We’re in the second week of January and America has yet to crown the national champion. And the Rose Bowl Parade took place on January 2. My response will be brief, but could be a graduate thesis. The Illinois/UCLA game was emblematic of numerous problems. I forget the name of the bowl game in which they competed. I do know it was not the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsetta Bowl. Neither team had a winning record as IL was 6-6 and UCLA was 6-7. Illinois was the first team ever to lose six straight games and qualify for a bowl game. UCLA had to receive special permission from the NCAA to compete due to a losing record. Why did UCLA get to compete against the Illini? Well, USC (University of Spoiled Children), the true first place winner of one division of the Pac 10, which does not have 10 teams, had been barred from bowl competition because of Bush’s scandal. I believe the Heisman winner was the only person caught and deemed guilty. UCLA lost the game so a bowl team ended the season with eight losses. Pathetic.
Illinois Vs. UCLA Recap, Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl 2011: The Stats that Mattered
