The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 31

THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1988 SECTION 3MO Par ravaged at TucsonC-3 U.S wins Wightman CupC-3 Bell has point to proveC-1 1 Uncertainty hangs over UKC-12 Leonard shoots for two titlesC-13 Record field for marathonC-17 i EDITOR: GREG NOBLE, 369-1917 Sroimrs Meyer optimistic, realistic about future Tim Sullivan program is on sound footing, either. One game, one event, one circumstance does not make a program. What areas need serious attention? Obviously we need to implement the final stages of our compliance program. It's obvious that we need attention on the football side also. It's fair to say we need an improvement in the football program.

The same for basketball. Regarding your compliance program, why wasn't it stronger than it could have been? A compliance program is a relatively new concept to major college athletics. In other words, it's an area that's been created only over the last three or four years. When we instituted an official part-time person in Tom Keefe, we were one of 50 or 60 schools to have a compliance officer. Prior to that, it had been (Please see MEYER, Page C-16) program and are in the process of putting that in place.

We wanted to wait to see what the reply was from the NCAA so that we knew what areas they wanted us (to shore up). The areas where we had a shortfall, those were patched up immediately. Those commitments were made last fall. Now we need to go out and start the educational side and then do the audit work behind that. Those are the kinds of things going through my mind today.

There are a lot of negatives surrounding your program right now. Are you still able to be upbeat in the face of all this? I'm still optimistic about the future, but I'm also realistic. I recognize that there are areas that need serious attention. I also believe nothing is ever as bad or as good as it seems. If we had just beaten Louisville, 40-0, last week (UC lost, 21-6), that wouldn't mean our athletic I' I (v 11 W.

Virginia survives mild; UC uprisin; On Thursday, the NCAA placed the Univer sity of Cincinnati on three years' probation for 12 violations football and men basketball occurring over the last four years. On Friday, Enquirer reporter Tom Groeschen met with UC athletic director Carl Meyer his office to discuss the violations and UC's plans for the future. Question: How's your frame of mind one day after the NCAA announced its penalties? Meyer: What you should do in adverse conditions is assess not only yourself but obviously the things you're doing and empha size the strengths, tor instance, the Shoemak er project is something to be very excited about. You're looking at the strengths and shoring up the weaknesses, if you will. We've worked very hard on our new compliance One bright spot for UC was a touchdown At a glance WHO: Pittsburgh Steelers (2-7) vs.

Cincinnati Bengals (7-2). WHEN: 1 p.m. WHERE: Riverfront Stadium. RADIO: WKRC-AM (550) (Phil Samp, Dave Lapham and Ken Anderson). TV: Channels 5, 22 (Jim Donovan and Joe Namath).

TICKETS: Sold out. ODDS: Bengals favored by 8. Inside Resurgent Patriots Mike Dodd's NFL report, Page C-14. Steelers may be down, but can still cause trouble, Page C-14. Rosters, statistics, Page C-14.

Browns travel to Houston for Monday night game, Page C-15. Today's NFL games, Page C-15. "JAjzS i tV BY TOM GROESCHEN The Cincinnati Enquirer The final score said West Virginia 51, Cincinnati 13, but the margin is somewhat misleading. Somewhat. The Bearcats gave the nationally fourth-ranked Mountaineers a battle roy-ale for one half Saturday afternoon at Riverfront Stadium.

UC was within four points, 17-13, with under a minute left in the first half. But then West Virginia struck for a 68-yard touchdown pass with 42 seconds left in the first half, making it 24-13. "That touchdown really broke us," UC defensive tackle Chris Asbeck lamented afterward. "Physically, I Wit Carl Meyer tough week for AD At a glance HOW AP TOP 20 FARED 1 Notre Dame def Rice, 54-1 1 2. Southern Cal def.

California, 35-3 3. Miami def. Tulsa, 34-3 4. W. Virginia def.

Cincinnati, 51-13 5. Florida St. def. S.Carolina, 59-0 6. UCLA def.

Oregon, 16-6 7. Nebraska def. Iowa 51-16 8. Oklahoma def. Okla.

31-28 9. Auburn def. S. Mississippi, 38-8 10. Wyoming def.

UTEP, 51-6 1 1 Arkansas def. Baylor, 33-3 12. Okla. St. lost to Oklahoma, 31-28 1 3.

LSU def. Alabama, 19-18 14. Michigan def. Minnesota, 22-7 15. S.

Carolina lost to Fla. 59-0 16. Syracuse def. Navy, 49-21 17. Clemson def.

N.Carolina, 37-14 18. Alabama lost to LSU, 19-18 1 9. Georgia def. Florida, 26-3 20. BYU vs.

San Diego night 20. Indiana lost to Illinois, 21-20 37-yard drive following a fumble recovery. The other was on a 65-yard touchdown strike to Eddie Brown against cornerback Delton Hall, who is now on the bench. The 302 yards total offense were a season-low for the Bengals until last week. The 116 yards rushing were their second-lowest figure in the first nine games.

Noll may not want to shake hands with Sam Wyche, but he has a firm grip on how to keep the Bengals' offense reasonably in check. "For some reason, Pittsburgh always seems to bog our offense down," guard Max Montoya said. "We usually can't do much. I don't remember scoring a whole bunch of points. Maybe one time in my 10 (Please see BENGALS, Page C-16) think we matched up all right today." But the Mountaineers shifted to overdrive after halftime, UC chipped in with three turnovers and the expected rout materialized.

West Virginia, 9-0 and almost certainly a major bowl team, backed up Las Vegas oddsmakers who made them a 38-point favorite Saturday. (Please see BEARCATS, Page C-16) College football roundup, Page C-4-9. W. Virginia's sentiment one of sympathy Basil Proctor had considered the University of Cincinnati. He had planned a lecruiting visit to the Clifton campus his senior year in high school, but something came up that weekend.

Before he could reschedule the trip, he had already signed his letter-of-intent. West Virginia's junior linebacker could not help but wonder what might have been Saturday afternoon. Surveying the wreckage of UC's football program from the sideline of the fourth-ranked Mountaineers Saturday, Proctor imagined himself in Bearcat cleats two days into a three-year probation, five touchdowns behind at the start of the fourth quarter. College football oblivion. "I was trying to put myself in their place," Proctor said following West Virginia's 51-13 blowout of the Bearcats.

"I thought about how a sophomore or a freshman would feel about being put on probation for three years. That's almost like the death penalty. They've got nothing to play for." UC not taken seriously A week removed from its wild watershed victory over Perm State, the Mountaineers' strongest emotion Saturday was sympathy. They had a hard time convincing themselves UC was a serious threat, even when the Bearcats trailed by only four points, at 17-13, in the final minute of the first half. Asked about his attitude at that stage of the game, Mountaineer coach Don Nehlen was cruelly candid: "I wasn't concerned about losing the game," he said.

Dave Currey's Bearcats were valiant, but they were destined to be overwhelmed. Notre Dame would probably much prefer playing West Virginia for the national championship to a rematch with Miami, but the Mountaineers mauled UC on a day when they were unusually sloppy and comparatively undermanned. Nehlen left four starters in Morgan-town because of injuries and lost star quarterback Major Harris to a hip pointer early in the second half. Still, the Mountaineers managed to match the 38-point spread without a single touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. The real suspense at Riverfront Stadium Saturday was seeing which bowl scout showed up in the ugliest blazer.

"We kind of went through the motions todav." Nehlen told reporters. "In the first we were lethargic. But some body said, 'Don, when you score 51 points and you re mad, something wrong. 'Like a practice scrimmage' If nothing else, it's bad manners. Yet it is a sign of West Virginia's prosperity that Nehlen could take a oU-point penormance for eranted.

Saturday's was the Mountain eers' third straight 50-olus effort and their fifth nf the season. Rv contrast. UC's last 54 Doints have been scored over six games, all losses, a stretch in which the Bearcats have allowed 243 Doints. It's a distressing streak, one which ought to make UC officials consider not only Currey's continued em-nlnvment but whether the school mieht be better served competing at a more realis tic level. The Rearcats have crown so Dainful to watch that Saturday, despite the 10,000 tickets purchased by Carl Lindner and an announced attendance of 21,511, Riverfront Stadium was no more than one-fnnrth full.

Most of those who braved the chilly conditions wore West Virginia colors and sat scattered through the upper Herlf rf the stadium. A week ago, Mountaineer fans had brought a premature end to the Perm State game by storming the field and laying siege to the goalposts. Saturday, they barely shrugged in their celebration. "Last week we played one of the biggest games in the history of the school," Harris said. "Today, it felt like a practice scrimmage because the fans were spaced out all over the stadium.

"It's hard to get into a game like that. I felt we came out lackadaisical in the first half. But once we got it going in the second half, we took it to 'em." Reggie Rembert, who caught two first-half touchdown passes from Harris, added a third score on a 51-yard end around. Running between two UC defenders, Rembert was so confident no one could catch him that he raised his arms (and the football) in triumph fully 22 yards from the end zone. West Virginia didn't have any doubts Saturday, just some doldrums.

"We don't come out real charged up," Rembert said, "when we think we're going to blow a team out." Tim Sullivan is Enquirer sports columnist. Glenn Hartong for The Cincinnati Enquirer pass from Don Hoog (14) to Leonard Cry (36). 'Nervous' Bengals await Steelers We've always had problems offensively. "I just hope the guys on our team realize that. The 2-7 Pittsburgh Steelers are not 2-7 when they play the Cincinnati Bengals.

They never have been." Two years ago, the 5-2 Bengals rolled into Pittsburgh on a three-game winning streak to meet the 1-6 Steelers. Chuck Noll's crew pounded Cincinnati, 30-9, rushing for 238 yards. It ultimately cost the Bengals a wild-card berth in the playoffs. And just six weeks ago, the Bengals' offense struggled badly in a 17-12 victory in Three Rivers that wouldn't have been secured were it not for six turnovers produced by the Cincinnati defense. One Bengals touchdown came on a BY MIKE DODD The Cincinnati Enquirer Around the NFL, today's game in Riverfront Stadium is considered a "gimme" for Cincinnati.

Around the Bengals, it had better not be. Recent history dictates the Bengals have their paws full whenever they play the Pittsburgh Steelers. And today's outing at 1 p.m. is too important to treat lightly. "This game makes me nervous," receiver Cris Collinsworth said Saturday.

"This one as much as any team we've played in a while, because people just expect us to win. "It makes me nervous because I know how our games have gone with these guys. Alysheba strikes gold in Breeders' Classic Elder runs to victory Unbeaten Panthers win Class AAA title 'V Winners Sprint Gulch Juvenile Fillies Open Mind Distaff Personal Ensign Mile Miesque Juvenile Is It True Turf Great Communicator Classic Alysheba RmuIIs, Pag C-2. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LOUISVILLE, Ky. Alysheba became history's richest racehorse when he beat Seeking the Gold by a half-length and nightfall by a few minutes Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Also shining brightly on a damp, dismal day was the filly Personal Ensign, who won a race it looked like she had no chance of winning. It was a big day for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, too, but Lukas does well in any weather when it comes to the Breeders' Cup. Alysheba took the lead about 70 yards from home and won the $3 million Breeders' Cup Classic. The first money of $1,350,000 ners scored before another Southview runner finished.

"You have to count five," said a happy Elder coach Steve Spencer. "It was a whole team effort." "Not one of us did anything great as an individual," said Elder's top finisher, Terry McLean, a sophomore who finished 13th in 16:42. "We all did it as a team." "We knew we could do it," said junior Jeremy Keller, who sat out last week's regional with a sore ankle, but still claimed 14th in 16:49. just had to run to our potential." Senior Don Wash (22nd, senior Mike Brubaker (25th, 17:06) and senior Rich Witterstaett (28th, 17:08) rounded out the Elder scoring. Sophomore Mark Westrich came home 42nd and junior Joe Sunderman closed at 71st.

Spencer credited team spirit as the catalyst for the Panthers' third state title of the decade (1982 and 1986). Undefeated season doesn't help Withrow, Page C-18. BY ALLEN RAINEY Enquirer Contributor COLUMBUS, Ohio Elder captured the Ohio Class AAA cross country championship Saturday, capping its first undefeated season and gaining revenge for last season's one-point loss to Sylvania Southview. The Panthers, winning their third state title in seven years, scored just 70 points in the cold and rain on the very sloppy Scioto Downs course. Southview was second with 98 points.

The Panthers' total was the second lowest AAA score since 1970. Cole-rain scored 48 points in 1978. Lakota's girls team, ranked No. 1 in the state, finished fifth in the Class AAA race. No other Cincinnati-area teams finished among the top 10.

Elder's runaway was more amazing since none of its runners placed in the top 12. Southview placed two runners in the top 12, including winner Dave Briggs but five Elder run gave him a career bankroll of (Please see BREEDERS' CUP, Page C-16) Breeders' Cup Notebook, Page C-10. MONDAY: Parties, people at the races, in Tempo. The Associated Press Terry McLean was Elder's top finisher in 16:42.