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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 1975)
NN IENT 0 /ho’s going Where? Bowl groups confuse scene Commentary By PAT EDMONDSON Battalion Sports Writer Vith one and a half weeks re ining in the regular football edule, the bowls have landed st of their respective pairings for of America to view come the etide season. The question now whether the American audience 1 want to view the mediocre tch-ups. With a few adjustments being made the last couple of days, the major bowl situation now looks like this: 1. The Cotton Bowl will match the winner of the Southwest Con ference, either Texas, Texas A&M, or Arkansas, versus the Southeast ern Conference Georgia Bulldogs. 2. The Crimson Tide of Alabama will play Joe Paterno’s Penn State Nittany Lions in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans. SEIKO No. ZW734M-S100.00. 17J, yellow lop/stainless steel back, textured honey gold dial, adjustable bracelet. No. 54316M—$145.00. 17J, self-winding, water tested to 98.2 feet. Yellow top, brown dial, faceted, mar-resiat HARDLEX crystal. See our Big Selection of Seiko Watches. Lay Away Now For Christmas. TIME IS GETTING “SHORT” EMBREY’S JEWELRY 415 UNIVERSITY DR. COLLEGE STATION 9:00-5:30 M0N.-SAT. 3. The Rose Bowl will feature the winner of the Ohio State-Michigan showdown in Ann Arbor this Satur day against the Pacific Eight champ ion: either California, Stanford, or UCLA. That winner won’t be de cided until after the classic rivalry between USC-UCLA on Nov. 28. 4. The winner of the Oklahoma- Nebraska game this weekend will represent the Big Eight in the Orange Bowl and will face the loser of the Big Ten battle between Ohio State and Michigan. In analyzing the four major bowls, some priorities must be taken into consideration: 1. The Cotton Bowl books the Southwest Conference champion against a highly ranked team. Re cent schools participating have been Georgia, Alabama, Penn State, Notre Dame, and Nebraska. This year, as in previous years, it ap peared that the bowl committee would choose an opponent falling along these lines. 2. The Sugar Bowl customarily invites teams of national promi nence, usually those which not in volve a champion of a certain con ference. The Sugar Bowl two years ago featured Alabama versus Notre Dame for the national champion ship. 3. The Big Ten champion and The Pacific Eight champion are both commited to play in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. 4. The Orange Bowl in recent years has paired two powerhouses in an effort to produce the best con test. This year, however, the Big Eight signed a four year commit ment to the bowl. This left one vac ant spot for a highly' ranked team to fill. In choosing a prominent team to play the Southwest Conference champion. Cotton Bowl officials originally were interested in either the Big Eight runner-up or the Big Ten runner-up. But the possibility of Texas and Oklahoma meeting in Dallas again wiped the Big Eight runner-up consideration out. (Texas and Oklahoma play during the regu lar season in the Cotton Bowl each year.) The likely candidate at that stage then appeared to be the Big Ten runner-up. But the Orange Bowl made it quickly known that it was interested in the Big Ten runner- up, since it would match teams with only one loss. This left Cotton Bowl officials out in the cold, forcing them to consider Notre Dame and South ern Cal as likely choices. It was then assumed that they were to book the Fighting Irish providing they were victorious over Pitt last week. But Pitt surprised Dan Devine’s crew, pummeling them 34-20, and bowl officials chose unranked Georgia for the New Years’ Day affair. Weeks ago. Coach Bear Bryant of Alabama made it perfectly clear that he wanted his squad to be the first to play in the new Superdome in the Sugar Bowl. Due to his past bowl record (Alabama has not won in a bowl for several years) this was an apparent move to shy away from the Orange Bowl where he would have to face Oklahoma or Nebraska. But Bryant later changed his tune, say ing that he would agree to face the Big Eight champion in the Orange Bowl because it would give Alabama and outside shot at the national championship when OU fell short to Kansas. Two weeks ago, Bryant came to terms with Sugar Bowl offi cials and it was speculated that he might have broken the Nov. 15 con tact date. When Bryant realized his team’s chances for the national championship had dwindled, he jumped to his original decision to go to the Sugar Bowl. The possibility of Oklahoma beat ing Nebraska probably loomed in his mind, and he realized that a meeting with a once-defeated team would leave Alabama in no position to challenge for the national champ ionship. What few people realize is that Barry Switzer’s Oklahoma Sooners were never considered for a spot in the Sugar Bowl. When it was re vealed in 1972 that OU had partici pated in recruiting violations, the school was placed on probation for two years. This meant that they could not appear on television or in a bowl game until Jan. 1, 1976. Since the Sugar Bowl is held on New Year’s Eve, it leaves the Soon ers ineligible under NCAA rules. Therefore, the only major bowl that OU can play in is the Orange. Be cause the bowls refused to hold off' until after the regular season to bill the teams, Nebraska, too, was left out of the picture since the outcome of their game with Oklahoma could not be determined. Then Penn State (also selected by Bear Bryant) was chosen to face Alabama in view of their 8-2 record. There is also an uneasy situation surrounding the Rose Bowl. The bowl will have one of three un ranked teams with an unimpressive record facing one of the two biggies in the Big Ten. The match-up seems unproportionally balanced. Also, | the possibility of UCLA meeting Ohio State exists. Ohio State soundly defeated the Bruins earlier in the year. This would be bad for football. Officials would not con sider Texas playing Oklahoma for the second time in the same season, but for some reason the same possi bility occurs in the Rose Bowl. Where is the line drawn? Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas! A&M will find themselves playing elsewhere in smaller bowls should they not capture their respective ■ conferences. In regard to their re- ; cords this year, these teams are much too good to settle for smaller,, bowls. The system of bowl selection J-j at present is very complicated. A change in the near future is undoub tedly in order. A play-off system of some sort has been suggested. At any rate, something should be done soon because various schools of na tional prominence are being dep rived of participating in a major bowl. Fem cagers open year at SWTSU The women s basketball team will open its 1975 season tonight when the Aggies meet Southwest Texas State in San Marcos at 8 p.m. There are five veterans returning from last year’s team — Cissy Au- clair, Sally Morrisse, Dianne Quit- ta, Cindy Horton, and Dana Calla way. Newcomers are Belinda Bre wer, Margaret Byrne, Cindy Gough, Jane Jenkins, Beth Mamaliga, Carol McAllister, Donna Parmer, Eileen Roitsch, and Bonnie Guedin. Last year’s team finished with a 24-9 record and was ranked seventh in the state. Coach Kay Don feels her team can do equally as well this year, if not better. “The team looks real good at this stage,’ Don said. “We have more depth than we had last year. My main concern has been the aggres siveness on defense, but I think we re improving.” In preparation for their season opener, the Aggies scrimmaged Tyler Junior College and McLennan Community College last week. In both scrimmages, the women played a total of three halves, with the Aggies winning two in each. “SAVE A BUNDLE” Remember the old, Cash and Carry, money saving trick? Buy a pizza at the Krueger-Dunn Snack Bar and eat it there or take it anywhere you wish. Prices are right, and the pizzas are great. Before Thanksgiving Special Hamburger Pizza 1.29 Sausage Pizza ......1.29 Pepperoni Pizza $1.29 OPEN Monday thru Friday 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. Saturday & Sunday 4:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. “QUALITY FIRST” UR GIVI INI Gllli m GlVi Ulf GIVI Learn to land a jet here and you can land one anywhere. Bringing in a supersonic jet on a 10,000 ft. cement runway is tough enough. But landing one on a 500 ft. piece of a carrier deck, moving at 25 knots, is even tougher. Only a few men are good enough to do it. And they’re all Navy trained. How can you become a member of the Naval Air team? One way is to join while you’re still in college. One of the advantages of being part of the Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate (AVROC) Program is that it lets you continue working toward your degree. Getting your Navy Wings isn’t easy. The training is tough. The least that will be expected of you is the best that other pilots can do. Their limits are your starting blocks, their expertise your primer. But if you succeed, your future is assured whether you remain in the Navy or not. For more information, talk to your local Navy Recruiter. Be Someone Special. Fly Navy. SEE YOUR OFFICER INFORMATION TEAM STUDENT CENTER NOV. 17-20 9:00-4:00 P.M.