Michigan-Ohio State Rematch? Not So Fast

After Michigan lost to Ohio State in a close game Saturday, the drums started beating for a rematch. As expected, voters were pretty divided over which team should be No. 2. USC is second in both polls used by the BCS, but by slim margins. The Trojans lead Michigan by only 16 points in the coaches' poll and just 21 in the Harris poll. That is a close enough vote that if Michigan leads USC in at least four of the six computers, the Wolverines would be ahead in the BCS. This week, Michigan is second in five of the computers and third in the sixth, while the opposite is true for USC. That's why Michigan is second in the BCS this week, but because of their remaining games, it's the Trojans who control their own destiny for the championship game.

If USC wins out, it will not only be the top-rated one-loss team in the computers, it might even be the No. 1 computer team, period. Unless the voters start doing more for Michigan on their own, the Wolverines will need someone to beat the Trojans if they are to have another crack at Ohio State.

Florida is in the picture too. However, unlike USC, the Gators trail Michigan in both polls. The difference between Michigan and Florida in the Harris poll is 69 points and 21 points in the coaches' poll. The Gators would need to be one spot ahead of Michigan in each computer to overcome that difference, but that might happen.

So, if USC and Florida win out, Michigan has a much better chance of finishing fourth than second.

One wild card in all this is Notre Dame. The Irish are fifth in the BCS rankings, but they take on USC next week. Because Michigan is a one-loss team, there really isn't much of a chance that Notre Dame can get to the championship game, but if it beats the Trojans, they could help push Michigan there. That's because if the Irish win, they figure to move up on some ballots, but it's unlikely that they pass Michigan on too many of them. However, they could move past Florida on a number of ballots, increasing the gap between the Wolverines and the Gators in the voting. If enough voters did that, it could render Florida's strength in the computers meaningless.

Arkansas doesn't appear to have much hope in the title chase either. The voters still haven't warmed up to the Hogs, although they did move a little past Notre Dame in the coaches' poll. It seems unrealistic to think that all of a sudden voters will fall in love with the Razorbacks and push them past Michigan if they win the SEC, but you never know about the voters. We do know that Arkansas won't be as strong in the computers as Michigan, so the voters would have to be overwhelming in their support of the Hogs for them to have a chance to go to Glendale.

1. Ohio State	2. Michigan
3. USC	4. Florida
5. Notre Dame	6. Arkansas
7. West Virginia	8. Wisconsin
	Complete Standings