College Season Ends With A Flurry
With a flurry of conference title games, and Army playing Navy with a bowl game for the winner, the regular season is set for a rousing finish.
The SEC stages its fifth league championship Saturday, with No. 4 Florida back again to play No.15 Alabama (9-2) at the Georgia Dome.
With a win the Gators (10-1) should play No. 11 Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, while the Crimson Tide would end up in the Citrus Bowl.
The new Big 12 and expanded WAC also joined the league title game trend. Third-ranked Nebraska (10-1) plays Texas (7-4) in the Big 12 game at St. Louis, with the Cornhuskers needing a win to play No. 1 Florida State in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2.
In the WAC, it’s No. 6 Brigham Young vs. No. 20 Wyoming (10-1). BYU (12-1) still has hopes of a Fiesta Bowl bid, but even a win won’t assure the Cougars of a spot in the bowl alliance. Other teams under Fiesta consideration include No. 7 Colorado, No. 8 Penn State and No. 9 Tennessee.
Also, Army (9-1) plays Navy (8-2) at Philadelphia, with an Independence Bowl berth going to the winner. It’s the first time in 33 years both teams enter the game with winning records.
In 1963, Army was 7-2 and Navy 8-1. Navy won 21-15.
SEC Championship
The Gators, trying to rebound after last week’s 24-21 loss to Florida State, are shooting for their fourth straight SEC title.
“It wouldn’t be bad to fill up all four fingers on one hand with SEC rings,” said linebacker James Bates.
Alabama would like to stop Florida’s march, and defend the honor of Bear Bryant - the only coach to win five consecutive league titles.
“I always say the people here love Coach Bryant and they tolerate the rest of us,” said Gene Stallings, a Bryant protege who is stepping down after seven years as the Alabama coach. “I understand my role.”
Danny Wuerffel, who threw three interceptions and was sacked six times last week, will try to help the Gators rebound.
“This is still a ring game for us,” Wuerffel said. “Obviously, we have high expectations, and would love to be in the big picture.”
Big 12 Championship
Texas, a 20-point underdog to Nebraska, hopes it can back up quarterback James Brown’s victory prediction.
“After losing early in the year they’ve kind of steamrolled through their schedule,” said Texas coach John Mackovic. “Our job is to find a way to play them and beat them.”
It won’t be easy, Nebraska has outscored opponents by an average of 48-9 since losing 19-0 to Arizona State in the second week.
The Cornhuskers are fourth-best in the nation against the run and fifth against the pass. They have allowed only 12 touchdowns all season, and still have a chance at a third consecutive national title.
WAC Championship
BYU is a 10-1/2-point favorite in the game matching the two division winners in a conference that grew to 16 teams this year.
For BYU, it’s a chance to cap its best season since winning the national title in 1984. It could be Wyoming’s only chance to get into a bowl game under lame-duck coach Joe Tiller, despite a record that might ordinarily attract some postseason attention.