COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NATION : Bowl Alliance Might Not Wait for ’92

The bowl alliance scheduled to start next season might begin as early as this month in order to ensure the best matchups on New Year’s Day.

Mickey Holmes, executive director of the Sugar Bowl, said he favors the idea and plans to discuss it with the heads of the three other major bowls that are part of the alliance, the Orange, Cotton and Fiesta.

“I would love to see it happen,” Holmes said Tuesday. “That way, we could wait until the season is over and end up with four very good matchups instead of just one or two. It would be very good for postseason football and all college football fans.”

Bowl bids are scheduled to go out Nov. 17, one day after No. 1 Florida State plays No. 2 Miami in Tallahassee. But if alliance members can work out a plan based on what happens in key games such as Oklahoma-Nebraska on Nov. 29 and Florida State-Florida on Nov. 30, major bowl pairings might not be set until the end of the month.

“With so many terrific games happening after the 17th, this seems to be the perfect year to put the alliance in place,” said Steve Hatchell, executive director of the Orange Bowl. “Of course, there’s an awful lot of elements that have to be coordinated if that’s going to happen.”

The Rose is the only major bowl that isn’t part of the alliance.