Dreaming of Just One More Game

With 2:40 left in Sunday night’s half a championship football game, ABC’s Brent Musburger had half a good idea.

“You know, Gary, I used to have one wish,” Musburger mused to partner Gary Danielson as LSU inched closer to a 21-14 Sugar Bowl triumph over Oklahoma. “I wish we had one more game. One more game. I’d work for free.”

Better yet, bring on USC and LSU ... and Keith Jackson and Dan Fouts too.

Brent, you and Gary can enjoy the big game at home.

In typical gee-everything-is-absolutely-wonderful style, Danielson jumped on Musburger’s idea by issuing an apology on behalf of a computer ranking system gone haywire.

“You know, Brent, it seems to me like the coaches involved, who have a stake in it, have been more reasonable than everybody else about the whole argument,” Danielson said.

Musburger: “I would agree with that.”

Danielson: “They seem to be able to see the big picture of this thing, that it’s hard to measure, the BCS has a tough job, they try to do the best job they can under the limitations they’re presented, and this game is a testament to what it can be, right here.”

It was an awkward night for ABC’s Sugar Bowl crew, trying to cover one “championship game” three days after USC had won the first on Thursday.

At least that’s how ABC’s Terry Bowden and Craig James had categorized the Trojans’ Rose Bowl victory on New Year’s Day.

Sunday, Bowden and James were in New Orleans to watch LSU and Oklahoma play the other “ultimate game,” with a nation of television viewers anxious to see if either would launch into full-on backpedal.

During the pregame show, on-site studio host John Saunders set the table thusly: “We all know three teams deserve to be in this game. But three doesn’t go into two. So we’ll crown a national champion tonight -- it will be a split ...

“Each of the top three teams have one loss. But Oklahoma’s loss came on the final day of the regular season [in the Big 12 Conference championship game] against Kansas State. So everyone says, ‘Should they be here?’ Oklahoma says, ‘We apologize to no one.’ ”

Saunders said that if the BCS computers proved anything this season, it is that it’s “not as important where you lose your game. You can lose it on the final [day] if you’ve had a great season” and still wind up in the BCS final.

“Absolutely,” James concurred. “Oklahoma deserves to be here. This is a football team that scored over 50 points seven different times this year. Plus, they carried around that No. 1 on their chest all year. That’s a tough burden, playing in the Big 12, and they survived. You can’t penalize the football team because they lost to a quality team at the end of the year in the 13th game.”

Sure you can. Michigan was No. 4 in the nation before it lost in its 13th game, the Rose Bowl, to a quality team named USC. Michigan fully expected to be stripped of that ranking after its 28-14 defeat.

“Every school in the country agreed before the season to abide by the bowl championship series [rules],” Bowden said, “and in the final rankings it was Oklahoma that was No. 1. You can’t change the rules in the middle of the game.”

It was a very awkward night for ABC sideline reporter Lynn Swann, USC alum and former Trojan All-American, assigned to MC the postgame trophy ceremony, requiring him to make such pronouncements as “Right now, all the magic belongs to LSU and Nick Saban and his team.”

Swann interrupted his interview with Saban on the midfield podium with another pronouncement: “There may have been a debate about whether it was USC or whether it was Oklahoma, but there never any debate about whether LSU was supposed to be here.”

That was not a question, but Swann was holding a microphone in front of Saban’s face and LSU coach didn’t dislike what he was hearing. Graciously, he elected to respond.

“And you know what, I never said that, but I always believed it,” Saban said. “And I believe in these guys and they believe in each other and that’s why we’re standing up here today.”

A few moments later, Saunders said he wanted to “put one thing to rest for the first time. Those people who said Oklahoma didn’t belong here because they lost to Kansas State -- dead wrong. They didn’t see this game.”

Bowden: “There’s no doubt about it. And all those people who say [they know] who would win between LSU and USC, if you’re an expert analyst and you’re honest, you could not tell unless they played each other.

“If the AP poll picks USC as the champion, they’ll deserve it. But that team holding up that [BCS] championship trophy, they deserve a championship too.”

Saunders said that his “take on this is: Would I like to see USC face LSU? Absolutely. Am I disappointed they won’t? Not at all. We have two very worthy champions.”

So that is what college football has become in the first week of 2004: Olympic pairs figure skating.

Can’t figure out who deserves to be No. 1, even though we supposedly have a “final”? Mint a couple gold medals, hand out championship trophies to two different teams.

It worked for the Russians and the Canadians in 2002. And, at the moment, it’s the best deal on the table for USC and LSU as well.