Pensacola News Journal from Pensacola, Florida • 33

Pensacola News Journal 7C Sunday, January 2, 1994 3 Pendergast FG keeps Irish title hojies alive K. JNotre uame edges Texas 24-21 By Denne H. Freeman Cotton Bowl CIGSS1C I to is who won when Associated Press DALLAS Notre Dame kept its long-shot national championship hopes alive. Barely. you went head-to-head," Holtz after 4 'A Miller and Kevin Pendergast's 31-yard '4 Despite loss, Texas earns respect Associated Press DALLAS Almost as much as Texas wanted a Cotton Bowl victory over Notre Dame, the Aggies also wanted respect They got the latter.

Time and again, the seventh-ranked Aggies answered challenges mostly of their own making. But a field goal late in the fourth quarter followed by two turnovers was too much to overcome as the fourth-ranked Fighting Irish prevailed 24-21 Saturday. Still, the Aggies were much more impressive in this loss than they were in their last two New Year's Day defeats and that in itself was a big step. After all, they scored a touchdown this time, something they didn't do in last year's 28-3 loss to the Fighting Irish or in a 10-2 loss to Florida State the previous year. "I think we accomplished a lot tonight," center Chris Dausin said.

"When you compare the loss to the touchdowns, the loss counts more. We played our hearts out but we came up just short." Actually, it was inches short. Kevin Pendergast's game-winning 31-yard field goal with 2:17 remaining was barely inside the right upright. A They took over twice more, but couldn't capitalize. "We got some respect from Notre Dame players and fans," said quarterback Corey Pullig, who was 17 of 29 for 238 yards.

"It's good to play well, but there's no satisfaction in losing." Pullig led the Aggies to the end zone on that drive and helped them convert two fourth downs on the drive that gave them a 14-7 halftime lead. The star of their third touchdown drive, which gave a 21-14 lead midway through the third quarter, was redshirt freshman Leeland McElroy, who dazzled each time he touched the ball but only had four chances. He turned four carries into 45 yards. Notre Dame players said they already appreciated the Aggies and Saturday's performance only cemented their opinion. "We knew what Texas was about.

We saw the film," Notre Dame quarterback Kevin McDougal said. Saturday's games were over. "That's what they said in '89. They were right and I was wrong. It should definitely be head-to-head." Notre Dame was 10-0 and No.

1 after beating Florida State in college football's "Game of the Year." But the Irish lost their regular-season finale to Boston College on a last-second field goal, and Notre Dame dropped to fourth heading into its Cotton Bowl meeting with Texas Holtz said he wasn't worried about Pen-. dergast doming through. Pendergast was, a little. "I was kind of nervous when we were driving after Mike's punt return," Pendergast said. "But I wasn't nervous at all when I made the kick." The eight-point underdog Aggies, who lost 28-3 to Notre Dame in last year's Cotton Bowl, survived an opening 91-yard scoring drive by the Irish to rally for a 14- 7 halftime lead.

After quarterback Kevin McDougal ran 19 yards for a Notre Dame touchdown on the option, the Aggies tied it with a 79-yard drive. Corey Pullig completed a key 21-yard screen pass to Rodney Thomas on third-and-16 to set up Greg Hill's eight-yard touchdown run, the first for the Aggies in three Cotton Bowls. Then two daring gambles by the Aggies paid off in the go-ahead touchdown, a 15- yard pass from Pullig to fullback De- tron Smith on fourth-and-1. The keyiplay was on fourth-and-1 from the 45. The Aggies called a timeout and Pullig sneaked two yards for the first down to keep the 77-yard drive alive.

Then Pullig hit Tony Harrison on a 21-yard pass. At the Notre Dame 15, Pullig faked into the line and found Smith running free in the befuddled Irish secondary for his first collegiate score. Notre Dame tied it 14-14 to start the second half on a 2-yard run by Ray Zellars Associated Press Notre Dame running back Lee Becton plows past Texas Michael Hendricks during the first half of the Irish's 24-2 1 victory Saturday in the Cotton Bowl. neia goal witn 2:17 to play to rally the fourth-ranked Fighting Irish to a 24-21 victory over No. 7 Texas in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday.

Notre Dame (11-1) had to come from behind twice to subdue the Aggies (10-2), who were looking for respect after last year's 25-point loss to the Irish. "If no football team in this country goes undefeated we deserve the national title," Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz said. "The first tiebreaker in the NFL is head-to-head. Miami beat us out in 1989 and the tiebreaker was head-to-head." The Irish were hoping for a slim victory by Florida State over unbeaten Nebraska in the Orange Bowl and a victory by Florida in the Sugar Bowl over unbeaten West Virginia. They got both when the Seminoles won 18-16 and the Gators rolled to a 41-7 victory.

Notre Dame's only loss was 41-39 to Boston College on a last-second field goal. The Irish beat Florida State 31-24. "All I know is we beat one fine football team and let's see what happens because I remember we beat Florida State head to head," Holtz said. "Playing here is very tough. It's a home game.

We couldn't hear. "Nobody wants to play in Dallas. They have a great team. I knew it was going to be tough and it was. It's never easy playing on road." Minutes after Florida State edged Nebraska 18-16, Holtz once again recalled the 1989 season, when Miami won the national championship after beating Notre Dame in the last regular-season game.

That year, Holtz had argued that his team's tough schedule and bowl victory over No. 1 Colorado should be good enough for the title. but the Aggies went ahead 21-14 on a one-yard plunge by Rodney Thomas. The Irish tied it 21-21 when Marc Edwards bulled across on a 2-yard run just before the end of the third period. Notre Dame's Lee Becton was the offensive MVP with 138 yards on 26 carries and Antonio Shorter, who had three sacks, was the defensive MVP.

Becton saw little action in last year's Cotton Bowl. It was Jerome Bettis and Reggie Brooks who racked up a combined 221 yards in romp over Texas With Brooks and Bettis off to the NFL, Becton took over and, as far as Texas is concerned, not much changed. "We have no excuses," Texas coach R.C. Slocum said. "They made the plays they had to make." Slocum also lobbied for Notre Dame.

"If I was Notre Dame I'd make a strong argument for No. 1," he said. "I've said all along they had the tiebreaker. At the top of every list of tiebreakers is head-to-head competition." Pullig was 17-for-29 for 238 yards with one interception. McDougal was 7-for-15 105 yards.

Slocum was asked if the close loss to Notre Dame had finally given the Aggies some respect. "I don't get all excited about losing games. We've played enough close games," he said. Holtz was asked if the victory was by a wide-enough margin to keep his team in the national picture. "A one-point win is enough against one of the top teams in the country," Holtz said.

"This was a tough environment." Efficient Penn State buries sloppy Tennessee, 31-13 7 4 ft TT TSr i 1 h-'Ch: CvC 7 l1 ft 4 II I By George Diaz Knight-Ridder ORLANDO Under overcast skies at the Florida Citrus Bowl on Saturday, the nerdy-looking guy on the sidelines with the Coke-bottle glasses and white socks humbled the high-tech wizardry of the Tennessee Volunteers. Penn State 31, Tennessee 13, reflects a lesson on the importance of the simple elements of the sport. Tennessee's poor play on both sides of the line and crucial dropped passes, coupled with the efficiency of the Nittany Lions, buried Tennessee before a Citrus Bowl record crowd of 72,456. "It's been a long time since we had to experience something like this," Tennessee coach Phillip Ful-mer said. "We need to learn from this." They will be hard lessons for a team averaging 42.8 points that had not lost since a 41-34 defeat against Florida on Sept.

18. The Vols (9-2-1) came in as 9'2-point favorites against Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions, who were perceived as too plodding and predictable to keep pace with Tennessee. Paterno's fashion statement reflects the Leave it to Beaver era. His coaching style reflects the Terminator approach, which is one of the reasons he moved into a tie with Paul "Bear" Bryant for all-time bowl victories at 15. Once Paterno's Nittany Lions took a firm grip, the Vols painfully conceded.

"If you're in a fistfight and somebody has got you down beating the crap out of you," said Tennessee offensive lineman Kevin Mays, "then you don't like that too much." Penn State's three-man pass rush effectively negated Heath Shuler and Tennessee's passing game. The Nittany Lions' strong running game, mixed in Associated Press Si4. Wisconsin players celebrate after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter of the Rose Bowl against UCLA on Saturday. The Badgers, appearing in their first Rose Bowl in 31 years, won 21-16. Badgers bounce UCLA, 21-16 with a solid passing touch trom Kerry Collins, kept the Vols' de fense off balance.

Wide receiver Bobby Engram finished with 184 all-purpose yards and was named UCLA cornerback Carl Greenwood said. "I knew it was going to happen." Wisconsin fans, having endured 31 frustrating seasons since the last time the Badgers played in the Rose Bowl, clasped their hands the game's most valuable player. 1 I The momentum began shifting toward the end of the second quarter, following a 50-yard field goal by John Becksvoort that gave Tennessee a 13-10 lead with 1:08 Associated Press Penn State's win over Tennessee in the Florida Citrus Bowi was the 15th bowl victory for Nittany Lion coach Joe Paterno, tying him with Paul "Bear" Bryant for the all-time record. penalized 10 times for 79 yards. "They did an outstanding job of coming here and playing a physical brand of football, holding the football and executing," Fulmer said.

"We have been a reasonably good disciplined football team throughout the year. We have not had nearly as many problems moving the football, and that's a compliment to Penn State. I'm concerned that we didn't play up to our best level." The Volunteers entered the game confident, strengthened by numbers that included a winning margin of 210-27 in their past four games. Paterno took a different tact After missing out on a Rose Bowl berth in his first season in the Big Ten, Paterno didn't concede the Citrus Bowl invitation as a nice consolation prize. He brought the team in early and had the Nittany Lions train in Melbourne, causing a minor ruckus by complaining about the team's off-field demands at a luncheon for emotionally and physically handicapped children.

"Spending a couple of days in Melbourne helped us increase our intensity," Paterno said. The Vols clearly lacked theirs. The easy jog through the Southeastern Conference schedule following a 17-17 tie against Alabama had been discussed three times during the visit to Orlando. Perhaps the message was never delivered. "I think that was a factor," Fulmer said.

Instead of gaining impetus toward the 1994 season, the Vols hit an an emotional roadblock, one that could become more of an obstacle if Shuler decides to forgo his final year of eligibility. The guy in funny shoes and glasses plans to be back at State College next season, when he celebrates his 68th birthday. No doubt looking to continue teaching opponents painful lessons on the basics of football. "I thought our kids played a great football game in every aspect of the game," Paterno said. "We had a lot of good fortune.

receiver Kevin Jordan) was covered and I should have thrown the ball away and I reacted the wrong way and ran the ball." The blame should be with the five fumbles UCLA lost two by Cook while being sacked, and with Cook's second-quarter interception. Cook pointed out that Wisconsin never stopped the Bruins and UCLA's 526-346 advantage in total yards substantiates that. UCLA rushed for 212 yards and Wisconsin never found a way to cover All-America wide receiver J.J. Stokes, who caught a Rose Bowl-record 14 passes for 176 yards. The Badgers, however, did keep Stokes out of the end zone, a feat only three other opponents accomplished this season.

Wisconsin converted two turnovers into points a second-quarter fumble by Stokes at the Bruins' 32 resulted eight plays later in a 1-yard touchdown run by Moss that gave the Badgers a 14-3 lead. Senior halfback Ricky Davis fumble early in the fourth quarter at the Bruins' 34 was cashed in when Wisconsin quarterback Dar-rell Bevell scrambled away from pressure and raced 21 yards for a touchdown that gave the Badgers a 21-10 lead. All these giveaways from a team that this season led the nation in takeaway-giveaway margin. "I can't explain the turnovers," Donahue said. "I believe it was a combination of (Wisconsin's) good playing and nervousness on our part." By Art Thompson III Knight-Ridder PASADENA, Calif.

UCLA lost something important on the way to rolling over Wisconsin in the 80th Rose Bowl. The football. Five times the Bruins laid it on the ground and the Badgers were most appreciative. With more people dressed in Wisconsin red than powder blue among the 101,237 in attendance, the Badgers rode the backing to a 21-16 victory. "A victory like this gives our program a lot of credibility," said Coach Barry Alvarez, who led the Badgers to their first winning season in eight years.

UCLA felt it was prepared to play smash-mouth football with its Big Ten opponent. Wisconsin's 250 yards rushing, including 158 on 36 carries by Rose Bowl MVP Brent Moss, would suggest that the Bruins emerged from the battle with busted lips and broken teeth. The Bruins' frustration at not being able to stop the Badgers' running game fueled a third-quarter melee and resulted in two players from each team being ejected, one of them UCLA's All-America safety Marvin Goodwin. And yet, there was UCLA, with a first down on the Wisconsin 18-yard line, trailing 21-16, with 15 seconds left in the game. Could they pull off the miracle finish? The UCLA contingent hoped and wished.

"I knew in my heart we were going to win the football game," in anxiety. "I was scared. My heart was pumping really fast," said Wisconsin wide receiver Lee DeR-amus, one of four ejected players. For UCLA, its final play was like air rushing out pf a balloon. Total deflation.

Junior quarterback Wayne Cook, who completed 28 of 43 passes for 288 yards, took off running after failing to spot an open receiver. He was buried on the Badgers 15, and with UCLA having used all its timeouts, the Bruins were helpless to prevent time from running out. Ninth-ranked Wisconsin (10-1-1) joyously celebrated its first Rose Bowl victory and first 10-victory seasoiia UCLA (8-4) had its streak of eight consecutive bowl victories snapped, although the Bruins did not go to a bowl game the previous two years. On the dubious side, they set a Rose Bowl record with five fumbles lost. Cook replayed those final 15 seconds for an inquisitive crowd that huddled around his locker after the game.

"I should have stopped the clock by spiking the ball or by throwing it away," he said. "The guy (wide remaining. Instead of playing conservatively, the Nittany Lions used a combination of passes and runs to move to Tennessee's 14-yard line with 10 seconds left before halftime. Ki-Jana Carter then ran for a score on a counter-draw play that went against the flow of the action and negated Tennessee's speed. "We had one timeout left," Paterno said.

"We debated whether we should run or pass. It wouldn't have been such a great call if he hadn't broken a tackle." The scoreboard read, 17-13, Penn State, a margin that would widen significantly in the second half. Penn State (10-2) began its initial drive on the third quarter at its 40, moving 60 yards on 1 1 plays to score another touchdown. Collins threw across the field toward tight end Kyle Brady, who had beaten comer-back DeRon Jenkins on the right sideline. Down 24-13, the Vols had a plausible chance to rally on its final drive of the third quarter.

Shuler, Tennessee's marquee quarterback who was hurried most of the day and victimized by at least seven catchable passes that were dropped, moved the Vols from their 17 to Penn State's 47. He lofted a well-thrown ball to wide receiver Billy Williams, who was open inside the 10. The ball bounced off Williams' hands, epitomizing the missed opportunities for the Vols. Penn State had no such technical difficulties. The Nittany Lions outrushed Tennessee, 209-135, were called for only four penalties for 30 yards and only had one turnover.

The Vols were sacked four times, half their total for the entire season, and were.