Recent matches affect teams’ Bowl standings

Monday, December 7, 1998

Recent matches affect teams’ Bowl standings

RANKINGS: Bruins drop heavily in all polls with Saturday’s loss
to Miami

by Jeff Kmiotek

Daily Bruin Staff

What everybody already knew on Saturday became official
yesterday when the final Bowl Championship Series(BCS) poll was
released.

As expected, the Bruins will play Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl on
New Year’s Day. Unfortunately, they will be the most disappointed
and dejected team ever to play in this game.

UCLA (10-1) dropped heavily in all the polls, including a fall
from No. 2 to No. 5 in the BCS. The 1999 Rose Bowl will be a
rematch of the 1994 Rose Bowl, in which the Bruins lost to the
Badgers, 21-16.

UCLA’s loss to Miami opened the door of the Fiesta to Kansas
State, but they were also upset by Texas A&M. Those two losses
paved the way for Florida State (11-1), which snuck into the Fiesta
Bowl while lounging on their couches on Saturday.

The Seminoles will face Tennessee (11-0) on Jan. 4 for the
national championship. The Volunteers rallied from a fourth-quarter
deficit to beat Mississippi State on Saturday and cling to their
No. 1 position in every poll.

"I’ve watched Tennessee through the year, and they have the
symptoms of a national championship team. I just hope we can play
good against them," said Florida State coach Bobby Bowden.

In a year where calculators have been a necessity to figure out
which teams are the best, Tennessee and Florida State ended up as
no-brainers for the Fiesta Bowl.

"I feel we arrived at two tremendously qualified teams to be
ranked 1-2," said BCS chairman Roy Kramer. "Florida State deserves
to be there, and Tennessee deserves to be there, based on all the
criteria we use."

Kansas State finished a distant third in the BCS, yet they were
denied a spot in one of the four BCS matchups. The Wildcats were
first beaten by the Aggies, then mugged by the BCS, losing a $12
million payday by being shut out of a BCS game. Kansas State is
projected to play Purdue in the Alamo Bowl.

The victory by Texas A&M (11-2) placed them in the Sugar
Bowl, where they will take on Ohio State (10-1). In the final BCS
matchup, Florida (8-2) will battle the Syracuse Orangemen (8-3) in
the Orange Bowl. Florida was chosen because they will generate
financial revenue in bringing in tens of thousands of fans.

Other bowl games include Colorado vs. Oregon in the Aloha Bowl,
Arkansas against Michigan in the Citrus Bowl and Notre Dame versus
Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl.

Arizona, which would have gone to the Rose Bowl if UCLA beat
Miami, is expected to face Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl.

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