Why did Michigan split the 1997 title?

[Redder]

I looked at a few historical math ratings and most have Michigan #4 for that year. Behind not only us but also UF and Tennessee. Sagarin says we would have won by 15 on a neutral field vs Michigan that year.

 

One reason for the ridiculous split seems to be that Michigan beat a lot of teams who were overrated at the time they played them. In their season opener, they beat #7 Colorado, which seemed a lot less impressive by the time CU finished 5-6. In game 2, they beat a ranked Notre Dame team by 7 points, but ND went on to go 5-7. Michigan's big win where they rose to no.1 was when they beat undefeated Penn State 34-8. That is definitely not a bad result but seemed a lot less impressive when PSU finished the year by losing to Michigan State by 38 and Florida by 15. Michigan also beat then no.4 Ohio State by 6, but OSU proved itself overrated when they got blown out in their bowl. Poll voters usually seem to take into account how highly regarded a team was when you played them and don't seem to check later on if that opponent proved themselves to be overrated.

In the Rose Bowl, Michigan faced a WSU team that was more on par with a typical Holiday Bowl team and won by 5. WSU was cheated by the officials out of having one more play from the Michigan 15 or 20 yard line. Meanwhile, we beat a far better Tennessee team by 25.

[In the Deed the Glory]

We dropped from #1 after the "flea kicker" and didn't regain it until after the bowl games (and some lobbying by Scott Frost). We were the ones lucky to split if you look at how the season ratings trended.

 

Its too bad that the Pac-10 and the Big 10 were so married to the Rose Bowl that we couldn't have an actual NC game. We would have destroyed that team.

[StPaulHusker]

We split the 97 National Championship because Lloyd Carr, Jim Delaney, and the Big Ten were too afraid to have Michigan not play in the Rose Bowl and play for a title outright.

 

They took the bird in the hand. And that is all you need to know about how good Michigan felt about their chances against Nebraska

[knapplc]

The Big Ten worships the Rose Bowl, and until the last decade they cared more about going to that bowl game than playing for an outright title. Iowa Fan was GIDDY that they were going to the Rose Bowl last year. Positively GIDDY.

 

Their bizarre obsession with this one bowl game led them to spurn any ties with the BCS (or whatever its first iteration was called), and that's why Michigan went to the Rose Bowl. Every other major conference tied into the championship except the Pac-10 and Big Ten. Whether Michigan wanted to play Nebraska or not, they were contractually obligated to play the Pac-10 champ.

 

Michigan should thank whatever god they pray to that they didn't play Nebraska in a bowl game. Tennessee was FAR more talented than Michigan, and you see how badly we mauled them.

 

Tom Osborne's last game. A national championship on the line. Disrespect from the pollsters.

 

Holy crap, folks. We'd have beaten Michigan by 50 points.

[StPaulHusker]

The Big Ten worships the Rose Bowl, and until the last decade they cared more about going to that bowl game than playing for an outright title. Iowa Fan was GIDDY that they were going to the Rose Bowl last year. Positively GIDDY.

 

Their bizarre obsession with this one bowl game led them to spurn any ties with the BCS (or whatever its first iteration was called), and that's why Michigan went to the Rose Bowl. Every other major conference tied into the championship except the Pac-10 and Big Ten. Whether Michigan wanted to play Nebraska or not, they were contractually obligated to play the Pac-10 champ.

 

Michigan should thank whatever god they pray to that they didn't play Nebraska in a bowl game. Tennessee was FAR more talented than Michigan, and you see how badly we mauled them.

 

Tom Osborne's last game. A national championship on the line. Disrespect from the pollsters.

 

Holy crap, folks. We'd have beaten Michigan by 50 points.

I read an article a year or 2 ago that there was something on the table to get the 2 to play but Michigan and the Big Ten opted not to.

[dvdcrr]

Michigan fan believes they had an epic defense and would have held NU to less than 20.

They are mad that NU lays any claim to that title.

[knapplc]

Michigan fan believes they had an epic defense and would have held NU to less than 20.

They are mad that NU lays any claim to that title.

Michigan Fan is wrong.

 

Here's what I wrote about this topic back in 2014...

 

I invite anyone from the Big Ten head office, Jim Delaney himself, to come out to Chez Knapp for a discussion on this one. I'll provide the beer & chips, they just gotta show up. Give me 30 minutes and we'll put a stop to this nonsense.

 

I get that we weren't Big Ten members in 1997, and Michigan is one of the foundational pillars of the conference. That's great.

 

But right's right and wrong's a shitass, as my grandfather used to say.

 

The facts, gleaned from past conversations about this very topic:

 

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Jeff Sagarin's final 1997 rankings had Nebraska at #1, followed by 11-1 Florida St. at #2, 10-2 Florida at #3 and 12-0 Michigan at #4.

 

Nebraska and Michigan played roughly the same strength of schedule in Sagarin's rankings, but we throttled Sagarin's #5 Tennessee while Michigan barely beat #8 Wazzoo.

 

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It's pretty simple. Nebraska played the #3 team in the country, Tennessee, with Peyton Manning, Peerless Price, Terry Fair, Jamal Lewis and Trey Teague, and a host of other future NFL stars on their roster.

 

We destroyed them.

 

The Big Ten ducked out of the national championship game - because the Big Ten and Pac-10 felt the Rose Bowl was more important than joining the Bowl Alliance. In their little Rose Bowl game with everything on the line, they barely beat Ryan Leaf and.... nobody else. No other star or even decent player was on that Washington State roster. And Michigan barely eked out a win, and they claim their title was "better?"

 

They can keep their little 11th-grade shop class wooden plaque that says "National Champions" on it. It's a bone we can throw a team that hasn't won anything of significance in 70 years.

 

We'll take the giant crystal trophy, though. That's the real trophy, the trophy the real champ gets, and it's sitting in our trophy case as I type this. I'll go down to the stadium and take a picture of it if this writer wants to see what a real trophy looks like.

 

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The 1998 Rose Bowl - the one in which Michigan won their "National Championship," didn't even end without controversy. Leaf was driving Washington State down for a final throw into the end zone, the ball was placed at the Michigan 26 yard line, and Leaf got the team to the line to kill the clock.

 

In some bizarre clock fiasco, Leaf's spike took the full two seconds - a near impossibility - and the game was declared over.

 

 

Let's contrast that to the 1998 Orange Bowl against that crazy-talented Tennessee team, which was all-but-decided at halftime (we had an 11-point lead) and was FOR SURE over midway through the third quarter when we scored 14 more. Manning got his token touchdown in the third quarter, and got pulled when we put the game away with a third TD in the quarter.

 

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That's what pissed me off so much about the candy-asses in the Big Ten back in the 1990s. Their damned Rose Bowl was SOOOOO important that they couldn't join the Bowl Coalition, so that aural vomit purveyor Howard didn't get the chance to prove on the field they had earned their 1997 National Championship.

 

Because I will guara-and-GODDAM-tee you that Woodson would have filled once, maybe twice, on the Option before developing an injury or simply being in "the wrong position" the rest of the game.

 

That skinny runt wouldn't have fared well trying to tackle Ahman Green. Green puts a shoulder into him once and that's the last tackle Woodson would have made that game. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he would have tried to tackle Frost twice before giving up.

 

He gets half a share of a "National Championship" and Michigan gets a nice little High School shop class quality wooden plaque for ducking the Huskers and cowering off to the Rose Bowl. And he and they are welcome to it.

 

We'll take our Sears trophy and our crystal football.

 

You know, the REAL trophy.

 

 

It's one of these. Sorry, we have so many I forget which one was for 1997.

[VA Husker Fan]

It was almost 20 years ago. Let it go.

[Blackshirt96]

Here is your reason

 

Dad

 

Son

[StPaulHusker]

The difference is that Osborne wanted to PLAY Michigan for the title.

 

Lloyd Carr wanted the voters to GIVE Michigan the title.

 

 

Big damn difference.

[knapplc]

It was almost 20 years ago. Let it go.

SI just tweeted this a few moments ago. We need to tell them to let this go too, right?

 

[Savage Husker]

In the final polls, there were more Nebraska opponents in the top 25 and top 10 than Michigan opponents. Michigan also played and beat teams while they *were* ranked but didn't make the final top 25.

[jaws]

You guys sound like Michigan fans living in the past. Just let it go.

 

Both were great teams in 97.

[StPaulHusker]

You guys sound like Michigan fans living in the past. Just let it go.

 

Both were great teams in 97.

I don't think Michigan was as great as they like to think they were in 97

[VA Husker Fan]

 

It was almost 20 years ago. Let it go.

SI just tweeted this a few moments ago. We need to tell them to let this go too, right?

 

 

Not even close to the same thing. I thought you were smarter than this, but I guess not. The thread topic did not happen "on this day", it was just randomly started for no apparent reason other than to whine about having to share the title. The tweet is simply stating a fact or two that happened on this date. It is not trying to rekindle a controversy that cannot possibly be resolved. I agree with the opinion that we would've rolled Michigan, but that does not make it a fact.