They Will Have to Settle for Seattle

Remember that phony smile NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle had on his face when he had to hand the Super Bowl trophy to Raider owner Al Davis?

We’re guessing those were the kind of forced grins being expressed this week when Stanford accepted an invitation to the Dec. 27 Seattle Bowl.

The Cardinal will face Georgia Tech.

Publicly, Stanford Coach Tyrone Willingham would say how much he loved Seattle while the Seattle Bowl, No. 4 in the Pacific 10 bowl pecking order, could boast how it had snagged a higher-ranked school than either the Holiday or Sun bowls.

But let’s get real: This is an arranged marriage, not a match made in heaven.

“We have nothing to be ashamed of,� one Stanford player told the San Jose Mercury News this week.

This retort hardly ranks in bowl cry history with “We’re going to Pasadena!�

Simply, Stanford and the Seattle Bowl are victims of circumstance.

The Cardinal is 8-2 and No. 10 in the week’s bowl championship series standings, yet clearly has been saddled with a bowl game not befitting its national stature.

The Pac-10’s No. 4 game wasn’t so bad when it meant a Christmas trip to Hawaii. But the two island-based bowls, Aloha and Oahu, have gone aloha. The Aloha still hasn’t found a mainland taker while the Oahu hitched on for a one-year stint in Seattle.

“The argument could be made we didn’t come out very well on this thing,� Stanford Athletic Director Ted Leland said.

Yet, neither Stanford nor Seattle had any wiggle room.

If Oregon beats Oregon State on Saturday, Stanford finishes in a three-way tie for second place in the conference.

Stanford lost to both schools it is tied with, Washington State and Washington, so despite its higher BCS standing, the Cardinal gets stuck with Starbucks.

“It’s hard to sit here and cry over the placement of the teams above us,� Leland said.

Even if Oregon loses to Oregon State, Stanford loses all conference tiebreakers that might have improved its bowl position.

The Seattle Bowl was up a creek too.

For purposes of attendance and its bowl survival, it desperately wanted to land one of the Washington schools. The Pac-10’s contract with the Seattle Bowl expires after this year, and the conference is basically playing the Seattle and Las Vegas bowls against each other; the winner gets the Pac-10’s No. 5 game next year.

Landing one of the Washington schools would have helped Seattle’s survival chances. Yet, under Pac-10 rules, the Holiday and Sun bowls got pick power over the Seattle Bowl. The Holiday made the grab for Washington even knowing the Huskies could get crushed last weekend at Miami.

The Holiday Bowl wanted Washington because it figures to bring more fans to the Dec. 28 game. It also doesn’t hurt in selling travel packages that include the Seattle Seahawks’ Dec. 30 game at San Diego.

The Sun Bowl snatched Washington State from the Seattle Bowl, figuring that more Cougar fans would travel to El Paso than Stanford fans.

Leland said there’s nothing his school could do.

“The Pac-10 was a tough conference this year and we got beat by Washington and Washington State,� Leland said.

Stanford took another slap in the face last week when the BCS released the Cardinal from at-large consideration.

“That sort of surprised us,� Leland said.

Again, this was just the pragmatic bowl reality. While a two-loss Tennessee still will be a viable BCS at-large team if it loses at Florida this weekend, two-loss Stanford never stood a chance.

Neither the Orange nor the Sugar Bowl is going to consider Stanford unless mandated, while the Rose and Fiesta bowls had no open slot for the Cardinal.

The agonizing thought for Stanford is had it defeated either Washington or Washington State, the Cardinal would be, at worst, playing in the Fiesta Bowl.

Stanford might also be in the national title mix because of its strong BCS numbers.

“We might be three or four plays from being in Pasadena,� Leland said.

Stanford led Washington State in the fourth quarter before losing, and was tied at Washington, 28-28, with less than five minutes left.

Pac Bits

The weather for Saturday’s Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State in Eugene is expected to be cold and rainy. We wouldn’t want it any other way. You have to dig deep to find Oregon State tailback Ken Simonton’s name in this week’s release of the Pac-10’s all-conference team. Simonton, who started the season as a top Heisman Trophy candidate--he had his own firm handling publicity at one point--was named only as an honorable mention. The first-team backs were DeShaun Foster (UCLA) and Clarence Farmer (Arizona), while Oregon’s Maurice Morris and Onterrio Smith were the second-team backs....

California was expected to interview as many as nine candidates this week for its vacant football coaching job. Among those on the short list were South Carolina defensive coordinator Charlie Strong and Denver Bronco receivers coach Karl Dorrell, a former UCLA receiver. Another name being mentioned is Baltimore Raven defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis. Strong, Dorrell and Lewis are African American. It’s no secret Cal would like to make a minority hire if the right man is available and is being urged to do so by the Black Coaches Assn.

There are some at Cal who feel a black coach could compete for recruits against Stanford, coached quite successfully by Tyrone Willingham. If Cal does hire an African American, it would give the Bay Area three of the five African American head coaches presently employed in Division I-A, joining Willingham and San Jose State’s Fitz Hill.

Some Washington players were miffed last week when Miami Coach Larry Coker called time out to allow Miami seniors, playing their final home game, to leave the field together and receive an ovation from the Orange Bowl crowd. Miami led at the time, 51-7. “They had to call a timeout to do that? I don’t know,� Washington tailback Rich Alexis said. “Show some respect, a little bit.�

Reaction: Rich, doesn’t respect have to be earned?

Miami won the game, 65-7.