Category: History and More

So, what do you think about the lineup for this season’s College Football Playoff?

If you’re a fan of LSU, Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma, you think the selection committee got it right by choosing the four best Power 5 schools.

If you root for, say, Memphis or Appalachian State, you think the system is flawed because it’s too small and committee members ignore the Group of 5.

But let’s be honest – there’ll never be a consensus on the best playoff system regardless of how large or small it is.

Me? I’ve decided not to get emotionally involved anymore. I’d prefer a 16 team tournament with 10 conference champions and six wildcard teams, but doubt that’ll happen – certainly not in the foreseeable future.

What’s most likely is an eight team playoff, which will come once the current four team agreement runs out following the 2026 season (if not sooner).

With four teams, some believe the field is too exclusive.

With 16 teams, a case can be made that it’s too inclusive.

Eight teams is the middle ground, but even then there will be issues.

But I’m not here to opine about the merits of the CFP. There have already been thousands and thousands of columns written on the subject and I’ve been responsible for far too many of them.

What I thought would be fun, though, is to take the final pre-bowl Associated Press rankings and see how the Football Bowl Subdivision title chase would look under the “old eras.”

And for our purposes those eras will consist of the Conference Tie-In Era (ending in 1991); the Bowl Coalition Era (1992-94); the Bowl Alliance Era (1995-97); and Bowl Championship Series Era (1998-2013).

The Top 25 released December 8 is as follows: 1. LSU (13-0), 2. Ohio State (13-0), 3. Clemson (13-0), 4. Oklahoma (12-1), 5. Georgia (11-2), 6. Florida (10-2), 7. Oregon (11-2), 8. Baylor (11-2), 9. Alabama (10-2) and Auburn (9-3) tied, 11. Wisconsin (10-3), 12. Utah (11-2), 13. Penn State (10-2), 14. Notre Dame (10-2), 15. Memphis (12-1), 16. Minnesota (10-2), 17. Michigan (9-3), 18. Boise State (12-1), 19. Iowa (9-3), 20. Appalachian State (12-1), 21. Navy (9-2), 22. USC (8-4), 23. Cincinnati (10-3), 24. Air Force (10-2) and 25. Oklahoma State (8-4).

Let’s begin, shall we?

Conference Tie-In Era

You know how college football fans love to bitch and moan?

There would’ve been some major bitching and moaning if this week’s Top 25 existed in the 1991 season.

By then most of the top bowl games had reached agreements with conferences in order to have guaranteed participants, so the Rose Bowl would always feature the Big Ten champion against the Pac-10 (now Pac-12) champion, while the SEC champion was bound for New Orleans and the Sugar Bowl.

The Big 8 (now Big 12) winner was assigned to the Orange Bowl; the late, sometimes great Southwest Conference champion went to the Cotton Bowl; and the ACC titlist was placed in the Citrus Bowl.

A national championship game wouldn’t have been possible in 1991. LSU would be in the Sugar Bowl while Ohio State would meet Oregon in the Rose Bowl.

Clemson would be in Orlando, and its only chance of winning a title would be for the top-ranked Tigers and second ranked Buckeyes to lose.

If all the favorites won their bowls, the season would end with three undefeated teams and a butt load of unhappy fans.

Bowl Coalition Era

Both the 1990 and 1991 seasons ended with split national championships. In 1990 Colorado won the AP title with Georgia Tech claiming the Coaches Poll national championship, and a year later Miami finished atop the AP rankings and Washington was the choice of the coaches.

This led to the Bowl Coalition, which gave the SEC, Big 8, ACC and SWC some wiggle room. For example, if the season ended with the SEC team No. 1 and the Big 8 team No. 2, then the Orange Bowl would give up its right to host the Big 8 champion so it could play the top SEC team in the Sugar Bowl for the national title. If a team from the Big 8 was No. 1, then the Orange Bowl would host.

So that means if the Bowl Coalition existed in 2019, LSU and Ohio State would meet in New Orleans for all the marbles, right?

Nope.

The Pac-10 and Big Ten were not part of the deal because those leagues wanted to retain their Rose Bowl tie-in.

So Ohio State would be playing Oregon in Pasadena, while LSU would host Clemson in New Orleans.

That would possibly elevate the Sugar Bowl to the national championship game, but if Ohio State won the Rose Bowl that means there would still be two undefeated teams at the end of the season.

Bowl Alliance Era

This was a slight improvement over the Coalition in that the Sugar, Orange and Fiesta Bowls featured the highest ranked teams, with the top two meeting for the national championship.

And this was fine as long as a Pac-10 or Big Ten school wasn’t involved because they refused to give up their Rose Bowl gig.

So apply this plan to 2019 and once again you have LSU vs. Clemson in the Sugar and Ohio State vs. Oregon in the Rose.

The possibility of co-champions or an undefeated runner-up would again be not only possible, but probable.

Bowl Championship Series Era

Finally, the NCAA figured out a way to manufacture a national championship game without having to install a playoff system.

The Pac-10 and Big Ten agreed to join the party, and this party would include the BCS National Championship Game which was rotated among the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta and Orange Bowls before ultimately becoming a stand-alone event alternated among those bowl sites.

The top two teams would meet in the title match, while the other bowls would choose from the best of the rest (although the Rose still had “traditional” matchups when it wasn’t hosting the No. 1 and No. 2 teams).

The rankings were determined by a combination of polls and computer data, so who knows which two teams would’ve been spit out in 2019.

But assuming it jibed with this week’s Top 25, LSU and Ohio State would be playing for the national championship while Clemson would be taking on Oklahoma in a consolation prize bowl (although it would be little consolation to Dabo Swinney’s Tigers, even if they won).

But those eras are done, and now we find ourselves in year six of the CFP era.

For college football’s “haves” (meaning Power 5 members) there’s little room for complaining in 2019. Few doubt that LSU, Ohio State and Clemson belong in the field, and no team in the Pac-12, SEC, Big Ten or ACC can claim they should take the place of the Big 12 champ Sooners as the No. 4 seed.

The national championship of big-time college football has evolved quite a bit over the years, and it’s obviously much better that it’s ever been before.

Whether or not it can and will get even better, though, is a topic for another time.

At some point on Friday I’ll turn on the television, go to the YouTube channel, and find the 1969 Texas-Arkansas football game.

Once I do, I’ll make myself comfortable and watch all two hours, 53 minutes and 39 seconds of the broadcast, coming to me live from chilly, wet Razorback Stadium.

OK, it’s not live anymore, but half a century later it’s still a major reference point of my life as a sports fan.

Football historians remember it as the final “Game of the Century” of the 1960s, a de facto national championship contest between the No. 1 Longhorns and No. 2 Razorbacks played on December 6, 1969.

Texas won, 15-14, in a thrilling comeback that remains a source of pride for “Boomers” who bleed burnt orange and an important football history lesson for younger fans.

So why do I – who grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and has no ties to either school – feel such a strong connection to it?

Simple.

It’s the first college football game I ever remember watching.

Now to be clear, 50 years was a long time ago and I don’t claim to have total recall of my childhood sports memories. I know that by 1967 I was already big into pro football, cheering on the New York Jets in the American Football League and Los Angeles Rams in the NFL.

And growing up in the “Football Capital of the South” it would stand to reason that at some point I’d seen Alabama and Auburn while perched in front of the Curtis Mathes color TV console.

And I’m almost sure I did but – if so – I can’t recall.

That Texas-Arkansas clash played 50 years ago today, however, is unforgettable.

It was the only major college football game played that day, and the fact that it featured the two top ranked teams in the country made it seem more special – something like a college football Super Bowl.

Mom made a rare appearance in the den to watch (she didn’t care much for sports) and decided she’d pull for Arkansas.

Pop also went with the Hogs because they were the underdogs.

I had no string feelings one way or another; the Jets were playing the Houston Oilers at 1 p.m. and I was gonna try to talk my folks into changing channels once that game kicked off.

As it turned out, I got so engrossed in the college clash I forgot to ask.

While I’ve always been dazzled by high-powered offenses (that’s one of the reasons I loved the AFL), there was something about this sloppy game played in sloppy weather that was mesmerizing.

Aesthetically it wasn’t much to look at – Texas had four fumbles and two interceptions working out of the wishbone while Arkansas threw two picks from its pro-style attack. Still, the hard hits and emotion resonated with me.

Frank Broyles’ charges led 14-0 heading into the fourth quarter and looked to be well on their way to victory.

But Texas coach Darrell Royal pulled out all the stops over the final 15 minutes.

A 42-yard touchdown run by quarterback James Street and 2-point conversion cut the Razorbacks lead to 14-8 early in the fourth quarter, making things interesting.

Then facing a fourth-and-3 at his own 43 later in the frame, Street dropped back and hit Randy Peschel on a 44-yard bomb that gave the Longhorns a first down at the enemy 13.

Jim Bertelsen scored the tying TD from the 2 a couple of snaps later, and Happy Feller kicked the extra point to make it 15-14.

Although I hadn’t cheered for either team up to that point, I was happy when Texas snagged an interception with under a minute to go to clinch the victory. The guts and the drama turned me into a college football fan for life – so much so that I didn’t even mind missing a good chunk of the Jets game.

Several years ago I found a shortened version of this 1969 classic on YouTube, and back in 2017 the complete ABC telecast was posted.

Listening to Chris Schenkel and Bud Wilkinson call the game is like travelling through time.

And watching it in its entirety makes it worth the journey.

September 21, 1976, was a big day for Birmingham, Alabama.

Turns out, it was a pretty big day for me, too.

The brand new Birmingham Civic Center Coliseum opened for business – a 17,000-plus seat palace designed for sports and concerts. What I remember most as I walked through the doors were the smells … popcorn, hot dogs and just a hint of Hai Karate aftershave, which was apparently standard issue for Southern adult males.

But I wasn’t there for the olfactory sensations or a tour of the facility.

I was there for professional hockey – something as alien to Birmingham as glaciers and polar bears.

By the end of the night, however, the Civic Center felt like home. And the Birmingham Bulls became a part of my family.

Just a few months earlier, the World Hockey Association franchise was based in Toronto and known as the Toros. But owner John Bassett (who I was familiar with because he owned the Memphis Southmen of the defunct World Football League) decided to take a big gamble by moving his team to the Deep South.

The Bulls’ first introduction to fans came a few days earlier when 4,000 showed up to watch an intrasquad scrimmage. On this night, though, the National Hockey League’s Atlanta Flames provided the opposition in an exhibition game, and it was hard to imagine a better opening gambit.

I don’t think anyone had a clue how many people would show up on a Tuesday night (although 4,000 season tickets had been sold), but by the time the teams took the ice 8,868 sports fans were in the building.

I try to avoid using the word “awesome” because it’s so overused it has lost much of its meaning.

But man, that night was awesome.

From the moment the skaters left the tunnel and glided in formation on the frozen pond, I was mesmerized.

But, I was also prepared.

When it was announced in June that the Toros were headed to Alabama, I made a point to read everything I could about the sport – the rules, the history, and the stars.

Birmingham, for example, featured Frank Mahovlich, who was already one of the most decorated players in hockey history.

The “Big M” had played on six Stanley Cup-winning teams, and was a cinch for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Paul Henderson was another Bulls standout. The two-time NHL All-Star led Canada to victory over the Soviet Union in the famous 1972 Summit Series, scoring the game-winning goals in the sixth, seventh and eighth games.

And then there was Mark Napier, a 19-year-old phenom who was named WHA Rookie of the Year in 1975.

The public address announcer spent much of the night explaining nuances of the game, but I was already a step ahead of him. I studied hockey rule books like I was prepping for a test, and not only knew why the ref blew his whistle but was happy to explain it to anyone sitting near me.

It was the first time I had ever seen this high speed collision sport up close and personal, and I was hooked. It was ice skating with attitude, and I absolutely loved it.

With the death of the WFL less than a year earlier, I wondered if there was any team – in any sport – that could fill the void.

After a couple of hours, I wondered no more.

For the record, Birmingham won the inter-league showdown in overtime, 7-6. Napier scored three goals, his last coming with just 46 seconds remaining in O.T. to clinch it for the WHA side.

I don’t know how many fans understood everything that was going on, but they all understood what a game-winning goal was. The place erupted when Napier’s backhander flew past Atlanta goalie Dan Bouchard’s glove and the red light behind goal lit up.

Normally all I would ever talk about in a given September would be football, but thanks to one magical night in the Magic City, hockey moved to the top of the chart and remained there throughout the Bulls’ history.

Even though the WHA is now just a distant (but fond) memory, it brought professional hockey to my hometown. Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier – Birmingham was never one of the league’s better teams, but the Bulls faced some of the best players on the planet. I’m extremely lucky I got to see them in the flesh.

And while that exhibition game 43 years ago didn’t count, don’t ever tell me it didn’t matter.

It did … and still does.