."-i~nThe Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 16, 1997 -&1I Super Alliance will change college game Saban readies for clash with Irish it iss aced Press The people who call the shots for the major-bowl games got slapped twice over the weekend. At the rate things are going, the rest of us could be reeling by ' time the college football season grindsto a halt. Again. After watching marquee names like Notre Dame, Colorado, Miami and Texas lose Saturday and fall out of con- tention for the national championship, the boys in the blazers must have fig- ured that was as bad as it was going to get. Wrong. Even worse news awaited them at the top of the rankings Sunday. WStillpoised at No. 1 was Penn State, ichas been there since the presea- son poll, and gave no indication it was going, anywhere by destroying Temple 52=1O:Climbing into the No. 2 spot, meanwhile, was Washington, which clobbered San Diego State 36-3 and leapfrogged idle Florida in the process. SYwhat? So this: Neither team yet belongs to tbe *Super Alliance" that held a news nferxnce a few weeks ago to remind us for the millionth time why major col- legefodtball doesn't need a playoff. The SupeAlliance, you'll recall, replaced the Bowl Alliance, which used to call itselfthe Bowl Coalition. What's in a name? In this case, a spot- ty past. What has remained constant, anyway, is that the fast-talking, fashion- challetged, deal-making crowd that ptomited to clean up after the messy lt-dampionship seasons of 1990-91 . .illnking promises on which it may not be able to deliver. This same bunch promised to do whatever was necessary to ensure a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup to end each and every season. They then proceeded to make offers to the glamour conferences, glamour independents and glamour bowls that they were certain couldn't be refused. Somebody refused. It happened to be the people who run the Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences, as well as the Rose Bowl, that cozy little stadium in Pasadena where they stage their own little postseason tournament. In the past, that hardly would have been a worry. Other than Washington's half-share of the 1990 title, no Pac-10 team had been part of the national championship picture for nearly three decades. And before Penn State made the Big Ten number 11 teams, the last time that conference had a No. I team was Woody Hayes' 1968 Ohio State contingent. With coach Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten fold, that omission alone guaranteed the alliance a perpetual headache. The Huskies' resur- gence threatens to make it a migraine. We have been down this road before. Three seasons ago, Nebraska claimed a national title that had Paterno's smudged fingerprints on the side. Last season, Pac-10 champion Arizona State was ranked No. 2 and Big Ten champion Ohio State was ranked No. 4 when they met in the Rose Bowl. Ohio State won, but had the result been the other way around, the Florida State-Florida game played at the Sugar Bowl, a match AP PHOTO Despite the restriction to just six teams, Alliance Bowl bids come easily for Florida. The national champion Gators are perennial contenders for one of the spots. EAST LANSING (AP) - What Nick Saban grants with one hand - Saturday's game against Notre Dame is a BIG game - he can take away with the other - it's just one game out of 11. Saban was in his best "yes, but" form yesterday as he discussed Michigan State's upcoming clash with the Irish. "Notre Dame is a great national exposure school," he said at his weekly news conference. "Anytime you can play them and beat them, that certainly would be tremendous exposure for your team and your school. "This is a good opponent. I think to be able to raise the standard we're talk- ing about raising is to beat good oppo- nents." But having said that, Saban added that if Michigan State loses: "It means we've lost one game. We can make this as big a game as we want to make it, but it's one game out of 1." Saban said Notre Dame will provide the 17th-ranked Spartans with a mea- suring stick of exactly where they are. "This game will help us accomplish our goals"he said. "There's no question about that. But it won't keep us from accomplishing any of them if we don't succeed. It will just be another step in the learning process to try to get there.' Michigan State travels to South Bend to take on the Fighting Irish on Saturday. And the Spartans find them- selves in an unusual position, - Michigan State is ranked 17th in tje country, while Notre Dame is unranked. Michigan State is coming off two thumpings of lowly opponents - 42- 10 over Western Michigan and 5141 over Memphis last Saturday - while Notre Dame is 1-1. The Irish defeated Georgia Tech, 17-13, but fell Saturday to Purdue, 28-17. "I think Notre Dome is an outstaa- ing football team," Saban said. "I think Purdue played a tremendous gamde against them." "We definitely improved as a football team from game one to game two," he said. "We still have challenges ahead-of us, in terms of becoming a really good football team. I was especially pleased about the progress we made on offense. "If we have matured as a team and have more character than we've had in the past, we will be able to overcome the adversity of playing a good football team on the road," he said. "We've shown more leadership and character;l think, so far this season, and maturity, but it remains to be seen if we're able to take that on the road to Notre Dame and play the kind of football we'll need to play against an opponent as good as Notre Dame." between Nos. I and 3 going in, would not have produced a clear-cut national champion. Give the alliance people credit for this much. They were persistent. They went after the Big Ten and Pac-1O and got them to come on board beginning after the 1998 season. The two conference champions will join the champions of the SEC, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 and Big East, with the two remaining slots available to at-large teams (read: Notre Dame). The same deal puts the Rose Bowl into the rotation alongside the Orange, Sugar and Fiesta for the title game. It's worth remembering that this sea- son still has a long way to run, and that Penn State and Washington could both be faint memories by the time it is over. It's also worth remembering that the "Super Alliance" makes the same old phony arguments against a playoff and has so far managed to stave one off. And that this alliance is made up of the same old civic types who ramble on about educational trips to places like Sea World and Disneyland, as though the purpose of the bowls is to provide a week of fun in the sun for a swell bunch of student-athletes. If everybody were really concerned about the kids' academic load, there would be more study halls. And their coaches wouldn't make twice what their professors do. The real purpose for the bowls is to drum up tourism and make money for everybody involved.' "Yk I mm" mm..mj MORRISSEY 7:Ehibo~ il Auditorium Ap Adior Michigan Union Ticket Office al~icketMaster outlets. Charge at 313/763-TKTS or Qnline-at www.ticketmaster.com Concert info at http:// www.umich.edu/-mevents Presented by UM4Major Events Division of Student Affairs MEMBERSHIP OPEN HOUSE * AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN k ANN ARBOR BRANCH * -K ' -KC -k -K -K For prospective and current members. Open to Bachelor's degree and above. Representatives from all study groups will be present to answer questions. FOR MORE INFORMATION, call membership vice president 995-9352 In principle and practice, AAUW values and seeks a diverse membership. There shall be no barriers to full participation in this organization on the basis of gender, race, creed, age, sexual orientation, national origin or disability. -K -K( -K -KC -K -#C -k YES, HIRING NOWI Paid training, talk on the telephone, never sell, get paid to do interviews for medical research [and morel, flexible scheduling, part-time or full-time. SChoose 10 to 40 hours per week! ~ Set your own schedule and stick to it! Choose to work evenings and/or weekends! ~ Consume fre coffee, tea or hot chocolate even as late as midnight! ~Resume builder! V Earn $6 - $9.50 per hour! ~ Wear whatever yus want to work! ~Fill out a job application! (You can be eaming $$$ in 10 days or less.) Every "yes" directs you toward a telephone research or interview position with Data tat NO SALES, EVER! Make your next progressive step toward DataStat. Come over and see us now. We are in Ann Arbor at 3975 Research Park Drive, near Briarwood. Call 994-4199 i k ." 4 4 l f'Y i 'Z BIiWM 4 "MS 1 .°4 1 i ,r P'} ,. r 'i 'r. -v, rna 4 rx ice" x. ,. : v "-N_.N. _.._ _.. x { f 4 t 4 P t 4 a k i 3 9 4 VC)1 UOnE ?, NUMOFR 1 - AI)VI -HIISk-Mt JI Wanted: 1997 Swoosh Team. I'm looking for volunteers who love sports and want to have a great time creating NIKE events around campus. Interested? Drop me a line at jen.linder@nike.com I1997 40000000 ALOWA. I - qp_________ 16 SOCCER/I MITCHELL FIELD 17 WOMEN'S FIELD HOCKEYN/ AT BALL STATE 3:00 PM SOCCER/I MITCHELL FIELD WOMEN'S SOCCER/C MITCHELL FIELD 4:00 PM 18 TEAM TENNIS/i PALMER FIELD ENTRIES DUE 3-ON-3 BASKETBALL/I IMSB SOCCER/I MITCHELL FIELD WON'T FIT ON 19TH... TEAM TENNIS/ . PALMER FIELD 19 MEN'S TENNISN AT TOM FALLON INVITATIONAL WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALLN AT UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA 7:30 PM WOMEN'S GOLFN AT LADY NORTHERN UNIVERSITY PARK, PA WOMEN'S SOCCER/V .yr AT INDIANA 7:00 PM 20 MEN'S FOOTBALL/V VS. BAYLOR MICHIGAN STADIUM 12:30 PM WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRYN AT SPARTAN INVITATIONAL MEN'S TENNISN AT TOM FALLON INVITATIONAL WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALLN AT DUKE, 7:30 PM WOMEN'S FIELD HOCKEYN VS. LOUISVILLE PHYLLIS OCKER FIELD, 10:00 AM TEAM TENNIS/l PALMER FIELD WOMEN'S RUGBY/C ELBEL FIELD 10:00 AM MEN'S RUGBY/C ELBEL FIELD 2:00 PM WOMEN'S SOCCER/C MITCHELL FIELD 8:00 AM 0 w q, 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 MEN'S TENNISN MEN'S TENNISN MEN'S TENNISN MEN'S TENNISN MEN'S TENNISN MEN'S TENNIS/V MEN'S FOOTBALLN MEN'S GOLF/V AT TOM FALLON INVITATIONAL AT NATIONAL CLAY COURT AT NATIONAL CLAY COURT AT NATIONAL CLAY COURT AT NATIONAL CLAY COURT AT NATIONAL CLAY COURT VS. NOTRE DAME AT NORTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE WOMEN'S FIELD HOCKEYN CHAMPIONSHIPS CHAMPIONSHIPS CHAMPIONSHIPS CHAMPIONSHIPS CHAMPIONSHIPS MICHIGAN STADIUM EAST LANSING, MI AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN, 2:00 PM 3-ON-3 BASKETBALL/I 3-ON-3 BASKETBALL/I 3-ON-3 BASKETBALL/I 3-ON-3 BASKETBALL/I WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALLN MEN'S CROSS COUNTRYN WOMEN'S RUGBY/C WOMEN'S SOCCER/V IMSB IMSB IMSB IMSB AT UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AT ILLINOIS INVITATIONAL ELBEL FIELD VS. OHIO STATE SOCCER/I SOCCER/ SOCCER/I SOCCER/I 7:00 PM 11:00 AM 9:00 AM MICHIGAN SOCCER FIELD, 1:00 PM MITCHELL FIELD MITCHELL FIELD MITCHELL FIELD MITCHELL FIELD WOMEN'S FIELD HOCKEYN MEN'S TENNISN MEN'S RUGBY/C TEAM TENNIS/I ICE HOCKEY/I ROLLER HOCKEY/ ICE HOCKEY/I VS. IOWA AT NATIONAL CLAY COURT ELBEL FIELD PALMER FIELD ENTRIES DUE ENTRIES DUE YOST ARENA PHYLLIS OCKER FIELD, 4:00 PM CHAMPIONSHIPS 2:00 PM WOMEN'S RUGBY/C MEN'S SOCCER/C WOMEN'S SOCCERN WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALLN WOMEN'S SOCCER/C ELBEL FIELD, 10:00 AM MITCHELL FIELD VS. WISCONSIN AT UNIVERSITY OF IOWA MITCHELL FIELD 4:00 PM MICHIGAN SOCCER FILD 3:00 PM 7:00 PM 8:00 AM 28 29 30 MEN'S TENNISN SOCCER/I 3-ON-3 BASKETBALL/I AT NATIONAL CLAY COURT MITCHELL FIELD IMSB CHAMPIONSHIPS 3.N. AKTALISCE/ WON'T FIT ON 28TH... WOMEN'S FIELD HOCKEYN IMSB MITCHELL FIELD ICE HOCKEY/I VS NORTHWESTERNICHOKYiCEOKY/ YOST ARENA PHYLLIS OCKER FIELD,NOON EST ARENA YOST ARENAIROLLER HOCKEY/I MEN'S GOLF/VOTARN OS RN AT NORTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE MEN'S SOCCER/C SOFTBALL/I ELBEL FIELD EAST LANSING, MI MITCHELL FIELD, 4:00 PM ENTRIES DUE ULTIMATE FRISBEE/I WOMEN'S SOCCERN MITCHELL FIELD VS. NORTHWESTERN WOMEN'S SOCCER/C MICHIGAN SOCCER FIELD MITCHELL FIELD IN CREATING SPORTS2PAGE, NIKE MAKES EVERY EFFORT TO BE ACCURATE. WE REGRET ANY ERRORS. 2:00 PM---- -----------------------------------------------. 9.00 AM . IF YOUR TEAM WASN'T COVERED, LET YOUR NIKE STUDENT REP KNOW AND WE'LL TRY NEXT ISSUE. n O N n O1 A n 0 Sy N A) C U. 3 I