The final frontier
Three teams stand in front of nation's last unbeatens
Posted: Friday December 04, 1998 11:58 AM
Call 'em underdogs, call 'em spoilers, call 'em whatever.
The three teams who would knock off college football's top undefeateds -- sorry, Tulane, you're still not in the mix -- certainly go into their games Saturday with a lot less at stake than the teams they'll play. These underdogs probably have less at stake, even, than Florida State, which would sneak into the national championship game at the Fiesta Bowl if two of the three little guys win.
But for Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Miami, Saturday's games will be the biggest they've played all year. Or will play, considering they're all headed to bowl games.
Can the big guys be toppled? Do the Bulldogs, Aggies and Hurricanes have any chance at all?
Well, sure, they have a chance ...
No. 23 Mississippi State (vs. No. 1 Tennessee)
SEC Championship
Why the Bulldogs will win : They have a veteran team, with nine of the 11 starters on the offense seniors and all 11 on the defense either juniors or seniors.
Why they won't : Mississippi State (8-3) simply hasn't faced a team as good as Tennessee (11-0). The only ranked team the Bulldogs have faced was No. 9 Arkansas, whom they beat 22-21 on November 21. And their record is a little suspect: Mississippi State opponents are 52-70.
Best stat : The Bulldogs lead the league in pass defense, allowing a measly 161.6 yards a game. But ...
Worst stat : Mississippi State is allowing a whopping 147.1 rushing yards a game.
Key player : Running back James Johnson is slowed by a pulled groin and a sore shoulder. If he plays -- and he'll almost certainly get some playing time -- the Bulldogs have a chance. He's averaging 122.3 yards a game, even with his limited play the last two weeks. But if he doesn't play, or can't be used effectively because of his injuries, it's over for the Bulldogs.
Quote to note : "I have really pushed the players hard the last two years. But I have really pushed them harder this year. And I am talking about the players as well as the coaches ... I am not very easy to be around at times." -- coach Jackie Sherrill
No. 10 Texas A&M (vs. No. 2 Kansas State)
Big 12 Championship
Why the Aggies will win : Kansas State (11-0) has simply not played a team with a defense like A&M's. Nebraska? C'mon. K-State is scoring 49.4 points a game, best in the nation, but A&M (10-2) is allowing only 13.1 points a game, No. 7 in the country.
Why they won't : Kansas State quarterback Michael Bishop, who many see as a worthy Heisman candidate, can be unstoppable at times. He's thrown for 21 touchdowns (and been intercepted only three times) and run for another 13. Plus, Kansas State has beaten A&M the past two years.
Best stat : Senior linebacker Dat Nguyen has averaged 17 tackles a game in two games against the Wildcats in 1996 and '97.
R.C. Slocum will bring one of the nation's top defenses to the Big 12 title game Joe Patronite/Allsport | |
Worst stat : The Aggies' running game averages only 3.4 yards a carry, one of the worst marks in the Big 12. Kansas State leads the league in run defense, and gives up only 2.4 yards per carry.
Key player : It'd be easy to pick someone else, but Nguyen is the guy who has to keep Bishop in check and spark the Aggies' defense. He has had 28 games in which he's had at least 10 tackles.
Quote to note : "Someone was telling me the other day about how bad things are (after the Aggies lost to Texas last week). It's like an earthworm. It's digging around in dirt all day and that's not that much fun, but it beats the heck out of going fishing." -- coach R. C. Slocum
Miami (vs. No. 3 UCLA)
Hurricane Georges Makeup
Why the Hurricanes will win : The Hurricanes (7-3) have a firm edge in the all-important "intangibles." They're looking for redemption after last week's 66-13 ripping by Syracuse. They have nothing to lose. There's no pressure -- their loss to the Orangemen knocked them out of the Orange Bowl and into the Micron PC Bowl. And they're at home.
Why they won't : Well, their pass defense is next-to-last in the Big East, not surprising considering their defensive backfield consists of two sophomores and two freshmen, and they have only one corner over 6-feet. That's all pertinent because UCLA (10-0) has one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, Cade McNown. And none of UCLA's receivers (including the tight end) is shorter than 6-foot-4.
Best stat : UCLA has a school-record 20-game winning streak intact, but that means nothing to Miami. Since 1983, the Hurricanes have snapped seven winning streaks of 10 or more games -- including three of 20 or more. Five of those came to an end in the Orange Bowl.
Worst stat : In the Big East, Miami's pass defense is ranked seventh of the eight teams -- and that's not a conference where the pass is king. The Hurricanes allow 210.9 yards a game, and passers have a 121.5 rating against them -- 59th in the nation.
Key player : The Hurricanes have to control the ball and keep it away from McNown & Co. To do that, senior quarterback Scott Covington (16 TDs, eight INTs) has to make sure he keeps the offense chugging, even without leading receiver Reggie Wayne, out with a knee injury.
Quote to note : "We can be the spoilers this week. That was a total embarrassment on Saturday. We never want that to happen again.'' -- tailback Edgerrin James
Around the nation
EAST : Forget the undefeated teams. Saturday marks the renewal of the annual Army-Navy game. Army (2-8) plays Navy (3-7) in Philadelphia. What to expect? A lot of running. Army leads the nation, with 283.1 rushing yards a game. Navy is fourth, at 264.9 ... You can easily forget Boston College's 4-7 season, but you can't forget Mike Cloud. The senior BC back ran for 1,726 yards, a single-season Big East record, and set league records for yards per game (156.9), runs (308) and runs per game (28) ... Maryland named senior linebacker Eric Barton, who had at least 10 tackles in all but one of the Terrapins' games this season, its most valuable player. Unfortunately for Barton, Maryland went 2-9.
SOUTHEAST : Florida State, of course, will have to wait out this weekend to see what bowl the Seminoles will land in. If all three undefeateds win, a game opposite Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl is likely. Twice-beaten Florida, meanwhile, may use its home-state pull to muscle into the Orange Bowl, bumping once-beaten Ohio State to the Citrus. But stay tuned ... Florida is expecting more defections from its coaching ranks now that defensive whiz Bob Stoops has taken the head job at Oklahoma and offensive assistant Carl Franks is going to be the head man at Duke. One of the Gators assistants maybe headed for Duke: ex-Blue Devils receiver Steve Spurrier Jr.
MIDWEST : Ohio State fans might complain about Florida taking the final Bowl Championship Series slot in the Orange Bowl, but last year, No. 9 Ohio State got the nod over both UCLA and North Carolina for a spot in the Sugar Bowl ... The conventional thinking is that the Kansas State Wildcats, No. 3 in the BCS rankings, may not make it into the national championship game -- even if they win Saturday and stay unbeaten. Not so fast, says Jeff Sagarin, whose computer ratings are used in the BCS rankings. "A huge bombshell is going to hit this weekend," he has been quoted as saying. "I've run the ratings. Kansas State could be No. 1, for the only time this season." The reason: Texas A&M, Kansas State's opponent, is much stronger than the opponents that either UCLA or Tennessee face in this final weekend.
WEST : Arizona is in the weird position of having to pull for UCLA on Saturday. If the Bruins win, they're likely in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship and Arizona will go to its first Rose Bowl. If the Bruins lose (Miami is their opponent), they'll drop into the Rose and Arizona will be relegated to the Holiday Bowl. Wisconsin, which already has cemented its spot in the Grandaddy of Them All, is preparing for both UCLA and Arizona ... Utah football coach Ron McBride is a possibility to succeed Fred vonAppen at Hawaii. VonAppen was canned after an 0-12 season, which stretched the Rainbows' losing streak to 18 -- longest in the nation. McBride has discussed the Hawaii job with UH athletics director Hugh Yoshida. Utah is 62-43 under McBride, who is a close friend of Yoshida's. Hawaii also asked to talk to Utah offensive coordinator Tommy Lee.
INDEPENDENTS : Also rooting for UCLA on Saturday will be Central Florida, which gets a bid to the inaugural Oahu Bowl on Christmas night with a UCLA win. The Knights will face Air Force. A UCLA loss, though, would send Oregon to the islands, and Daunte Culpepper and the Knights would be scrambling for a bowl. There are some possibilities, but none is as enticing as a trip to Honolulu.
Around College Football appears every Thursday on CNNSI.com.
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