Well that didn't take long, did it? Only a week and days after proving to the country why they deserved to be mentioned in the same breath as Florida, USC, Notre Dame and Arkansas, they went out to Nippert Stadium hellbent on proving to the world why they were all wrong. Proving to the world why the Big East as a conference will never truly get the recognition it deserves on the national level, when its Top 10 teams can't hold off teams such as Cincinatti.

Now for any Rutgers fan that might be reading this right now, allow me to be clear about something. I like RU. I really do. I think Schiano should be rewarded for this year with a Weis-like extension to ensure he's not ed or lured back to 'Da U'.

However, someone should 'chop' him right in his temple for the way the Knights were unprepared to play last night. They didn't make adjustments to a team that was stacked to stop Rice and Teel apparently wasn't ready to make a stacked D pay for going 8 or 9 in the box by throwing FOUR interceptions.

Yup. They'd DEFINITELY give Ohio State a run for their money in a national title game. Well, with a trip to Arizona out of the question now even if everyone and their mama loses in the next two weeks, fret not Scarlet fans. A trip to Miami and a bit of a homecoming for Schiano might not be out of the question. Two wins and you can book Rutgers on the first thing smoking to Miami as they play in the Orange Bowl.

BUT...that's IF they beat Syracuse and a Texas sized I and a Montana sized F [that's a mighty big IF for those who were wondering] they walk into Morgantown to beat an angry West Virginia team. Which if you'll pardon me for saying this openly, I'm more than a little bit skeptical of considering the major egg they left in Nippert Stadium last night. So this of course brings me to...

O-H-I-O. The Buckeyes are the best team in college football right now. They've got the Heisman Trophy winner at QB [even if Brady goes into The Coliseum on Saturday and takes USC behind the woodshed, his less than stellar showing against Michigan takes him out of this equation] and a defense that's better than I think everyone expected to have lost so many starters a year ago.

So with Michigan set for a trip to Pasadena... oh, before I continue, let me say this right now and get it out of the way. There should NOT BE a rematch in Glendale. Not no way, not no how. Now I realize that for the sake of the BCS, the next few days will be spent trying to justify why we should see this again. We'll hear how Michigan slugged it out with the Buckeyes and hear why if they meet again, it COULD be different. Well, thankfully for me I don't really have a true say so in this matter which is why you're gonna hear the truth and here it is.

The Wolverines played well enough to lose yesterday. Period, end of story. They didn't capitalize off of the three turnovers and they did not make enough big plays, nor stop O-State from making big plays of its own in order to win what was more than a winnable game in Columbus. Last night was as close to a national title game as Michigan was gonna get and simply put, they acted as if they couldn't be bothered to make a game of it after they were hit in the mouth on consecutive series by Ohio State after the initial scoring drive. Michigan should be heading to the Rose Bowl to give ABC its traditional Big Ten/Pac-10 matchup and Ohio State should be looking forward to seeing one of two, possibly four teams and here's where I 'Break Down The BCS Title Game With No Rankings Or Computers Involved'.

Alright, here's your scenarios....

USC/Ohio State. USC wins its last two games. That's it. No matter what Florida does in the next two weeks, USC's had a much tougher schedule and the one common opponent Florida and USC will have [Arkansas], USC beat rather convincingly earlier in the year. You can say it was minus McFadden, but they don't postpone games because key guys are hurt. I'm becoming less and less sympathetic to teams who play the injury card.

Florida/Ohio State. Florida rolls through its last two games and USC drops at least ONE of its last two. I can't
see how Florida gets in over USC if both teams win out. Especially since the win over Notre Dame will more than likely be greater than Florida's over Arkansas. And it's sort of a shame too, since I think Urban's spread offense would give Ohio State's defense serious fits.

Arkansas/Ohio State. Arkansas wins its last two games, Florida and USC lose at least ONCE. Actually, I stand corrected. USC must lose twice. Just to be safe...hehe. Well, the Florida thing is a given, but USC can't win out. If it wins out, we're gonna have USC/Ohio State for the National Title.

Notre Dame/Ohio State. To be perfectly honest with you, the only other game I'd rather not see more than Michigan/Ohio State is Notre Dame/Ohio State. They still haven't figured out how to play defense and I don't think what everyone saw in Tempe 11 months ago was a fluke. Ohio State's better this year and that defense would be on Brady like white on rice, like pineapples on ham and such and such. Notre Dame MUST beat USC and then hope that either FSU or Arkansas can topple Florida. But this is where it gets problematic because if this happens, this will lead to talk of...

Michigan/Ohio State II. Michigan throttled Notre Dame like a pimp throttling one of its hoes so to speak back in September in South Bend no less. Michigan folks will argue that IF Notre Dame beats USC and IF FSU or Arkansas can topple Florida that they're the only team in the land that can compete with Ohio State. They are the only team that the nation wants to see opposite of Ohio State on the national stage and while they might be right in some ways from a ratings standpoint, here's where they're wrong. Last night on that same stage, the Wolverines folded. Rather, they got folded by a hungrier, more superior Ohio State ball club. I get the talk and I get the spin job that the media's gonna put on this thing for the next two weeks. But all that remains is this...

Right now, this is USC's trip to Arizona to blow. Two wins and they're in. Simple. Arkansas's got the longest of the long shots to getting there and Florida's gotta hope USC stumbles once in order to get their first shot at a national title since the Ole Ball Coach was there in Gainesville. Michigan fans, I hear it's not too early to start up a www.firelloydcarr.com website. 5 losses in 6 tries to Tressel? Why would you want to see him lose twice to Tressel in one season? So there ya have it. The BCS Made Simple. Now if only the real thing was that simple.