The Pittsburgh Press from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 69

DIG The Pittsburgh Press Sunday, December 29, 1991 FOR THE RECORDCOLLEGE FOOTBALL football Bowl aii's guide to New Year Bill Modoono TV Sports Washington. Nebraska has not traditionally done well against Miami, but a multitude of Miami-haters will be pulling for the Comhuskers. Dick Enberg and Bill Walsh describe the action. The Orange Bowl has been known to bring out the best and worst in Walsh. It certainly excites him.

John Dockery, the best sideline guy in college football, is also on hand GAME 8: Sugar Bowl, Notre Dame vs. Florida, 8:30 p.m., ABC. Unless the Orange Bowl halftime is two hours long (always a possibility) this game will close out the night. Notre Dame's presence gives the game a chance to get respectable ratings, especially if Miami-Nebraska is not competitive. ABC's Monday Night crew Al Michaels, Dan Dierdorf and Frank Gif-ford tend to do good work at these games.

Pitt scramble With Pitt's basketball game in the Sugar Bowl Classic postponed a day by yesterday's New Orleans Saints playoff appearance, it will wind up in conflict with the Penguins-New York Rangers game tonight on KBL. The remedy? The Penguins' game will remain on the primary KBL station, while the Pitt game will air on a temporary, alternative KBL The Pitt game can be found on the following channels: Pittsburgh city (TCI system), 24; Pittsburgh suburbs (TCI), 37; Monroeville (ATC), 32; New Kensington (Comcast), 53 or 20; PlumRobinson (Eastern Telecom) 47 and 50; Canonsburg (New Channels) 39; New Castle (Adelphia) 18; Rochester (Adelphia) 5. Assorted prose Hooray to ESPN for shifting Bob Ley from the 11:30 p.m. "SportsCenter" to the 7 p.m. show.

The former tends to be almost entirely highlight-oriented, while the latter handles more breaking news. But boo to ESPN managing editor Steve Anderson, who said the shift will "help discount the theory that sports is just the toy department of life." Wonder if NBC will go after Sam Wyche, now that his Bengals days are over? If nothing else, he should have more to say than Bill Parcells. (Bill Modoono's TV column appears in The Pittsburgh Press each Thursday and Sunday.) THE ANNUAL "Eight is Enough" holiday special is almost upon us and, of course, we are in need of guidance. On New Year's Day, college football's festival of excess EIGHT BOWL GAMES IN ONE DAY! returns for a second season. Once again it will be a day filled with sound and fury, signifying not much of anything.

Not anything conclusive anyway. The national championship will likely still be a matter of debate at day's end regardless of what happens. So why watch? Because New Year's Day is about watching football. You just need guidance to make it through. GAME 1: Peach Bowl, East Carolina vs.

North Carolina State, 11:30 a.m., ESPN. This one looks interesting, although the majority of interest is centered mainly in North Carolina. Whether a national audience truly cares is debatable, although East Carolina's rise from obscurity makes it an attractive team. Ron Franklin and Mike Gottfried have proven to be an extremely capable announcing team, but their sideline reporters Adrian Karsten and Dr. Jerry Punch have a preference for the strange.

Viewer discretion is advised. GAME 2: Cotton Bowl, Texas vs. Florida State, 1:30 p.m., CBS. This could have been a great matchup, but two late-season losses by Florida State ruined things. Still, this figures to be the best game of the early afternoon bowls.

Moreover, it features the return of Terry Bradshaw to the broadcast booth. Bradshaw, CBS' pro football studio star, will be the analyst alongside able play-byplay man Jim Nantz. Worth a listen. GAME 3: Florida Citrus Bowl, Clemson vs, California, 1:30 p.m., ABC. Last year, Brent Musburger and Dick Vermeil practically bubbled over with excitement for this game, but last year's game featured a potential national champion Georgia Tech.

This year there is nothing of the sort, so will Musburger tone it down? You'd probably rather not know. GAME 4: Hall of Fame, Ohio State vs. Syracuse, 1:30 p.m., NBC. Not a great matchup, not a great time slot, not a great anything. Fortunately, NBC put the game in the usually capable hands of Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy, with Beasley Reese the sideline reporter.

For friends and alumni only. 9) Evans, 2-(minus 7); Lake, l-(minus 10) Woodson, 1 -(minus 9); Nickerson, 1-(minus 8); Johnson, 1-(minus 7). Passes defended Woodson, 16; Everett, 11- Lake, Shelton, Johnson, Hinkle, Lloyd, Evans, Little, Davidson, Vincent, A. Jones, G. Williams, Olsavsky, Griffin, Nickerson, Veasey, G.

Jones, 1. Opponents fumbles recovered Lloyd, Everett, Woodson, Evons, Hinkle, J. Williams, Willis, 1. Forced fumbles Lloyd, Nickerson, Woodson, Johnson, Little, Everett, J. Williams, Shelton, 1.

Special teams Mills, 13 tackles-2 assists; Olsavsky, 12-1; J. Williams, 10-2; Stone, 9-0; Mc-Govern, 4-2; Cooper, 4-0; Little, 4-0; Smith, 4-0; Shelton, 2-1; W. Williams, 2-1; Brady, 2-0; G. Jones, 2-0; Anderson, 1-0; Nickerson, 1-0; Lloyd, 1-0; Vincent, 1-0; Dawson, 0-1; Graham, 0-1; Richardson, 0-1. FINAL TEAM STATISTICS American Conference TOTAL YARDAGE Offense yards rush pass Buffalo 6252 2381 381 Houston 5987 1366 4621 Kansas City 5321 2217 3104 New York 5316 2160 3156 Miami 5241 1352 3889 Denver 5012 2018 2994 Son Diego 4995 2248 2747 Cincinnati 4969 1811 3158 Cleveland 4664 1360 3304 Steelers 4581 1627 2954 Seattle 4534 1426 3108 New England 4473 1467 3006 Los Angeles 4425 1706 2719 Indianapolis 3748 1169 2579 Defense yards rush pass Denver 4549 1794 2755 Seattle 4703 1684 3019 Houston 4748 1540 3208 New York 4981 1442 3539 Kansas City 4998 1770 3228 Cleveland 5084 1875 3209 San Diego 5111 1669 3442 Indianapolis 5127 2327 2800 Los Angeles 5165 1889 3276 Steelers 5168 1582 3586 Miami 5406 2301 3105 New England 5431 1579 3852 Buffalo 5458 2044 3414 Cincinnati 5652 1662 3990 AVERAGE PER GAME Offense yards rush pass Buffalo 390.8 148.8 241.9 Houston 374.2 85.4 288.8 Kansas City 332.6 138.6 194.0 New York 332.3 135.0 197.3 Miami 327.6 84.5 243.1 Denver 313.3 126.1 187.1 San Diego 312.2 140.5 171.7 Cincinnati 310.6 113.2 197.4 Cleveland 291.5 85.0 206.5 Steelers 286.3 101.7 184.6 Seattle 283.4 89.1 194.3 New England 279.6 91.7 187.9 Los Angeles 276.6 106.6 169.9 Indianapolis 234.3 73.1 161.2 Defense yards rush pass Denver 284.3 112.1 172.2 Seattle 293.9 105.3 183.7 Houston 296.8 96.3 200.5 New York 311.3 90.1 221.2 Kansas City 312.4 110.6 201.8 Cleveland 317.8 117.2 200.6 San Diego 319.4 104.3 215.1 Indianapolis 320.4 1 45.4 1 75.0 Los Angeles 322.8 118.1 204.8 Steelers 323.0 98.9 224.1 Miami 337.9 143.8 194.1 New England 339.4 98.7 240.8 Buffalo 341.1 127.8 213.4 Cincinnati 353.3 103.9 249.4 PUNT RETURNS no yds ova la td Woodson, Pgh.

.28 320 11.4 40 0 Brown, LA. 330 11.4 75 I Taylor, S.D 28 269 9.6 48 0 Warren, Sea. .32 298 9.3 59 1 Miller, Mia 28 248 8.9 32 0 Henderson, N.E. 27 201 7.4 39 0 V. Johnson, Den.

24 174 7.3 20 0 Mathis. N.Y 23 157 6.8 25 0 Stradford, K.C ..22 150 6.8 18 0 Verdin, Ind 25 163 6.5 22 0 KICK RETURNS no yds ova ta td Lewis, S.D 23 578 25.1 95 1 Martin, NE-Ind 20 483 24.2 38 0 Warren, Sea 35 792 22.6 55 0 Williams, K.C ...24 524 21.8 76 0 Vaughn, N.E. ...34 717 21.1 99 1 Mathis, N.Y 29 599 20.7 50 0 Edwards, Buff. 31 623 20.1 91 1 Woodson, Pgh. 44 880 20.0 47 0 Elder, S.D 27 535 19.8 42 0 Plnkett, Hou 26 508 19.5 41.

0 National Conference RUSHING att yds ava la td E. Smith, Dall. 3651563 4.3 75 12 B. Sanders, Det 3421548 4.5 69 16 Hampton, N.Y. 2561059 4.1 44 10 Byner, Wash.

,.2741048 3.8 32 5 Walker, Minn. 198 825 4.2 71 10 Cobb, T.B 196 752 3.8 59 7 Anderson, Chi. 210 747 3.6 4 2 4 Delpino, LA. ..214 688 3.2 36 9 Ervins, Wash. 145 680 4.7 65 3 Johnson, Phoe.

196 666 3.4 21 4 PASSING att com yds td int Young, S.F 279 180 2517 17 8 Rypien, Wash. 421 249 3564 28 11 Bono, S.F 237 141 1617 11 4 Aikmon, Dall. 363 237 2754 11 10 Hosteller, N.Y. 285 1 79 2032 5 4 Gannon, Minn. 354 211 2166 12 6 Miller, Atl 413 220 3103 26 18 McMahon, Phil.

311 187 2239 12 11 Walsh, N.0 255 141 1638 11 6 Hebert, N.O. 248 149 1676 9 8 RECEIVING no yds ova lg td Irvin, Dall 931523 16.4 66 8 Rison, Atl 81 976 12.0 39 12 Rice, S.F 801206 15.1 73 14 C. Carter, Minn. 72 962 13.4 50 5 Monk, Wash 71 1049 14.8 64 8 Clark, Wash 70 1 340 1 9.1 82 1 0 Sharpe, G.B 69 961 13.9 58 4 E. Martin, N.O.

66 803 12.2 30 4 Ellard, LA 641052 16.4 38 3 Taylor, S.F 641011 15.8 97 9 Turner, N.O 64 927 14.5 65 8 SCORING Touchdowns tdrush rec ret pts B. Sanders, Det. 17 16 1 0 102 Rice, S.F 14 0 14 0 84 E. Smith, Dall. 13 12 1 0 78 Rison, Atl 0 12 0 72 Haynes, Atl 11 0 11 0 66 Riggs, Wash 11 11 0 0 66 Workman, G.B.

11 7 4 0 66 Clark, Wash 10 0 10 0 60 Delpino, L.A 10 9 1 0 60 Hampton, N.Y. 10 10 0 0 60 Walker, Minn. 10 10 0 0 60 Kicking pot fg lg Pts Lohmiller, Wash. 56-56 31-43 53 149 Willis, Dall 37-37 27-39 54 118 Andersen, N.O 38-38 25-32 60 113 Ruzek, Phil 27-29 28-33 51 1 11 Murray, Det 40-40 19-28 50 97 N. Johnson, Atl.

38-39 19-23 50 95 Cofer, S.F 49-50 14-28 50 91 Bahr, N.Y 24-25 22-29 54 90 Butler, Chi 32-34 19-29 50 89 Jacke, G.B 31-31 18-24 53 85 Reveiz, Minn 34-35 17-24 50 85 PUNTING no yds lg avg Newsome, Minn. 68 3095 65 45.5 Camarilla Phoe 763445 60 45.3 Earnhardt, N.O 863743 61 43.5 Landeta, N.Y 64 2768 61 43.3 Fulhage, Atl 81 3470 60 42.8 Saxon, Dall 572426 64 42.6 Feogles, Phil 87 3640 77 41.8 Arnold, Det 753092 63 41.2 Buford, Chi 692814 64 40.8 McJulien, G.B 863473 62 40.4 PUNT RETURNS no yds avg to td Gray, Det 25 385 15.4 78 1 Mitchell, Wash. 45 600 13.3 69 2 Martin, Dall 21 244 11.6 85 1 Meggett, N.Y. 28 287 10.3 70 1 Drewrey, T.B. 38 360 9.5 33 0 Sikahema, G.B.

26 239 9.2 62 0 Turner, LA 23 201 8.7 29 0 Taylor, S.F 31 267 8.6 24 0 V. Buck, N.O. 31 260 8.4 52 0 Sanders, Atl 21 170 8.1 23 0 KICK RETURNS no yds avg lg td Gray, Det 36 929 25.8 71 0 Wright, Dall 21 514 24.5 102 1 Wilson, G.B 23 522 22.7 82 1 D. Carter, S.F. 37 839 22.7 98 1 Sanders, Atl 26 576 22.2 100 1 Nelson, Minn.

31 682 22.0 50 0 Meggett, N.Y. ...25 514 20.6 42 0 Mitchell, Wash. 29 583 20.1 35 0 Turner, LA 24 457 19.0 36 0 G. Andersn, T.B 34 643 18.9 39 0 GAME 5: Rose Bowl, Michigan vs. Washington, 4:30 p.m., ABC.

Finally, a Rose Bowl that means something. The Rose Bowl winner has not won a national championship since 1969. ABC has not had the good fortune of televising a significant Rose Bowl in its three-year connection with the game. Chances are the images that come out of this game and Rose Bowl images tend to be highly telegenic will go a long way toward determining the national champion. If Washington looks good winning, it could be national champ, regardless of what Miami does.

ABC top team Keith Jackson, Bob Griese and Jack Arute will be there, so figure the game will at least sound good. GAME 6: Fiesta Bowl, Penn State vs. Tennessee, 4:30 p.m., NBC. A decent game in an awful time slot. Will anybody be watching? Only if the Rose Bowl is a total flop.

Penn State was impressive in finishing the season 10-2 and Tennessee has an exciting offense headed by quarterback Andy Kelly and wide receiver Carl Pickens. Charlie Jones returns for his 12th Fiesta Bowl, working alongside NBC's next designated star, Todd Christensen. Ahmad Ra-shad will work the sideline. Warning: Last year, while Louisville was running up a big victory in the Fiesta, NBC left the game in the fourth quarter to cover the Orange Bowl pre-game. The Orange Bowl is a more important game to NBC this year, so that could happen again.

GAME 7: Orange Bowl, Miami vs. Nebraska, 8 p.m., NBC. A difficult game to figure. Miami will have to win and do so in impressive fashion, or risk losing the national title to NFL PLAYOFFS American Conference FIRST ROUND Yesterday Kansas City 10 L.A. Raiders 6 1 Today N.Y.

Jets at Houston, 4 p.m. SECOND ROUND Saturday or Sunday Kansas City or New York at Buffalo; Kansas City or Houston at Denver. CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP Jan. 12 Second round winners. National Conference FIRST ROUND Last night Atlanta 27.

New Orleans 20 Today Dallas at Chicago, 12:30 p.m. SECOND ROUND Saturday Atlanta at Washington. Sunday Dallas or Chicago at Detroit. CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP Jan. 12 Second round winners.

SUPER BOWL Jan. 26 Conference championship winners at Minneapolis. PRO BOWL Feb. 2 AFC vs. NFC at Honolulu.

AFC WILD-CARD GAME Chiefs 10, Raiders 6 LA. Raiders 0 3 3 0 6 Kansas City 7 0 3 10 KC F. Jones 1 1 pass from DeBerg (lowery kick) LA FG Jaeger 32 LA FG Jaeger 26 KC FG Lowery 18 A 75,827. TEAM STATISTICS Los Angeles Kansas City 16 First downs 16 30-152 Rushes-Yards 39-1 31 124 Passing 73 58 Return yards 76 12-23-4 Comp-Att-Int 9-14-1 2-16 Socked-Yards lost 2-16 1- 20 Punts 2-46 2- 2 Fumbles-Lost 2-1 9-75. Penalties-Yards 3-20 29:28 of possession .....30:32 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Los Angeles: Bell 20-107, Allen 7-39, S.Smith 3-6.

Kansas City: Word 33-130, H.Williams 2-4, Okoye 1-2, DeBerg 3-(minus 5). PASSING Los Angeles: Marino-vich 12-23-4-140. Kansas City: DeBerg 9-14-1-89. RECEIVING Los Angeles: T.Brown 4-45, Horton 3-59, Fernondez 2-12, Gault 1-11, S.Smith 1-9, Allen 1-4. Kansas City: R.Thomas 3-18, B.Jones 2-25, FJones 2-20, Birden 1-18, Word 1-8.

MISSED FIELD GOALS Kansas City: Lowery 33, 47. NFC WILD-CARD GAME Falcons 27, Saints 20 Atlanta 0 10 7 10 27 New Orleans 7 6 0 7 20 NO Turner 26 pass from Hebert (Andersen kick) NO FG Andersen 45 Atl Rison 24 pass from Miller (Johnson kick) Atl FG Johnson 45 NO FG Andersen 35 Atl Haynes 20 pass from Miller (Johnson kick) NO Hilliard 1 run (Andersen kick) Atl FG Johnson 36 At) Haynes 61 pass from Miller (Johnson kick) A 68,794 TEAM STATISTICS Atlanta New Orleans 20 First downs 23 22-79 Rushes-Yards 22-65 255 Passing 265 53. Return yards 0 18-30-1 Comp-Att-Int 26-44-2 5- 36 Sacked-Yards lost 1-8 1-42 Punts 3-54 3-1 Fumbles-Lost 2-1 6- 48 Penalties-Yards 5-49 26:52 Time of possession 33:08 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Atlanta: Rozier 7-35, Pegrom 11-26, Miller 4-18. New Orleans: McAfee 14-49, Hebert 1-9, Hilliard 4-5, Jordan 3-2. PASSING Atlanta: Miller 18-30-1-291.

New Orleans: Hebert 26-44-2-273. RECEIVING Atlanto: Haynes 6-, 144, Pritchard 5-63, Rison 4-56, Thomas 1-19, Pegram 1-5, Dixon 1-4. New Orleans: E.Martin 7-83, Turner 5-75, Early 5-41 Hilliard 5-33, Carroll 2-23, Tice 1 -1 3, Jordan 1-5. Poulan Weedeater Independence Bowl Alabama's 30-25 win uplifting Today, 2:30 p.m., Shreveport, La. Teams: No.

23 Georgia Bulldogs (8-3) vs. Arkansas Razorbacks (7-4). Coaches: Ray Goff (18-16 in third year at Georgia); Jack Crowe (10-8 in second year at Arkansas). Bowl records: Georgia, 13-13-3; Arkansas, 9-14-3. Payoff: Each team receives at least $650,000.

Matter of fact: Bulldogs committed just 14 turnovers, fewest in Division I- A. Game facts: QB Eric Zeier set Georgia records for passing yards completions (159). WR Andre Hastings' 48 catches were also school best. Dogs are minus LB Greg Jackson, DT Curt Douglas (poor grades). Razorbacks managed bowl invitation despite being outgained in 10 of 11 games.

LB Mick Thomas (97 tackles, two ints.) keys defense. TV: Channel 4. Favorite: Power Ratings say Georgia by 9. pass 3997 3692 3449' 3390 2883 3120 3259 2844 2858 3410 2943 2906 2572 2667 pass 2413 2720 2947 2927 3042 2874 3266 2872 3179 3286 2916 3495 3545 3295 College BLOCKBUSTER BOWL Alabama 30 Colorado 25 FINAL STEELERS STATISTICS Steelers Team statistics Opponents TODAY'S LINE National Conference TOTAL YARDAGE Offense yards rush San Francisco 5858 1861 Washington 5741 2049 Atlanta 5113 1664 Dallas 5101 1711 Minnesota 5084 2201 Chicago 5069 1949 New Orleans 4968 1709 New York 4908 2064 Detroit 4788 1930 Los Anaeles 4695 1285 Green Bay 4332 1389 Philadelphia 4302 1396 Tampa Bay 4001 1429 Phoenix 3962 1295 Defense yards rush Philadelphia 3549 1136 New Orleans 3933 1213 Washington 4293 1346 Chicago 4507 1580 San Francisco 4554 1512 New York 4600 1726 Green Bay 4812 1546 Tampa Bay 4979 2107 Minnesota 5016 1837 Detroit 5046 1760 Phoenix 5052 2136 Dallas 5066 1571 Los Angeles 5204 1659 Atlanta 5248 1953 AVERAGE PER GAME Offense yards rush San Francisco 366.1 116.3 Washington 358.8 128.1 Atlanta 319.6 104.0 Dallas 318.8 106.9 Minnesota 317.8 137.6 Chicago 316.8 121.8 New Orleans 310.5 106.8 New York 306.8 129.0 Detroit 299.3 120.6 Los Angeles 293.4 80.3 Green Bay 270.8 86.8 Philadelphia 268.9 87.3 Tampa Bay 250.1 89.3 Phoenix 247.6 80.9 Defense yards rush Philadelphia 221.8 71.0 New Orleans 245.8 75.8 Washington 268.3 84.1 Chicago 281.7 98.8 San Francisco 284.6 94 5 New York 287.5 107.9 Green Bay 300.8 96.6 Tampa Bay 311.2 131.7 Minnesota 313.5 114.8 Detroit 315.4 110.0 Phoenix 315.8 133.5 Dallas 316.6 98.2 Los Angeles 325.3 103.7 Atlanta 328.0 122.1 Liberty Bowl DOWNS 320 Rushing 98 Passing 194 Penalty 28 3rd down made-att 94-218 4th down made art 4-9 Professional 6-17 4,581 TOTAL NET YARDS 5,168 286.3 Avg. per game 323.5 915 plays 1,039 5.0 Avg.

per play 5.0 1,627 NET YDS. RUSHING 1,582 101.7 per gome 98.9 394 Total ruslies 466 2,954 NET YDS. PASSING 3,586 184.6 Avg. per game 224.1 45-359 SockedYds. lost 38-257 3,313 Gross yards 3,843 476-259 AttyComp 535-334 54.4 Pet.

comp 62.4 16 Had intercepted 19 PUNTING AVG 36.3 NET PUNTING AVG 35.3 116-933 84-685 37-14 FUMBLESLOST 27-11 32 TOUCHDOWNS 38 8 Rushing 14 50 Passing 21 4 Returns 3 Quarter score 1 2 3 4 OT Total Steelers 42 53 67 124 6 292 61 116 54 113 0 344 pass 249.8 230.8, 215.6- 211.9 180.2 195.0 203.7 177.8 178.6 213.1 183.9 181.6 160.8 166.7 pass 150.8 170.0 184.2 182.9 190.1 179.6 204.1 179.5 198.7 205.4 182.3 218.4 221.6 205.9 MIAMI (AP) Alabama completed its best season since 1979 with its best offensive performance since October. The Crimson Tide mounted three long scoring drives in the second half for a 30-25 victory against Colorado last night in the Blockbuster Bowl. Alabama freshman Jay Barker threw three touchdown passes, all on third down. Alabama finished 11-1, its best record since the 1979 Tide went 12-0 and won the national championship. No.

15 Colorado fell to 8-3-1. Alabama's offense had scored just three touchdowns in the past four games and had 63 yards in the first half. But the Tide put the game away in the second half by marching 90, 75 and 71 yards for touchdowns. Barker capped the drives with clutch scoring passes of 13yards to Siran Stacy, 12 yards to Kevin Lee and 5 yards to David Palmer. Palmer scored in the first half on a 52-yard punt return.

The lead changed hands six. times, and the Buffaloes mounted one last challenge with 3:30 left on Darian Hagan's 13-yard pass to Charles Johnson. Colorado got the ball back with 1:49 to go, but James Hill was stopped for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-one at the Alabama 33 with 45 seconds left. The Buffaloes had 31 yards at halftime, then tripled that total on the first play of the third quarter. Hagan tossed a short pass over the middle to Michael Westbrook, who found himself in the clear and completed a 62-yard scoring longest in Colorado bowl history.

A punt return, blocked punt, safety, interception and fumble accounted for all the points in the first half, which ended with Colorado leading 13-12. The longest scoring drive was 3 yards. Rushing No. Yds Avg. Lq.

TD Moge 165 6iy i.i it i Today, 8 p.m., at Memphis. Teams: Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-4) vs. Air Force Falcons (9-3). Coaches: Jackie Sherrill (7-4 in first year at Mississippi State); Fisher DeBerry (64-33-1 in eighth year at Air Force). Bowl records: Mississippi State, 4-2; Air Force, 5-4-1.

Payoff: Each team will receive $1 million. Matter of fact: Look for lots of running. Both teams use wishbone. Air Force runs on 88 percent of plays, Mississippi State 75. Game facts: Bulldogs are in first bowl game in 10 years.

QB Sleepy Robinson (eight TD passes, five TD runs), WR Willie Harris (22 yards per catch) spark offense. Falcons are making third consecutive Liberty trip. QB Rob Perez (1,157 rushing, 10 TDs) is ideal for wishbone. TV: ESPN. Favorite: Power Ratings say Mississippi State by five.

Mazda Gator Bowl Today, 8 p.m., Jacksonville, Fla. Teams: No. 19 Virginia Cavaliers (8-2-1) vs. No. 20 Oklahoma Sooners (8-3).

Coaches: George Welsh (66-46-3 in 10th year at Virginia); Gary Gibbs (23-10 in third year at Oklahoma). Bowl records: Virginia, 2-2; Oklahoma, 18-10-1. Payoff: Each team will receive $1.2 million. Matter of fact: Points won't come easily here. Virginia ranked fourth in nation in scoring defense (10.8), Oklahoma was seventh (13).

Game facts: Cavaliers are unbeaten in seven games (6-0-1). QB Matt Blundin (19 TD passes) has NCAA-record streak of 223 passes without interception. Sooners RB Mike Gaddis was 10th nationally in rushing (1,240 rushing, 14 TDs). Oklahoma's 18 bowl victories ranks third in nation. TV: TBS.

Favorite: Power Ratings say Virginia by one. Scripps Howard News hosier yd W. Williams 57 4M0 S.I 56t I 262 4.6 21 4 117 5.3 16 0 82 4.6 22 2 2.0 2 0 -11 0 0 Thompson 20 1 1 1 4 Stryzfns'kl asses 'Donnel Brister 190 10: 190 103 Art. Cm. Yds Pet.

TD Int. Lg. 286 156 1,963 54.5" 11 7 89t 1,350 54.2 9 9 65t No. Yards Ava. Lg.

TD 41 I2 14 A Receiving Lipps Hoge Green Stone 3: Calloway V. Willinms 2 649 20.3 89t 5 254 16.9 33t 1 5 no i NFL PLAYOFFS TODAY Favorite Pts Underdog CHICAGO 3 Dallas HOUSTON v'i N.Y. Jets NBA TONIGHT Favorite Pts Underdog San Antonio 5V? ORLANDO MILWAUKEE 5 Houston PORTLAND 11 'A Miami NHL TONIGHT Favorite Goals Underdog NY RANGERS Penguins HARTFORD 1-1 NY Islanders NEW JERSEY E-'i Washington CALGARY t4-1 Los Angeles EDMONTON E-'i Montreol WINNIPEG 1-1 'A Boston CHICAGO E-Vi Detroit College BOWLS TODAY Favorite Pts Underdog INDEPENDENCE (Shreveport, La.) Georgia 7 Arkansas GATOR (Jacksonville, Fla.) Virginia l'A Oklahoma LIBERTY (Memphis, Tenn.) Mississippi St. 9 Air Force TOMORROW HOLIDAY (San Diego) Iowa 4 Brigham Young FREEDOM (Anaheim, Calif.) San Diego St. 2 Tulsa TUESDAY HANCOCK (El Paso, Texas) Ucla 6'A Illinois COPPER (Tucson, Ariz.) Baylor 3'A Indiana WEDNESDAY FIESTA (Tempe, Ariz.) Penn State 4 Tennessee PEACH (Atlonla) East Carolina 2V4 N.C.

State CITRUS (Orlando, Fla.) California 1 Clemson HALL OF FAME (Tampa, Fla.) Syracuse 3 Ohio St. COTTON (Dallas) Florida St. 5 TEXAS A8.M ROSE (Pasdena, Calif.) Washington 7 Michigan ORANGE (Miami) MIAMI 9 Nebraska SUGAR (New Orleans) Florida 6'A Notre Dame BASKETBALL TODAY Favorite Ptj Underdog FLORIDA ST. 9'A Duquesnt OHIO ST, 21 American Oklahoma St. 14 TULSA Thompson 14 Cooper 11 Foster 9 118 8.4 32 0 1 47 13.4 47t 2 117 13.0 31 I 7 Cash 7 90 12.9 20 1 Mularkey 6 67 11.2 51 0 Mills 3 79 26.3 3St 1 Graham 2 21 10.5 15 0 Field 1- 20- 30- 40- gocls 1 39 49 Anderson 0-0 8-10 9-11 5-6 50 Total 1-6 23-33 Scoriiw TDRTDPRt PA FG TP Anderson 31-3123-23 100 Green 6 36 Stone W.WllI'ms..

Hoge Cooper Foster LiRps mi ls galloway 1 Shelton Collier J. Wlll'ms 1 6 6 Blk. from Page Dl Punting No Yds Avg TBIn 20 Li rem 20 Lg. i 18 il i fas'z. nmim Punt returns No.

FC Yds. Avg. FINAL INDIVIDUAL LEADERS American Conference RUSHING atl yds ava lg td Thomas, Buff. 2881407 4.9 33 7 Green, Den 261 1037 4.0 63 4 Okoye, K.C 2251031 4.6 48 9 Russell, N.E. 266 959 3.6 24 4 Higgs, Mia 231 905 3.9 24 4 Butts, S.D 193 834 4.3 44 6 Bernstine, S.D.

159 766 4.8 63 8 Williort 3, Sea. 188 741 3.9 42 4 Green, Cin 158 731 4.6 75 2 Thomas, N.Y. 189 728 3.9 25 3 PASSING att com yds td Int Kelly, Buff. 474 304 3844 33 17 Kosar, Clev 494 307 3487 18 9 Morlno, Mia 549 318 3970 25 13 Krieg, Sea 285 187 2080 11 12 Moon, Hou. 655 404 4690 23 21 DeBerg, K.C 434 256 2965 17 14 O'Donnell, Pgh.

286 156 1963 11 7 O'Brien, N.Y 489 287 3300 10 11 Elway, Den 451 242 3253 13 12 George, Ind 485 292 2910 10 12 RECEIVING no yds dvg lg td Jefflres, Hou. ..1001181 11.8 44 7 Hill, Hou 901109 12.3 61 4 Cook, N.E 82 808 9.9 49 3 Reed, Buff 81 1113 13.7 55 10 Toon, N.Y 74 963 13.0 32 0 Brooks, Ind 72 888 12.3 46 4 Duper, Mia 701085 15.5 43 5 Clayton, Mia 701053 15.0 43 12 Blades, Sea 701003 14.3 52 2 Glvins, Hou 70 996 14.2 49 5 Moore, N.Y 70 987 14.1 53 5 SCORING Touchdowns tdrush rec ret pts Clayton, Mia 12 0 12 0 72 Thomas, Buff. ..12 7 5 0 72 Baxter, N.Y 11 11 0 0 66 Hoard, Clev 11 2 9 0 66 Mack, Clev 10 8 2 0 60 Plnkett, Hou 10 9 1 0 60 Reed, Buff 10 0 10 0 60 Okoye, K.C 9 9 0 0 54 Bernstine, S.D, 8 8 0 0 48 Lofton, Buff 8 0 8 0 48 Kicking pal ffl to pts Stoyanovich, Mia. 28-29 31-37 53 121 Jaeger, LA 29-30 29-34 53 116 Treadwell, Den. 31-32 27-36 Lowery, K.C 35-35 25-30 48 110 Norwood, Buff 56-58 18-29 52 110 Leahy, N.Y 30-30 26-37 40 108 Koioy, Sea 27-28 25-31 54 102 Anderson, Pgh.

31-31 23-33 54 1 00 Breech, Cin 27-27 23-29 50 94 Camey, S.D 31-31 19-29 54 88 PUNTINO yd lg avg Roby, Mia 542466 64 45.7 Gossett, L.A. 672961 61 44.2 Gr. Montgmry, Hou 492105 60 43.9 Johnson, Cin 64 2795 62 43.7 Tuten, Sea 49 2106 60 43.0 Stark, ind 82 3492 65 42.6 Hansen, Clev 80339 65 42.5 Horan, Den 72 3012 71 4 1 8 Stryiinski, Pgh 74 2996 63 40.S Barker, K.C 572303 57 40.4 TD 0 Woodson 320 11.4 46 S.I Vincent" Mills Kkkoff returns No. Yds. Avi TD 1- Lg- Woodson 44 sua 258 i' 1 1 it 04 a.a 24 wins Stone Graham J.

Williams Thomoson 6 75 12.5 25 fl 1 8 80 fl 1 0 0.0 0 McGovem Interceptions No. Everett 4 yvooason 1 57 57t snenon Hinkle Home team In CAPS. Lffle without. "There's a lot of pressure on being No. 1, not to lose a game.

It's almost like it's gone a little too far, like college football is just another business." In a sense, I suppose, Paterno is an idealist trapped on this kind of wicked merry-go-round. But he's been on it so long, his legend grown so elaborate, it sometimes gets in his way. "It's surprising when you see the kind side of him," Thompson said. "You never know, as a player, whether he likes you or not. He doesn't like to favor anybody, so he keeps his distance." For most of this Penn State season, one that will be remembered more for what it almost was than for its unprecedented offensive excitement, Paterno somehow couldn't bring himself to favor tailback Richie Anderson over Gerry Collins.

In terms of getting to No. 1, that was a fatal posture. Anderson is the G. Jones from the typical Coach Bullethead, an ounce of sincere perspective in a cauldron of hypocrisy. Thank you, Shazzon.

But Paterno is every bit the willing victim of the college football machinery as the next coach. His own players will detail it for you. "I leave my apartment at 7 in the morning and get home at 8 o'clock at night, then I study," said senior nose tackle Jim Deter at the Fiesta Inn. "There's a great amount of pressure. He always stressed academics, so if you need time off to do a paper or something, he might give it to you.

But I'll tell you, it's a 365-days a year thing. I think our winter conditioning and spring practice is just as hard as the season. This year, we were in summer school while we were doing double practice sessions before the Kickoff Classic. It wasn't much fun. "There are 13 days of fun.

They're the 13 days when we play the 13 games. All the other days, you can pretty much do equal of any runner in Penn State history. Collins is, uh, not. Yet as late as Oct. 19, Collins was the starter in an imponderable game of tag that might have cost Penn State the national championship.

It wasn't until Anderson got the job for good that this offense grew to its full personality. "In the final month of the season, you could see Richard Anderson start to come around," Paterno said. "He played with a lot more recklessness, more confidence." Wonder why? "I went back up to Penn State before the Cincinnati game this year," Thompson said. "I went to his office and he was so nice. He told me, 'We miss you around here.

We miss your leadership. We're proud of That meant a lot." You bet it did. But maybe Joe ought to let people know a little more willingly, a little sooner even. Or is that just not what legends do? I OPENINGS school High Defense Nickerson, 70 solos-24 assists; Lake, 70-13; Lloyd, 64-12; Johnson, 67-7; Woodson, 60-11; Everett, 47-20; Hinkle, 47-1 Little, 45-15; G. Williams, 40-10; J.

William, 41-6; Evans, 26-9; Olsavsky, 25-7; A. Jones, 25-5; Shelton, 26-2; Willis, 20-3; Veasey, 13-9; G. Jones, 14-2; Davidson, 8-5; Brady, 9-2; Griffin, 8-3; Smith, 8-2; Hall, 7-3; Vincent, 6-1; Richardson, 2-0; Walker, 1-0. Quarterback socks J. Williams, '-(minus 45); Lloyd, 8-(minuj 58); Willis, 52); Veasey 2-(minus 26); A.

Jones, 14); G. Williams. 2-(mlnus 12); Hinkle, 2-(minus COACHES CANON-McMILLAN Needs head football coach with senior high coaching experience, No teaching positions available. Send resume to Superintendent Oonald Strang, 1 North Jefferson Canonsburg, Pa. 15317.

mt, LEBANON Needs gins' Assistant lacrosse coaches. No teaching positions. Call Nancy Wells, 343-1181. 1.