8A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, December 6, 2001 40 Heisman contenders not happy with BCS Smith swaps long wait for wrestling triumphs NEW YORK (AP) - So Joey, tell us what you really think of the Bowl Championship Series. Oregon's Joey Harrington livened up a pre-awards conference call Tuesday by criticizing the BCS system, which left the Ducks sitting at No. 5 for the third straight week despite four huge upsets over a nine-day span, all involving teams ranked ahead of Oregon. "I don't understand it," he said during the call with fellow Heisman candidates Eric Crouch of Nebraska and Rex Grossman of Florida. Harrington, who also is a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award that goes to the nation's best quarterback, said the Ducks (7-1 Pac-10, 10-1 overall) should have a chance to play for the national title. Instead, Oregon almost certainly will play in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Day. Undefeated Miami is No. 1 in the BCS rankings, followed by Tennessee (10-1), Nebraska (11-1) and Colorado (10-2). If Tennessee beats Louisiana State in the SEC title game on Saturday, the Vols will play Miami in the Rose Bowl for the national title. A Louisiana State victory would likely send Nebras- ka to Pasadena, even though the Corn- Juskers were routed 62-36 by Colorado. Oregon fans say their team, which lost its only game of the season to Stan- ford (No. 9 BCS), should have risen to third following its 17-14 win over Ore- gon State last weekend. That would have put the Ducks in position to grab the No. 2 spot with a loss by Tennessee. Harrington might have inadvertently fired the first salvo in a likely Colorado- Oregon Fiesta Bowl matchup by sug- gesting the Buffs don't belong at No. 4. "I don't know why Colorado is above us. They have two losses" Harrington said. "All the things that seem important in years past, I guess, are thrown out with the computers" The conference call, set up as a prel- ude to tonight's college football awards show on ESPN, had a bland congeniali- ty to it, as the featured players took turns complimenting each other and their teams. Then a reporter asked Harrington about Oregon's place in the BCS stand- ings, which had been released the day before. Asked whether the system works, Harrington replied, "No." "I don't know what the perfect system is, but obviously when you have teams with two losses involved in the mix, it's not a perfect system," he said. "Col- orado may be the best team in football at this point, but they weren't all year long. I think there are a lot of people who agree with me." Harrington also played the "East Coast bias" card, saying that some writ- ers don't follow Oregon closely because a few of the team's games start at night on the West Coast. But he also noted that the Ducks could have settled this argument easily if AP PHOTO Oregon's Joey Harrington Is contending for college football's biggest Individual prize, but his team will not have a shot at the national title. they'd beaten Stanford back on Oct. 20. Instead, they were outscored 21-0 in the fourth quarter and lost 49-42. "We do that and there's no controver- sy at all;' he said. "We left it up to other people. And with other people, I mean the East Coast, the Midwest and West Coast, all the voters around the country." Harrington has said he likes the tradi- tion of the bowls, but said Tuesday there should be a modified playoff system to decide the champion, and Grossman agreed. "I don't really like the fact that the people are voting on who gets to play in the national championship," Grossman said. "An eight-game playoff system would be the most effective way to keep the regular-season games important." Harrington said he was "shocked and upset" when he saw Monday's BCS list, but that now his attitude is, "Let's have fun in Tempe." "If Colorado is the best team in the country right now and we have a chance to play them, that's all you can ask for - the chance to play the best team," Harrington said. By Matt Kramer Daily Sports Writer No one can tell Michigan wrestler Kyle Smith that he hasn't put in the time. A three-time high school state champion from Montana, Smith came to Michigan in the fall of 1998 ready to contribute immedi- ately to an already-strong program. After redshirting his freshman sea- son, Smith wrestled in his first three varsity matches at the 197- pound weight class. Then the wait began. Smith lost that spot for the rest of the season to then-junior Joe Degain. The next year he was moved down to the 184-pound weight class, only to spend the sea- son behind All-American Andy Hrovat. Now, two years later, Smith is finally back on the varsity team. And he is making the most of his opportunity. He is already 11-4 this season and ranked No. 11 nationally in his weight class by Amateur Wrestling News. "It was real hard not being in the starting lineup for all that time," Smith said. "But sitting back makes you want to work that much harder and be that much better." Michigan wrestling coach Joe McFarland can see that Smith has learned quite a bit while waiting for his time to come. "He is more selective on his attacks and he has that ability to explode now," McFarland said. "I know it was tough on him not wrestling at varsity for a few years, but he has paid his dues." Smith's biggest triumph came last, month when he won the Michigan State Open. In the semifinals, he defeated the Spartans' All-Ameri- can Nik Fekete, 11-5. Smith gets another chance to take Fekete down Friday when the Wolverines travel to East Lansing to take on the Spartans in a nonconfer- ence meet. "This is his first year in out line- up consistently and Kyle is doing a great job," McFarland said. "His goal is to be an All-American and he can do that. "He is just that good. I an sure he learned some things from Degain, and it was a good thing to have a guy like him fighting every day to get into the lineup. Now he is getting that chance. I'm happy for him." Getting the chance to shine is all Smith wanted. "Sure, it was hard not wrestling at the varsity level but I'm just get- ting to where I have always wanted to be," he said. "I'm always looking to improve and help our team make the national championships." McFarland knew he had landed a tough competitor when he signed the Butte, Mont. native four years ago, but he also knew he was raw. "He was a tough kid from a tough town and he's been behind some pretty good guys," McFarland said. "I loved his intensity but the control just wasn't there." While it was tough sitting back and watching early in his career, the thought of transferring never crossed Smith's mind. "I love it here. Our team is the best I have ever seen as far as being a close group," he said. And Smith has leapt into a lead- ership role on the team as rapidly as he leapt into the national rankings. "Kyle is a leader," McFarland said. "He's been in our program for a number of years and he knows how we do things here." For now, Smith just wants to keep concentrating on pulling his part of the load. "I'm not satisfied with being ranked No. 11 in the nation even if it's my first year on varsity," Smith said. "I'm pushing myself real hard this year. You never forget that feel- ing when you're not their in the starting lineup." Cameron axed after his best season BLOOMINGTON (AP) - Even a strong finish could- n't save Cam Cameron's job. Cameron, who was 18-37 in his five years at Indiana, was fired yesterdays as football coach even though the Hoosiers won four of their last five games. Cameron, 40, came to Indiana in 1997 after three years as quarterbacks coach with the Washington Red- skins and the previous 10 years as an assistant at Michi- gan. The job with the Hoosiers was his first as a head coach. "Five years is an important time to demonstrate suc- cess on the field and in the classroom," athletic director Michael McNeely said. "We expect to be successful on the field and in the classroom. "There is not compelling evidence that the current direction of the football program will yield a higher level of competitive success" with Cameron, McNeely said. Cameron, who has three years left on his contract, did not attend the news conference. He will be paid about $150,000 per year for the next three years. A handful of players attended the news conference but stood in the back of the room with sullen expressions and did not talk about the decision. McNeely said he made his decision Tuesday night, slept on it, then made his recommendation to Indiana President Myles Brand. "I accept our athletic director's assessment that the team's on-field performance has been disappointing dur- ing Cam's tenure," Brand said in a statement. Cameron's best season was his last, when he went 5-6. AP PHOTOU Indiana's Cam Cameron could not put together a winning season. Despite tradition, Irish not the draw it once was QUIZ aeaw efoOW questlons by checking please answer the ftheowig rND. eithr 'YES actly what my career will be and 1 know 1. I know exly whatpymfor the rest ofu my lie it will make me haPPY forte as fmylife $. I do not feel stressed abouti nschool, f . ersonal ge tshort-term and long-term s.1 I ave created geat so reaching them. go goals for myself and I am ~ahgte a. feel completely comfortable with what is going in the world today. ant in life and I have a plan g, Iunderstand what I wa to get there. imy life whoi l se 6. I have someoneg me to achisesve e focme, me and is helpngmtoac ee oroas 7.1 know there is a perfect 3howb ot f me plus I know what it is and h are teging . All of my personal relationship a no; happiness and satisfaction.ow 9.1 am one of the best communicators Ilo lpeoplealways listen to me peers and by ry fam. 10.1 feel respected byal J NO CnrVols 5ervice Join us for our annual service of carol singing and hearing the Scriptures of Advent and the birth of Christ Jesus. Sunday, December 9th 7pm, 1001 East Huron GRIND Continued from Page 5A Willingham's supporters point out his ability to win at a school that has tougher academic standards than Notre Dame. Correct me if I'm wrong, but a 35-33-1 record isn't much to brag about. In his first five years at Stanford, Willingham had two losing seasons and won just one bowl game - those are the kinds of numbers that got Davie fired. In addition, Willingham has had no pressure on him from Stanford fans, who - unlike Notre Dame fans - don't expect the Cardinal to go 10-1 every year. Willingham also coaches in the wide-open Pac-10 and has the luxury of recruiting players to what may be the nicest campus in the country. Stanford doesn't have Notre Dame's reputa- tion for football, but the Cardinal do have arguably the best athletic pro- gram in the nation - Stanford has won 14 NCAA team championships in the last four years and has 79 NCAA titles overall. Make no mistake, Willingham is a fine coach, but Notre Dame fans don't want a fine coach who goes 6- 5 - they want a Knute Rockne clone who can win national titles under completely impossible cir- cumstances. Notre Dame fans are dreaming if they think that the Fighting Irish will consistently win big again, and I have a feeling that whoever ends up as Notre Dame's next coach (whether it is Willing- ham, Tom Coughlin, Jon Gruden or someone else) is in for a brutal wake-up call. Arun Gopal can be reached ai agopal@umich.edu. 0 rectly tO If yu 8sweed O to anly of these quesu'u, 5 mmownd Rip-off this great chance to make serious $ and go to Florida next Spring.. . Be in on the ground-floor of a Great New Business Opportunity Your friends, more than ever, are getting into their music. In this crazy world it's one thing you can really experience -- If you have the gear! Problem is: Most people don't, and it costs them too much to get. I ' I Sell them better gear -- in a unique way-- and get $50-$100 per sa/e 1 A great line of high quality speakers & matched components. I Buy them on-line and they get shipped right to your room. 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