Tuesday, December 1, 1998
Aloha Bowl turns
to Central Florida
The Golden Knights would play
By Paul Arnett
Air Force on Christmas Day
Star-BulletinIf the Aloha Bowl doesn't get a Pac-10 team, then it's likely officials will extend an invitation to Central Florida to fill out the Christmas Day doubleheader. The sticking point is UCLA. If the Bruins play in the national championship game, then there will not be a team available for Aloha Bowl officials. In that equation, UCLA goes to the Fiesta Bowl, Arizona to the Rose Bowl, Oregon to the Holiday Bowl and USC to the Sun Bowl.
Now, if UCLA should fall out of the top two in the Bowl Championship Series, then either Oregon or USC would come here.
"I'm not sure which of those two teams we would get," Aloha Bowl chief executive officer Lenny Klompus said last night. "Regardless, we may extend an invitation to Central Florida as early as (today) because we like their 9-2 record and think it would make for a good game with a possible 11-1 Air Force team. Obviously, it's contingent on what happens in the Pac-10."
That means the first game would be between Colorado and Washington. The second game, which is on ESPN, would match the wishbone attack of Air Force against the passing game of Central Florida.
Quarterback Daunte Culpepper, who played against Hawaii his freshman season in 1995, was a Heisman Trophy hopeful early on. The Central Florida standout is fourth nationally in passing with a rating of 170.24. He has thrown for 3,690 yards and 28 touchdowns.
