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Page A4
Texas A&M vs. LSU
Friday, September 3,1993
Friday, Sepi
It is time for college football to create playoff system
College football needs a playoff.
This is not news to those of us who have been fol
lowing the game for the last dozen years or so.
Sportswriters and coaches,
while certainly knowledge
able about football,
shouldn't be deciding na
tional champions based on
subjective criteria such as
victory margins and, in
some cases, win-loss
records.
There have been several
instances of two or more
teams with legitimate
claims to the top spot.
I harken back to 1983 for
the most obvious case of poll
controversy. On January 2,
1984, previously undefeated
and #1 Nebraska lost to #5
Miami 31-30 in the Orange Bowl. In the Sugar
Bowl, #3 Auburn defeated Michigan 9-7. Earlier in
the day, #2 Texas lost to Georgia 10-9 in the Cotton
Bowl. The records of the top four teams were as fol
lows: Nebraska 12-1, Miami 11-1, Auburn 11-1, and
Texas 11-1.
In an instance closer to home, the Aggies could
have gone 13-0 and been locked out of any shot at
the national title because Miami and Alabama were
1-2 in both polls going into the Sugar Bowl.
The current ranking system is begging for an
overhaul.
A couple of weeks ago, the Walt Disney Co. put
forth an offer to sponsor a post-season football game
as the culmination of an eight-day festival. Because
no other specifics were made available. I'll offer
some of my own.
This plan is a modification of an idea put forth by
Norm Hitzges in SPORT magazine in 1981 but has
been largely ignored.
The playoff system I am proposing is an eight-
team playoff over a three-week span in late Decem
ber and early January.
The first requirement would be that the season
must end by the last weekend in November. This is
usually not a problem and would allow for schedul
ing an off week or two.
Second, get rid of the Kickoff Classic and the
Pigskin Classic, which hardly lived up to their
names this year. It's an additional game that gives
the winners an unmerited poll boost.
At this point, we have everyone playing 11
games and done by December 1. Now, we have to
trust that the AP and CNN/USA Today pollsters
can come to a consensus on the top eight teams.
This will be agonizing and the #9 team will not be
pleased, but it's all we have to go by. Our playoff is
now set.
The most enduring argument against a playoff is
that it would destroy the traditional bowl establish
ment. The playoff would incorporate the Orange,
Cotton, Sugar and Rose Bowls, which would rotate
hosting the championship game, semifinals and the
quarterfinals. The other three first-round games
could be swapped in and out between the other
bowls on an equitable basis. As far as the other
dozen bowls, they could be played in a three- or
four-day span including New Year's Day, thereby
sating everyone's holiday football appetite.
Here, then, is an example format:
• 1 vs. 8 in the Sugar Bowl
•4 vs. 5 in the Fiesta Bowl
•2 vs. 7 in the Florida Citrus Bowl
•3 vs. 6 in the Hall of Fame Bowl
SEMIFINALS:
• 1-8 winner vs 4-5 winner in the Cotton Bowl
• 2-7 winner vs 3-6 winner in the Orange Bowl
CHAMPIONSHIP:
•Semifinal winners in the Rose Bowl
What makes this format really attractive for the
second-tier bowls is that instead of having a sparsely
attended game that means very little, the bowl game
is turned into a playoff game that will generate
tremendous fan interest and millions in TV revenues.
The money could be funneled to the schools in a
manner similar to that used in the NCAA Basketball
Tournament, which has become a financial bonanza
in its own right.
There are two other arguments against a playoff.
The first is that it would take up too much of the
players' time academically. Not true. The playoffs
would start the third weekend of December, which is
after any semester or quarter ends.
The second is that it would be too strenuous phys
ically to play that many games. Possibly, but no
more so than now when teams play 12 or 13 games a
year anyway, as A&M did last season. The only
teams that would play as many as 14 games would
be the teams in the title game.
Something needs to be implemented if Division
I-A football wants to have a true national champion.
WILLIE
CORRINGTON
Sportswriter
Staff
P i c
K S
The Battalion Writers
Plumer
Harrison
Chelkowski
Winder
Rush
Clay
Georgandis
Diener
Corrington
Whitley
Consensus
Comments
at #4 Texas A&M vs. LSU
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
Rebuilding year for LSU
Sice or. at M7 Ohio State
Rice
Ohio St.
Ohio St.
Ohio St.
Rice
Ohio St.
Ohio St.
Ohio St.
Ohio St.
Ohio St.
Ohio St.
Rice still .500 team
Houston nr- at #JS USC
Houston
USC
USC
Houston
Houston
USC
USC
Houston
USC
USC
USC
USC over Houston
at #JJ Colorado vs. Texas
Colorado
Colorado
Colorado
Texas
Colorado
Texas
Colorado
Texas
Colorado
Colorado
Colorado
Morenz not ready
at TCU vs. #22 Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Sooners roll over Frogs
at SMU vs. . Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas
SMU
Arkansas
Arkansas
SMU
Arkansas
Tough Choice
at Bay/or vs. Fresno State
Fresno St.
Baylor
Baylor
Fresno St.
Baylor
Baylor
Baylor
Fresno St.
Baylor
Baylor
Baylor
Baylor upsets FSU
at #7Notre Dame vs. Noithwestem
Irish
Irish
Irish
Irish
Irish
Irish
Irish
Irish
Irish
Irish
Irish
No Contest. None
at #21 Boston College vs. #5 Miami
Miami
Miami
Miami
Miami
Miami
Miami
Miami
B.C.
B.C.
Miami
Miami
No early season shocker
#15 Stani'oixi vs. at #12 Washington
Stanford
Stanford
Stanford
Stanford
Stanford
Stanford
Stanford
Stanford
Stanford
Stanford
Stanford
W ash.too many problems
Houston Oiie/s vs. at New Orleans
Oilers
Oilers
Oilers
Oilers
Oilers
Saints
Oilers
Saints
Oilers
Saints
Oilers
Saints don't have it yet
Dallas Cowboys vs. at Washington
Cowboys
Redskins
Cowboys
Cowboys
Redskins
Cowboys
Redskins
Cowboys
Cowboys
Redskins
Cowboys
So what if no Emmitt ?
Record for Week
—
—
-
-
-
__
-
-
-
-
~
—
Cumulative Record
0 0
0 0
0-0
0-0
0 0
0 0
0-0
0 0
0-0
0-0
-
Intramural
v
■ . ' ■ /.V v • ' A v - ^
Flag Football
Enter early for best available
times and days.
•Entries open: Mon. t Sept. 6
•Entries close: Tues., Sept. 14
•Entry fee: $30
• Classes A = Highly skilled
B = Moderately skilled
C = Average skilled
D = Recreational
or novice
•Divisions: Men, Women, CoRec
•Play begins Mon., Sept. 20
•Round robin league play
•Single-elimination play-offs
A preseason flag football
tournament will also be held.
Entries open Mon., Sept. 6 and close on Sept. 14.
fee is $10.
Entry
If you have any questions, please call 845-7826, or stop
and visit with us at the Rec Sports Fair, Mon., Sept. 6,
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.. Rudder Fountain.
Department of Recreational Sports
159 Read Bldg., located underneath
the east side of Kyle Field
and adjacent to G. Rollie White
845-7826
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
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Hallman
Continued from Page A1
Hallman and Sherill from 1985-
87, when A&M won three straight
Southwest Conference champi
onships and two out of three Cot
ton Bowls.
Hallman said Amedee will
play a multiple-set offense against
A&M with much-heralded sopho
more quarterback Jamie Howard
running the show. Hallman said
defensively LSU will switch to a
base four-man defensive line
front.
He said his young team will be
able to put a lot more speed and
coverage ability onto the field
than years past.
"We're still at the point where
we're trying to develop the total
package," Hallman said. "We've
changed our (defensive) scheme a
little bit; we're doing a little bit
more of the 4-3 defense as op
posed to the odd front that we
used to be in.
"It gives us a chance to put
more linebacker-type people on
the field, and it gives us a little
more speed."
Hallman said dealing with the
talented Aggies will be tough and
again stressed playing error-free
football.
"We know what we're playing
against and I think we've got to be
pretty much picture perfect to
hang in there," Hallman said.
"From tight end to tackle, all of
them have been together except
one position for a long time; it's a
very mature group.
"Corey at quarterback, with the
experience he had last year under
his belt, is a talent. He's got good
size, good range and a good ve
locity on the ball."
"I am impressed by the way he
plays football."
For the A&M defense, Hallman
summed up all the positions as
being strong and talented, giving
particular notice to two potential
All-Americans, junior Sam Adams
at defensive end and senior Aaron
Glenn at cornerback.
"It's a typical A&M defense - a
lot of personality to it and very
aggressive," Hallman said.
"We just hope we can come in
and get started off on the right
track, make some things happen
early and help our young kids
build their confidence a little bit."
Countdown to Texas:
84 Days
The Battalion, in honor of our 100th anniversary of playing football against
the Texas Longhorns, will spotlight a Longhorn player in each A&M home
football preview. This week’s preview;
Cody Danaher
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