By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Staff
Roses could smell just a little bit sweeter on Jan. 3, when the Rose Bowl in Pasadena plays host to college football’s national championship game.
Historically pitting the Pac-10 champion against the Big 10 victor on New Year’s Day, the “Granddaddy of Them All” takes on new flair this season as part of the Bowl Championship Series. The game will feature a matchup between the No. 1 and 2 teams in the nation according to BCS rankings, a system which incorporates overall record, difficulty of schedule, and point differential.
The 2002 Rose Bowl could mark the first time in 55 years that Big 10 or Pac-10 champions do not represent their conferences in Pasadena. The Rose Bowl’s exclusive contract with the two leagues ended in 1998 when Big 10 and Pac-10 teams became eligible for the BCS championship game. The 52-year agreement was the longest of its type in the history of college football.
“I’m a traditional guy,” UCLA head coach Bob Toledo said. “It’s kind of strange for me to see they are going to have this Rose Bowl parade, and there’s no game that day. It’s kind of hard for me to comprehend right now.”
Despite the break from tradition, having the national championship game in Pasadena gives many Bruins added incentive to reach their goals.
“We know that game is played in our back yard,” said Bruin senior linebacker Robert Thomas. “And we’ll be damned if anybody is going to play in that game but us.”
The Bruins could conceivably win the Pac-10 and still not play in the Rose Bowl this year if their BCS ranking is not high enough. Although this changes the consequences of final standings, it does not change the team’s goals going into the regular season.
“People just keep playing, and they really don’t worry about those kinds of things,” Toledo said. “Ultimately you try to play for a national championship, but there are other bowl games.”
In addition to providing a possible extra home game for UCLA, the Rose Bowl as the national championship game could give added exposure by shifting the nation’s focus out West.
“It’s nice that the championship moved out to the West Coast,” UCLA linebacker Marcus Reese said. “It’s something different. All the national championship teams seem to be in the East. It seems like the Rose Bowl was always a big bowl game, but never the championship games.”
With a very competitive Pac-10 conference, it is possible that a team from the West will finally gain center stage in the college football theater. A Pac-10 team has not played in the national championship game since the BCS started.
Regardless of the participants, whoever plays on Jan. 3 will not only get to play for the national championship, but they’ll get to do so with the sweet smell of roses permeating the air.