Fiesta Bowl 'wide open' in team considerations

PHOENIX (AP) _ The Fiesta Bowl selection committee held its first meeting Monday and emerged carefully, not counting out any potential teams for the Jan. 1 game. <br><br>``We've decided that we're

Tuesday, November 21st 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PHOENIX (AP) _ The Fiesta Bowl selection committee held its first meeting Monday and emerged carefully, not counting out any potential teams for the Jan. 1 game.

``We've decided that we're still wide open on the possibilities,'' Fiesta Bowl executive director John Junker said.

If Notre Dame beats USC this weekend to improve to 9-2, the Fighting Irish are a strong contender despite their No. 11 ranking in the BCS list. Notre Dame's national reputation, huge following and attractiveness to ABC-TV could overwhelm any other factors.

``It would be very tough'' to say no to Notre Dame, Junker said. ``We would have a lot of people lobbying us that Notre Dame is a must-take, but that doesn't make it a sure thing now.''

Oregon State (10-1) is No. 5 in the BCS standings, represents a rags-to-riches story, and has fans hungry for a trip to a major bowl game.

``Those are all positives,'' Junker said. ``I don't know how the network would view Oregon State as a national game.''

If Oregon State ends up left out of the picture, the Beavers probably would wind up in the Holiday Bowl.

Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen has promised to lobby heavily for Oregon State to go to the Fiesta.

Both Junker and Fiesta Bowl chairman Steve Wheeler know that the BCS will be in for considerable criticism if the No. 5 team doesn't get a bid to a BCS bowl.

``But I think the more sophisticated folks realize the BCS bowls recognize more than national rankings,'' Junker said.

He mentioned conference affiliations, the ability to bring fans and teams desired by the television network as factors.

Fiesta Bowl officials are intrigued by the possibility of inviting Miami, which fell to third in the BCS rankings. Miami (9-1) could make a bid for the national title if it won big at the Fiesta Bowl while Florida State barely edged Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.

``We've had an excellent relationship with the University of Miami throughout the years,'' Wheeler said. ``They bring a lot to the table in terms of a very exciting team. We would certainly not rule them out, either. Assuming Miami wins out, you'd potentially be having a national championship game scenario.''

Junker noted that if No. 1 Oklahoma (10-0) is beaten by Kansas State (10-2) in the Big 12 championship game, Kansas State gets an automatic invitation to the Fiesta Bowl. Even if Oklahoma wins and plays for the national title in the Orange Bowl, Junker said Nebraska (8-2), which brought a huge following to the Fiesta Bowl last year, remains a candidate, as does Virginia Tech (9-1).