| Show Standard-Examine- Ogden Tuesday November r 6 1934 very® NEW YORK (UPI) — Washington coach Don James has been uncomfortable about his team being ranked No 1 this season But played a game that has so much on the line” James said “A lot of College football is chasing the Huskies e Nebraska received two votes and 524 points to climb into third place ahead of e BYU which had four votes and 512 points The Cougars fell despite improving to 0 and clinching their ninth straight Western Athletic Conference title Saturday BYU became the nation’s first team to clinch a bowl berth since first-plac- k Washington whose is the longest in reign as No the nation this year heads into a Pac-1- 0 No 12 showdown Southern California Saturday A win will most likely send Washington to the Rose Bowl and allow the Huskies to control their destiny in the quest for the national championship “I don’t think we’ve ever four-wee- 1 first-plac- w-it- 9-- our times the WAC winner automatically goes to the Holiday Bowl The Cougars’ 42-- 9 w'in over Texas-E- l Paso was their 20th straight the longest current winning streak in the nation he now finds it convenient that the rest of the country including Brigham Young University which fell from third to fourth in the latest UPI Board of Coaches Poll in end-of-the-seas- on games also on what somebody else depended championship-typ- e was going to do “This appears it’s going to be which makes it a winner-take-a- ll very big game” Washington the fifth team ranked No in 1984 received 30 e of 42 votes and 615 total points Texas Nebraska and Miami this have also been ranked No season Nebraska was the only team to hold the top spot for three weeks before Washington Texas held second with six e votes and 560 points Total points are based on 15 for a 1 first-plac- 1 first-plac- first-plac- vote e etc No 14 for second nation’s only Division son fell from the ratings for the South Carolina and No 6 Miami held their positions this week Oklahoma State moved into seventh with Georgia eighth Oklahoma ninth and Florida 5 State 10th Oklahoma State and Oklahoma moved up three spots this week while Florida State advanced four Georgia did not move Rounding out the Top 20 are No 11 Florida USC No 13 Ohio State No 14 Texas Christian No 15 Louisiana State No 16 Boston College No 17 Iowa No 18 West Virginia No 19 Virginia and No 20 Southern Methodist Auburn ranked first in pre-sea- team with a first time this year after losing to Florida The Tigers were 1th last week Besides the Ohio State and TCU each advanced five spots to make the largest jump this week while Boston College and West Virginia went tumbling nine spots Penn State edged Boston Colliers 37-3- 0 6-1- extended their -1 Washington-US- C battle Saturday South Carolina hosts Florida State and Georgia meets Florida at Jacksonville in games that will go a long way in while Virginia knocked off West Virginia 27-- 7 The Cavalege 10-- 0 A win over Fres- 7 no State 24-- 3 1 20-1- deciding bowl bids South Carolina and FSU are among the three independent schools e while Georgia has a lead over Florida and LSU in the Southeastern Conference chase Along with the SEC the Southwest Conference and Big Eight have three ranked teams Texas TCU and SMU are SWC schools while Nebraska Oklahoma State and Oklahoma are the leading top-rank- ed half-gam- un- beaten streak to seven games with the upset win and cracked the ratings for the first time this year Iowa fell four spots after being 0 tie by Wisconsin held to a SMU returned to the Top 20 10-1- k after a absence Fullerton State ranked 20th last week dropped out despite becoming the one-wee- Big Eight contenders to TCU’sJim Wacker By MIKE RABUN UPI Sports Writer FORT WORTH Texas — It’s time for various people to be voting for college football’s coach of the year and as a public service it is announced here that if someone votes for anyone other than Jim Wacker of Texas Christian University they will be making a mistake Yes yes there are other worthy candidates Washington’s Don James will probably lead his team to the national championship and South Carolina’s Joe Morrison is doing wonderful things But when looked at from all the appropriate angles it has to be Wacker It is hard to describe Wacker’s personality al- though most people will get a chance to see for themselves as he becomes more and more of a na- tional celebrity He is 47 years old has chiseled features and looks like he just rode in from the oil fields But day after day he exudes the enthusiasm of a kid who just found a bicycle sitting on the back porch Christmas morning There are few people who meet Wacker for the first time who can believe he acts the way he does all the time But he does He leads his players in cheers and hops around doing things that on other campuses might be considered sophomoric His actions seem corny to some but he is not a phony The young people of today do not relate to a phony and the young people of today — at least the ones at TCU — relate to Jim Wacker It is not just the fact that TCU is in the process of putting together its best season in eons that makes Wacker the proper choice for coach of the year The NCAA record book is filled with such turnarounds To appreciate the job Wacker has done it must be viewed against a generation-lon- g background that makes up one of the bleakest stories in college athletics — one filled not just with long losing streaks but with a string of human tragedies It wouldn't make a bad book if someone had the stomach to write it When TCU hired Jim Pittman away from Tulane in 1971 the school had experienced just two winning seasons in years There were signs Pittman was turning the program around when TCU traveled to play Baylor that year on the night before Halloween During the first half of that game Pittman collapsed on 1 1 Jim Wacker guides his football team to a recent win over the University of Houston 21-- 4 the sidelines and died of a heart attack With the memory of their former coach as an inspiration the team rallied around chief assistant record Until this Billy Tohill and posted a Horned the been had Frogs' last winning year that season Before the 1972 season Tohill's car ran off a Fort Worth freeway and he was lucky to survive One foot was amputated and the other suffered serious damage He made a marvelous recovery but his team won only five games in 1972 and just three the next — by the end of which Tohill had been fired 6-4- -1 During the last game Tohill coached in Fort Worth played during a thunderstorm lightning struck the upper deck of Amon Carter Stadium If there had been a sizeable crowd on hand there would certainly have been fatalities But because less than 10000 people were in the stands no one was injured Next came Jim Shofncr a very decent gentleman who was no match for the backbiting world of college recruiting In three years his teams won just two games It was during Shofner's tenure in the midst of a d loss at Alabama that TCU running one-side- back Kent Waldrep was paralyzed Waldrep later made national headlines with a trip to the Soviet Union for treatment and has since founded a national organization to promote research into spinal cord injuries FA Dry took over at TCU in 1977 and he lasted six years TCU won 12 games in that time The Frogs did manage to defeat Arkansas in 1981 losing streak against the Razor-back- s ending a and the drought appeared to be over But the next week the Frogs gave up 41 points in a losing effort against the Southwest Conference's other traditional weak sister — the Rice Owls Ultimately TCU turned to Wacker in 1983 In the opening game last season tight end Dan Sharp dropped a cinch touchdown pass in the final seconds which forced the Frogs to settle for a 6 record and tie with Kansas TCU posted a did like looked they usually things just At least until this September when things changed overnight Now the Frogs have a chance to win the Southwest Conference and to go to the Cotton Bowl but they are not doing it with mirrors They are doing it the way good teams win with confidence and without mistakes 22-ye- ar 16-1- bowls could be among top gam© By GREG COTE The Orange Rose Cotton and Sugar bowls are the traditional Big Four among the 16 bowls recognized by the NCAA but two others — the Fiesta and Holiday bowls — also stand out this season Here is the outlook for what should be the top six bowls of "84: Orange Bowl (8-- 1 overall) are re5-- 0 in Big Eight with conference games remaining Saturday at Kansas and Nov 17 at home vs Oklahoma A loss in ci- ther game brings Oklahoma State (7-- 1 1 back in and Oklahoma picture — Orange Bowl Committee 3-- (6-1-- 1) At-lar- Rose Bowl 1 can Big Ten — Iowa Satreach the Rose by winning at home (6-2-- Big Eight — Nebraska figures to turn Cornhuskers available team and wants highest-rateif winners keep winning that’s South Carolina (8-- 0 No 5) or Miami (8-- 2 No 6) Unbeaten Gamecocks would get invitation but SC at 10-- 1 and Miami at 10-- 2 would present tough choice Florida State and Boston College both will contend by winning remainder of games d KniQhi Ridaor 3-- 1) ge Michigan State and urday against 5 24 But Ohio Minnesota at Nov (7-3 (6-2 or Purdue State could win championship if Iowa loses Pac-1- 0 — The “game of the year” peris haps Saturday at Southern Cal where host Trojans (7-- 1 will play No (9-- 0 USC Washington 4-- 4 3-- 5-- 5-- 2) 2) 6-- 0) 5-- 0) clinches Rose with victory but loss means either USC or Washington still could win USC in Rose w'ould make Washington attractive for other big bowls Cotton Bowl Southwest Conference — Texas 1 is solidly in driver’s seat but Nov 17 game at Texas Christian (7-- 1 could be for Cotton invitation (6-0-- 4-- 0) 4-- At-lar- 1) — Like the Orange ge Cotton available team will seek especially if Texas for example is rated high enough to make Cotton likely game Miami has received no secret assurances from the highest-ranke- d nation- al-championship Cotton contrary to some reports but Hurricanes at 10-- 2 would be likely front- runner for invitation and probably best of leftovers after Orange Cotton and Sugar Miami is “absolutely not” assured invitation at 3 despite reports but Fiesta associate director John Junker said Hurricanes arc of “primary interest” even with another loss Boston College if it beats UM Nov 23 also is a top choice For regional base chances arc good Fiesta will invite Pac-1- 0 runnerup would accept Cotton bid over Orange if Texas is ranked higher than Nebraska Sugar Bowl Southeastern Conference — Tightest conference fight in football among GeorLouisiana State 1 gia (7-- 1 and Auburn Florida (6-- 3 Florida’s questionable eligibilSEC-Sugfor adds further intrigue ity fate with games Satits controls Georgia urday at Florida and Nov 17 at Auburn — Sugar's SEC representative is unlikely to be in top five so Sugar might look for attractiveness of opponent over polls — Boston College with 4-- (6-1-- 0) (6-1- 3-- -1 9-- -1) 3-0- 1) ar At-lar- if it’s USC or UCLA Holiday Bowl Western Athletic ge 6-- — -- 0 berth Doug Flutie for example At-lar- — Though BYU could enter ge game in national top three at 12-- 0 it’s unlikely Holiday will emerge with enough clout to attract an opponent in top six Fiesta Bowl teams — For payoff Two ($105 million per team) and New Year’s Day date Fiesta has muscle to attract at-lar- Conference in the overall Brigham Young WAC) has clinched title and Holiday (9-- 0 ge McKay says he well step down from Buccaneers’ helm TAMPA Fla (AP) — The past two Na- tional Football League seasons have spawned a continuous string of coaching nightmares that Tampa Bay’s John McKay would just as soon forget Beginning in December he’ll try coach announced MonThe 61 year-old day that he’ll step down from the Buccaneers’ helm at the end of 1984 campaign giving way to a younger man he’d like to help by procuring the talent needed to transform the struggling team into a winner “It’s a decision I didn’t want to make But let's face it We’re not getting the job -- done” the only field boss in the history of the franchise told a news nine-yea- r conference at the Bucs' training complex “Maybe getting some young blood in here will help” NFL The search for a successor will not begin until the end of the season said team owner Hugh Culvcrhouse McKay whose NFL record in eight-plu- s seasons is cited the club's 7 start this year as well as health reasons when submitting his resignation to Culvcrhouse The former University of Southern California mentor underwent cataract surgery on his right eye Sept 19 and said he will have a similar operation on his left eye at the end of the season “I think I made the right decision for 41-85- -1 3-- nnsclf and the football team” said McKay who'll become team president ter the Hues’ season finale af- Culvcrhouse saying he felt the team has played much better than its record indicates told reporters he accepted the resignation with regret and only after he was convinced McKay was determined to quit He added that he felt the Bucs were only “one play away” from winning five more games — a turnaround that would have given the club an 2 record at this point As it stands the club trails NFC Central Division-leadin- g Chicago by four games with six left to play The 3 Bears have 8-- 7-- beaten the Bucs twice this season by scores of 4 and 44-- 9 but no other team has defeated Tampa Bay by more than six 34-1- points “I know he would like the opportunity to lead the team back to the playoffs” Culvcrhouse said “But with the honesty that is so typical of the man he has advised me that with his current health situation it would be better that we look elsewhere for a coach” McKay’s resignation came only 10 das after the Bucs coach was quoted in newspapers as saying he could become the “next Sam Rutigliano” if the Bucs didn’t play well against the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct 28 Rutigliano was fired by the Cleveland Browns last month but Culverhouse dismissed McKay’s statement as frustration brought on by an embarrassing loss to the Bears the week before The Chiefs went on to beat Tampa Bay 0 and the Bucs dropped another Sunday losing to the Minnesota 4 on Jan Stenerud’s Vikings field goal with two seconds remaining The team has lost four games in a row heart-break- 24-2- 27-2- 53-ya- er rd John McKay ) |
