Hyundai Sun Bowl executive director Bernie Olivas must have some lucky stars. How else can you explain how he keeps coming up with such good matchups?
Just about everyone had given up on ever seeing Notre Dame play in our El Paso classic, but there the Irish were at Sun Bowl Stadium on Dec. 31, 2010, beating University of Miami to the delirium of local fans.
It wasn’t easy getting the Irish. The results from different games during the season had to come out just so and the stars all had to be aligned just right.
They did.
THIS YEAR it looked again like the Hyundai Sun Bowl was going to wind up with a lousy matchup. Oh, Southern Cal was an okay choice but a credible opponent didn’t seem likely. Many things had to happen on Saturdays during the season and the stars had to aligned just so again for the Sun Bowl to wind up with the right combination.
They did — and with a couple of added twists.
The contract called for the Sun Bowl to get the fourth place team from the Atlantic Coast Conference. North Carolina was on sanctions by the NCAA and University of Miami had put itself in a similar spot. Neither was available
Because of the sanctions, Georgia Tech got into the ACC conference championship game and gave highly regarded Florida State a tough, tough battle. Way down in the contract, the Sun Bowl found a little clause that said it could have the conference runnerup.
SO THERE we were last Monday with another fine Sun Bowl matchup. Despite a 6-7 season record, Georgia Tech turned out to be more than just a good Hyundai Sun Bowl opponent for USC. Georgia Tech stomped the Trojans, 21-7.
The trouncing was much to the delight of most of the 47,922 spectators who had been turned off by demeaning comments about El Paso by USC players. They apologized but one fan leaving the stadium was overheard saying, “You’d think the USC coach would have instructed his players not to make comments like that.”
I CONGRATULATED Bernie Olivas on this year’s matchup and told him he either had lucky stars or he prayed a lot.
With a twinkle in the eye and a hint of a smile, he said, “I pray a lot on Saturdays.”
TRIVIA QUESTION: When was the first Most Valuable Player selection made in the Sun Bowl and who won it? Answer at end.
I HAD NEVER felt so sorry for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo as I did in the last game of the regular season against Washington last week. How he must hurt.
If only he were half a tick of a second slower on his pass releases no telling how many more games he could have won during his career. Maybe even a Super Bowl.
But he’s too impulsive, too trusting of his receivers. He often throws the ball to the spot where he expects them to be instead of waiting a half tick of a second to make sure they’re there. Result: Interception after interception.
AND THE FINAL interception he threw against Washington in the fourth quarter that doomed the Cowboys was also because of that half tick of a second. Romo thought the defender on his left was going to blitz as he had been doing all night and threw the ball there. Instead the defender stayed back and made an easy interception. Had Romo taken that extra half tick of a second to make sure the defender blitzed, but didn’t, he could have adjusted.
They say greatness is a matter of inches. I’ll always think Romo missed greatness by half a tick of second.
ANSWER to trivia question: Quarterback Dick Shinaut of what was then Texas Western College, now UTEP, won the first award in 1954. He completed 11 of 17 passes for two touchdowns to lead the Miners over Southern Miss 37-14.