The Times and Democrat from Orangeburg, South Carolina • 13

i r. mss 1 ,1 fi eurocrat Page 1B, Orangeburg, S.C., Sunday, November 28, 1993 Greg Carson TheS moles survive warn 'm iiiiiiiiguinn AN. i i :.1 1 'A Fla. St. holds on to defeat intrastate rival Florida, 33-21 By RICK WARNER AP Football Writer GAINESVILLE, Fla.

Florida State survived The Swamp on Saturday and set up a probable Orange Bowl showdown against Nebraska for the national championship. Charlie Ward threw for 446 yards and four touchdowns and the top-ranked Seminoles withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally by Florida to beat the No. 7 Gators 33-21, snapping their 23-game home winning streak. Barring a surprising change in the polls, the Seminoles (11-1) will play No. 2 Nebraska (11-0) in the Orange Bowl on Jan.

1. Linebacker Derrick Brooks said the Seminoles deserve a chance to play Nebraska because they made it through the nation's toughest schedule with only one loss, 31-24 at Notre Dame. "We proved ourselves each and every week, with the exception of one quarter against Notre Dame," said Brooks, who wore a cast on his right hand after dislocating it in the first half. West Virginia (11-0) feels it deserves a shot at Nebraska because it is the only other undefeated team eligible for a bowl. But Florida State was ranked ahead of the Mountaineers in the polls last week and will probably stay that way when The Associated Press and USA Today-CNN release their new rankings Sunday.

The major bowl matchups are determined by the bowl coalition poll, which combines the media and coaches' rankings. In last week's coalition poll, Nebraska was No. 1, Florida State was No. 2 and West Virginia was No. 3 162 points rjehind the Seminoles.

Despite a 17-14 victory over No. Please see Seminoles, 4B 'frYXj sports writer It's notfairtoW.Va, but that's the way the poll bounces The questions surrounding the college football national title chase were answered yesterday, but the results won't be officially known until the polls are released today. When the polls are released, West Virginia head coach Don Nehlen will need bail money if he follows through on the comments he made after his Mountaineers edged Boston College, 17-14, Friday. Nehlen said somebody would have to bail him out of jail if West Virginia, 11-0, didn't get to play unbeaten Nebraska for the national championship. "This team has won every single game, including four against bowl teams," Nehlen said of the Mountaineers.

"We should play Nebraska for the national championship. If us two don't play, it's strictly political." Political or not, the West Virginia head coach is going to be an unhappy camper by the end of the day. Florida State, ranked first in the AP Poll and second in the Bowl Coalition Poll, soundly defeated Florida 33-21 Saturday in The Swamp" in Gainesville, Fla. The win almost assures the Semi-noles of a Jan. 1 Orange Bowl appearance against Nebraska for the national title.

The Seminoles, 11-1 on the season, are without question the best college football team in the country, having played one of the toughest if not the toughest -schedule of any team in the country this season. Florida State's lone loss came Nov. 13 in South Bend, against a totally-pumped Notre Dame squad. Same teams, different venue Irish lose. Nehlen's best bet is to hope for a bowl matchup that would give his team at least a share of the national title because hell never get what he ideally desires a matchup of undefeated teams for the national title.

The Mountaineers' best chance for a share of the national title Please see Carson, 7B scramble Saturday afternoon at Florida Field in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Elusive Ward Florida State's quarterback Charlie Ward (1 7) eludes a diving tackle by Florida's defensive tackle William Gaines (94) during a first-half Photo) They may be friends, but Nehlen was pulling against Bowden, the Seminoles Osborne would have preferred to play a team not from Florida Jan. 1 polls to see if they have a shot at the national title by claiming a No. 1 or No. 2 ranking.

"There are two undefeated teams, so I would think that's where we would be, but I ques tion if we'll be there Nehlen Related story, 4B. By DAVID WILKISON Associated Press Writer MORGANTOWN, W.Va. Friendships aside, West Virginia coach Don Nehlen sat in front of the television Saturday, rooting against Florida State and for a chance at the national title. But Nehlen and his Mountaineers (11-0) instead found themselves waiting on Sunday's said. "I thought Florida State was "Ideally, you'd like to play another school from a similar climate that plays on Astroturf and has the same logistics problems of getting everybody transported down there," Osborne said Saturday.

"But if we don't play West Virginia, it isn't going to happen." After the second-ranked Corn-huskers polished off an 11-0 season with a 21-7 win over Oklahoma Friday, Osborne and his By TOM VINT AP Sports Writer LINCOLN, Neb. Nebraska coach Tom Osborne just wanted a chance to play for a national championship. And he already had that. Now, while trying not to say it, Osborne would like to see an opponent from outside the state of Florida in an Orange Bowl. He probably won't get that.

players could settle back and watch as the shakedown continued for an Orange Bowl opponent West Virginia (11-0) ended its season unbeaten with a 17-14 victory at Boston College Friday. But the Mountaineers trailed once-beaten Florida State in all three polls that will help decide bowl matchups announced Dec. Please see Osborne, 4B impressive, yet Florida was one play from turning that game around. Tm too old to be angry," he Please see Nehlen, 4B SCSI! takes basketball season-opener, 114-84 Newspapers: Clemson's search for a coach down to three, Reedy heads list Toatley's 18 points leads Bulldogs over Bryan College fr A run, widened its advantage to 21-10 at the 15:23 mark on a 3-point-er by and 10-foot jumper by Green, along with a rebound basket by Brown. Bryan, using eight three-pointers in the first half, however; refused to yield over the first 20 minutes of play as the Lions battled back to within 56-46 at the half after the Bulldogs had stretched their lead to as many as 15.

"We got to caught up in trying to be a three-point shooting team (in the first half) and that is not our style," said Bulldog Coach Cy Alexander. "I told the kids at half-time that if we got into a three-point shooting contest, they would win it they took 26 (three-point shots) in the first half. We went into a matchup zone in the second half and tried to play the areas where their main shooters were." The Bulldogs put the contest into the win column over the first 3:14 of the second half, outscoring the Lions 11-4 for a 67-50 SCSU Please see Bulldogs, 7B By The Associated Press COLUMBIA Clemson's search for a head football coach is down to three former Tigers assistants, newspaper reports said Saturday. Chuck Reedy, head coach at Baylor, is the top choice to replace Ken Hatfield, who quit Wednesday after a contract dispute, The (Columbia) State reported, quoting unidentified sources. Also under consideration is Tommy West, head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga, and Mickey Andrews, a Florida State assistant, The State and The Charlotte Observer reported.

Clemson defensive coordinator Bobby Johnson spoke with athletic director Bobby Robinson, but Johnson said he would not call the meeting an interview, The Greenville News reported. Clemson officials are expected to make a decision by Monday, two days before the recruiting season opens, The State reported. By DENNIS SHUMATE Sports Editor South Carolina State had a successful debut in its 1993-94 season-opener Saturday night at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center by taking a 114-84 triumph over winless NAIA Division II member Bryan College of Dayton, Tenn. The Bulldogs, who travel to the North Charleston Coliseum on Monday to meet the College of Charleston, trailed just once in the game when Bryan's Jeff Baker made a layup to open the contest SCSU then used baskets by Deon Murray, Cliff Green, Karl Brown and Bernard Toatley to go on top 8-2 and take the lead for good. SCSU, after the eight-point Hang time South Carolina State's Jarnal Brown (42) goes in for a layup over Paul Urquhart (12) of Bryan College.

The Bulldogs won their season-opener Saturday night with a 114-84 victory over the Lions. photo by Ken Tyler) Each of the reportedly top three candidates were members of Danny Ford's staff, the coach who led the Tigers to a national championship in 1981. Reedy served 11 seasons with Ford, West for eight seasons and Andrews for five. Ford's teams were 96-29-4 in 11 seasons. But NCAA investigations into rule violations and a shoddy national reputation led Clemson of- Please see Clemson, 7B.