Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • 67

Austin American-Statesman Sports: College Football Saturday, November 30, 1996 E5 No. 1 vs. No. 2 has everybody in Florida worked up lis ME Coach Steve Spurrier's top-ranked Florida Gators play football the high-octane way with their Fun 'N' Gun offense. No.

2 Florida State's assignment today: Stop that offense. Or at least outscore it. 'It's like a bomb ticking when you play says Seminoles Coach Bobby Bowden. 'It's like a 60-minute Andrew J. CohoorVAP ft.

i i No 1. vs. No. 2 Scott K. BrownAP Virginia Tech fullback Brian Edmonds bulls into the end zone as Virginia's Ronde Barber (19) watches.

The Hokies hope for an Alliance bowl bid. VSc-giinioa Teclhi raps Ifbgjnta 10-1 Meetings between the No. 1 and No. 2 college football poll (the No. 1 team is 18 DATE GAME Oct.

9, 1943 No. 1 Notre Dame 35, Nov. 20, 1943 No. 1 Notre Dame 14, Dec. 2, 1944 No.

1 Army 23, No. 2 Nov. 10, 1945 No. 1 Army 48, No. 2 Dec.

1, 1945 No. 1 Army 32, No. 2 Nov. 9, 1946 No. 1 Army 0, No.

2 Notre Dame 0, tie Jan. 1, 1963 No. 1 Southern Cal 42, No. 2 Wisconsin 37, Rose Bowl Oct. 12, 1963 No.

2 Texas 28, No. 1 Oklahoma 7 Jan. 1, 1964 No. 1 Texas 28, No. 2 Navy 6, Cotton Bowl Nov.

19, 1966 No. 1 Notre Dame 10, No. 2 Michigan State 10, tie Sept. 28, 1968 No. 1 Purdue 37, No.

2 Notre Dame22 Jan. 1, 1969 No. 1 Ohio State 27, No. 2 Southern Cal 16, Rose Bowl Dec. 6, 1969 No.

1 Texas" 15, No. 2 Arkansas 14 Nov. 25, 1971 No. 1 Nebraska 35, No. 2 Oklahoma 31 Jan.

1, 1972 No. 1 Nebraska 38, No. 2 Alabama 6, Orange Bowl Jan. 1, 1979 No. 2 Alabama 14, No.

1 Penn State 7, Sugar Bowl Sept. 26, 1981 No. 1 Southern Cal 28, No. 2 Oklahoma 24 Jan. 1, 1983 No.

2 Penn State 27, No. 1 Georgia 23, Sugar Bowl Oct. 19, 1985 No. 1 Iowa 12, No. 2 Michigan 10 By Andrew Bagnato Chicago Tribune TALLAHASSEE, Fla.

As a. University of Florida graduate living in the governor's mansion, Lawton Chiles has to be careful not to offend his neighbors. Tallahassee is, of course, home to Florida State Universi- tt- But this week, Florida's governor showed up at a public event in Miami wearing a blue shirt and an orange tie. Florida Gator colors. "Obviously, the governor isn't running for re-election," Texas Sen.

Phil Gramm joked. Politics is one thing. College football is another. This week there's no question which is more important in the Sunshine State. No.

1 Florida meets No. 2 Florida State today (11 a.m., KVUE TV) at Doak Campbell Stadium. For the first time in 40 meetings, both teams come in with 10-0 records. "Probably the biggest game in either school's history," Florida State linebacker Daryl Bush says. "You can't escape it," says Karen Pankowski, a Chiles spokeswoman.

"It's everywhere you go. It's woven into the fabric here. This football game means more than anything to these people." This will be the 31st meeting of No. 1 and No. 2 in the 60 years the Associated Press has conducted polls but the first in a regular-season finale in 23 years (Ohio State-Michigan in 1973).

Steve Spurrier's top-ranked Gators will be taking part in their second such showdown in 11 months. The first experience was a bummer. Nebraska crushed Florida 62-24 in the Fiesta Bowl for the 1995 national championship. A potential rematch and atonement beckons in the Sugar Bowl the night of Jan. 2.

Bobby Bowden's No. 2 Semi-noles will be taking part in FSU's fourth 1 vs. 2 showcase in the 1990s. FSU lost to Miami by a point in 1991 and to Notre Dame by seven in 1993 but nipped Nebraska 18-16 in the Jan. 1, 1994, Orange Bowl.

Unlike many other rivalries played out across the college football landscape this month, Florida-Florida State is relatively young. But it is as emotional and noisy and colorful and personal as almost any other. The campuses are only about 212 hours apart by interstate. Proximity most definitely breeds contempt. This joke has been making the rounds in Tallahassee: How close is Florida to a national title? 149 miles.

(Florida State's 1993 national crown is the only one either school has won). "There's a lot more hatred between these two schools than there is between Florida State and Miami," says St. Petersburg Times sportswriter Bob Harig. "Almost everybody down here went to one or the other. Florida people still look down on FSU." It's been this way since 1958.

Florida, the established school with rooters from Pensacola to Key West, wanted nothing to do with little Florida State, a longtime women's college that didn't field a football team until it went coed in 1947. The series finally came about when the state legislature began making noise about Sept. 27, 1986 No. 2 Miami 28, No. 1 Oklahoma 16 Jan.

2, 1987 No. 2 Penn State 14, No. 1 Miami 10, Fiesta Bowl Nov. 21, 1987 No. 2 Oklahoma 17, No.

1 Nebraska 7 Jan. 1, 1988 No. 2 Miami 20, No. 1 Oklahoma 14, Orange Bowl Nov. 26, 1988 No.

1 Notre Dame 27, No. 2 Southern Cal 10 Sept. 16, 1989 No. 1 Notre Dame 24, No. 2 Michigan 19 Nov.

16, 1991 No. 2 Miami 17, No. 1 Florida State 16 Jan. 1, 1993 No. 2 Alabama 34, No.

1 Miami 13, Sugar Bowl Nov. 13, 1993 No. 2 Notre Dame 31, No. 1 Florida State 24 Jan. 1, 1994 No.

1 Florida State 18, No. 2 Nebraska 16, Orange Bowl Jan. 2, 1996 No. 1 Nebraska 62, No. 2 Florida 24, Fiesta Bowl Nov.

30, 1996 No. 1 Florida at No. 2 Florida State "It was a big deal then, but now mean, the stakes are so high. Look at any other rivalry, except for Florida State-Miami in the their heyday, and what other rivalry is No. 1,2 or 3 on the line every Lee Corso, ESPN analyst and Florida State grad withholding funds.

"The Gators were so condescending, just to play 'them was a major victory," says 1959 Florida State grad Bill Bunker. "When we went over there and tied them 3-3 in 1961, Florida State people tore down the goal post." Like many fans in northern Florida, Bunker's life has been touched by both schools; he worked for Florida State as an athletics publicist but married a Gator girl. Bunker says he never guessed the feisty little backyard brawl would grow into The Game That Ate a State. Florida-Florida State is so enormous that the Tallahassee Democrat has published a daily wraparound section devoted to the game all week. One day, its reporters tried to get former Florida State star Deion Sanders and former Gators great Emmitt Smith, now Dallas Cowboys teammates, to talk a little trash.

Both refused. It's a little harder to keep a muzzle on ESPN analyst Lee Corso, a Florida State grad. Corso was on the Seminoles' coaching staff in the schools' first meeting, a 21-7 Florida victory at Gainesville. "It was a big deal then, but now Corso says. "First of all, you're usually playing for No.

1, 2 or 3 in the nation. I mean, the stakes are so high. Look at any other rivalry, except for Florida State-Miami in the their heyday, and what other rivalry is No. 1, 2 or 3 on the line every year?" Florida has a 24-13-2 overall lead in a series marked by streaks. This year's game matches Florida's top-ranked scoring offense tive bowl game, the most successful such streak In the program's history.

Last year, the Hokies drubbed Texas in the Sugar Bowl. Virginia Tech crushed the Cavaliers (7-4), who accepted a Carquest Bowl bid this week, but who were no match for the Hokies, especially in the second half. "You're not going to win with just field goals," Virginia Coach George Welsh said. "When you don't get any touchdowns, something's wrong." Virginia's Tiki Barber ran for 162 yards 80 on the Cavs' first play from scrimmage and got the school's career rushing record. But the Hokies' defense limited Virginia to three Rafael Garcia field goals and kept the Cavaliers out of the end zone for the first time since a 13-3 loss to Florida State in 1992.

Quarterback provided the sharpest contrast between the two teams. Druckenmiller was an efficient 15-for-22 for 197 yards and two touchdowns. And most importantly, no interceptions, which snapped Virginia's NCAA-record streak of 39 consecutive games with at least one interception. "Those guys are really good on defense," Druckenmiller said. "But today I felt good back there.

Our receivers got open and the line blocked for me, and it all worked out to our advantage." Meanwhile, Virginia quarterbacks Tim Sherman and Aaron Brooks were a combined 12-for-32 for 176 yards with one interception. Sherman left the game for good late in the second quarter when he was hit after an incompletion. "That's quite a defense they have," Sherman said of Virginia Tech. "They're darned good, even if you wouldn't know it by looking at the polls." By Dave Fairbank Newport News Daily Press BLACKSBURG, Va. After a dominant performance against its biggest rival, after etching its name into the school record book, after establishing itself as one of the best teams in the nation, Virginia Tech can finally say it: GeMiami.

With a resounding 26-9 victory against Virginia on Friday before a.sellout crowd of 50,290 at Lane Stadium, the Hokies did all they could to put themselves in the forefront of the national college football conscience. "I thought the way we won this game is important," Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer said. "This team fought through some things and just got better and better and better. That says something about the quality of the people." Virginia Tech (10-1) won for the 20th time in its last 21 games and is assured of no worse than second place in the Big East Conference and a Gator Bowl berth. If Miami upsets Syracuse today in the Carrier Dome, it would create a three-way tie for the conference championship, and the Hokies figure to Wind up in the Bowl Alliance for the second consecutive year because of their rankings in next week's polls.

"I'm just happy we won," Virginia Tech quarterback Jim Druck-enmiller replied when presented with the possibilities. "That's the only thing we can control. That's the only thing I'm thinking about. "I'm going to savor this one," he said. "There aren't many like this." The Hokies became the first team in school history to win 10 games during the regular season.

They are going to their fourth consecu ranked teams in the Associated Press' 10 2): No. 2 Michigan 12 No. 2 Iowa Pre-Flight 13 Navy 7 Notre Dame 0 Navy 13 disciplined for taking part in an embarrassing agent-sponsored spree at an athletic shoe store. This week, he raised Seminoles hackles again by insisting the Florida State tussle is no bigger than the Dec. 7 showdown with Alabama in the SEC title game.

"If we are fortunate enough to win on Saturday, there will be no wild celebration," Spurrier said. "And if we lose, there won't be any extreme depression." To understand why Florida State fans adore Bowden, check his record against Florida: 11-9-1. Spurrier, by contrast, is only 2-4-1 against Florida State. No wonder he would rather focus on the SEC title game. He knows that if the Gators lose to Florida State but beat Alabama, they still will qualify for an alliance bowl slot.

But Gainesville Sun columnist Pat Dooley admonished Spurrier for his supposed indifference. "Spurrier's attitude bothers some Gator fans," Dooley wrote. "They are of the opinion that if you could only win one game, it had better be Florida State." LSU's win over Arkansas is Peachy keen with bowls (49.3 points per game) against Florida State's top-ranked defense (10.1 points and 208.1 yards per game). The Seminoles average 40 points and 400 yards per game, but defense is their strength. Pass-rushing linemen Peter Boulware and Reinard Wilson have 31 sacks combined, and they'll be going up against an injury-wracked offen-siveline.

It won't be to FSU's advantage to get into a high-scoring game with Florida, which averages 513.4 yards per game. Last year, Gators quarterback Danny Wuerffel passed for 443 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-24 win in Gainesville. "It's like a bomb ticking when you play them," Seminoles Coach Bobby Bowden said of Florida's Fun 'N' Gun offense. "It's like a 60-minute tick." Spurrier seems to view the Seminoles as more of a nuisance than a rival, which infuriates FSU even more. In 1994, Spurrier called Florida State "Free Shoes after Seminoles players were (23) MIAMI AT (16) SYRACUSE Next to Florida-Florida State, this is the most important game of the day.

At stake is tne Big East championship and a berth in one of the Alliance bowts, either the Orange or Fiesta. If the Orangemen (8-2) win, they take the Big East outnght and claim the Alliance bid. If the Hurricanes (7-3) pull off the upset, the Big East goes to a three-way tie for the title between Miami, Syracuse and Virginia Tech and the Hokies most likely will get the Alliance bid based on their 10-1 record. Since 1979, Syracuse is winless against Miami and is 1-3 against it since 1973. But that was before slick option man Donovan Mc-Nabb came along.

The Syracuse quarterback has 1,573 yards passing and 16 TDs and is capable of a big play anytime. Miami goes with freshman QB Scott Covington, who'll have to show poise before a raucous Carrier Dome crowd in upstate New Vbrk. (10) NOTRE DAME AT USC When John Robinson returned for his second tour of duty at Southern Cal in 1993, he said the Trojans' return to glory would be fueled in no small part by success against UCLA and Notre Dame. Robinson is 0-4 against the Bruins and likely to go 0-4 against the Fighting Irish. USC (5-6) has not beaten Notre Dame since 1982, a 0-12-1 drought that has led some to conclude that Robinson needs to be sent to the unemployment line.

So tonight's game in Los Angeles could be the last for two coaching legends, Robinson and Lou Holtz (although Hottz will have a bowl). Notre Dame (8-2) is finishing strong with a How The Top 25 Fared By Harp" 1'jng Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Louisiana State's Herb Tyler was so efficient that third and 16 and third and 10 looked like third and inches. He converted four straight long-yardage situations with his passes, and the defense gave up only three first downs in the first half as the 19th-ranked Tigers beat Arkansas 17-7 Friday LSU will likely accept a Peach Bowl bid. Tyler turned third and 16, third and seven, third and 10 into first downs and threw a 35-yard touchdown pass on second and 12 as the Tigers (9-2 overall, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) scored TDs on their first two possessions.

Tyler completed five of six for 112 yards during the two drives despite a steady rain. Arkansas Coach Danny Ford said LSU's third-down success was devastating. "Our defense has to learn to get off the field on third down," he said. Tyler completed 11 of 19 for 191 yards but was nine of 13 for 164 yards in the first half. Arkansas (4-7, 2-6) made 81 yards in the first half, and crossed mid-field only once in the first 44 minutes.

The Tigers, 16-6-1 in two years under Gerry DiNardo, gained a share of the SEC Western Division title with Alabama and will play in their second straight bowl game next month. The Tigers won a total of 16 games during the four years prior to DiNardo's arrival. "1 thought that in the nine games we won this year, we were fairly evenly matched with each team," DiNardo said. "Much like last year, this is going to give us momentum going into the post-season." Arkansas, winner of the Western Division title last year, is 22-23-1 in four years under Ford. LSU covered 72 yards in 12 plays for its first touchdown, and running back Kevin Faulk made 46 of them on seven runs.

Tyler made an important first down when he changed the play and ran the option for 5 yards on third-and-2. The Tigers started their second possession from their 9, and quickly faced third-and7. Tyler threw to a wide-open Larry Foster for 11 yards. On third-and-10, Tyler gave ground and then floated a pass toward Faulk, who slipped out of the backfield, grabbed the ball with his left hand and turned up the sidelines for 39 yards. On second-and-12 from the 35, Foster drove hard at Marcus Campbell and then turned back to take Tyler's pass at the 20.

Campbell fell down and Foster jogged into the end zone. 1 f.im 1 1. Florida (10-0) idle at Florida State, today 2. Florida State (10-O) idle vs. Florida, today 3.

Arizona State (11-0) idle Rose Bowl, Jan. 1. 4. Nebraska (10-1) beat Colorado 17-12 vs. Texas, Dec 7.

5. Colorado (9-2) lost to Nebraska 17-12 TBA 6. Ohio State (10-1) idle Rose Bowl, Jan. 1. 7.

BYU (12-1) idle vs. Wyoming, Dec. 7. 8. Perm State (10-2) kite TEA 9.

Tennessee (8-2) idle at Vanderbirt, today 10. Notre Dame (8-2) idle at Southern Cal, today- 11. Northwestern (9-2) idle TBA 12. Washington (9-2) idle TBA 13. N.

Carolina (9-2) idle Gator Bowl, Jan. 1. 3.4. Kansas St (9-2) idle TBA 15. Alabama (9-2) idle vs.

Florida. Dec. 7. 16. Syracuse (8-2) idle vs.

Miami, today 17. Va. Tech (10-1) beat Virginia 26-9 TBA 18. Michigan (8-3) idle TBA 19. LSU (9-2) beat Arkansas 17-7 TBA 20.

Virginia (7-4) tost to Va. Tech 26-9 Carquest Bowl, Dec. 27. 21. Wyoming (10-1) idle vs.

BYU, Dec 7. 22. Iowa (8-3) idle TBA 23. Miami 7-3) idle at Syracuse, today. 24.

Army (9-1) kite vs. Navy, Dec 7. 25. West Virginia (8-3) idle TBA five-game win streak and has outscored its last two foes 122-6. A win likely puts the Irish 31 into an Alliance bowl.

The offense has aver- 4 aged 55.5 points in the streak, behind QB Ron Powius (school-record 42 career TD passes) and RB Autry Denson (1,019 rushing). (9) TENNESSEE AT VANDERBILT Volunteers (8-2), now a real long shot to get an Alliance bowl bid, have won 13 straight over the Commodores (2-8), including six in Nashville by an average score of 37-14. Today, at least half of the sellout crowd will be Big Or- ange fans. Vandy has played the big boys tough, losing to Florida, Notre Dame, Alaba- 1 ma by a combined 24 points. But its woeful offense has been shut out three times.

1 MISSISSIPPI STATE AT MISSISSIPPI '1 Jackie Shemll is another coach who could be facing a farewell after a damaging 4-6 season with the Bulldogs. This Deep South traditional is fa The Golden Egg, and it's in Oxford, where the Rebels are 6-0 aganst unranked opponents under second-year coach Tommy Tubervilte, a former Texas assistant. Ole Miss (5-5) can "i get a winning season, some accomplishment for a program racked by NCAA penalties. 1 GEORGIA TECH AT GEORGIA 5 Both state rivals finish disappointing sea- sons. In their currert 1-4 skri, the fellow Jack- ets (5-5) have given up 146 points.

For the 5 Bulldogs (4-6), QB Mike Bobo (2,067 total of- fense) has improved, but defense has crum- 4 Wed (151 points given up in losing three cf last four). From wire serviceaJI.