The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1513253
JANUARY 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 11 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Alabama Was The Right Choice For No. 4 By Chris Balas Florida State got screwed, no doubt about it. Any 13-0 team in a Power Five conference that won the championship should be a lock. But blame the system, not the committee. They were tasked with find- ing the best four teams, and based on what they saw from an FSU team that was down to its third-string quarterback and struggled to move the ball, it was clear Alabama was a better choice. Just ask Michigan fans, who by and large would rather have played the Seminoles in the Rose Bowl than the Crim- son Tide. With Jordan Travis, FSU would have been a no-brainer. The injured quarterback is a difference-maker. At the same time, there's no guarantee the committee would have left out the SEC champion, anyway. There's clear bias toward what many believe is the nation's best confer- ence, even in a supposed "down" year. But this year it's warranted. This isn't Nick Saban's best team, but it's loaded with talent and will be a tough one for the Wolverines. The offensive line needs to play much better if they're going to win. Florida State Should Be In By Clayton Sayfie When discussing how Michigan being without head coach Jim Harbaugh for future games may impact the Wolverines' ranking in a Nov. 10 conference call with media members, CFP executive director Bill Hancock said: "I want to empha- size the committee does not project what might happen in a future game. It will take into consideration what happens in any game, including absence of players or coaches. The committee looks backward, not forward." It's not surprising, since the committee seems to change its criteria every season and even multiple times within a year, but Florida State got a raw deal due to the group of 13 individuals project- ing ahead and not looking at what the Seminoles had done, including without their starting quarterback, Jordan Travis. It's not their job to predict who would win or how close the CFP games would be. It's their duty to select the teams that had the best seasons and earned the right to compete for the national championship. At some point, the games have to matter. Florida State challenged itself with two nonconference games against SEC opponents, LSU and Florida, had the No. 3 strength of record in the country per ESPN.com and posted a 13-0 record. Florida State left no doubt by winning out. ❱ POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT ❰ DID THE CFP COMMITTEE GET IT RIGHT WITH ALABAMA OVER FLORIDA STATE? 1969 MICHIGAN vs OHIO STATE GAME Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan ON DVD!! One of the greatest upsets in the history of college football – The defending National Champion and undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes vs the 7-2 Michigan Wolverines under a new head coach! This was one of OSU coach Woody Hayes' finest teams. Ohio State had won 22 games in a row and had not lost a game at Ann Arbor in ten years! Some sportswriters were calling the Buckeyes the greatest college team of all time and had installed Ohio State as 17-point favorites –— at Michigan Stadium! But, by the end of the day, a sky-high Michigan team led by first year head coach Bo Schembechler, had totally outplayed Ohio State in front of an all-time NCAA record crowd of 103,588, had tied for the Big Ten Title and was heading to the Rose Bowl! The original network tapes have been digitally restored by Rare Sportsfilms for outstanding color and picture sharpness and now this historic classic is available for the first time on DVD! Bill Flemming and Lee Grosscup call the action! This entire TV broadcast, plus the pre-game show, includes all the original commercials and also features pre-game and halftime performances by both the Ohio State and University of Michigan Marching Bands! Pre-game interviews feature Jack Tatum of Ohio State and Jim Mandich of Michigan, as well as Buckeye coach Woody Hayes! Players in action you will see throughout the game include quarterback Don Moorhead, Billy Taylor, Marty Huff, Thom Darden, Dan Dierdorf, Glenn Doughty, Garvie Craw and Barry Pierson of Michigan. For Ohio State you'll see quarterback Rex Kern, Jim Otis, Mike Sensibaugh, Leo Hayden, Jan White, Jim Stillwagon, Larry Zelina, Stan White and many others! This game marked the beginning of the famous "Woody vs Bo Ten-Year War", and is one of the most significant games in the history of Michigan-Ohio State football! Running Time: 3 Hours, 20 Minutes $29.95 FREE SHIPPING! "RARE SPORTSFILMS W" 1126 Tennyson Lane, Naperville, IL 60540 1-630-527-8890