There’s one thing that’s clear to me after waiting on bated breath for Michigan’s bowl invitation:

Rick Catlett is the smartest man in the room.

The Gator Bowl president’s elation at his committee's unanimous choice for the Wolverines to play in the New Year’s Day bowl was surprising at first. After all, both Michigan and No. 21 Mississippi State lost two of their last three games and aren’t exactly tearing up the college football landscape.

The logical choice for a Big Ten counterpart would have been Iowa, a team that beat Michigan when the Wolverines were playing arguably their best football of the year and a team whose fan base travels incredibly well.

But Catlett and the rest of the Gator Bowl selection committee saw something stronger than a passionate fanbase — they saw dollar signs.

Better yet, they saw dollar signs attached to a flaming trainwreck. And don’t kid yourself, fans love nothing more than watching imminent doom unfold before their eyes.

Catlett told the Daily last week that he was certain the game would come down to Penn State, Iowa or Michigan, with Penn State probably accepting a bid to the Outback Bowl.

When it came down to Michigan or Iowa though, there’s only four words that Catlett and the rest of the committee probably needed to hear: "You Raise Me Up."

At the team’s banquet last Thursday, in an effort to convince God-only-knows-whom to support him as Michigan’s coach, Rich Rodriguez made an absolute fool of himself, standing hand-in-hand with his entire team and staff while Mr. Josh Groban’s song blared over the loud speakers.

He emotionally addressed the attendees at Laurel Manor in Livonia, assuring them that he wanted to be a Michigan Man — two words that have clearly haunted him since his arrival in Ann Arbor.

It was the second time Rodriguez had “gotten emotional” at the podium during his tenure here — the first being when the NCAA allegations were announced. And for a coach at the helm of America’s winningest college football program, twice is two times too many.

Josh Groban himself couldn’t take the embarrassing display seriously.

@joshgroban: Coach Rodriguez, I'm very flattered but crying to You Raise Me Up is SO five years ago. #playwelcometothejungle

When Josh Groban makes fun of you for playing his own song, then you know you’ve become a laughingstock.

And that’s all the nation will be thinking about come New Year’s Day at 1:30 p.m., when the Wolverines kickoff in Jacksonville, Fla. Because, let’s be honest, it matters very little to the rest of the nation whether a 7-5 Michigan team wins this game.

Instead, the nation will be tuning in to watch Rodriguez go down in flames. They’ll be listening for talk of his job security. They’ll take over/unders on how many times “You Raise Me Up” is mentioned. (Hint: take the over).

And that’s exactly what’s wrong with this coaching farce. This all could have been prevented. With one flick of the wrist, Athletic Director Dave Brandon could have made this all go away.

If he wants to keep Rodriguez for another year, it easily could have been done by now. If he wanted to can him and start the coaching search, that could have been done too. But instead, Rodriguez will remain under the pressure cooker while the rest of the nation laughs and points.

And as far as I can tell, there’s only one logical reason Brandon is sitting silently on the sidelines, watching while Rodriguez gets tossed around in the national media, one reason this comedy of errors is all worth it: Brandon is waiting for a certain coach from Stanford to finish coaching his bowl game.

If that really is the case, if this whole embarrassment was necessary to ensure that Jim Harbaugh quietly packs his bags for Ann Arbor, then so be it. I just hope in the long run that it was worth it for Brandon and the program.

Because with the way this charade has been going, it sure will be worth it for the Gator Bowl and its viewers, who get to watch the carnage along the way.

-Daily Sports Editor Tim Rohan and Daily Sports Writer Nicole Auerbach contributed to this report. Kartje can be reached at rkartje@umich.edu