1991_12 The Daily Collegian December 1991

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ily Collegian Sports
Viewpoint
Flush the
bowl system
By Richard James
With college football's
regular season over and done
with, the multitude of bowl
games is quickly approaching-
unfortunately.
To be frank, the bowl
system sucks.
A colleague of mine filled
this same space yesterday with
a column about how screwed
up the bowl system is.
But I think rather than just
revamping the bowl system,
the NCAA should go a few
steps further.
They should throw the
whole damn system in the
toilet and flush it down once
and for all.
Sure, some of the games are
actually interesting and they
give football fans an excuse to
lay around on the couch, in
their underwear,
throw down a
few beers, and
belch 'til their
tonsils are sore.
But that's not
good enough.
College
football post¬
season play
should be more
than some fat
slob lying comatose in front of
the boob-tube.
It should be great match-ups
that mean something.
Not the Fresno State-
Bowling Green tilts that don't
amount to a hill of beans.
Of course, they are impor¬
tant to the players (just so they
can say they won a bowl
game), the athletic depart¬
ments of the participating
schools (for the extra money
given to them), and the host
cities (for the revenue brought
to the city).
The bowl system should be
thrown out the window, along
with the polls (Associated
Press, United Press Interna¬
tional, and CNN /USA Today),
and replaced with a playoff
systep
Tha. polls don't mean squat.
It is definitely not right for a
bunch journalists, coaches,
etc., to sit on their collective
College football post¬
season play should be
more than some fat
slob lying comatose in
front of the boob-tube.
It should be great
match-ups that mean
something.
butts and decide who's No. 1,
No. 2, and so on.
To see what I mean, one
needs only to look at the AP
poll and see that Miami is
ranked No.l while Washing¬
ton is sitting in the No. 2
position.
The Huskies are by far the
better of the two teams.
And as my colleague wrote
yesterday, the way the system
works now, the Huskies
would have to thump Michi¬
gan in the Rose Bowl in order
to have any chance of winning
the national championship.
Keep in mind Washington
could probably beat the
Hurricanes in a head-to-head
match-up.
A playoff system is the best
way to determine the best
team in college football.
What the NCAA needs to
do is take the winners of every
Division I
conference and
make them
automatically
eligible for the
playoffs.
Then take the
top two
independents
and throw
them in the pot.
Setup
regions, much like the NCAA
does for basketball (except not
as many).
For example, just make it
simple and set up regions like
this: Northwest, Southwest,
Northeast, and Southeast.
Have the winners of the
four regions meet in one city,
with one game on Saturday
and the other on Sunday.
Then the two teams who
make it to the championship
game play in a different
neutral city.
True, this type of playoff
system could take a while due
to the fact that after each game
the teams who won would
need a week off.
But I think it's a lot better
than having a bunch of
journalists decide the best
team in college football.
Mr. James is a Junior,
majoring in journalism.
Lady 'Dogs fall to
Santa Clara
DC ^ports Staff
M the fourth game of a young
season, the Fresno State
women's basketball team lost to
Santa Clara, 93-68.      '
The Bulldogs dropped to 2-2
while Santa Clara improved to
3-1.
FSU's Suzanne Zahasky
scored a game-high 17 points.
She is averaging 14 points so far
thiss
Santa Clara- the defending
NIT champions, had two play¬
ers lead them in scoring. Laura
Hughes and ChristineSilvernail
See'DOGS,page7
Outta my way
fiector Amezcua/ DC Photographer
Fresno State basketball player Wil Hooker takes a shot at the basket In the 'Dogs
game against Sacramento State in Selland Arena.
Athlete of the week
• Wil Hooker, the
unanimous choice
DC Sports Staff
The Fresno State basketball
team ended a five year drought
of failure at its own Coors Light
Classic by beating Gonzaga 77-
76 in overtime Saturday at Sel¬
land Arena.
In return the Bulldogs can
thank tournament Most Valu¬
able Player Wil Hooker, The
Daily Collegian's unanimous
choice for Athlete of the Week.
Hooker scored 12 points in
Friday's opening round win
over Northeastern.
But the 6-4 senior from Texas
City, Texas was just warming
up.
FSU's point guard poured in
29 points against Gonzaga Sat-
urday, when tne Bulldogs trailed
by 11 at halftime.
Gonzaga. still held a three-
point lead late, but Hooker bur¬
ied a three-pointer with four
second s left in the game, forcing
overtime.
Fresno State fell behind to
the 'Zags in
the extra
period. A
free throw
gave
Gonzaga a
76-75 lead
with 15 sec
onds re¬
maining.
Hooker
then took
controlofthi
game    for
Hooker
buried a
three-
pointer with
four sec¬
onds left in
the game,
forcing
overtime.
FSU, taking the ball the length
of the court, banking in a 12-foot
jumper as time expired, giving
his team its first Coors Light
title since the 1985-86 season,
when the Bulldogs defeated
Louisiana Tech in the champi¬
onship.
Hooker's game-winner was
his second such shot in his ca¬
reer.
As a sophomore in 1989-90,
Hooker banked in a long three-
pointer at the buzzer to give the
Bulldogs a 72-71 upset at
McNeese State.
Hooker's 1,324 career points
puts him on pace to finish his
career as the highest scoring
Bulldog in school history.
Lucius Davis (1,511) cur¬
rently is No. 1 on the list.
•
.
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