Page 8-The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, November 13, 1990
' -=f -Football should
SPURTING VIEW stick with bowls
by Jeff Lieberman
Daily Sports Writer
Bowls and polls.
This is the latest controversy to abound in college
football.
Lately, there has been ever-increasing pressure to
implement a playoff system in place of the bowl games
to determine the nation's No. 1 team.
This past week, with four of the top five teams in
the country losing, the argument has become even more
vehement for a playoff. With teams jumping all over in
the polls, it is nearly impossible to judge which team is
No. 1. Only a playoff system, some say, will answer
that.
Yet, the downside to a playoff system far outweigh
any possible reason to implement one.
Professional sports are for the fans. But, college
sports are more for the athletes than anything else. Isn't
it up to them to decide whether they want to play three
extra playoff games in addition to their existing eleven
in the regular season?
Back in the old days, when television contracts didn't
rule the sports world, a college football season was
played in only eight games.
These days, more is better.
More precisely, more is more money. And that is
better.
Nobody thinks about the strains placed on the athlete
by adding just a few games. Nobody thinks about the
time involved in traveling all across the country just to
play some additional football games.
The people who really want a playoff system are the
TV executives who figure they'll make huge profits by
televising the three or four weeks of a college football
extravaganza, much like college basketball has with the
Final Four. What they fail to realize is that there is no
time to have a playoff.
Basketball's Final Four is perfect. A three week*
tournament right in the middle of March to the
beginning of April.-No other major sport takes place at
that time.
But college football would be up against a fierce
competitor - the NFL. If a playoff were to be put into
effect, it would have to start after final exams, at the end
of the year, and continue several weeks into January.
How could this be done with NFL playoffs just getting
into full swing at this time?
They want profits, but the profits they make from.
being the only football games played on New Year's
Day should far outweigh splitting the profits with the
NFL playoffs.
Besides, would a playoff really determine who is
national champion any better than the current
'bowls/polls system'? It has been shown in other
sports, both college and pros, that a playoff doesn't
necessarily lead to the true 'best' team in the nation.
Sometimes a team may just get on a roll and win it all,
as was the case with the 1988 Kansas basketball team
- or even Michigan in 1989.
Even further, a good team with a legitimate claim at
the national championship may just be worn out by the
time the playoffs wind to a close. A better conditioned
team may not be the best team in the nation, but may
win under a playoff system due to its endurance through
a long season.
Enough of this cry for a playoff system. It has just
as many faults, if not more, than the current system. Its
main claim, that it will lead us to a 'clear-cut' national
champion, is not at all true.
Stick with the bowls. It allows more teams to play@
in post-season and provides a perfect end to the season
on New Year's Day.
Stretch offense AP Photo
Minnesota quarterback Rich Gannon dives into the end zone as the Vikings defeated the Lions Sunday.
The loss dropped the Lions to 3-6 and ruined Andre Ware's first start at quarterback.
Water polo surrenders
Midwest Regional title
Ware quiet but upset
: K' 9 (
by David Kraft
Daily Sports Writer
Any chance of the Michigan
water polo team chanting "sweet
repeat" disappeared in Evanston this
weekend as it placed second at the
Midwest Regional Tournament.
The loss of eight seniors and head
coach Ben Quittner made it difficult
for Michigan (7-6-1 Big Ten, 13-13-
1 overall) to defend its tournament
championship as well as its other
accomplishments of 1989 -
including the Big Ten Champion-
ship and a perfect 15-0 record in the
Big Ten.
After upending lowly Miami of
Ohio, 12-6, in a sloppy first round
match, the third-seeded Wolverines
were faced with a semifinal show-
down against second seeded Indiana.
For Michigan, the match against
the Hoosiers represented a chance to
avenge its demoralizing 12-11 loss
in the semifinals of the Big Ten
Championships.
After a tight first half, an inspired
Michigan squad came out and scored
three unanswered goals, giving them
a decisive 7-2 lead after three
quarters. Paced by five Glen Shilland
goals, the Wolverines went on to
win by an 11-5 margin.
"(Once we saw the draw), our
main goal was to beat Indiana,"
senior captain Keith Cox said.
"We had a score to settle- we
went out and took care of business,"
first year coach Scott Russell added.
In the championship match
against Wisconsin, Michigan could
not convert key scoring
opportunities despite playing the
Badgers evenly throughout the
match. The top-seeded Badgers
prevailed, 6-3, adding the Midwest
title to their Big Ten championship.
Leading scorers in the tournament
for the Wolverines were Cox with
eight goals and Shilland with seven.
Despite the failure to repeat as
champions on any level, Russell
was pleased with his team's success.
"Rebuilding a championship
squad with an inexperienced unit is
always going to be a tough task,"
Russell said. "Our team came
together very well towards the end of
the season which was the reason for
our strong finish."
Said third-year law school student
Will Walker, who along with team-
MVP Cox and senior Dan Varner,
played his last game as a Wolverine:
"The fact that our team has gone so
far is a credit to Scott's coaching
ability," Walker said. "He pulled the
inexperienced players together really
well."
... .. . .. . .. . .. . .. :. ' .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .
PONTIAC, MI (AP) - Rookie
quarterback Andre Ware bit his
tongue Monday rather than criticize
the Detroit Lions' coaching staff for
benching him at halftime of his first
NFL start.
But clearly, Ware was unhappy
with the way he was handled in
Sunday's 17-7 loss to Minnesota.
After an ineffective first half,
Ware was replaced by veteran Bob
Gagliano with the Lions trailing 7-
0.
"The mistakes were there,"
admitted the 1989 Heisman Trophy
winner. "But I don't know how
many quarterbacks who have gotten
yanked after being down only 7-0.
"At that point, I felt I had just
gotten going and gotten comfortable
with the situation and the speed of
the game. I felt like we drove the
ball well on the last drive of the
second half. I was ready to come out
in the second half, then to get taken
out like that..."
He did not finish the statement,
but the disappointment was obvious.
Ware drove the Lions into field-
goal range on the final drive of the
first half only to see Rich Karlis'
37-yard field goal sail wide. In the
first half, Ware was five of 11
passing for 48 yards and two
interceptions.
When the Lions returned in the
second half, Gagliano engineered a
touchdown drive on the first
possession. But Gagliano stumbled
the rest of the game, eventually
throwing an interception that
Minnesota's Al Noga returned 26
yards for an insurance touchdown
late in the fourth quarter.
Coach Wayne Fontes understands
that his prize rookie wasn't pleased
after being benched. But he also
wasn't happy that Ware expressed
his displeasure with the media.
Fontes defended his decision to
change quarterbacks.
"He's one player on this
football," Fontes said at his weekly
news luncheon yesterday. "I have 47
players over there and I'm going to
do what is best for the team:'
Fontes has made it clear that
Rodney Peete will be the Lions' No.
1 quarterback once he's fully
recovered from a lingering hamstring
injury. If Peete can't play next week
against the Giants, Fontes said
practice this week will decide
whether Ware or Gagliano starts.
But Fontes sounded reluctant
about starting Ware against Law-
rence Taylor and the rest of the
Giants' defense.
"I don't want to throw him out
there and tear his confidence apart,"*
Fontes said. "And I want the team to
stay behind him."
Ware maintains he hasn't lost
any confidence and wasn't depressed
with the result of his coming-out
party.
"I looked out the window, the
sun was shining and I'm breathing.
I'm in a good mood today and not
even you guys can spoil it," he
joked with the media. "There were
some tough times and some good
ones. You just have to build on it.
"I'm not down at all."
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Associated Press
Griddes
JOSTENS
GOLD RING SALE
IS COMING!
1. Minnesota at Michigan
2. Illinois at Indiana
3. Ohio State at Wisconsin
4. Mich. St. at Northwestern
5. Penn St. at Notre Dame
6. Wash. at Wash. St.
7. Purdue at Iowa
8. BC at Miami
9. Texas at TCU
10. Florida at Kentucky
11. Maryland at Virginia
12. So. Carolina at Clemson
13. Nebraska at Oklahoma
14. Ole Miss at Tennessee
15. Georgia at Auburn
16. Oregon at Oregon St.
17. Tex. A&M at Arkansas
18. EMU at Kent St.
19. USC at UCLA
20. Stanford at Cal.
Team
Record Weekend Result
1. Notre Dame
2. Colorado
3. Miami
4. Georgia Tech
5. BYU
6. Florida
7. Texas
8. Virginia
9. Florida St.
10. Washington
11. Nebraska
12. Houston
13. Iowa
14. Tennessee
15. Mississippi
16. Michigan
17. Clemson
18. Penn St.
19. USC
20. Louisville
21. Ohio St.
22. Illinois
23. Michigan St.
24. Auburn
25. So. Miss.
8-1-0
9-1-0
6-2-0
8-0-1
8-1-0
8-1-0
7-1-0
8-1-0
7-2-0
8-2-0
9-1-0
8-1-0
7-2-0
5-2-2
8-1-0
6-3-0
8-2-0
7-2-0
7-2-1
9-1-1
6-2-1
6-3-0
5-3-1
6-2-1
8-3-0
Beat Tennessee, 34-29
Beat Okla. St., 41-22
Did not play
Beat Va. Tech, 6-3
Top 25
Records through Nov. 10
Record Weekend Result
Beat'
Beat
Beat
Beat
Beat
Lost
Beat
Lost
Lost
Lost
Wyoming, 45-14
Georgia, 38-7
Houston, 45-24
N. Carolina, 24-10
Cincinnati, 70-21
to UCLA, 25-22
Kansas, 41-9
to Texas, 45-24
to OSU, 27-26
to ND, 34-29
TIE BREAKER: Michigan
Minnesota
1
Did not play
Beat Illinois, 22-17
Did not play
Beat Maryland, 24-10
Beat Oregon St., 56-7
Beat Bost. College, 17-10
Beat Iowa, 27-26
Lost to Michigan, 22-17
Beat Minnesota, 28-16
Lost to So. Miss., 14-12
Beat Auburn, 14-12
don't be left outl
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SENIORS
This is it!
Here's your last chance to get your picture
in the 1991 MichiganEnsian yearbook.
Our photographer is back!
What's up in
Wolverine
this year?
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Order your college ring NOW.
Stop by and see a Jostens representative,
Wednesday, Nov. 14 thru Friday, Nov. 16,
11:00a.m. to 4:00p.m.,