The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 27

SSxe Jpfitkkljjfna Inquirer Section Bill Lyon D3 Horse Racing 012 NBA Notes D2 NFL Notes D4 NHL Notes D7 Outdoors Dll He's the sleuth in the secondary: A look at the Eagles' Eric Allen. DS. oorits Sunday, January 2, 1994 mote gfee Hud Seiiii the toot Bentley's late FG wins title Citrus victory is sweet -K $3 Hi-' 1 Qa-. 4 -r )f 4 v- ytyrr ft i By Mike Bruton INQUIRER STAFF WRITER MIAMI When the air held no more footballs and the pandemonium on the floor of the Orange Bowl had subsided, Bobby Bowden still didn't believe he had grabbed the national title that had eluded him for so long. Bowden's prized freshman place-kicker, Scott Bentley, kicked a 22-yard field goal with 21 seconds left to give Florida State an 18-16 victory over Nebraska last night in the craziest game that ever decided a national championship.

The Seminoles drenched their coach with a splash of ice-cold water and joined in a raucous celebration on the field just before officials decided that time hadn't really run out and Nebraska got one final chance. So Nebraska placekicker Byron Bennett, who had kicked a 27-yard field goal to give his team a 16-15 lead with 1 minute, 16 seconds left took a crack at a 45-yard field goal once the field was cleared. "It's hard to believe we won the doggone game," said Bowden, whose Seminoles finished the season 12-1. "Everytime I looked up out there somebody else was winning it." The record crowd of 81,536 held its breath as Bennett's kick arced through the air only to sail wide left. Bentley's kick had held and the celebration started in earnest.

"We've lost national championships by missing kicks; we finally won one by making kicks," said the FSU coach, referring to losses the Seminoles suffered when field goals sailed wide right in the previous two seasons. "We found out what the secret is," Bowden said. "It's not wide right, it's wide left." Bentley also had kicks of 34, 25 and 39 yards to tie an Orange Bowl game See ORANGE BOWL on D8 Penn State rallied to down Tennessee, 31-13. Joe Paterno tied the game-bowl victory record. By Ray Parrillo INqUIRKR STAFF WHITER ORLANDO, Fla.

Penn State waited until time had expired before doing something wrong yesterday at the Citrus Bowl. A couple of Nittany Lions tried to dump a bucket of ice on top of Joe Paterno's head. But they missed, catching only the back of his rolled-up slacks, as the 67-yearold coach stepped gingerly out of the way and laughed. Penn State was otherwise darn near perfect in stunning heavily favored Tennessee, 31-13, before a Citrus Bowl record crowd of 72,456. The win over the sixth-ranked Volunteers (9-2-1) and their brilliant quarterback, Heath Shuler, salvaged the season for the 13th-ranked Nittany Lions (10-2), who hadn't beaten a team of Tennessee's caliber since knocking off top-ranked Notre Dame in 1990.

In recent years, State had acquired a knack for losing big games, and the Lions have finished in the top 10 only once since winning the national championship in 1986. Indeed, many believed the luster was wearing off Paterno and his program. And though Paterno said simply that yesterday's win was "very satisfying" it tied him with legendary coach Bear Bryant with a record 15 bowl-game victories his players knew it was more. "All the time we were down here, he was harping on us to show that Penn State could win a big game again," said tight end Kyle Brady, a fourth-year junior whose 7-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Kerry Collins gave the Nittany Lions a 24-13 lead midway through the third quarter. "It's the hardest he'd worked us for a bowl game since I've been here.

He wanted this game bad. Real bad. "We knew we were a top-10 team coming into this game. We just wanted to get some respect, and show that we deserve to be among the elite." Certainly, sophomore receiver Bobby Engram is among the elite. Engram was named the game's MVP after catching seven passes for 107 yards and a 15-yard TD that sent the See PENN STATE on D8 Associated Press HANS DERYK Florida State's William Floyd fumbles as he goes over the top at the goal line for a controversial TD in 3d-quarter action in the Orange Bowl.

So Fla. State won? Huskers were class of the game Diane Pucin lawnmower in the second half. Their field-goal kicker, who'd missed his last four, hadn't kicked one since Oct. 13. Yes.

Nebraska had guts. Had heart. Had heartbreak. "Nebraska played at least as good as us," Bowden said. "Maybe better.

They deserved to win much as we did." Tommie Frazier, the little quarterback with the sweet smile and no fear, bashed his head after throwing a crucial fourth-quarter interception, then came back and ripped off a See DIANE PUCIN on Db the line. The referee who signaled the touchdown was screened out by two Nebraska players. But the touchdown counted. "I don't believe we won the game," Bowden said. And he hadn't seen the replay.

Nebraska played the second half without its leading rusher and leading receiver, both sidelined with injuries. The Cornhuskers' sophomore quarterback dedicated the game to his brother in prison. Their freshman running back, third string, his number missing from the roster, chewed up ground like a runaway made a 45-yard field goal. And didn't. Florida State beat Nebraska, 18-16, in the Orange Bowl last night and won Bowden his first national title.

Maybe. Nebraska had the guts. The heart. The Cornhuskers played harder and better. They were 16'2-point underdogs.

And should have won. Florida State's only touchdown in this game was dubious. Big, strong fullback William Floyd leaned over the goal line, and the ball popped loose. The replay seemed to show the ball was loose before Floyd was over MIAMI This couldn't have been nuttier. Bobby Bowden got doused with Gatorade, and then his team almost lost the game.

Byron Bennett, the Nebraska field-goal kicker who'd missed his last four, made one with 1 minute, 16 seconds left, and the Cornhuskers led Florida State, 16-15. Scott Bentley, a baby-faced freshman who'd been on the cover of Sports Illustrated before the season ever started, kicked a field goal with 21 seconds left, and Florida State led, 18-16. With no time showing on the clock, Bow- den got his Gatorade shower, then had to be escorted to the sideline because the game wasn't over. A second was left. Bennett could have Florida overwhelms West Virginia, 41-7 The Gators spotted the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead in the Sugar Bowl and then roared back for the victory.

He's not silent on the sidelines. He's doggedly determined to win. Sixers' Carter won't sit still for anybody I r. 4 i If' ing to them." The coach takes off his glasses and rubs a large hand across his wet forehead. He is ready for the next play.

The empty chair stays empty. "Dana, Dana, DANA, Carter rasps, calling for the ball to be given to guard Dana Barros, who is spotted up for a three-point shot against the Suns. The ball goes to Barros. "All right now, kill it," Carter yells to Barros. "Kill it.

KILL Barros makes the shot, and Carter claps his hands and dances back down the sideline, pausing only to tell referee Jack Nies: "They're pushing on my big guy. You can't let them do that. They only get one hand now. That's not right just because he's a rookie." It goes like this every game, just as it did for 48 minutes against the Suns on Thursday. The chair is lone'y, and Carter is omnipresent.

He breaks all the rules of modern NBA ccaches on the sidelines. They are a breed that is becoming increasingly bloodless and See CARTER on D2 By Bob Ford INCjUIREK STAFF WRITER DENVER It is Fred Carter's chair on the sideline, the chair that has never been used. Here he is, up again, pleading, cajoling, putting his palms against the sides of his face and opening his eyes wide in mock surprise at a referee's call. He can't believe it. This is what Fred Carter is telling the refs, the players, the media and the 19,023 fans at Phoenix's America West Arena who have looked up from their purple daiquiris to see a grown man hopping in place and screaming because Shawn Bradley has, yes, been called for another foul.

"My guys are trying too hard out there for this," Carter tells referee Bernie Fryer, jogging alongside him as he lopes past the 76ers' bench. Carter stays with him for a while, peeling off only when the midcourt stripe looms. "They're working too hard not to be treated the same as the other team, Bernie. They deserve every possible break they have com By Jay Searcy INQUIRER STAFF WRITER NEW ORLEANS Turn out the lights, West Virginia. The show is over.

And so is your Cinderella dream of grabbing a piece of the mythical national collegiate football championship. Florida saw to that here last night before a deafening Sugar Bowl crowd of 75,437 at the Superdome, crushing the previously undefeated Mountaineers, 41-7. The Gators became the first Florida team to win a Sugar Bowl and the first team to win 11 games at the school. Led by junior quarterback Terry Dean and an outstanding corps of wide receivers, by a senior running back named Errict Rhett, and by a swarming defense that produced one of the all-time great Sugar Bowl interception returns, eighth-ranked Florida (11-2) abruptly ended West Virginia's ongoing national championship debate without a word. And the Mountaineers' 12-game winning steak, longest in Division I-A, was but a memory.

Rhett, who had 100 yards rushing before the fourth quarter started, finished with three touchdowns, which tied a Superdome record. By the time some 25,000 swaying Florida See fAiGAR BOWL on D8 Inside: Bowl Highlights COTTON BOWL Notre Dame 24, Texas 21 The Irish came from behind three times to subdue the Aggies. D9. FIESTA BOWL Arizona 29, Miami 0 Arizona's defense did to Miami what hadn't been done in 15 seasons: Shut out the high-scoring Hurricanes. D10.

ROSE BOWL Wisconsin 21, UCLA 16 Brent Moss ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns as the Badgers beat UCLA in their first Rose Bowl appearance in 3 1 years. D9. CARQUEST BOWL Boston College 31, Virginia 13 Glenn Foley passed for 39 1 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Eagles. D10. HALL OF FAME BOWL Michigan 42, N.C.

State 7 Tyrone Wheatley scored two touchdowns and the Wolverines' defense forced the Wolfpack into six turnovers. D1 0. The Philadelphia Inquirer CHARLES FOX Fred Carter talking with Shawn Bradley before a game. Carter calls the rookie "resilient.".