■ In my opinion
35 states can't be wrong, Irish
really need to "just shut up"
The last time Notre Dame won a
bowl game, current Irish quarterback
Brady Quinn was only 10 years old.
Since then, the Irish are a dismal 0-7
in postseason play.
Hypothetically, if a person was in
troduced to college football, or sim
ply born, in the mid-to-late ’90s
with no access to past records, he or
she would believe that Notre Dame
is an average at-best football team,
considering its less-than-stellar
recent performances.
It’s too bad most BCS officials are
older than 10. It’s also unfortunate so
many are enamored with Notre
Dame’s distinguished tradition and
loyal fan base. But the most disgusting
aspect about the Irish is their “special”
requirements. See, noted specifically
on the BCS’s web page, Notre Dame
needs to rank sixth in the final BCS
rankings and have nine wins to auto
matically receive one of two at-large
bids into a BCS game — exactly what
happened this year, resulting in a
Fiesta Bowl bid for the 9-2 Irish.
Take nothing away from Notre
Dame — the Irish had a decent season.
I say decent because they defeated
only three teams (Michigan, BYU and
Navy) with winning records and lost
to a 5-6 Michigan State team at home.
LUKE ANDREWS
EXCESSIVE CELEBRATION
Fortunately for the Irish, they can
rest on their laurels to get them back
into the BCS — a place they clearly
don’t deserve to be. But with 11 con
sensus national championships (last
one was 17 years ago), seven Heisman
Trophy winners (last one was 18 years
ago), and an alumni list that includes
Knute Rockne, Lou Holtz and the Four
Horsemen, it becomes obvious that
the Irish have experienced more suc
cess than any other college football
program in the nation — and keeping
that past tradition alive is benefiting
the Irish, as they are one of the BCS’s
most coveted teams.
Now, with the Irish traveling to the
Fiesta Bowl, I guess most will get what
they want come the end of bowl sea
son: The Irish will pocket $14.8 mil
lion, BCS officials will have higher
than-average ratings, and another
team (Ohio State) will hang a lep
rechaun on its mantle of mediocre
wins as Oregon State did after the 2001
Fiesta Bowl, routing the Golden
Domers 41-9. How out of place have
the Irish been in their last three bowl
trips? Well, they’ve been outscored
107-36. Ouch. Tradition only gets you
so far I suppose.
But, until the Irish actually play on
Jan. 2, Notre Dame fans probably
should hush up and lay low. In a re
cent poll on ESPN.com of whose
fans, Oregon’s and Notre Dame’s,
should “just shut up” regarding the
inevitable BCS controversy this sea
son, 35 states polled thought Notre
Dame fans should shut up more than
Oregon fans. That’s because the
Irish’s biggest argument for leapfrog
ging a team like the Ducks is based
solely on tradition and past laurels,
factors that should have nothing to
do with bowl game selections.
So, for now, Irish fans, just be
thankful you root for the historically
but-not-recently most successful team
in college football. And personally,
having specific BCS requirements that
benefit my team, would hurt my pride.
landrews@dailyemerald. com
Oregon hopes to end recent
postseason losing streak
Since Joey Harrington led them to a Fiesta Bowl victory
four years ago, the Ducks have not won a bowl game
BY LUKE ANDREWS
SPORTS REPORTER
There have been many significant
bowl game memories for Duck fans
in the past. From Joey Harrington’s
fingertip catch for a score against
Texas in the 2000 Holiday Bowl to
Maurice Morris’ improbable 49-yard
touchdown run against Colorado in
the 2002 Fiesta Bowl, Oregon has of
ten had a flair for the dramatic during
bowl season.
This year, however, the Ducks will
attempt to reverse a two-game postsea
son losing streak when they travel to
San Diego to take on Oklahoma in the
Holiday Bowl.
In their last trip to a bowl game —
the 2003 Sun Bowl against Minnesota
— the Ducks led 30-28 late in the
game before the Golden Gophers’
Rhys Lloyd connected on a 42-yard
field goal with 23 seconds remaining.
The game marked the arrival of then
sophomore quarterback Kellen
Clemens, who passed for 363 yards
and two touchdowns.
It was the second time in four years
the Ducks and Gophers had met in Ell
Paso, Texas, for the Sun Bowl. The first
meeting was in 1999, when Harring
ton connected with Keenan Howry
with 1:32 remaining to give the Ducks
a 24-20* lead and eventual victory. The
1999 win against Minnesota started a
three-game bowl win streak for Ore
gon that included its two biggest wins
to date.
In 2000, the Ducks met high-pow
ered Texas in the Holiday Bowl and
capped off the first 10-win season in
school history with a thrilling 35-30
victory. Harrington became only the
third player in Holiday Bowl history to
run, pass and catch a touchdown in
the same game.
A year later, the No. 2 Ducks
pounded No. 3 Colorado in the Fiesta
Bowl. Oregon’s defense held the
vaunted Colorado running game to a
combined 49 yards. Harrington
capped off his career with his third
straight bowl game victory, passing
for 350 yards and four touchdowns.
However, that was the last time an
Oregon team won a bowl game. In
the 2002 Seattle Bowl, the Ducks con
tinued their second-half downward
spiral with a 38-17 loss to Wake For
est. After winning its first six games
of the season, Oregon dropped six of
its last seven that season, including
the now-defunct Seattle Bowl.
This year will mark Oregon’s 19th
overall bowl appearance. The Ducks
have a 7-11 all-time bowl record. The
longest bowl win streak for Oregon is
three games and the longest losing
streak is four — a streak that has
happened twice.
“We’re not a team or a program that
is just happy getting to a bowl,” Ore
gon coach Mike Bellotti said. “We
want to win that bowl. We feel that’s
part of our responsibility in getting to
a great bowl game.”
landrews@dailyemerald. com
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