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Champs? Gators claim BCS crown, but Utes earned it on field

Get over it: The Florida Gators are the BCS and AP National Champions, which means that Utah earned no part of the title, none at all,so sorry quit talking about it. As an SEC honk, I do have to admit that I love watching the lower conferences, with help from the BCS haters around the country, work themselves into a frenzy over the BCS every time one of their teams manages to beat out SDSU, Utah State, UNLV, Nevada, Hawaii, and all of the other powerhouses in the MWC or WAC to go undefeated. It really makes me laugh beyond all control. And I don't know what this writer is thinking, but 48 first place votes to 16 doesn't seem like a controversy. I think those votes are pretty clear... Florida Gators, BCS and AP Champs. So please quit whining about the BCS and thank the big conferences for sharing their money with you.

Great job Doug...as always! I was waiting up to see what the AP would do and you said it best! Maybe Obama will add this to his list of things to fix. History has been made and the Sugar Bowl is a game that will never be forgotten. The execution and precision in tonight's game was not even close to what the Utes did last week. You're the best...I love the way you write!

I think I have gone through the whole grief cycle this week trying to understand why we are not the national champs...glad the AP poll is out and it is over, albeit dissappointed at the spineless AP voters.

I hope we don't forget that it was Coach Mcbride that rose this program from the ashes. He picked a great D. Coordinator in Coach Whittingham and that's where this story began.

I am so proud to be a Utah Man.

GO UTES!!!

Pete Carroll after watching the championship farce, said that we cannot know who is best unless we have a playoff. He also noted that from his perspective, USC would have greatly enjoyed preparing to face the winner. Hey, why not USC vs. Utah for the trophy. We'll flip a coin to see which city the game is played in. We will accept the news media--if they wish to come. We will televise the game with NO announcers. Put the ball in play, and let Utah and SC get after eachother.
After that, eliminate the BCS--it is unworthy.

Doug,

I can only hope that the Utes do the impossible and yet again go undefeated next year.

What's going to be the BCS excuse then for keeping the Utah on the outside looking in?

"Well two other teams from REAL BCS conferences also went undefeated. So we can't allow you guys in the Championship game. After all ... you do play in a lesser league."

I hope the Federal government gets involved and orders the BCS and the NCAA to come up with a playoff system that allows all 11 conferences to compete for a REAL National Championship!

Not this FAKE, imaginary championship that is held every year.

Let's end this nonsense!

Boooooo... Just because UofU seal-clubbed the 'tide in the Sugar bowl may not make them the best in the nation, but we'll never know. Will we? Florida may be ranked #1, but they never proved it on the field. There's still an undefeated team waiting to play. Why isn't Urban clamoring to settle this once and for all and prove his team is the best? I know why. The lesser conference of the Mountain West went 6-2 vs the Pac 10, 2-0 vs the Big 10 and, oddly enough, 2-0 against the vaunted SEC this season.

The lone unbeaten team? Boise State finished their season undefeated as well and you don't see them getting any press. (I'm well aware they lost the Poinsettia Bowl. Who's ever heard of the Poinsettia Bowl? I hadn't until this year. Why did Utah get to play Alabama and not Boise State? They both had flawless season records.)
Utah played one impressive game. During season play, they only competed against two ranked teams: TCU and BYU. They should've lost to TCU (and while we're at it, to New Mexico the previous week).
Florida killed ranked teams--LSU, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida State--in their season games. They, too, ousted Alabama on a neutral playing field for the SEC Championship. They deserved the title.

Florida defeated four Top Ten teams this season, compared to one for Utah. The first time Utah has ever defeated a Top Ten team.

Kudos to the Utes for a great season.

Is Mark Shurleff going to launch an investigation into the AP voters?

Florida Gators - NATIONAL CHAMPS!

Yes, lets see another game, Utah and Florida Gators can settle this like 'real pros', on the turf.

A team can go 13 and 0 in a league that is made up of schools that are made up of 'struggling' start-up franchises and can 'appear' to be top notch. But we have to see em play in a bowl game to really appreciate the 'stength' of that top notch team.

Personally, I don't think Utah and handle Gators, period..!

BCS is no more than "Another rating system".

If there were 'play-offs' and structure, then we would not have all the 'ambiguity'.

Great article. As a Ute fan living in the middle of of SEC country, this season has been special, regardless of what the Polls or the system says about Utah football. Working with dozens of Bama fans everyday, and getting to give them grief over their beloved team getting their butts kicked, has been great. The Utah football team, knows how good they are and will always be proud of what they have accomplished this season. I'm proud to be a Ute Fan, I know who is the real national champion, the team the earned it on the field, not in the popularity polls. Go UTES!!!

Boooo...you are obviously still drunk on Gator Aide...don't laugh too much while you are drinking it cause you might inadvertly aid the nation's gene pool...Florida won the BSC National Chapionship game...a game devised by a group of selfish, already rich schools that don't wish to share the large pot of TV money with anyone else...when Utah goes undefeated and soundly beats the reputedly best defense in the SEC and the MWC has a overwhelming win margin over the PAC and lowly Wyomiing goes into Tennessee and whips them...then your rantings about BCS schools superiority is just so much fantasy! Get real...Florida #1 and they lost at home to Ole Miss, a team lost three games! They are national champs? IN NAME ONLY! UTAH...the ONLY UNDEFEATED 1A FOOTBALL TEAM - TRUE NATIONAL CHAMPION!!! GO UTES!!

your an idiot, when the year starts %75 of all teams in college football do not have a chance at the national championship. heck it might be higher than %75. I guess that even some of the BCS conference teams would get shut out for some BS reason, could you see Northwestern getting in a NC game or vanderbilt. It is not just the non BCS teams. We are not saying we would win we just want a chance. There is something wrong than that.

The fact of the matter is you have to string a few good years together to even be considered. The two or three years before this one have been less than stellar. Be grateful for where you are after a magical season that left everyone with a lot of memories.

The fact of the matter is nobody thought your record was that great until you beat Alabama. Not even most Utah fans thought the Utes were good enough to hang with the best until they pulled the upset of the decade.

With all that being said I was impressed with the Utes this year, and if nothing else they do deserve a chance to prove it on the field. But that isn't the system that is out there and the Utes knew that going into this season so you have nothing to cry about.

Ok, I am a diehard UGA bulldog fan, raised and living in Athens. If they aren't playing then I go for any SEC team (ok, maybe not LSU). But have to agree, the Utes had a great season and it was fun watching them. I felt torn watching them againest Alabama and found myself cheering for the Utes to the horror of my family. Not only did the Utes win give them the respect they deserved but hopefully the whole mountain west conference got a boost up(I'm also a closet BYU fan since my daughter coaches there!)I agree with this story, there has to be a change in the system and the BCS elite need to be thrown out the window. Come on Mountain West those of us in the SEC welcome ya'll!!!

Alabama was #1 in the same polls until Florida beat them. If we stopped then, Alabama would've been the National Champion. Do you think they would've had it right? The subsequent games say no! Well guess what?! There is a team that has a better record than Florida! Utah beat four top 25 teams, and lost none! Florida beat four top 25 teams, and lost one! I think a Utah/Florida game would end up changing the polls just like the Florida/Alabama game! You can think otherwise, but the fact that the pollsters have got it wrong most of the season says volumes! How many picked Utah to beat Alabama? Why even have a football season? USC was crowned #1 by the polls, they must be right? Oh, and then they go and play and we see how wrong they were. A Utah/Florida game would show the polls were wrong once again! Don't believe it, that's your option, but in absence of a head to head game, I would have to defer to the team with the better record than the team picked by a bunch of pollsters that have been wrong week after week. That team is Utah!

Every AP voter that stood up to be counted with the BCS by not voting Utah number one does not get to complain about the lack of a playoff in college football.

It is a shame that they didn't make a statement when they had a chance. Not hold them responsible.

BTW- Florida wants no part of a game with Utah. Utah far and away dominated like no other team in the BCS. Assuming all BCS teams are equal then that says something. Put an asterisk by Florida's name because they are content with this train wreck and know that they did not prove it on the field.

First you said it yourself, Utah played ranked teams. Boise State didn't. I think Boise State is a great team, and should've been in a BCS game, but Utah was ranked higher because they had the better schedule. That said, let's look at your contention that they should've lost to TCU. TCU missed two field goals, but Utah dropped a few passes in that game that would've resulted in TDs. What's the difference between a bad kick or a bad pass? I don't even know how you say they should've lost to New Mexico other than it was a close game. I would accept a close game as a reason for disqualification if there was somebody else that was undefeated, but the fact is nobody else is undefeated! That means that other teams not only had close games, but they lost them!!! How about Florida losing to Mississippi at home!!!! How about USC losing to Oregon State, and badly?! How about Texas losing to Texas Tech?! To use your argument about close games, I think we can rule the 2004 team National Champs since they didn't have any close games and the rest of the undefeated teams had some squeakers!

In the old, pre-BCS-mess system the SEC winner went to the Sugar Bowl, the Big-12 to the Orange, etc., and 2, 3 or even 4 of those bowls had "national championship implications" because after the bowls, the major polls picked the national champ. In that old system, Utah may have been national champ, maybe split with USC or Florida. But that wouldn't mean anything either. There will never be a real national champion until there is a real playoff. So every year, someone will complain that the system is unfair. That's only because the system is unfair.

Utah "KILLED" Alabama down South. Florida barely eeked by Alabama in the 4th quarter.......... You are irrational.