Michigan Coach Still Upset Over Split 1997 National Championship

[Mavric]

Apparently we're not the only ones who are still upset over things that happened years ago:

 

MLive Article:

After all, his national title ring still looks pretty good.

 

"We all have rings on that team that say 1997 national championship," Carr said. "What else could you want?

 

"Why would it bother you that someone else is out there claiming, inaccurately, that they had the best team?"

 

 

NBC Sports Article:

“I got a phone call the day after Nebraska played Tennessee (in the Orange Bowl), and I had stayed in Los Angeles (after the Rose Bowl) for recruiting, and I got that phone call that said ‘coach you just won the national championship from The Associated Press,’ ” Carr recalled in a television interview, according to MLive.com. “And I knew, based on what we had done (that we would win the AP national title), and I fully expected to win the coaches’ vote.”

 

Carr, of course, was wrong about that.

 

“(But) it was explained to me that we had lost and the way the balloting ended up, one coach voted us fourth or two coaches voted us third,” Carr explained. “I didn’t tell the team that, I didn’t want them to dwell on negatives. But I was extremely bothered by it and I still am.”

[ShawnWatson]

[Ulty]

[Morrison]

The comments on the Michigan site are, as one would expect, priceless. Highly recommended.

 

I don't think anyone really thinks this would have been a close game (at least outside of Ann Arbor)....

[The Dude]

[Landlord]

I love how it starts with "An popular debate"

[ADS]

[Count 'Bility]

Pretty sure Nebraska at some point, in some regard was offering to set up an end all, say all game for all the marbles. Pretty sure Michigan and/or the Big 10 denied it.

[Landlord]

They do have a bit of a point, but as always, it comes down to your perspective - should it go to who you think the better team is, or should it go to who has the better resume? Your answer to that will determine who you think was more deserving - Michigan fans naturally think they deserve it.

 

 

Either way, their (our) conference is to blame for their obsession with the Rose Bowl.

[Mavric]

Either way, their (our) conference is to blame for their obsession with the Rose Bowl.

This. It was the B1G/Pac-10 that wouldn't sign up along with everyone else.

 

And I love how he says we claim it "inaccurately." As if they were the unanimous choice and we're still trying to claim something. We both won one vote - equal claim.

 

Another one I've heard previously is Michigan whines about us jumping back over them even though they won their game. The seem to forget how they got to be #1 in the first place.

[carlfense]

[carlfense]

Not to mention the fact that 97 Nebraska would have beaten 97 Michigan by a sizable margin . . .

[Mavric]

Not to mention the fact that 97 Nebraska would have beaten 97 Michigan by a sizable margin . . .

Or the part where they still haven't played the last two seconds of the 1998 Rose Bowl...

[74Hunter]

Not to mention the fact that 97 Nebraska would have beaten 97 Michigan by a sizable margin . . .

Or the part where they still haven't played the last two seconds of the 1998 Rose Bowl...

Yes and yes.

[74Hunter]

Either way, their (our) conference is to blame for their obsession with the Rose Bowl.

This. It was the B1G/Pac-10 that wouldn't sign up along with everyone else.

 

And I love how he says we claim it "inaccurately." As if they were the unanimous choice and we're still trying to claim something. We both won one vote - equal claim.

 

Another one I've heard previously is Michigan whines about us jumping back over them even though they won their game. The seem to forget how they got to be #1 in the first place.

Again, yes and yes.

 

We played the next best team that wasn't scared to play, they hid out in the Rose and played a crappy team. Hell, UT was a better team than UM if you compared the talent each had.