The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 34

New Year's Day Bowl Games D8 The Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday, January 2, 1994 Bentley's late FG leads Seminoles If torn vv 'r 1 vf I I 1 4 Jx'. 4 I 'V 1 shifted. On the opening possession of the second half, the Seminoles drove 67 yards in seven plays with William Floyd scoring on a questionable 1-yard dive. Floyd lost the ball in the end zone, and replays showed the ball was loose before the back was over the line. Damon Benning, who replaced injured Calvin Jones, wasn't able to breathe any life into the Nebraska option and the Cornhuskers came up empty on their next two possessions before FSU struck again.

The Seminoles marched from their 12-yard line to inside the Nebraska 10 before bogging down. Bentley kicked a 39-yard field goal, his third of the game, to put FSU ahead by eight points with 3:06 left in the third period. There was little inspiring or exciting about the way the two teams moved the ball. The Seminoles sputtered like a poorly tuned car, while Nebraska took a 7-6 lead into the dressing room thanks to a stroke of luck. With 5:59 left in the half, the Cornhuskers took the lead when a Frazier pass zipped through FSU safety Devon Bush's hands and grazed Nebraska wingback Chester Johnson before being plucked out of the air by wideout Reggie Baul at the 18.

Baul completed the 34-yard touchdown play and the Cornhuskers cele-brated as if they had won by 30 points. Nebraska 0 7 0 916 Florida State 0 6 9 318 FSU FG Bentley 34, 7:06. Neb Baul 34 pass from Frazier (Bennett kick), 9:01. FSU FG Bentley 25, 14:38. FSU Floyd 1 run (pass failed), 2:10.

FSU FG Bentley 39, 11:54. Neb Phillips 12 run (run failed), :05. Neb FG Bennett 27, 13:44. FSU FG Bentley 22, 14:39. A 81,536.

ORANGE BOWL from D1 record with four field goals. Charlie Ward, harassed by Nebraska's blitzing defense and Butkus Award winner Trev Alberts (three sacks), made the winning field goal possible by calmly moving the Seminoles down the field with just 76 seconds left. Nebraska (11-1) helped, too. Hurt throughout the game by penalties, the Huskers were called for pass interference and a late hit during the winning drive. Earlier, an illegal-block penalty wiped out a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown by Corey Dixon.

Ward, the Heisman Trophy winner, completed a record 24 passes in 43 attempts for 286 yards. Tommie Frazier was just as impressive in leading the Cornhuskers back in the final quarter. The Nebraska quarterback completed 13 of 24 passes for 206 yards and ran 14 times for 77 yards. The final Associated Press poll won't be released until this morning. But the victory is likely to give Florida State the national title; since the AP poll started in 1936, every bowl-winning No.

1 team has captured the national championship. Florida State is ranked first by AP; Nebraska is second. In the coaches' poll, Nebraska is first and Florida State second. The victory extended FSU's unbeaten string to 12 for bowl games, and Nebraska lost its seventh straight postseason game. The Cornhuskers looked ready to take charge of the game as Frazier completed pass after pass to move them into scoring position with just over seven minutes left.

A penalty put Nebraska in a third-and-14 situation, and when Frazier went to the air again, FSU safety Richard Coes picked off the pass to give the Seminoles the ball at their own 20-yard line with 6:55 left. It was a heart-breaking turn of events for the Huskers, who had seen their offense resurrected by freshman I-back Lawrence Phillips. Phillips scored on a 12-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut Florida State's lead to 15-13. Frazier tried to run for the two-point conversion and failed. It was clear, however, that the momentum that had been with the Seminoles early in the second half had Associated Press MARTA LAVANDIER Nittany Lions quarterback Kerry Collins (12) trying to elude Tennessee's Shane Bonham (92) during the first half of yesterday's Citrus Bowl.

State's Collins plays the part of spoiler After an erratic season, he delivered big-time in a game Heath Shuler was supposed to own. Neb FSU 20 22 44-183 24-47 206 286 18 21 13-25-2 24-43-0 7-38 6-45 2-0 0-0 11-115 10-69 32:57 27:03 his left while Brady streaked across the field into the end zone on the right. "Kerry's getting comfortable," said Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who turned to Collins in the third game of the season against Iowa, prompting a frustrated John Sacca to leave the team. "He's a big kid and at times he's a little awkward, but he's a good competitor with a strong arm who's only going to get better." Collins will return for his final year of eligibility next season. Unlike Shuler, he has no decision to make about jumping into the NFL draft.

But yesterday he refused to play the part of the other quarterback. "I feel good about where I am right now," Collins said. "I know this offseason won't be as long as last year's was for me." guish yesterday as his usually reliable receivers dropped five passes, including one to a wideopen Billy Williams that would have been an easy touchdown early in the fourth quarter. "Our players were dropping routine balls for some reason," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. "Heath was very much in a groove, but passes that are usually caught were dropped instead.

And I'd like to say that Kerry Collins is very underrated." While Shuler's gorgeous throws were clanking off his teammates' hands and chests, Engram turned some short Collins passes into long gains and caught seven balls for 107 yards. "I can't say enough about Bobby Engram," said Collins, who also tossed a 7-yard scoring pass to Kyle Brady on a tight-end throwback. On the pass to Brady, Collins rolled to By Ray I'arrillo INljl IliEH STAFF WRITER QRLANDO, Fla. It wasn't sup posed to be this way. When it came to the quarterbacks in yesterday's Citrus Bowl between Pefin State and Tennessee, the Vols' Hepth Shuler was supposed to be the giif raising his hands in triumph, not shaking his head in defeat.

The role of losing quarterback was supposed to be played by Kerry Collins, whose erratic season didn't come close to measuring up to the spectacular one Shuler had. Ifc the days leading up to Penn Stqte's surprising 31-13 victory over sixth-ranked Tennessee, Collins was an! afterthought. ifrom now on, though, Collins can goihrough life talking about the day heroutplayed Shuler the runner-uptin the Heisman Trophy voting, Orange Bowl was one the better team lost Penn State enjoys sweet Citrus win PENN STATE from D1 shocked, orange-clad Vols fans streaming toward the exits early in th fourth quarter. More important, it was Engram wlio almost single-handedly lifted th Nittany Lions out of an early 10-0 hole. He took a screen pass 36 yards to 'energize his sagging teammates an set up Ki-Jana Carter's 3-yard ruh, which brought State within 10-7 lafc in the first quarter after Tennessee had scored on its first two posses-siijns and appeared braced for the blwout victory many expected.

Bobby made a great run on that mi idle screen that got us back into Paterno said. I the second quarter, Engram, on a reverse, slipped the grasp of defensive tackle Leland Taylor in the bafkfield and accelerated for a 35-yard pickup to the Tennessee 7-yard linp. Shortly afterward, Craig Fayak tied it at 10-10 with a 19-yard field goal. Except for John Becksvoort's 50-yafd field goal, which gave the lead batk to the Vols, 13-10, Penn State dominated the rest of the game. There even was a stroke of play-catling brilliance by Paterno that turned the game seconds before the half ended.

On second-and-10 from th4 Vols' 14, Carter swept to his left anfl, following a crushing block by the guy NFL scouts say is the top quarterback prospect in the nation. "All week, everyone made this out to be the Heath Shuler show," Collins said, feistiness evident in his voice. "It was like I was off in some little place in the corner. Shuler was getting so much hype, and I guess I was a little ticked off about it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't take it personally." Collins popped out of that corner to complete IS of 24 passes for 162 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on a deep ball.

He has had better numbers, but they came against such suspect defenses as Michigan State's and Rutgers. Yesterday, Collins played perhaps his most intelligent, most precise and most poised game against a high-caliber opponent. It didn't hurt Collins that he had the sure-handed Bobby Engram on his side. Shuler could only watch in an Engram on defensive back Ronald Davis, scored the go-ahead TD with three seconds remaining. "We had a timeout left, so we decided to go with the counter-draw," Paterno said of the play, which made the score 17-13.

"It wouldn't have been such a great call if Ki-Jana hadn't broken a tackle." Said Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, "I'm sure everyone in the stadium expected them to throw the ball. It was a gutsy call." State immediately lowered the hammer on the Vols after the second-half kickoff. The running of Carter and Mike Archie, who combined for 162 yards, and the passing of Collins, who was 15 for 24 with two TDs and one interception, triggered a drive that culminated in Brady's TD catch. Meantime, Tennessee continued to stutter. Shuler, runner-up to Florida State's Charlie Ward in the Heisman Trophy voting, watched in frustration as his receivers dropped five passes.

The Vols also hurt themselves with 10 penalties for 79 yards. And, basically, State's defense mauled Tennessee, sacking Shuler four times. Lee Rubin got an interception off a tip by teammate Tyoka Jackson that stopped a first-quarter drive, and nose tackle Lou Benfatti champion Robert Walker, was a non-factor. "This is just the way I wanted to go out," said Rhett, who finished with 105 yards rushing on 25 carries and won the game's outstanding player award. "This was maybe our best game of the year." Florida coach Steve Spurrier said he couldn't say enough about this team, whose departing seniors won 39 games.

"Once we got started, we played really well and I think we got some great breaks. But basically, it was Errict Rhett's running that did it, and a lot of his running was individual effort. He was something." West Virginia Coch Don Nehlen, who turned 58 on New Year's Day, said Florida "is as good or better than other teams we played this year, but we didn't do dumb things against the other teams." He said early penalties and turnovers put the Mountaineers in a hole they couldn't climb out of. "It wasn't Bourbon Street that beat us," he said, "it was the guys in the orange pants. After the game he told histeam, "You had a great year.

If you had First downs Rushes-yards Passing Return Yards Comp-Att-Int Punts Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yards Time of Possession INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing: Nebraska, Frazier 14-77, Phillips 13-64. C.Jones 9-28, Makovicka 2-7, Benning 5-5, Dixon 1-2. Florida State, Floyd 7-53, Dunn 1-3, Ward 8-(minus 3), S.Jackson 8-(minus 6). Passing: Nebraska, Frazier 13-24-2-206, C.Jones 0-1-0-0. Florida State, Ward 24-43-0-286.

Receiving: Nebraska, T.Bell 4-75, Dixon 3-50, Johnson 3-40, Baul 1-34, Muhammad 1-14, C.Jones 1-(minus 7). Florida State, Vanover 6-48, Knox 5-99, McCorvey 5-70, Frier 5-46. Dunn 2-30, Floyd 1-(minus 7). From the very beginning Nebraska was getting the absolute maximum from its talent. The Cornhuskers played hard, so hard.

Florida State receivers were almost never open and were getting darn mad about that. Kevin Knox threw his helmet to the ground. Kez McCorvey was screaming in frustration. And the Nebraska kids just kept playing. It was even Tom Osborne, who speaks as little as possible and experiments less, who was trying the trick stuff: a halfback pass that almost worked, a couple of reverses, throwing on first down, which is definitely not done out of Osborne's option offense.

This was all designed to keep the Seminoles off balance and maybe get them mad and out of control. On Nebraska's freaky touchdown catch, the first TD reception of the season for Reggie Baul, a sophomore split end, the ball was tipped away from the intended receiver. It should have been an incomplete pass. Baul could have put his head down or his arms down or quit running his route when the pass was thrown to Clester Johnson. But he didn't.

He kept going hard and was rewarded with a 34-yard touchdown pass. It put Nebraska ahead by 7-3, and that was the first time the Cornhuskers had led in a bowl game since the Fiesta Bowl four years ago. The Huskers led Florida State in that game too, then went ahead and lost by 41-17 anyway. So just leading wasn't an omen. The way the game was going was.

Ward, Florida State's fabulous quarterback, was slinging the ball like it was a rock to be skipped across a lake. The Seminoles had no running game, even though tailback Sean Jackson kept screaming at Bowden and Ward to get him the ball. "This is for the national championship, man," Jackson bellowed once. "Get me the But then Jackson would get the ball and hardly ever get to the line of scrimmage. Bowden was pacing the sideline more frantically than an expectant father.

What he expected was some touchdowns. This was a team that averaged 548 yards of offense a game and 43 points. Ward, who had been sacked only 10 times all season, was stuffed three times in the first half. It was the Cornhuskers who were fanati- cal in tackling. It was the Huskers who stood over crumpled Seminoles, guys who'd been flattened like corn in a tornado, pointing and jeering.

That was how the game went almost all the time. Except somehow Florida State won. But all of the coaches and reporters will watch the replay of Floyd's fumble over and over. Will know that Nebraska played harder and better. Will remember that Notre Dame, too, had chewed up Florida State's defense.

Ad then will vote. DIANE PUCIN from D1 31-yard run to set up Bennett's field goal. Lawrence Phillips, a first-year freshman, made everyone forget Calvin Jones while he was leaving Florida State defenders pawing at air. But in the end, Charlie Ward completed incredible passes out of the fastbreak offense, and Bentley didn't miss. And you know who might have benefited the most? Notre Dame.

The Irish beat Florida State, remember? If you watched that iffy Floyd touchdown and watched the Seminoles stumble over themselves, get frustrated by Nebraska's tenacity, have their offense work only on one drive, have Ward, their Heisman Trophy quarterback, put up only an average performance, if you were a coach or media member who votes in any of the college polls, wouldn't you think about putting the Irish No. The Seminoles didn't think so. They raised all of those No. 1 fingers and wrestled Bowden to the ground. Bow-den just looked stunned.

There he stood, dripping wet with ice stuck in his hair, and watched Bennett miss that last field goal, and he just looked afraid. He said weakly, as he walked off the field, something like, "I think we finally won the dadgum thing." But Bowden must have known this: dim from Wheeling to Morgantown. Florida West Virginia 7 14 14 7 0 0 641 0 7 WVU Kearney 32 pass from Kelchner (Maz-zone kick), 4:46. Fla Rhett 3 run (J.Davis kick), 14:39. Fla Wright 52 interception return (J.Davis kick), 5:48.

Fla W.Jackson 39 pass from T.Dean (J.Davis kick), 14:09. Fla Rhett 2 run (J.Davis kick), 4:02. Fla Rhett 1 run (J.Davis kick), 6:02. Fla FG J.Davis 43, 7:44. Fla FG J.Davis 26, 13:05.

A 75,437. First downs Rushes-yards Passing Return Yards Comp-Att-Int Punts Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yards Time of Possession WVU Fla 16 30 31-122 48-201 143 281 31 67 16-40-1 24-39-1 8-43 3-53 2-1 2-1 8-71 5-43 26:38 33:22 caved in the Vols' offensive line most of the afternoon. "We haven't had nearly that many problems moving the football, and that's a credit to Penn State," Fulmer said. Indeed, the Vols came into this game with an offense considered second only to Florida State's. They had scored 210 points in their last four games, and their one loss came early in the season to Florida by a TD.

So Tennessee started out as a 9'2-point favorite. Surprisingly, Paterno admitted that he was irritated by such a disparity. "I felt a little annoyed by that because we felt all along we were just as good as Tennessee," Paterno said. "I mean, we're not a bad team. Nine points is an awful lot." Brady said he sensed all week that Tennessee was taking this game for granted.

"Heck, I picked up a newspaper this morning and somebody picked us to lose by 40-something to 14," Brady said. "Stuff like that adds fuel to the fire." Now Shuler, who was 22 for 42 for 205 yards, with a 19-yard scoring pass to Cory Fleming, will struggle with the decision' of whether or not to enter the NFL draft and forgo his last year of eligibility. He has until Jan. 9 won tonight, you'd have had a great, great year." The Mountaineers held a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game, driving 80 yards in nine plays on their first possession. Jake Kelchner, who threw for 11 touchdowns in the regular season, passed 32 yards for the score, into the hands of wide receiver Jay Kearney, one of 27 WVU seniors playing their last game.

The Gators, stopped on their first two possessons by a swarming WVU defense, got moving late in the first quarter and drove 91 yards on 12 plays to tie the score at 7-7 on a 3-yard run by Rhett. Rhett had been dropped for a 2-yard loss on third-and-3 from the Florida 16, but West Virginia was flagged for a personal foul that gave the Gators a first down at the 29. Four plays later, Terry Dean hit Harrison Houston for a 20-yard gain. Rhett ran to the 6, and after an incomplete pass and an offsides penalty, Florida had a third-and-3 at the 3. Rhett took the handolf and went left, turned back to the right and broke a tackle before diving Into the to decide.

If he comes out, he may be the first player chosen. Who knows, maybe the harassment Shuler took from State's defense will hasten his decision to leave. "I can't say we rattled him," Rubin said of Shuler. "But he did seem to get pretty upset with the way things were going." Penn St. Tennessee 7 10 7 731 10 3 013 Tenn FG Becksvooft 46 Tenn Fleming 19 pass from Shuler (Becks- voort kick) PSU Carter 3 run (Fayak kick) PSU FG Fayak 19 Tenn FG Becksvooft 50 PSU Carter 14 run (Fayak kick) PSU Brady 7 pass from Collins (Fayak kick) PSU Engram 15 pass from Collins (Fayak kick) A 72,456.

PSU Tenn First downs 20 16 Rushes-yards 42-209 29-135 Passing 162 213 Return Yards 42 12 Comp-Att-Int 15-24-1 23-44-1 Punts 6-32 6-44 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0 Penalties-Yards 4-30 10-79 Time of Possession 30:13 29:47 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing: Penn State, Carter 19-93, Archie 13-69, Engram 1-35, Milne 3-13, O'Neal 6-6, Collins Hminus 7). Tennessee, Garner 16-89, B.Williams 1-38, Stewart 4-11, Silvan 1-9, Hayden 1 -(minus 3), H. Shuler 5-(minus 4), Colquitt 1 -(minus 5). Passing: Penn State, Collins 15-24-1-162. Tennessee, H.Shuler 22-42-1 205, Colquitt 1-2-0-8.

Receiving: Penn State, Engram 7-107, O'Neal 2-19, Scott 2-19, Archie 2-5, Brady 1-7, LsBarca 1 -5j Tennessee, Fleming 7-101, Phillips 3-23, Kent 3-19, Faulkner 3-18, Silvan 2-15, B.Williams 2-13, B. Shuler 1-13, Stewart 1-8, Garner 1-3. end zone. An interception at the WVU 19-yard line stopped the Gators early in the second quarter, but seconds later Florida was back in the end zone, thanks to Wright's sensational interception return. Mountaineers quarterback Darren Studstill, alternating with Kelchner as he did most of the year, threw as he was blindsided and the ball went directly to free safety Lawrence Wright, a freshman from Miami who was roaming around the 50-yard line.

Wright first headed for his right sideline, did a U-turn that baffled even his teammates, then wove a dipsy-doodle pattern 52 yards into the West Virginia end zone. Rhett capped an 80-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run with 10:58 left in the third quarter. And a fumble recovery by the Gators on the ensuing kickoff set up another touchdown, scored by Rhett from the 2. Now the score was 35-7 and not even the Orange Bowl scores, announced every three or four minutes here, interested the Mountaineers fans any longer. And lights began to Florida crushes West Virginia's title hopes with 41-7 rout SUGAR BOWL from D1 faas stood to sing, "We are the boys frt old Florida" at the start of the lasft period, the only question was: "II iw much?" lest Virginia, battling a national imige problem and condemned by po lsters for its lightweight schedule, en ered the game with a slim chance of gaining a share of the national title.

A jtoin by once-beaten Florida State ovtr Nebraska in the Orange Bowl anp a win by West Virginia (11-1) here wc(uld have garnered the Mountaineers consideration. $ut Dean, who entered the game with 17 TD passes to his credit and 1,651 passing yards, kept the Mountaineers off balance, completing pajses to eight different receivers. lawrence Wright broke the game opfcn midway through the second qujirter when he picked off Darren Sliidstill's pass. Wright appeared to out of bounds, then ran toward thj middle of the field and cut through the Mountaineers' offense 52yards to the end zone. And west Virginia's top runner, former Estate high school Sprint INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing: West Virginia, Walker 13-59, Woc-dard 2-18, Kelchner 5-11, Studstill 4-10, Jones 2-9, Freeman 3-9, Gary 2-6.

Florida, Rhett 25-105, Foy 10-53, Bilkie 2-1 1, Frazier 1-9, Evans 1-7, Kresser 1-7, T.Dean 5-6, Mobley 2-3, Randolph 1-0. Passing: West Virginia. Kelchner 13-27-1-123, Studstill 3-11-0-20, Johnson 0-2-0-0. Florida, T.Dean 22-37-1-255, Kresser 2-2-0-26. Receiving: West Virginia, Kearney 4-59, Baker 4-46, Vanterpool 3-19, Hill 2-14, Walker 1-6, Woodard 1-1, Jones 1 -(minus 2).

Florida, W.Jackson 9-131, J.Jackson 3-32, Hill 2-31, Houston 3-28, Rhett 3-18, C.Dean 1-15, Frazien; 1-11, Randolph 1-9, Doering 1-6..