#2 Nebraska played #3 Tennessee (who had an outside chance at the NC) led by Heisman runner-up Peyton Manning and kicked their asses up and down the field. It was a dominant performance, and the game was never in doubt.

#1 Michigan played #8 WSU (who had no chance at the NC) and squeaked out a 21-16 victory that came down to the last play of the game. To say it was not dominant is an understatement.

In the era of polls and bowls, this disparity in performance cost you. We think it stinks, but if we'd put a thrashing on WSU like we did Penn St. that year, that would have clinched it for us in both polls. It was a typical Carr-era bowl victory—exciting but far from a convincing win.

If your football fate is decided by people casting votes, then never give them a justification for voting against you. You do that by kicking the crap out of your opponent. Harbaugh understands that.

Frost is a Doosh Kanu

emphasis on "cruelty" - too bad it's not Frost on the field tho. I more pity his players.

The controversial play was when Nebraka kicked a pass to beat Missouri.  100% illegal.

Did Nebraska have 35 pros from that team like Michigan did?  Highly doubtful.

Another reason we were the undisputed #1 was that against a common opponent, Colorado, we won big (27-3) while they scraped by (27-24).

If the Quarterback of the football team can't be a homer, who can?  

I've got no problem with what Frost said, and the idea that it changed anyone's mind is absurd.

Nebraska would have struggled to move the ball and score against our 1997 defense. Football is a game of match-ups and that would have been a bad match-up for them. Peyton's Tennessee teams always choked in their biggest games, no shock they did it against Neb that year. 

that NE some how wins the west, so that Harbaugh can beat NE to a pulp and that Frost will be color for that game!  Let him be impressed when Michigan beats down his NE team 70-3 in the B1G championship game!

An interesting fact not mentioned by the OP is that the Nebraska-Missouri game happened on November 8, which was referred to as "Judgment Day" by the media.  On that day, 4 of the 5 remaining undefeated teams played head-to-head -- #4 Michigan at  #2/3 Penn State and #3/2 Florida State at #5 North Carolina -- while #1 Nebraska played at Missouri, who was rather good at home at the time.

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/08/sports/college-football-battles-of-un…

Michigan's win that day was so dominant and Nebraska's so shaky that Michigan jumped to #1 in both polls, despite the fact that two undefeated teams ahead of Michigan both won that week.  As we know, Michigan remained #1 in both polls until the final poll.

That said, I have no qualms with Scott Frost advocating for his team -- that's what you're supposed to do if you're him.  The issues are (1) the coaches who chose to vote an undefeated Michigan team third or fourth in their ballot out of spite, when there's no conceivable way they should have been anything lower than second and (2) the system that allowed them to do that.

At the end of the day, we got to print t-shirts that said National Champions on them, and we got a trophy to prove it.  No sour grapes for me.

If the takeaway here is that the QB of an undefeated team made what he thought was his best argument as to why Nebraska should win the national title, what the hell did we expect him to do?  He was a leader on the team, and probably believed what he said.  And Nebraska did look great against a (vastly overrated) UT.

Now I CAN muster up some hate for Fulmer.  I recall someone showed that the only way that the coaches' poll could have turned out the way it did is if someone voted Michigan 4th.  That someone is largely-recognized to be Fulmer, who was petulant because Woodson got the Heisman that season even though Manning came back to UT largely to collect what he and Fulmer thought was Manning's birthright.

So Phil Fulmer strikes me as a sack of shit.  Scott Frost I find hard to care much about.  It will be fun to watch Michigan pants his UCF team. 

It was TN coach Phil Fulmer that cost us the undisputed national title. 

He was ticked about Woodson getting the Heisman over Manning, voted us 3rd.

Phil Fulmer's grad assist (or whoever they had place his vote) ranked Michigan #5 in their ballot which ended up giving Nebraska the USA Today #1. It was supposedly over Peyton losing the Heisman to Woodson. I stuck around in 1997 for a fifth year and so glad I did. The previous 4 years of 8-4 were misery (other than always beating OSU!).

Frost has his own website, which seems weird.

http://ucfcoachfrost.com/

It says he was on a video game cover, "NCAA Gamebreaker 99." Never heard of it.

He also takes credit for Marcus Mariota winning the Heisman.

So, yeah, fuck that guy.

I met him at the White House while they were waiting for Michigan to leave the podium with POTUS in 1998. He was not particularly friendly, which didn't bother me as much as he carried himself like that dude that wears the shirt tuxedo to prom thinking he's too clever by the half. 

Let's put this in perspective. In no way, shape, or form is the UCF game going to resemble a grudge match, or a rivalry, even if they dig up Woody, put a whistle around his neck, and send him to Orlando.

That having been said, to Hell with Scott Frost. 

clocks last 1 1/3 seconds running off the clock on a spiked ball. Even though the referee new he missed a obvious pass interference call on a 60 yard pass because it was a OMG hurry up frantic situation in the first place. He went as far as put his hand on the flag to throw it then for reasons I will never believe doesn't pull the flag because he needed both hands to catch the ball thrown to him.

Talk about bad arguments, How do you go into a game as big as the Rose Bowl ranked #1 in every poll then win it by shutting down the highest scoring offense in the country to the tune of 16 points and some one leap frogs you. We all know if a team is favored in Vegas it is to get people to put money on them who would otherwise pick the other team to win. He said NOTHING that comes anywhere near a good point to make me think they would have got jobbed if Michigan wins it outright. Awe gee Tom Osborne is retiring lets just give them the national title because of things he has done in the past.

I'll be booing Scott Frost with relish for the duration of that ballgame. I'll have no shame booing that man and his olympian mom.