Sugar Bowl Will Take Second Look at the Bruins

The bowl deck has been shuffled, and UCLA is being dealt a new hand.

Whether or not the cards are good enough to play for an $8.47-million pot is still in doubt.

A source close to the Sugar Bowl said Sunday the case involving the Bruins, ranked fifth in the Associated Press poll and sixth in the coaches’ poll, will be reviewed this week. UCLA (9-2) could come into the picture for a New Year’s night game in New Orleans against Florida State (10-1).

One reason is pressure from ABC, which will televise the game and covets the Los Angeles market.

Paul Hoolahan, executive director of the Sugar, confirmed the review Sunday.

“We want to take a very close look at the UCLA situation,” Hoolahan said, adding that calls would go out to Pacific 10 Commissioner Tom Hansen and possibly UCLA Athletic Director Pete Dalis for feedback.

“We want to find out how did they travel over, say, the last 10 years of bowls? We hear UCLA doesn’t travel, but is it a myth? We’d like to find out some numbers.”

The review will find that UCLA took few fans--probably fewer than 3,000--to the Aloha Bowl in 1995 and Hancock Bowl in 1991, and not many more than that to the Cotton in 1989, though UCLA officials point out that the Hancock and Cotton numbers were affected by losses to USC that knocked the Bruins out of the Rose Bowl.

For that reason, a source said--and Hoolahan would neither confirm nor deny--that the Sugar still is leaning toward inviting ninth-ranked Ohio State (10-2), if all goes as expected this week in championship games in the Southeastern and Big 12 conferences and Tennessee and Nebraska win titles and automatic alliance-bowl bids.

Should that happen, the two would play in the Orange Bowl in Miami with hopes that Michigan falters in the Rose Bowl and a national championship could be won.

The Sugar was set to take Florida State and Penn State until the Nittany Lions were humbled Saturday at Michigan State, 49-14.

The Penn State loss switches the Nittany Lions and Ohio State between the Sugar and Citrus bowls, according to the source, but the door also has been opened for another look at UCLA.

At stake is an $8.47-million payout, which would go to the Big Ten if Ohio State plays in the Sugar, or the Pac-10 if UCLA is invited.

That works out to about $750,000 per conference school, which is the reason that this week will involve a make-nice duel between Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney and Hansen and the folks at the Sugar Bowl.

The Fiesta, the other alliance bowl, is left with the Big East champion, probably against Kansas State, which is ranked ninth . The Wildcats (10-1) have promised 35,000-40,000 fans for the Tempe, Ariz., game, spiked in part because their basketball team will also be in town, playing in the Fiesta Bowl tournament.

Still on the outside looking in is North Carolina (10-1), which is ranked right below UCLA. The Tar Heels are not ranked high enough to play in the Orange, could not have a rematch with Florida State in the Sugar and have been outbid for the Fiesta.

Bruin Coach Bob Toledo said Sunday that he expected UCLA would be going to the Cotton Bowl, which has contracted to invite the No. 2 team in the Pac-10.

A UCLA-Texas A&M; game is likely, if Nebraska beats the Aggies for the Big 12 title Saturday in San Antonio. Should Texas A&M; upset Nebraska, the alliance bowls would shuffle again, with Nebraska getting an at-large bid and Kansas State taking its 35,000-40,000 people to the Cotton Bowl.

Toledo also scotched a report in a Texas newspaper that he is a candidate to replace John Mackovic, who was fired as the Longhorns’ coach on Saturday.

“They have not called me. I have talked with no one there,” Toledo said. “I have a contract and I’m back home. Why would I want to leave?”

In October, Toledo, a California native, received a contract extension through the 2000 season.