Tallahassee Democrat from Tallahassee, Florida • Page 53

Ho Tallahassee Sept. 8, 1985 Baseball, 8, 9 Pro football, 12 Scoreboard, 11 UUli'J 5P 7 11 Defense is key to FSU's 17-13 upset By Bill McGrotha Democrat sports editor in ii 1 1 ii WJ T- r- tegl 1 i.frfi A -t LINCOLN, Neb. On the hottest day for football this state ever knew, Florida State got the defense, the kicking game and whatever else was required for lightning to strike twice. With it all, the Seminoles chilled mighty Nebraska 17-13 here Saturday, and probably vaulted into the nation's top 10. A crowd of 75,943, the 137th consecutive sellout in Cornhuskers history, saw a game much like the one in 1980 when Florida State uncorked one of the great upsets, 18-14, on this same field.

But few games anywhere ever have been played in such brutal heat. It was 93 degrees before the kickoff, 96 at halftime, and the heat on the field's artificial turf was measured at more than 130 degrees. The final score was on the board at halftime, but no one would have believed it at the time. In the heat, the offenses of both teams seemed to suffer most. Just as in 1980, the Seminoles turned over the ball not once.

Nebraska lost it three times. Just like 1980, Florida State capitalized on remarkable punting as Louis Berry, averaging 39.7, punted the ball dead at Nebraska's 7, 4 and 12. And just like 1980, this game had its unlikely heroes. Among them was Kirk Coker, who came in at quarterback and did what was demanded when starter Danny McManus went out with an injury in the first moments of the last quarter with the Seminoles backed inside their 10. McManus was apparently just shaken up and is expected to be OK.

And now Florida State stands 2-0 with an open date ahead before facing Memphis State at home on Sept. 21. At the start, it seemed Nebraska would blow the Seminoles away as fullback Tom Rathman tore away on the game's fourth play for 60 yards and a 7-0 Huskers lead. But right away, the Seminoles started making Nebraska's defense the nation's best last year look a little silly. Mixing passes with runs, McManus directed a 79-yard movement that tied it 7-7 on Dar-rin Holloman's 15-yard catch over the middle.

Associated Press Florida State cornerback Martin Mayhew stops Nebraska quarterback Travis Turner on a first-quarter run Defense allows the yardage but refuses to allow points could be attributed to a slight adjustment in its strategy. In a move that substituted Solomon, an inside linebacker, for Garth Jax, an outside linebacker, the Seminoles employed a three-inside linebacker "stack" several times during the game. That move was abetted by bringing a cornerback, usually Stan Shiver, from the secondary up to the line of scrimmage on the strong side vacated by Jax. By Gerald Ensley Democrat staff writer LINCOLN, Neb. The chant in the Florida State lockerroom after the game went on for almost 30 seconds: "Hoo, hoo defense.

Hoo, hoo defense," shouted more than 60 voices. And none was more heartfelt than that of FSU head coach Bobby Bowden, whose Seminoles had just beaten Nebraska 17-13. "The defense won the game for us in the second half," said Bowden. "At halftime, I told the guys the same thing I say every time we're ahead at halftime: 'If we keep them from scoring, in the second half we'll That's just what happened." The style was not too fancy. The Seminoles gave up 412 yards of offense to the Cornhuskers.

Included in that total were two 100-yard-plus efforts by Cornhusker running backs, as tailback Doug DuBose ran for 129 yards and fullback Tom Rathman gained 113 yards. Quarterback McCathorn Clayton add ed another 97 yards rushing although Clayton and starter Travis Turner managed to complete only three of 14 passes for a paltry 40 yards. But when it mattered, the Seminoles were impenetrable, as they held Nebraska scoreless for the final 38:05 of the ballgame. "We wanted to stop them every down. But the main thing was we stopped them when we had to: When they got close to the end zone," said linebacker Jesse Solomon.

Part of FSU's defensive success Saturday See FSU, 6F See DEFENSE, 6F Gators start season with a 35-21 win over Hurricanes By George Maselli Democrat staff writer to his backs. On a second-and-10 play, he finished off the 6:29 drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Nattiel. Miami's first drive ended in an interception when Testaverde tried to throw to tight end Willie Smith in triple coverage. Safety Ricky Knight made the interception. The Miami defense, however, the gang that had sand kicked in its face much of last season, got tough.

Cornerback Tolbert Bain broke up a deep throw to Nattiel, and then the Hurricanes sacked Bell twice for 20 yards in losses. Miami points. The Gators came racing into the 1985 season looking invincible on offense at both the start and finish of the first half. They used simple running plays with Anderson and fullback John L. Williams ripping off large chunks of yardage.

It was a good idea behind an untested offensive line though the 600-pound left side of guard Jeff Zimmerman and tackle David Williams were moving bodies and earth. Just to mix things up, Bell completed wide-open short passes Florida leading 20-7 at the half, fell behind 21-20 before riding the skilled arm of Bell to a comfortable victory. After Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde the man replacing Bernie Kosar rallied the Hurricanes with his passing and a 13-yard touchdown scramble with 14:45 left in the game, the Gators woke up. The Gator offense, hammered throughout the third-quarter by a pumped-up defense, did not record its initial first down of the second half until the 11:40 mark of the With the momentum shifted, Testaverde led Miami on an 81-yard drive early in the second quarter. The big plays were a 33-yard completion to Brett Perriman and a 24-yarder to Warren Williams.

Williams finished the drive by slashing in from the 4 with 11:46 left in the half. From then on, however, it was all Gators. The accurate throwing of Bell carried the Gators inside the Miami 5 where they began experiencing various misadventures: Bell tripped over one of his line- See GATORS, 10F fourth quarter. But from then on, there was no stopping the Florida offense. Bell's passing keyed a 79-yard drive that resulted in a 28-21 lead with 7:50 left.

The scoring came on a 16-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Nattiel, his second scoring catch of the night, and a two-point conversion run by Neal Anderson. Not content to sit on that lead, Bell fired four straight completions, the final one 8 yards to Fran-kie Neal with 2:45 left. Florida gave away a safety from a punt formation for the final two I MIAMI The Florida Gators may be in NCAA jail for the season, but when they get out on weekends they are still mighty dangerous. Opening the season with a ped-al-to-the-metal performance, the Gators battled past the Miami hurricanes 35-23 Saturday night. The passing of Kerwin Bell and a good-enough defense showed that the bowl-barred Gators could make a run at a No.

1 ranking. Mandlikova upsets Navratilova for title Late FAMU rally falls short against Georgia Southern zzl fry if From Democrat wires By David Whitley Democrat staff writer Ivan Lendl, advanced to today's men's final. McEnroe came from behind to eliminate Sweden's Mats Wilander 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, and Lendl crushed five-time U.S. Open champion Jimmy Connors 6-2, 6-3, 7-5. McEnroe's match took 3 hours 49 minutes in heat that rose to 114 degrees at courtside.

Mandlikova, the No. 3 seed, won $187,500 with the victory; Navratilova, the No. 2 seed, won $93,750. It is the first time any woman other than Navratilova or Lloyd has won a Grand Slam title since Tracy Austin beat Navratilova here in 1981 also in a third-set tie breaker. "To beat Chris and Martina in the same tournament just doesn't happen very often," Mandlikova, 23, said.

"This is a great moment for me." See TENNIS, 1 1F NEW YORK It was Martina Navratilova who said it on Friday when someone asked how she would react if Hana Mandlikova found a way to beat Chris Evert Lloyd and Navratilova back-to-back to win the U.S. Open. i "If she does it," Navratilova said, "All you can do is say, 'Great No two words can better describe the tennis that Mandlikova and Navratilova produced Saturday afternoon, dueling for 2 hours and 14 minutes before Mandlikova finally produced a 7-6 (7-3), 1-6, 7-6 (7-2) victory that left her lying flat on her back on match point as 21,169 fans screamed their appreciation. i In the men's tournament defending champion John McEnroe and another frequent runner-up, JACKSONVILLE All week, this game was called "the real test." Florida flunked. But just barely.

Georgia Southern beat the Rattlers 27-21 before an estimated crowd of 25,000 at the Gator Bowl on Saturday night in the Bold City Classic. The loss dropped the Rattlers to 1-1. It was Georgia Southern's first game and first win, but it wasn't easy. After building a 20-point lead early in the fourth quarter, the Eagles had to survive a late charge that brought the Rattlers within six points and had the FAMU-oriented crowd rocking the Gator Bowl. The game ended with FAMU on the Georgia Southern 38-yard line and with Mike Kelly looking to throw it into the end zone and cap off a miracle finish for the Rattlers.

A Associated Press Hana Mandlikova scoops a half-volley during her U.S. Open upset of Martina Navratilova See FAMU, 10F.