The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 37

0 Clipboard, I)i SECTION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1980 The Post 3 ittsburgh Pounds South Carolina 3 7 "9 second half. The Gamecocks' lone touchdown came with just 3:26 to play in the game, on a 14-yard pass from Gordon Beckham to Tim Gillespie. It mattered little. "We were able to control the football and that's what we wanted to do," Sherrill said. "We slowed George Rogers down a little.

"I'm real proud of this football team. We're the only team left that is still up there from the start of the season we're the only one left in the top five. If things fall into place, we deserve to be No. 1." Trocano completed 10 of 21 passes for 155 yards. Marino was 7 of 13.

And the Pitt defense limited South Carolina's Garry Harer to seven completions in 16 attempts. "We forced them to go to two wideouts," Sherrill said. "It worked." Earlier in the week, Carlen expressed concern about everything from the Gamecocks' pass defense to their kicking game. The only thing he hadn't bellyached about was Rogers. And although the Heisman Trophy winner gained 83 yards in the first half, it was his fumble on the game's opening play that allowed Pittsburgh to take an advantage it never surrendered.

Torn to GATOR, D2 By Jay Lawrence Post Stall Wrlttr JACKSONVILLE In about 60 hours the University of Pittsburgh will know if it has a chance to grab its second national championship in four years. But last night in the Gator Bowl, a guy who should know, Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers, was already picking Pitt. Because as a record crowd of looked on, the Panthers bent, spindled and mutilated Rogers' South Carolina team 37-9 in the 36th Gator Bowl. The victory gave the third-ranked Panthers an 11-1 record for 1980. They must now hope for Notre Dame to topple Georgia in the Sugar Bowl Thursday afternoon and for Oklahoma to knock off No.

2 Florida State in the Orange Bowl. "They're better than (top-ranked) Georgia," said Rogers, who ran for 113 yards in 27 carries. "They should be right up there. They've got a great team." Rogers fumbled the ball on his first and last carries of the night. It was a perfect example of the Gamecocks' evening of frustration.

South Carolina turned the ball over five times. Pittsburgh quarterbacks Rick Tro-cano and Dan Marino combined for 233 passing yards. And though Pitt's Lombardi Trophy-winning Hugh Green made just four tackles, the Gamecocks came up with 284 yards, close to 75 below their average. "We did not play as well as we can," South Carolina coach Jim Car-len said. "But they are one of the three best teams in the country.

I really don't know who is best." Pitt coach Jackie Sherrill was not getting his hopes up. "We deserve to be in the running," he said. "We'll be in the top three somewhere. But a couple things still have to happen. Georgia is undefeated and if they win the Sugar Bowl they deserve to be No.

1. But we should be in the running someplace." The Panthers led 17-3 at half time. It became 34-3 after three quarters. Rogers gained just 30 yards in the i 1 4 A -1 t. SC Pit 22 First downs Rushes-yards Passing yards Return yards Passes Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards 17 40-116 168 85 11-27-3 7-30 3-2 3-12 40-167 233 48 17-35-3 3-30 1-1 11-73 i ta t' 4., Pittsburgh 10 7 17 3-37 S.Carolina 0 3 0 6 PIT-Trocano 1 run (Trout kick) PIT-PG Trout 34 SC FG Leopard 39 PIT Collier 3 pass from Marino (Trout kick PIT-WcMlllan 3 run (Trout kick) PIT McMillan 42 pass from Trocano (Trout kick) PIT-FG Trout 29 SC Gillespie 14 pass from Beckham (kick failed) INDIVIDUAL LEADERS RUSHING Pittsburgh, McMillan 13-59, Hawkins 9-50, Trocano 8-41.

South Carolina, Rogers 27-113, Wright 4-23. PASSING Pittsburgh, Trocano 10-21-2-155, Marino 7-13-0-78, Daniels 0-1-1-0. South Carolina, Harper 7-16-1-116, Beckham 4-10-1-52, Reeves 0-1-1-0 RECEIVING Pittsburgh, Collier 5-57, Pryor 4-36, Collins 3-50, McMillan 2-46. South Carolina, Scott 7-109, Gillespie 2-32. if 3 a United Prsl International Pitt fullback Randy McMillan (40) drives S.C.'s Troy Thomas (29) back on his heels 'One thing Barry does every year is come to the Orange Bowl and kidnap one of the state's best players' Bobby Bowden Jf OI7? FSU Coaches Keep Piling Up Good OP Victories 12 4' FSU and he played for us this year.

Two weeks ago, though, that kid got a report card from Oklahoma. He had all C's on it." Switzer remembers the last time he was paired against a comedian. "When I hear Bobby talk, I flash back to 1977," Switzer said to the luncheon crowd at the Inter-Continental Hotel. "That was the last time I was against a comedian-football coach. His name was Lou Holtz." That was the year, of course, that the Razorbacks shocked the Sooners 31-6, and Switzer gets chills thinking about it.

"I thought the Big Eight was well-received last year," said Switzer, who has never lost more than two games in any one season, including bowl games. "But for the first time we weren't the home team. Even though we have been here 12 times, more than any other school, FSU owns this town when they're here. "We just got to make sure we own it when we4eave." Switzer was in command and demand last year. This year, it seems like it's Bowden's party and the Oklahoma coach is getting tired answering questions about the Sooners' fumbling problems when you recruit backs for the wishbone, some of the good ones fumble.

That's just the way it Or about the fact that Oklahoma has now been in the Orange Bowl five of six years: "We want to be here. We deserve to be here and want to come back next season." Yesterday, at the annual coaches' luncheon which was declared a draw last year, Bowden was top dog. He had 'em rolling. "One thing Barry does every year," says Bowden, "is come to the Orange Bowl and kidnap one of the state's best players. We or Florida or Miami sign a kid and then old Barry comes in to take them out to Oklahoma.

"Well, we finally got back at Oklahoma. They took one of our kids last year and enrolled him in school. But we talked the kid into coming to By Karl Gulbronsen Post Stall Writer MIAMI Oklahoma's Barry Switzer and Florida State's Bobby Bowden are your typical good ol' boy, big-time college football coaches. Of course, the country boy aspect makes each coach entertaining, but all they really care about is winning football games. Switzer has won a lot of games.

Since taking over at Oklahoma, replacing Chuck Fairbanks, Switzer teams are 82-9-2, the best winning percentage for any coach in the business at least five years. Bowden has been impressive, 44-13 in five years at FSU, but he is a new kid on the block among the elite top 10 football powers a neighborhood the Seminoles did not seem to belong in when the Sooners ran past FSU 24-7 in last year's Orange Bowl. These same two teams and coaches square off again Thursday night in a game that could decide the national championship. And once again the Seminoles enter the game with a better record (10-1 to OU's 9-2), a higher ranking (FSU is No. 2, OU No.

4) and much more to gain by winning. But they are also the underdog again and that role seems to sit much better with Bowden and his team than with Switzer's squad. The Sooners came to Miami as a team that wasn't welcome. Everyone wanted Nebraska's Cornhuskers for a rematch with FSU. The Sooners, visitors the previous three seasons, are not the same swaggering bunch that came in last year and Switzer seems to feel that it is going Bobby Bowden Seminoles' coach to be much tougher this time around.

"It seems different this year," Switzer was saying. "Last year, we came in knowing that there was little chance of either one of us winning the national championship and we had Billy Sims. "Our eyes have opened up this time. We saw that Florida State beat two outstanding teams and were a much better football team defensively. And, I hear, they are a pretty relaxed bunch." Barry Switzer Sooners' coach Bowden had predicted it would be much easier the second time around.

And it seems to be true. The Seminoles are loose. All the media and chamber of commerce attention seems old hat. They just have another football game to play that just might be the biggest game of their lives. "We are much more relaxed," Bowden said.

"There has been a lot of intensity in practice and the bright lights and all the attention don't seem to be bothering them." NCAA Silences NBCs Bid To Bug Boid if -I 'I'm disappointed. I thought it was a good idea' Nick Crane, Orange Bowl Committee it's against the rules. And you can't negotiate a rule' Tom Hansen, NCAA J. 3 11 Area Players Make All-State Football Team Complete Team, D4 Eleven area players, including eight first-team selections on The Post's 1980 All-Area team, were honored on the Class AAAA Ail-State football teams announced yesterday by the Florida Sports Writers Association. David Goddard, Boca Raton's 6-foot-3, 235-pound offensive tackle, was named to the first-team All-State offense, while Vero Beach's Pat Woolfork was named first-team defensive lineman.

Goddard's teammate in the Boca offensive front, guard Kerry Wilson, made the second-team All-State offense. Gary Wilkins of Twin Lakes, who has signed a letter of intent with Georgia Tech, and Stanley Shakespeare of Lake Worth, who was signed with Miami, were voted to the second-team defensive line and secondary, respectively. Quarterback Kyle Vanderwende of Palm Beach Gardens, also a Miami signee, made the third-team offense. Noseguard Amonte Holloman of Boca Raton, the Bobcats' lightning-quick junior, was named to the third-team defense. Defensive tackle Willie Broughton of Fort Pierce Central, center Trip Reynolds of Palm Beach Gardens and defensive backs Jay Baker of Lake Worth and Mike Heaven of Boca Raton all received special mention.

MIAMI The NCAA, wary of foul play, has a rule banning electronic devices on college football players. So NBC's plan to wire defensive captains Mike Reilly of Oklahoma and Reggie Herring of Florida State has fallen on deaf ears. A couple of weeks ago, NBC and Orange Bowl officials announced a plan to wire defensive leaders who called the signals for their respective schools. The idea was to give the armchair quarterback a bigger slice of the action. But it seems they forgot to ask the NCAA if it was all right.

A rule concerning "prohibited signal devices" (Article 6, Section 4 of NCAA rule book) states: Players are prohibited from being equipped with any electronic, mechanical or other signal devices for the purpose of communicating with any source. Penalty 15 yards and disqualification of player. NBC put a new twist in the game with last year's bugging of Florida State coach Bobby Bowden. The Seminoles lost the game 24-7. Tom Hansen, of the NCAA's television committee, said, bugging Bowden was all right, but microphoned players are not allowed.

"It's against the rules," he said. "And you can't negotiate a rule." Nick Crane of the Orange Bowl Committee was surprised when he learned of the rule banning microphones. "We don't want to break any rules that would get the athletes or schools in any type of trouble," Crane said. "We want to keep our good standing with the NCAA. "I'm disappointed.

I thought it was a good idea. I wish we could work things out." Live microphones have been used in other games over the years, most times with the losing team accusing the winner of eavesdropping. The only time players can wear live microphones is during an all-star contest, such as the Blue-Gray game! The rule does not apply to all-star games and that's why the quarterbacks in that game were bugged, with the NCAA's blessing. Karl Gulbronsen 1 tf David Goddard first-team offense Inside Va. Tech Defense Is Sound Story, D2 Dooley, Devine Sweet-Talk College Football Roundup, D2 Ai Wins License Fight Sports Roundup, 1)4.