Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 23

3 SCOREBOARD 2 COMICS 6 CLASSIFIED 9-20 THE CLARION-LEDGER JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1990 nn 1TDI7D 1 JL 7 W( (o RICK CLEVELAND Executive Sports Editor The Clarion-Ledger MB 'I SO i '-( I All American Bowl delivers thrills instead of defense BIRMINGHAM, Ala. It had been billed as a defensive struggle. It was. Both defenses struggled. But what the 14th All American Bowl lacked in for defense, it made up for in for drama.

Add an for excitement, too. At the end, Southern Mississippi needed one more miracle from a player who had delivered so many in the past. And Brett Favre, who was better than ever, nearly did it again. But North Carolina State's blitzing linebacker Corey Edmonds slapped the ball away from Favre as the final seconds ticked off. Thus, the Wolfpack survived 31-27 in a dazzling, back-and-forth game that left 44,000 spectators nearly as drained as the players.

When all was done, two huge men, USM center John Camacho and N.C. State noseguard Ricky Logo, embraced at midfield, perhaps to hold each other up as much as anything. "Great game man," Camacho rasped. "You said it," Logo replied. The two were living definitions of exhaustion.

And they were also correct. The game, if not textbook quality in defense or special teams play, was thoroughly entertaining. The two teams, both possessing defenses ranked among the nation's best, put on an offensive show. Fit Favre rose to occasion Favre, 100 percent fit for the first time in 1990, passed for 341 yards and won MVP honors despite losing. N.C.

State was more balanced, running for 193 and passing for 166 for 359 total. Only Alabama and Virginia Tech gained more yards against USM last season. North Carolina State seemed to have victory clinched when it took a 31-21 lead with just 6:21 remaining on fullback Greg Manior's 41-yard rumble. Game, set and match? Anyone who knew anything about the two ballclubs knew otherwise. North Carolina State blew fourth-quarter leads in four of its five defeats.

Favre guided USM to fourth-quarter comebacks in three of USM's last four vie-, tories. As poised as ever, Favre passed the Eagles 86 yards in 10 plays and just over three minutes. When USM's defense then stuffed the Wolf-pack, the Eagles had a chance. USM got the ball back at its own 47 with 1:30 and one timeout remaining. The Eagles got as far as the Wolfpack 20 before Edmond's late heroics.

Bower debuted with 1st-play bomb Golden Eagle fans didn't have to wait long to learn new head coach Jeff Bower's offensive philosophy. USM came out winging. Not a bad philosophy either not when one of your wings is the one attached to Favre's right shoulder. On the first play of Bower's head coaching career, Favre dropped back and threw a 46-yard bomb to Michael Jackson. The possession ended, however, with Jim Taylor's missed 29-yard, field-goal attempt the first of many self-inflicted USM wounds on this night.

North Carolina State's defensive secondary, reputed to be among the nation's best, was burned again on USM's next possession. Favre handed off to Tony Smith, who pitched back to Favre, who lofted a gorgeous 52-yard pass to Jackson. The ball carried nearly 64 yards in the air and hit Jackson perfectly on the dead run. "We haven't seen a quarterback with that much talent all season," said North Carolina State coach Dick Sheridan, who faced Virginia's Shawn Moore, among others. "I've been watching Brett throw these past three weeks, and I've never seen him throw better," Irvin Favre, Brett's dad, said afterward.

"He's finally 100 percent, his arm and everything else." A good thing, too, because USM's defense, missing departed defensive coordinator Mike Bugar, struggled throughout. See RICK CLEVELAND, 5C Rick GuyThe Clarion-Ledger Southern Mississippi's Mark Montgomery looks in a 13-yard TD pass from quarterback Brett Favre in the second quarter as North Carolina State's Jesse Campbell reacts too late. Favre finally fizzles at finish after sizzling earlier Inside I Wolfpack keeps its grip, 4C I It was a "special" loss, 4C I By the numbers, 5C lina State safety Fernandus "Snake" Vinson said. "And to end the game on a turnover. That is so sweet." And so sour for USM and Favre, who was named the Most Valuable Player.

"I had a pretty good game, but we didn't win," Favre said. "And that's the only reason we came to this bowl to win." Favre did his part. He completed 28 of 39 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns. USM's special teams and defense didn't. "We felt the difference in the game would be the special teams play, and we didn't execute our special teams very effi ciently tonight," Bower said.

"The fullback and their option game worked well." See USM, 5C By Robert Wilson Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Brett Favre's dream was to end his collegiate career with a winning touchdown pass on the final play of the game. The Southern Mississippi senior quarterback had that chance, but it didn't end the way he wanted. Favre fumbled on the last play and North Carolina State defeated USM 31-27 Friday night in the All American Bowl before an estimated 44,000 fans at Legion Field. No.

23 USM finished with an 8-4 record. North Carolina State ended with a 7-5 mark. USM got the ball back with 2 minutes left, down four points, a familiar sight for Golden Eagles fans. Said Favre: "As always, I thought we were going to win it. We had time, but we couldn't get into the end zone." Favre drove USM from the USM 47 to the North Carolina State 20.

Eight seconds were left. Favre went back to pass, looking for Michael Jackson in the end zone. But before Favre could find him, North Carolina State's Corey Edmond hit him and he fumbled. Favre lay on his back, and the clock read 0:00. "They were coming closer, closer and closer.

I was hoping we were going to be able to stop that guy (Favre)," North Caro The Wolfpack win spoiled Jeff Bower's debut as the USM head coach. Bower, who played quarterback and was an assistant coach at USM, was named head coach to replace Curley Hallman earlier this month. Favre, who had led USM to come-from-behind wins over Southwestern Louisiana and Auburn in the final two regular-season games, couldn't pull this one off. Chancellor hoists USM Hurricanes whip Dogs Senior guard's 3-pointer at the buzzer gives the Eagles an 89-86 win over Holy Cross. From Staff and Wire Reports games for the host Hurricanes and second loss in nine games for the Bulldogs, who fell to sixth-ranked Ohio State 82-80 in Thursday's opening round.

In the championship game, Ohio State beat Miami of Ohio 85-67. Burton scored seven points and Joe Wylie added four in the first 6 minutes after halftime as Miami increased a 29-25 lead to 46-33. State pulled within 58-57 with 5 minutes, 30 seconds to play but couldn't keep up the pace. See BULLDOGS, 3C eight-point deficit with just over 2V2 minutes to play. The Golden Eagles, 4-1, will play in tonight's championship game against the winner of the Wyoming-Northern Arizona game.

Holy Cross, 4-4, will face the loser in the consolation game. Holy Cross led 81-73 after 6-foot-9 center Jim Nairus hit a jumper with 2:34 to play. The Golden Eagles then began their comeback, scoring 1 1 points in just 1:03 while Holy Cross managed only a free throw by Earl Wheedon. See EAGLES, 3C Mississippi State falls 74-67 in Palm Beach Classic consolation game. From Staff and Wire Reports WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.

-Sophomore Trevor Burton scored a career-high 24 points as the Miami of Florida Hurricanes defeated Mississippi State 74-67 Friday in the third-place game of the fifth annual Palm Beach Classic. It was the second victory in nine CASPER, Wyo. Darrin Chancellor scored 24 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer, to lead No. 21 Southern Mississippi to an 89-86 win over Holy Cross in the opening round of the Cowboy Shootout on Friday night. Chancellor's shot capped a run that saw Southern Mississippi erase an TV today Friday sports by the numbers The best: An index finger in the air could tell the tale in the Peach Bowl, El (ft imp and we're not talking about any claims on No.

1. Pat Dye's Auburn Tigers play Indiana at 11:30 a.m. on ABC (Chan. 16 in Jack Inside Murrah's Tera Sheriff scored 33 points to break the Jackson Public Schools career scoring record, 3C. An interesting matchup in the Jan.

1 Gator Bowl between Ole Miss and Michigan may be the punting game, 7C. Three college bowls are scheduled today: the Peach, Holiday and Freedom, 7C. Water Valley football coach Terry Allen is named Coach of the Year and linebacker Andre Miller of Meridian is named Player of the Year by the Mississippi Sports Writers Association, 8C. NBA Rockets 101 Nets 99 Pistons 97 Timberwolves 85 Hawks 131 Celtics 114 Spurs 104 Kings 88 Suns 115 76ers96 HOCKEY NHL Sabres 5 Blackhawks 0 Penguins 5 Red Wings 0 Rangers 5 Capitals 3 Jets 6 Bruins 0 Oilers 5 Canucks 2 COLLEGE FOOTBALL All American Bowl N.C. State 31 No.

23 USM 27 Blockbuster Bowl No. 6 FSU 24 No. 7 Penn State 17 BASKETBALL State men No. 21 USM 89 Holy Cross 86 Miami, Fla. 74 Miss.

State 67 Top 25 No. 5 Indiana 102 Ohio U. 64 No. 6 Ohio State 85 Miami (0.) 67 No. 11 Pitt-Alaska-Anchorage No.

13 Connecticut 59 Lafayette 57 No. 14 Oklahoma 1 12 Ilinois St. 69 No. 22 Nebraska 85 Idaho 65 No. 23 lowa-Hawaii-Hilo No.

25 Michigan St. 97 Mason 72 SEC Alabama 7 1 Towson State 52 Auburn 84 Tulane71 Fordham 66 Vanderbilt 65 Tennessee in Rainbow Classic Metro Virginia Tech 82 Richmond 79 Illinois-Memphis State ppd. son). Aw, coach, surprise us. It's only Indiana, and you've had four weeks to work on those two-point conversions.

The rest: KC plays Chicago in an NFL game at 1 1:30 a.m. on NBC..