College Football

If you are planning to attend the game, be advised that the Arizona State University Laboratory of Climatology says that the Temperature-Humidity Index causes widespread discomfort in the 70-80 range, and almost everyone is miserable when the THI passes 80. The average THI on Sept. 26? Eighty-five.

Doctors say it's possible that some fans will suffer headaches, spasms and faintness, and get cold, pale skin. Or they might stop sweating and become flushed, with hot and dry skin. There could be heat cramps, heat exhaustion and perhaps heat stroke. Imagine what could happen to players under such conditions.

Cornhusker coach Tom Osborne downplays the heat factor. Then he takes his team into Schulte Fieldhouse, where the temperature is set at 95�, and has the players run wind sprints.

Never before has Arizona State played an afternoon home game so early in the season. But ABC asked the Sun Devils and Huskers to show some consideration for Eastern viewers who are eager to see Nebraska, the second-best team in the country, play Arizona State, the defending Rose Bowl champion, and still be able to spend Saturday night out on the town. So the teams agreed to begin the game seven hours earlier than originally planned.

Well, we don't get it. We're under the impression that college sport is supposed to be for the athlete and the fan—neither of whom will be shown much consideration Saturday in Tempe.

NEVER AGAIN, PROBABLY

It was just by a fluke that LSU, which is hoping for a national championship, and Rice, which is hoping to survive the season, played Saturday night in Baton Rouge. That the Tigers won 49-16 meant nothing, because Owl coach Jerry Berndt had said his only goal was to keep the score closer than that of the record 222-0 defeat Georgia Tech laid on Cumberland in 1916.

Rice has developed a tradition of futility over the last two decades, and LSU stopped scheduling the Owls after a 24-10 victory in 1983. That decision terminated a 53-game series dating to 1915 in which LSU had a 35-13-5 advantage.

Needing another opponent for this fall, the Tigers booked Wichita State. Then the Shockers decided to drop football. So LSU scheduled SMU. Then the Mustangs had football dropped for them. The Tigers went searching again and found Rice. Thankfully, there are no plans for the two to play again, but, then, we've heard that before.

SWEET, SWEET ATONEMENT