Paul Hackett and his assistants were amazed when they heard about Northwestern’s 54-51 victory over Michigan on Saturday.
“We’re looking at that Northwestern-Michigan score and we’re saying, `Oh my goodness, it’s happening in their league too,'” Hackett said.
Northwestern-Michigan has been hailed locally as one of the great college football games of all time. But it would be just another thriller out in the Pac-10, where 20 games have been decided by a touchdown or less and where two schools, Arizona State and Washington State, have played three overtime games.
“If you would put together a highlight film of Pac-10 football, we’re blowing away March Madness,” Washington coach Rick Neuheisel said. “People love to see the last-second shots. Well, we’re a conference of last-second shots.”
The Pac-10 was a joke last year, but it served notice of its revival by racking up six victories against ranked non-conference opponents. If that doesn’t sound like many, consider that the other BCS conferences have won five, combined.
The margin between first and last place in the Pac-10 is slimmer than a surf bunny’s waistline. League-leading Oregon has had to survive overtimes each of the last two weeks. Second-place Washington has scored only 20 points more than it has given up in conference play. Cellar-dwelling Washington State has lost three overtime games. Arizona has lost three straight games by a total of 10 points.
Arizona State has played in three straight OT games, an NCAA record, and with six overtimes over the last three weekends the Sun Devils essentially have played an extra game. Last weekend the Sun Devils rallied from a 35-6 deficit to tie Southern Cal in Tempe, only to lose in double overtime.
“A lot of people don’t know this,” Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen said from conference headquarters in Walnut Creek, Calif., “but every week one of our institutions volunteers to host an overtime game.”
Said Neuheisel: “It’s absolutely bizarre. Think about it this way: if there wasn’t overtime, think about what the records would be and how many ties we would have.”
Indeed, the league might have trouble producing a bowl-eligible champion.
Oregon controls its own Rose Bowl destiny. But if Oregon, Oregon State and Washington tie, the Huskies are headed for Pasadena. If the Huskies lose and Oregon State beats Oregon in the Civil War Nov. 18, the Beavers are in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1964.
The close shaves are great fun, but they might be killing the Pac-10 in the Bowl Championship Series standings. Because many voters in the major polls, and some of the computer rankings, put stock in victory margins, Pac-10 schools are penalized. Meanwhile, teams that play in weak leagues (hello, Florida State and Miami?) are rewarded for pounding patsies.
“It would be at least an argument that there’s a flaw there, but those teams that are winning by large margins would probably argue with that,” Neuheisel said.
In this week’s BCS standings, eight once-beaten teams are ranked second through ninth. Washington is sixth, Oregon seventh and Oregon State ninth (the Beavers have played the softest schedule among once-beaten teams). The BCS snub means the Pac-10 probably won’t win its first national title since 1978. That doesn’t mean it isn’t the best conference in the country.
“It’s unbelievable,” Oregon State coach Dennis Erickson said. “I’ve never been in a league quite like this.”
California dreamin’: When it comes to college football, the brand played in Texas is clearly superior to that played in the San Francisco Bay area, right? Two scores: Stanford 27, No. 5 Texas 24. San Jose State 27, No. 9 Texas Christian 24.
On, Wisconsin: Oregon and Western Michigan have a lot in common. They each have one loss. And they each picked up that loss in Madison.
Wisconsin beat Western Michigan 19-7 on Aug. 31. Nine days later, the Badgers beat Oregon 27-23.
The Broncos and Ducks are a combined 15-0 since then. As a Mid-American Conference member, Western Michigan wouldn’t be in the national title hunt even if it had defeated Wisconsin. Oregon would be. But as tough as the Wisconsin loss was, it may have made the Ducks a better team.
“I don’t know if maybe, in some regards, that was something that helped us get over the hump,” coach Mike Bellotti said. “It certainly is somewhat frustrating, but I don’t worry about the what-ifs.
“We talked about it at the very time that that was a game that got away from us–literally and figuratively slipped right through our hands. We dropped 10 passes, some say 11, and three touchdown passes. We gave a winning effort but not a winning performance.”
What goes around . . . : With the firing-and-hiring season in full swing, it’s time for the double-talk derby to begin on campus.
What’s the double-talk derby? It’s when coaches and athletic directors say one thing and do another.
Northwestern fans will remember Gary Barnett accepted the Colorado job a few days after he sent an e-mail to Wildcat players promising to lead them back to the Rose Bowl. Pressed to explain after he landed in Boulder, Barnett replied, “I think the only deception is if you knew you were deceiving them when you were doing it.”
If that makes sense, so will the words of Oklahoma State AD Terry Don Phillips, who praised coach Bob Simmons even as he was shoving him out the door this week.
“He has significantly improved this football program,” Phillips said.
But not enough, apparently. Simmons, one of the classier acts in a sleazy business, resigned instead of being fired. He went 29-36 in six seasons. That’s a .446 winning percentage. Not great? Neither is Oklahoma State’s all-time winning percentage (.487).
On Tuesday it was Erickson’s turn to twist the native tongue. Erickson has been rumored as a replacement for Hackett, said to be on his way out at Troy. Asked to put an end to speculation about his future, Erickson replied, “What’s happening right now is that we’re in a process of redoing my contract. That’s not done yet. But if that thing works out the way that we think it is, then I’ll be here for a long time.”
Talk about hedging. But it’s better than outright deception. That was the charge against Erickson when, after the 1994 Orange Bowl, he assured Miami fans he was staying with the Hurricanes. A few days later he was introduced as the new coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
Coaching murmurs: It has been a good year for San Jose State, which is 7-3 and in the hunt for its first bowl berth since 1990. The Spartans stung Bay Area rival Stanford 40-27 and hung in there against USC before losing 34-24. Saturday night, on national cable television, San Jose State handed then-No. 9 Texas Christian its first loss.
But the success hasn’t quelled speculation about coach Dave Baldwin’s future–speculation that is fueled by Baldwin, who said the school has not responded to his plea for a new contract. His present deal runs out this season.
Baldwin approached the administration two weeks ago.
“I asked that if we beat Hawaii that they extend the contract,” said Baldwin, 18-25 at San Jose State. “That would give us six wins [and guarantee a .500 season]. They did not do that and there has not been any discussion since then.”
More murmurs: Clemson coach Tommy Bowden is no fool. His team has been exposed as a soft-scheduled fraud the last two weeks, but by refusing to dismiss talk that he’s headed for Alabama, Bowden has gained leverage on the Clemson administration. The Birmingham-born Bowden called Alabama “one of the top jobs in the country.” Clemson reportedly is close to extending Bowden’s deal.
Along with Bowden, the Crimson Tide’s wish list reportedly includes Southern Mississippi coach Jeff Bower and Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer. Beamer was a candidate the last time the job was open, but a fax campaign from fans pressured officials to hire former Tide player Mike DuBose.
That’s the same DuBose who has been crucified by Tide fans this autumn.
Speaking of DuBose: Alabama remains mathematically alive in the wild SEC West. It’s still possible for the Crimson Tide to win the division, go to Atlanta and win the SEC playoff for the second year in a row.
