College Football / Randy Harvey : Michigan Fiesta Deal Bowls Over Its Rivals

Michigan has been looking out for No. 1, which has nothing to do with the national rankings.

Although it has been the unofficial practice of Big Ten teams in the past to combine efforts in arranging the most lucrative deals possible for their bowl teams, Michigan broke ranks last week and reportedly reached an agreement with the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl.

That infuriated Big Ten Commissioner Wayne Duke, who had negotiated with the Cotton Bowl to take the winner of the game Saturday at Ann Arbor, Mich., between Michigan and Ohio State.

Considering that the Cotton Bowl pays almost twice as much as the Fiesta Bowl, $2.1 million compared to $1.1 million, Duke thought that was the best deal for the conference. The Big Ten shares bowl revenues.

But Michigan did not think that was the best deal for Michigan.

So, when the Fiesta Bowl said it would offer an invitation to the Wolverines regardless of the outcome of their game against Ohio State, Michigan Athletic Director Don Canham said he would accept. Invitations can be officially extended Saturday at 6 p.m. (EST).

Ohio State Athletic Director Rick Bay felt betrayed, saying he was under the impression that officials from the Big Ten’s three ranked teams--Iowa, Michigan and Ohio State--would discuss their options before making bowl commitments.

“I don’t know what the hell happened,” Bay said after learning that Michigan had made a deal. “It is surprising and disappointing to think Michigan has already jumped to the Fiesta Bowl. I can’t imagine they’d turn their back on $1 million.”

Canham explained: “The Fiesta Bowl is a great bowl for athletes. We don’t worry about money or things like that.”

Translation: The Wolverines would rather have a guaranteed $1.1 million instead of gambling that they can beat Ohio State and earn $2.1 million.

As it develops, however, Michigan might have done the conference a favor.

Ohio State officials were frustrated, having lost even before the game started in Ann Arbor. Cotton Bowl officials were frustrated, wanting a Big Ten team but not the Ohio State-Michigan loser. So it made sense that Ohio State and the Cotton Bowl would get together. As a result of their negotiations, the Big Ten might have three teams in New Year’s Day bowls.

That required the cooperation of Auburn, which had its choice of several minor bowls but agreed to hold out for possible invitations to the more prestigious Cotton or Fiesta bowls.

Here’s the deal:

If Iowa beats Minnesota in Iowa City Saturday, the Hawkeyes will represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. If Michigan beats Ohio State, the Wolverines will go to the Fiesta Bowl and the Buckeyes to the Florida Citrus Bowl. Auburn will go to the Cotton Bowl. If Ohio State beats Michigan, the Buckeyes will go to the Cotton Bowl and the Wolverines to the Fiesta Bowl. Auburn will go to the Florida Citrus Bowl.

If Minnesota beats Iowa, the Hawkeyes will go to the Cotton Bowl. The winner of the Ohio State-Michigan game will go to the Rose Bowl. If it’s Ohio State, Michigan will go to the Fiesta Bowl and Auburn to the Florida Citrus Bowl. If it’s Michigan, Ohio State will go to the Florida Citrus Bowl and Auburn to the Fiesta Bowl.

In any event, the Big Ten probably will have six bowl teams for the second straight season. Minnesota appears set for the Independence Bowl, Michigan State for the All-American Bowl and Illinois for the Peach Bowl--if the Illini beat Northwestern Saturday.

Bum Phillips has all but fired himself as the coach at New Orleans, leading to speculation in the Southwest that he might be the next head coach at Texas Tech. The Red Raiders fired their coach, Jerry Moore, Tuesday.

But those familiar with the situation say it’s more likely that Texas Tech will hire David McWilliams, Texas’ defensive coordinator. Texas Tech’s athletic director, T Jones, is a former assistant athletic director at Texas.

Texas Tech officials have denied interest in Mississippi State Coach Emory Bellard, who is expected to resign under pressure after Saturday’s game against Mississippi.

Meantime, the leading candidate to replace Bellard is SMU Coach Bobby Collins. There might be some reservations about Collins since Southern Mississippi and SMU each went on probation because of violations committed while he was the head coach. Nevertheless, he is considered an excellent coach and is a Mississippi State alumnus.

He reportedly said last year he wanted to finish his career at Mississippi State.

According to a survey in the Florida Times-Union and Journal, California high schools send more football players to major colleges than high schools in any other state. California has 1,740 players on major-college rosters this season, followed by Texas with 1,125, Ohio with 815 and Florida with 604.

Florida high schools are represented on 74 major-college teams, followed by California with 71, Ohio with 70, Pennsylvania with 60 and Texas with 59.

College Notes

Michigan State’s Lorenzo White, the nation’s leading rusher, has broken the Big Ten record for most carries in a season set in 1984 by Ohio State’s Keith Byars. White needs 60 carries Saturday to break Marcus Allen’s NCAA record. White could do it. He had 53 carries in one game this season. . . . Iowa travel agents report their phones have been ringing non-stop since the Hawkeyes became the leading contender to go to the Rose Bowl last Saturday, but most of them say they will not book packages to Pasadena until after Iowa’s game Saturday against Minnesota. . . . Minnesota defensive back Joe Christopherson had this to say about Iowa: “Iowans have always come across as boisterous, loud and awful. If we can’t get fired up to play these guys in Iowa, we can’t get fired up to play anyone. Their fans are obnoxious and their coach is a jerk who likes to run up scores.”

In each of the last 17 seasons, Nebraska has won at least nine games. The Cornhuskers are 9-1 entering Saturday’s game at Oklahoma. . . . Bowling Green Coach Denny Stolz said he believes his undefeated team should be ranked in the Top 20. “We don’t pretend to be a Penn State or a Michigan or an Ohio State,” he said. “But we can play football with many of the run-of-the-mill Big Ten or Pac-10 people. We would have trouble with a huge team, but we’re an awful lot better than a lot of schools in those conferences. People aren’t ranking us more because of our league (the Mid-American Conference) than our team, and that’s unfortunate.” Bowling Green (10-0) will play Fresno State (10-0-1) in the California Bowl on Dec. 14. . . . The five finalists for the first Butkus Award, which will honor the nation’s best linebacker, are Michigan’s Mike Mallory, Florida’s Alonzo Johnson, Iowa’s Larry Station, Oklahoma’s Brian Bosworth and LSU’s Michael Brooks.

On Texas’ offensive line are center Gene (The Coke Machine) Chilton, right guard Bryan (The Molester) Chester, right tackle John (Beef Stew) Stuart and left tackle Rick (Chili Mac) Houston. . . . They are more colorful than effective, allowing their quarterback, Bret Stafford, to be sacked seven times in a victory over TCU last Saturday. . . . Texas Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds said the Longhorns shouldn’t accept a bowl invitation unless they finish 8-3. They are 7-2 going into their final two games against Baylor and Texas A&M.; “I don’t subscribe to that, but it’s not me who’s going to be making that decision,” Texas Coach Fred Akers said. . . . Ohio State Coach Earle Bruce suspended two players before last Saturday’s loss to Wisconsin, then said afterward they didn’t play because they were ill. He apologized two days later for lying. “For personal reasons, I intended to be evasive, but I did not intend to be dishonest,” he said in a letter to the Columbus Dispatch. . . . In two seasons at Memphis State, Ray Dempsey’s record is 7-12-3. But he said rumors that the last year of his contract will be bought out are untrue. “I’ll coach my three years, and if we’re not winning, they won’t have to buy me out,” he said. “I’ll quit on my own.”