The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 21

SECTION Scoreboard2 Preps3 Classified5 Tuesday, Nor ember 13, 1984 First-Ever Spot Atop I-AA Inquiry Doesn't Change Goal By TED POWER Tennessee State, voted the top Division I-AA football team in the nation yesterday, will defend its No. 1 ranking in the playoffs if the players have any say in the matter. "We met Sunday night and the players and staff expressed a very, very strong desire to go to the playoffs. But first, we have to get past the final game of the regular season," TSU head coach Bill Thomas said after his team was unanimously voted the top team in the NCAA Division I-AA poll. It is the first time the Big Blue has ever been ranked No.l by the I-AA football committee.

"It feels good, but being No.l doesn't mean everything," said senior defensive back Roger Robinson. "We have to go out and win the national championship. That's been our goal all season." The poll came just hours after the Sunday night team meeting during which the squad voiced its desire to go to the playoffs, although an NCAA inquiry threatens the eligibility of 15 players. Meanwhile, athletic director Robert E. Lee said he was optimistic that several of the 15 players would retain their eligibility for possible playoff participation.

The Tigers, ranked second last week, climbed to No.l following their 24-15 victory Saturday at Louisville. Alcorn State, 8-0 and the only other un defeated team in I-AA, jumped from third to second in the poll, followed by Indiana State, last week's No. 1, which lost to Tulsa. New Hampshire, Boston University, Montana State, Rhode Island, Mississippi Valley, Middle Tennessee and Eastern Kentucky round out the top 10. Middle Tennessee, 8-2, climbed back in the I-AA playoff picture with a 42-7 victory over Georgia Southern, while Eastern Kentucky clinched the Ohio Valley Conference's automatic playoff bid by defeating Morehead State.

"It's a great honor for our players, coaches, administrators and fans to be ranked No. 1," said Thomas. "I hope that we can now live up to that ranking." Thomas told the team of its top ranking on the practice field yesterday afternoon. The players greeted the expected news with quiet applause, a stark contrast to the jubilant lockerroom scene following the win at Louisville. "I don't think the ranking will put any more pressure on us," said senior tight end Barry Collins.

"We'll just keep doing what we've done all season long and fine tune a few things." The Tigers close their regular season against North Carolina Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Hale Stadium On Sunday, the NCAA will extend playoff invitations to 12 teams. (Turn to Page 4, Column 1) Staff photo by Billy Easley Tennessee State's Carl McAfee, left, and Roger Robinson flank coach Bill Thomas and signal their Division J-AA Possible Records7 Guide Bowl Selectors Tuesday Ayem JOHN BIBB BOWL GAMES, once considered the ultimate reward for Intercollegiate football teams, now are so plentiful that selection committees are relying on a "worst possible record" guideline as part of their invitation process. Instead of basing the invitation on the number of victories a team has, or might win, committees are using a backdoor approach, trying to make sure that a team selected at least will have a winning record to take to its postseason reward. There are 18 bowls, requiring 36 opponents.

Excluding those teams with NCAA problems, such as Florida, Clemson and Illinois, from the field of postseason game candidates, and it's altogether possible there will be more non-ranked than ranked teams in the bowl games this season. One tongue-in-cheek solution is the suggestion that a couple the teams with truly outstanding records South Carolina and Nebraska, for example might bail scratched from potential bowl berths. A team which has won as many as five games and has no more than four defeats still commands bowl committee attention. And compounding the various selection committees' problems, is the fact that many teams which have as few as four defeats now, will not finish their seasons until Deal. It's almost certain that the last piece of the bowl puzzle will not be in place this year until after the final games on Dec.

1. This undoubtedly means that many of the traditional windup rivalries will have additional importance this season. Vanderbilt is an excellent example of the sort of ques-tionmark team that has bowl committees nervous. The Commodores, 5-4, have a great track record for fan sup-port in bowls. The team presents an attractive, anytime attack and has a flock of players who will be all-star selections.

Moreover, Vandy's last two opponents, Virginia Tech and Tennessee, definitely are strong bowl possibilities. "Right now, even though Vandy could finish 5-6, the Commodores also could wind up 7-4, with late-season victories over two fine teams. That's why several bowls are keeping Vandy on their lists," one bowl committeeman said last night "If you jump too fast on a selection, you might wind up letting a potential 7-4 team go to another bowl and you're stuck with a 6-5 club that lost toward the end of the season." Tennessee, stringing together a handsome stretch drive, also has the bowl people in a stir. The 5-2-1 Vols, too, have bountiful support from their fans and a long tradition of postseason play. But Tennessee's remaining schedule, against three Southeastern Conference foes, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Vandy, is solid enough that a premature invitation could lead to a 5-5-1 or 6-4-1 bowl team.

(Turn to Page 5, Column 1) out the lesser bowls by playing in warmup bowls before meeting in the Jaal Orange Bowl for the national title. Three weeks from the conclusion of one of the more hotly-contested regular seasons in intercollegiate history, only those teams with five losses seem to have been South Carolina 2nd AP, Fans Vote Nebraska No. 1 -i raw Decision From SEC Monday BIRMINGHAM, Ala (AP) The Southeastern Conference executive committee will meet Nov. 20 to cuss possible action against the University of Florida, SEC president James McComas said yesterday. The meeting will be "for the purpose of considering whether the University of Florida would be eligible to participate in post-season bowl competition or be recognized as conference champions for the 1984 season," McComas said in a prepared statement.

Florida, tied with Louisana State for the conference football lead and 4 From Staff, Wire Reports The Nebraska Cornhuskers, who were No. 1 for three weeks earlier in the season, have regained the top spot in the Associated Press college Jootball poll, while Virginia cracked the Top 20 for the first time in 32 years. With seven members of last 1 Week's Top 20 losing over the weekend, there was considerable shuffling in this week's poll. South Carolina and Brigham Young the only remaining unbeaten teams moved up to challenge Nebraska. Miami and Georgia dropped to the Second 1 0 while Iowa and West Virginia fell out of the Top 20.

Meanwhile, voters in The Reader Ratings agreed on Nebraska as No. 1, with South Carolina second in one of the closest Reader Rating polls of the season. Of the 101 ballots cast by fans last night. South Carolina received one more first-place vote than Nebraska, 25 to 24, but the Cornhuskers emerged at No. 1 by shading the Gameocks on total points, 743-733.

Brigham Young was third in the fans' poll, followed in order by Florida, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Southern California, Washington, Texas Christian and Ohio State. The Reader Ratings poll is con- ducted by the newspaper each Monday night throughout the football season. Fans are invited to call the Reader Ratings line, 259-801 1, each Monday between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m A top 20 list is compiled and results are published on Tuesdays. Only NCAA Division I-A teams are eligible for consideration, and votes for teams which are not in Division I-A are not counted.

The Reader Ratings points are determined by awarding 10 points for a first-place vote, nine for a second-place nod, and so on. This week's AP poll raised the possibility of a 1-2 matchup between Nebraska and South Carolina in the Orange Bowl. However, Nebraska still must play Oklahoma the Cornhuskers need only a tie Saturday to represent the Big Eight in Miami while South Carolina has to play Navy and Clemson, both on the road. While previously unbeaten Washington was losing to Southern California 16-7 the victory vaulted the Trojans from 14th to seventh in the Associated Press poll. Nebraska trounced Kansas 41-7 and climbed from second place to No.

1 with 37 of 59 first-place votes and 1,148 of a possible 1,180 points from a nationwide panel of sports writers and sportscasters. The Cornhuskers are 9-1, having lost to Syracuse on Sept 29. South Carolina, 9-0, downed No. 1 1 Florida State 38-26. The Gamecocks became the first team to win nine games in the school's 91-year football history and shot from fifth to second in AP with 11 first-place votes and 1,104 points.

The AP Second Ten consists of Ohio State, Texas Christian, Boston College, Miami, Georgia, Southern Methodist Florida State, Auburn, Virginia and Clemson. Virginia raised its record to 7-1-1 by routing North Carolina State 45-0. The Cavaliers are unbeaten since losing their opener to Clemson 55-0. Clemson, which was No. 2 early in (Turn to Page 4, Column 1) resulting Sugar Bowl bid, faces a three-year probation from the National Collegiate Athletic Association for recruiting violations, the final year of which could be lifted.

The sanctions could be postponed until after this season if the school decides to appeal, but that decision is pending. Florida and LSU conclude their SEC schedules Saturday. Florida plays at Kentucky and LSU plays at Mississippi State. After the Gators' 27-0 victory over Georgia Saturday, school president Marshall Criser threatened to sue the conference if it took any action before a final decision was reached regarding the NCAA sanctions. The conference's executive committee will meet at 1 0 am at the Birmingham Hilton, said McComas, president of Mississippi State.

Other members of the committee are: Crisen Alabama president Joab Thomas; Wilfort Bailey, an Auburn faculty member; William Powell, Georgia faculty member; Mississippi Athletic Director Warner Alford; and Sue Feamster from Kentucky. i. hn.n i nl I ilM.il Staff photo by Carol Thaxton Stooping To Vanderbilt's Glen Clem bends over to sign an autograph for 3-year-old fan Joshua Hunter during a preseason barbecue and pep rally at Memorial Gym. Story on Page 4, Vols' Robinson Back of Week Waltrip Notes 'Grim Reality' Labonte Lead Falls DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Terry Labonte will take a 42-point lead into the final race of next week's NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National.

He has 4,338 points, ahead of second place Harry Gant who has 4,296. Bill Elliott of Dawsonville, is third with 4,217. a week's break In the schedule, Robinson came back with another award-winning effort in a 41-9 whipping of Memphis State. Playing in pouring rain, Robinson nailed 1 1 of 18 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns. He also carried the ball four times for 64 yards, including a busted play which picked up 44 yards and a quarterback draw that went for a 25-yard touchdown.

By DAVID CLIMER Tennessee's Tony Robinson was named Southeast Offensive Player of the Week by United Press International yesterday, adding credence to his coach's belief that he may be the best quarterback in the Southeastern Conference. It marked the second time in as many games that Robinson has won the honor. Two weeks ago, UPI acknowledged his performance in a 24-21 win over Georgia Tech. After By LARRY WOODY Darrell Waltrip knew what had happened when he saw his wife Stevie in tears following Sunday's Atlanta Journal 500. A fellow race driver 32-year-old Terry Schoonover was dead.

"I knew it had been a pretty bad wreck because it took the safety crew so long to get him out of the car," said Waltrip yesterday from his home in Franklin, Term. "But I didn't know he had been killed until after the race was over." Waltrip, the leading stock car driver of tht decade, admitted he was disturbed by the "grim reality" the death drove home. But this weekend at Riverside, he will strap himself back In a race car and continue to flirt with fate. "I guess it's like airplane crashes," (Turn to Page 5, Column 1) (Turn to Page 5, Column 1).