This is the time of the college football season when most coaches turn into politicians.

As the final regular season BCS rankings drew near, every interview turned into a speech about what credentials a certain team has over another. Issues like strength of schedule, the conference a team plays in and, most importantly, whether or not said team is a conference champion, can easily be compared to education, national security and taxes.

Florida's Urban Meyer was the leader of the pack when it came to selling -- actually, it was more like pleading -- his team to the voters.

Meyer's arguments were as shrewd as any politician's weeks before an election. He drove home a point that eventually made people change their votes at the 11th hour.

His relentless grousing was enough to help him secure the Gators a spot in the BCS National Championship Game against Ohio State. He persuaded every SEC coach to vote for Florida, and most likely convinced ever other southern coach to side with his cause.

Meyer's main point was that no one wanted to see a rematch between Ohio State and Michigan, and if there was one, he thought a playoff system needed to be implemented right now.

But like any normal politician, once Meyer got what he wanted, he backed away from his main campaign issue.

"In the near future, I think you're going to see [a playoff]," Meyer said in the Toledo Blade. "If you want a true national championship, the only way to do it is on the field."

That's a little less urgent than his "right now" statement back in November.

Do I feel that Meyer screwed Michigan? Yes.

Do I feel bad for the Wolverines? No.

They had their shot to secure a spot in the title game on Nov. 18 but fell a few points shy. Michigan controlled its own destiny heading into the game against Ohio State, and failed to deliver.

And when you put your fate in the hands of voters, Lloyd Carr, sometimes you're going to lose to a coach with more campaign savvy (see 1994). Carr should now have a new best friend in Auburn's Tommy Tubberville.

This BCS nonsense and campaigning by coaches is keeping college football from becoming a product that can rival the NFL.

I guess a playoff system is too obvious for the university presidents.

Games of the week

Since this will be my last college football column until after bowl season -- look for the basketball column next week -- I thought I'd break down all five BCS bowls.

Rose Bowl (Jan. 1, 5 p.m.)

Michigan's consolation gift from the BCS is a date with an angry USC team.

Both teams think they should be playing a week later, but both failed to win when it mattered most.

The Men of Troy will be returning to Pasadena, Calif., for the second straight game, and memories of UCLA's shocking upset (one year too late) will be fresh in their minds, so lack of emotion will be the least of Pete Carroll's worries.

The esteemed collegiate coach will have his mind focused on how to stop Michigan's Chad Henne and Michael Hart. And like every coach not named Jim Tressel, he will fail. Let the complaining from Ann Arbor begin.

Michigan 38, USC 35

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 1, 8 p.m.)

Boise State became the second non-BCS team to reach a BCS Bowl (Utah, 2003) with its 12-0 season.

The Broncos have the No. 11 offense in the country (424 yards per game) and the 14th best defense in the country.

Those stats could be deceiving because of Boise's conference, but the Broncos only play who they are scheduled to play. But that is until you see the Broncos live. Oklahoma surprised a few people with its Big 12 championship this year.

The return of stud running back Adrian Peterson will help the Sooner offense tremendously. If he can knock the rust off early, this game could be interesting.

This could possibly be the best game of the bowl season.

If Peterson didn't get injured against Texas Tech, the Sooners would win because of ball control, but he did and they won't.

Boise State 42, Oklahoma 31

FedEx Orange Bowl (Jan. 2, 8 p.m.)

This will definitely be the least-watched BCS bowl game this year.

Even though Louisville is far superior to Wake Forest in almost every category, the Demon Deacons will find a way to pull this game out because, well, it's been their MO all season.

Wake Forest 20, Louisville 17 (But, who cares?)

Nokia Sugar Bowl (Jan. 3, 8 p.m.)

The Irish were exposed against USC for the defensive frauds that they have been all year.

Notre Dame's only hope in this game is that it can turn it into a shootout against one of the best defenses in nation. And Brady Quinn can have a Heisman-like day.

As much as I dislike LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell's decision making (see Auburn loss), I think his athleticism is something that will confuse the Irish defense.

Russell still struggles with the mental part of the game, but I think he has progressed enough as a quarterback to pick apart a suspect Notre Dame pass defense (50th in the nation).

LSU 35, Notre Dame 17

BCS Championship Game -- (Jan. 8, 8 p.m.)

There is one staggering fact about this game: Ohio State will be coming off a 50-day layoff. 50 days.

The Buckeyes are definitely the favorite to win on paper, but I have a feeling that the layoff will affect them more than many people in the college football world think.

In football, the passing game is all about timing, so when your quarterback hasn't played without the red jersey for almost two months, there is a chance he will get a case of happy feet.

So this is the first game all season where quarterback Troy Smith will not be the most important player on the field for Ohio State. Running back Michael Pittman will be the player who will decide if the Buckeyes will win the title or go home empty handed.

Pittman must come out and carry the offensive load until Smith shakes off the rust.

If Ohio State is going to win, Pittman needs at least one touchdown in the first quarter.

For the Gators, I see quarterback Chris Leak having a good day through the air because he will get a few big gains early with his legs and force the Buckeye defense to play closer to the line of scrimmage. This should open up the vertical passing game with senior wideout Dallas Baker.

The real wild cards will be OSU's Ted Ginn Jr. on punt returns, and Florida's Tim Tebow doing, well, what Tebow does -- back up Leak and move the ball on the ground.

The rust will be too much for the Buckeyes to overcome. Gators in a huge upset.

Florida 21, Ohio State 20