Off to a rough start
Posted: Tuesday September 07, 1999 05:33 PM
By Stewart Mandel, CNN/SI
Ah, the joys of having a new coach at your school. From the time he's announced in November or December, oodles of hope and promise envelop the campus, as Mr. Big Shot arrives in town on his golden horse, talking endlessly of "dedication," "attitude" and, most notably, "improvement."
Too bad he eventually has to coach a game.
It was rude awakenings all around this weekend, as Colorado's Gary Barnett, South Carolina's Lou Holtz, Clemson's Tommy Bowden, Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, Baylor's Kevin Steele, Northwestern's Randy Walker and Hawaii's June Jones all opened with less-than-desirable outcomes. UNLV's John Robinson, Auburn's Tommy Tuberville and Oregon State's Dennis Erickson escaped on solid ground.
Most were walking into perilous situations anyway. But not Barnett. His Buffaloes' shocking 41-14 debacle at the hands of Colorado State was not expected out of a team ranked 14th and returning most key members of a squad that won the Aloha Bowl. It will take another one of Barnett's magic acts to suddenly turn the Buffs back into a team that's supposed to contend with Nebraska in the Big 12 North.
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Each week, the Glance offers its projected BCS lineup. |
| Sugar:
Florida State vs. Penn State |
Orange:
Miami vs. Tennessee |
| Rose:
Michigan vs. Arizona |
Fiesta:
Nebraska vs. Georgia Tech |
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The bowl race at a glance: |
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This week was a minor tune-up for such national contenders as Penn State, Tennessee and Miami. Florida's Fun-N-Gun was at full throttle, but the rebuilt defense showed vulnerability against Western Michigan, good news for Phil Fulmer's Vols, whose quest to repeat hangs greatly on the Sept. 18 date at the Swamp. In the Big Ten, Michigan looked surprisingly crisp against Notre Dame -- Anthony Thomas brought his "A" game and the supposedly questionable secondary held up. UM should challenge PSU, but first up is a big game with Wisconsin on the 25th.
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ON:
Jamal Lewis. We'll all be asking for a new knee if you're guaranteed to come back running like that. |
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ON:
Nick Davis. Ron Dayne gets the press, but Davis is Badgers' most dangerous weapon. |
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OFF:
Lloyd Carr. His team looked great, the game was everything we could have hoped for. Now if only the coach would zip it.
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OFF:
Colorado. Only thing more embarrassing than Buffs' play was the police's postgame performance.
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ON:
Western Michigan. After throwing for over 400 yards on Florida, Broncos suddenly not so worried about Central and Eastern. |
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OFF:
Notre Dame offensive line. Michigan gets 47 yards in tackles-for-loss on Jarious Jackson. |
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| Sit, Ron, Sit |
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Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez elected to sit record-chasing Ron Dayne the entire second half against Murray State to avoid injury. Good move - Alvarez hurt himself before the game even started.
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| Pitiful Pac-10 |
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Penn State 41, Arizona 7. Texas 69, Stanford 17. Utah 27, Washington State 7. Good thing they get to play each other soon.
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| Tussle in Tallahassee |
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Georgia Tech takes on the No. 1 Seminoles for a one-shot deal at wrestling away the ACC crown. Chris Weinke or Joe Hamilton? Peter Warrick or Dez White? Corey Simon and Roland Seymour or ... or ...
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| Temple at Kansas State, Saturday |
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After a noble but futile effort against mighty Maryland, Owls take a cue from last year's Virginia Tech stunner and spread goodwill for those of us who prefer competitive college football.
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| UCLA at Ohio State, Saturday |
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Picture a bunch of football players in wheelchairs reading Intro to Golf textbooks. Buckeyes are dumb, but Bruins are evil. OSU by 6.
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| South Carolina at Georgia, Saturday |
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Did any of South Carolina's players not wash away in that rainstorm? Even so, Lou in pads would stand as good a chance of stopping Quincy Carter.
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| * Three games selected at random |
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Ask the Glance and
you shall receive.
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Remember: this column is updated on Sundays, so don't be that guy who asks,
"Is my team gonna win this weekend?"
What happens if BYU goes 10-1 or 11-0? Does BYU control its own destiny regarding the BCS or is it at the mercy of the hucksters running the bowls?
Doug Rathbun, Kennewick, Wash.
You may recall 1996, when BYU went 13-1 but got left out of an alliance bowl. School officials actually testified before Congress about the unfairness of college football's postseason selection, and the resulting stipulation was that if BYU - or a Louisville or a Marshall - is ranked in the top six, it must receive a BCS invitation. After that, there's no guarantee - and in fact, little chance - that a smaller conference team would get in, regardless of record (Tulane went 12-0 last year and played in the Liberty Bowl). Considering the Cougars start the season unranked, a 19-plus spot poll jump seems unlikely, especially without an upper-echelon opponent on the schedule (Washington, Virginia and Cal don't quite cut it).
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