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ByRalphD.Russo TheAssociatedPress FloridaStatemovedintothe Atlantic Coast Conference and Penn State joined the Big Ten. South Carolina landed in the Southeastern Conference. The Big East gathered Miami, Syr- acuse, Virginia Tech, West Vir- ginia and Pittsburgh. As most of the powerful ma- jor-college football indepen- dents joined conferences in the early 1990s, it was becoming more difficult to create bowl matchups that helped poll vot- ers determine which team was No. 1 at the end of the season. Roy Kramer, commissioner of the SEC from 1990-2002, recog- nized what the changing land- scape and tie-ins between con- ferences and bowls were doing to the postseason, and crafted a solution that turned out to be the initial steps toward the Col- lege Football Playoff. "As we began to look at it, and the fans were talking about it and so forth, there was an in- terest in putting together the possibility where if you had the No. 1 and 2 teams available that they would meet," Kramer told the AP recently. What started as the Bowl Co- alition grew into the Bowl Alli- ance and eventually became the BowlChampionshipSeries.Asthe postseasonchangedinthe 1990s, TheAssociatedPresscollegefoot- ball poll's role changed, too. The AP was and still is crowning a champion, but those in charge of setting the bowl matchups were making it easier for the voters to make their final choice. The 1990s started with two so-called split championships, when the media members vot- ing on the AP poll had a differ- ent final No. 1 from those voting in the coaches' poll conducted by the other major wire service, United Press International. In 1990, AP crowned Col- orado and the coaches voted Georgia Tech No. 1. The next season Miami (AP) and Wash- ington (coaches) each claimed a national title after unbeaten seasons as the Pac-10's agree- ment with the Rose Bowl did not allow the Huskies to play the Hurricanes. It might seem bizarre now but for decades that was the norm in college football. In 1992, the Bowl Coalition was formed and arranged a Sugar Bowl with No. 1 Miami and No. 2 Alabama that made for a nice tidy championship when the Crimson Tide rolled. The Big Ten, Pac-10 and Rose Bowl were not part of the new structure but the model worked just fine until 1997. That season No. 1 Michigan beat No. 8 Washington State in the Rose Bowl and was voted na- tional champ by the AP. No. 2 Ne- braska beat No. 3 Tennessee in the Orange Bowl and the coaches voted the Cornhuskers No. 1. After much negotiating and assurances to Rose Bowl of- ficials that their game would rarely be played without at least one of its long-term conference partners, the Big Ten and Pac-12 got on board and the BCS was born in 1998. And, of course, when the very firstBCSstandingswerereleased in late October, UCLA from the Pac-10 was No. 1 and Ohio State from the Big Ten was No. 2, meaning neither would be play- ing in the Rose Bowl if that held. "That had never happened in about 50 years and that was our sales pitch to them, to the Rose Bowl," Kramer said. COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWLS, ROLE OF AP POLL CHANGE IN 1990S CHRISO'MEARA—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Florida players dance on the 50-yard line a er defeating the Florida State Seminoles 32-29, in Gainesville, Fla. The Gators and Seminoles met 12times during the decade and the lowest ranking either team entered the game with was No. 11. The Associated Press SAN ANDRES DE TEIXIDO, SPAIN Rookie rider Lilian Calmejane of France won the fourth stage of the Spanish Vuelta on Tuesday, while Colombian Darwin Ata- puma took the overall lead of the grand tour. Calmejane broke away from a large escape group before the fi- nal climb of the 163.5-kilometer (101.5-mile) route from Betan- zos to the San Andres de Teixido summit with its dramatic views of the Atlantic Ocean. The 23-year-old Direct En- ergie rider, who turned profes- sional this season, finished the hilly stage in 4 hours, 5 minutes, 19 seconds for his first major vic- tory. "It's incredible," Calmejane said. "It's my first year as a pro and my first grand tour. My goal was to win a stage, and it's the fourth stage and I have won (al- ready. What comes in) the future of the Vuelta is now a bonus." BMC's Atapuma crossed 15 seconds later — enough to claim the leader's red jersey from Ru- ben Fernandez. American rider Benjamin King finished third, while Chris Froome and fellow title hopefuls Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Val- verde and Alberto Contador all crossed in a tight bunch more than two minutes after Calme- jane. Overall, Atapuma leads sec- ond-place Valverde by 29 sec- onds, with Froome, Quintana and Esteban Chaves within an- other 10 seconds. Three-time race winner Contador, who has struggled so far at this edition, sits in 13th at almost two min- utes off the pace. "To have the red jersey of the Vuelta is a dream come true," At- apuma said. "We will try to keep this maillot as long as we can." The race remains in north- western Spain on Wednesday. SPANISH VUELTA CYCLING Calmejane wins 4th stage, Atapuma takes overall lead The Associated Press ALAMEDA Raiders tight end Colton Underwood said he never anticipated the kind of attention he would get when he sent gym- nast Aly Raisman a video asking the Olympic gold medalist out on a date. "I was just asking a girl on a date and it sort of turned into something much bigger," Un- derwood said Tuesday. "She did a great job and her whole team did of representing the USA. So I felt like it was only right for me to send a congratulations and extend an offer when she got back and had some down time." Underwood is a second-year tight end trying to land a spot on the Raiders' 53-man roster. That will be a tougher challenge than getting Raisman to agree to go out on a double date with Under- wood and teammate Andrew East and East's wife, former Olympian Shawn Johnson. Raisman won a gold medal and two silvers at the Rio de Ja- neiro Games. After receiving the video from Underwood, the 22-year-old tweeted out her ac- ceptance. The story, along with the video, quickly made the rounds through- out Raiders headquarters. "I was like, 'Hey man, you put yourself out on a limb there,"' Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said. "I'm just happy for him that she said yes. That's a lonely feel- ing being out there on a limb. He's really a good guy. I hope it works out for him." Underwood and Raisman have spoken since the video and Ra- isman, along with some of her teammates, will be in nearby San Jose next month as part of a champions tour. "She's actually scheduled to be out here in September so I'm looking forward to attending that show and catching up with her," Underwood said. NFL Underwoodlooksforwardtodate Raiders' tight end, gold medalist Raisman agree to hang out DMITRI LOVETSKY — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Olympian Aly Raisman accepted an invitation by Raiders' tight end Colton Underwood to go out on a double date. Scoreboard MLB NATIONALLEAGUE WEST DIVISION W L Pct GB LosAngeles 69 55 .556 _ Giants 68 56 .548 1 Colorado 60 65 .480 91/2 San Diego 53 72 .424 161/2 Arizona 52 73 .416 171/2 CENTRAL DIVISION W L Pct GB Chicago 79 45 .637 _ St. Louis 66 57 .537 121/2 Pittsburgh 63 60 .512 151/2 Milwaukee 54 70 .435 25 Cincinnati 54 71 .432 251/2 EAST DIVISION W L Pct GB Washington 73 52 .584 _ Miami 65 60 .520 8 New York 62 62 .500 101/2 Philadelphia 58 68 .460 151/2 Atlanta 45 80 .360 28 Tuesday's games Baltimore 8, Washington 1 Pittsburgh 7, Houston 1 Cincinnati 3, Texas 0 Kansas City 1, Miami 0 Chicago White Sox 9, Philadelphia 1 Colorado at Milwaukee, (n.) N.Y. Mets at St. Louis, (n.) Atlanta at Arizona, (n.) Chicago Cubs at San Diego, (n.) Giants at L.A. Dodgers, (n.) Wednesday's games Houston (McHugh 7-10) at Pittsburgh (Cole 7-8), 9:35 a.m. Colorado (Anderson 4-4) at Milwaukee (Davies 9-6), 11:10 a.m. Chicago Cubs (Hendricks 11-7) at San Diego (Clemens 2-2), 12:40 p.m. Baltimore (Miley 7-10) at Washington (Roark 13-6), 4:05 p.m. Kansas City (Gee 5-6) at Miami (Fernandez 12-7), 4:10 p.m. Texas (Darvish 4-3) at Cincinnati (Adleman 2-1), 4:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Eickhoff 8-12) at Chicago White Sox (Rodon 3-8), 5:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets (deGrom 7-6) at St. Louis (Martinez 11-7), 5:15 p.m. Atlanta (Teheran 3-9) at Arizona (Greinke 11-4), 6:40 p.m. Giants (Cueto 14-3) at L.A. Dodgers (Hill 9-3), 7:10 p.m. AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST DIVISION W L Pct GB Texas 73 53 .579 _ Seattle 67 57 .540 5 Houston 65 61 .516 8 A's 53 72 .424 191/2 Los Angeles 52 73 .416 201/2 CENTRAL DIVISION W L Pct GB Cleveland 72 51 .585 _ Detroit 65 59 .524 71/2 Kansas City 65 60 .520 8 Chicago 60 64 .484 121/2 Minnesota 49 75 .395 231/2 EAST DIVISION W L Pct GB Toronto 71 54 .568 _ Boston 71 54 .568 _ Baltimore 69 56 .552 2 New York 63 61 .508 71/2 Tampa Bay 52 72 .419 181/2 Tuesday's games Baltimore 8, Washington 1 Pittsburgh 7, Houston 1 Toronto 7, L.A. Angels 2 Boston 2, Tampa Bay 1 Cincinnati 3, Texas 0 Kansas City 1, Miami 0 Chicago White Sox 9, Philadelphia 1 Detroit at Minnesota, (n.) Cleveland at A's, (n.) N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, (n.) Wednesday's games Houston (McHugh 7-10) at Pittsburgh (Cole 7-8), 9:35 a.m. Cleveland (Bauer 9-5) at A's (Graveman 9-8), 12:35 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (Tanaka 10-4) at Seattle (LeBlanc 3-0), 12:40 p.m. Baltimore (Miley 7-10) at Washington (Roark 13-6), 4:05 p.m. L.A. Angels (Shoemaker 7-13) at Toronto (Estrada 7-5), 4:07 p.m. Boston (Porcello 17-3) at Tampa Bay (Andriese 6-5), 4:10 p.m. Kansas City (Gee 5-6) at Miami (Fernandez 12-7), 4:10 p.m. Texas (Darvish 4-3) at Cincinnati (Adleman 2-1), 4:10 p.m. Detroit (Boyd 4-2) at Minnesota (Duffey 8-9), 5:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Eickhoff 8-12) at Chicago White Sox (Rodon 3-8), 5:10 p.m. Indians 1, Athletics 0 (Monday's box) Cleveland Oakland AB R H B AB R H B C.Sntna 1b 3 1 1 1 Crisp dh 4 0 1 0 Kipnis 2b 4 0 1 0 Smlnski cf 4 0 1 0 Lindor ss 4 0 1 0 Vogt c 3 0 0 0 Napoli dh 4 0 1 0 Vlencia ph 1 0 0 0 Jose.Rm 3b 4 0 0 0 K.Davis lf 4 0 0 0 Chsnhll rf 4 0 2 0 Alonso 1b 3 0 0 0 Naquin cf 4 0 1 0 Healy 3b 3 0 2 0 A.Almnt lf 3 0 0 0 Eibner rf 3 0 0 0 R.Perez c 3 0 0 0 Muncy 2b 3 0 0 0 Pinder ss 3 0 0 0 Totals 33 1 7 1 31 0 4 0 Cleveland 000 000 010 — 1 Oakland 000 000 000 — 0 E: Kipnis (8); LOB: Cleveland 6, Oakland 4; 2B: Kip- nis (28), Chisenhall (21), Crisp (24); HR: C.Santana (27); CS: Naquin (2). SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, August 24, 2016 MORE ATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1