The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, August 26, 1987, Page 14, Image 14
~ ~ - - Sometimes work and class schedules conflict. When flexibility is what you need in your life, UNL independent study can help. Study at your place, your pace, with over 70 courses to choose from. Review the course syllabi before you sign up. Just visit room 269 Nebraska Center for Continuing Education, 33rd and Holdrege (take the shuttle bus from city campus). UNL Independent Study can help. Call 472-1926 today! UNL is a non-discriminatory institution >- -- -- - ' Playoff system disputed Two teams rarely claim bragging rights The argument has raged for years. Supremacy among the nation’s Div ision IA college football teams is an important — maybe the most impor tant — issue among fans. And through the years, the desire for a playoff sys tem to decide the nation’s No. 1 team on the field has increased among Amer ica’s Monday-morning quarterbacks. Last Thursday, a proposal by a spe cial NCAA subcommittee created a plan for a one-game playoff system at the end of the year that would match the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams at the end of the regular season. The idea obviously spawned from last season, in which fans of the playoff Chuck Green system got a quick fix when top-ranked Miami faced No. 2 Penn State in the Sunkit-Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2. Both teams were undefeated and the game lived up to all its billings, as a Penn State interception at the goal line in the game’s final seconds ended Mia mi’s come-from-behind title dreasm. When playoff advocates failed to see through all the meda hype, pageantry and last-second heroics, they missed , one of the most obvious questions raised: Were Penn State and Miami truly the best college teams in the nation? Granted, both teams were 11-0 going into the game, which is all anyone could have asked from them. Their schedules, however, left much to be desired. Penn State sque ' ed past teams like Temple and Rutbers, while Miami blasted the likes of Cincinnati, West Virginia and East Carolina. The Hurri canes defeated Florida State easily when the Seminoles were without their starting quarterback. Oklahoma also fell to the Orange Bowl turf under a strong Hurricane passing attack, but Sooners have a notorious recent history of sluggish Septembers. How badly would Nebraska have routed Oklahoma in the season’s fourth game? The point is, there are very few sea sons in which only two teams can claim No. 1 bragging rights. In my mind, Oklahoma was the best college team in the country last Jan. 1, with Nebraska and Arizona State only a step or two behind. Penn State and Mami were not top-five material. A one-game playoff would raise more questions than it would answer. But the subcommittee’s proposal was a step in the right direction — just not far enough. Division IA football is the only col lege sport in which a national cham pion isn’t decided on the playing field. A playoff is needed from the start, and a look at recent seasons supports this idea In 1969, Penn State was undefeated but finished No. 2 behind Texas because Longhorns had what many considered to be a tougher schedule. In 1975, Ariz ona State finished 12-0, including a 17-14 win against Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl. The Sun Devils also fin ished as the “best of the rest” behind Oklahoma, which was also undefeated. Which team was better? A one-game playoff would raise more ques tions than it would answer. More recently, Clemson won the crown in 1981. The Tigers went 12-0, but Penn State — which had one loss — was likely the nation’s best team at the end. In 1984, Brigham Young was undefeated and No. 1, but the Cougars played no top-20 teams. And last sea son, had Nebraska defeated Oklahoma, the Comhuskers likely would have faced Miami in the Orange Bowl for the national title. If Miami had won, the Hurricanes would have been national champs, but Penn State, also unde feated, never would have had a chance to prove its field value. Why has it gone on so long? The main reason is money. Ask any bowl repre sentative. A playoff system would mean doom for the bowls, the argument goes. It would also extend the season and disrupt the athletes’ academic lives — that’s the favorite among coaches. Finally, some people say, a playoff just wouldn’t be as much fun as arguing the matter all year. In 1981, Sport Magazine proposed an ideathat would quickly dismiss all the debates. The Sport plan, along with a few modifications, would go like this: Step 1: A computer ranking, like that of the New York Times poll, would be organized. The nation’s top 16 teams would be established, taking into ac count the individual teams’ win loss record, schedule difficulty, offensive output, defensive input and Individual nlavprs’ statistics. Step 2: The 16 teams would be paired according to their computer rankings. Number one would play No. 16, No. 2 would face No. 15, No. 3 would be paired with No. 14, and so on. These first-round games would be played in the lesser bowls, such as the Peach, Sun, Gator, Bluebonnet, Florida-Citrus, etc., and would be played one week after final exams ended, on Friday and Satruday, Dec. IS and 19 of this year. All eight games would be nationally televised, earning the “minor bowls" more money than ever before — dis missing the "loss of money" argument. The minor bowls not included in the playoff, such as the California and Hol iday Bowls, could merge with the bowls that were involved, enhancing media coverage, advertising, and overall fi nancing and popularity of the playoff system. Step 3: After reducing the original field to eight teams, the quarter final games would be played. The four games would pit the remaining teams in order of their rankings (as before) in the Cotton, Orange, Sugar and Sunkist Fiesta Bowls on Saturday, Dec. 26. Step 4: The four remaining teams would face each other in back-to-back semifinal games on Saturday, Jan. 2, in the Rose Bowl. The two winners would play for the national chi mpionship in a prime-time game one week later at the same site. The idea has the potential for the biggest sporting event the country has ever known, possibly even bigger in popularity than the Super Bowl. The best thing about the system is that everybody would win — the bowls, the schools involved, the advertisers and the players. And especially the fans. Green is a junior news-editorial and criminal justice m^jorfrom Lincoln and is First Down Mag azine editor. ' • * ' • - - . • • ,.r • >-• r‘ W*" - *v,. - . %• I - - i ■ 17th & P Downtown . 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