The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 09, 1988, Page 8, Image 8
Pep Talk
By Brant Long
College football
I guess the word "football"
doesn't hold that same mystique it
used to, huh? But I'm gonna talk
about it anyway. I know, I know,
don't say the "F" word. I'll try to
stay clear of it.
What I will address today, fellow
campers, is a college football playoff
system. Sure, you've heard the
arguments for both sides a thousand
times by now. . . but what say we
make it a thousand and one.
This year would've been a prime
example had UCLA not been beaten
by Washington State (thanks, Terry
Donahue), but the playoff system
could still serve a useful purpose.
So let's travel to imaginary land,
boys and girls. A world where football
is king (sounds like this world,
eh?).
Say that Notre Dame, who plays
Southern Cal Nov. 26, loses to the
Trojans. The Irish end up with one
loss, like the Trojans who had lost to
UCLA in their annual clash the week
before. Then only West Virginia is
left undefeated, as Arkansas has also
lost to Miami. The Mountaineers go
to the Fiesta Bowl (we're still pretending)
and play Notre Dame. . . and
lose. At season's end, you have umpteen
teams with one loss. Who gets
the championship. . . Wyoming?
Rp cPrimic TViacp ii/imm/ nnllefarc
l^V JVIlVUJi J 1IUJV ?T lJlipj pWUJlVXO
choose a champion and a lot of fans
get pretty darn upset that their team
wasn't chosen. I've got a simple
solution.
Under my simple, foolproof plan
(so even a certain coach in the northwest
part of this state can comprehend
it), the pollsters pick the 32
best teams in the nation. On the first
Saturday in December, the teams
battle it out, paired like the NCAA
basketball playoffs (No. 1 plays No.
) 32, etc.).
The remaining 16 teams play the
next Saturday. The games are played
at the higher-ranked team's field.
The third Saturday sees eight teams
I go head to head. Christmas week is
; skipped and on New Year's Day, or
close to it, the semifinals are played.
Then, the big one. A neutral site is
; chosen and the two teams that nave
busted their tails through the 1
playoffs fight for the right to be call- ]
ed champion.
It's exciting, it's controversial ?
it's football, damn it! Let the kids ]
play some ball. If you're wondering <
what this smart alec freshman proposes
to do about Penn State Coach 1
Paterno (and nice work against West 1
Virginia, Joe) and his complaints i
about too many classes being missed, <
they would be made up later. Tutors t
could be hired to help the players
through the tough times. And most t
Bp' !*
ll, ::'H||
B
\
WLh %
: p'*m
~'i s
??P
/ / V-/
r needs playoffs
of the games will be played during
Christmas break. But think, will the
ol' alumni really care?
As long as the school goes to the
playoffs and makes good dinner conversation,
it won't make a lot of difference.
I don't mean it like the
alumni don't care, it's simply that
football is so important, well. . . was
so important, that if you do well
there, nothing else seems to matter.
An alternate plan for the many of
you already whining about a fault in
my foolproof playoff method would
be to choose only 16 teams and
shorten the playoff schedule to accommodate
more class time.
That would probably work just as
well, but I think 32 teams would give
the system a more diversified lineup
of squads and most of them would
have at least 8-3 or 7-4 records and
would all have the potential to beat a
top ten team, and that's what would
keep the plan alive. . . excitement.
Think of the college basketball
playoffs. They almost always go
down to the last second. You're sitting
on the edge of your seat the
whole time. Football would provide
the same feeling. The system allows
for the two best-matched teams to
end up playing one another. And no
one could fuss. The winner would
truly be the champion, and the bowls
wouldn't be laying down all this
money to get the "quality matchup"
the public wants to see.
Think about it folks. A true champion.
No more riots, no more constitutional
amendments against football,
no more. . . yeah, right.
But at least a team like BYU won't
get it unless they truly deserve it.
Nothing against the WAG tCon-'/i
ference ? but really.
If they win fair and square, good.
If not, good. Whatever. It doesn't
matter. Help me out, NCAA. Make
the move and satisfy the country ?
give us a champion.
Now to the "F" word.
Saturday night will live in infamy
in the hearts of USC fans for a long
time. What happened? I really don't
know. After the first fumble and
then the blocked punt, the
Gamecocks were like a balloon just
punctured with a needle.
A BIG needle.
It's extremely hard for me to see
bow Miami (oh, that dreaded word)
shut the Seminoles out, 31-0.
But it doesn't really matter,
because FSU is now prime for a big
dowI appearance (probably the Coton),
while our mighty
Gamecocks. . . well, we'll just have
o see.
But hey, football isn't
iverything ... is it?
Coach: US
By The Associated Press
USC head football coach Joe Morrison said he
decided against pulling Todd Ellis from the Florida
State game because he wanted the quarterback to
keep trying.
USC lost 59-0 Saturday and Ellis, a junior, had
the worst game of his college career, throwing for
just 79 yards while giving up two interceptions and
a fumble.
At his weekly news conference Monday, Morrison
said football is a little like golf.
"You go out there, you have some bad swings,
you're going to hit some awful shots," he said.
"But you're going to line up and hit the next one.
The only way to improve that confidence, the only
(way) to get better, is to keep working at it and
keep swinging."
? jBl . ......
. ^RK ^ . gn^a?i^^..i-f
"%ss,y , ^ s ?S|I
iMf^mP^ if Jral&8i!KHG9ra^:
M& mM- 1 'WISF
v
Florida State running back Lawrence Dawsey lun
of USC Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium.
I MINIMUM $20
With EVERY donation. Plas
Blood. Programs avail for all I:
simple blood test is all that is i
if you qualify. Special bonui
students.
ryr\ Serologic
2719 Middlebun
Serologicals Columbia, S
254-6
got a news tip? i open e
i' calll. 777v^26;?
You should know
about new e.p.t. stick c_ Bir>.
I test. It's the fast and easy
way to find out if you're
pregnant. Or not. And
you find out in private.
If the stick turns pink,
f: you're pregnant. If it stays
? white, you're not. It's that
It simple. '
P If you have any
? questions about e.p.t., call y552^/52\
us toll free 1-800-562-0266. lUClfOj
I In New Jersey; call collect Xe#4iXwZ
| (201)540-2458.
e.p.t. The first and
most trusted name in H*
pregnancy testing.
Wfy ricfc?
Introducing I ftartti
new e.p.t. stick test.^ ^ ?
w LOTS OF s/
W GOURMET
^^Kk999V!1^^H W CREAM l(
H W SANDY'S I
* A FUDGE ft 1
W WITH WHIP
jW ft A PLUM
! ft
4B Expires No
z%
barb
sane
W DELICIOUS
A SONED JUST
Which servei
A OUR DELIC
W SLAW AND A
>*i $
T *2.19
'% Coupon Exptro
Coupon Good *
C expected i
Morrison also said he didn't want to send
backup quarterback Dickie DeMasi into a no-win
situation.
"At that point (with Florida State leading 45-0),
I tried to put myself in Dickie's shoes. And I don't
know if I would have been too excited about going
in th^rp "
The lopsided loss dropped USC to 7-2 and out of
The Associated Press Top 20 for the first time this
season.
Asked about reports that DeMasi was unhappy
with his lack of playing time, Morrison said he
talked to the sophomore quarterback Sunday night _
but declined to discuss the details.
Asked if he wished he had more depth at
quarterback, Morrison said he had four quarterbacks,
two of whom are red-shirted this season and
f rnv
m
KENT BROOME The Gamecock
ges for a touchdown in the No. 5 Seminoles' 59-0 rout
PAID T R ^on'1
>ma & Whole '0 Be A Ho1
)lood types. A Availabh
needed to see Displays,
3 program for Queens, C
Applicat
Activities C
:als. Inc. Russ^
3 DroSulte 105 Dead|j
C' 29204 in the C
>537 For Infi
VERY NIGHT 'TILL 10 PM...SUNDAYS
9? ^ \ \ [ t\ if
SU^MES^ADE ^
Q " ^^TI?^EAMTS! x^
SO GOOD! *?-^r JWOW!
' *^Vi/M K |?\ ;
Wit1 xN^MWYflniL.
'. "*' ' *>^,*V^ X *. *
^igf J-*-?? MOtfAWItf gflft/lf
^WwWW I'IW*W *?MfW w H
I aiMMI 1^
f iW?f WwPII W WMWmm IH9 WSwTS W
ll Tktw tailstt ?t Km% 0# Of TMr WtrM 6m
2*~ y ? H- - "? ~
MET if GOO B MET &Z GOURMET
* CREAM WW BUTTER PECAN HOT W W CHOCOLATE CE
SE SUNDAE ? ? FUDGE SUNDAE # ? HOT FUDGE SUNI
ANDY'S NEW X X LOTS OF SANDY S NEW X X LOTS OF SANDY'S M
COOKIES ft WW GOURMET BUTTER PECAN W W GOURMET CHOCOL,
:E CREAM. X X ICE CREAM. WITH SANDY'S X X CHIP ICE CREAM W!
IARVARIAN W W BARVARIAN FUDGE * W W SANDY'S RARVARI.
OPPEDOFF 2 Z TOPPED OFF WITH XX mn^ A TOPPFD C
PED CREAM W W WHIPPED CREAM A A * W m^HIPPFnroci
P CHERRY PLUMP CHERRY MA A^UMPCHERR'
39 fi$ 189 IS $189
LIMIT 1 M I LIMIT 1 WW I UMIT1
PER COUPON* * PER COUPON* * PERCOI
v 15. 1988 ^KW Expires Nov. 15 1988 Expires Nov. 15,198
QPORKj SUPI
?WICH Jf DOG? xS SLAW DC
RIGHT SPILED X 2 OUR W POUND ALL BEEF 22 '/? POUNDE]
)i*U?nF V W FRANK BLISTERED UP W W ALL BEEF W/MUST
tons COI F X X JUST RIGHT ON A XX ONIONS. CHILI
FEW PICKLES w W WARM BUN. V w DFLICIOUS SLA
l6_i{ 69" H5* $14
Nov 15.1988 X X Coupon Explrei Nov 15.1988 X A Coupon ExptroNov IS. ]
it Any Sandy's ^B Coupon Good at Any Sandy's ^B Coupon Good at Any Sand
tough game
not playing. The others are Ellis and DeMasi.
Morrison said he and his players realized before
the Florida State game, which was the worst loss
ever suffered by the Gamecocks at home, that the
Seminoles were a powerhouse.
"Florida State was voted the No. 1 team in the
country prior to the season," Morrison said. "And
we knew they were going to be the most complete
.club we'd seen to date."
Morrison said he told his players they would
have to play error-free to have a chance.
In addition to Ellis' mistakes, they had a punt
blocked and returned for a touchdown, a halfback
pass was intercepted and star running back Harold
Green gave up a fumble.
It was painful, Morrison said, to watch the game
films Sunday morning.
"We did not expect it to go like that," he said.
"We thought we would play better. We thought it
would be a closer ballgame.
"You want to talk about numb, it was painful
then (on Sunday when he first looked at the films)
but if we hauled it out today, it would be painful
then,too."
Morrison, who named Green the offensive
player of the game, chose defensive end David
Taylor the most valuable player on the defensive
unit. Green had 77 yards to lead the team and
Taylor had 11 tackles, cause a fumble and sacked
the Florida State quarterback once.
Morrison said he felt the South Carolina fans,
who booed late in the game, were entitled to express
their opinion about Ellis' play.
"Sometimes in the heat of the moment they have
a tendency to forget that was 13 (wins) out of 14 at
Williams-Brice Stadium and we have a young man
who has certainly provided a great amount of
thrills for them," he said.
"He's a fine young man," Morrison added.
"He's a great leader for us on the field and a great
leader off the field."
Asked about the Gamecock fans leaving the
stadium in droves during the third quarter, Morrison
said: "I wouldn't have minded taking a break
there the other night myself.
"But, unfortunately, I can't do that."
Meanwhile, Morrison said Saturday's game
against Navy will present some new problems for
the Gamecocks.
Navy is the only team they've met this season
that runs the triple-option, wishbone offense.
And given USC's problems last Saturday, Morrison
says even Navy, with its 3-6 record, "would
appear to be a powerhouse."
Navy has been averaging 241 yards per game
rushing but only 94 passing. USC, on the other
hand, has averaged 116 rushing and 213 passing.
Miss Your Chance...
mecoming '89 Chairperson!
3 Chair Positions Include:
Dl ihtlirti+w n o r-? /->/-, Onmiwnl
uuiiv/iiy, uai iv/c, uai i n veil
lookout and Comedy Night
ions available in Campus
enter, lower level, westwing,
House and at the Russell
ise Information Desk.
Tuesday, Nov. 15, by 5 pm
Jampus Activities Center '
ormation, call 777-5780
TOO!
^ WELCOME TO...
i new ratfMS
MMM
3 SANDY'S OWN GOURMET #
^ ICE CREAM NOW AVAILABLE
IN HAND PACKED PINTS
SO RICH! REG- ,2 25 #
||S? DELICIOUS! ? ^ QA #
IS 5 1 89
DARK %
A CHOCOLATE Z
^ Coupon Expires Now 15.1988 ALMOND
A Coupon Good at Any Sandy's A
.?** ? Tt,..,.
SANDY'S NEW #
SANDWICHES f
X HAM A SWISS ON RYF.
TURKEY ON WHEAT
HAM. TURKEY & SWISS COMBO ON RYE
9 DELICIOUS mmm .
A DELI MEATS... IIC A
J SLICED THIN V whiti
k Mit I J A STACKED OFF substituted 5
" WW A HIGH! SsIIEQUbBt #
JS, W 2 ANY DELI SANDWICH OF YOUB CHOICE
Cf|Mf ? Coupon Eiptro Nou IS 1988
J W 9 Coupon Good al Any Sondy'a R
4 IMBBMMBBBBBBBWBM
NEW Q.mj?
I******** ^
*S| SUPER SWISS DOG
Xfl 9 OUR V* POUND FRANK
IIP WW BLISTERED UP JUST #
DAE AW RIGHT & SERVED WITH A W 9A 9
IEW XI2 BROWN MUSTARD & WW X
VTE WW X LOTS OF REAL DORMANS ^ I
ITH WW 9 SWISS CHEESE 9
^ Vfl ^ Coupon E*pir?s Now IS. 1988 ^
tM & ^Wl^H a Coupon Good at Any Sandy's
Vfl w
( si"'*"' ^
JF?N #1 9999999 HtfMf
^11? CHILI !
CHEESE DOG
? ? 0 OUR REGULAR SIZE (AN 9
, WW A OVERSIZED W LB BEEF A
A X FRANK) W/MUSTARD.
R W 9 CHILI. ONIONS A MELTED 9
' w A CHEESE . _ A
$i"l
ARD. W A A
_ ^ Coupon Expires Now 15.1988
^ Coupon Good at Any Sandy's
19#
LIMIT 1 ^W
1988 2 P
? I