The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 39

The Salina Journal Sunday, November 4,1990 39 COLLEGE FOOTBALL NFL Colorado rocks Huskers, 27-12 LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) When Eric Bieniemy fumbled, Colorado stumbled. Then Bieniemy rumbled and Nebraska crumbled. Bieniemy fumbled four times and lost three through three quarters on a rainy afternoon, and No. 9 Colorado was staring at a 12-0 deficit.

Then the country's top rusher shredded the nation's stingiest defense for four touchdowns in 14 minutes. A 27-12 victory over the third- ranked Cornhuskers gave Colorado (8-1-1 overall, 5-0 Big Eight Conference) the inside track for a second straight Orange Bowl trip as Oklahoma rips Missouri See Page 45 league champion. Not since Missouri in 1941 has a team other than Oklahoma or Nebraska won consecutive Big Eight titles. "I was frustrated, disgusted, you name it," said Bieniemy, who got 137 yards, only 16 below his average, on 38 carries Saturday. "It was just basically a lack of concentration." "I told him nobody felt worse than he did and that he's got to go in and cover the ball better, and he did," Colorado coach Bill McCartney said.

Nebraska (8-1, 4-1) "probably played well enough for three quarters to put it away," coach Tom Osborne said. "We missed a couple of scoring opportunities and that hurt. At the end of the third quarter and in the fourth quarter they got some things going." Colorado did it against a defense which led the nation in fewest points and yards allowed. Until Saturday, when Colorado scored four TDs in 14 minutes in the final period, Nebraska had allowed only a combined 22 second-half points to eight opponents. It was the most points against the Cornhuskers in one period since Nebraska began keeping football records in 1945.

"At the end, I thought we would be the stronger team," Osborne said. "But they got their running Colorado quarterback Darian Hagan celebrates with fans after CU's 27-12 victory over Nebraska. game going and we didn't get untracked." Colorado marched 71 yards to its first score, which came on Bieniemy 1-yard run with 14:43 to play. It was just the second rushing touchdown allowed by Nebraska this season. "It all came down to this play," McCartney said.

"The offense created a new line of scrimmage and Bieniemy went over." Colorado's next drive was keyed by Darien Hagan's 34-yard pass to Mike Pritchard and 4-yard throw to Rico Smith, whose fumble was recovered at the Nebraska 1 by Sean Brown. Because the Buffaloes were inches short of a first down, Bieniemy was credited with a 2-yard scoring run with 8:37 left to give Colorado a 13-12 lead. The game got away from Nebraska when the Cornhuskers failed to get a first down on a fake punt on fourth-and-4 from its 31. Bieniemy made it 20-12 with a 3- yard run after the failed fake punt, then scored from five yards out when the Cornhuskers turned the ball over on downs at their 10. Colorado, which has beaten Nebraska two in a row for the first time in 29 years, drove 48 yards with the opening kickoff to the Nebraska 2.

Bieniemy fumbled on second down and, after a teammate recovered, lost a yard and the ball on third down on a hit by Travis Hill. The teams combined for a meager 76 yards in the first quarter, with Nebraska getting 42. "Initially I felt like everything that could go wrong did go wrong, but we hung in there," McCartney said. "We got some big plays from our passing game and that's what kept us in there." After failing to complete a pass in five first-half tries, Hagan hit five of six for 143 yards after intermission. Nebraska, with a gusting 25 mph at its back in the second quarter, drove to the Colorado 8, from where Gregg Barrios kicked a 26-yard field goal.

Linebacker Mike Petko intercepted a Hagan pass at the Colorado 34 just over a minute later and Barrios kicked a 44-yarder for a 6-0 Nebraska lead at the half. Nebraska, the nation's rushing leader at 377 yards a game, ran for only 67 in the second half and 163 for the game. The Cornhuskers squandered another opportunity when Barrios missed a 20-yard field goal early in the third quarter. Colorado also missed a chance when Bieniemy lost his third fumble, this recovered by Mike Croel at the Nebraska 21. Five plays later, Mickey Joseph passed 46 yards to tight end Johnny Mitchell for the touchdown, his fifth in seven catches.

Georgia Tech stuns No. 1 Virginia CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. Virginia's dream died at Georgia Tech's doorstep on Saturday. In a classic battle worthy of a game with national championship implications, the No. 1- ranked Cavaliers failed to score a touchdown five times from inside the 6 late in the fourth quarter and settled for a game-tying 23-yard field goal.

A record Scott Stadium crowd of 49,700 then watched in dismay as the hunt for No. 1 ended when Tech drove back down the field and Scott Sisson kicked a 37-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining to give the No. 16 Yellow Jackets a thrilling 41-38 victory. Tech, which trailed by 13 points once and 14 twice, overcame a sluggish first quarter to score 21 third-quarter points and kick two fourth- quarter field goals. Quarterback Shawn Jones the Shawn who is not a Heisman Trophy contender.

ignited the Yellow Jackets by completing 17 of 29 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns and showing complete composure in the clutch. The Yellow Jackets go to 7-0-1 overall and 5-0-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, virtually locking up their first league title. It's their best start since 1966. Students back in Atlanta were so excited they stormed the school's Grant Field and tore dawn the goalpost there. "I told our kids this was a special game," said Tech coach Bobby Ross after giving the game ball to his father, Leonard, who lives in Williamsburg, Va.

"We just kept thinking we could win, and our kids never stopped Virginia, which had been eying a New Year's Day showdown for the national title, falls to 7-1 and 4-1. "It hurts a lot," said wide receiver Herman Moore, who had nine catches for 234 yards and a touchdown. "That stand was the biggest thing in the game. You have to give them credit." While you're at it, subtract a few points from the Cavaliers. They can't count.

On an apparent touchdown pass from Shawn Moore to Aaron Mundy on third and goal at the one, Virginia was flagged for an illegal formation. The Cavaliers had only 10 men on the field and six instead of the line. Only two plays earlier at the 1, they were called for illegal procedure. Left with fourth and six, coach George Welsh elected for a field goal with 2:34 remaining. "There were still two and a half minutes left," said Welsh, defending his decision to kick.

"Maybe they would throw it into the ground. Maybe our defense would rise up for a Instead, the defense continued to let Jones dictate the game. After the kickoff, he drove the Yellow Jackets from his own 25 to the Virginia 20 in five plays. With 12 seconds left, the Jackets called time out on first down and brought out Sisson. "Sure I was nervous," said Sisson.

"It still hasn't hit me what happened. It will take a while. It's a lot to handle when a kick means that much." FLORIDA 48, AUBURN 7 Florida took advantage of turnovers and Terence Barber's 73-yard punt return to explode for 27 second- Georgia Tech's Scott Sisson (9) is grabbed by teammate Scott Aldredge after kicking the game-winning field goal against No. 1- ranked Virginia. quarter points Saturday night as the 15th-ranked Gators grabbed a share of first place in the Southeastern Conference with a 48-7 rout of No.

4 Auburn. Willie McClendon scored three touchdowns and Florida's defense held Auburn to 172 yards including minus-14 rushing to pace the triumph before a record crowd of 75,459 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Although Florida (7-1, 4-1) is ineligible to win the SEC title because of NCAA probation, the Gators have a goal of finishing with the league's best record. The victory left them atop the standings with Mississippi and restored some of the confidence the team lost in a 45-3 defeat at Tennessee three weeks ago. NOTRE DAME 52, NAVY 32 At East Rutherford, N.J., Rodney Culver scored on a 7- yard run to break No.

2 Notre Dame free from a halftone tie and ignite a 21-point third quarter that carried the Irish past surprising Navy. The score was by no means an indication of the closeness of the game which had been billed as the Mismatch at the Meadowlands. Navy (3-5) made Notre Dame (7-1) work every play, and it seemed to catch the Irish off guard by abandoning its Pro I offense and opening the game in a wishbone, the offense the Middies had used the three previous seasons. The ploy worked for 30 minutes and Navy was able to leave the field tied at 10. Notre Dame's defense caught on in the second half and after that it ceased to be a game because the Middies had no answer for the Irish offense, which scored on six of its first eight possessions.

IOWA 54, ILLINOIS 28 At Champaign, 111., Matt Rodgers passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third Saturday as 13th-ranked Iowa crushed No. 5 Illinois to take the inside track to the Rose Bowl. The Hawkeyes (7-1 overall, 5-0 Big Ten) rolled to a 28-0 second-quarter lead on the way to overwhelming Illinois Rodgers, who completed 11 of 16 passes for 188 yards, opened the scoring with a 5-yard pass to Mike Saunders in the first quarter, and hit Danan Hughes with a 17-yard scoring pass in the third quarter. Rodgers also plunged a yard in the fourth quarter before a sellout Memorial Stadium crowd of 72,714. HOUSTON 56, TEXAS CHRISTIAN 35 At Houston, David Klingler threw seven touchdown passes, offsetting the NCAA record of 690 passing yards by Texas Christian substitute quarterback Matt Vogler, firing No.

6 Houston that left the Cougars as the only NCAA Division I team without a loss. Houston (8-0 overall, 7-0 in the Southwest Conference) extended the nation's longest winning streak to 12, but had to fight back in the third quarter after Vogler, subbing for injured starter Leon Clay, rallied TCU to a 28-all tie with 7:15 left in the third quarter. WASHINGTON 54, ARIZONA 10 At Seattle, seventh-ranked Washington clinched its first Rose Bowl trip in nine years with a decisive victory over No. 23 Arizona on Saturday as Mark Brunell passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third, and Greg Lewis ran for 100 yards for the ninth time this season. The Huskies (8-1 overall and 6-0 in the Pac-10) became assured of their first trip to Pasadena, since the 1981 season when No.

22 Oregon beat UCLA 28-24 in Eugene. Washington has regular season games left with UCLA in Seattle next Saturday and against Washington State in Pullman Nov. 17. MIAMI 45, PITTSBURGH 0 At Miami, Craig Erickson's passing, ferocious defense and upsets elsewhere allowed the Miami Hurricanes to rejoin the national championship chase Saturday. Erickson outpassed Alex Van Pelt, 355 yards to 85, as the eighth-ranked Hurricanes shut out Pittsburgh.

Van Pelt, who passed for 384 yards against Notre Dame, was held under 100 yards for the first time in his 21-game career. He completed 10 of 22 passes with no interceptions. BRIGHAM YOUNG 54, AIR FORCE 7 At Air Force Academy, Ty Detmer ignored cold, wintry conditions to throw three touchdown passes to Andy Boyce and pile up 397 yards passing in a Western Athletic Conference victory over Air Force on Saturday. Detmer, a junior and one of the leaders in the Heisman Trophy race, extended his NCAA record of consecutive 300-yard passing games to 20 and tied the record of 22 consecutive 200-plus games set by BYU's Steve Young in 1983. The lOth-ranked Cougars improved to 7-1 overall and, with No.

19 Wyoming's 17-8 loss to Colorado State, took over sole possession of first place in the WAC at 5-0. Air Force is 4-5 and 2-4. COLORADO ST. 17, WYOMING 8 At Fort Collins, Colo, Robert Chirico recorded a safety and three sacks and linebacker Eric Tip- peconnic returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown as defense-minded Colorado State handed No. 19 Wyoming its first loss.

Cornerback Harlan Carroll also thwarted a fourth-quarter Wyoming scoring threat with an end-zone fumble recovery. The Rams, beating their archrival for the first time in four years, raised their overall record to 6-3 and Western Athletic Conference mark to 5-1. Wyoming slipped to 9-1 and 5-1. 49ers hunting for 16th-straight win By DAVE GOLDBERG AP Football Writer In a weekend when only one game pits two teams with winning records the Los Angeles Raiders at the Kansas City Chiefs the best of the rest has the Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers traveling to Green Bay. NFL preview The angle here is simple the 49ers (7-0) can complete the equivalent of an unbeaten season with their 16th- straight win.

The Packers (3-4) were the last team to beat them, 21-17, at Candlestick last Nov. 19. San Francisco has also won 14 straight on the road, so no matter what San Francisco defensive back Ronnie Lott says "We're not a good football team" the 49ers are King of the Hill until proven otherwise. Mike Sherrard's broken leg gives San Francisco a problem at wide receiver, where the 49ers actually used quarterback Steve Young last week. They hope John Taylor, who missed last week's 20-17 win over Cleveland with a knee injury, can come back.

Green Bay, which beat bedraggled Minnesota 24-10 Sunday, could make the watered down playoffs this year at 8-8 after missing at 10-6 last year. A win here would certainly help. "We feel like we can do it again," Green Bay coach Lindy Infante says of beating San Francisco. "I've never gone into a game thinking I couldn't win and we won't start Sunday." In other games Sunday, Atlanta is at Pittsburgh; Dallas at the New York Jets; New England at Philadelphia; New Orleans at Cincinnati; Phoenix at Miami; Washington at Detroit; Buffalo at Cleveland; Chicago at Tampa Bay; Houston Houston at the Los Angeles Rams; San Diego at Seattle and Denver at Minnesota. The New York Giants are at Indianapolis Monday night.

Atlanta (3-4) at Pittsburgh (4-4) This is Jerry Glanville's second straight game against a guy on his Enemies List. The guy in question this time is Chuck Noll. But it's probably not a great thing for Glanville, who gets his teams so sky-high for home games against his old AFC Central pals (38-17 over Sam Wyche's Ben- gals last week) that they deflate the next, particularly on the road. The Steelers are suddenly looking at a division title. They looked like Noll's Super Bowl teams Monday night against the Rams.

Chicago (6-1) at Tampa Bay (44) Mike Ditka says the Bears aren't in a class with the 49ers or Giants yet, which is bad news under the new playoff format that forces the third division winner in each conference to play an extra game. But the Bears have been pretty awesome they've scored on eight of their first nine possession in their last two games. A win here and we can forget the NFC Central. Buffalo (6-1) at Cleveland (2-6) The Bud Carson watch continues, particularly since owner Art Model! wasn't over-impressed by the NFL standings Browns' gallant but losing comeback in San Francisco. It hardly seems like it was less than a year ago that Cleveland beat the Bills to make the AFC championship game when Ronnie Harmon dropped the winning touchdown pass in the end zone.

Houston (4-4) at Los Angeles Rams (2-5) This is it for the Rams, who thought they had it back together two weeks ago when they beat Atlanta, then fell apart Monday night in Pittsburgh, doing nothing after Gaston Green's 100-yard touchdown return of the opening kickoff. Houston did everything right against the Jets last week but win, outgaining New York 425-229. But they also surrendered five sacks, the last of which produced a Warren Moon fumble in the end zone adn the decisive score. Washington (4-3) at Detroit (3-4) You could call the Redskins the NFL's third best team their only losses are to the unbeaten 49ers and twice to the unbeaten Giants. But barring a New York collapse, the best they probably can do is a home wild-card berth.

Denver (3-4) at Minnesota (1-6) What TNT thought would be a wonderful finish to its Sunday night series turns out to be the Disappointment Bowl. But Denver, at least, has some excuses, like, injuries that decimated the defense. What else can you say about Minnesota except that the first- round draft pick they traded to Dallas for Herschel Walker (3 carries for 6 yards last week) may turn out to be No. 1 in the draft instead of No. 28, as they had hoped? New Orleans (2-5) at Cincinnati (5-3) The only good news for the Saints is that the Bengals don't play the run-and-shoot they're 0-3 against the NFL's three run-and- shoot teams.

That includes a 27-10 loss to Detroit last week in which they had eight turnovers. The best news for the Bengals is that they're home after a 5-game road trip and still lead the AFC Central. Phoenix (2-5) at Miami (6-1) The ONLY good news for the Cards is that they're on the road. They beat the Eagles in Philadelphia and almost beat the Giants in the Meadowlands, then returned home last week and gave up four quick touchdowns to the Bears en route to a 31-21 loss. Getting 21 points against the Dolphins could be wishful thinking.

San Diego (3-5) at Seattle (3-4) Who knows which Chargers will show up in the Dome, the team that beat the Jets 39-3 and the Bucs 41-10 or the one that disappeared on defense against the Steelers and Raiders. Most likely the latter the Chargers have lost nine straight in Seattle since 1980. Dallas (3-5) at the New York Jets (3-5) Either Jimmy Johnson has made the Cowboys respectable quite quickly or the league has come back to their level, like the Eagles, who barely escaped Texas Stadium with a 21-20 win last week. New England (1-6) at Philadelphia (3-4) If the Eagles lose this one, then Buddy Ryan is truly in trouble. By The Associated Press AMERICAN CONFERENCE Buffalo Bills 6 Miami Dolphins 6 New York Jets 3 Indianapolis Colts 2 New England Patriots 1 1 1 5 5 6 0 0 0 0 0 Pel .857 .857 .375 .286 .143 East PF 187 152 151 105 100 PA Home Away AFC 136 4-0-0 2-1-0 6-1-0 90 3-0-0 3-1-0 6-0-0 190 1-2-0 2-3-0 3-5-0 162 1-2-0 1-3-0 1-5-0 196 0-4-0 1-2-0 1-6-0 NFC 0-0-0 0-1-0 0-0-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 Dlv 4-1-0 5-0-0 1-3-0 0-3-0 1-4-0 Central Cincinnati Bengals 5 Houston Oilers 4 Pittsburgh Steelers 4 Cleveland Browns 2 Los Angeles Raiders 6 Kansas City Chiefs 4 Denver Broncos 3 Seattle Seahawks 3 San Diego Chargers 3 3 4 4 6 1 3 4 4 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .625 .500 .500 .250 .857 .571 .429 .429 .375 205 181 150 128 West 1 47 167 168 144 164 204 2-0-0 3-3-0 4-2-0 152 3-2-0 1-2-0 3-2-0 138 3-1-0 1-3-0 3-3-0 193 1-2-0 1-4-0 2-4-0 99 4-0-0 2-1-0 5-1-0 114 3-0-0 1-3-0 1-3-0 178 2-2-0 1-2-0 3-4-0 135 2-1-0 1-3-0 3-3-0 142 1-3-0 2-2-0 2-4-0 1-1-0 1-2-0 1-1-0 0-2-0 1-0-0 3-0-0 0-0-0 0-1-0 1-1-0 1-1-0 1-1-0 1-1-0 1-1-0 4-0-0 0-2-0 2-1-0 1-3-0 0-1-0 NATIONAL CONFERENCE New York Giants 7 Washington Redskins 4 Philadelphia Eagles 3 Dallas Cowboys 3 Phoenix Cardinals 2 0 3 4 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 Pet 1.000 .571 .429 .375 .286 East PF 171 1 44 151 110 100 PA Home Away AFC 96 5-0-0 2-0-0 1-0-0 103 3-1-0 1-2-0 0-0-0 152 1-2-0 2-2-0 0-1-0 156 2-2-0 1-3-0 1-0-0 172 1-2-0 1-3-0 0-0-0 NFC 6-0-0 4-3-0 3-3-0 2-5-0 2-5-0 Dlv 6-0-0 4-2-0 1-3-0 0-5-0 2-3-0 Central Chicago Bears 6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 Detroit Lions 3 Green Bay Packers 3 Minnesota Vikings 1 San Francisco 49ers 7 Atlanta Falcons 3 Los Angeles Rams 2 New Orleans Saints 2 Last week Sunday's Cornet Buffalo 27, New England 10 1 4 4 4 6 0 4 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .857 .500 .429 .429 .143 1.000 .429 .286 .286 173 157 168 127 150 West 174 199 174 115 Detroit 27, NewOrfeans 10 Miami 27, Indianapolis? Green Bay 24, Minnesota 1 0 New York Jets 1 7 Houston 1 2 Philadelphia 21.

Dallas 20 San Francisco 20, Cleveland 17 San Diego 4 1 Tampa Bay 1 0 New York Giants 21 Washington Atlanta 38, Cincinnati 17 OPEN DATES: Denver, L.A. Kansas City, Seattle Monday's Came Pittsburgh41.L.A. Rams 10 10 Raiders 96 4-0-0 2-1-0 1- -0 182 2-2-0 2-2-0 0- -0 179 1-2-0 2-2-0 0- -0 156 2-2-0 1-2-0 0- -0 159 1-2-0 0-4-0 0- -0 118 4-0-0 3-0-0 3-0-0 200 3-1-0 0-3-0 2-0-0 214 1-2-0 1-3-0 0-2-0 150 2-2-0 0-3-0 1-1-0 This week Sundpy Nov. Atlnntn i-it DiiteUnmk nn 5-0-0 4-3-0 3-3-0 3-3-0 1-5-0 4-0-0 1-4-0 2-3-0 1-4-0 3-0-0 4-0-0 1-3-0 2-3-0 0-4-0 3-0-0 1-3-0 1-0-0 0-2-0 Dallas at New York Jets, noon New England at Philadelphia, noon New Orleans at Cincinnati, noon Phoenix at Miami, noon I. A.

Raiders at Kansas City, noon San Francisco at Green Bay, noon Washington at Detroit, noon WV Ml VIVVVIUItU, 0 cago ai am pa pay, San Diego at Seattle, 3p.m. Denver at Minnesota, 7 p.m. N.Y. Oicints ot indionQpc lis, 8 p.m.