Currently Listening The Remote Part By Idlewild see related

Why Florida isn't BCS Championship worthy...

Perhaps the worst of all possible scenarios happened Saturday. USC lost to UCLA.

Florida will likely play in the national championship. Let's look at their schedule. I've taken the liberty of highlighting their non-conference schedule in blue, and their conference schedule in orange.

	Sat, Sep 2	Southern Miss	W 34-7
	Sat, Sep 9	UCF	W 42-0
	Sat, Sep 16	at (13) Tennessee	W 21-20
	Sat, Sep 23	Kentucky	W 26-7
	Sat, Sep 30	Alabama	W 28-13
	Sat, Oct 7	(9) LSU	W 23-10
	Sat, Oct 14	at (11) Auburn	L 17-27
	Sat, Oct 28	Georgia	W 21-14
	Sat, Nov 4	at Vanderbilt	W 25-19
	Sat, Nov 11	South Carolina	W 17-16
	Sat, Nov 18	Western Carolina	W 62-0
	Sat, Nov 25	at Florida State	W 21-14
	Sat, Dec 2	(8) Arkansas	W 38-28

You'll notice that Florida only scheduled one major conference team (Florida St.) in their non-conference schedule. Florida St. went 6-6 after a very disappointing season and still played Florida well, falling behind in the 4th quarter to a Chris Leak touchdown with time running out. Southern Miss and Central Florida are mediocre teams in Conference USA. Western Carolina isn't even Division I-A.

I look at their conference schedule and one word comes to mind: inconsistent. Sure, the 23-10 win over LSU looks pretty good. But you'll notice that they could only manage to beat unranked Georgia and unranked Vanderbilt by a touchdown (or less.) You'll also notice that Florida came within one point of a loss to both Tennessee and South Carolina (in fact, it took a last minute field goal block by Jarvis Moss to preserve that win.)

While Michigan and Florida are virtually tied in total defense, Michigan ranks much higher than Florida in total offense.

The controversy goes beyond which team plays in the title game. It's a battle between two philosophies: one group believing that the title game shouldn't be a rematch of a conference game, the other believing that the championship should be played between the two best teams in football, regardless of which conferences they  come from. Twice in BCS history, two teams have played in the title game after not winning their own conference. Nebraska in 2001-02 lost to Colorado in the Big 12 championship and went to the BCS championship. Oklahoma in 2003-04 lost to Kansas St. in the Big 12 championship and went to the BCS championship. Michigan would be the third team to not win their conference and go to the big game, the only difference being that Michigan lost it's conference championship to the best team in college football, the only team that has been pretty much guaranteed a championship all season, and the only team in the nation better than Michigan.

I don't want to see Florida get manhandled in Glendale. Send Michigan on January 8th...

Currently Listening The Question By Emery see related

BCS Quagmire: 2006

Allow me to be the first Arkansan to say that which will certainly get me lynched: Arkansas has absolutely no right to the BCS title game this year. Let me explain...

No one doubts that Ohio State is the best team in the country and a lock for a spot in the championship. At this time, Michigan is in the No. 2 spot by a margin less than one hundredth of a percent. USC and Florida are running behind the bus at No. 3 & 4, respectively. Notre Dame rounds out the top 5, finally having no right to use the term 'rebuilding' when rehashing a less-than-perfect season to the media.

Then comes Arkansas, riding high on a 10 game winning streak that was sparked by a lopsided 36 point loss to USC earlier in the year. If Arkansas were to win out, should they be given a spot in the championship? Absolutely not. Though an SEC Championship would put us above Florida in the rankings, and knowing that by next week either USC or Notre Dame will fall, no one can deny that Michigan's stellar road performance against No. 1 Ohio State gives them the right to claim a spot in the title game. To me, and clearly to the analysts, Michigan has proven they are the No. 2 team in the nation.

Enter USC fans. Should they win out, they'll certainly claim they deserve a spot, forgetting the tragic loss to Oregon State that would cost them the title game in a just world. Should Notre Dame pull off an upset in the Colosseum, they would have a better complaint, but let's not forget their previous loss to the Wolverines. Florida currently doesn't deserve a title shot, and a loss to Arkansas in the SEC Championship would cement that.

If there is any justice in this world, the Buckeyes will play the Wolverines in the national championship. USC doesn't deserve it, and neither does Notre Dame, Florida, or Arkansas.

Two more comments.

1. Starting the season unranked and ending in the Top 5 is a respectable feat. Let's not forget that.

2. Houston Nutt is still a terrible coach. It is sheer coordination that has led our hopes to fruition. Reggie Herring has yet again whipped a mediocre defense into shape, something he has become known for over the years. Gus Malzahan finally grasped the offensive reins from Nutt's hands at Auburn, and hasn't let up since. Anyone who can't see that would be well served to study the offensive play-calling pre-Auburn and post-Auburn.

Does anyone know how to fix the collar on a shirt so it will stand up? The collars on my shirts keep freaking out and I have no clue how to fix them...

So, it's been a few days since I last updated. And by days, what I really mean is an eon (approximately).

Lately, I've noticed several little things in my everyday life that have made me stop and think. I hate to think that I've lived 20 years of my life without paying attention to the little things. I was brushing my teeth one night and I noticed how the water made an upside down heart as it went into the drain. I looked up into the mirror and the heart was no longer upside down, but a perfect heart of clear water running serenely into the drain. I wonder how many times I've been too hastily engaged in self-important tasks to notice the beauty of all that is always around me. I truly believe that God created a beautiful world for us to live in, and it never even crosses my mind to appreciate it. I think of that water-heart and wonder if God is trying to tell me to be more loving, or perhaps more sensitive? As cliche as the lyrics go: "Love is all that I need/And I found it there in your heart." Love really is what we most need, maybe the closest we can be to perfection. And I believe it's in all of our hearts. I just think that I could be more generous in showing it.

That being said, whatever happened to gradual changes in weather? How does the temperature go from cool and breezy to hot and sticky? If this keeps up, I may be writing Mother Nature a strongly worded letter soon.