Quad-City Times from Davenport, Iowa • 38

85 Saturday, Dec. 5, 1992 COLLEGE FOOTBALL QUAD-CITY TIMES needs 1 more win National title hinges on SEC final SCRIPPS HOWARD I BIRMINGHAM The pre-season prognosticators who said that Alabama and Florida would meet in the inaugural Southeastern Conference championship football game Saturday at Legion Field must be proud. But they can't tout themselves too much. Not many figured Western Division champ Alabama would be 1 1-0 and ranked No. 2 nationally.

Few of the pickers thought that Eastern Division champ and No. 12 ranked Florida would have two league losses by Oct. 1, then rebound for an 8-3 record. "I thought we were a year away from having a great team I didn't think we'd be 11-0 right now," Alabama Coach Gene Sta-llings said. Florida Coach Steve Spurrier didn't think his team would be in the title game, particularly after back-to-back losses to Tennessee (31-14) Sept.

19 and Mississippi State (30-6) Oct. 1. But the Gators reeled off five straight SEC wins while early Eastern leader Tennessee dropped two one-point games to Arkansas (25-24) Oct. 10 and at South Carolina (24-23) Oct. 31.

This game weighs heavily on the bowl scenario. An Alabama win places it in the Sugar Bowl to play No. 1 Miami for the national championship. An Alabama loss sends it to the Citrus Bowl against Ohio State and Florida goes to the Sugar against probably Syracuse. There is a possibility that if Alabama wins unimpressively The Associated Press voters will leapfrog No.

3 Florida State past Alabama to set up a national title game between Miami and Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl. 1 A coin flip will be held and the winner decides whether it wants to go on offense first or second. The loser decides which end of the field will be used. The extra period consists of two series, one for each team. Each team starts 25 yards from the end zone and stays on offense until it scores on a touchdown or field goal, or gives up the ball on a turnover or loss of downs.

If both teams are tied after the extra period, another one will be held. This process continues until one team Is ahead after an equal number of series. Ail points in overtime are added to the score at the end of regulation. The SEC adopted the same rule used in NCAA Division l-AA, but this will be the first l-A game to have an overtime provision. undefeated! Alabama COMMENTARY A Not all those honored look like winners UT's Majors will skip bowl game KNOXVILLE, Tenn.

(AP) Johnny Majors bid farewell to the Tennessee football team Friday. Majors, who is leaving his alma mater after 16 seasons under a $600,000 contract buyout, said hei would not coach the 17th-ranked Volunteers one last time in the Hall of Fame Bowl on New Year's Day against Boston College. "I have decided to step aside .1: 11- I 1 I and give up my coaching responsibilities Majors said after a team meeting. He wished the team success, saying he didn't want if i 1 1 4 K' a Florida State linebacker Marvin Jones won the Lombardl Award for the nation's outstanding lineman Thursday. He is this writer's pick as the nation's top player.

Holtz The man who coached the Irish to nine victories also managed to suppress the talents of Mirer, botch the final minutes of the Michigan game, rush onto the field so he could put a mock headlock on a referee, trade postgame unpleasantries with NBC sideline reporter John Dockery and actually try to convince America that then-winless Navy was to be feared. Sherrill For what it's worth, the castrated bull that makes him a steer casts his vote for Sherrill. McCartney Never one to shy away from controversy, McCartney actively supported the efforts of Coloradans for Family Values, an organization whose efforts helped persuade voters to pass a state constitutional amendment that repealed laws designed to protect homosexuals from discrimination. And the winner is Bill McCartney. McCartney too often uses the popularity of his position at a state-supported school to promote his personal beliefs.

Flop of the Year The nominees: The Big Ten, San Diego State, Rick Mirer, Clemson, Oklahoma, USC, Arizona, Penn State. The comments: Big Ten Put it this way: The Western Athletic Conference has five teams in bowl games, the Big Ten three. San Diego State At season's beginning, SDSU players wore T-shirts that read, "No Fear." A better choice might have been, "No Class." Three brawls in two games didn't do much for Al Luginbill's reputation. Nor did a 5-5-1 record and a defense that allowed 25 or more points seven times. Mirer He swears he doesn't regret coming back for his senior season.

We believe him. Now then, does he regret going to run-happy Notre Dame? -4 Clemson The Tigers were supposed to challenge Florida State for the Atlantic Coast Conference title. Instead, they finished 5-6 and lost to the likes of Maryland and archrival South Carolina. Oklahoma Another year like this one 5-4-2, no bowl and a mini player revolt and Coach Gary Gibbs will be introduced to the exciting career possibilities of life insurance. USC Poised perfectly for a run at the Rose Bowl or Fiesta Bowl, the Trojans lost three of their last four games and ended up in Anaheim's Freedom Bowl.

Along the way, they blew a game against a mediocre UCLA team and blew a lead against the Irish, marking the 10th consecutive loss to Notre Dame. Arizona After upsetting then-No. 1 Washington, the Wildcats lost their remaining two games and finished 6-4-1. Penn State Even Coach Joe Pa-terno was guilty of thinking the Nittany Lions could win a national championship. Now they'll be lucky to beat probable opponent Stanford in the Blockbuster Bowl.

And the winner is the Big Ten. Never have so many accomplished so little. The Charles Keating Financial Acumen Award The nominees: Billy Joe Hobert, former Washington quarterback; unidentified Hancock Bowl representative. The comments: Hobert Not our first choice to manage a money-market account, but if you need $50,000 worth of automobiles, guns and fine meals, this is your guy. Hancock on-site representative Imagine Arizona's surprise when it ended its season with a loss to Arizona State and still received an invitation from the bowl rep to play in the Hancock.

Imagine how fast the Wildcats said yes. Imagine the surprise of Hancock officials back in El Paso, Texas, when their on-site bowl rep told them the news. That's right he never consulted with the fellas back af the home office, who were more interested in inviting Washington State. And the winner is Billy Joe Hobert. His spending spree probably cost him the rest of his collegiate career, hurt his viability as a pro quarterback and left Coach Don James without the option of Some awards before award-season ends By Gene Wojciechowski LOS ANGELES TIMES Avoid the postseason awards rush and open our envelopes first.

Letter openers poised? Ready begin. Player of the Year The nominees: Quarterback Gino Torretta, Miami; running back Marshall Faulk, San Diego State; running back Reggie Brooks, Notre Dame; linebacker Marvin Jones, Florida State; running back Garrison Hearst, Georgia. The Torretta Nothing againrt Torretta, but he probably isn't the best player on his own team, much less the nation. And enough with the argument that he deserves a Heisman based on his four-year career. This isn't the Irving G.

Thalberg Memorial Award for lifetime achievement, and if it were, John Elway, Jim McMahon and Archie Manning would deserve one of the statuettes before Torretta. Faulk Had he not suffered a series of late-season injuries, Faulk might have come close to 2,000 yards. Despite missing the Aztecs' final two games, he still led the country in rushing. A remarkable player on an unremarkable team. Brooks Brooks' early-season touchdown run against Michigan remains the best play of the year.

And it is Brooks, not preseason Heisman favorites-teammates Jerome Bettis and Rick Mirer, who is mostly responsible for Notre Dame's 9-1-1 record and pending Orange or Cotton Bowl invitation. Jones If ever a defensive player deserved a Heisman, this is the one. Hearst He isn't as flashy as Faulk I or as quick as Brooks, but he might be the most complete running oacK in the game. And the winner is Marvin Jones. The standard by which all other players should be judged this season.

Coach of the Year The nominees: R.C. Slocum, Texas Dennis Erickson, Miami; Gene Stallings, Alabama; Tom Rossley, Southern Methodist; Bill Walsh, Stanford. The comments: Slocum Associated Press voters be damned. Slocum's Aggies, who deserve the No. 3 ranking, by the way, won 12 re-; gular-season games despite the absence of a dependable quarterback.

Erickson Neither rain, Pell grant scandal, no running game, injuries nor big-time schedule can keep Erickson from guiding the Hurricanes to swift completion of their appointed rounds. Stallings See Slocum. Rossley The Mustangs were 1-10 last year. This season they finished 5-6, including victories over Houston, Arkansas, New Mexico and Texas Christian. It might not sound like much to you, but this was a program without a pulse a few years ago.

Walsh We won't mention the word genius. We will mention the Cardinal's 9-3 record and its share of the Pacific 10 Conference title all in Walsh's first year back on the sideline. And the winner is Dennis Erickson. If Miami wins many more national championship rings, Erickson's hand is going to look as if he wears brass knuckles. Frank Broyles Dunderhead-of-the-Year Award The nominees: Corey Johnson, Colorado State athletic director; Lou Holtz, Notre Dame coach; Jackie Sherrill, Mississippi State coach; Bill McCartney, Colorado coach.

The comments: Johnson If Ram Coach Earle Bruce struck players and violated NCAA practice rules as charged, then Johnson had just cause to hand him a pink slip. But only the most naive Bruce-watcher would think his fire-and-brimstone tactics were born in 1992. Bruce has always been an aggressive, physical disciplinarian who coaches the old-fashioned way. Funny, you didn't hear any complaints about his methods when he was leading Colorado State to its tirst bowl game in years. Army vs.

Navy PHILADELPHIA (AP) Navy lost its first 10 games last season. Then it won its final game against Army. Cadets Coach Bob Sutton knows which mattered more to the Midshipmen. "This is The Game at the Academy," said the second-year Army coach, who's hoping his team will give him his first win over Navy at Veteransf Stadium today. crucial It American the worth It's more but that take tradition, stage in his situation Mairs "to be a distraction to the team in its preparations for a very tough game." "Teamwork and achieving team goals have been foremost in my thoughts throughout my ca- reer.

This decision is consistent! with that priority." Haywood Harris, associate ath letic director for media relations, said Majors was cleaning out his office. The university already had named assistant head coach: Phillip Fulmer as "Majors' successor, effective immediately for recruiting. Fulmer officially would have taken over all other aspects of the team after the bowl. Majors announced his decision one day after criticizing the way his contract negotiations were handled and described by the university. Johnny Majors said the first; timfr he heard he was having trouble getting along with people within the program came days be-" fore his ouster.

"I wondered where that came from," Majors said. "I still do." Majors, leaving his alma mater after 16 seasons under a $600,000 contract buyout, talked at length about, his departure in copyright interviews published Friday in The Tennessean of Nashville and The Knoxville News-Sentinel. The 57-year-old coach told both newspapers he twice reached informal agreements to extend his contract before his forced retirement, announced Nov. 13 and effective the end of the year. The interviews Thursday came amid reports that Majors is a top contender for the head coaching job at Pittsburgh, which he led to the national championship in-1976.

Opponents will get cozy TOKYO (AP) Nebraska had better think twice before running up the score against underdog Kansas State in Tokyo. It could' make for a long flight home. For economic purposes, the two Big Eight teams scheduled the same plane flight going to Japan and, perhaps more importantly, coming back. Everybody figured to be in high spirits going over. The; .1 lth-ranked Huskers were playing for the Big Eight title, the unranked Wildcats for respect.

"That part might be I interesting, the aftermath, after the game," Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said. "But I think' (Kansas State Coach) Bill Snyder is a pretty even-keel guy. I think the type of people he recruits at Kansas State are similar to the; ones we recruit here. "I think it will probably go pretty well hopefully." ASSOCIATED PRESS SEC championship game The reason the SEC expanded to 12 teams and two divisions. Also the reason the SEC will need a forklift to move all the money it will make from the game.

The Bowl Coalition Its motto: America safe from a national playoff system." Actually, the bowl alliance formula guarantees a game between No. 1 Miami and No. 2 Alabama (or Florida State, if the Crimson Tide loses Saturday to Florida in the SEC championship game). And the winner is the SEC championship game. If it succeeds and there's no reason why it shouldn't be a financial success every other conference in the country will think about doing it.

Thanks for Stopping By the Booth Award The nominees: Jack Crowe and Joe Kines, Arkansas; Johnny Majors, Tennessee; Jerry Berndt, Temple; Paul Hackett, Pittsburgh. The comments: Crowe and Kines Leave it to the master of overreaction, Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles, to have three football coaches in less than five months. Broyles fired Crowe after an opening loss to The Citadel and replaced him with Kines. He also hired former Clemson Coach Danny Ford as a consultant-assistant coach. Of course, Ford insisted he wasn't the least bit interested in succeeding Crowe or Kines.

In other words, the job was his. At least Kines, who began the season as Arkansas' defensive coordinator, got his old job back. Majors A good coacfrwho picked a bad time to demand a contract extension. Berndt It is never a good sign when Temple alum Bill Cosby wields more influence than the coach himself. Cosby has dipped into petty cash twice so that Temple could buy out a coach.

Hackett Some men are destined for greatness. Others are destined to be offensive coordinators. And the winner is Crowe and Kines. Once a Razorback, always a Ra-zorback until Broyles decides two experienced starters to choose from. The Huskies lost two of three games after Hobert's suspension.

Best New Rule The nominee: The NCAA's decision to require at least six Division I-A victories to qualify for postseason play. The comment: Teams such as Texas, which played Division I-AA North Texas, and Rice, which played Division I-AA Sam Houston, each won six games, but are bowl no-shows and rightfully so because they padded their schedule with easy victories. Meanwhile, Southwest Conference fellow member Baylor is going to a bowl the aforementioned Hancock because Coach Grant Teaff was smart enough to replace Arkansas with another Division I-A school, Georgia Tech. Teams shouldn't be rewarded for stepping down in class. And the winner is the NCAA (and the bowls).

Newcomer of the Year The nominees: Walsh, Stanford coach; Nevada; Tamarick Vanover, Florida State wide receiver and kickoff returner, quarterback Steve Taneyhill, South Carolina; Florida State; SEC championship game; quarterback Jimmy Klingler, Houston; the bowl coalition. The comments: Walsh It was as if he had never left. Nevada The Wolf Pack, a Division I-AA team last year, joined the Big West and promptly won the conference title and an automatic bid to the Las Vegas Bowl. Vanover Florida is still trying to figure out a way to tackle this elusive freshman. Taneyhill Looks like Jon Bon Jovi, plays like Joe Bon Namath.

Taneyhill, another freshman, said the Gamecocks wouldn't lose another game if he were the quarterback. He was almost right. South Carolina won five of six, including their first victory at Clemson since 1984. Florida State The ACC, which the Seminole football team joined this season, still doesn't know what hit it. means more than records indicate have one win this year.

"All the pressure builds after 10 games and finally the lid's blown" off," Navy quarterback Jason Van Matre said. "You want to try to make the same thing happen again." It's the 93rd meeting for Army and Navy, the 70th in Philadelphia and 11th at Veterans Stadium. Navy leads the series 43-42-7. "To beat Navy is, I think, to your program." also may be crucial to servicemen throughout world, pulling for a year's of bragging rights. a contest whose past is glorious than its present, doesn't bother those who part.

It's history and it's and for a day it gets its the nation's birthplace. Sutton, whose first Army team was 4-7, said he wants the victory for his seniors but also "to show that we made strides and progress." Navy's George Chaump is 1-1 against Army, with a 24-3 victory last year to avoid a winless season. Things aren't a whole lot different this time for the Midshipmen, who have been hit hard by injuries, although they do I ITI-Tl! Ill Ml.