Well, the unthinkable just might happen after all. The Knicks making the playoffs? I said 'unthinkable' not 'next to impossible and in front of unfeasible'.

The recent BCS polls have the Scarlet Knights ranked sixth.
Yes, behind Notre Dame which plays USC next weekend and ahead of Arkansas which by no means is assured a ticket to Georgia to go Gator Wrasslin'. The very thing that nobody and I mean NO ONE, even you Ron, thought could happen very well might happen as long as the teams ahead of them keep falling like dominoes. Texas, Auburn, and Cal all dropped this past Saturday and this Saturday, one of the two biggest bones of them all will be toppled at The 'Shoe in Columbus. Oh and just so I'm clear on this, so that I'm not misunderstood a week from now when this is bound to come up...

WHOEVER LOSES ON SATURDAY SHOULD TAKE THEIR ROSE BOWL BID AND BE HAPPY! NO REMATCH FOR YOU.

Ahem. Fact is, I don't care if this damn thing is a nail, no...cuticle biter that ends in quintuple OTs. I'm not trying to see this damn thing again in January in Glendale, Arizona. Not no way, not no how. Is it not bad enough Ohioans have LeBron being crammed down everyone's throats that we give them another Buckeyes/Wolverines game to feast on?

Oh and if Michigan loses on Saturday under well...any close set of circumstances, I'm damn sure not trying to see if they get it right in January. Because odds are, if they can't get the damn thing right on Saturday with all the motivation in the world (Lloyd Carr falling to John Cooper levels of ineptitude against Ohio State, I believe 1-5 which makes him Tressel's bitch. A trip to the national title game and capping off a helluva year that ended in the Alamo Bowl with a horrendous Hook and Ladder that didn't quite reach the top rung against the Huskers), they won't get it right. Oh and history backs me up here. Dating back about ten years, there's only been ONE title rematch from a regular season finale and that one wasn't anywhere near as close as everyone's hoping O-State/Michigan is on Saturday. FSU flogged Florida by double digits and for whatever the reason, we got to see this again in the Sugar Bowl.

Sadly, the result was the same only this time, the Ole Ball Coach made a ton of adjustments and ensured they wouldn't get punked twice. Think Lloyd Carr's gonna do the same?
But let's get back to the Knights. Rutgers, if it wins out, should play in Arizona for the national title. I mean, think about this for a minute. Taking BYU out of the equation and their improbable national title in 1984, when was the last time a potential national champion had the story that Rutgers had? Answer? Never.

You see, College Basketball would be drooling all over this. Hell, you've seen teams like this win national titles in the past. Valvano's Wolfpack, Rollie's Wildcats and of course my personal favorite, Calhoun's Huskies all had insurmountable odds in front of them for the national title that nobody gave them chances to win and wouldn't ya know it? They won.

Rutgers is by no stretch of the imagination your father's piss poor "couldn't beat a Pee Wee team with a three score lead" team anymore. This is a team that's blue collar, in your face, and much like the state they so proudly represent, disrespected by seemingly everyone because
they're not a "sexy" school like Ohio State or Michigan. Well guess what folks? The computers have caught Scarlet Fever, that's right, Rutgers is #2 in their rankings behind Michigan and ahead of... Ohio State.

How? Simple. One common opponent with a different result. Rutgers blanked Illinois, atoning for last year's implosion while Ohio State nearly imploded in the second half and escaped with a seven point win. Think the second best defense in the nation wouldn't be chomping at the bit to
bite into Troy Smith? Think Rice wouldn't hesitate to show the Son of Animal what a real Legion of Doom looks like on offense?

See, I've come to realize what everyone's so terrified of and why they're trying to propose any and every scenario under the sun that ensures Rutgers isn't in Arizona one week after every other bowl game's played. It's not the thought of Rutgers playing for the national title which is frightening to the BCS and every pundit in America. No, what's frightening to them is not just the fact that they can play for the national title, it's the fact that in a neutral atmosphere they can WIN IT.

Opening the door for every school just like Rutgers to believe the age-old adage, if they can do it, so can we. People need to start thinking outside of the traditional
box which has the likes of the Irish, Gators, Trojans, Wolverines and Buckeyes competing for the national title every year. Whether you like it or not, as my boy Ric Flair would say, learn to love it... the R is here and the R will be here to stay for a while.

Oh and here's another thing which has me quasi-giddy thinking about it... in about three years when my little cousin is ready to graduate, it puts a smile on my face from ear to ear knowing by that time, Rutgers will have established itself as a major power and my cousin will be playing his college ball only a rock's throw away from his home in Somerset.

Scarlet Fever's sweeping the nation people and I tried to warn you all. It is too late now. The Cards were the first to be done in by it... now the computers... the Bearcats are next. The Mountaineers... will be last.

Well, next to last anyhow. :)