We Were All Wrong, Except Urban Meyer

Wow. What happened? I had some faint misgivings when Michigan got thrashed by USC in the Rose Bowl, admittedly, and against my natural inclinations, I started to suspect the Big 10. But I never saw this happening.






Yeah, Penn State/Tennessee, yeah Wisconsin/Arkansas, but something was smelly at the top. I had the feeling that if Ohio State and Michigan beat the crap out of each other and seemed well matched back in November, was there a problem if Michigan didn't seem to belong on the same field as USC on New Year's Day?

Since beating Michigan was Ohio State's signature, and only "elite," win as Texas panned out, did this mean that the Buckeyes were suspect? I had that tingle in my reptilian sub-brain, but I quashed it because the Buckeyes looked unstoppable and I believed in the Big 10.

Now it's been exposed. I didn't follow Ohio State with the same level of detail that I invested in Michigan, so I can't speculate on what went wrong with the gameplan, coaching or execution (and I hope that when Switters peels himself up out of his alcohol-induced fugue he'll have the courage to try). But with 82 yards of offense, and Florida defenders grabbing and eating chunks of Troy Smith like cotton candy, I can restate the obvious and say that something went very, very wrong.

And for the first time in my life I felt terrible for Troy Smith getting sacked. This miserable ending did not befit the apparent season he'd had. Nor did it fit the season that the Buckeyes turned in.

I supposed the speculation will turn to the 51 days of waiting time, or the de-emphasis on preparation, the lack of what they call 'hunger' or 'fire,' that comes with being the odds-on favorite not just to win but to destroy. Then maybe there's the Ohio State/SEC jinx (0-8 in as many tries) or the fact that Ohio State was one of Sports Illustrated's #1 Cover teams back in August and Florida was not.

Anyway it falls out it was a disappointing finale for the Big Ten and they've taken a nationally televised beating that diminishes a lot of the respect for the conference and validates the SEC's claim to best in the land.

Finally, you do have to hand it to Florida and Urban Meyer. They worked it.