Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Associated Press
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Michigan coach Lloyd Carr is convinced some day, somehow, the Bowl Championship Series will include a playoff.
"I can guarantee that at some point, it will happen," Carr said at a news conference Friday. "When the BCS was set up, that was just the beginning. We're in a phase of discontent by some people. There's a lot of people who don't want a playoff, but I think it's growing the number of people that do. And I think we're going to have one."
Florida passed Michigan by the slimmest margin in BCS history to deny the Wolverines a rematch with Big Ten rival Ohio State in the Jan. 8 national championship game. Instead, No. 3 Michigan will play in its third Rose Bowl in the past four years.
Carr said it was one of the most disappointing moments in his 27 years with the Wolverines.
"Sometimes, in athletics, you get a bad bounce, and things don't go your way," Carr said. "And we have to move on from this."
He said he has not thought about what could happen if Florida beats Ohio State in the BCS championship game and if Michigan defeats the Trojans. Carr said coaches have determined they will cast their national championship vote for the winner of the championship game without taking into consideration the results of other BCS games.
So, Carr's challenge lies in preparing the 11-1 Wolverines for their Jan. 1 showdown against USC. The Trojans handed Michigan a Rose Bowl loss in 2003, and the Wolverines lost to Texas a year later.
This year, Carr said he believes his team can put a perfect ending on its season with a win over the Trojans.
"There's a tremendous excitement about this game, about playing in the Rose Bowl," Carr said. "I don't have any reservations that (Michigan players) are going to have trouble moving on. I don't think that will be a problem."