Page 12 CFA Report The college football world is upside-down again. North is South, and left is right Parity, which first showed up as a virus in the early 90s, might be hitting epidemic proportions. How else to explain how Miami, once the most feared college team on Earth, goes to UCLA and gets pounded by a program that had a losing record last year? And was that actually Alabama having to put together a mad fourth-quarter rally to beat lowly Vanderbilt? Then there was the unthinkable. Northwestern, the ultimate underdog, beating Notre Dame, the ultimate overdog. In South Bend, Ind., no less. Any given Saturday has never had more meaning. By the way, take the Wildcats with the points for their game at Michigan in October. It is not so far-fetched anymore. There is a sense on campus that the playing field is leveling. "It's hard to put your finger on this," said Vanderbilt Sept. 16. "It's a very nebulous. There's scholarships, but there's something else happening too." Some of the other factors are stricter national academic standards, tougher penalties for cheaters and the influence of television. "I think there's a closeness, and my sense is that it will get closer," Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said. "Your Oklahomas, your USCs and your UCLAs have all had losing records in the last 10 years." Not to mention your Penn States, Texases, and Tennessees. "You're going to see more parity in college football, from top to bottom, " Ohio State Coach John Cooper said. Northwestern Coach Gary Barnett does not believe in parity, though many point to his program as a prime example of it. "It's just the nature of the game,” he said. It is very hard to dominate year in and year out, especially in college, where you have completely new faces almost every year.” "I think it is overplayed," Barnett said. "I think it's circumstance. I think it's timing." To be sure, there is still a pronounced lack of parity in some parts of the country. Take the Atlantic Coast Conference, where Florida State stretched its conference record to 25-0 with a 70-26 shelling of Duke last weekend. "If the gap is closing, somebody ought to beat them," Clemson Coach Tommy West told reporters before the season. "I don't see anybody who I think will beat them." But most everywhere else in college football, parity is the name of the game. Some of the reasons: -Scholarship reductions. When Nebraska won the national title in 1971, there was a joke that the Cornhuskers’s second string should have been voted No. 2. But with fewer scholarships, the powerhouses can not stockpile players. That has had twin results. It makes more talent available to mid and low-level programs, and it makes it harder for the powerhouses to recover from injuries and natural graduation cycles. “Bo used to have 120 scholarships," Michigan Athletic Director Joe Roberson said. "That's 35 kids that used to be at Michigan who are playing someplace else, and a lot of them are very good players.” "There's an emphasis on academics," Dowhower said. "A kid may want the publicity and to play in the pros, but kids are looking for an education too. There's so much more emphasis on getting a degree. I think schools like Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Duke, and Stanford are going to keep getting better players because of that” —NCAA sanctions. In the last few years the reigning or recent champions of the Pac-10, Southwest and Southeastern conferences were placed on probation. In 1993, sanctions ended Washington's dominance of the Pac-10, and the next season the Oregon Ducks made their first Rose Bowl appearance since 1957. The 18th-ranked Huskies are eligible to win the conference title this year, but last weekend they needed a late trick play to stave off Arizona State, which won only three games last year. Washington started three defenders who arrived in Seattle as walk-ons, a direct result of the Huskies' loss of scholarships due to sanctions. Sanctions against Texas A&M created a parody of parity in the Southwest Conference last year. With the Aggies ineligible, five teams tied for the title including Rice, which last won it in 1957. In the SEC, Alabama has represented the Western Division in the first three years of the conference championship. Someone else will rise this year in place of the Crimson Tide, which went on probation during the off-season. The same thing could happen to Miami, which is cracking up even as the NCAA investigates myraid alleged infractions by the Hurricane program. --Psychology. When Northwestern came out of South Bend with a victory, it boosted the hopes of everyone else on Notre Dame's schedule. The mind game also applies to teams invading the once impregnable citadels of the game. It used to be unthinkable for visitors to win at Michigan Stadium, but three teams did it in 1994 and Virginia came within a heartbeat Aug. 26. -Television. For years, only the big boys drew TV coverage, but the explosion of cable and pay-per-view has put almost everyone in front of the camera. Northwestern's win Saturday was its 23id TV game since 1988. by Andrew Bagnato Copyright 1995, Knight- Ridder/Tribune News. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. Snorts Lady Lion Soccer, 3-1 by Brian Gregory CdUgian Staff What a week it has been for Lady Lion soccer. Three games in six days, two of them wins. One an outstanding 89th minute goal to win, and another was a 5- 0 blowout on the road. Last Thursday, the Lady Lion gave the.fans their money’s worth with a thrill of a defensive battle. Time and time again goalkeeper Katie Thomas denied Grove City shots. The defense of the Lions was tough as Julie Stocker, Kristen Gonter, and Michelle Finch made a tough wall that frustrated many of the Lady Wolverines. After the first half, the score was 0-0. In fact, with one minute to go the score remained the same and overtime looked imminent for the second game in a row. However, with under thirty seconds to go, Robyn Wholey took a pass and raced down the right line. Using some fancy footwork, Wholey put a cross kick right to Trish Baird. Baird took the pass and put home the game winner with only 12 seconds to go, much to the delight of the Behrcnd fans. “We were very thankful to get (Baird’s) goal,” said co-captain Stocker. “I think otherwise we would have struggled in the overtime period.” On Saturday, the Lady Lions took their undefeated record to Bethany College for a tangle with the Lady Bisons. On a dreary, rainy day in West Virginia, the Lions fell by a score of 3-0. “We were very unlucky,” said Kristen Gonter. “We had many opportunities, but we just could not put the ball in the net Luck just wasn’t on our side.” But it seemed that the loss IM update, weekend rec by Dereje Lakew Colltgian Staff This semester intramurals have gotten off to a great start As of now, golf is the only sport that is finished. Intramural golf was held at Green Meadows golf course. There was a turnout of 91 single players and 17 four man teams. The winner of the singles tournament was Steve Jecker, who finished with a total score of 174 in two rounds. Second and third place finishers were Justin Zimmerman of Sigma Tau Gamma and Craig Lam, who scored 175 and 176 respectively. First place in the team competition went to Sigma Tau Gamma, who had a total of 731 points, followed by the independent team Jolly Ranchers who scored 740 total points. Upcoming intramural events include football (mens, women and coed) for which the deadline is Friday, October 6, at 4 p.m. Also cross country (mens, womens and coed) is approaching in which the deadline is Friday, Photo by Jennifer V. Colvin/ Etftorin Chief Playing some defense: Senior defensive back Julie Stocker (at right) looks to take out her opponent during a recent home game. The Lady Lions continue their season Saturday against Keuka College. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. only fired up the 2-1 Lady Lions. On Tuesday, they took another road trip to Waynesburg and stung the Lady Yellow Jackets 5- 0. “This game was very impressive because we could have easily played down to Waynesburg’s level, but we played our type of soccer,” commented Stocker. “We dominated the game both offensively and defensively.” Teammate Kristie Amon agreed saying, “We fare very well because we’re a very good team. We’re awesome.” “We were very strong September 29 at 4 p.m. A two dollar fee will be charged to your student account for each intramural activity participated in. Outside of intramurals, there is also the weekend recreation program. This recreation program is designed so students can make use of Behrend’s facilities and equipment. Various other activities are also available during the weekend times. The program runs between the hours of noon and 6 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. A variety of athletic equipment will be available to those who bring student IDs. ■ The billboard announcing these activities is located in the glass case outside of the intramural office on the first floor of the Reed building. Programs are posted every Tuesday of that upcoming weekend. Activities may be organized, specify a time and place to met or may be open gym. This weekend's activities are a 4-on-4 football tournament on Thursday, September 21,1995 defensively,” commented senior Finch. “Our 3-1 start is beyond the expectations of a first year team, but I don’t think it’s beyond our expectations as a team. We have very high goals and a lot of talent.” The Lady Lions will get the chance to pursue these goals again on Saturday against a very tough Keuka College. “It’s going to be our toughest match erf the year and if we don’t come away with the win, we at least want to challenge them,” replied a determined Stocker. “We are going into the match with the intent to win.” Saturday, and open gym on both Saturday and Sunday. Registration for the football tournament is from 1 to 1:30 p.m. in the Lobby of Erie Hall. After teams are made, play begins at 2 p.m. Aerobic classes are also available during the week. A variety of aerobic workouts are all held in the basement of Niagara Hall. A cost of 75 cents is charged to your student account for class attended. If you have any questions about any intramural or weekend recreation activity, call Rob Whittman at x 6280. Join The Collegian’s Sports Staff
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