BCS championship moves to Rose Bowl
By Daily Bruin Staff
Aug. 26, 2001 9:00 p.m.
By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Staff
Roses could smell just a little bit sweeter on Jan. 3, when the
Rose Bowl in Pasadena plays host to college football’s
national championship game.
Historically pitting the Pac-10 champion against the Big 10
victor on New Year’s Day, the “Granddaddy of Them
All” takes on new flair this season as part of the Bowl
Championship Series. The game will feature a matchup between the
No. 1 and 2 teams in the nation according to BCS rankings, a system
which incorporates overall record, difficulty of schedule, and
point differential.
The 2002 Rose Bowl could mark the first time in 55 years that
Big 10 or Pac-10 champions do not represent their conferences in
Pasadena. The Rose Bowl’s exclusive contract with the two
leagues ended in 1998 when Big 10 and Pac-10 teams became eligible
for the BCS championship game. The 52-year agreement was the
longest of its type in the history of college football.
“I’m a traditional guy,” UCLA head coach Bob
Toledo said. “It’s kind of strange for me to see they
are going to have this Rose Bowl parade, and there’s no game
that day. It’s kind of hard for me to comprehend right
now.”
Despite the break from tradition, having the national
championship game in Pasadena gives many Bruins added incentive to
reach their goals.
“We know that game is played in our back yard,” said
Bruin senior linebacker Robert Thomas. “And we’ll be
damned if anybody is going to play in that game but us.”
The Bruins could conceivably win the Pac-10 and still not play
in the Rose Bowl this year if their BCS ranking is not high enough.
Although this changes the consequences of final standings, it does
not change the team’s goals going into the regular
season.
“People just keep playing, and they really don’t
worry about those kinds of things,” Toledo said.
“Ultimately you try to play for a national championship, but
there are other bowl games.”
In addition to providing a possible extra home game for UCLA,
the Rose Bowl as the national championship game could give added
exposure by shifting the nation’s focus out West.
“It’s nice that the championship moved out to the
West Coast,” UCLA linebacker Marcus Reese said.
“It’s something different. All the national
championship teams seem to be in the East. It seems like the Rose
Bowl was always a big bowl game, but never the championship
games.”
With a very competitive Pac-10 conference, it is possible that a
team from the West will finally gain center stage in the college
football theater. A Pac-10 team has not played in the national
championship game since the BCS started.
Regardless of the participants, whoever plays on Jan. 3 will not
only get to play for the national championship, but they’ll
get to do so with the sweet smell of roses permeating the air.
