Erickson Bowls Irish Over With Coaching, Not Attitude

The Fiesta Bowl validated both Mike Garrett and Steve Sample’s decisions regarding the search and hiring of a football coach at USC. Garrett wanted the best coach available and Erickson certainly proved that he was the man. Sample, on the other hand, did not want USC to become the West Coast version of Miami, where Erickson was referred to as “the Warden” during his tenure as coach there.

The strutting, boorish, immature behavior of the Oregon State players confirmed Sample’s earlier decision to override his athletic director’s choice and to hire a coach who has the promise to bring credibility to the football program both on and off the field.

DOUG HAYS, Glendale

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Dear Bill Dwyre:

Did you happen to read T.J. Simers’ Jan. 2 column? Since when does The Times publish this kind of drivel?

Mr. Simers is clearly living in the past. Notre Dame has become the laughingstock of college football, not the traditional power he imagines. The pageantry and glory are long gone.

Not only do they have a football program featuring a cupcake schedule and a doofus coach, but consider the following:

They call themselves the Irish, but the school has a French name that they mispronounce and half of their band wears Scottish kilts. Is this an identity crisis or what? Most Saturdays they can’t even decide what color jerseys to wear.

On second thought, maybe Mr. Simers is right. Notre Dame might be good for the Rose Bowl after all. We could all use the comic relief.

MICHAEL JOHNSON, Westlake

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I was pretty upset about Notre Dame getting to play in a big-money BCS bowl game instead of a dozen or so more deserving teams, but seeing the Irish take that savage beating from Oregon State somehow made it all worthwhile.

ROB OSBORNE, Redondo Beach

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Take Notre Dame away from its home field, officials and creampuff schedule and it looks like a Division II program.

MIKE MAHONEY, Newport Beach

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I’m not certain, for I slept through the final quarter, but did a plodding bunch of corn-fed dirt farmers from Oklahoma send a pack of hyper Floridian purebreds home crying with their tails between their legs, thereby finding a way to shut the amazing trap of Bobby Bowden (at least until next season)?

DAN JENSEN, San Clemente

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After the Sugar Bowl victory over Florida, the Miami coach stated that the team that beat the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 teams should be national champion. Logic follows that the team that beat the team that beat the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 teams should be ranked higher than national champions.

STEVE SCHIOLDAGER, Los Angeles

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Forget about the whole split-championship thing: We should get rid of the BCS so we don’t have to listen to Brent Musburger’s inane commentary to ring in every new year.

DAVID BURKE, Los Angeles

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Can I have a nickel for every letter you get comparing the BCS/AP polls to the presidential election? I’ll start.

GARY DURRETT, Glendale