portions of the season, and consistently looked mediocre on their route to an 12-1 season. Michigan, meanwhile, dominated in every facet of every game this season, and truly looked like a national title contender. Their only loss was by 3 points, on the road, to the #1 team in the nation. They truly deserve a rematch on neutral territory to determine who the #1 team in the nation should be.markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1165166422286589202006-12-03T12:15:00.000-05:002006-12-03T12:23:39.803-05:00OthelloRank Strength of Schedule - Michigan's tougher than FloridaI've put together the updated strength-of-schedule component from OthelloRank.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 1. Illinois - 63.415</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 2. Stanford - 67.238</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 3. Connecticut - 69.199</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 4. Michigan - 70.084</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 5. Minnesota - 72.134</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 6. Florida - 74.279</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 7. South Carolina - 78.599</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 8. Arizona - 79.779</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 9. Cincinnati - 80.923</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 10. Indiana - 82.160</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 11. Mississippi State - 84.571</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 12. Kentucky - 86.663</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 13. USC - 87.165</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 14. Iowa - 89.291</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 15. Penn State - 90.316</span><br /><br />Things to note:<br /><ul><li>Michigan is ahead of Florida</li><li>6 of the top 15 teams are from the Big Ten, while only 4 reside in the SEC. Big Ten schedules are considered tough because they had to face Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. I through out matchups against Division I-AA opponents entirely, but if I included those games, the SEC would be a lot worse off, since the Big Ten faced only 9 D-IAA opponents all season, while the SEC faced 15.</li><li>Face it - the SEC was overrated all season long, and Florida did not have a stronger schedule than Michigan. When you factor in how dominant Michigan looked all season long, while Florida limped through much of the season, this shouldn't even be close. </li></ul>markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1165165635994758662006-12-03T11:21:00.000-05:002006-12-03T12:07:16.203-05:00BCS Talking Points (AKA Why Michigan Deserves a rematch over the Gators)<ul><br /><li>Michigan completely dominated every opponent they faced this season, save the #1 team in the country, on the road. Florida needed two blocked field goals to get by unranked South Carolina, and they struggled against mediocre teams like Georgia and Florida State. Michigan played like a national championship contender for the entire season, while Florida struggled for much of the season, and managed to limp there way to an 12-1 season.</li><li>Michigan's only loss came on the road to the #1 team in the country. They lost by 3 points. Florida lost convincingly to Auburn, a team which later lost to Georgia, who went 4-4 in the SEC.<br /></li><li>The argument that the SEC is a stronger conference is a myth. Michigan's top end victories (Blowout vs. Notre Dame, impressive wins vs. Wisconsin and Penn State on the road) are more impressive than Florida's (Impressive win vs. LSU, fluky win over Arkansas, squeaking by Tennessee 21-20) According to <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt06.htm">Jeff Sagarin</a>, Michigan has a stronger strength of schedule than Florida. <br /></li><li>The only reason people feel that Florida's schedule is more impressive is the strength of the middling/mediocore opponents they played. Is defeating 8-4 Georgia, 7-5 Kentucky, 6-6 Alabama and 7-5 South Carolina really that much more impressive than defeating 8-4 Penn State, 9-4 Central Michigan 6-6 Minnesota, and 6-6 Iowa. We're talking about national championship contenders, and the argument is over which team faced more mediocre opponents. National championship contenders are supposed to breeze by this type of competition. Michigan did, and Florida struggled.</li><li>The SEC's win loss records are bolstered by an impressive array of wins over Division I-AA schools. Florida's opponents defeated 15 D-I AA opponents, while Michigan's opponents faced only 9. Florida's direct opposition have a slight edge in winning percentage, at .580 vs .579, but when you look at opponents-opponents winning percentages, Michigan has a .526 vs. .518 edge. If you factor in the fact that most D-I AA schools would've gone 0-11 vs DI-A competition, the edge is .454 vs. .419. Sagarin's rankings show that Michigan had a stronger schedule than Florida, and I tend to agree with him.</li><li>The SEC championship game was a joke. Punt Returner Fish handed them the ball game with a poor decision to field a punt over his shoulder, when it clearly would've gone in for a touchback. The game was filled with ridiculous coaching decisions, like Meyer pulling out a fake punt from his own 15 yard line in the 4th quarter (referee-aided, by neglecting to call a blatant hold) Meyer showed terrible clock management by burning all three timeouts in the third quarter, including one that resulted in a decision to punt the ball (The previously aforementioned Fish muff. Chris Leak threw a "pitch" six to Arkansas. Dick did everything he can to giftwrap the game to the Gators, as Arkansas managed to throw three interceptions while they were trying to mount a comeback. The game was a comedy of errors.<br /></li><li>There is no way you can watch this Florida team from last night, that barely eaked out a win against <span style="font-weight: bold;">unranked </span>Florida State, squeaked out a 21-20 win vs. Tennessee, and had to block a field goal as time expired to hold out a victory over <span style="font-weight: bold;">unranked</span> South Carolina, and came close to losing to <span style="font-weight: bold;">unranked</span> Vanderbilt, and declare this team the #2 team in the country.<br /></li><li>The only common opponent shared between Michigan and Florida was Vanderbilt. Michigan soundly defeated the Commodores 27-7, and outgained them by over 200 yards. Florida was outgained by Vanderbilt, and won by less than a touchdown 25-19.</li><li>Urban Meyer is a whining crybaby. You don't reward these people by giving them what they want.</li><li>Vegas says Michigan is a 6 point favorite in a head-to-head matchup over Florida</li><li><a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf">Yahoo Sports</a> says nationwide, Fans want to see Michigan-Ohio State over Florida.<br /></li></ul><ul><br /></ul>markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1165127271363921192006-12-03T01:23:00.000-05:002006-12-03T01:27:51.383-05:00Updated OthelloRank rankingsIf it was up to my computer ranking algorithm, Michigan would play in the national title game, but by the slimmest of margins. With my algorithm, Michigan has wins against 4 of the top 26 teams (#6 Wisconsin, #7 Notre Dame, #22 Penn State and #26 Central Michigan), while Florida has wins against 3 (#8 LSU, #14 Arkansas and #16 Tennessee)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 1. Ohio State 73.000</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 2. Michigan 66.920</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 3. Florida 66.670</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 4. Boise State 65.000</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 5. Louisville 49.330</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 6. Wisconsin 48.360</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 7. Notre Dame 33.750</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 8. LSU 31.500</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 9. Auburn 20.080</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 10. West Virginia 17.640</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 11. Oklahoma 15.540</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 12. USC 14.750</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 13. Wake Forest 14.170</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 14. Arkansas 10.420</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 15. Rutgers 9.820</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 16. Tennessee 9.250</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 17. Hawaii 3.910</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 18. Virginia Tech 2.730</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 19. TCU 0.090</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 20. Brigham Young - 6.170</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 21. Texas - 8.550</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 22. Penn State - 9.820</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 23. California - 20.910</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 24. Navy - 27.550</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 25. Texas A&M - 29.820</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"> 26. Central Michigan - 37.850</span>markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1165116607171786142006-12-02T22:29:00.000-05:002006-12-02T22:30:07.186-05:00Gary Danielson is a Second Rate AnnouncerI just left a complaint for CBS on their <a href="http://www.sportsline.com/help/contactus">feedback form</a>:<br /><br />The team covering the SEC Championship was horrible. There is no call for such an obvious and openly biased attempt to sway the opinion of BCS voters. I'm tempted to boycott CBS entirely, and never again watch a televised college football game on your station. It is completely irresponsible to play favorites when broadcasting a nationally televised championship football, and attempting to undermine and overtly influence the BCS voting process. Quotes from Gary Danielson during the game:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Let's face it, Michigan is a second place team".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"This is the SEC. WE don't call that".</span><br /><br />Let's face it - Gary Danielson is a second rate announcer, and has no business openly lobbying for and attempting to influence the outcome of the final BCS ballot.markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1165115596041494862006-12-02T21:41:00.000-05:002006-12-02T22:13:16.140-05:00Screw you, CBS - The BCS Mess - Michigan or FloridaThese CBS commentators are obnoxious. They are openly lobbying for a Florida-OSU national championship game on a national broadcast. this is downright ludicrous. Why should two homer broadcasters have so much influence and power over the BCS selection process. <br /><br />There is no reason that Florida should jump ahead of Michigan. The standard argument is that Florida has played a tougher schedule, but I just don't believe that to be true. Tennessee, Auburn, and Georgia have all proved to be overrated, so the only truly impressive victories wins this season are over LSU and Arkansas. Florida had two one-point victories -<br /><br />21-20 vs. Tennessee<br />17-16 vs. South Carolina<br /><br />Against South Carolina, they needed two blocked field goal attempts, including a second blocked field goal as time expired to pull out the victory.<br /><br />Florida struggled to pull out a 25-19 victory over Vanderbilt, the only common opponent, which Michigan defeated handily, winning 27-7.<br /><br />Florida won 4 games by 7 points or less. Michigan lost 2.<br /><br />Michigan's only sin for the season was dropping a game by 3 points, on the road, on terrible field conditions, against the #1 team in the nation. <br /><br />If only Fish made this all a lot easier by letting that muffed punt return go into the endzone, instead of foolishly trying to handle it. That play turned the entire complexion of the game, and the BCS standings. Arizona had just come back from a seventeen point deficit, with 21 straight points, and the ball in their possession. Florida scored the next 14 points, and never looked back. That play was the difference in the game.<br /><br />Urban Meyer has been a crybaby all season long, openly lobbying for the immediate dismantlement of the BCS system if a Michigan/OSU rematch does occur. What kind of coach calls a fake punt from their own 15 in the third quarter? What kind of commentator lauds praises on this man after a mockery of a football game?<br /><br />I leave you with the current <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Danielson">Wikipedia entry on Gary Danielson</a>, the CBS commentator who felt the need to make an open case for Florida advancing to the National Championship over Michigan:<br /><br /><b style="font-style: italic;">Gary Danielson</b><span style="font-style: italic;"> is a biased sportscaster who makes bold statements without basis. He broadcasts for the Southeast conference as the Big 10 does not want him. He's without question an embarrassment.</span><br /><br />Admittedly, looking at the edit log for this article reveals that this is vandalism, as a direct result of his open lobbying on national television, but I pretty much agree with the sentiment. The openly biased opinion of these CBS commentators was disgusting and uncalled for.markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1165111115335549362006-12-02T20:52:00.000-05:002006-12-02T20:58:43.206-05:00The SEC is a jokeAll I hear is everybody talking about how great the SEC is, but this Arkansas/Florida matchup is a mockery of football. Urban Meyer calls a fake punt from his own fifteen, down by four in the third quarter, and manages to avoid looking by a fool because the refs choose to ignore a blatant holding call. Meyer than proceeds to burn all three timeouts for no apparent reason; Chris Leaks throws a "pitch" six; Arkansas responds with a gift of their own, when punt returner Fish turns his back on a deep punt, and instead of letting it go into the endzone, he muffs the punt, and leaves the ball lying on the ground in the endzone, for a free Gators touchdown, allowing them to get back in the game.<br /><br />Florida is up 24-21 with 14:21 to go, but I don't see how anybody can vote Florida ahead of Michigan after this mess. The last coaches ballots are made public, so anybody voting Michigan lower than #4 will look like a complete ass, no matter how this game ends up. A rematch should be inevitable, but a 65-yard rushing touchdown by the Gators has me back on pins and needles. I really want Arkansas to pull out the win, so I can rest easily tonight, and we can all avoid a "BCS Mess".markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1165108709723431422006-12-02T19:59:00.000-05:002006-12-02T20:18:29.876-05:00USC bows out; Go Razerbacks!Wow! What an upset! UCLA pulls off the miracle win, and renews Michigan's chances at a national championship in one fell swoop. What a defensive performance by the Bruins, capped by a tipped ball, and an interception by Eric McNeal. It's down to Michigan and Florida, and the Wolverines have the inside track, since they have a decent edge in the BCS standings. <br /><br />If Florida pulls out a win in the SEC championship, it will come down to style points. You have to assume that Michigan and Florida would split the #2 votes up for grabs, and Michigan would hold on, but the combination of bandwagon jumping by the media, short memories by those voting, an SEC bias, and the anti-rematch vote, are enough that Florida moving into the #2 spot is still a possibility.<br /><br />The good news is that after falling down 17-0 early, Arkansas just picked off an interception, and Swiss Army Knife Darren McFadden just threw a touchdown pass to make it 17-14 Florida. Here's to holding out hope that Arkansas pulls out the win so I actually sleep tonight. <br /><br />Thank you, once again, UCLA, for a fine defensive performance :)markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1165103471239944262006-12-02T18:49:00.000-05:002006-12-02T18:51:11.260-05:00UCLA Takes the lead!Woohoo! Come on' Bruins! 5:45 seconds and one quarter to play. The Bruins are up 10-9 late in the third quarter, and are on their way to playing the role of spoiler. The UCLA defense is coming up big, and bringing the faint hopes of a Michigan National Championship back to life. LETS GO BRUINS!markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1164940836874661232006-11-30T21:16:00.000-05:002006-11-30T21:40:37.263-05:00LETS GO UCLA BRUINS!!!GO BRUINS! I'm still hanging on to faint hopes of a UCLA upset. I spent all of last weekend watching the remaining national title contenders, and hoping for the impossible. Last weekend started out okay with LSU knocking Arizona out of national title contention, although they didn't really have much of a shot anyways. FSU had a decent shot at an upset, but the offense played just well enough to lose. The high point of the game was when Florida State cornerback Michael Garvin kickoff return appeared to have tied the game at 21, but it was called back to the FSU 48 when it was revealed that he stepped an inch out of bounds. Oh well - those in power have decided that Florida is out of the title hunt anyways.<br /><br />I really wasn't that impressed with USC. They tried to give the game away, but Notre Dame was simply unable to put points on the board, regardless of the seemingly endless number of chances they had in the red zone towards the end of the first half.<br /><br />If it wasn't for the onside kick returned for a touchdown, the score would've been 37-24, and perhaps the entire country doesn't jump on USC's bandwagon. I bet half the sportswriters in the country didn't stay up to watch the game, took one look at the 44-24 score, and declared USC the new coke. I can't help but feel that if Notre Dame scores in one of those red zone possessions near the end of the first half, the score stays close, and Michigan holds on to the #2 ranking. <br /><br />I guess I can't complain too much - Michigan had a chance to get the job done themselves, and came up a little short. They managed to keep close, but the combination of a seemingly unstoppable Troy Smith, an incredibly sloppy playing field, a less-than-100% burgess, an injury early on to Barringer, a lack of depth in the secondary, and an unwillingness to adjust to these conditions until the end of the half was just too much for the offense to overcome.<br /><br />If the Wolverines are resigned to the Rose Bowl, I really, really, really hope that we do not see a rematch against Notre Dame. As one of the biggest Wolverine fans around, I still think I'd have a hard time getting up for that matchup, and I feel like the players would feel the same way. The recent rumors of a Michigan-LSU matchup have me salivating. LSU has been just under the radar all season long, but they are one of the best teams in college football. With all the talk of this being a down year in the Big Ten, and all the accolades going to the PAC10 and SEC, I'd like to see OSU, Michigan and Wisconsin represent during the bowl season. Wisconsin accepted a Capitol One bid, and won't know who they play, but it looks like Arkansas may have the inside track at the moment.<br /><br />If the Big Ten wins all three of these matchups, they lay claim to the strongest conference title:<br /><br />#1 OSU vs. #2 USC<br />#3 Michigan vs. #5 LSU<br />#7 Wisconsin vs. #8 Arkansasmarkh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1164911886628692232006-11-30T13:32:00.000-05:002006-11-30T13:38:42.473-05:00OthelloRank - A First Attempt at a Non-biased BCS Computer Ranking AlgorithmI've been frustrated over the complete arbitrariness of deciding which of Michigan, USC and Florida is most worthy of a matchup against Ohio State in the national championship. I wanted to see for myself if I could come up with completely objective and non-arbitrary ranking algorithm. I was inspired by the simplicity of the game Reversi/Othello. A more thorough description of the algorithm used follows.<br /><br />When I finally got around to running the program as I had initially designed in my head, I ended up with Ohio State ranked #1, Boise State ranked #2, Michigan #3. I realized that I had a few parameters I could tweak ( i.e. how many levels of propagation should be counted, how many points to assign a loss, or a secondary loss, etc. Eventually, I concluded that it's impossible to make these decisions without introducing my own bias into the results, thus negating my purpose for creating the entire experiment. I guess I'd have to start by configuring the rankings against historical results without taking the current season into account at all. Once I've fine-tuned things, I can turn around and use the algorithm with confidence that I haven't introduced my own bias. If they don't scrap the BCS entirely, I might try to work on that for next season.<br /><br />I did come up with some pretty convincing results with about five hours of work, half of which was writing a program to extract the teams, schedules and results from ESPN's website. In the end, I decided to only propagate out two levels, and to count wins as 1 point, and those opponent's wins as a second point, losses as -15 points, and those opponent's losses as -10 points. Using this approach, I have my top four as #1. Ohio State, #2 Florida, #3 USC, #4 Michigan.<br /><br />In the end, I ended up solving nothing. I can make my rankings look however I want, depending on how much emphasis I put on losses. It is readily apparent that both Florida and USC had tougher schedules than Michigan. If Michigan had chosen a tougher SEC or PAC10 opponent instead of Ball State, Vanberbilt, or Central Michigan as another out-of-conference opponent, they would've had enough to overtake USC/Florida, but as it stands, it's hard to make a case. Florida gets the nod over USC because a loss against Auburn doesn't cost as much as a loss against Oregon State.<br /><br />I guess when it comes down to it, this all points to the necessity of a playoff system. On the one hand, a playoff system may somewhat diminish the importance of the regular system, but on the other, it's incredibly agonizing to see Michigan come so close to a national championship, but fall short the series of belts, pulleys, gears and kludges known as the BCS.<br /><br />Download Links:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">OthelloRank Executable</span>: <a href="http://www.filefactory.com/file/80f2f3/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.filefactory.com<wbr>/file/80f2f3/</a> (Note: .NET 2.0 Framework is required - 37 KB)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">OthelloRank Source Code</span>: <a href="http://www.filefactory.com/file/9c12f6/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.filefactory.com<wbr>/file/9c12f6/</a> (Written using VS2005/C# - 77 KB)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Results</span><br /><br />Top Twelve<br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> 1. Ohio State 20.25</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> 2. Florida 19.27</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> 3. USC 19.00</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> 4. Michigan 18.92</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> 5. Louisville 16.45</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> 6. Boise State 13.27</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> 7. Wisconsin 12.82</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> 8. Rutgers 12.00</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> 9. LSU 11.92</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> 10. Notre Dame 11.17</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> 11. Arkansas 9.55</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> 12. Auburn 9.42</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">******************************<wbr>**</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> Michigan Team Report</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">******************************<wbr>**</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Wins Against (11 total)</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">------------------------</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Vanderbilt (3-8) SCORE: 12</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> Central Michigan (8-4) SCORE: 18</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Notre Dame (10-2) SCORE: 42</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Wisconsin (10-1) SCORE: 26</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Minnesota (5-6) SCORE: 22 </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Michigan State (4-8) SCORE: 17</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> Penn State (7-4) SCORE: 21</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Iowa (5-6) SCORE: 22</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Northwestern (4-7) SCORE: 14</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Ball State (5-6) SCORE: 12 </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Indiana (5-6) SCORE: 22</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Losses Against (1 total)</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">------------------------</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Ohio State (12-0) SCORE: -1</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Cumulative score is 227</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> Weighted Score is 18.92<br /><br />------------------------------<wbr>--------<br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">******************************<wbr>**</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> USC Team Report</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">******************************<wbr>**</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Wins Against (10 total)</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">------------------------</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Arkansas (9-2) SCORE: 31</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> Nebraska (8-3) SCORE: 28</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Arizona (5-6) SCORE: 26</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Washington State (6-6) SCORE: 21</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Washington (5-7) SCORE: 22 </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Arizona State (6-5) SCORE: 25</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> Stanford (1-10) SCORE: 8</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Oregon (6-5) SCORE: 27</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">California (7-3) SCORE: 25</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Notre Dame (10-2) SCORE: 42 </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Losses Against (1 total)</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">------------------------</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> Oregon State (7-4) SCORE: -46</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> Cumulative score is 209</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Weighted Score is 19</span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">******************************<wbr>**</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Florida Team Report</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">******************************<wbr>**</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> Wins Against (10 total)</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">------------------------</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Southern Miss (7-4) SCORE: 20</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">UCF (3-8) SCORE: 9 </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Tennessee (9-3) SCORE: 37</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> Kentucky (6-5) SCORE: 24</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Alabama (6-6) SCORE: 20</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">LSU (10-2) SCORE: 40</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Georgia (7-4) SCORE: 31 </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Vanderbilt (3-8) SCORE: 12</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> South Carolina (6-5) SCORE: 24</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Florida State (6-6) SCORE: 31</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Losses Against (1 total)</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;"> ------------------------</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Auburn (10-2) SCORE: -36</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Cumulative score is 212</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new,monospace;">Weighted Score is 19.27<br /><br /></span>************************************<br />About OthelloRank<br />************************************<br /><br />OthelloRank is an attempt to build a completely objective BCS computer ranking algorithm. There is no preseason rankings, no assumptions, no margins of victory, or anything else of that sort. The only item that is looked at is wins and losses.<br /><br />The algorithm is called OthelloRank, and it loosely based on the basic concepts of the board game Othello (Also known as Reversi). In Othello, the object of the game is to capture as many pieces as possible, thereby changing the polarity of those pieces on the game board that don't already belong to you.<br /><br />Assume that a win represents a white game piece, and a loss represents a black game piece. In Othello, the simplest move you can perform is to surround and capture one opposing piece on the game board. In OthelloRank, each game played is considered one move. The OthelloRank equivalent to capturing a single game piece is to defeat an opponent that has zero wins. This move flips the polarity of a single team, and provides you with one point.<br /><br />Moving back to the board game, With a strategically placed move, it is possible to capture pieces in several different directions with a single move. This would be considered a quality move. The equivalent in OthelloRank is a "Quality Win". If you defeat an opponent with five wins on the season. The polarity of each of those teams switches, giving you six points. In addition, additional points can be won by proxy. Each sub-opponent that one of those opponents has defeated can also have their polarity switched, resulting in additional points. This process propagates on outward until either the configured limit, or until all possible outcomes have been considered. Each opponent's polarity can only be switched once, resulting in a maximum theoretical score of 118 points per turn (You cannot obtain points)<br /><br />Consider the reverse - A loss in OthelloRank is the equivalent of an opponent taking a turn in the game of Othello. Polarities are flipped the opposite direction, resulting in a net loss of points. Losses are propagated by proxy, meaning that if you lose against a strong team, with no losses themselves, you will only lose one point (The exact number of points is configurable), but if you lose against a weak team, with many losses, many additional points may be lost.<br /><br />Each game played by a team is considered. Games played against non-Division I-A opponents are thrown out entirely. The final rank is generated by dividing the cumulative score achieved by the # of games played. The maximum theoretical score is 118, and the minimum theoretical score is -118.<br /><br />At a glance, this method may appear to give teams that play in weaker conferences a competitive advantage, since they have inflated records by playing against weaker competition. The theory is, that, over the course of a season, the opponents in those weaker conferences will have compiled worse non-conference schedules, resulting in fewer available net points available. The goal with this ranking algorithm is to eliminate all arbitrary assumptions, and allow the computer to decide which team is the strongest.markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1164386759010225452006-11-24T11:24:00.000-05:002006-11-24T11:49:46.380-05:00Cheering for the EnemyMichigan wrapped up their season last week, and forced to watch the rest of the season unfold from the sidelines. The Wolverines won't know whether to pack their bags for the National Championship game in Glendale, AZ, or the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.<br /><br />There four teams with a possibility of making it into the national championship game to face OSU are Michigan, USC, Florida and Arkansas. Arkansas has a very remote of making the big show, as they were blown out at home by USC, while Michigan's only loss was by 3 points on the road, to the #1 team in the nation. The only way Arkansas can take over the #2 seed is with incredibly impressive wins against both LSU and Florida.<br /><br />This afternoon, at 2:30 PM, I will assume the roll of a Tigers fan, as Arkansas visits LSU on the road. An LSU win isn't absolutely necessary, but it will serve the dual purpose of eliminating the Razorbacks from national title contention and hurting USC's strength of schedule.<br /><br />Tomorrow afternoon, I will become a huge Seminoles fan, as Florida visits their in-state rivals, the Florida State Seminoles at 12:00 PM. With a win over Florida State and Arkansas, Florida make have enough to overtake Michigan, since many voters will look for any excuse to avoid a rematch in the title game.<br /><br />Saturday evening (8:00 PM) is the biggest game of the season for a Michigan Wolverine fan that does not include the Wolverines taking the field. Although the remote possibility exists for UCLA to knock off the Trojans in the final game of the season, the best chance for a USC loss is today. This is the single biggest thing that needs to happen for Michigan to advance to a neutral field showdown vs. OSU.<br /><br /><br /><ul><li> 11/24 Arkansas vs <span id="st" name="st" class="st">LSU</span> 2:30 PM (An Arkansas loss would knock the Razerbacks out of contention) VEGAS LINE: LSU -2<br /></li><li>11/25 Florida at Florida State 12:00 PM (A Florida loss would knock the Gators out of contention) VEGAS LINE: FLORIDA -9</li><li>11/25 USC vs. Notre Dame 8:00 PM (A USC loss would knock the Trojans out of contention) VEGAS LINE: USC -7.5<br /></li><li> 12/02 USC at UCLA 4:30 PM (If USC manages to get by the Fighting Irish, this is one last chance for a loss)</li><li>12/02 SEC Championship Arkansas vs. Florida 6:00 PM (One last chance for either Arkansas or Florida to lose) </li></ul> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span>markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1164072395908352142006-11-20T19:50:00.000-05:002006-11-20T20:37:53.956-05:00Lobbying for "The Rematch"Here's to hoping Notre Dame does Michigan a huge favor this Saturday. An LSU win over Arkansas on Friday, and then an Arkansas win in the SEC championship would cement the deal. I feel that USC is the only team that still deserves a chance to steal the #2 seed, although that stretch of games involving Washington State, Washington, Arizona and Oregon State didn't exactly scream out "National Title Contender".<br /><br />There is no way anyone is going to rank Notre Dame above Michigan, so a win by the Fighting Irish does nothing but increase Michigan's strength of schedule. Arkansas got blown out badly by USC earlier this year.<br /><br />The tough call for me is between Michigan and Florida. The Gators are 10-1, with their only loss coming against #14 Auburn, but they needed a couple blocked field goals to get by South Carolina, and the margin of victory over Vanderbilt was nothing to write home about. To be fair - Michigan squeaked by Ball State earlier this season, but that was because Carr put in the second stringers on defense way too early.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ranking the #2s</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">#2 Michigan</span><br />Quality Victories:<br />at #5 Notre Dame (47-21); vs #8 Wisconsin (27-13); at #25 Penn State (17-10)<br />Losses: at #1 Ohio State (42-39)<br />Ugly Wins: <span style="font-weight: bold;">unranked </span>Ball State (34-26)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">#3 USC</span><br />Quality Wins:<br />at #6 Arkansas (50-14), vs #23 Nebraska (28-10), vs #22 Cal (23-9)<br />Losses: at <span style="font-weight: bold;">unranked Oregon State</span> (33-31)<br />Ugly Wins: <span style="font-weight: bold;">unranked </span>Washington State (28-22), <span style="font-weight: bold;">unranked </span>Washington (26-20), <span style="font-weight: bold;">unranked </span>Arizona State (28-21)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">#4 Florida<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span>Quality Wins:<br />at #19 Tennessee (21-20)<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>, </span></span>vs #9 LSU (23-10),<br />Losses: at #14 Auburn 27-17<br />Ugly Wins: at <span style="font-weight: bold;">unranked </span>Vanberbilt 25-19, <span style="font-weight: bold;">unranked </span>S Carolina 17-16<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">#5 Arkansas</span><br />Quality Wins:<br />#19 Tennessee (31-14), at #14 Auburn (27-10)<br />Losses: vs #3 USC (50-14)<br />Ugly Wins: at <span style="font-weight: bold;">unranked</span> Vanberbilt 21-19; vs <span style="font-weight: bold;">unranked </span>Alabama 24-23; at <span style="font-weight: bold;">unranked </span>S Carolina 26-20<br /><br />Breakdown:<br /><br />Michigan 3 Quality Wins, 1 loss (very close; vs #1 team in the country), 1 ugly win<br />USC 3 Quality Wins, 1 loss (vs <span style="font-weight: bold;">an unranked opponent</span>), 3 Ugly Wins<br />Florida 2 Quality Wins, 1 loss (vs #14 team in country), 2 Ugly Wins<br />Arkansas 2 Quality Wins, 1 loss (blowout at home vs #3 team in the country) 3 ugly wins<br /><br />Michigan lost by a field goal to the #1 team in the country; USC lost against an unranked opponent, Florida lost against Auburn, and barely squeeked by S Carolina, and Arkansas was blown out by USC, and looked very ordinary against several opponents this season. Notre Dame was blown out by Michigan, so moving them ahead of the Wolverines is a non-starter.<br /><br />Regardless of how the rest of the season plays out, I don't know how you move any team ahead of the Wolverines. In order to remove all speculation over who should play in the national championship, I really hope USC, Arkansas and Florida all find a way to lose in their last two games, but I feel the Wolverines should play in the championship, regardless of what happens between now and then. The chief argument against the rematch is that it is unfair to require that Ohio State defeat Michigan twice in the same season. I dismiss that argument are irrelevent. The BCS is designed to pit the two top teams against each other in the National Championship, on a <span style="font-weight: bold;">neutral field</span>. The key to this is that it should be a <span style="font-weight: bold;">neutral </span>playing field. OSU defeated Michigan by a field goal at home. Does that really tell us that OSU is a better football team than Michigan? If OSU is a better team, they should be able to defeat the Wolverines on a neutral field. If Michigan wins in the rematch, I'd argue that it should be enough to give the Wolverines the outright championship, because the all the first games showed us is that Ohio State is three points better than Michigan when playing at home.<br /><br />Michigan and Ohio State are far and away the best two teams in the country. This weekend, Ohio State definitely looked more impressive, but they had time to prepare for the absolutely horrible field conditions, had the home field advantage, and got a huge break when Barringer went down, exposing the weakest link in Michigan's lineup, which is depth at secondary.<br /><br />Critics of the rematch argue that the game wasn't really as close as the final score (42-39) indicates, but I beg to differ. OSU fans like to point out that the only thing that kept the game close was two fluke turnovers. True - a couple of those turnovers were giftwrapped, but it wasn't like OSU didn't have a few things go their way. If that roughing the passer against Crable was avoided, Michigan, who had all the momentum, would've go the ball back, with a chance to take the lead; Manningham was wide open for a sure touchdown, but slipped on the cursed grass; if Barringer didn't go down early, there is no way those two runs by Pittman and Wells would've both gone for scores; Michigan defenders were falling all over the place - I'm almost positive that Tressel dictated that the field be kept in the worst shape possible, and has his players practice on the field to determine what types of cuts they can get away with without falling over, in order to gain a competitive advantage.<br /><br />A rematch is the best thing that could happen for college football. If Ohio States wants the national championship, they shouldn't be afraid to play the Wolverines on a neutral playing field, and a level playing surface. OSU and Michigan went into the game with the two of the most impressive defenses in recent memory, and both were exposed. A rematch would allow both teams to remedy the issues exposed on defense. This weekends game was a truly exciting match, and the highest rated television audience for a College Football match in the past thirteen years. Since this game lived up to all the hype, a rematch would be an even bigger spectacle. I believe a rematch would be the true "Game of the Century".markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1163976026156244342006-11-19T17:31:00.000-05:002006-11-19T17:49:50.283-05:00Michigan is still #2The new BCS rankings came out, and Michigan is still #2, with USC close behind.<br /><br />Since Michigan lost by only 3 points, on the road, to the #1 team in the country, it didn't hurt their ranking much, and it leaves the distinct possibility of a rematch for the national championship (on a neutral field, to boot)<br /><br />The rematch basically comes down to next week, when Notre Dame plays USC on the road. USC has the best change of overtaking Michigan in the BCS rankings, and a win over Notre Dame would guarantee that to happen. However, if Notre Dame pulls out the win, it increases Michigan's strength of the schedule to the point, where I don't think any other team can catch them.<br /><br />A Notre Dame win over USC should be enough to guarantee a rematch, but there are still two SEC teams that overtake Michigan,depending on how the season plays out. In an ideal world, LSU beats Arkansas, and then Arkansas defeats Florida in the SEC championship. That scenario would guarantee a rematch.<br /><br />Key Remaining Matchups:<br /><br /><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 11/24 Arkansas vs LSU 2:30 PM (An Arkansas loss would knock the Razerbacks out of contention)</span></li><li>11/25 Florida at Florida State 12:00 PM (A Florida loss would knock the Gators out of contention)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">11/25 USC vs. Notre Dame 8:00 PM (A USC loss would knock the Trojans out of contention)</span></li><li> 12/02 USC at UCLA 4:30 PM (If USC manages to get by the Fighting Irish, this is one last chance for a loss)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">12/02 SEC Championship Arkansas vs. Florida 6:00 PM (One last chance for either Arkansas or Florida to lose) <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></li></ul><br />Each of the three contenders (USC, Florida and Arkansas) have two chances left to lose. #3 USC has to play #6 Notre Dame, who is 10-1, with only a loss to #2 Michigan. #5 Arkansas has to play #9 LSU, who is 9-2 and then #4 Florida. #4 Florida has to play in-state rival Florida State, and then #5 Arkansas. There is a good chance all three teams will lose one more game. The most important matchup will be USC vs. Notre Dame, because if USC loses, there is a very good chance Michigan will play in the national title game, regardless of how Arkansas and Florida finish out the season.<br /><br />The worst case scenario for Michigan is that they represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl against USC or Cal. It's been a very good season as a Wolverine fan, and regardless of how things play out in the upcoming weeks, I am proud of what this team has accomplished.markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7090465.post-1163791897526569432006-11-17T14:19:00.000-05:002006-11-17T15:01:36.310-05:00RIP, Bo Schembechler<span style="font-style: italic;">Edit: It's tough to find just the right words to say on the subject. Brian, from mgoblog, has expressed it better than I can hope to. See </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://mgoblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/eleven-swans.html">Eleven Swans</a><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span><br /><br />A sad day, but also a great day to remember the greatest coach in Michigan football. He had a heart attack in 1970, and another one in 1987, so this was a long time coming, but it is incredibly hard to take for football fans. Bo Schembechler lived for the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry - while he was coach, his team reviewed tapes of Ohio State every week of the season in preparation for the big game. He was the Michigan coach, during the "Ten Years War", while legend Woody Hayes was the Ohio State coach.<br /><br />Bo Schembechler started his career working as an assistant for Woody Hayes, and he titled his autobiography "Woody and Me". Woody passed away in 1987. It's somehow fitting the Bo passed away during the weekend of the biggest game in Michigan/Ohio State history, while the entire national spotlight is on the rivalry. ESPN is going to spend the entire day covering Bo Schembechler's life story.<br /><br />Bo was not planning on attending the game, since his health prevented him from attending away games, but I'm sure he was looking forward to watching this game. His last public comments were <a href="http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061117/BLOG07/61117018/1048/SPORTS">at a press conference earlier</a> this week. You can listen to audio from the press conference at <a href="http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/audio/index.ssf?/wolverines/audio/ram/umfbpc_player02.rpm">MGoBlue.com</a>.<br /><br />Further reading:<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Schembechler">Wikipedia - Bo Schembechler</a><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan-Ohio_State_rivalry">Wikipedia - Michigan - Ohio State Rivalary<br /></a><br />ESPN just had a helicopter shot of the Michigan Football teams buses departing for Columbus, OH. The biggest game in the history of college football just took a backseat to a football legend. The memory of Bo Schembechler will weight heavy on the hearts of everyone at the game tomorrow, as the legend of Bo and Woody lives on during another chapter in the most storied rivalary in all of sports.markh100http://www.blogger.com/profile/11760781016515145043noreply@blogger.com