Rematch talk irks Meyer: Other SEC notes

By RON HIGGINS
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Give Florida coach Urban Meyer a place in line, next to Southern Cal's Pete Carroll, Notre Dame's Charlie Weis and Arkansas's Houston Nutt. They all hope that the Bowl Championship Series doesn't re-match current No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan in the national championship game Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.

Ohio State turnovers kept Michigan in Saturday's game, an offensive show won by Ohio State, 42-39. Because the score was so close, talk turned to a rematch.

And that chatter has Meyer a little hot under his coaching cap.

"If they do that (a rematch), we should go to a playoff next year," Meyer said. "A rematch would be unfair to Ohio State, and it would be unfair to the country. I just don't believe that's the thing to do. How do you tell Ohio State they have to go beat the same team twice? (Michigan) had their chance.

"If that (a rematch) really does happen, I think it's over. Your presidents need to get together immediately and put together a playoff system. I mean now. They have to get that done.

"I do believe as time wears on, when you sit back and look at it, the only justifiable thing to do is have a playoff. I always thought it was impossible to do. I believe there is enough firepower out there now that you could get that done."

Meyer said that if there was a rematch and Michigan won, Ohio State players also deserve a national championship ring.

The Gators coach said that if his team wins its next two games, over Florida State on Saturday and then Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference championship game, the 12-1 Gators have a legitimate case for playing in the national title game. Meyer agrees that an 11-1 USC team would also have a good argument.

"I think it would be a little more difficult for Arkansas (if the Hogs beat LSU Friday and Florida in the SEC title game) because they got beat head-to-head (by USC). Notre Dame would have a hard time with that because of the fact they got beat at home (by Michigan) by a substantial margin.

"The two schools that could go ahead and say we deserve a shot are Florida and USC. If USC and Florida take care of business, they deserve a shot."

AROUND THE SEC

When No. 9 LSU plays No. 5 Arkansas in Little Rock, the Razorbacks will be the fourth top-10 team LSU has played on the road this season. According to the Associated Press Top 25, LSU lost road games this season to No. 3 Auburn (7-3) and No. 5 Florida (23-10) and defeated No. 8-ranked Tennessee (28-24). ... Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, a fifth straight victory over Alabama in his pocket, headed to the Florida coast for Thanksgiving break. He told his players not to even work out until next week, and Auburn won't start bowl practice until Dec. 14. Auburn is in the mix for the Cotton or Outback Bowls. "Any time we beat our rival and won as many games as we've won, people are going to want us," he said. "We're going to end up being ranked in the top 10 at the end of next week. That'll even help us. Our guys deserve to have an opportunity to go off somewhere and have a good time and have a chance to play a good team." ... South Carolina became bowl eligible with Saturday's 52-7 win against Middle Tennessee, but the Gamecocks have not locked up a bid. Carolina's victory gives the SEC nine bowl-eligible teams for the conference's eight slots. With Alabama (6-6) losing 22-15 to Auburn, Carolina (6-5) can secure a berth with a bowl with an SEC tie-in by beating Clemson next week. The SEC's bowl partners can't take a 6-6 team if it means a school with a winning record will be left out. "We've got six wins, whatever that means," Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. "We'll get ready to play Clemson next week, and then we'll find out if we're going to a bowl game or not when that game's over."... Tennessee running back LaMarcus Coker's game took off against Vandy on Saturday when he took off his knee brace early in the game. In just his second game back from a sprained medial collateral ligament, Coker rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 carries, including an 87-yard TD scamper. What did Coker do with his brace? "I just threw it up under the bench," Coker said. "I don't think anybody realized it until halftime."... Alabama coach Mike Shula said he will fully evaluate his program, including himself as the offensive play caller after this year's 6-6 disappointment. "When I say everything," Shula said, "I mean everything. We'll make any adjustments we need to make. We'll adjust anything we need to to get our players headed back into the elite of the SEC, like we were last year."