Throughout most of the year, it looked as if the BCS would have its
first intra-conference rematch, pitting Ohio State against Michigan.
The Big Ten’s bitter rivals matched each other game-for-game on a
collision course of unbeatens while other contenders fell away.
The two teams joined battle with raw emotions, if very little
defense. The surprisingly high-scoring game was more or less decided
by Michigan linebacker Shawn Crable’s late hit on Ohio State QB Troy
Smith late in the game. The Buckeyes won, 42-39.
But Michigan stayed at No. 2 in the BCS standings even after the
game, making a rematch in Arizona a real possibility. Then the
Wolverines began to fall, week after week, without playing a single
down.
First, they were passed by USC, after a thrashing of overrated Notre
Dame at the Coliseum. And then, just as when it appeared that the
Trojans would play in its third consecutive BCS title game, they
suffered a monumental choke job against UCLA at the Rose Bowl.
Michigan’s rematch with Ohio State was on again.
Only for a few hours, as it turned out. After Florida dispatched
Arkansas, with some difficulty, in the SEC Championship Game, the
Gators leapfrogged the Wolverines (is that physiologically
possible?) and got the coveted date with the Buckeyes.
Ruining the rematch turned out to be a good thing in this sense:
Both Ohio State and Michigan proved to be … frauds. The Buckeyes
were mauled by Florida in a game that was never close after Ohio
State scored on the opening kickoff. Michigan was likewise
annihilated by USC in the Rose Bowl.
Florida got its first national championship under Urban Meyer,
thanks to a lucky break – USC losing against a 20-point underdog
UCLA – and a massive voter defection (more on that later). But at
the end, very little argument may be made about the Gators’
legitimacy as the BCS national champion.
This was also the first year of the double-host format, where the
bowl hosting the BCS national championship game also would have its
regular bowl game. With this arrangement, teams qualifying for BCS
bowls would increase from eight to 10.
The main beneficiary of this change was supposed to be non-BCS
conference teams, now with better access to BCS bowls. And
undefeated Boise State took full advantage.
In the same University of Phoenix Stadium that was to host the BCS
title game, Boise State shocked and enthralled college football fans
with its delightful 43-42 overtime win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta
Bowl. The Broncos tied the game on a hook-and-ladder, won the game
on a Statue of Liberty, and capped it off with a marriage proposal
as running back Ian Johnson got down to one knee in front of
girlfriend Chrissy Popadics on national TV.
Using human polls only: 1. Ohio State, 2. Florida, 3.
Michigan, 4. LSU.
Plus One: Ohio State vs. USC; Florida vs. Michigan.
Controversy: Michigan fans won’t soon forget how fickle
voters defected from their team. After losing to Ohio State, the
Wolverines were still comfortably ahead of both USC and Florida in
both the Coaches and Harris polls. But that soon changed.
Entering the final week of the regular season, Michigan was ahead of
Florida by 86 points in the Harris Poll and 40 points in the Coaches
Poll. But after Florida’s win over Arkansas, the Gators went ahead
of Michigan by 38 points in the Harris Poll (a swing of 114 points)
and 26 in the Coaches Poll (a swing of 66 points). In both cases,
the voters were determined to avoid a Michigan-Ohio State rematch.
With Florida and Michigan dead even in the computer rankings, the
voters’ wish carried the day.
BCS Formula Review: With the formula now set, the only
revelation of 2006 was that the Harris Poll proved to be no better
(or worse) than any other human polls. The Harris voters, like the
coaches (and the writers in the AP poll) defected from Michigan to
push, first USC, then Florida, into the BCS title game. As the human
polls now comprise two-thirds of the BCS formula, essentially the
computer rankings are rendered meaningless in a tight race.
Analysis: Did the right team win the BCS championship?
Perhaps. But had USC not inexplicably gagged against a team that it
beat, 66-19, the year before and had won seven straight against,
Florida would never have made it to the title game. There would’ve
been protests from both Michigan and Florida after USC presumably
walloped Ohio State.
The two best teams of the season, as indicated by bowl results,
never got to play each other. USC blew its chance at a third
national title in four years, but the Trojans and Gators would never
have gotten a chance to play each other anyway. Not with Ohio State
being insulated in the Big Ten and going undefeated.
