Wednesday, December 3, 1997
Trip to Cotton Bowl may be only sure bet for Bruins
FOOTBALL:
Alliance may shun No. 5 team due to issues of fan faithfulnessBy
Brent Boyd
Daily Bruin Staff
The one thing that has plagued UCLA football all season long may
hurt the Bruins come bowl time.
No, it’s not dropped punts, overthrown passes, or missed
assignments … it’s empty seats.
UCLA is ranked fifth in the nation, its highest ranking since
1988, yet may not get a bid to one of the alliance bowls simply
because Bruin fans do not "travel well."
The last two times UCLA has gone to an out-of-town bowl, not
many fans followed the team  only 3,500 Bruin faithful showed
up at the Cotton Bowl in 1989 and even fewer travelled to the John
Hancock Bowl in 1991.
And that just doesn’t sit well with the executives of the bowls
in the alliance  Fiesta, Orange, and Sugar.
Though the concept of the alliance was drawn up to match the
best teams in the nation against one another, it doesn’t always
work that way, as economics come into play.
"With us it’s a combination of things," Jeff Hundley, associate
executive director of the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, said.
"It would be simplifying it too much to go only on
rankings."
Aspects such as fan attendance, TV ratings, and national
recognition all are considered when matching up the teams.
The alliance automatically takes the champions of the Big East
(Syracuse), ACC (Florida State), Big 12 (Nebraska or Texas
A&M), and SEC (Tennessee or Auburn).
In addition, there are two at-large selections, which is where
UCLA fits into the puzzle.
Barring any upsets in the Big 12 and SEC conference championship
games this weekend, UCLA will be the highest-ranked team to be
considered for an at-large berth  No. 6 Florida, No. 7 North
Carolina, No. 9 Ohio State, and No. 10 Kansas State are the
others.
However, it remains likely that both Ohio State and Kansas State
will be chosen over the Bruins for an alliance bid. If the Bruins
are not taken by the alliance, UCLA would head to Dallas to play in
the Cotton Bowl against a Big 12 team  probably Texas A&M
or Kansas State.
Regardless, here are the possibilities for the Bruins:
Orange (Miami, Jan. 2) Â The Orange Bowl gets the top two
picks of the alliance teams. If Tennessee and Nebraska both lose
this weekend, UCLA could jump up to the third spot. And since the
Orange Bowl said they would take the two highest-ranked teams, UCLA
would be headed to Miami.
However, even if Nebraska loses, UCLA might not jump them,
leaving the Bruins on the outside.
Sugar (New Orleans, Jan. 1) Â To spend New Year’s on
Bourbon Street, the Bruins need some fans  15,000 of them
 to make the trip to Louisiana. That’s how many Bowl
officials want to come, and if UCLA can commit for that many, the
Bruins would likely take on Florida State. Otherwise, the Sugar
Bowl seems locked on Ohio State.
Fiesta (Tempe, Dec. 31) Â Basically not a possibility for
the Bruins. Syracuse is destined to play Kansas State.
Cotton (Dallas, Jan. 1) Â The most likely scenario. The
Cotton Bowl gets first pick of any Pac-10 team not in the Rose Bowl
or taken by the alliance.
And, unlike the alliance, the Cotton Bowl wants UCLA.
So what’s wrong with Dallas, you ask? Well, one thing … the
payout. The Cotton pays just over two million, compared to the over
eight million that alliance bowls offer. All money earned will be
split among the Pac-10 schools.
One thing remains for sure, the players want New Orleans.
"I want to play a top-five team, not somebody below us," senior
tailback Skip Hicks said. "I think we deserve that. I think it’s
kind of sloppy on their part how they’re doing it.
"It’s all about money for them. It isn’t about what the kids
want, how hard they work, win all these games for what?
Nothing?"
That’s what happens when your biggest downfall is empty
seats.
* * *
Cade McNown and Larry Atkins were named winners of UCLA’s MVPs
at the awards banquet Wednesday night.
JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin
UCLA quarterback Cade McNown and the Bruins are still waiting to
hear where they will be going over Winter Break.