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."