WEDNESDAY
Nov. 11,1998
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Best Bet
Bowling
Brunswick PBA
4:30 p.m., ESPN
Arizona State Football
Ihe State Press
Cornerback Courtney
Jackson makes an in
terception during the
Sun Devils’55-22 vic
tory against California
last Saturday.
(( We have
to win to he
howl
eligible, so
we have a
lot to play
for. ”'
Courtney Jackson
Arizona State
cornerback
Jackson key to ASU success
Courtney Jackson faces
a tough, lonely task in
containing Oregon's
receivers Saturday
By Tim Pyle
Oregon Daily Emerald
Although he will be performing
in front of more than 40,000 green
and-yellow clad fans Saturday at
Autzen Stadium, Courtney Jackson
will be all alone.
As Arizona State’s best cover
man, the 6-foot, 180-pound corner
back will be counted on to shut
down whichever of Oregon’s tal
ented receiving tandem — be it Da
mon Griffin or Tony Hartley — he
is shadowing on a given play.
In football terms, Jackson will be
on an island.
And he knows
he must be nearly
flawless in his pro
tection of that is
land for the 5-4
Sun Devils to win
perhaps their
biggest game ot the season to date.
“We’ve won three in a row, but
that doesn’t mean anything,” Jack
son says. “We’ve got a pretty good
history against Oregon [including a
52-31 win last season], but the Pac
10 is a crazy conference. We have
to win to be bowl eligible [with six
wins], so we have a lot to play for,"
As one of only three returning
defensive starters — defensive
tackle Albrey Battle and safety
Mitchell Freeman being the others
— from last season’s 9-3 squad,
Jackson is used to the pressure.
But he knows the hostile crowd
and the Ducks’ potent aerial attack
will intensify that pressure come
Saturday’s 1 p.m. kickoff.
“Hartley and Griffin are proba
Turn to JACKSON, Page 8
Ihe State l*rvss
Jackson ranks seventh in the Pac-10 this season with three interceptions.
UCLA once again finds itself in national championship
The Bruins
regain a spot
in Fiesta Bowl
after their
fourth straight
harrowing
win, this time
against
Oregon State
Saturday
By Rob Moseley
Oregon Daily Emerald
UCLA played its fourth straight close
game in beating Oregon State, 41-34, on a
last-second bomb from Cade McNown on
Saturday. After their overtime victory over
Oregon and narrow wins over California
and Stanford, the Bruins have been dodg
ing bullets for a month.
And they’ve obviously been successful,
as the latest Bowl Championship Series
rankings have UCLA back in the Fiesta
Bowl as the second-ranked team, behind
only Tennessee.
“I think the conference is really strong,”
Bruins head coach Bob Toledo said. “I’ve
said it before that the bottom three teams
could beat the top three teams, and when
you say that, that says a lot for a well-bal
anced conference.”
Against the Beavers and Cardinal, who
are a combined 1-12 in the Pacific-10 Con
ference this season, the Bruins won by a to
tal of 11 points, with the outcomes of both
contests still undecided in the games’ final
moments.
“The last four games were dose, but
they're supposed to be close,” Toledo said.
“The other teams have scholarship players,
too, they have good coaches, and we’re in
some tough environments, but the key
thing is we did win the football games, and
that’s what counts.”
Despite being ranked No. 3 in both the
Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN
polls, as well as the Sagarin and New York
Times computer rankings, UCLA moved
past Kansas State, from third to second. A
No. 1 ranking by the Seattle Times’ com
puter and the lOth-toughest schedule in
the nation worked to the Bruins’ advan
tage.
Should the Bruins maintain the second
position and play for the national champi
onship in Tempe, Arizona could qualify for
its first-ever Rose Bowl appearance.
“We just can’t think about that right
now,” Wildcats head coach Dick Tomey
said. “We’ve got two tough games [against
California and Arizona State], But we know
FOOTBALL
Pac-10 Notes
we’ve got a big job, and UCLA’s got a big
job. Our final two games are going to be
very, very tough. We’re encouraging our
players not to think about [the Rose
Bowl].”
For the first time since 1946, however,
the Rose Bowl may not include the Pac-10
and Big 10 champions. Should either
champion end the season ranked first or
second in the BCS poll, that team would
play in the Fiesta Bowl. The Rose Bowl
would then select a team from the remain
ing BCS teams.
The BCS is composed of the six champi
ons from the Pac-10, Big 10, ACC, Big East,
SEC and Big 12, as well as Notre Dame,
should the Irish win nine games, and the
next -best ranked team. Notre Dame is cur
rently 7-1. No. 5 Florida, No. 6 Texas A&M,
Turn to PAC-10, Page 12
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