The confusion over last week's tie in San Diego, resulting in a premature awarding of a Holiday Bowl berth to BYU, won't happen again if Western Athletic Conference officials get their way.
According to Jeff Hurd, the conference will change its tie-breaking procedures for Holiday Bowl berths starting next year. But it isn't because of last weekend's fiasco."We're looking at changing the whole policy to make it easier and more clearcut in the future," said Hurd. "We have to, because we're adding another team (Fresno State) and everybody won't be playing each other."
Perhaps the simplest solution would be to make it two steps - head-to-head matchup and last team not to go to the Holiday Bowl (or any bowl).
It will be up to the athletic directors from the individual schools, not conference officials, to enact the change.RIGHT THE FIRST TIME: Those diehards who stayed up until the end of the BYU-San Diego State game Saturday night/Sunday morning - those that don't have cable TV - may have been surprised to read in their Sunday paper that BYU had clinched the Holiday Bowl berth.
Because immediately after the game, KSL's Chris Tunis had it right when he said BYU had not clinched the Holiday Bowl berth because Utah and Air Force could still tie for third, which would give neither BYU nor San Diego the edge in any tiebreaker scenario above the "last team to go" provision.
Later in the postgame show, an "official" announcement from the WAC said that BYU had clinched the Holiday Bowl berth. Tunis went along with it, but said later it still didn't seem right to him.
It turns out he knew more than WAC officials, who goofed the whole thing up and suffered considerable embarrassment afterward.20-YEAR OMEN?: Utah victories over BYU these days are so scarce that Ute fans have to look for numerical omens to keep their hopes alive each year.
Three years ago, it was pointed out that the last time Utah had beaten BYU was 10 years earlier, in 1978. And the Utes won. That was the 10-year omen.
This year, Ute fans can take hope in the 20-year omen, which is this: The last time the Utes beat the Cougars in Provo was in 1971, when they took a 17-15 victory on a Marv Bateman field goal.STAT TIME: Since those first three games, when he was unofficially eliminated from the Heisman Trophy race, BYU's Ty Detmer has climbed nearly to the top of the national rankings.
This week, Detmer ranks No. 1 in total offense, moving ahead of Pacific's Troy Kopp, and second in passing efficiency, behind Michigan's Elvis Grbac. Last year, when he won the Heisman, Detmer finished second to Houston's David Klingler in total offense and Virginia's Shawn Moore in passing efficiency.
Other WAC players near the the top of the national stats as the season draws to a close are Air Force's Jason Christ, 2nd in punting, Hawaii's Jason Elam, 2nd in field goals, and New Mexico's Carl Winston, 4th in receiving.
And what about San Diego State's freshman phenom Marshall Faulk? He's still ineligible for the national stats because he needs to play in one more game. But if he has an average game against Miami next week, he'll finish 1st in rushing, 1st in scoring and 3rd in all-purpose yardage.TV TIME: After this week, only two regular-season games are left for WAC teams. And both will be televised as part of a national doubleheader on ESPN.
On Nov. 30, San Diego State plays at Miami, while Hawaii plays host to Notre Dame. With both games being televised, WAC teams will end up with 10 telecasts on either ESPN or ABC, the most ever in one year for the WAC. And if both WAC teams happen to win, it would be the best exposure the league could ever receive in one day.PICKS: Only three league games are on tap this week. Wyoming, Colorado State and New Mexico are done for the year, while San Diego State has a week off before facing No. 1 Miami.
Utah at BYU - Omens or no, the Utes don't have the offensive firepower to stay with the Cougars, particularly with starting QB Frank Dolce out. Sure, their defense will be the best the Cougs have seen in awhile, but it won't be enough . . . BYU 32-20.
Air Force at Hawaii - The Falcons have little to play for, except ensuring BYU a Holiday Bowl berth should the Cougars lose earlier in the day. The Rainbows have been burned by the pass all year, but the Falcons can't pass . . . Hawaii 28-24.
Louisiana Tech at UTEP - Except for a 20-point loss to Baylor early in the year, the Miners have been in every game right to the end. They already beat NW Louisiana and should handle this Louisiana team . . . UTEP 24-17.