Michigan's Carr says it's time to move beyond the BCS controversy
By Mark Snyder
Detroit Free Press
(MCT)
DETROIT - Lloyd Carr, who met with the media Friday, promised it would be the last time he would talk about the Bowl Championship Series controversy.
"The thing we must do here is we have to move on with this," he said about the formula that sent Florida to the BCS title game against Ohio State over Michigan last Sunday.
If Carr really has made his final statement after almost a week of discussion, it's clear where he stands entering U-M's Jan. 1 Rose Bowl game against Southern California. Missing out on the title game disappointed him.
"Going back in my experience here at Michigan, 27 years, certainly from a strictly football standpoint, it was certainly one of the two most disappointing days I've had," he said, with the other likely the last-second "timekeeper" loss at MSU in 2001. "And certainly for this team_which is more important - it was a tremendous disappointment."
Carr's biggest problem is not with the system, but with the components. He wishes the Associated Press poll was still part of the BCS formula; the coaches poll and the Harris poll can be filled with biases.
But, Carr said, polls can't be eliminated and will have to be involved when the BCS system is, according to him, inevitably expanded to some playoff format.
The Big Ten's decision to end its schedule before Thanksgiving didn't concern Carr.
"We have, in the Big Ten Conference, a team that will be playing in the championship game," he said. "So I don't think the schedule hurt the Big Ten Conference with getting a team. The problem was getting two."
NOTEBOOK: Carr said he has met with each senior and NFL draft-eligible junior but declined to cite the players' personal decisions.
He also said quarterback Chad Henne is coming back. Tailback Mike Hart said in an ESPN.com chat this week that he's returning. The other juniors in question are likely offensive tackle Jake Long and defensive tackle Alan Branch . ...
The Wolverines will practice four times before leaving for California after final exams Dec. 22. They'll resume practicing in California from Dec. 23-25, take a break on the 26th and treat Dec. 27-31 like a typical game week. ...
Recruits enrolling in January will no longer be allowed to practice with the Rose Bowl team, as Kevin Grady did two years ago. But Michigan is inquiring about the possibility that Marques Slocum, a defensive tackle enrolled in school but not yet part of the team, could be allowed. ...
Carr expects his entire team to be healthy enough to play in the Rose Bowl. U-M has sold out its entire allotment of 26,000 tickets for the game.
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