THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 11, 1995 TAG: 9512110186
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
What is college football waiting for? Why does it willingly turn over the stage this time of year to the NFL and college basketball?
Come December, the Postal Service delivers in a more timely fashion than college football.
Why make so many fans and players wait until the new year before placing a fitting cap on the season?
Bowl scheduling has never made sense. Can anyone imagine college basketball teams holding their breath for six weeks before resuming play?
The notion is absurd. But this is common practice for college football.
While college football idles by the curb, the NFL seizes the moment, building interest for its playoffs. At the same time, basketball asserts itself, filling the vacuum created by college football's voluntary hiatus.
Makes you wonder: Does the word ``momentum'' mean anything to college football?
One way to keep the sport on the front burner would be to have a playoff. You'll find no support for that here, though. Better to sprinkle in the bowl games throughout December. That way, moments would not be lost in the holiday glut.
A postseason tournament would change the look of college football, but it wouldn't necessarily enhance the game.
College football is the last sport in which the regular season represents something meaningful. Every week holds playoff implications. Built into each season is a string of games with a do-or-die feel.
This is what makes college football unique. No loss is easily dismissed. No victory is unimportant. Something this special should not be given away just so that football can begin to resemble basketball.
Virginia's basketball team lost to Vanderbilt the other night. The game will not make a ripple in the Cavaliers' season. Very little that happens in the first month of college basketball is worth noting. Basketball teams are allowed to build, to find themselves, as the season dawdles toward March.
Football doesn't provide this luxury, which is what gives the fall a feeling of urgency.
Football teams must come out of the gate ready to win. The regular season is its own tournament. Ask Florida State. When the Seminoles lost to Virginia, they were eliminated from title contention.
College football brilliantly builds in suspense. Then, when it has captured our attention, it leaves a message on its answering machine and checks out. Where it goes, nobody is certain. Maybe the Bahamas.
Tradition is the culprit here. Once upon a time, somebody had the bright idea to ring in the new year with bowl games. The country has changed since then. So has college football. In Dallas, the New Year's Day Cotton Bowl is being anticipated like a hangover.
College football could help itself by making all of December bowl month. Play the Sugar Bowl next week. Why wait until Jan. 1 to play the Orange Bowl? Make the bowls their own reasons for a celebration.
The way it is now, college football has been eclipsed by the NFL, basketball, and almost anything else that moves, televises, or gives interviews.
This time of year, being a college football fan is like hearing that the special gift you want has been back ordered. by CNB