The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • Page 27

The Orlando Sentinel, Tuesday. September 28, 1999 C-5 CoSlege Beat review tutorial matter 013 Hi Williams to start Football Coach Phillip Fulmer must deal with the investigation as well as an incident involving defensive star Dwayne Goodrich. ASSOCIATED PRESS Duke vs. Florida State, Saturday, noon, at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville. The future showed the three other players Reggie Ridley, Keyon Whiteside and Ryan Rowe before this week's game against Auburn.

Fulmer also must deal with an incident that occurred early Sunday morning in-" volving star cornerback Dwayne Goodrich, who was charged with disorderly conduct after police said he threatened officers who asked him to leave a convenience store near campus. Goodrich, 21, a senior co-captain, was released from the Knox County Detention Center after posting bond. A police report said Goodrich was intoxicated and, when asked to leave the store, became loud and threatened to hurt officers. Fulmer said he was aware of the arrest but had no comment. In the past, Fulmer has suspended players for disorderly conduct.

and NCAA rules. None of the information was passed on to the proper campus authorities charged with investigating possible rules infractions, said Malcolm Mclnnis, NCAA compliance officer for Tennessee. The alleged incidents dated to 1995, and it was unclear whether any of the players were on the 1998 national champion team. Three of the five players have transferred, according to ESPN. Meantime, four Tennessee' redshirt freshmen, including kick returner and NCAA champion sprinter Leonard Scott, were held out of the Memphis game on Saturday and placed on indefinite suspension as a result of the school's internal investigation.

Dickey said the most pressing issue is to determine the eligibility of Scott and cedure and has turned this matter over to the university's general counsel's office for review." "Once this review is complete, the university will announce its findings and, if necessary, take appropriate action," he said Monday. Athletics Director Doug Dickey said the university also has reported the matter to Southeastern Conference Commissioner Roy Kramer. Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer declined to discuss the allegations, which he termed "a concern." ESPN reported Sunday that internal memos show high-level administrators in UT's athletic department were told of four tutors who may have done school-work for at least five football players, possibly violating the university's honor code KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Defending national champion Tennessee, which in recent years has uncovered cheating in its advanced degree programs and a telephone card fraud scandal among its athletes, is now investigating whether tutors did schoolwork for football players. Tennessee President J.

Wade Gilley said the school is following "normal pro up early for Florida State offensive lineman Brett Williams. Because of a series of injuries, the redshirt freshman from Kissimmee is practicing with the first team and is expected to make his first career start Saturday. Williams replaced junior Donald Heaven at split tackle in the second quarter of FSU's 42-10 victory over North Carolina last week and played the rest of the way. Heaven sprained his left ankle and could be lost for a couple of weeks. "I was a little nervous at first, but we went down and scored on my first series and I was OK after that," Williams said.

The Seminoles have cashed 13 turnovers into seven touchdowns and four field goals and have forced 10 giveaways the past two games. Nationally, the Seminoles rank fourth in turnover ratio, averaging a per game. DUKE: Coach Carl Franks said Bobby Campbell will start at quarterback against FSU. Campbell is the only one of three Duke quarterbacks this year to throw for a touchdown. Graham doubtful UCF kicker tries to cope with misses 4iw 7 a rvsN Javier Beorlegui's head ached and his throat was on fire.

He couldn't sleep. He lost nine pounds at last count. He reached for the NyQuil and the Tylenol with his good hand; the other had Alabama vs. Florida, Saturday, 3:30 p.m., at Gainesville, CBS (WKMG-Ch. 6).

UF UPDATE: Tailback Earnest Gra a freshly broken finger. And all that bed-time misery Saturday night was nothing compared to what really was making Javier sick: a missed kick hours earlier. HIS. There never has been any medicine a kicker could take to make him feel better. If there was, Scott Norwood would own the patent.

Many University of Central SENTINEL COLUMNIST ham, who sustained a deep thigh bruise on the third play of last week's win at Kentucky, is listed as doubtful for Saturday's game. UF trainer Adrian Melendez said Graham's injury had improved and that the freshman and team's leading rusher would be reevaluated Wednesday. CBS announced that it will air the Oct. 9 game between Florida and Louisiana State from Baton Rouge, La. Kickoff for the game has been moved from 8 to 3:30 p.m.

Suspension over Florida fans might be taking Beorlegui's name in vain if they could pronounce it. It is "Bor-leggi," and it was his leggy that betrayed him in the Golden Knights' 24-23 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday. He missed an extra point attempt that allowed the No. 11 Bulldogs to escape UCF in Athens. He also misfired from 50 yards and had a 27-yard field goal blocked to mark perhaps the darkest day for the program's traditionally sound kicking game.

"It still hurts pretty bad. I woke up 10 or 12 times Saturday night," Beorlegui said Monday. "It's the first time something really negative has happened to me. In high school Merritt Island High, I always kicked the game-winners. "My friends tried to cheer me up, telling me some jokes Sunday.

But it's ft fir jNt. Bmm Eastern Illinois vs. Central Florida, Saturday, 6 p.m., at Citrus Bowl. UCF UPDATE: Senior David Wilson jr ASSOCIATED PRESS I pretty hard to put it out of your head." The biggest hurt of all came when Coach Mike Kruczek lost faith in him after watching the comedy of errors. Kruczek called for a pass play from the Georgia 20 with 22 seconds left instead of giving Beorlegui a redeeming shot at a 37-yard game-winner.

Then came the worst part. Just a little behind. UCF's Josh McKibben reaches for Georgia tight end Jevaris Johnson (48) on Saturday. Like McKibben, the Knights are still trying grab the next rung in their climb up the Division I ladder. Knights still have work to do to reverse season fortunes has served his one-game suspension for breaking team curfew and will return to the lineup at weak-side tackle on Saturday.

Any further disciplinary action is pending the outcome of the felony charges of aggravated assault against Wilson, who was arrested last Thursday for his part in a fight outside the Headlightz American Bar Grill, where he works as a bouncer. Ex-quarterback Daunte Culpepper is among those who were unhappy with a questionable offensive pass interference call on receiver Kenny Clark in the final minute of Saturday's 24-23 loss to Georgia. Culpepper, Clark's cousin, spoke with him by telephone from Wisconsin, where the Minnesota Vikings played Sunday. "As we were talking, he was watching ESPN, and he saw the play," Clark said. "He just went crazy.

He had like three or four people in his room with him that play on the team with him. And they said it was the wrong call also." Time to regroup pnaH ivjiurrc-t x'turtitu 1 State Oct. 9, noon, I at Tallahassee, ABC (WFTV-Ch. 9). UM UPDATE: Sat-urdav's 27-23 loss to East Carolina was so potentially devastating that Miami coaches held a team meeting Monday.

One of the main objectives for Coach Butch Davis is to keep his team together mentally and prepare for next week's game against FSU. "I've been like in a cocoon, not wanting to face reality," guard Richard Mercier said. "Now, after this off week we have Florida State in Tallahassee. Wow. That's all that has to be said.

Wow." UCF receiver Kenny Clark was Beorlegui called for offensive pass interference, the penalty pushing the Knights' upset dreams back to Orlando. And all Javier could think about were the points he and his special teams unit left between the hedges. Beorlegui pulled the extra-point attempt like a golfer with flawed mechanics, conceding he lost his concentration. He was rudely reminded that while the PAT may seem as routine as dotting an the little boot can never be taken for granted. And to think Beorlegui only started kicking after the football coach at Merritt Island drafted him off the soccer squad because, he said, "I could kick the ball the farthest." He might have had an omen of the kind of nightmare to come at Georgia during warmups.

Beorlegui, who doubles as the team's punter, tried fielding a snap and broke a finger. Freshman Ryan Flinn handled the punting against the Bulldogs. "It really bothers me because the whole team wanted to win this first one over a big school," Beorlegui said. "That's what makes it so tough. It just didn't work out.

There's still Auburn." Right after the game, Beorlegui, 19, was consoled by a senior citizen who has had two heart attacks, but the man knew exactly how he felt. It had been more than 40 years since Matt Rock missed his only PAT. And yet, that memory flashed immediately in the mind of UCF's affable 66-year-old kicking coach as he saw his pupil's shoulders slump. Rock was a kicker and punter for Heidelberg College, a Division III school in Ohio. "It was against Morris Harvey, on a cold, winter day.

I couldn't feel the kick hit my toe," Rock said. "We lost, 21-20. 1 told Javier that I knew how he felt and that I lived through it. "It was the most desolate feeling in the the world. But it's an occupational hazard.

If you can't take the abuse heaped on you, then you can't be a kicker. "We had a bad day. He's awful young, a sophomore, and all he did was punt for us last year. I told his parents to give him a kiss and a hug. I said to them all that you measure a man by what he does after adversity, not success.

I know what Javy's made of. He's a tough kid." Rock also told Beorlegui to take his phone off the hook. The coach did his best to deflect the criticism his way. "The responsibility stops right here with me. I didn't have him ready.

I'm not being benevolent; I'm being honest. I've been around the horn, and I'll take my licks," he said. Javier Beorlegui was asked what he would work on specifically in Monday's practice. "Try not to miss any kicks." Columnist Brian Schmitz welcomes your questions and suggestions. Regular mail: The Orlando Sentinel, MP-8.

PO. Box 2833, Orlando. 32802-2833. E-Mail: ososchmitzffi aol.com. Schmitz can be heard on 540 AM (WQTM) at noon Steve Sloan staggered UCF's first five Division I-A schedules with alternating degrees of difficulty: medium in 1996, 1998 and 2000 and hard in the years between.

ESPN's camera crews visited campus Monday for a segment on this year's schedule, toughest of the five. "We were trying to get the best of both worlds," Sloan said. "Build a home base of fans, play good teams, make money, develop credibility. That was kind of the whole plan." Who knew in 1994, when Sloan set up UCF's 1999 schedule, that Purdue, Florida, Georgia Tech and Georgia would all be top-10 teams? But who knew that when Sloan added powerful Nebraska in 1997, piling on to an already difficult slate, that facing the Cornhuskers would turn out to be UCF's finest hour, the best thing that happened to the program? Saturday's performance, tarnished only by the what-ifs of a one-point loss, trumped that one. Over the past half-dozen years, UCF's football program took a quantum leap forward in a transition from Division I-AA to I-A, propelled by quarterback Daunte Culpepper.

It would be tragic to let the momentum of the past four years slip away. All Sloan could do Saturday was cross his fingers and hope Kruczek's team, starless without Culpepper, would take its own leap forward. It did that Saturday in Athens, Ga. Sloan did not know what to tell them after Saturday's loss. For the upperclassmen and coaches who had been so close before, losing five times to SEC teams by a touchdown or less, there was no consolation in the aftermath of another heartbreak.

"It's kind of been a hallmark of the program that started with Coach Gene McDowell," Sloan said. "They don't ever quit. Even when they get behind. That's respected by a lot of people." They hope their potential recruits and the local fan base respect them as much as their opponents do. Two years ago, a UCF-record home crowd of 41,827 greeted the Knights in their first game back from a brush with history and a halftime lead at Nebraska.

They were touted as the best 0-3 team in the nation. How will UCF be received Saturday night, opening a four-game homestand against Division I-AA Eastern Illinois (1-3)? "I want to go out with a winning record," senior tackle Justen Moore said. "Hopefully, it can be done. I don't want to be the senior class that ruins it for UCF So obviously, I want to run the table. I'm sure all the seniors do." Was it worth the trouble? The Knights say yes, but they will let their actions speak for them over the next seven games, laying down the foundation for the bowl run in 2000.

"There should not be any more self-doubt with these kids," Kruczek said. "With the elimination of turnovers, they can play with anybody." UCF from C-1 were. Nobody expected the Knights, at the end of their gauntlet and depleted by injuries, to take Georgia to the limit. Now, the ledger reflects that UCF earned $500,000 from road guarantees from Florida, Georgia Tech and Georgia and its worst start since Sammy Weir's team went 0-10 in 1982. The Knights had more offensive yards over two opponents, lost three games by 30-something points and lost one by a point.

"It's dividends down the road for us," Kruczek said. "We've got seven more games, and I told the team we're going to win them out. Whatever it takes." Here's what UCF needs to do to make it happen: Fix the special teams. This unit makes strides every week, notably sophomore snapper Mike Hedge and the return game, which emerged at Georgia. To be fair, sophomore kicker Javier Beorlegui (seven-for-10 PATs, tow-of-five field goals) was not feeling well on Saturday, and the blocking has failed him on several occasions.

But extra points should not be a weekly adventure. Kruczek pledges that no one will block a place kick against UCF again this season. Block for Terrance Williams. The junior tailback can turn a sliver of a seam into five yards, showing flashes of what he can do against the Bulldogs (18 carries-76 yards). But he needs that sliver.

Four of the five UCF offensive linemen are first-time starters, including two freshmen. They are improving, but UCF still needs to establish the run. Get healthy. The Knights did more damage to themselves than their first four opponents. Most of UCF's injuries date back to training camp.

Look for linebackers Deaubrey Devine (dislocated left elbow) and Tony Hardman (contusion, right thigh) to make a difference in the second half of the season. Find a few more leaders. Clark stepped up in the offseason, trying to rally the troops in the weight room. Quarterback Vic Penn (108-185-7, 1,092 yards, five touchdowns) and receiver Charles Lee (31-357, one touchdown) have made statements on the field. So have Jeff Fye, Damian Demps and Ricot Joseph in the secondary.

But the Knights are still missing some of the fire that players like Mike Palmer and Deon Porter gave them last year. They are among the 20 departed seniors from a 9-2 team that was UCF's finest. This team is primed to take the next step. Nothing the Knights will see the final seven games will compare to the first four, even Nov. 6 at Auburn.

It will be their next shot at "the big one," the Knights' first victory over a major conference opponent. That elusive triumph remains the missing piece at UCF, not counting a pending upgrade of outdated facilities and a conference affiliation. Until those matters fall into place, the Knights can help themselves best by knocking off a giant They have had their chances. Athletic Director Other colleges AUBURN: Quarterback Ben Leard will miss at least four weeks with a separated shoulder and could require season-ending shoulder surgery. He was injured during Saturday's 24-17 loss to Mississippi.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Coach Lou Holtz will miss practice Wednesday so he can fly with his wife, Beth, to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, to get a second opinion about tumors discovered in her adrenal glands. She will have major surgery this week, he said. "The prognosis is very good for a complete recovery," Holtz said. WEST VIRGINIA: Quarterback Marc Bulger will miss at least two games with a broken right index finger, Coach Don Nehlen said. From Steve Elling, Chris Harry, Javier Solano, Chris Perkins and wire reports.