|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
BYU's cry: 'Don't give us Liberty'
Posted: Wednesday November 10, 1999 04:59 PM
By Michael C. Lewis, Special to CNN/SI With their arch-rivals having blown a good chance to steal the inaugural conference championship, the BYU Cougars are closing in on a return trip to the Liberty Bowl to face the champion of Conference USA. Not that they are all that excited about it. The Cougars have been grousing all season about a potential return to Memphis, Tenn., in part because they had a miserable time there last year -- they spent more than a week, including Christmas, in lousy weather with little to do before losing to Tulane -- and in part because they have been hoping for bigger things. "I don't think anybody wants to go to the Liberty Bowl this year," said wide receiver Jonathan Pittman. "We all want to go higher than that. We're looking for a BCS standing. We're striving to be in the BCS standings. ... We are looking at the Liberty Bowl as more of a consolation prize more than, like, 'Oh, we're at the Liberty Bowl!' We're thinking higher than that." They probably won't get it. The Cougars are ranked 14th in the latest rankings by the Bowl Championship Series, and they need to be at least sixth to be considered for one of the major bowl games. For that to happen, the Cougars not only would have to win their last two games, but have to have at least a half-dozen teams ranked ahead of them suffer cataclysmic collapses -- sort of like the one that seems to be afflicting the Utes. Utah has lost two straight since a 6-1 start, and likely blew their chance at a championship showdown with BYU on Nov. 20 by losing in embarrassing fashion to Wyoming last weekend. Now, the Utes must win their last two games and have BYU also lose at Wyoming on Saturday to swipe the league title. That seems unlikely. Meantime, the Cougs keep lobbying against the Liberty. Spotting athletic director Val Hale on the sidelines at practice recently, wide receiver Margin Hooks wandered past with a proposition. "We took a vote," Hooks joked. "We'll promise to win the rest of our games if you promise we don't have to go back there." Hale cannot promise that. But he has said that if the Cougars earn a return to the Liberty Bowl, they might travel to sunny southern Utah for a few days of practice before Christmas, then return home for the holiday before leaving for Memphis. Last year, the Cougs had a hard time practicing well because of the weather, and were disappointed because of the suspensions of star running back Ronney Jenkins and cornerback Heshimu Robertson for violations of the university's Honor Code. BYU then lost to Tulane, 41-27. Provided they don't lose their final two games, the Cougars will meet either Southern Mississippi or Louisville in the Liberty Bowl, and not everybody is so disappointed with the prospect. "A lot of people have been saying we don't want to go to the Liberty Bowl," said quarterback Kevin Feterik. "That's wrong. We want to go to any bowl that will take us." Starting fresh After a bye week in which he was able to reflect on his UNLV Rebels' offensive futility, Coach John Robinson is pulling freshman quarterback Matt Ray -- a nephew to legendary coach Bill Walsh -- off his redshirt year to start on Saturday against Air Force. "It was a tough decision," said Robinson. "The big thing for Matt Ray is this makes him a veteran. It doesn't matter if you redshirt for 12 years. When you go from not playing to playing, this gives you a chance to have experience." Part of the problem is injuries at quarterback. Starter Jason Vaughan has been bothered by a series of concussions, while backup Chris Hayward has a stress fracture in his foot. The other part of the problem is that under Vaughan, the Rebels rank 113th out of 114 Division I-A teams with 244.5 yards per game. The shuffle might all be moot by next season, though. Most observers figure that Jason Thomas, who transferred from USC, will start for the Rebels. In memory of 'Sweetness' Colorado State's Kevin McDougal did not grow up anywhere close to Chicago -- in Arvada, Colo., to be exact -- but that does not mean he was not touched by the virtuous career of the late Walter Payton, who died last week. So much so, in fact, that for the Rams' game at New Mexico last weekend, McDougal changed his uniform number from 36 to the 34 that Payton wore for years as a member of the NFL's Chicago Bears. Originally, McDougal had planned to simply wear black wristbands because he figured changing his number would be too much work for the equipment manager. But when the equipment manager read that in a Denver newspaper, he told McDougal that he already had sewn his name onto the back of No. 34. With Payton's number on his back, then, McDougal proceeded to imitate his idol against the Lobos, although it took him until the second half to get going. McDougal piled up 92 yards and touchdown on 25 carries to help lift CSU to a 36-22 victory that continued an amazing streak of success in the month of November under Coach Sonny Lubick. Since Lubick became the coach in 1993, the Rams are 15-2 in November games, and might just find themselves in a bowl game this season if they continue the trend with victories over Air Force and UNLV. But the Rams could win their last two games, finish 8-3 and still not reach the Las Vegas Bowl, because it is not under any obligation to take the second-place team in the league. The school is hoping to avoid that fate by allowing fans to pledge to buy tickets on its web-site. The athletic director is hoping 4,000 pledges would speak to bowl officials. It might hurt the Rams, too, for Fresno State to win the WAC championship as it appears poised to do. The Rams and Bulldogs already have played this season, and with the WAC champ contracted to play in the Las Vegas Bowl, bowl officials might not want to stage a rematch. Michael C. Lewis covers college football for the Salt Lake City Tribune. Check back each Wednesday for his latest CNN/SI Insider
| ||||||||||||||||||||
