Pathetic-10.
The term was coined in reference to Pacific-10 Conference football after a dismal 1999 season.
Now, all of that has changed. The conference has three teams in the top eight of the Associated Press poll — more than any other conference in the nation — two teams in Bowl Championship Series bowl games and a whole lot more respect.
Rose Bowl
No. 4 Washington (10-1, 7-1) vs. No. 14 Purdue (8-3, 6-2)
For the first time in four years, a Pac-10 team will march into Pasadena as the favorite. For years, the Big-10 has had the upper hand in the Rose Bowl. Big-10 schools have won seven of the last eight Rose Bowls, including four straight titles.
Washington is hoping to end all of that against Purdue on Jan. 1, 2001.
The game will be marked by a quarterbacks duel between the Huskies’ Marques Tuiasosopo and the Boilermakers’ Drew Brees.
Tuiasosopo and crew are heavy favorites, ranked fourth in the nation with a seven game win streak dating back to September. Purdue won the Big-10 championship despite two conference losses to Penn State and Michigan State. Wins over co-champions Michigan and Northwestern gave Purdue the nod.
Washington had to deal with a three-way tie of its own out West. The Huskies broke away from co-champions Oregon and Oregon State with a 3-0 non-conference record and a tougher schedule.
The Huskies have big wins against No. 2 Miami and No. 5 Oregon State. Purdue plays in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1966.
Fiesta Bowl
No. 5 Oregon State ( 10-1, 7-1) vs. No. 11 Notre Dame (9-2)
The respect that the Pac-10 has earned this season was made evident when the Bowl Championship Series selected Oregon State for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl over Virginia Tech. The selection marked the first time that a Pac-10 school had been selected to a major BCS bowl outside of the Rose Bowl.
The Beavers and the rest of the conference will have a chance to earn more respect against No. 10 Notre Dame.
The Fiesta Bowl will feature the ultimate battle between a traditional football powerhouse and an upstart Cinderella team. Notre Dame, which has one of the most hallowed and revered programs in college football history, is led by freshmen sensation Matt LoVecchio at quarterback.
The Beavers counter with a powerful offense led by quarterback Jonathan Smith and tailback Ken Simonton.
Sun Bowl
UCLA (6-5, 3-5) vs. Wisconsin (7-4, 4-4)
The 2000 Sun Bowl will be a battle of two “what could have been” teams. After strong 3-0 starts to the season, both Wisconsin and UCLA hit adversity in conference play.
Both teams were contenders to win their respective conference titles until the Badgers and Bruins both racked up losses to conference contenders.
Consecutive losses to Northwestern, Michigan and Ohio State put Wisconsin out of the Big-10 chase. UCLA’s season was equally disappointing with losses to conference leaders Oregon, Oregon State and Washington. The Bruins’ postseason hopes were put in jeopardy with a 38-35 loss to cross-town rival Southern California.
Now both teams have dusted themselves off and head to El Paso, Texas, for a chance to end their respective seasons on a high note.
UCLA’s Freddie Mitchell has broken school and conference receiving records on his way to All-American honors. The Badgers counter with explosive tailback Michael Bennett, who led the Big-10 in rushing with 1,672 yards and an average of 159.8 a game.
