The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 19

nj i i ii i i i it-ttt'iti i i i i i ii i ii ii i i i i i i i r-i ww eljc Acs Hloincfl Jlcistcr DAVID WITKE, Executive Sports Editor, 515-284-8130 Lett Bygones be Bygones Dallas Coach Jimmy Johnson forgives Leon Lett for his blunder that helped Miami win on Thursday. Page Saturday, Novkmkkk27, 1993 III Hayden Fry, Iowa's fans and Texas' loss secure a bid When-Dee. 31. Where Alamodome (65,000 capacity), San Antonio. Opponent Fourth-place team from Pacilic-10 Conference.

Televlslon-ESPN. Payout $700,000 to each team. Tlcketi Prices are $32, $25 and 1 5. They go on sale Monday at the Iowa Athletic Ticket office. Tickets can be ordered in person, by mail or by telephone and there is no limit.

When ordering by phone, call 319-335-9327 with credit card information. All ticket orders must include a $2 handling charge. The address for tickets is: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, 52242. The deadline is Dec. 10.

How to get there Interstate 35 south from Des Moines to San Antonio. ball's coaching legends in Hayden Fry, a native son of Texas," said Bob Coleman, chairman of the Alamo Bowl Association. Fry attended high school in Odessa, Texas, and is a 1951 graduate of Baylor University. He coached 11 seasons at Southern Methodist between 1962 and 1972, winning the Southwest Conference in 1966. He also coached at North Texas State between 1973 and 1978.

"I've spent a lot of time in San Antonio, and I can't wait for members of the Iowa football family to make the trip," Fry said in a statement. "San Antonio has many interesting attractions and sites." It will be the first time Fry has coached in Texas since becoming Iowa's coach in 1979. The game will be played in the Alamodome. Iowa's foe is the fourth-place team from the Pa-cific-10 Conference, which could be Arizona State or California. The game will be Iowa's 1 1th bowl in Fry's 15 seasons, but this one was not as definite as some of the others.

The Hawkeyes finished the season with records of 3-5 in the Big Ten Conference and 6-5 overall. They did not beat a team with a winning record, had a five-game losing streak and were outscored, 80-3, during consecutive home games against Penn State and Illinois. Iowa has won its last four games. "I think part of the reason we got invited is because we've got a great coach who is a legend in Texas," defensive back Jason Olejniczak said. "After we had that losing streak, I don't think many guys were planning on going to a bowl; we were just playing the remainder of the season for pride.

We didn't really start talking about the possibility of a bowl game until just before the Minnesota game." The Hawkeyes' 21-3 victory against the Gophers Nov. 20 was the 200th of Fry's college coaching career. That has been achieved by only three other active coaches Penn State's Joe Paterno, Florida State's Bobby Bowden and Nebraska's Tom Osborne. Fry has taken 13 previous teams to bowl games three to the Rose and Holiday bowls, two to the Peach Bowl, and one each to the Cotton, Sun, Gator, Astro-Bluebonnet and Freedom bowls. His last entrant at Iowa was the 1991 Holiday Bowl, a 13-13 tie against Brigham Young.

The third-place finisher from the Southwest Conference was supposed to have played the Pacific-10 Conference opponent, but the Southwest Conference was forced to surrender its reservation when No. 8 Texas A beat Texas, 18-9, Thursday, giving the conference only two teams with six victories against Division I-A teams, a requirement for a bowl game. "We're disappointed we did not get a team from the Southwest Conference, but we couldn't be more delighted than to have a fine school like Iowa available for our first game," Coleman said. delivers Nebraska to 11 0, Orange Bowl The Hawkeyes will face either Arizona State or California game at San Antonio. By RANDY PETERSON Register Staff Writer Iowa football coach Hayden Fry will return home for the New Year's holiday.

Iowa accepted an invitation Friday to play in the inaugural Alamo Bowl on Dec. 31 at 8:30 p.m. in San Antonio, and one of the lures was the background of its coach. "Iowa brings with it a national reputation and one of college foot Defense Huskers stuff suddenly sullen Sooners, 21-7 By RICK BROWN Register Staff Writer Lincoln, Neb. Trev Alberts was hoarse.

"I've never been this hoarse," Alberts admitted. "I don't know if I could be a normal fan. It would drive me crazy after awhile." Alberts didn't plan on being a fan Friday. Named the Big Eight's top defensive player in a unanimous vote just two days earlier, Alberts figured he would spend this bone-chilling day chasing Oklahoma quarterback Cale Gundy over the frozen turf of Memorial Stadium. He figured he would help keep the undefeated Cornhuskers' hopes of a No.

1 ranking still burning. But nine plays into his final home game, Alberts dislocated his right elbow and had to watch the remainder of Nebraska's 21-7 victory on television in the training room. "Getting injured is just part of the game of football," said Alberts, who might have to watch his teammates play for the mythical national title on Jan. 1 from the sidelines of the Orange Bowl. The senior linebacker from Cedar Falls, a finalist for the Butkus Award, will get a cast put on his elbow in three days once the swelling goes down.

"Then it's usually four to five weeks of healing," Alberts said. "I hope to be back. That's all I can say right now. The way they played today, I don't think they need me." Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne wasn't buying Alberts' brave front. "That was a real blow, because Trev has been the heart of our defense," Osborne said.

In contention for their third No. 1 ranking and first since 1971, the Cornhuskers entered Friday's game ranked second in the Associated Press media poll but first in the CNNUSA Today coaches poll. The coalition poll, a combination of those two polls used to determine the bowl alignments, also had the Cornhuskers No. 1. "They were No.

1 coming in, and I don't see any reason they won't stay there," Oklahoma Coach Gary Gibbs said. The top-ranked team in that coalition poll had lost the previous two weeks. First Florida State, then Notre Dame. For much of the first half Friday, Osborne had a sinking feeling that streak would continue. "I wouldn't have given a plugged nickel for our chances about the middle of the second quarter, because we were being dominated on both sides of the ball," Osborne said.

The last time Nebraska entered this rivalry as the No. 1 team in the nation, in 1987, Oklahoma came to Lincoln and spoiled the party, 17-7. This game took an ominous tone when Gundy drove the 16th-ranked Sooners 74 yards in 13 plays after the opening kickof for a touchdown. Oklahoma was on its way to further damage with its first possession of the second quarter. On first and 10 from its 39-yard line, freshman running back Jerald Moore broke loose for a 47-yard run that ended when he was sandwiched by Tyrone Williams and Barron Miles.

The ball popped loose and the Cornhuskers' Donta Jones recovered. Nebraska tied the score on a 15-yard drive, capped by quarterback Tommie Frazier's 2-yard run, after "ft i i-" ii 'fit v' fit" v. V'i'S I 1 ries went for 5 or more yards, and none for more than 7. The Cornhuskers finished with 78 yards in the first half and a season- low 122 yards for the game. The pre- vious low had been 190 yards in a victory at Colorado.

1 .4 ITS its air show for playoffs Felton Sealey Steps in as Drake coach Without Rudy, Bulldogs will get earful in opener By RANDY PETERSON Register Staff Writer Felton Sealey will replace Rudy Washington as Drake's basketball coach tonight, which means the decibel level could be higher in the Knapp Center. Washington is more passive than his No. 1 assistant, except for the incident that led to the unusual circumstances for tonight's 7:05 opener against Simpson College. Washington is serving a one-game suspension by the Missouri Valley DRAKE Please turn to Page 4S Report Scores TOP 25 FOOTBALL (2JNebraska 21 (15) Oklahoma 7 (5) Virginia 1 7 (1 1) Boston Col. 1 4 (13) Carolina 38 Duke 24 (19) Arizona 34 Arizona State 20 NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Atlanta 124 Washington K)8 Charlotte 110 Milwaukee 99 Chicago Denver J08Dallas 85 112 Portland 101 Miami 101 Boston 93 Golden State 1 00 Philadelphia 88 Houston 92 Sacramento 89 LA Lakers 102 Indiana JOO 92 Seattle 110 Minnesota Utah 100 New Jersey 97 TOP 25 BASKETBALL (6JJfansas 86 (18)Mass'setts 75 Maryland 84 (15)G'town 83 (5J Michigan 80 (13) Geo Tech 70 QjN Cara 90 (9 Minnesota 76 (IQ)Okla St.

U3 Providence 102 (24) Vanderbilt 83 Penn State 60 (21) Purdue vs. Weber State NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Boston 3 Florida 2 BuHalo 5 Ottawa 2 Chicago 6 Calgary 3 New Jersey 6 St Louis 6 Philadelphia 3 Tampa Ba 0 Pittsburgh! 4 Washington 4 San Jose 4 Anaheim 3 Vancouver 5 Winnipeg 3 k' A VI Z. UNI takes to Boston ByDANMcCOOL Register Staff Writer Boston, Mass. A week-long mystery ends today when Northern Iowa and Boston University meet in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA football playoffs. The teams never have met.

The Panthers do not know how well Boston University, ranked sixth and seeded fourth in the playoffs, operates its run-and-shoot offense. The Terriers aren't sure how well 13th-ranked Northern Iowa throws the football. "Never in my recall have we been in a situation of going in as blind as we are as far as what they actually have," Northern Iowa Coach Terry Allen said. Can Boston University win its 14th consecutive game? Can Northern Iowa win its first playoff game on the road? "It's two pretty evenly matched ballclubs," Boston University Coach Dan Allen said. "The advantage goes to Northern Iowa because this is its fourth straight year in the playoffs." Northern Iowa has a 6-5 record in playoff games, but 0-3 in games away from the UNI-Dome; Boston University is in the playoffs for the first time since 1984.

"It's like two heavyweight fighters. Both will be feeling each other out early," Boston University quarterback Robert Dougherty said. Both teams have absorbed some blows this season. Northern Iowa won five games after trailing at one time. Boston University has rallied to win three games, including the past two.

"We are a counterpunch football team," Terry Allen said. "When you can anticipate the counterpunch, you're a little better at it. We might PLAYOFFS Please turn to Page 3S Morning Happy Norse Officials in Lille-hammer, Norway, want sometimes-dour residents to look cheerful during the 1994 Winter Olympics. So they are testing smile holders. The smile holders work by attaching a plastic hook in each corner of the mouth.

The smiles can be adjusted by moving an elastic band. Jarleif Haugen, of the Oppland township in the Olympic region, said, "We wanted a gimmick that was a little humorous in our campaign to have people appear pleasant to visitors." Cubans defect Conrado Cabrera and Noel de la Cruz Friday became the latest Cubans to seek political asylum during the Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico. Two days after collecting the gold and silver medals in the bicycling race at the regional championships, Cabrera and de la Cruz were helped to defect by former Cuban cycling coach Jose Menendez. Drugs in Denmark Danish legislators Thursday approved a measure that calls for up to two years' imprisonment for athletes using steroids. i 1 JEFFREY Z.

CARNEYTlIK RfIISTKR Nebraska's Tyrone Williams hugs Christian Peter after sacking Oklahoma's quarterback Cale Gundy. i "I thought in the first half we probably controlled both sides of the ball," Gibbs said. "In the second half, their defensive front took charge." Alberts was in the training room NEBRASKAPtee turn to Page 3S Toby Wright's interception of an un- derthrown Gundy pass. Nebraska had entered the game as the national leader in rushing, aver- aging 304.5 yards a game. But the Cornhuskers managed 44 first-half yards in 21 attempts.

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