The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • Page 29

The Orlando Sentinel SUNDAY, September 20, 1992 Sunday Special: Expansion draft will hurt, C-6 ports I ZZZ7. iriwi Vols once a 31-14 Gators to roa Xr? UF special teams collapse: C-12 Larry Guest THE SPORTS COLUMN 0, 4 No. 14 Tennessee hurts No. 4 Florida's chances of playing in the 1st SEC Championship game. By Mike Dame OF THE SENTINEL STAFF 7 -7 I rl quarterback Shane Matthews.

A missed field goal by freshman Bart Edmiston from 22 yards, making him 0-for-3 for the season. Despite the many mistakes, Florida down, 17-7, at halftime almost got back in the game on the first play of the second half. A fumble by Tennessee's Mario Brunson was recovered by UF's Ed Robinson near the Vols' 10, but referees called Brunson down. Replays showed Brunson clearly fumbled the ball before his knees touched the ground. "The turning point could have been when we had that fumble," UF free safety Will White said.

With six SEC games remaining including another tough road Please see GATORS, C-12 eastern Conference loss in 12 games, dating to 1990's 45-3 loss at Tennessee. "It was about like two years ago," said Spurrier, whose UF teams are 0-4 against ranked foes on the road. "We just soundly got beat in every area of the game. "I don't know what to say." A crowd of 97,137 the largest ever to see UF play weathered monsoon-like showers in the second half and watched the Gators (1-1, 1-1 in the SEC) make a 180-degree turn from their promising opening victory over Kentucky. To wit: Five illegal-procedure penalties against UF.

Two sacks and countless other hurries of v-. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. It is official: Neyland Stadium has become a house of horrors for coach Steve Spurrier and his University of Florida Gators. The nightmare that is Rocky Top haunted fourth-ranked Florida again Saturday, as a dazed and confused bunch of Gators fell to No. 14 Tennessee, 31-14, in a matchup of young teams in search of identities.

It was the Gators' first South- 4 l.i'l fun i i ASSOCIATED PRESS Quarterback Shane Matthews' 149 passing yards and 1 touchdown toss aren't good enough as Florida drops to 1-1. fj 0 ffl IP I in Wolf pack den FSU finds pre ft i f. a. n. mu I ft 3 Kv The 'Noles crash N.C.

State's party in Raleigh as FSU's potent offense cuts loose. By Alan Schmadtke OF THE SENTINEL STAFF RALEIGH, N.C. Dancing arguably with its best home date in a generation, North Carolina State smiled, stepped on camera with a willing partner and flirted with a program-lifting upset. Then Florida State's offense uncoiled. Not ones for parties at their expense, the third-ranked Seminoles smacked N.C.

State quickly and convincingly, further setting an agenda in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 34-13 victory at Carter-Finley Stadi- UITl; FSU tailbacks excel: C-11 FSU kissed off a potential threat with two touchdown passes in the final 2 minutes of the first half, and the Seminoles hounded N.C. State quarterback Terry Jordan into disarray and disfunction. By the time the No. 16 Wolfpack figured out a way to reach FSU's end zone, they trailed by four touchdowns and had time enough only to realize what they let slip by. "It seems like it's up to the defense to start things, and that's fine," linebacker Reggie Freeman said.

"We can do it that way. But eventually we all get going. The goal is to come in every week and take away another game in the ACC. Any day, 1 i 1 1 vvim ak'' 1 I4 Vols' Shuler steps up as SEC's leading man KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Armed with a confident swagger, a rifle arm and a name right out of a Dan Jenkins novel, Tennessee quarterback Heath Shuler established himself as the newest marquee star of the Southeastern Conference on Saturday.

After auditioning for the role a week earlier with an 80-yard winning drive against Georgia, the drawling, refreshing sophomore came back to nail down Dixie's leading-man job by embarrassing fourth-ranked Florida with a three-touchdown show on national television. In a game marred by a torrential rain in the second half, Shuler ran for two scores and threw for another in leading underdog Tennessee to a 31-14 romp. In short order, enraptured journalists were swapping Shuler yarns. The time he hit the far wall of UTs 70-yard indoor practice facility to win a bet with teammates. The time he high-jumped 6 feet 9 in high school.

The time he broke out in laughter in the huddle during that pressurized drive between Georgia's intimidating hedges. The time he made five consecutive baskets in the final minute to give his North Carolina high school a state playoff victory. Surely, Shuler inspired a reluctant flashback for Florida coach Steve Spurrier, himself a confident, multisport otar out of the Smokies. Leading the Vols with Spurrierlike bearing, Shuler built a 24-7 spread, then went into a clock-killing mode when the heavy rainstorm created a Monday windfall for east Tennessee hairdressers. For Florida, the beginning of the end came much earlier, with what Spurrier admitted was questionable play-calling on his part when the Gators had a chance to take a quick grip on the game.

With second-and-goal at the Vols' 3, Spurrier disdained conventional logic of powering forward and signaled in a flanker reverse that was smacked down for a 2-yard loss. Then on third down, Spurrier curiously had slow-footed Shane Matthews try a quarterback draw that was stopped for no gain. Freshman Bart Edmis-ton came on to miss his third field goal in two games, and the Gators' chance to quiet the partisan 97,137 and set a tone lay in shambles just short of UT's distinctly checkered north end zone. The jubilant Vols bounded off the field screaming, high-fiving, touching off a flow of adrenalin that reached flood stage a few minutes later when they blocked a Florida punt to set up Shuler's and the Vols' first TD. Spurrier beat the second-guessers to the punch.

"I'm really mad at myself for not throwing it in the end zone. That reverse was probably not the best call. They were spread out, but we had no chance to check off because of the crowd noise. It wasn't the best play. We should have been throwing in the end zone.

We had first-and-goal and came away with nothing. Maybe it was only a 3- or 7-point swing," he said with a shrug. It was much more. It was one of those huge emotional swings that determine the flow of so many big college games. In this case, it seemed to touch off a panic on the Gator sideline.

Florida turned into a team seemingly trying to win with mirrors, as if it were Vanderbilt or Cal-Fullerton, instead of vaunted conference champions and 5-point favorites. The Gators ran trick plays in scoring territory. They tried back-to-back flea-flickers after swooping out to midfield. They desperately gambled with a fake punt from their 19. In the third period.

The fake failed, and Shuler quickly made them pay for it. As the Gators departed what is becoming Florida's Biyearly Humility Fix, UT fans ringing the visitors' tunnel taunted with straight-armed "jaws" gestures. Spurrier waved and smiled at his tormentors. One of his assistants was not as creative. The coach scowled and gave a two-handed response that was either doubly obscene or was meant to convey that Florida is 1-1 this season.

A more disturbing stat: In road games against ranked teams, the Gators are now 0-4 under Spurrier. To say that tendency has Spurrier's brow furrowed is to say Woody Allen is experiencing a bit of a family unrest. "We've got to learn to play in this kind of environment and obviously we've not done it yet Spurrier said, his voice trailing off. This defeat severely wounded Spurrier, who was certain his troops would avenge that 45-3 embarrassment here in 1990. Three hours before kickoff, he waxed confident in the hotel lobby.

"This," he assured several supporters, "will be a lot happier day for Gators than two years ago." As it turned out, all they had to be happy about was that none of them drowned. a jri ASSOCIATED PRESS Please see FSU, C-11 Corey Sawyer's acrobatic interception, the 1st of 3, helps send the Seminoles soaring on the scoreboard. UCF upended by Troy State Torretta is hurt, but Miami rolls By Ru8 White OF THE SENTINEL STAFF Orange Bowl early Saturday evening, a night when the No. 1-ranked Miami Hurricanes methodi-c a 1 1 took apart NCAA Division I-AA Florida University, Torretta QB Gino Torretta's injured shoulder is the only suspense in Miami's 38-0 shutout ofFAMU. By George Diaz OF THE SENTINEL STAFF MIAMI The starting quarterback watched the second half in street clothes with a sling around his left shoulder.

Some of the starters mingled with a handful of military personnel in the first row of the stands. And most importantly, the Miami Hurricanes made sure to come back out of the locker room for a postgame performance from the Florida Marching 100 band. They didn't want to miss the most compelling action from the They waited through an hour delay until rain and lightning passed, then the University of Central Florida Knights were shocked by Troy State, 20-16, Saturday night before 7,755 at the Florida Citrus Bowl. UCF grabbed a 16-13 lead with 4:15 to play when Franco Grilla kicked a 47-yard field goal but could not hold back the charged-up Trojans. Led by junior quarterback Kelvin Simmons, who told his teammates in the huddle, "Stick with me, I think I'm your man," Troy State drove 69 yards on nine plays to score the winning touchdown with 1:19 remaining.

David McCombs, a running back from Fort Walton Beach, ran in from the 4-yard line to cap the dramatic comeback. Simmons made two crucial runs to set up the score, one on a 21-yard scramble from the shotgun formation on third-and-22 at midfield, the other a 9- Please see UCF, C-14 This game had little to do with the poignant drama of college football, except for the halftime and postgame performances from the renowned band from Tallahassee. The Hurricanes (2-0) frolicked to their 46th consecutive victory in the Orange Bowl before 74,292 Please see MIAMI, C-13 PHELAN EBENHACKSENTINEL UCF linebacker Rick Hamilton grabs Troy State QB Kelvin Simmons around the thigh. COLLEGE FOOTBALL MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL fatSi 20 Texas 26 10 Missouri 13 use Oklahoma Page C-8 Pago C-9 Notre Dame 52 Penn State 52 Lightning score an exhibition 1st The Tampa Bay Lightning record their 1st NHL exhibition victory, 5-2, over the Minnesota North Stars as Doug Crossman scores the go-ahead goal 6 minutes into the 3rd period. Story, C-3.

HEADL1NERS Sergei Bubka raises the world record in the pole vault again 20 test, 2 Inches, C-2. Sultry Song beats Pleasant Tap by lengths and wins the Woodward at Belmont Park, C-2. Nootyn Sheppard and Ktanah Bresnlck win their divisions In Florida's 1st sanctioned 3-mile cross-country race (or girts, C-18. AMERICAN LEAGUE NATIONAL LEAGUE Toronto 1, Texas 0 Cine. 8, San Diego 2 Clove.

5, Chicago 4 San Fran. 3, LA. 0 Detroit 3, Boston 2 Chi. 6-10, St-L 5-11 Milwaukee 4, Bali 1 Y. 7, Montreal 5 Kansas City 7, N.Y.

4 Pittsburgh 3, Phlla. 0 Auburn 30 LSU 28 Page C-10 Delaware St. 31 B-CC 17 Page C-14 Top 25, C-8, 9 sec, c-io ACCOM Bg C-13 Michigan St. Page 31 E. Michigan 7 C-8 Page C-9 29 UCLA 17 14 BYU 10 C-9 Page C-9 Washington Nebraska Page Seattle 6, Oakland 4 Houston 3, Atlanta 2 Calif.

5, Minnesota 1 I Town (Meter C-4 I Gordon ttei C-4.