Miami-Ohio State in Fiesta Bowl

No surprise in the Fiesta Bowl: It's No. 1 Miami vs. No. 2 Ohio State in the BCS national title game. But the Orange Bowl has a matchup that looks more suited for Pasadena than Miami. <br><br>Iowa

Sunday, December 8th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

No surprise in the Fiesta Bowl: It's No. 1 Miami vs. No. 2 Ohio State in the BCS national title game. But the Orange Bowl has a matchup that looks more suited for Pasadena than Miami.

Iowa and Southern California will play in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2 in a game that already has taken on a new nickname _ Rose Bowl East.

And Rose Bowl officials aren't happy about their traditional Big Ten-Pac-10 matchup being played in a stadium 3,000 miles away.

``I know the Rose Bowl is very concerned about it,'' BCS coordinator and Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said Sunday. ``Clearly, the Rose Bowl people would prefer to have the Big Ten-Pac-10 matchup. They've expressed their concern about it. But everybody abided by the rules.''

The Rose Bowl will feature Pac-10 champion Washington State against Big 12 winner Oklahoma. The Sugar Bowl matches SEC champion Georgia against ACC champion Florida State to complete the pairings in the four Bowl Championship Series games.

The Orange Bowl, with the first pick after the Fiesta Bowl pairing, chose Iowa. And when it came time for its second pick, both the Orange and Sugar wanted USC. However, a BCS rule states that if two bowls want the same team, the bowl with the higher payoff has the option.

So the Orange went for the Trojans, and set up a game between co-champions of the Pac-10 and Big Ten conferences.

``Traditionally, we want to go to the Rose Bowl,'' Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. ``But with the BCS, the traditions have been broken.''

Keith Tribble, executive director of the Orange Bowl, said the decision was strictly business.

``I hope and I think they understand,'' Tribble said of the other bowls. ``We're all trying to do what's best no only for the universities and student-athletes but the fans. Nothing that was done was done to be hurtful in any way. It was done in a sense of us trying to create what was good for the South Florida area, what was good for our economy, what was good for our bowl, and we had an opportunity to do it.''

With the release of the final BCS standings Sunday, the bowl matchups finally came into focus. The national title matchup of Miami (12-0) against Ohio State (13-0) was just a formality since both teams have already accepted bids to the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 3.

The Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 has a nice storyline, too _ Georgia coach Mark Richt against his former boss, Bobby Bowden. Florida State is 9-4.

Notre Dame (10-2) was the biggest loser in the bowl sweepstakes, aced out of the at-large spots by Iowa and USC. The Irish, beaten 44-13 by USC on Nov. 30, will play North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl.

Each team playing in a BCS game receives about $13 million, which is split among conference members. Notre Dame, as an independent, would have kept all the money. The Gator payout is $1.6 million per team.

A Miami-Ohio State matchup has been anticipated for weeks. The Buckeyes completed their season with a victory over Michigan on Nov. 23. The Hurricanes closed out their second straight perfect regular season with a wild 56-45 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel knows all about tradition, but the Buckeyes have their priorities right _ national title first, Rose Bowl second.

``We went into this season with our No. 1 goal of having the opportunity to play in the Fiesta Bowl,'' Tressel said. ``Our No. 2 goal, the Rose Bowl, is an important thing to every Big Ten member and every Pac-10 team. I don't think anyone is sitting here feeling bad because that it happens to be the Fiesta Bowl for the top two spots.

``We would like to experience the Rose Bowl, but this year, the goal is the Fiesta Bowl.''

Miami, led by Heisman Trophy contenders Ken Dorsey and Willis McGahee, will try to become just the second team to repeat as national champions since 1980, and first since Nebraska in 1994-95. Ohio State, led by running back Maurice Clarett and a solid defense, goes for its first national crown since 1968.

``They do have a great defense, and I'm just looking at the stats,'' Miami coach Larry Coker said. ``I really haven't seen Ohio State other than a little on television. And then our offense. That will be an excellent matchup. Of course, let's not put their offense down with Maurice Clarett. He's an excellent back.''

While each of the BCS games has regional tie-ins, the selection rules do not prevent bowls from ending up with both at-large teams. Champions of the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC earn automatic BCS spots.

The Orange Bowl may be the most intriguing game outside the Fiesta Bowl. The Hawkeyes (11-1) and Trojans (10-2) feature two Heisman-contending quarterbacks. Iowa's Brad Banks was the nation's top-rated passer with 2,369 yards and 25 touchdowns, while Carson Palmer threw for 3,639 yards and 32 TDs.

Rose Bowl officials may be upset, but Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is elated his team will play in Pasadena for the first time.

``I think it's great, every once in a while you get a different conference in a different bowl,'' Stoops said. ``It's just a little different. I think it's a rare, special opportunity that I know we've embraced.''

Without a playoff, the BCS system will never please everyone.

``The system has never, ever been perfect,'' Tranghese said. ``But the BCS was never intended to be a perfect solution. We're not perfect.''

In the final BCS standings, Miami was first with 2.93 points, with Ohio State second at 3.97 points.

Georgia (12-1), which won its first SEC title in 20 years with a 30-3 victory over Arkansas on Saturday, was third at 8.37 points. USC finished with 10.51 points, and Iowa had 10.79 points.

By finishing fourth in the BCS standings, USC was guaranteed a BCS game. With Georgia in the Sugar as SEC champs, Iowa was the only one-loss team available.

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Here's the rest of the bowl lineup:

New Orleans (Dec. 17): North Texas (7-5) vs. Cincinnati (7-6).

GMAC (Dec. 18): Marshall (10-2) vs. Louisville (7-5).

Tangerine (Dec. 23): Clemson (7-5) vs. Texas Tech (8-5)

Las Vegas (Dec. 25): UCLA (7-5) vs. New Mexico (7-6).

Hawaii (Dec. 25): Tulane (7-5) vs. Hawaii (9-3).

Insight (Dec. 26): Oregon State (8-4) vs. Pittsburgh (8-4)

Motor City (Dec. 26): Toledo (9-4) vs. Boston College (8-4).

Holiday Bowl (Dec. 27): Kansas State (10-2) vs. Arizona State (8-5).

Houston (Dec. 27): Oklahoma State (7-5) vs. Southern Mississippi (7-5)

Independence (Dec. 27): Nebraska (7-6) vs. Mississippi (6-6)

Alamo (Dec. 28): Colorado (9-4) vs. Wisconsin (7-6)

Continental Tire (Dec. 28): West Virginia (9-3) vs. Virginia (8-5)

Music City (Dec. 30): Minnesota (7-5) vs. Arkansas (9-4)

Seattle (Dec. 30) Wake Forest (6-6) vs. Oregon (7-5)

Humanitarian (Dec. 31): Iowa State (7-6) vs. Boise State (11-1)

Liberty (Dec. 31) Colorado State (10-3) vs. TCU (9-2).

Peach (Dec. 31): Maryland (10-3) vs. Tennessee (8-4).

San Francisco (Dec. 31): Air Force (8-4) vs. Virginia Tech (9-4).

Silicon Valley Classic (Dec. 31): Fresno State (8-5) vs. Georgia Tech (7-5)

Sun (Dec. 31): Washington (7-5) vs. Purdue (6-6)

Cotton (Jan. 1): LSU (8-4) vs. Texas (10-2)

Outback (Jan. 1): Michigan (9-3) vs. Florida (8-4).

Capital One (Jan. 1): Penn State (9-3) vs. Auburn (8-4).

Gator (Jan. 1): Notre Dame (10-2) vs. North Carolina State (10-3).