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Do people still like bowling? Posted: Thursday November 29, 2001 2:06 AMUpdated: Thursday November 29, 2001 5:16 PM
Imagine if there was a Selection Sunday for bowl games. A single day when every bowl pairing was announced, rather than the sporadic smattering of hand shakes and press conferences we have now. With, of course, satellite hook-ups with coaches and players as they watch it unfold. Can't you just picture it? Cinderella North Texas holding up "We're No. 50!" signs when its New Orleans Bowl date is announced. Ken Dorsey doing an awkward dance of joy when Miami's name showed up on the board next to "Rose." Steve Spurrier suggesting Larry Coker condones such moves. On the other side, a jilted Paul Pasqualoni trying to bite his lip as Syracuse gets passed over for the Gator Bowl. Or a dejected "bubble" team like Wake Forest or UAB insisting their 6-5 team was more deserving than one of the other 6-5 teams that got in. Alas, most teams accept their various invites with little fanfare, the only glimpse of emotion coming in a quick close-up tagged on to the end of a SportsCenter highlight. Heck, there's more attention right now focused on computers than on humans. And as seemingly ho-hum pairing announcements like USC-Utah and Georgia Tech-Stanford scroll across the ticker, the popular perception is that bowl games are dying a slow death. That a playoff can't come soon enough. Syracuse's Pasqualoni expressed just that sentiment this week, after his team was relegated to the pre-New Year's Insight.com Bowl because the Gator preferred the Hokies -- who lost to Syracuse and may finish two games behind the Orangemen in the Big East standings -- due entirely to their larger drawing power. "Division I-A coaches have to sit down and really, really discuss a playoff," Pasqualoni said. "I have never been big on the playoff thing, but as I'm in this more, I think it has to be brought to the table and discussed more. It's got to be looked at." Lest you think otherwise, there are still plenty of people for whom a bowl trip -- any bowl trip -- is satisfying enough. Illinois cornerback Eugene Wilson doesn't know where he's headed for the holidays, but since he doesn't play for Florida State or Nebraska, where reaching the postseason is as common as turf toe, he's not about to be picky. "We just want to go somewhere where its warm," said Wilson. "I'm not really sure what's going on. We've got a chance to go to three different bowls. We're just going to go wherever we get picked to go." And as Maryland awaits its first trip in 11 years -- most expect it will be the Orange Bowl -- senior safety Rod Littles can't wait to find out what high school teammate and best friend Clinton Portis of Miami has been talking about each winter. "I always hear stories, see the T-shirts and gifts they get," said the Gainesville, Fla., native. He talks about being with guys on team, hanging out at the bowl site for a week. You know you got a game to play, but you know you have a fun place to go to. Being able to share that opportunity with my teammates, the memories in your mind, it will be great knowing you had a chance to do that." Clearly, bowl games are still very much at the heart of what college football is about. They shouldn't go away any time soon. But something needs to change. An increasing number of coaches, players and fans are no longer accepting the crazy ritual that is bowl selection, where teams put in three months' worth of work to prove their worth on the field, then wait days, sometimes weeks, to find out who and where they're playing next. A system where teams like Maryland and Illinois are held hostage while bowl officials dissect not their record, but whether their fans will buy up enough hotel rooms, but meanwhile teams like Florida State, Stanford, Marshall and Toledo already know where they're going despite having games left to play. To do that, the bowls would have to somehow be centralized. And that can only mean one thing: the p-word. Players interviewed this week agreed that the extended layoff before the bowl games will be a nice opportunity to rest, get their legs back and get everyone healthy. But when asked how he'd feel about turning around next week and playing the first round of a playoff, Maryland's Littles didn't hesitate. "That would be fine," said Littles. "Maybe it'd be a little easier if we played right off the bat. "Yeah, I'd be fine with a playoff."
Put a lid on it, guysWhen they exchanged barbs about cheap shots in '96 prior to the Sugar Bowl, it was dismissed as pregame motivational hype. When their teams brawled prior to kickoff in '98, it just showed the intensity of the rivalry. But the latest war of words between Florida and Florida State -- specifically their coaches -- can only be described as one thing: disgusting. And barring the unexpected departure of either Steve Spurrier or Bobby Bowden prior to next season, there may be only one way to save this rivalry: end it. Fans in the Sunshine State have spent the better part of two weeks following the smallest new developments in "DockettGate" and defending their chosen side after Spurrier blurts out something like: "I wonder if he [Bowden] instructs this type of action," or when FSU athletic director Dave Hart says of Spurrier, " It would probably be good if somebody just spanked him and put him to bed and hope he wakes up all grown up," But at this point, the rest of the country is rolling its eyes. The teams' end-of-season game has always been one of the most anticipated of the season. But even if next year's edition was to once again pit two Top 10 teams, it's hard to imagine anyone focusing on football knowing the level of verbal barbs and accusations -- none of which it appears are going to be conclusively proven true or false -- existing between participants. And how could the players be expected to take the field when the possibility exists, real or imagined, that someone on the other team may try to intentionally injure them? This isn't boxing. This is college football. Florida and Florida State should take a hint from another pair of hated rivals, Alabama and Auburn, who once discontinued their annual rivalry when relations became too contemptuous to bear. A 41-year respite like that one is hardly necessary, but a year to cool off might be in everyone's best interest. Stranger things have happenedIn terms of pure wackiness, what, you ask, could possibly top the sight of Colorado putting up 62 points and 582 yards on Nebraska? How about the Buffs and Huskers meeting again six weeks later for the national championship? It remains a possibility, but only if the following occurs:
It's got about as much a chance of happening as DeShaun Foster winning the Heisman, but it goes to show just how strange the BCS can be. A couple other nuances still out there:
Stewart Mandel covers college football for CNNSI.com. The "College Football Beat" appears each Thursday during the season. Got a comment, question or scoop for the Beat? Click here.
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