Letters

In what other sport do two teams share the national championship?
—JEFF DOYLE, Rochester Hills, Mich.

Co-champions
College football is the only sport left that almost demands perfection to win the national tide (It's Debatable, Jan. 12). A championship for being the best team over the course of the season means much more than one won in a playoff does.
SAM N. SHAH, New Canaan, Conn.

Once again the battle for the so-called national championship has been decided in the polls and not on the field. There's a demand for a real national championship game, but the NCAA doesn't want to put the bowl people out of business. Thanks, NCAA, for another anticlimactic season.
GREG OWENS, Wheaton, Ill.

Not wanting to hurl the bowls is a common argument for not instituting college football playoffs. Declining attendance indicates that the Alliance already has hurt bowls. The solution: Have playoffs in bowls. The lure of money and public demand eventually will bring about playoffs. Why wait any longer?
BILL WOODSIDE, Whitney, Texas

A flaw in the system is that teams are rewarded for scheduling pushovers and penalized for playing tough games.
SHARON GUICE, San Diego

That a national champion is decided differently in college football than in other sports does not mean the system is wrong. The pressure of the regular
season separates this sport from others. If your school's goal is the national championship, you play for the title at least 12 times a year.
JIMMY STEIN, Mobile, Ala.

I was mortified to see the players and coaches for both undefeated "champions" stand at their respective microphones and plead their cases for No. 1 votes. The game should be above all this. I, for one, will never complain when my team is the odd one out, because it gives me the right to argue that my team would have won anyway.
ED SHULTZ, Cincinnati

You pointed out Missouri's loss in the Alamo Bowl but forgot to mention that the six bowl teams Michigan beat during the regular season were win-less and got outscored 180-65. Meanwhile, the bowl teams that Nebraska beat were 2-2 and outscored their opponents 133-105.
ANDREW ALBRECHT, Aviano AFB, Italy

I would like to remind Nebraska fans that the Cornhuskers showed little interest in sharing the national title with Penn State when the tables were turned in 1994.
K. WAYNE ROBISON, McMurray, Pa.

Ivan Maisel went 13-2 in his bowl predictions (INSIDE COLLEGE FOOTBALL, Dec. 29-Jan. 5). He rightly picked Michigan to defeat Washington State in a close game. He correctly picked Arizona State over Iowa. And he boldly picked Colorado State over Missouri. Kudos to Maisel.
MARK J. FINCH, Chicago