Pete
Fiutak
Q:
Rematch?
A:
I go through this with ten reasons why there shouldn't be a rematch
in this week's Cavalcade of
Whimsy. I'm a firm believer that rematches are awful for sports and
shouldn't be in college football national title games, so to take the
other side for a moment and play devil's advocate, the only reason there
should be one is for flat-out fun. The first game was, arguably, the
most entertaining of the year, and I do want to see what would happen
after the defensive coordinators got 50 days to try to sort out the
issues. Yeah, I do believe Michigan is the second best team in America
so it ... I can't do it. No rematch. Let's see someone else get a shot.
Richard
Cirminiello
Q:
Rematch?
A: No
thank you. I’ve gotten my heaping serving of Michigan-Ohio State, and
it was delicious, but now I’m ready for a different dish. Michigan was
terrific, even valiant, in defeat Saturday, but I’m not yet convinced
that it’s so head and shoulders above USC or the Florida/Arkansas winner
to suggest that a sequel of Saturday’s game is warranted. Didn’t the
Wolverines just allow six touchdowns, 503 yards and 24 first downs in
their biggest game of the year? If USC can beat Notre Dame and UCLA to
match the Wolverines’ 11-1 record, the Trojans belong in Glendale with a
shot at the Buckeyes in the desert version of the Rose Bowl. They’ll
have played nine teams that are bowl eligible, beating Arkansas,
Nebraska, Cal and the Irish, which is enough to avoid a rematch of a
game we’ve already seen once. Same goes for the SEC champion if it can
get through this week’s regular season finale with just a single loss.
Notre Dame? Forget it. The Irish are disqualified no matter what
happens this week in the Coliseum, courtesy of its to 47-21 loss to the
Wolverines back on Sept. 16. Postseason rematches are generally awful,
so selfishly, I don’t want to see the game, but it’s also not necessary
if there’s a comparable one-loss program to face the Buckeyes. Michigan
had its opportunity to beat Ohio State already. It’s time to give
another program a shot.
John
Harris
Q:
Rematch?
A. I don’t
think, at this point, a rematch is a lock or should be guaranteed.
Should it be? Take a look at the following and you decide:
1. As it pertains to
playing non-conference BCS teams, Michigan beat Vanderbilt (4-7) and
Notre Dame (10-1) and Ohio State beat Texas (9-2), Cincinnati (6-5).
The remaining Big Ten teams beat Syracuse, Iowa State and Pitt, a
combined 14-20, so dominating a relatively weak conference tells us what
exactly? Take Ohio State and Michigan out of the equation and the rest
of the Big Ten was 3-6 against non-conference foes, beating one
potential bowl team. As a comparison, the Big East was 11-7 against
non-conference BCS foes, beating three potential bowl teams.
2. If USC beats Notre
Dame, the Trojans will have beaten the Big 12 North champ, who
ironically enough beat Michigan in the Alamo Bowl last year, the SEC
West champ, who could be 11-1 and a 10-1 Notre Dame team.
3. If Florida runs the
table, they’ll have finished 12-1 as the SEC champ, playing 13 games
against 10 potential bowl teams – in arguably the toughest conference in
the nation. Michigan will have finished 11-1 playing 12 games against 7
potential bowl teams. Not to mention the fact that the Gators will have
beaten Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, Georgia and Arkansas.
4. If Arkansas runs
the table they’ll have beaten Auburn (#15), LSU (#8), Tennessee (#20)
and Florida (#4). Michigan will have beaten Notre Dame (#5) and
Wisconsin (#9).
If Michigan is given
the rematch, it validates that the only good football played this year
was in the Big Ten. The facts above do not prove that to be true. I do
believe that Michigan is that good this year, but you can’t argue with
facts. As such, I want to see the rest of this season play out before I
agree that a rematch is the right answer.
Matthew
Zemek
Q:
Rematch?
A: For the love of God, please, no rematch.
Value of the regular season? Gone.
Value of a conference title? Gone.
Value of The Game? Gone.
Value of USC's non-conference schedule? Gone.
If OSU and Michigan played a bowl game and/or a semifinal and then
won their way back into a rematch, it would be very different. But not a
rematch in consecutive games. No way.
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