Conference looks for new bowl slot

Steve Carp

Tuesday, Oct. 22, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

It wasn't a big deal when they first announced it. But the demise of the short-lived Haka Bowl in New Zealand has Western Athletic Conference officials and coaches very concerned.

The Haka Bowl, which was scheduled for Dec. 27, would have pitted the WAC's third-place team against the Pacific 10 Conference's third-place team. With the WAC not guaranteed a spot in the bowl alliance, that extra bowl game was important.

At the moment, the WAC's only guaranteed bowl bids are the Dec. 28 Copper Bowl in Tucson, the Dec. 30 Holiday Bowl in San Diego and the Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Commissioner Karl Benson said Monday the conference is stepping up its efforts to lock up a spot in the Independence Bowl, which will be played in Shreveport, La., Dec. 31.

"I talked to the Independence Bowl last week and they are acknowledging the WAC becoming a bigger player with the Haka Bowl out," Benson said. "But even before the Haka Bowl's demise, we were looking at the Independence Bowl.

"Now, it takes on added importance."

Benson will fly to Shreveport the first week in November to meet with Independence Bowl officials. In the meantime, the coaches have additional pressure to win with one less bowl game to play for.

"There's certainly added pressure on everyone who has got potential for post-season play," said Wyoming's Joe Tiller, whose Cowboys lead the Pacific Division at 5-0 and are ranked No. 18 at 8-0. "The gap has narrowed to where a loss now is more critical."

Brigham Young's LaVell Edwards, whose team is 3-0 in the Mountain (a half-game behind 4-0 Utah) and is ranked No. 15 in the nation, said the margin for error has diminished.

"All we can do is keep playing well," he said. "It's a concern and a problem for the WAC. But there's nothing we can do about it."

The WAC actually got some help when Air Force upset then eighth-ranked Notre Dame Saturday while No. 10 Penn State was upset at home by Iowa. Those losses open the door for BYU to move up if it can finish strong.

"I've said all along our goal is to have a team ranked in the top 10 on Dec. 7 (WAC championship game day)," Edwards said. "Today, we have a much greater chance than we had a week ago."

But Benson's not putting all the WAC's eggs in BYU's basket.

"I don't think you can disregard Wyoming at this juncture," he said. "Or San Diego State or Utah. If one of them runs the table, they could be in the top 10."

Falcons flying high

Probably the only person in the WAC who wasn't happy to see Air Force knock off Notre Dame was Hawaii coach Fred vonAppen. And that's only because his team has to travel to Colorado Springs Saturday to play the Falcons.

"It has been a million and a half years since we've won on the road," vonAppen said. "This is a crusade for us and it comes against an outstanding football team."

Hawaii has dropped six straight road games and last won away from Honolulu against UNLV last year at Sam Boyd Stadium, 58-30. But its last WAC road win was back in 1992 when the Rainbow Warriors beat Texas-El Paso, 41-21.

Don't look for a letdown from Air Force. It's a huge game for the Falcons, who are trying to keep pace with Wyoming and San Diego State in the Pacific.

"This is a very important game for us," said AFA coach Fisher DeBerry. "We have to put Notre Dame behind us and look ahead to Hawaii."

* BEST AND WORST: The WAC has the distinction of having the nation's longest winning and losing streaks. Wyoming extended its nation-leading win streak to 11 when it beat Fresno State Saturday in Laramie. But the fact his team is 8-0 does not surprise Wyoming coach Joe Tiller. "Quite frankly, I thought we'd be an improved football team," he said. At the other end of the spectrum, UNLV's 38-28 loss to Hawaii, coupled with Oregon State's win over Stanford, left the Rebels with the nation's longest losing streak. UNLV has dropped 10 in a row dating to last year. Coach Jeff Horton said the long plane ride back to Las Vegas didn't offer any solutions. "We've talked about moving some guys around, but it's up to the guys we have out there to do the job," he said. "I'm not going to pull guys out of their redshirt years for four games. We just have to find some consistency. We do some good things, but we'll make a mistake and you can feel the air come out of the balloon."

* BIG DEBUT: George Jones' 1996 debut Saturday was smashing but the San Diego State running back's 187-yard, five-touchdown performance wasn't what Aztecs coach Ted Tollner had in mind. "We weren't planning on using him that much," he said in the wake of the Aztecs' wild 48-42 win over New Mexico. "But George had an opportunity to get some work in. He was in shape and he was ready." Jones had been forced to sit out the first four games because of NCAA violations involving two separate automobiles. He was cleared to compete last week after making restitution on a car that was being leased to him through a financial adviser who works with a Southern California sports agent.