Sports Watch

By Bill Kwon

Thursday, January 2, 1997

It was easy
rooting for Big Blue

I'M proud of myself. On the very first day of the New Year, I made good on my New Year's resolution. You can't fulfill a resolution any faster than that.

The resolution? To root for Brigham Young University's football team against any nonconference opponent.

There's a selfish reason, of course. The Western Athletic Conference was getting dissed by the Bowl Alliance. And the University of Hawaii is a member of the WAC, although currently a weak sister in football.

Hey, insult the WAC, you're insulting UH, too. And since BYU appears to be the only WAC team right now capable of playing with college football's big boys, I might as well join the bandwagon.

So imagine my delight when Brigham Young struck a blow for the WAC by beating Kansas State, 19-15, in the Cotton Bowl yesterday.

Thanks, BYU. The WAC needed that.

And the Cougars did it with defense, not exactly the kind of football the WAC is noted for playing. They showed K-State they could not only play defense, but they were a better team, too. Even without Itula Mili.

Take away the Wildcats' "Hail Mary" gift touchdown pass in the end zone on the final play of the first half and the Cougars held the Big 12 team to only one touchdown.

LAVELL Edwards didn't quite come out and say that his team played with the idea that it had something to prove after being slighted by the Bowl Alliance despite being ranked fifth in the Associated Press poll.

However, the Cougars sure looked as though they were on a mission in dominating the game offensively. And by beating the Wildcats, BYU became the first Division I-A team to win 14 games in one season.

"All I know is we're 14-1 and we're going to finish in the top five in the country," said Steve Sarkisian. The BYU quarterback, who broke Roger Staubach's Cotton Bowl record with 21 completions, should aim higher than that.

With Arizona State blowing its outside chance to be No. 1 by losing to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, the winner of today's Sugar Bowl between unbeaten Florida State and Florida will be the national champion.

The loser likely will be No. 2 unless the game's a blowout. If that happens, BYU with its 14-1 record could well finish as high as second or third in the final AP poll. That's lofty company, no matter what, and a bonus point for the WAC when Bowl Alliance talks come up again next season.

WAC commissioner Karl Benson had threatened to take court action against the alliance playoff set-up. Fortunately, BYU helped matters by doing something about it on the football field.

With everything riding on BYU like that yesterday, it was sure easy rooting for the Cougars. Especially when a Maui boy from Makawao (K.O. Kealaluhi) catches the winning touchdown pass.

Not that I'm getting carried away, mind you. I'll still be rooting for any WAC team to beat the Cougars. But when it comes to nonconference opponents, I'll be cheering for you know who.

THE Buckeyes' victory over the Sun Devils gave the mathematically challenged Big Ten (there are 11 teams in the conference, after all) a 4-2 record in the bowl games.

Besides Ohio State, also winning were Iowa, Wisconsin and Penn State. Northwestern and Michigan State were passed dizzy in losses to Tennessee and Stanford, respectively. The Spartans were no match for Stanford, hardly a powerhouse. Wyoming (10-2) would have been a more worthy opponent.

But BYU playing in its first New Year's Day game is a step in the right direction for the WAC, which hadn't had a team do so since Wyoming in the 1968 Sugar Bowl.