ROSE BOWL'S JUST DESSERTS; COULD YIELD CHAMP, DESPITE RESISTANCE TO JOINING ALLIANCE.Byline: SCOTT WOLF Scott Richard Wolf (born June 4, 1968) is an American actor. Born in Boston, Massachusetts to Steven Wolf and Susan Enowitch, Wolf was raised in West Orange, New Jersey. He graduated in 1986 from West Orange High School. / College Football In its last year of independence, the Rose Bowl took one more chance to flex its muscles as college football's most popular bowl game. Considered archaic for its resistance to joining the bowl alliance, the Rose Bowl is getting the last laugh today as No. 1-ranked Michigan comes to Pasadena to face No. 10 Washington State on New Year's Day New Year's Day, among ancient peoples the first day of the year frequently corresponded to the vernal or autumnal equinox, or to the summer or winter solstice. In the Middle Ages it was celebrated among Christians usually on Mar. 25. . Nobody is happier than the bunch of gray-hairs in white suits that runs the game. They are getting one more chance to prove that the Sugar, Fiesta, Orange and everyone else are irrelevant. If Michigan wins, it is the national champion, no thanks to any alliance. The Orange Bowl, which matches No. 2 Nebraska against No. 3 Tennessee, on Jan. 2 could draw its worst rating of the decade if the Wolverines sew up the national title a day earlier. That's almost a good enough reason to root for Michigan, just to give a black eye to the alliance. Too bad it won't last. Next year, the Big Ten and Pac-10 join the newly created Super Alliance, meaning the Rose Bowl won't get a No. 1- or No. 2-ranked team until its turn to host the national championship game in 2002. But for now, the Granddaddy Of Them All gets to be the bully on the bowl block. Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame rules: A 7-5 season might be disappointing in South Bend South Bend, city (1990 pop. 105,511), seat of St. Joseph co., N Ind., on the great south bend of the St. Joseph River, in a farming and mint-growing region; inc. as a city 1865. , but if Notre Dame defeats Hawaii on Saturday, the Irish are primed for a trip to the Gator Bowl For the stadium, see . The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. It is one of the oldest college bowls, held continuously since 1946. or Sun Bowl. That's what happens when you have clout. John Folmer, a member of the Sun Bowl committee, confirmed that the bowl has talked to Notre Dame about replacing Iowa as the opponent for Washington or Arizona State in the Dec. 31 game in El Paso El Paso (ĕl pă`sō), city (1990 pop. 515,342), seat of El Paso co., extreme W Tex., on the Rio Grande opposite Juárez, Mex.; inc. 1873. . For that to happen, Penn State has to win at Michigan State on Saturday. Penn State's win is crucial because that would lock the Nittany Lions into the alliance, sending Iowa to the Sun Bowl per the Big 10's contractual obligation to the bowl. Iowa doesn't want to go to the Sun Bowl, having played in a bowl in Texas the past three years, including the 1995 Sun Bowl against Washington. ``They've indicated they would like to go someplace some·place adv. & n. Somewhere: "I didn't care where I was from so long as it was someplace else" Garrison Keillor. See Usage Note at everyplace. else, and we have told them we would release them if we have a suitable replacement,'' Folmer said. In that scenario, Iowa and Notre Dame would switch bowls, with the Hawkeyes heading to the Independence Bowl to take on LSU LSU Louisiana State University LSU Large Subunit LSU La Salle University (Philadelphia, PA) LSU La Sierra University LSU Link State Update (OSPF) LSU Learning Support Unit , which has already played Notre Dame this season. Carolina blues: If the bowl system seems unjust, consider that 10-1 North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. is also looking at the Gator Bowl, just like 7-5 Notre Dame. North Carolina coach Mack Brown William Mack Brown (born August 27, 1951) is head coach of the University of Texas Longhorn football team. During the 2005 season, Coach Brown led the Longhorns to a Rose Bowl victory and a National Championship. has lobbied for his team to receive a spot in the alliance but with little success. ``There's nothing wrong with the Gator Bowl, but, by nature, the alliance is where this team should go,'' Brown said. ``I have defended the alliance through the years. This team deserves to go, period. ``We don't have a system, we have favorites. We have a system where the two highest-rated teams go to one bowl and then everybody else picks who they want. That's what we have, and that's not a system.'' No toast: A year ago, Ron Turner For other persons of the same name, see Turner. Ron Turner is the name of:
He may regret not getting the USC job, but not nearly as much as becoming head coach at Illinois. The Illini finished an 0-11 nightmare last Saturday with a 27-17 loss to Michigan State, running their school-record losing streak to 17 games. Athletic director Athletic director (commonly, "athletics director") is a position at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, which oversees the work of the coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic Ron Guenther Ron Guenther (born October 3, 1945) is the Director of Athletics for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is best known for the hiring of Fighting Illini athletics coaches, the development of the men's tennis team into a national power (including an NCAA title in waited all season to present Turner with a gift commemorating his first victory. Now, he'll wait even longer. ``I got the champagne for Ron's first win,'' Guenther said. ``It's turning to vinegar.'' Heisman hype: The Peyton Manning bandwagon has been in overdrive for so long, it might be too much to expect Michigan's Charles Woodson to rightfully claim the award next month. But anyone who saw Woodson's performance against Ohio State should have little doubt who is the best ``college football player'' in the nation. Woodson had a 37-yard touchdown reception, scored on a 78-yard punt return and intercepted Ohio State quarterback Stanley Jackson's pass in the end zone. SCOTT WOLF'S TOP 10 1. Michigan (11-0) So excited, will arrive in L.A. Dec. 19 for Rose Bowl. 2. Nebraska (10-0) Alliance won't help Huskers win national title. 3. Tennessee (9-1) What did Vols do to deserve this ranking? 4. Florida State (10-1) Bobby Bowden said loss to Florida rivaled Wide Right debacle. 5. Penn State (9-1) Needs to beat Michigan State for Sugar Bowl bid. 6. North Carolina (10-1) Tar Heels want New Year's Day bowl, will get Gator instead. 7. UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX (9-2) Another team unlikely to get selected by alliance. 8. Florida (9-2) Gators won big games; it was the little ones that ruined year. 9. Washington State (10-1) Who had these guys pegged for Pasadena on Jan. 1? 10. Ohio State (10-2) Does the two-quarterback system still work, coach Cooper? Five more to watch: Kansas State (10-1), Arizona State (8-2), Texas A&M (8-2), Air Force (10-2), Missouri (7-4). THE LIST Washington State became the sixth team to represent the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl in as many years. Here's a look at the past six representatives. 1998: Washington State 1997: Arizona State 1996: USC 1995: Oregon 1994: UCLA 1993: Washington. BEST BET No. 2 Nebraska (11-0) at Colorado (5-5) No one at Colorado is downplaying what a victory over the Cornhuskers would do for a puzzling and frustrating football season. But there are varying opinions as to how much of Colorado's pain and public humiliation would be absolved by beating the Cornhuskers, who haven't lost to the Buffaloes since 1990 and are a 21-point favorite to defeat them for the sixth straight time Friday. SAY WHAT? ``We've got a signed contract with the alliance. If they want to talk about it at the next set of negotiations, fine.'' - Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, on criticism that an unranked Big East champion is playing in an $8 million Alliance Bowl game, while top-10 teams such as North Carolina and Kansas State wind up in less prestigious, less financial-rewarding bowl games. CAPTION(S): Box BOX: SCOTT WOLF`S TOP 10 (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion