Tuesday, November 17, 1998
Comebacks by top teams may spell ‘Rose Bowl’
for No. 3 Bruins
COLUMN: Kansas State, Tennessee wins might kill UCLA’s national
title bid
One down, one to go. The Bruins clinched a berth to what used to
be the "Granddaddy of them all"- the Rose Bowl.
Too bad the Rose Bowl may end up being just a nice consolation
prize.
With visions in their heads of being in Tempe, Ariz., on Jan. 4
for the Fiesta Bowl, the UCLA football team does not want to
settle.
They want it all.
And they could have been in prime position this weekend, were it
not for two gut-wrenching, eye-popping, heart-stopping,
come-from-behind victories in Knoxville, Tenn. and Manhattan,
Kan.
There could have been two miraculous upsets. Upon further
review, there definitely should have been at least one.
The rays of light from above, however, were shining down on No.
1 Tennessee and No. 2 Kansas State just enough for the Volunteers
and Wildcats to maintain their positions in the polls (the two
voting polls, at least) for one week longer.
Tennessee, playing at home in Neyland Stadium, was not about to
let more than 106,000 orange-clad Volunteer fans go home
unfulfilled. Trailing 24-10 the Arkansas Razorbacks midway through
the third quarter, the Volunteers pulled off a comeback that would
have made UCLA’s "Kardiac Kids" of this year very proud.
Sophomore tailback Travis Henry volunteered to be the man for
Tennessee,carrying the team on his back from that point on. Gaining
99 of his 197 yards in two critical possessions, he showed why the
Volunteers deserve to be considered an elite team in 1998.
But he didn’t do it by himself. Somewhere along the line, fate
decided to intervene. A bungled snap led to a safety and a
possession for Tennessee, and though they went three and out on
that possession, they were to get the ball back at the most
opportune time in a Bruin-esque way.
Arkansas quarterback Clint Stoerner slipped, fell and dropped
the ball at the Razorback 49-yard line with less than two minutes
left. Tennessee recovered, and Henry capped the comeback with a
one-yard jaunt that led to the victory.
Kansas State pulled off a comeback, too, except their fateful
intervention came in the form of a referee. When linebacker Travis
Ochs nearly decapitated Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch on fourth
down during Nebraska’s potential game-winning drive in the fourth
quarter, everybody watching the game knew that a face mask penalty
was going to be called.
That is, everybody except the referee. No flag was thrown, and
Kansas State got the ball on a turnover-on-downs and pounded in one
more touchdown to seal (or steal, depending on how you look at it)
the victory.
I’m not bitter, just jealous. Human error is a part of every
sport, it just so happens that this time it benefitted Kansas State
and in the process screwed UCLA.
UCLA is still in good position to get into the Fiesta Bowl. By
virtue of the BCS poll, the Bruins would take on Tennessee if both
teams win the rest of their games, provided the voters in the AP
poll and the coaches’ poll don’t have a sudden change of heart.
But we have seen debacles of the greatest magnitude happen
previously. Penn State went undefeated in ’95 and didn’t even get a
share of the national title. The same fate may beset the Bruins if
Bill Snyder’s Wildcats and Phillip Fulmer’s Volunteers win
astoundingly and the Bruins revert to their "Kardiac" ways.
The voters say that they are discouraged when the Bruins need to
pull it out in the last minute. They say that by not blowing out
teams, they are not a legitimate No. 1 team. Yet the
come-from-behind victories this weekend by Tennessee and Kansas
State show "heart", "guts" and "the will to win."
If the Bruins, the Wildcats and the Volunteers stay undefeated
and the Bruins are left in Pasadena playing for the roses, then
Sat., Nov. 14, will be the reason why.
That will be remembered as the weekend that K-State and
Tennessee proved worthy of their championship dreams.
It’s too bad UCLA ends up getting lost in all of this. Finally
deciding to put together a complete game at Washington, the Bruins
were overshadowed by the nail-biters.
A 36-24 victory over a top conference rival and automatic berth
to the Rose Bowl should be fodder for sports sections and highlight
shows everywhere. But it’s just another routine victory on a
weekend where both No. 1 and No. 2 could have been knocked off.
With USC and Miami left on the schedule, the Bruins need to win,
and they need to win big. They have by far the toughest two games
left of the Fiesta contenders. Tennessee has Kentucky, Vanderbilt
and the SEC Championship game. Kansas State faces Missouri and an
unnamed opponent (probably Texas A&M) in the Big 12
championship game.
If the voters realize that the Bruins have done nothing but win
against tough teams in adverse situations, the Bruins will be
playing for the whole piñata come Jan. 4.
In case the voters are not swayed, UCLA will have to settle for
what once was the most prestigious bowl game in college
football.
It’s not a bad consolation prize, but the Bruins want it, and by
winning from here on out, they deserve it.
Lovett is a hard-hitting safety who guarantees at least two
interceptions in Friday’s Blood Bowl against USC. He can be reached
at [email protected] Lovett
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