By
It’s almost that time of year again. Bowl season. A great time to be alive and a great time to be a college football fan. As always, this year is likely to see some controversial bowl selections. Will it be Oklahoma or Auburn in the Orange Bowl? Will No. 5 Texas once again be left out of the BCS action, this time snubbed in favor of Utah? Now when I talk about “college football” here, I’m talking about Division I-A. The division of “big-time” sports, with conferences like the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference. But there another division in our country — Division I-AA. You don’t hear a lot of talk about Division I-AA bowl selections. That’s because the “lower” division doesn’t have bowls — it has a playoff. Just like in basketball. Every year, 16 schools from leagues like the Ohio Valley Conference and the Southland Conference (but not the Ivy League, which bans postseason play for football teams) battle it out over the course of a few weeks. And at the end of it all, you have a I-AA national champion. No Bowl Championship Series. No controversy. Just a single-elimination playoff. There’s been some talk over the last few years that the BCS system of Division I-A needs to be replaced. Last year’s co-champion debacle helped give that argument some more weight. And this year’s postseason could make the argument truly gargantuan. After all, if both Oklahoma and Auburn finish undefeated, you have to say that both teams have an equal right to be in the championship game. However, only one team can meet No. 1 USC. If the Sooners end up in the Orange Bowl, you can be sure that half the state of Alabama is going to be upset. And that is never a good thing. It also looks as if Utah is going to play in a BCS game. The Utes are undefeated this year, and will most likely play in the Sugar or Fiesta Bowl. But Utah is a member of the Mountain West conference — along with UNLV, San Diego State, and Wyoming. Sure, BYU and Colorado State are occasionally good, but this is not a great conference by any measure. If Utah played in the Big XII, I’m pretty sure it would not be undefeated, and the players would dream about getting into the Music City Bowl. Boise State is also undefeated this year, but its extremely weak schedule (even weaker than Utah’s) means that the Broncos will probably go to the Liberty Bowl — where they will get destroyed by No. 7 Louisville. So, why not a playoff? It would be fun and get huge TV ratings. It would make a lot of money for the TV networks, colleges, and bowl towns. And it would end all the BCS controversy. But it would also destroy everything wonderful about college football. Because, believe it or not, the greatest moments in a college football season don’t happen in January at the BCS games in Miami or New Orleans. They happen on Saturdays in October, when 100-year old rivals meet at huge stadiums in small college towns. The greatest moments happen when Michigan plays Ohio State, and it seems like the entire world has come to Ann Arbor. The greatest moments happen when the Gators play the ‘Noles — and everyone in Florida has his own team to root for. The greatest moments also happen in those late November games, when conference titles are on the line. In games where bowl dreams can be crushed by a single bad play. Look back at this last season. A few weeks ago, the Wisconsin Badgers were 9-0, with a good chance of earning their first national championship ever. But Michigan State — a team that won’t even play in a bowl this year — beat Wisconsin 49-14. That was it. One game. One day. And the season was ruined. The Miami Hurricanes were 6-0 in mid-October, and hoping to run the table in the ACC. But unranked North Carolina had other plans, and beat the ‘Canes on a game-ending field goal. The Tar Heels fans rushed onto the field, and there was as much excitement in Chapel Hill that day as there is during March Madness. A playoff would make these games much less meaningful. Without a playoff — and with only 11 or so games a year — there is little margin for error. Every game in the college football season counts. The best team in the country can lose all hope for a national championship if it loses in the first game of the year. No game can be taken for granted, and every game matters. So every weekend, regular season college football has a kind of intensity you’d normally find in a postseason. And that’s a lot better than a having a few playoff games — BCS problems and all. Archived article by Ted Nyman
By
Despite the darkness of NHL arenas around the country and the media hooplah surrounding college football, the underground realm of Division I men’s ice hockey remains the most exciting and unpredictable venue available in all of American sports. Starved NHL fans need not look to the local bingo tournament for entertainment — the Ivy League alone can provide enough edge-of-your seat hockey action to make one easily forget that elusive B10. And with brawls erupting on both the basketball court and the football field these days, it appears as if everybody just wants to be more like hockey. Here’s a quick glance at Saturday’s post-Turkey Day Ivy hockey action: Harvard 3, Clarkson 2 In this battle of perennial ECACHL powers, the Crimson stole a tight game from the Golden Knights as senior center Tom Cavanagh recorded three points and the game-winning goal at Cheel Arena in Potsdam, N.Y. With the victory, Harvard (5-3-1, 3-3-1 ECACHL) sealed a weekend split and recorded its fifth win in its last six outings. In this rematch of last season’s ECACHL Tournament Championship game, the Crimson rode the play of sophomore goaltender Justin Tobe, who made 27 saves in his first ever start for Harvard. The Golden Knights (3-9-1, 1-5-1) fell behind early when Harvard junior Charlie Johnson scored a rebound goal only 5:34 into the game. Leading 2-0 at the onset of the third period, the Crimson watched its lead evaporate as Clarkson netted two goals only 31 seconds apart. However, Cavanagh preserved the victory for Harvard with a low shot at the 7:49 mark of the third that beat goaltender Dustin Traylen and sent the Golden Knights to their third straight loss. Yale 7, Princeton 1 The Bulldogs appeared hungry for some Thanksgiving leftovers on Saturday as they devoured a hapless Princeton squad at Ingalls Rink in New Haven, Conn. Yale goaltender Matt Modelski stopped 36 shots — including 16 in the first period — to keep the Tigers (4-5-1, 4-4-0 ECACHL) off the board and insure the Bulldogs’ (1-9-0, 1-7-0) first victory of the season. Yale junior Joe Zappala led his once-beleaguered squad in scoring with two goals and an assist and sophomore Brad Mills added a goal and three assists. Despite the virtually even shot count (Yale led, 38-37), the Bulldogs solved Princeton netminder Eric Leroux early and often while Modelski methodically gobbled up the Tigers’ scoring chances. Yale opened up a 2-0 lead in the first period behind scores from Zappala and junior Christian Jensen and poured on four more unanswered goals before Princeton could respond. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the win could not uproot the squad from its current last-place spot in the ECACHL standings. Brown 4, St. Lawrence 1 The Bears captured their third straight victory Saturday in Canton, N.Y. despite being out-shot by the Saints, 44-24. Brown rookie goaltender Adam D’Alba stopped 43 shots en route to his third win of the season and the Bears (4-4-1, 3-3-1 ECACHL) climbed into a logjam at the top of the ECACHL standings with the victory. The Saints (7-7-1, 3-4-0) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period when junior winger T.J. Trevelyan scored his eighth goal of the season on a power play just over five minutes into the game. However, the early score would be the culmination of St. Lawrence’s offensive output as the Bears buried three goals in the third period to seal the win. Brown sophomores Sean Dersch and Brian Ihnacak each netted two goals. Dartmouth 0, No. 10 Maine 0 In non-conference action Saturday, both the Green (4-4-1, 3-3-0) and the Black Bears (9-6-1, 5-3-0 Hockey East) failed to record a goal in the first scoreless contest ever played at Dartmouth’s Thompson Arena. Black Bears goaltender Jimmy Howard made 33 saves — including a point-blank opportunity by Dartmouth’s Darcy Marr in overtime — and Green netminder Dan Yacey stopped 22 shots.Archived article by Kyle SheahenSun Assistant Sports Editor