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Polish nightmare
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Running up score essential in climbing football polls**
While few students kept their televisions on after the 54-12, two-hour first-half drubbing that Duke received at the hands of Florida State, those that did could be heard screaming in agony as Florida State scored again and again. Cries of "Why are they running up the score," and other unprintable slurs about Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden could be heard emanating from around campus and at local bars.
I didn't enjoy watching four hours of my favorite team constantly being run over, and I don't understand why the Seminoles scored only 70 points against our beloved Blue Devils. They should have tried to break 100.
While Duke has greatly improved its football program, it is not at the point where it needs to start playing politics for the top billing--Florida State is. And unfortunately, unlike college basketball, there is not always a final game where winner takes all.
If you want any proof of this, find a Penn State fan. Last year, despite going 12-0 and winning the Rose Bowl, the Nittany Lions were bridesmaids. By the end of this year, most people will forget that they were undefeated and in the race. People will see the score from the Orange Bowl and assume that Miami was the second-best team in the nation last year. Five years from now, most Penn State fans will forget that they had a shot at the national title. Why such little respect for a team that went undefeated while playing in the Big Ten? The pollsters didn't think they were as good as Nebraska. It is interesting how this assumption can be made when Nebraska and Penn State did not play each other and did not even share a similar opponent. What really happened was that a few pollsters saw Nebraska destroy a weak Big Eight opponent one week and put them No. 1. As long as they continued to win big they would stay there.
How long did you think it would take Bobby Bowden to learn that lesson? Looking at this year's top five teams, there could be three teams undefeated after the bowl games. Florida State should breeze through the Atlantic Coast Conference and a weakened Miami for a showdown with Florida. It would then most likely face an undefeated Nebraska or Texas A&M, two more teams head and shoulders above their conferences, in one New Year's Day bowl game with the other beating up a lesser opponent in another. Finally, Penn State and USC from the Big 10 and Pac 10, respectively, both have the talent to enter the Rose Bowl at 11-0. And don't forget about a Florida or Auburn keeping its loss column clear deep into December.
What would happen if two, three or even four teams remained undefeated? The same thing as last year. Pollsters will put somebody on top in these first two weeks and keep them there until they lose or someone wins bigger than them. What looks better, 54-38 or 70-26? Florida State knows what does and that was its plan from the beginning--to take a decent team like Duke and make an example of them.
"I hope we are picked No. 1 again," said Florida State quarterback Danny Kanell. "We proved ourselves. We hope to do this every week. We couldn't ask for a better first game."
"I have no personal goals, just a team goal--to win it all," running back Rock Preston said. "We wanted to show the nation we can score like Nebraska."
Bowden naturally downplayed this aspect and said that he had planned on using the first team in the second half to keep them fresh. It was interesting, however, that they were always put in whenever Duke started to creep within 35 or 40 points. Did Bowden's plan work?
Well, if you check this weekend's Associated Press poll, the Seminoles picked up six more first-place votes than they had last year. They grabbed one from Nebraska, two from Texas A&M and three from Florida--teams that won by a decent margin, but not an obnoxious one. Reverse that trend and have Nebraska pick up six first place votes on Florida State because FSU didn't blow anyone out and you have a neck-and-neck race instead of a firm No. 1 and a more distant No. 2.
Texas Christian University basketball head coach Billy Tubbs once said, "Humiliating somebody--I guess, when you get down to it, that's your job."
That may be a sad commentary on collegiate sports, but the media and other coaches have made it true by propping up teams when they win big. A playoff system would cure the problem at the top spot, but those teams which were ranked eighth through 11th would then start running up scores to be included in the playoffs.
So please feel free to lament when the Blue Devils start losing big, but don't whine when Seminole running back Warrick Dunn pulls up for a halfback option pass with FSU up by 35 points in the second half. Dunn and his teammates are just trying to follow the rules within a system they didn't create.
And please remember that when Duke beats Army, Navy and Wake Forest by 40 or more points, it'll soar through the polls just like the Seminoles do. Finally, don't forget, one day Florida State will finally be put on probation, and we may be up in the top five. Revenge can be so sweet.
William Dvoranchik is a Trinity senior and an associate sports editor of The Chronicle.
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