Former Michigan offensive lineman Justin Boren, who left Michigan in mid-March citing a "decline of family values" under coach Rich Rodriguez, has transferred to Ohio State. Boren started all of last season at center and left guard for Michigan. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel confirmed the transfer to the Columbus Dispatch for a story in today's edition.

Fortunately, Michigan fans are taking this well.

Boren of course will have to sit out a year before playing his final three seasons with the Buckeyes; a situation made all the weirder by the fact that his father, Mike, played for Michigan under Bo Schembechler in the early 1980s. A bit surprisingly, not all Ohio State players are completely on board with this.

UPDATE: Michigan fans still taking the news well.

Justin Boren Transfers To Ohio State [Detroit Free Press]
Justin Boren Sweepstakes [Buckeye Commentary]

Those Michigan men pictured above playing flip cup got tickets to that particular game by having sex with an actual wolverine.

Just like penguins and other primates, people trade sex for resources [Eureka]

It's like back before the Civil War when slaves had the right to buy their freedom. A penalty of $4 million is almost like a slave from Africa trying to buy his freedom in America. I think it's an outrageous amount. It's just not fair and it's not related to any damages the university is suffering."

Well said, Marv. And perfectly timed, considering it's the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr's assassination. This is exactly the type of oppressive behavior Dr. King devoted his life to eliminating.

Rich Rod's lawyer uses slavery analogy in regard to coach's buyout [Charleston Daily Mail]

You may not care about women's basketball, but don't say that around Michigan coach Kevin Borseth. He's, um, into the game. And as you may have picked up from this clip, he thinks that offensive rebounding is rather important. Not sure if he's ranting at his players or at the officiating here, but either way, it's fun.

The only thing better would be if he got down on all fours and lobbed a pretend hand grenade. "Maybe we should recruit football players and put them around the basket!" Ha. He's forty! He's a man!

Kevin Borseth Post-Game Interview [Big Ten Network]

They also mention a crazy theory put out there by certain Mountaineering nutjobs:

The level of vitriol has surprised even Rodriguez, whose guilt and empathy are slowly turning into defiance. What irks him the most is a theory bubbling from the hollers to the Capitol to the campus bars in Morgantown. A theory that suggested he threw the Dec. 1 game against Pittsburgh — the school's traditional season-ending rival — to avoid a berth in the national championship game.

[I]f the school lost, the theory went, Rodriguez would be free to pursue the Michigan job, because no coach would walk away from a championship game.

The Freep continues on to discuss a heated meeting between Rodriguez and the WVU president, how his brother's kids are being threatened at school, and how embedded the football program was with the entire state of West Virginia. In short, I really hope these two meet in a BCS game next year.

How and Why Rich Rodriguez Left West Virginia For Michigan [Detroit Free Press]

• Pryor: Add Michigan To My List. The nation's No. 1 high school football prospect as ranked by Rivals.com — Jeanntte, Pa., quarterback Terrelle Pryor — apparently knew before most that West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez was headed to Michigan as the Wolverines' new coach. "Add Michigan to my list," said Pryor early Sunday afternoon. "Rich Rod is headed to Michigan. I just spoke to him earlier this morning and he told me he's gone. I don't know when it will be announced, but it could be as early as today." Several media outlets then began reporting that Rodriguez told his West Virginia team that he was leaving for Michigan. "He's excited and so was I," said Pryor. "Michigan was on my early list, and now their right up there again. He's a great coach and I like his offense." [Genuinely Sarcastic]

• It's Addition By Subtraction Christmas. (Strength and conditioning coach) Gittleson: gone, and with him goes the antiquated HIT system that only Michigan and Penn State still use. I've never known how much credence to give the S&C wailers, but I think we can all agree that when it's just you and Penn State doing something you're on the wrong end of the innovation bell curve unless the something in question is the Charleston. [MGo Blog]

• The Rodriguez Era Begins. So, is it a great hire? It's too early to tell. Just as it would have been impossible 48 hours after the fact to tell if the hiring of Mike DeBord would have been the first sign of the Football Apocalypse. We won't know how good this hire is until about three years down the road. If Rodriguez tries to reinvent the wheel too soon, well, talk to Husker fans about that one. [The M Zone]

• Michigan — The New West Virginia. While this is a good hire for blue, don't fret just yet if you're an Ohio State fan. This offense usually takes time to implement not only in terms of design but also personnel. Seeing Ryan Mallett run the spread option would be a humorously welcome sight. To that end, West Virginia was just 3-8 in Rodriguez's first year in Morgantown. [Buckeye Commentary]

• Rich Rodrig-YESSSSS! Oh Dollaz! I can't believe you pulled this one off. Maybe you didn't know what you were doing during the search. Maybe this was all dumb luck. But whatever. I hereby forgive you for stressing me out for the last month and thank you with the utmost gratitude for this awesome early Christmas gift. Welcome to Michigan, Rich Rod. [Autumn Thunder]

• Wolverines Continue Looting Of Morgantown. Only 8 months after hiring Mountaineer basketball coach John Beilein, the Wolverines plucked football coach Rich Rodriguez to replace Lloyd Carr and become the schools 18th head football coach. No word yet on whether they'll also make a run at the "King of Pork", in an effort to get the stadium renovation funds cooking. [Eleven Warriors]

• Mitch Albom Is A Waste Of Flesh. Mitch is such a Yellow Belly, carpetbagging, blue-and-gold Michigan-loving, I'll-take-Chris Webber-for-his-word crappy biased journalist. Hey, Mitch: I loved your article on Dantonio's hiring at MSU.... right - NOT. Maybe now you get it. Why don't you take your opinions back to New York and get out of this state. You suck. [The Enlightened Spartan]

• Michigan Grabs A Mountaineers Coach For Second Time. On a side note, for those Wolverines fans looking toward the future, the domain fireRichRodriguez.com is still available for only $250. [SportsbyBrooks]

So now do we enter the Les Miles Era at Michigan? Everyone's assuming that this is pretty much a lock (my suggestion of Steve Mariucci is rudely ignored, of course). Hmm, some are not so sure. And, of course, Political Outcast called the whole thing back on Sept. 2 (although I'm surethey weren't alone).

Goodbye, Lloyd. By all accounts you're a pretty nice guy; but you couldn't beat Ohio State, so you're screwed.

• Let The Good Times Roll. It seems that your fears about Saturday's Kansas-Missouri showdown were unfounded. They will be selling beer at Arrowhead Stadium. Repeat: There WILL be beer. "KU associate athletic director Jim Marchiony said all three parties — KU officials, MU officials and Chiefs officials — discussed the alcohol issue and decided to give it a thumbs up. It's not as if fans from both schools won't be partying it up all afternoon in the parking lots anyway, but ..." [Kansas City.com]

• The Air Up There. Come with us now to the mountains of Peru, as an Ohio State fans argues with a Michigan fan at Machu Pichu. I think I see Lloyd Carr riding a llama in the distance. [Big Ten Tailgate]

It's worth noting, as CollegeGameBalls does, that this four-year span of Michigan football has to be considered among the most disappointing in school history. And just to rub it in, the Dead Schembechlers — now known as "The Bastard Sons Of Woody" — are considering performing in Ann Arbor this week. We can't imagine what could possibly go wrong there.

No word yet on who the next Wolverines coach might be. We suggest Tommy Amaker!

Band Is Hinting At U-M Gig [Detroit News]
RIP, Henne, Hart And Carr [CollegeGameBalls]

The Second Coming Of John L. Smith [The Wizard Of Odds]

It's worth noting that the Illini lost because of poor quarterback play, but they really lost because of a disastrous muffed punt by returner/wide receiver Kyle Hudson late in the game which led to the winning touchdown. We sadly report that Hudson ... is from Mattoon. This is what happens when you have white punt returners.

Before the loss, the Illini extended coach Ron Zook's contract though the 2012 season. The money? Ron Zook doesn't care about your money.

"As long as I got my ski boat, I'm good to go," Zook said.

Don't you know it!

Ron Zook sweats intensity!

One-Dimensional Illini Can't End Curse [Decatur Herald And Review]
Zook's Future At Illinois Looks Bright [Chicago Tribune]

We think this is pretty rude, sneaking a trip to midfield of the Big House just to mock the home team, but we'll confess that it would be difficult to resist, were the opportunity to present itself. Purdue probably deserved to lose after pulling this stunt, but it still might have been worth it.

Purdue Football Managers Mock Michigan [The M Zone]

Nothing's funnier than hearing a child scream "Nooooooo!" This guy's gonna make a great quarterback's dad someday.

This is definitely weirder than Jon Bon Jovi and Bill Belichick being pals.

When his A-list Hollywood pal phoned last week to cheer him up after Michigan's 0-2 start, the Wolverines' grumpy ol' coach made another Hollywood casting call.

"I thought I'd just kind of take his mind off things so I gave him a call and started teasing him about it," Crowe explained Saturday, his ponytail tucked neatly under a new block 'M' cap. "And he said, 'Get up here.'"

We cannot fathom how these two became friends. We just can't.

Crowe's A Hit In Locker Room Role [Detroit News]

Dear Former Michigan Football Player:

This Saturday at approximately 1:45pm, we want every former player to meet outside the Michigan Stadium tunnel to support our team and remind them that wearing the winged helmet makes them part of something special. Let's show our unity for the Wolverines when they step off the bus. Go Blue!

This all sounds nice and good, but a little part of us can't help but wonder if, for the Michigan players stepping off that bus, will think they're being more glared at than anything else. If our father had built the most gorgeous building in Mattoon, and we'd burned down through general doofusness, we'd be a little nervous if he stared at us the next time we walked into a new place.

You see, some App. St. fan got a tattoo of the Michigan Stadium scoreboard on his ass.

"There was one guy just last night - an older, wealthy type - and he wanted a tattoo of the scoreboard from last week right on his [butt]," said David King, co-owner of Ink Link (tattoo shop in Boone) whose arms have more color than an ice cream shop's freezer. "We put it on him - the score, the game clock, the whole thing - right on his [butt]."

You know, if he would have kept the scoreboard advertising spots open, that thing would have paid for itself.

Smell To The Victors [AppFan]

In the midst of depression, you have to admire the fanbases. Tickets on StubHub are still awfully pricey. We're going to be in Seattle this weekend — we actually leave tomorrow night — and the Michigan-ND tickets are still more expensive than the Washington-Ohio State tickets, and that's involving two 2-0 teams. Difference is, though: Tyrone Willingham has a chance to win.

Michigan-ND Tickets [StubHub]
Washington-Ohio State Tickets [StubHub]

Not that they would ever let me participate, but I know what I would do if I was a voting member of the AP Top 25 (or advising a coach who votes in the Coaches' Top 25):

Exile Michigan entirely.

Certainly for this week. Possibly, punitively, for as many weeks until the Wolverines lose the stink of humiliation. That could take a while.

When the official polls come out today, I simply won't understand if Michigan is still in the Top 25. Hell, as a self-respecting college football fan, I'll be outraged.

I don't even want to see them listed under the "Also Receiving Votes," because that implies that at least some voters thought Michigan was rank-worthy.

Presumably, Michigan's pollster-defenders will point to their preseason Top 5 ranking. I would counter that "inertia" is no reason to leave a team in the Top 25, when all we have to go on is a single performance.

The preseason poll was, at best, a guess- - immediately to be remedied and revitalized in the face of actual on-field evidence. Hell, pollsters should want to overhaul their preseason guesswork.

The problem is: Too many pollsters use the preseason Top 25 as the anchor for their entire season's ballot work, rather than recognize it for the empty summer debate-fodder that it is.

(Want proof? Look at how many pollsters keep USC as the No. 1 team, simply because they were the No. 1 team in the preseason poll and didn't lose. Nevermind that if you actually watched the game, the Trojans sure as hell didn't play like a No. 1 team, when other teams looked more worthy — this week, at least. But why would a pollster let actual game results get in the way of maintaining ballot consistency from preseason to Week 1?)

So while I'm punishing Michigan , let me throw out another one: Any pollster who put Michigan in their Top 25 ballot this week should lose their privilege of voting.

There is no reason that, with more than 60 NCAA teams that actually won their season-openers (most against — gasp! — 1-A opponents), a team that is 0-1 with that one loss coming to a 1-AA team (again: at home!) should be ahead of 25 of them.

Forget the "I'm entitled to my opinion" defense most voters will give you: Any voter who keeps Michigan in their Top 25 appears to know so little about college football that they shouldn't be given this ultimate responsibility.

Unfortunately, the coaches — as part of their own poll's DNA of chicanery — won't release the individual ballots on a week-by-week basis. Maybe that's because they don't want the "coaches" who "voted" to be caught unaware that the assistant SID who actually DID fill out the ballot did something inane... like list Michigan in the Top 25.

AP voters should be held to a higher standard: Each voter should declare where they stood on Michigan this week, complete with a defense of the indefensible. (Pay particular attention to where the Michigan-beat voters rank the team they depend on access for to do their jobs.)

However, no matter who they work for, if ANY voters who continued to rank Michigan in their Top 25 happen to "cover" college football for your local newspaper, I feel badly for you, because it would be hard to take their reporting or analysis seriously.

Ideally, before voters made the mistake of plugging in " Michigan," they should have stopped to consider whether they should really be writing in "Appalachian State" in Michigan 's place.

(Honestly: Would Michigan fans even want to see their team in the Top 25 this week? With that big ol' "0-1" staring them in the face. With the sarcastic comments coming from other fans. With the understanding that Top 25 placement would be a "rep" move — presumably out of pity?)

Michigan may yet earn their way back into the Top 25 — I'm not even sure a home win over Oregon next week will do it for me, although that win is hardly a sure thing anyway.

But for now? Top Nothing.

(UPDATE FROM SHANOFF: So the coaches and media pull the second-biggest upset of the week in college football, defying my low expectations and yoinking Michigan from the Top 25. It's rare to have your faith in such a perennially infuriating group of humanity restored, even partially. I tip my cap to those who left them off entirely.

(I have my own theory: Mike Bellotti of Oregon, which plays Michigan next, has a vested interest in playing as high-ranked a team as possible. Mike, are you the Michigan Mystery Moron?)

This Week's Hot Bandwagon: "F.C.S." They picked the wrong time to change it from the classic "1-AA" to the impenetrable "F.C.S.", which stands for "Football Championship Subdivision."

Apparently the division formerly known as "1-A" is formally known as "F.B.S.," or "Football Bowl Subdivision." (Or, for those with a sense of humor about 1-A's lack of a 1-AA-style playoff, "Football B.S.")

This must be the worst NCAA marketing decision since "B.C.S." The "lower" division claims "Championship." The "higher" division gets "Bowl." That 1-AA marketing team knew something Michigan coaches didn't, obviously.

My BlogPoll ballot Top 10 this week*:
1. West Virginia
2. LSU
3. Louisville
4. Cal
5. Virginia Tech
6. Florida
7. USC
8. Wisconsin
9. Rutgers
10. Arkansas
Honorary: Appalachian State
Intriguing: Georgia , TCU, Penn St , Miami , Tulsa
Full ballot here.

(* - For the record, I didn't even THINK about ranking Michigan in my Top 25. I'm sure some/many of my BlogPoll colleagues have Michigan in their Top 25. While the media and coaches are predictable in their limp Michigan-backing, I would have expected better from bloggers.)

Next Saturday's Must-See Games (picks in bold):

Virginia Tech at LSU: If you're one of the few — cough! — who picked VA Tech to win the national title, this is the season-maker/-breaker, matching up the two best Ds in the country.

TCU at Texas : "This Year's Boise " top-contender TCU blanked Baylor in Week 1. Texas barely survived against Arkansas State . All signs point to "Upset."

Oregon at Michigan : If the Wolverines can lose at home to a 1-AA team, what will they do against a Top 25-ish Pac-10 team? Dare to dream: Michigan 0-2?

Miami at Oklahoma : New Canes coach Randy Shannon had it easy in his debut vs. Florida Int'l. At Norman is an entirely other matter.

South Carolina at Georgia : I underrated the Dawgs against Oklahoma State , but all bets are off against the Ol' Ball Coach.

Notre Dame at Penn State : After Paterno's team put up 59 in a shutout and Weis' guys stunk it up, it's looking ugly for the Irish.

South Florida at Auburn : Are the Bulls for real? A win over Auburn (who barely avoided being upset by Kansas State on Saturday) would be huge for USF's (and the Big East's) cred.

Nebraska at Wake Forest : Was the Huskers' 52 in a win over Nevada legit? Wake is 0-1, but put up a fight on the road at underrated BC.

Attention, readers in Gainesville : I'll be making my annual pilgrimage down to the Swamp next week. Who's got a tailgate I can crash drop by? Drop a line to danshanoff[at]gmail[dot]com. The usual comments are welcome, too.

As much as we enjoyed the link to all the other Big Ten teams celebrating Michigan's loss, and as happy as we are for Appalachian State — some of whose fans actually saw this coming — we still have to focus on those Michigan fans, who saw their entire season (and perhaps so much more) evaporate in a split second. We don't see any way Michigan can possibly overcome this, and Lloyd Carr certainly seems like he's gonna be a Chippewa in a couple of years.

For a truly gruesome spectacle, enjoy these Michigan fans musing on the possibility of a loss pregame. And then, once again, enjoy these Ohio State fans:

He has answered some of his own questions on his page. They're quite fun. Every Day Should Be Saturday has all the gory details.

Do you own any pets, and if so what do you have?
i got a fuck lion now come fuck wit me

Who do you admire most?
My mom CARLA, dat bitch da shit, i love her i think she da realest bitch alive

When do you plan on getting married? it dont matta cuz i hope my wife know ima be playa 4 life

There's so much more. We're totally getting a fuck lion.

A Hero For Our Time [Every Day Should Be Saturday]

Apparently, in Ireland, they have a rather confounding understanding of the University of Michigan. We think we'd wear this shirt, if we owned it, and just tell everyone we're an alum.

Best part: The tag says, "Made In Pakistan." Makes sense.

European T-Shirts Lack Knowledge Of Washtenaw County Universities [The Futon Report]

Yep, Amaker — by all accounts a classy and upstanding fellow — is the new coach at Harvard, an intriguing career move but on that will be kind of fun to watch. (At least we know whom to pick in our NIT pools next year!) Amaker replaces Frank Sullivan, who coached the Crimson for 16 years and never finished higher than second place in the Ivy League, which would seem difficult to do.

Anyway, we have to say, we're beginning to find it more fun to watch coaches go down the food chain rather than up. There is far more joy in watching Amaker try to resurrect a Harvard team than, say, looking at Bob Huggins' yearly sleazy desperate job grasp. Go Crimson!

Harvard: Michigan Of East [The Realests]

OK, this is no laughing matter, but Wolverine Nation can't be happy that when this 35-year-old man went out to meet a "kid" he met on the Internet, he decided to wear his lucky Michigan cap. Next to "First down, Troy Smith," the next phrase a Michigan fan does not want to hear is "Hi, I'm Chris Hansen from MSNBC. What are you doing here today?"

The guy's answer of course is: "I'm here to play pool."

Mike Cooper, you're free to go now.

Michigan Predator [Buckeye Mainiac]

he University of Michigan Head Men's Basketball Coach. The University of Michigan invites applications for the position of Head Men's Basketball Coach. This position entails the leadership of all phases of the men's basketball program. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to; coaching, the recruitment of qualified student-athletes, support of the academic progress of student-athletes, budget management and community relations. Minimum qualifications: Bachelor's degree required. A thorough knowledge of NCAA rules and regulations is required. Preferred qualifications: Graduate degree. Previous collegiate head coaching experience. Review of applicants will begin immediately.

The ad doesn't mention the downsides, namely, the intense pressure involved in pushing a team deep into the NIT; the early-round exit this year just won't cut it.

Michigan basketball Coach Ad [NCAA.com]

Ford was the captain of his high school football team, and eventually had his #48 retired at Michigan. He repeatedly turned down offers to play professionally with the Detroit Lions, with Matt Millen having offered him a contract as recently as Sunday morning. His greatest accomplishment might be topping Dan Shanoff's Presidential athletic power rankings. If it's not too late, he'd probably like to have that honor inscribed on his tombstone somewhere.

All of this, of course, ignores everything he did politically, but you know, we are still a sports blog. And as you may have gathered, I'm about the last guy that should be eulogizing Gerald Ford. The thing for which I know him best is the scene in Beverly Hills Cop II were Axel tells the guy at 385 North that Taggart is Gerald Ford. That's not a fact I'm particularly proud of, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

Former President Ford dies at 93 [CNN.com]
Gerald Ford [Wikipedia]
Wednesday 12/27: Gerald Ford No. 1! (in Presidential Athletic Power Rankings!) [Dan Shanoff]
Fare Thee Well, Gerald Ford [I Dislike Your Favorite Team]

Not exactly. For Wolverine fans, the BCS bowl lineup is, appropriately, the last 10 minutes of Trading Places, with Don Ameche being wheeled out on a gurney crying "Turn those machines back on!" Michigan simply will not let this go. First let us check in on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, a Michigan alum who gives us his unbiased take on the situation in an interview with MLive.com:

"Anyone who has seen (Florida) play realizes it is a no-brainer. Florida is not very good. I watched that game (Saturday) night and that other (Arkansas) quarterback completed like three passes the week before. They have 18 guys out there throwing passes for Arkansas," Brady said.

How bitter are the feelings? Michigan is still complaining about Gary Danielson's TV commentary in the Florida-Arkansas game. We take you now to MGoBlog:

Danielson irresponsibly used a captive audience and may have seriously harmed Michigan's chances of getting to the national championship game with his incessant, retarded assertions that Michigan didn't deserve the national championship game because it was a "second place team." He's lost the considerable respect I had for his color commentary. Now I only hope I can identify him getting out of his car so I can STAB STAB STAB STAB HIM IN THE STABBY PLACES let the air out of his tires. KNIFEY NEEDS BLOOD TO BREATHE I don't like him very much.

And remember, Arkansas has 18 quarterbacks.

Tom Brady on Florida [MLive.com]
On Notice:Fiasco Edition [MGoBlog]

What the blogs are saying about the BCS matchups ...

• "Projected BCS matchups: Florida versus OSU in the Not-Fiesta Brought To You By Haphazard, Illogical Guesswork; Michigan versus USC in the Rose Brought To You By Aaaaargh; ND versus LSU in the Sugar Brought To You By Vicious Lopsided Beatdown; Wake Forest Versus Louisville in the Orange Brought To You By Seriously, Wake Forest?; Oklahoma versus Boise State in the Fiesta Brought To You By Wooo Ratings Bonanza. I'm a little bitter. Can you tell? Congratulations to Urban Meyer, the Florida Gators, and their 66-10 loss to Ohio State. [The Fanhouse]

• "UF will travel to Glendale, Ariz., to take on the #1 Ohio State Buckeyes for the title. Apparently, the Gators' 25.6 style points in Atlanta were enough to send them out west. I'm sure I won't be the only Gator submitting a January 8-9 vacation request at work Monday morning. Michigan? They came in second in a major conference. Mazel tov. The championship game isn't for conference also-rans. It's for champions. Like the Florida Gators. [We Are The Boys]

• It's finally official, the National Title game will be Ohio State v. Florida. It seems the Gators benefited greatly from three things: a) USC losing b) having a schedule that doesn't finish until December c) Jim Walden. Walden voted Florida #1 in the Harris Poll, over undefeated Ohio State, presumably an attempt to keep Michigan out of Glendale. Good ol' Jim's Wikipedia entry is ever changing at the moment. [Buckeye Commentary]

• It's wilted Roses in 2007 as USC and Michigan will rematch their 2004 Rose Bowl-with both coming within a touchdown-combined-of having met in the Bowl Championship Series Title Game. You can just see the excitement on Trojan linebacker Brian Cushing's face about the prospect of returning to Pasadena in a month. [Boi From Troy]

• Hey, when did Gary Danielson sign on to be the official University of Florida announcer? What's that? He's not? Boy, would never have known it from listening to the second half of the SEC Championship game yesterday. Gary head his head so far up the Gators' ass, I thought maybe Urban Meyer was holding one of his kids hostage. And it was an absolute embarrassment to the sports broadcasting profession. [The M Zone]

• "In a process that contained very little drama after the math, leaks and common sense employed today, the BCS selection show confirmed that the Irish will indeed be taking on the Bayou Bengals of LSU in the Sugar Bowl. They aren't very happy, with the 42,000 Rose Bowl tickets already bought and what-not. Remember, it's not Notre Dame's fault the system's broke." [Rakes of Mallow]

"You're never going to get me to vote for one team ahead of a team that's only lost to the best team in the country," Walden said.

Yeah, that's a quote that's gonna hurt. Almost as much as fellow voter Brentson Buckner, who said he voted Florida ahead of Michigan because the Gators' only loss was to LSU, which, of course, it wasn't.

This all seems a lot of bluster to us; even if Michigan fans are right — and personally, we think they are — they're yelling at the wrong people. Yes, Walden and Buckner might be completely unqualified to be part of the decision-making process on this, but that there's a decision-making process on this at all is ridiculous. Until they fix this, this is going to happen every year, and we're going to have this same damned debate. And it's not going to change. This is why college football isn't as much fun as college basketball, and until they realize that, it never will be.

More Exclusive Bias Behind Harris Poll [The M Zone]
With Voters LIke Brentson Buckner ... [Just Call Me Juice]

Here's their projected BCS bowl line-up:

Rose: USC vs. Michigan.
Sugar: Notre Dame vs. LSU.
Orange: Louisville vs. Wake Forest.
Fiesta: Oklahoma vs. Boise State.

And it's worth noting that LSU has pre-sold (I'm not entirely sure what that means) 42,000 tickets for the Rose Bowl. But it's not much of a drive from Pasadena to New Orleans, I'm sure it will be fine.

Official announcements coming on FOX after the NFL festivities.

Florida vaults to No. 2 in BCS, will play Ohio State for national title [LATimes.com]

Here's some rather amazing timelapse video from the Ohio State-Michigan game last Saturday, via The Wizard Of Odds, that features a Web cam specifically trained on Ohio Stadium and clicking every minute. It begins the night before and runs through the night after.

Somehow, the game seems less important from this high up; it's difficult to riot up watching this view. It almost seems like any other game ... albeit one where every one there was losing their collective minds. But you can't tell that from this high up.

Michigan And Ohio State In 210 Seconds [The Wizard Of Odds]

I don't think I'd call it a "classic," per se, but Ohio State's 42-39 triumph over Michigan was somewhere in the neighborhood. It wasn't the blowout I was hoping for, to ensure that there wouldn't be a rematch of these two teams later in the national championship game (screw you, Bob Davie)... but it was a damn entertaining football game that nearly lasted four hours. Can't beat that. And right now, a little bonus Hugh Johnson action for you:

—-

If Musberger blames the fucking sod again for the lack of a first down conversion, I will throw something through my TV. I should have made another beer run before this game started. - Signal to Noise

I just saw Michigan players rubbing Lee Corso's merlin for good luck... seems like its working. - PopJocks.com

With the success of both Tony LaRussa and Jim Tressel, this is turning into the year of the transition lenses. - Larry Bird Flu

Ya know, I am not positive of the statistics of this, but Chad Henne has gotta be like 1 for 8 for about 5 yards when he calls an audible at the line. He is this close to the coordinator charging out on the field and changing the play back. - Janus09

So, Michigan-OSU is all but over. That was a good season, hmm? - Victoria Times

As the Michigan comeback has progressed, checking Deadspin at commercials on my Sidekick has become part of my ritual. If UM wins, I'm going to have to check in to Illinois marriage laws regarding men and websites. - goathair_3?

There was a Heisman Trophy on the sidelines at the OSU/Michigan game. Did ABC buy O.J.'s Heisman for that very purpose? - WorldBFat

—-

We're not done with the quality college football this afternoon, though. We've still got what should be an excellent clash between Cal and USC, an important ACC game (if there can be such a thing) between Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, and everybody's sweethearts, Rutgers taking on Cincinnati in the ESPN primetime game.

The Buckeye Expat has gone to the trouble of recording predictions of of major publications and relevant blogs. The Ohio State blogs like Ohio State, the Michigan blogs like Michigan, and the independent sites seem to be pretty evenly split. I'll take Michigan, 16-10.

A couple of YouTube videos to get you primed:

First, here's what the scene in Columbus looked like before the 2002 Michigan/Ohio State game. None of the behavior gets to the level of shocking, really, but it probably didn't look like this before the Harvard/Yale game this morning:

And secondly, here's Chris Fowler's words not really matching what's going on behind him:

Tempered. Sorrowful. WOOOOOOOOOOO!

First off, our sincerest regards to the family of former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler, who, as has been reported everywhere, died of a heart attack at the age of 77 this morning. Obits are everywhere, so we won't bother you with one here, though there's some good ones floating around the Web. Schembechler had been extremely active in the Michigan community and had been making several appearances in advance of the Ohio State-Michigan game Saturday.

Oh. Yes. That. A game that already seemed wired a little bit too tightly for comfort, with this, is in serious danger of spiraling out of control. (To their credit, the Dead Schembechlers have a nice note about Schembechler on their site.) You have to wonder in what way this will ratchet matters up for tomorrow. If they have a moment of silence, will Ohio State fans boo? Sure, not all of them will ... but it certainly seems possible, right? You think there was going to be some Wolverines-Buckeyes fan conflict before? Wait until a drunk Buckeye fan cracks a Schembechler joke.

It seems strange that they're actually having a game tomorrow, that it's actually happening. We had been doing a post a day about this game before this happened. We can't imagine what Columbus is going to be like tomorrow. It's a good thing it's an afternoon game; we're not sure the Oval would have survived until nightfall.

So yeah: Ohio State vs. Michigan, No. 1 vs. No. 2, the day after Bo Schembechler dies, in Columbus. Our minds are officially blown.

Schembechler Dies Of Heart Attack At 77 [Michigan Live]

Schembechler, who recently expressed amusement at the Ohio State fan punk band The Dead Schembechlers, is 77 years old and recently had a pacemaker installed. He was taken to Providence Hospital at 9:30 a.m.

More on this as it comes, obviously. Yipes.

(UPDATE: Schembechler has died. As if this game needed anything else...)

Bo Schembechler Rushed To Hospital [Detroit Free Press]
Bo Schembechler Gets Meta On Us [Deadspin]

Here's some fun developments from Ohio State-Michigan land:

• When there's a pissing contest the likes of this one, the final decision might have to come down to famous alumni.

• Noted The Nation sports commentator Dave Zirin puts on his Tsk-Tsking hat to deride the "a raging bouillabaisse of
testosterone and alienation." And this is bad how? Do love the use of the word "bouillabaisse," however.

• If Michigan fans need a plan on how to survive Columbus unmolested, here's a handy primer.

• Time for a completely unsubstantiated and irresponsible story coming out of Columbus (those are so much FUN!), from a hotel worker in Columbus:

There was a slight problem with overbooking at the Blackwell and ESPN Gameday lost their rooms (money talks when it comes to endowment funds). All of the downtown hotels are full, but there were a few rooms available. Unfortunately there wasn't a room at the nice lofty hotel for Lee Corso.

Hotel to "#27:" Would you mind giving up your room for Corso so the whole gameday staff can be in one building (minus Kirk who will be staying at house in c-bus)?
"#27's" response: Tell Corso he can Fu@# me!

Careful: He might just take you up on that.