The Bowl Championship Series broke in favor of Florida, sending Urban Meyer's Gators to the national championship game to play Ohio State.

Michigan was the odd team out in this year's college football controversy, getting passed by the slimmest margin in BCS history and denied a rematch with the Buckeyes.

Despite the results, Meyer and Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr found common ground Sunday night in bashing the BCS.

"It's an imperfect system," Meyer said. "If you want a true national championship, the only way to do it is on the field.

Carr's take: "I don't think there is any question that there are flaws in the system. I hope one day we have a system where all the issues are decided on the field."

Maybe one day, but not yet.

Florida, which lobbied hard for the victory, got in by a whisker — just a hundredth of a point in the BCS standings.

The Gators had a BCS average of .944. The Wolverines were at .934. The teams were tied in the computer ratings, but Florida had a 38-point lead in the Harris poll and a 26-point advantage in the coaches' poll.

Meyer spent more time answering question about why voters finally saw fit to put the Gators ahead of Michigan than he did talking about how his team went 12-1 against one of the nation's best schedules to win the country's toughest conference.

"We're beyond the fact of do we need a playoff," he said. "It's now, can we get one."

Of course, Southern California could have made things simpler by beating UCLA on Saturday. Instead, the Trojans were upset 13-9, dropping in the standings and clearing the way for Florida (12-1) or Michigan (11-1).

The Gators leapfrogged idle Michigan by winning the Southeastern Conference championship game, 38-28, over Arkansas.

"It's well deserved, and I'm proud of it," Meyer said of the Gators' selection.

The championship game is Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.

Michigan's consolation prize is a Rose Bowl bid to play USC (10-2), a classic Big Ten vs. Pac-10 matchup of teams left to wonder what could have been.

"I don't think they (Florida) would have moved ahead of us if USC would have won the game," said Carr.