A commenter on my rematch post has a different take on the BCS that no one else seems to follow so I thought I would promote it to a full post

No rematch!! Take the two teams that haven’t lost a game as of yet Ohio State and Boise State and put the teams head to head. Boise State beat Oregon State soundly and Oregon State beat USC. Michigan lost (period) why do it again? Is this a second chance? If Michigan was to win are they the best team? NO!!! They had a shot, they blew it. (Thanks for play’in) You are now off the board!!! Boise State with what some call an easy schedule beat alot of teams that are pretty good and beat teams nationally ranked. Bottom line, they have yet to lose a game. GO whatever Boise States football team is called!!! Lets see a DAVID VS GOLIATH!!! I think the so called big schools are scared of this and in NO WAY want this game for one reason….if they lose small schools get recruits maybe once thinking to attend their schools. If Boise even stays close they are scared. I say Boise wins 40-30. Vegas odds I win millions!!!

UPDATE:  I Originally posted about Gumbel after last years debacle.  However, while out of the country last week, my previous rip on Bryant Gumbel got a lot of hit and a ton of comments on his poor (too put it mildly) NFL commentary.  I am surprised that the NFL is keeping him around or that he didn’t put some effort into improving his skills over the off season.  There is a lively discussion below in the comments regarding the Dallas-Green Bay NFL broadcast.  I urge you to read it and contribute! - JM
I watched the Denver vs KC game last night, which was the first telecast of the NFL Network. The first thought that came to mind is that I wish the NFL would leave the telecasts to the networks that know what they are doing because the production quality and play by play were terrible. They brought in Byrant Gumbel, the OJ apologist, as the play by play guy and he was so off it wasn’t even funny. He couldn’t figure out the basics like what down it was. He was constantly saying something like, “Mike Bell ran almost to the 5 yard line”, and the spot would be on the 4 because the runner clearly passed the 5. On one key play Rod Smith dived for a first down on a 3rd down play that wasn’t quite into the end zone and Bryant kept speculating if the Broncos would go for the TD on 4th even after the graphics on the TV showed 1st and goal. Wasn’t anyone in the control room updating him or telling him to shut up its 1st down? I kept thinking, “Dude, it wasn’t 3rd and goal! Cant you see the first down marker on the 1 or read your own graphics that say its 3rd and 5?” One of my favorites was when Gumbel commented a injured players return was “debatable”. Hmm, isn’t the football term questionable? Why would you debate the return?
Chris Collingsworth, the color guy, seemed a little slow to constantly correct him because he probably didn’t want to make him look like a fool. However, for someone that was only casually watching the game as I drifted in and out of a post turkey slumber the mistakes were glaring. According to an article in the Kansas City Star it was Gumbel’s first broadcast since 1982. That is a long time. I like Gumbel on his HBO show, but he needs to work off some rust before the next NFL telecast.
The Kansas City Star pointed out some of the more glaring problems in their article:

Mike Bell makes the catch, and it looks like he’s got the first down.”

| Gumbel, NFL Network

JF: Gumbel showed his rust early on. The Broncos actually got the first down on the previous play, and Gumbel remained completely unaware of it the rest of the series.

•••

……•••

“Larry Johnson goes up the middle, and he goes nowhere.”

| Gumbel

JF: Actually, it was second and short on the play, and LJ got the first down by about 2 yards. Gumbel was off all night trying to figure out down and distance.

•••

I guess the good news for Gumbel is that it seems not many people were getting the game outside of KC and Denver or the cable systems that carry the NFL network. They were constantly plugging this site, iwantnflnetwork.com, during the game so my guess is not everyone has this channel. Luckily I get it on DirecTV and they had it in HD on the HDTV Channel.

I did a search and found someone else talking about the horrible broadcast by the NFL.

I know my prediction was off. Troy Smith was awesome, but Michigan hung close. If not for a marginal personal foul on 3rd and long Michigan might have been going for the win with their late TD.

However, there seems to be momentum for a rematch based on how both teams played the game. its hard to think anyone else could go into Columbus and play OSU that way. However, I think USC can spoil that if that win out. Its hard to argue they dont deserve the BCS if they beat Cal, ND, and UCLA.

Theories?

Michigan 24 Ohio State 10. An inspired Michigan team rolls over the Buckeyes lead by a crushing defense and adequate offense with a solid running game. A tribute to a great coach and a true Michigan Man.