[NU Sports] "Plus-1" Inevitable?

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

> I've long thought this to be the best compromise if
> preservation of
> long-standing bowl tradition is deemed important. 

Yup, I think the plus-one will be coming very soon,
especially if we have a few more years of controversy
over who gets that second spot in the title game.

> suppose you could go to
> a field of eight with the Rose, Orange, Sugar, and
> Fiesta Bowls serving as

That might be the future after "plus one" ... one
other factor might be other bowls trying to get into
the "big four" lock ... especially the Cotton Bowl
with Jerry Jones' new mega-stadium in Dallas coming
soon. If they get two more (Peach Bowl seems to be a
big possibility ... and maybe the Citrus? Holiday?),
they'd have the seven sites needed to rotate an 8-team
playoff.

> on a seeded basis.  In
> that case, say farewell to the Big Ten/Pac 10 Rose
> Bowl tradition for good

Sadly, we've already lost that tradition. Since the
Rose Bowl got their first BCS title game, there have
been more Big XII visits to Pasadena than Big Ten ones
- four for the Big XII and Pac 10 and three for us,
plus one for Miami.

In terms of schools that have gotten the chance to
experience that wonderful bowl in the past six years,
the Big XII has three (Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska), the
Pac Ten two (USC and Wazoo) and the Big Ten one (Hail
to the Victors!).

I still have an "all or nothing" attitude on the issue
- I'd support a full 8- or 16-team playoff, but if we
can't have that daydream, then stick with the
tradition of a Big Ten champion and Pac 10 champion
facing each other in sunny Southern California as the
sun sets on another New Year's Day. A trip to a random
BCS bowl after the unbeaten Big Ten campaign of 1995
simply would not have been as magical as that week of
Purple in Pasadena.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

* * * * * * * * *
STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!


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