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D2 The Arizona Republic Tuesday, January 2, 1990 FIESTA 1 BOWL No longer an understudy, Willis proves ready for prime time A fter Peter Tom Willis set Sunkist of it." to the far sideline. But he also, threw 10. Willis had told a friend the Scminolcs Fiesta Bowl records bv passinc Indeed. This spindly youngster set IS rainbows that had more hang time than Willis took a lot of shots. i could make the nass work if Nebraska After Peter Tom Willis set Sunkist Fiesta Bowl records by passing rainbows that had more hang time than could make the pass work if Nebraska the punts.

That luxury that comes with li whiuJ.i BOB HURT Republic Columnist played man-to-man defense and blitzed. They did both on the pass to Bennett. Bowden, anticipating the defense, called "470 Special," which put all the wide receivers to (he right and isolated the fullback on a linebacker on the left as Nebraska blitzed. Three plays later, Florida State scored lo take a commanding 21-10 halftime lead. Willis looked up an official and laughed in his face.

That was fun. So were the two rounds of golf Willis, a 2-handicap, managed between practices this week. His scores? "I don't want to talk about it," he said. "In the 80s." His mistake, he said, was not taking his receivers to the links. "They would have caught the ball and thrown it in the hole," he said.

"Yeah, I'm beat up," he said. "They've got great athletes. When you throw as much as I did, you get hit. That goes along with being a drop-back passer." Best thing about Willis is how each knockdown led to a stronger counter-punch. The pivotal part of this game unfolded near the end of the first half.

Three straight holding calls left Florida Slate facing first and 40. The Scminolcs overcame that, converting on third and 22 as Willis connected with fullback Edgar Bennett for 30 yards. "We shoved that down the refs throat," Willis said, gloating. "I don't care who they are or what they arc, that was pitiful. So we beat a great Nebraska team and maybe the referees, too." The effort hurt Nebraska and built Florida State's confidence.

school records, even before completing 25 of 40 to lead the 41-17 rout of Nebraska on Monday. Ignored and unwanted for four years, Willis left the field atop the shoulders of offensive linemen John Brown and Tony Yeomans. He was waving a Nebraska helmet in one hand and a Scminolcs helmet in the other while being showered with confetti. "That was fun, because I love those guys," Willis said. But the game wasn't as much fun as it looked.

Peter Tom did not think he threw well, only that his receivers "made some super-great catches." No argument. Florida State's receivers came with Velcro on hands, radar in eyes and springs in knees. As Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne observed, they seemed to win every jump ball. Peter Tom gave us a lot of looks. He could throw a rope from one hash mark for 422 yards and five touchdowns Monday, one question cried out for an answer: What was a nice young quarterback such as Peter Tom doing on the Florida State bench the past four seasons? "Stupid coaching," Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden said, grinning.

On Bowdcn's behalf, be advised that Willis was understudying a couple of reasonable quarterbacks Danny McManus and Chip Ferguson. Meanwhile, Peter Tom, named for an uncle and a grandfather, was frustrated. "You can't throw much sitting on the bench," he said, looking back. Early on, he thought of transferring to Auburn. "But then I thought, 'If you leave, you just let Florida State beat he said.

"I was going to stick it out because I knew I was good enough to play. I got my chance and I think I took advantage great receivers. You had to be impressed, overall, with his arm and intelligence. His feet are quick, but he lacks great speed. So, question No.

2: What about his NFL future? Joel Buchsbaum, who runs a talent-rating service, said Willis started the season as a ninth- or lOth-round pick, has moved up to third or fourth and now rates as a high second- or first-round pick. Dick Steinberg, the new Jets general manager, has said: "He made an amazing emergence this year. I'm not prepared to say where he will go, but he will play in the NFL." Steinberg said much will depend on his showing in the Fiesta Bowl and the Senior Bowl. Well, save a No. 1 pick guys.

For artistic merit, we might knock off a few points. For effect, he's a perfect Playing catch was easy for Seminoles Tab Four' put on show for Huskers is ft fL (' lit receivers "did a good job of not looking at the ball until the last second. We caught their DBs off guard a few times. "I think we proved we're the most physical team in the nation, on pffense as well as defense. We won a lot of battles out there." The Fab Four has been billed since the preseason as the nation's top collection of receiving talent.

Anthony, who caught 33 passes for 569 yards and eight touchdowns during the regular season, said the Scminolcs have used the publicity to their advantage. "We rally around it," he said. "It gives us motivation. It makes people shoot for us, but just makes us play better." Senior flanker Ronald Lewis caught five passes for 106 yards. He has caught a pass in his last 28 games, dating to the sixth game of the 1987 season.

"If they're going to come up and play us in man coverage, we feci like we can beat them if we give them a good move," Lewis said. "Obviously, they thought they could cover us man-to-man, but it didn't work out that way." Lewis said the sandy surface in Sun Devil Stadium wasn't a major handicap. "It wasn't the greatest," Lewis said, "but we've practiced in about everything grass, mud, sand the past couple of weeks." A third member of the Fab Four, junior flanker Lawrence Dawsey, caught four passes for 66 yards. The fourth member, senior split end Bruce LaSane, missed the game By Bob Eger The Arizona Republic Folks will be talking for years about Florida State quarterback Peter Tom Willis' passing performance in Sunkist Fiesta Bowl XIX. But somebody had to catch those passes and that's where the "Fab Four" came in.

Florida State's receiving corps found Sun Devil Stadium's dirt track to its liking in the Seminoles 41-17 victory over Nebraska on Monday. Actually, what Florida State's receivers liked best was Nebraska's decision to spend much of the game in man-to-man coverage. "I don't know what they saw in the films that made them think they could play us man-to-man," said senior split end Terry Anthony. "But when they did that, it played right into our hands." Anthony caught six passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns one covering 14 yards in the second quarter and one of 24 yards in the third quarter. When Willis had time to zip the ball, he was deadly.

And even when Nebraska's rush forced him to throw a floater, his receivers usually won the battle for the ball. "They made some great catches," said Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne. "Sometimes it was like a jump ball and they came up with it." With his receiving corps, Willis said he doesn't worry about putting the ball up for grabs. "If we see man-to-man coverage, we're going to lay it up there and see what our guys can do," Willis said. Anthony said Florida State's David PetkiewiczThe Arizona Republic Ronald Lewis of Florida State catches a pass from Peter Tom Willis as cornerback Bruce Pickens tries to move in.

Lewis caught five passes for 1 06 yards. "You get all psyched up because you stop the run, then they throw up those balls and they get caught," Pctko said. "It's mind-boggling." Carter said the sandy footing was only a minor obstacle. "It wasn't the best, but we handled Carter said. "What bothered me most was all that dirt down my pants." Asked if Florida State is the best team in the country, Carter didn't hesitate.

"No doubt about he said. "We should be No. 1. We beat Miami solid. We beat Nebraska solid.

We beat Auburn and some other good teams." Florida Stale's All-American nose guard, Odcll Haggins, appeared to win his battle with Nebraska's All-America center, Jake Young. Haggins was named the game's outstanding defensive player. "We just beat Nebraska with our quickness," said Haggins, who had five tackles, recovered a fumble and batted down a pass. "At the snap, we'd just blow by the linemen. "They seemed tired down the stretch.

I think that's a case of it being warm, and we're a warm weather football team." Tailback Dexter Carter showed his versatility, catching three passes for 47 yards and a touchdown and gaining 72 yards on 13 carries. "When (Willis) gets it going, there's no defense that can stop us," Carter said. "With the Fab Four and me out of the backficld, there's just too many receivers to cover. "Willis is a great quarterback. He probably should have played last year.

When he gets an opportunity, he's going to take advantage of it." Nebraska outside linebacker Mike Pctko called Florida State's passing game "very, very frustrating." because of a shoulder separation, but there were plenty of people to pick up the slack. LaSane's replacement, freshman Shannon Baker, caught two passes for 49 yards, including one for 44 yards to set up Florida State's second touchdown. Baker only had three catches for 53 yards during the regular season. Tight end Reggie Johnson, a 6-fool-2, 242-pound junior, muscled into the act with three catches for 27 yards, including touchdown grabs of 5 and 8 yards. They were his first touchdown receptions this season.

Nebraska in Siesta Bowl a synonym for losing i i fix A iff' J( Wx ill 6th-ranked team merely a husk of its former self By Kent Somera The Arizona Republic Uncharacteristic might be the kindest word you could use to describe Nebraska's performance in its 41-17 loss to Florida State on Monday in the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl. Terrible would be more accurate. How bad were the Cornhuskcrs? Let's count the ways: This season, Nebraska averaged 375 yards rushing to lead the nation for the sixth time in 1980s. Monday, the Cornhuskcrs gained 115. Nebraska committed three turnovers in its last five games of the regular season.

Monday, the Cornhus-kers committed that many in the first half and finished with five, and suffered a blocked punt that led to a touchdown. It was Nebraska's worst defeat since losing to Oklahoma, 38-7, in 1977, and its worst bowl loss since a 34-7 defeat to Alabama in the 1967 Sugar Bowl. "I'm a little embarrassed," said Coach Tom Osborne. "We thought we were capable of winning the game, and obviously we got pretty close to blown out. "I suppose five turnovers is worth 21 or 28 points.

If that had been reversed, we might have been able to win the game. I don't know." Instead, Osborne said, the turn intercepted to start the fourth quarter. It was that kind of day for Nebraska. Nebraska hadn't played since Nov. 18, and Osborne was concerned how his team would perform after a six-week layoff.

"The turnovers just weren't characteristic, and I don't know what to do," Osborne said. "I thought we'd go out there and play with one turnover or less and get two or three and it would be a close game." 1 The Fiesta Bowl has become a synonym for Nebraska losing. It was the Cornhuskcrs' fourth visit to the bowl and its fourth loss. Osborne was asked if he feels snakebit. "Well, we play a lot of games on artificial turf, every one this year," Osborne said.

Sun Devil Stadium is a grass field. "I don't think that's an excuse, but we probably play a little better (on artificial turf). Our (pass) coverage is probably a little belter. The Fiesta Bowl has been good to us and we're pleased with the people down here and everything but the football game." Haggins thought the Scminolcs wore down Nebraska. "They seemed tired down the stretch," he said.

"I think that's a case of it being warm, and we're a warm weather football team." Florida State also made a case with its performance in the Fiesta Bowl that it is playing as well or better than anyone in the country. Osborne wouldn't disagree. "They may be the best football team," he said. "Who am I to argue after they beat us that badly?" overs took sixth-ranked Nebraska out of its normal game plan. "I think we needed to establish a running game, and as we got further behind we couldn't keep running the ball," Osborne said.

"And we're not a team that is going to make a living throwing the ball down after down." Nebraska had 108 yards rushing and 232 yards total in the first half. The Cornhuskcrs finished wilh 322 yards, nearly 200 below their average. Quarterback Gerry Gdowski, who was intercepted only twice in 136 attempts in the regular season, threw two interceptions Monday. He was 13 of 23 for 154 yards. But Nebraska's passing game is predicated on the run.

They never established their option game. Gdowski, who rushed for 925 yards this season, finished with 1 and his longest run was 6 yards. He was sacked twice for a loss of 1 5 yards. "It wasn't so much that we could read what they were doing, but we had such an advantage with our quickness," said Florida State nose guard Odcll Haggins, who was named defensive player of the game. "We got off the ball quick and we got penetration.

Once you get penetration, you can stop the option." Nebraska was ahead, 7-0, in the first quarter, when I-back Ken Clark ran around right end and gained 34 yards before fumbling at the Florida State 38. The Scminolcs recovered. The Cornhuskcrs held, but on the next possession, Gdowski threw an interception on a flea-flicker. In the second quarter, Gdowski fumbled after being sacked. He also was if Nebraska linebacker Mike Petko is alone With his thoughts as the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl nearsitsend.

Michael MoltterThe Arizona Republic.