Short Yardage

(this will be a "bits and pieces" kind of feature, where we'll relay some facts in between the longer articles. As always, any ideas are more than welcome!)

Deserving and Denied:
Usually, a team--especially one from a major conference--gets rewarded with a highly attractive bowl invite for a superb season. Not so in at least certain cases, however.

The 1966 Michigan State Spartans, cited earlier as part of a bigger picture column, rang up a near-flawless 9-0-1 win-loss campaign, tying top-ranked and eventual national champion Notre Dame, 10-10 (in the infamous "Tie One For The Gipper" battle). The Spartans had just come off a national title season of their own; surely, at minimum, they'd receive a big-time bowl berth. However, the Rose Bowl at the time had a senseless "no-repeat" clause, leaving Michigan State out of the championship Big Ten tie-in with the grandaddy classic. With other major bowls having their own tie-ins and politicking, Duffy Daugherty's Spartans became mere spectators on New Years Day.

The 1969 LSU Tigers, under Charlie McClendon, could relate. After roaring through nine opponents with just one stumble (vs Archie Manning and Ole Miss in a 26-23 thriller), the Tigers were told to sit tight, that the Cotton Bowl with top-ranked Texas would come-a-callin'. They waited by the phone, but it never rang. Instead, the Cotton opted to take Notre Dame, which had awoken from its self-imposed 45-year bowl slumber. With the lure of such a spectacle, the Cotton just couldn't pass that up. LSU, rather than participating in some minor bowl (Sugar had already chosen Ole Miss) versus an easily outmanned opponent, decided to spend the holidays at home.