Pasadena Dreamin’ : Rose Bowl Coaches Believe Their Game Has Meaning, Too

Football Coach John Cooper of Arizona State said he would like to see the winner of his team’s game against Michigan in the Rose Bowl play for the national championship against the winner of the game between Miami and Penn State in the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl.

Michigan Coach Bo Schembechler said he would be satisfied if his team could just win the Rose Bowl game.

First things first.

Schembechler and Cooper were in Pasadena Monday for a press conference, during which they discussed the Pacific 10 Conference’s recent domination over the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl, a possible playoff system for college football and their team’s schedules between now and the Jan. 1 game.

In only his second season as Arizona State’s coach, this is the first time Cooper has had to prepare a team for the Rose Bowl game.

“I can’t help you, Coach,” said Schembechler, who brought along his sense of humor, seldom unveiled on previous trips to Pasadena. “On the basis of my record in the Rose Bowl game, I’m not giving anybody advice.”

Schembechler’s Rose Bowl record with the Wolverines is 1-6.

Nevertheless, that is more victories in the Rose Bowl game than all of the other current Big Ten coaches have combined.

The Big Ten got its only victory since 1974 in 1981, when Schembechler’s Wolverines beat Washington, 23-6.

“I don’t have any reason for that,” Schembechler said. “If I did, my record wouldn’t be so poor.”

But although Schembechler can joke about his Rose Bowl record, he said he expects his players to take it seriously.

“That’s not right for the Pac-10 to win so often,” he said. “Our job is to do something about that. Everybody back in the Midwest wants the Big Ten to win. That should help in our preparation and our motivation.”

According to Schembechler’s theory, one advantage the Pacific 10 will not have this year is that it will be represented by a university other than UCLA or USC. In the last 12 Rose Bowls, one or the other was in the game nine times. They won all nine.

“It makes it more even to play a team that’s coming in as a visitor,” Schembechler said. “If you play USC or UCLA, you’re playing the home team, and you’ve got to figure you’re the visitor. John (Cooper) doesn’t have to come as far as we do, but he’s still coming in from out of state. So we have no excuse whatsoever.”

Michigan (11-1) is ranked fourth in the nation. Arizona State (10-1-1) is ranked seventh.

“I’m not sure the winner of this game shouldn’t deserve some recognition as national champion,” Cooper said. “I’d like to see the winner of our ballgame play the winner of the Fiesta Bowl. Right now, we’re the top four teams in college football.”

Although Schembechler also can make a case for the winner of the Rose Bowl game as the nation’s best, he said he does not want a playoff to prove it.

“John says the four best teams are here and in the Fiesta Bowl,” Schembechler said. “I wouldn’t leave Oklahoma out. Other teams probably would have an opportunity to win if you had a playoff system. But I’m not a playoff guy. The thing about a national championship is that one wins and everybody else is a loser.

“If you want to vote for a national champion, fine. But in a college playoff, all the independent schools would arrange schedules so that they could be undefeated and always get to the playoffs.

“An independent would be the national champion every year. They can schedule whoever they want. Conference teams don’t have that luxury. If you give me Wichita and some of those teams every year, I promise you I’d have a hell of a record.”

Schembechler noted that both Fiesta Bowl teams, Miami and Penn State, are independents.

“Don’t get me wrong about the Fiesta Bowl,” he said. “I’m going to be watching that game. I’ll be excited like everybody else. It’s two tremendous teams. But to tell me that’s going to be a better game than this one, don’t try to sell me on that.”