Squabbles over minor bowls are tempests in teacups
The Virginian-Pilot
© December 2, 2002

There will be 28 Division I-A bowl games this year. About 27 of them will be far less absorbing than Saturday’s regular-season finale between Virginia Tech and Miami.
Let’s face it, with the exception of the BCS title game, bowls are exhibitions. They decide nothing, except which players get to dip their toes into the ocean and which ones risk a mugging on the way to the Motor City Bowl.

Bowls are played to amuse alumni and provide tourist dollars. They are TV filler. Bowls are background noise to the holiday season, the athletic equivalent of a Macy’s parade.

Most bowl match-ups are not worth the hot air expended by ESPN’s talking heads. Even in the very narrow world of athletics, the games matter very little, if at all, except to coaches and boosters, who can crow that their team was one of the chosen.

Of 117 I-A teams, 56 go to bowl games. Big deal, in other words.

Well, it is if your school is involved. Which is why director of athletics Craig Littlepage has expressed annoyance with a selection process that leaves Virginia on the outside looking in at the Gator and Peach bowls and, as of Sunday afternoon, Tangerine.

Because he believes U.Va. has been penalized for playing a rigorous nonconference schedule, Littlepage suggested Saturday that the Cavaliers will be better off in the future lining up weaker opponents.

Bad idea, if not a bit of a bluff. In the quest for bowl leverage, this strategy would cheat fans at Scott Stadium, who would pay big bucks for low-wattage games.

Al Groh made reference to the “back-room politicking” that goes on this time of year. U.Va. is peeved that North Carolina State (Gator) and Maryland (Peach), teams the Cavaliers recently defeated, received preferred bids. Clemson, another U.Va. victim, is headed to Orlando for the Tangerine.

Groh is trying not to take any of this personally. Barring inclusion to the BCS bowls, he said, any minor clambake is as good as any other.

Or as potentially inconvenient to school boosters.

The Tangerine, in Orlando, Fla., is two days before Christmas. Awkward timing.

The Seattle Bowl, still available, is 3,000 miles away. Quite a road trip for fans.

Littlepage and Groh prefer the Continental Tire Bowl, played in the decidedly unsexy venue of Charlotte on Dec. 28. Virginia fans could get there.

Meanwhile, in Blacksburg over the weekend, a representative of the Insight Bowl, played in Phoenix, was seen schmoozing with Virginia Tech athletic officials. Word is that the Insight wants Tech and vice versa.

Hokies faithful have a reputation for traveling well, which makes Tech popular with bowls. Still, Arizona seems like a long plane ride for an inconsequential game.

As for U.Va., Groh said Sunday, “All I want to do is go play a good team and win.”

Athletes are expected to embrace any bowl bid, which calls for another few weeks of practice at the end of a season that began with workouts in early August.

The extra game — in U.Va.’s case, it will be the 14th — does nothing to enhance the value of a player’s scholarship.

Conventional wisdom holds that these exhibition games are a reward for players for a fine season.

The person who first said that didn’t have in mind Charlotte in late December.

 

Cavs could wind up in Charlotte bowl

An announcement could come today, although the Continental Tire Bowl would prefer the Hokies.

By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

   At one point in a conversation with reporters Saturday, Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage said that, "in an ideal world," the Cavaliers' football team would be best-suited by an invitation to the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, N.C.

    Nobody from UVa would describe the bowl process as an ideal world, but it looks like Charlotte is where the Cavaliers are going, with an announcement possible today.

    "That's a strong possibility," Continental Tire Bowl executive director Ken Haines said Sunday.

    Littlepage was expecting a confirmation Sunday night, but it was not forthcoming.

    "To be very candid with you, we're making sure there is no opportunity for us to get Virginia Tech," Haines said.

    Haines wouldn't be opposed to a rematch of Saturday's game between the Cavaliers and Hokies, won by Tech 21-9 in Blacksburg, "but I don't think the coaches would buy into it," he said.

    If Tech goes to the Insight Bowl, as expected, the Continental Tire Bowl will pair UVa (8-5) and No.15 West Virginia (9-3) or No.25 Pittsburgh (8-4) at 11 a.m. on Dec.28 in a game that will be televised by ESPN2.

    The Continental Tire Bowl has the fourth choice of Big East teams and fifth choice of ACC teams,

    Virginia became available when the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Fla., bypassed UVa on Sunday in favor of a 7-5 Clemson team that finished tied for fifth in the ACC at 4-4. The Cavaliers was snubbed by bowls that picked three teams the Cavaliers defeated -- North Carolina State (Gator), Maryland (Peach) and Clemson.

    "The overriding factor in the decision-making process was Clemson's win over its archrival, South Carolina, in their final game and their three wins over their last four games," Tangerine Bowl executive director Tom Mickle said.

    "Also, with an early playing date and a later selection date than anticipated, geography and past travel history played an important role."

    Littlepage said the Tangerine Bowl is aware that many teams would have trouble selling tickets for a Dec.23 bowl, but UVa officials were ready to spring into action and did not remove the Cavaliers from Tangerine consideration.

    The anticipation of a trip to Charlotte did not alter UVa coach Al Groh's thinking about a bowl-selection process he described as "hocus-pocus" last week.

    "It really shows the need for a playoff system if you want to validate the regular season," Groh said.

    Two weeks earlier, Groh said he would campaign as vigorously with bowl officials as he expected his team to compete on the field.

    "The effort's been pretty extensive and pretty sincere," Groh said, "but you've got to have somebody who's willing to listen."

Insight wants Hokies for holidays
If it can beat No. 7 Washington State on Saturday, UCLA has the "inside track" on being Tech's opponent in the Dec. 26 game in Phoenix.

By RANDY KING
THE ROANOKE TIMES

Although Notre Dame's 44-13 blowout loss to Southern California on Saturday night has clouded the Big East's postseason puzzle, Virginia Tech's football team could learn its destination today for its 10th consecutive bowl trip.
Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese and athletic directors from the league's five bowl-eligible schools are scheduled to discuss bowl assignments in a teleconference today. Barring some kind of unexpected opposition from the league, Insight Bowl official Evan Paoletti confirmed Sunday night that the Phoenix-based bowl desperately wants Tech (9-3) to fill its Big East No.3 spot.

Paoletti did not rule out the possibility that the Hokies could be extended an official bid to the Dec.26 bowl game as early as this afternoon.

"We'd like to get it done," Paoletti said. "I wouldn't think [the league] would wait, but maybe they're going to have to."

If so, everybody can thank Notre Dame (10-2). Until their lopsided loss at USC, the Irish were considered a lock to receive one of the Bowl Championship Series' two at-large bids. With Notre Dame now no longer a BCS at-large shoo-in, it leaves the Big East in a quandary because it has a deal with the Irish that allows them an opportunity to take one of the league's four secondary bowl spots.

If Notre Dame fails to land a BCS spot, the four secondary bowls with Big East ties - Gator, Insight, Continental Tire and San Francisco - would have their choice of five teams for their openings. Such a development, of course, would cost one of the Big East's bowl-eligible teams a postseason trip, barring some kind of late arrangement with some other bowl that has an opening it can't fill.

The five Big East bowl-eligible teams are No.1-ranked Miami (11-0), No.15 West Virginia (9-3), No.18 Tech, No.25 Pittsburgh (8-4) and Boston College (8-4).

If Notre Dame doesn't make the BCS lineup, the Gator would almost assuredly pick the Irish to fill its No.2 Big East slot against already confirmed ACC opponent North Carolina State (10-3) in the Jan.1 game in Jacksonville, Fla.

That scenario would knock West Virginia (9-3) out of the Gator and bump the league runner-up Mountaineers to the Big East No.4 spot in the Dec.28 Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., where it would face Virginia (8-5).

That would leave the Dec.31 San Francisco Bowl to pick between Pittsburgh and BC as its Big East representative.

Ironically, if BC is somehow left out of the bowl picture it can blame itself. If the Eagles hadn't upset Notre Dame 14-7 on Nov.2 in South Bend, the Irish would have been a BCS lock at 11-1.

If Notre Dame is a BCS at-large participant, the Big East bowl shakedown is simple: WVU to the Gator; Tech to the Insight; Pittsburgh to the Continental Tire; and BC to the San Francisco Bowl.

No matter what happens with Notre Dame and the BCS, Paoletti said he feels confident that Hokies fans can start making plans to to spend Christmas in sunny Arizona. He felt that way Saturday night when he left Lane Stadum following Tech's 21-9 victory over archrival Virginia, and he still felt that way 24 hours later.

"While the Notre Dame result left me wondering to myself a little, as far as I can determine, I don't think it changes anything," Paoletti said. "The Big East is getting together [today] and I'm thinking they will make some announcements."

An invitation to Phoenix would set Tech up for its first football game in history against a Pacific-10 opponent. The Insight has fourth choice of bowl-eligible Pac-10 teams. Paoletti said that UCLA (7-4), if it can beat No.7 Washington State (9-2) on Saturday at home, has the "inside track" to being the league's representative in the 8:30 p.m. game at Bank One Ballpark, which will be televised by ESPN.

Paoletti said Saturday that Washington (7-5) and Oregon State (8-4) also are under consideration for the game.

 

Cavs' bowl plans appear on track
Is tire bowl bid in future?
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 02, 2002



The University of Virginia football team appears headed to Charlotte, N.C., to play a Big East foe, most likely West Virginia or Pittsburgh, in the Dec.28 Continental Tire Bowl at Ericsson Stadium.

U.Va., which lost at Virginia Tech on Saturday, had hoped to cement its postseason plans yesterday. No official announcement came, but Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said last night he's confident U.Va. (8-5) will be invited to the inaugural Continental Tire.

Virginia, spurned by the Gator on Tuesday and the Peach on Saturday, saw the ACC's spot in the Tangerine go to Clemson yesterday. The Cavaliers (6-2, 8-5) beat Clemson (4-4, 7-5) during the regular season, just as they defeated Gator-bound N.C. State (5-3, 10-3) and Peach-bound Maryland (6-2, 10-3).

U.Va. officials were incensed by what second-year coach Al Groh termed the "back-room politics" involved in the Gator and Peach selections. They won't be as upset about the Tangerine's decision to pick Clemson if they land, as expected, in Charlotte.

"We are going to be very pleased with this when it happens," Littlepage said. "We're not going to look back."

Executive Director Ken Haines said last night that the Continental Tire will pick either U.Va. or Georgia Tech from the ACC. The Yellow Jackets (4-4, 7-5) beat U.Va. during the regular season but finished tied for fifth in the ACC with Clemson. Moreover, Georgia Tech is less attractive after losing 51-7 to Georgia on Saturday and appears headed back to the Seattle Bowl.

When Groh learned last spring that the ACC had a tie-in with the new bowl in Charlotte, he said last night, "I kind of thought this would be an attractive game to hopefully shoot for and get into."

The payout for the Continental Tire - $750,000 - matches that of the Dec.23 Tangerine, and the date and location are appealing. A large contingent of U.Va. fans would be expected in Charlotte. That would not have been the case in Orlando, Fla.

"There's a lot of reasons that we want to be there," Littlepage said, "and we'll be very pleased when we get the phone call."

The interest is mutual. "We like the idea of Virginia," Haines said. "Virginia's got a lot of alumni in Charlotte, and we think they'd do well here. But we also think Virginia Tech would do well here."

The Hokies likely are bound for the Insight Bowl, but there's a chance the Big East could try to place them in Charlotte. A Tech-U.Va. rematch doesn't appeal to either school, so Haines said the Continental Tire, before inviting an ACC team, wants to make sure it's clear on the Big East's plans.

Bowl officials will hold a conference call with the Big East today, said Haines, who once worked at Virginia Tech.

Notre Dame's one-sided loss to Southern Cal has forced the Big East to delay placing its bowl-eligible teams. Had it won Saturday, Notre Dame would have been assured an at-large berth in the Bowl Championship Series, and West Virginia would have taken the Big East's slot in the Gator Bowl, with Pitt probably landing in the Continental Tire.

Now, however, Notre Dame could end up in the Gator, which would drop WVU to the Continental Tire.

"The dominoes in this business are unbelievable," Haines said.
 

Virginia-Virginia Tech
U.Va. didn't play up to its big-time bowl wish list
BOB LIPPER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST Dec 02, 2002

Contact Bob Lipper at (804) 649-6555 or e-mail blipper@timesdispatch.com

BLACKSBURG The day began with Virginia AD Craig Littlepage griping about the postseason hand his team had been dealt and slamming a couple of his ACC lodge brothers for landing superior bowl berths with cushier schedules. It ended with Insight Bowl honcho Evan Paoletti giving Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer a you're-my-guy embrace.

In between, Littlepage tried to snow Tangerine Bowl reps while real Jack Frost flurries whipped across the leaden sky, and Tech put a 21-9 whipping on the Cavaliers.

Rivalry Week, a pregame vent, the bowl-bid mating dance and wind-chill misery all rolled into one.

This was Saturday at Lane Stadium, where Tech kept the Commonwealth Cup for a fourth straight year, and Virginia talked a better game than it played. Actually, Al Groh and his U.Va. crew had nothing but gracious words for the Hokies. All you had to see was Cavs linebacker Darryl Blackstock and Hokies offensive tackle Jimmy Martin embracing at game's end to understand there's a lot of sweet that goes with the bitter when you're summing up U.Va.-Tech.

It was Littlepage who dabbled in smack - directing his soft-spoken, well-chosen words at the bowl-selection process in general and N.C. State and Maryland in particular. State is headed for the Gator Bowl, Maryland to the Peach. Not fair, said Littlepage, basing his contention on the fact U.Va. defeated both the Pack and the Terps and generally faced sturdier non-ACC competition.

OK, Littlepage is a good guy and his arguments had merit - but they flew only so far. Hey, it'd be fine by me if the Cavs were wintering in Jacksonville or Hotlanta. But those bowl folks had evidence on their side, too.

First, State and Maryland are 10-game winners and Top 25 residents; Virginia falls short on each count. Second, U.Va.'s five losses are only one less than State and Maryland combined. Third, U.Va. has a well-earned reputation for putting beaucoup fannies in the seats only when the destination is Atlanta for the Peach Bowl. Fourth, who said the selection process was entirely fair?

As for Littlepage's scheduling premise, that's no slam dunk, either. Maryland faced Notre Dame on neutral turf and won at West Virginia. Somehow, I don't think the Terps need to apologize for this? State, meanwhile, won at Texas Tech, which trumps U.Va.'s best nonconference victory. And the Pack ended its campaign with a rousing win over Florida State - something else that gave it a leg up on the Cavs.

Indignation sounds more righteous if your guys win the game. The Cavs didn't do it. Instead, they scored nine points off a couple of turnovers inside Tech's 30 and otherwise did little to advance their cause. They managed all of 203 yards worth of offense. Their quarterback, Matt Schaub, didn't have the arm to pierce 40-mph gusts and totaled a meager 43 yards for his 12 completions. Their record slipped to 8-5 - admirable for the ACC's preseason No.8 pick but nothing to wow the bowl boys.

Saturday's outcome hinged on several Hokies advantages. Tech still has more heat-seeking defenders than U.Va, for one thing. It also had the more nimble quarterback (Bryan Randall) on a day when nimble counted for more than standing tall in the pocket. And it boasted a significant edge in the running-backs department - the four legs of Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones outchurning Wali Lundy's two.

Suggs averaged 5.7 yards for his 19 carries, Jones 6.1 for his 15. Tech bills them as "The Untouchables." U.Va. wasn't debating that point.

"Those are two great backs," Groh said. "When you watch them on television, they're fun to watch. But if you have to watch them from the other sideline, they're pretty hard to deal with."

The Cavs won't have Suggs to kick them around next season. They also can hope they won't have a kick coming when the bowl bids are rolling in.

 

Notre Dame the latest BCS mess
By PAUL NEWBERRY, The Associated Press


Call it the Notre Dame factor.

The Fighting Irish are perhaps the only team in college football that could lose its final game by 31 points -- and still get an invitation from the Bowl Championship Series.

They could even get in ahead of Southern Cal, the very team that walloped the Irish 44-13 on Saturday night.

Sound outrageous? Not really.

If Washington State beats UCLA next weekend, the Cougars clinch the Pac-10 championship and a spot in the Rose Bowl, bumping out the Trojans.

Assuming top-ranked Miami (which still must beat Virginia Tech) and No. 2 Ohio State are matched in the Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl would get first pick among the remaining teams.

The south Florida bowl, which has trouble drawing fans when a national title isn't on the line, would be hard-pressed to pass up the drawing power of the Irish. Certainly, Orange Bowl officials would have little interest in Southern Cal, whose fans would have to travel from one coast to the other.

If Notre Dame goes to the Orange, the Rose Bowl would almost certainly get Iowa as the other at-large team. That would leave this possible BCS lineup:

ROSE: Iowa vs. Washington State.

SUGAR: Florida State vs. Georgia or Arkansas (who meet in the SEC championship game).

ORANGE: Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma or Colorado (who meet in the Big 12 championship game).

FIESTA: Miami vs. Ohio State.

Left out under that scenario is Southern Cal (10-2), one of the hottest teams in the country. The Trojans have won seven in a row, finishing the regular season with their most dominating performance of the season.

That would be a nightmare for the BCS, which was lambasted just a year ago for putting Nebraska in the national championship game when the Cornhuskers didn't even win their own conference.

"After the way we played, we don't deserve to play in the Orange Bowl," Notre Dame offensive tackle Jordan Black said. "I just want to go home and throw up."

Then again, Notre Dame is probably the only school that could survive such a dismal performance. No one can match the television appeal, fan support and mere aura of the Irish, who were one of the feel-good stories of the season until the debacle at the Coliseum.

Notre Dame dropped to No. 11 in The Associated Press rankings and 13th in the coaches poll. In order to be eligible for a major bowl, they'll have to stay in the top 12 of the BCS standings. It's going to be close.

The other key spot in the BCS standings is No. 4. If a team finishes fourth or higher, it is assured of a major bowl.

Southern Cal was sixth last week and definitely will move up after Oklahoma's loss to Oklahoma State. The Trojans (10-2) were right on the heels of Iowa (11-1), benefiting from a schedule that was rated toughest in the country by the BCS. Working against USC: Iowa is No. 3 in both polls, two spots higher than the Trojans.

Even so, Southern Cal has certainly done enough on the field to warrant a BCS berth.

"I couldn't imagine why somebody wouldn't want us to play in their game, although I know that some people might not want to play us," coach Pete Carroll said.

Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham, who put the fight back in the Irish in his first season, isn't giving up just yet.

"I can make a case for us going to a BCS bowl," he said. "The case is that we've played 12 ballgames, we've won 10 of those ballgames and we've been a very good and very sound football team. This one game cannot be a true indicator of what this team can do."

Of course, UCLA can relieve a giant BCS headache by beating Washington State. That would send their crosstown rival to the Rose Bowl, and probably give at-large berths to both Notre Dame and Iowa.
 

Georgia Tech May Head to Seattle

By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP SPORTS WRITER

ATLANTA -- Georgia Tech could be headed to the Seattle Bowl for the second year in a row, but the new Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., is still a possibility.

Clemson (7-5) accepted an invitation to the Tangerine Bowl on Sunday, following Florida State (BCS), North Carolina State (Gator) and Maryland (Peach) in the Atlantic Coast Conference's postseason pecking order.

Georgia Tech (7-5) and Virginia (8-5) also are assured of playing another game because the ACC has tie-ins with Seattle and Charlotte.

But the Tangerine's selection of Clemson held up Georgia Tech's plans. If the Orlando, Fla., game had taken Virginia, Clemson would have gone to Charlotte and Georgia Tech to Seattle in all likelihood.

"With Clemson going to the Tangerine, that has kind of put a stall on everything," Georgia Tech athletic director Dave Braine said Sunday night. "We'll just have to wait and see."

In a confusing turn of events, the ACC is at the mercy of the Gator Bowl and Insight.com Bowl in Phoenix determining their Big East representatives, according to Braine. The Gator also could wind up with Notre Dame if the Fighting Irish don't get a BCS invitation.

Those decisions will determine who winds up in Charlotte, which has an ACC vs. Big East tie-in.

The Charlotte game could wind up with Virginia Tech, which would likely lead it to take Georgia Tech as an opponent because Virginia played Virginia Tech last weekend. If the new bowl winds up with a different Big East team, it might prefer Virginia as the ACC representative.

That could send Georgia Tech to Seattle for the second year in a row, hardly an attractive option for either the bowl or the Yellow Jackets.

"If we had our choice, we'd rather go to a different bowl, just because it's a different bowl," Braine said. "But everyone who went to Seattle last year had a great time. If we have to go back to Seattle, we'll go back to Seattle."

Braine said there's a chance the ACC could swing a deal with another game out West, such as the Silicon Valley Bowl in San Jose, Calif., or the Las Vegas Bowl. They were set to take Pac-10 teams, but that conference could have an opening if both Southern California and Washington State wind up in the BCS.

The ACC is working the phones hard to land another bowl berth, which could keep Georgia Tech from returning to Seattle and open up a spot for a seventh ACC team, Wake Forest (6-6).

The Yellow Jackets are awaiting their sixth straight bowl invitation, which would tie a school record.

Virginia's Bowl Options Narrow
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Monday, December 2, 2002; Page D02


CHARLOTTESVILLE, Dec. 1 -- Bypassed today by the Tangerine Bowl, Virginia will receive the ACC's bid to the Continental Tire Bowl unless the bowl's selection committee can get Virginia Tech to fill the Big East's slot.

Ken Haines, the executive director of the Continental Tire Bowl, said his committee plans to decide Monday afternoon between Virginia (8-5, 6-2 ACC) and Georgia Tech (7-5, 4-4).

The Cavaliers are clear favorites for the ACC bid, Haines said, but the situation is complicated by the possibility that No. 18 Virginia Tech could become available.

If the selection committee felt there was a good chance of landing the Hokies -- and Haines said that does not appear likely -- it would select the Yellow Jackets in order to avoid a rematch of Saturday's game between Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers then could end up in the Dec. 30 Seattle Bowl.

"If we could have Virginia Tech, probably that would be our preference," Haines said, "but I'm not that concerned about having Virginia. . . . I think [the Cavaliers] would travel well, and obviously they finished very well [tied for second] in the conference."

The bowl slots of Big East teams such as No. 15 West Virginia, No. 25 Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech remain unsettled because No. 11 Notre Dame, if it does not receive a BCS bid, could end up in the Gator Bowl, replacing a Big East representative.

Haines said Virginia Coach Al Groh and Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer would not want to play again in a bowl game.

"No, I don't think so," said Groh, whose team lost 21-9 to the Hokies on Saturday. "One of the things that we're looking forward to is the variety and the interest of playing somebody that's unknown to us."

The Cavaliers are stuck waiting because the Tangerine Bowl selected Clemson (7-5, 4-4), which lost to Virginia and finished fifth in the ACC standings. Last week the Gator Bowl picked No. 17 North Carolina State (10-3, 5-3) and Saturday the Peach Bowl picked No. 21 Maryland (10-3, 6-2).

Groh, a vocal critic of the bowl system in recent weeks, said he likes the idea of playing in the Continental Tire Bowl, which will be held Dec. 28 at Charlotte's Ericsson Stadium.

"Ever since the commissioner announced the formulation of this game . . . I kind of thought that this would be an attractive bowl to hopefully shoot for and get into," Groh said.

"Given where we were starting the season in July [with a young team], I kind of thought if we could get down there, we'd draw a quality opponent and it'd be a good game."