COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : THE BOWLS : Notre Dame’s Impact on Decisions Appears Clear

The bowl coalition plan might have been intended to build a structure into the postseason plans, but the drawing power of Notre Dame continues to have a major impact on the decision-makers.

That became clear Wednesday when the television times listed for the Cotton and Fiesta bowls were changed, presumably because of speculation that the Fighting Irish might end up in the Cotton Bowl.

“A home run for NBC is Notre Dame in the Cotton, so they don’t have to compete against themselves (at 5 p.m. PST) on Jan. 1,” said a bowl source.

The way to that home run was paved when the Cotton Bowl and Fiesta Bowl times were flip-flopped. That will give NBC the Fiesta Bowl at 10 a.m., the Cotton Bowl at 1:30 p.m. and the Orange Bowl at 5 p.m.

Originally, it was believed Notre Dame would end up in the Sugar Bowl, which begins at 5:30 p.m. on ABC. That changed when West Virginia made it known it preferred to bypass the Cotton Bowl to earn $4.1 million for playing in the Sugar Bowl.

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Meanwhile, Notre Dame Athletic Director Dick Rosenthal denied a Chicago radio station’s report that the Fighting Irish planned to leave the bowl coalition after this season because they were digruntled by their inability to control their postseason destiny and unhappy with what they believed to be an anti-Notre Dame sentiment among the voters in the polls.

“There’s not an iota of truth to it,” Rosenthal said, calling the WSCR-AM report “a figment of somebody’s imagination and probably a very bad practical joke.”

To leave the coalition, any member would have to break a contract that runs through the 1994 season.

“The only complaints I’ve ever heard are not with the coalition, but people who are unhappy with the ratings system,” Rosenthal said.

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Arthroscopic surgery showed cartilage damage and partial ligament tear in the right knee of Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel, who was injured Saturday against against Florida State.

The 6-foot-2, 201-pound freshman’s status for a bowl game is questionable.