The Sun from Vincennes, Indiana • 11

VINCENNES SUN-COMMERCIAL, TUESDAY, JAN. 3, 1989 PAGE 1 1 Canes blow away Huskers; Johnson says they're No. 1 i MIAMI (AP) After proving themselves better than Nebraska, the Miami Hurricanes claimed they're better than No. 1 Notre Dame. The Hurricanes thumped Nebraska 23-3 in Monday night's Orange Bowl game to ensure retention of their No.

2 ranking in the final Associated Press poll. Miami's only loss in 12 games was a 31-30 decision at Notre Dame in October. "We might not be number one, but at this time we are the best football team in the country," Miami coach Jimmy Johnson said. "Notre Dame has a great football team, and they beat us up in South Bend. But we've come a long way since then, and we're not the inexperienced team now that we were at that time." The righting Irish beat West Virginia 34-21 Monday afternoon in the Fiesta Bowl to end Miami's hopes of a second straight national championship.

Most of the Hurricanes learned that Notre Dame had won when the score was announced over the public address system midway through the Orange Bowl game. "We were a little upset, and it got us a little fired up," quarterback Steve Walsh said. "We wanted to show the country that we were the best team in the country, maybe not in the polls but on the field." Miami definitely was the No. 1 team in the Orange Bowl. The Hurricanes rolled to a 20-0 half- "I'm proud of ourselves," Mark said.

"Even though Notre Dame did win, our team showed a lot of character by not giving up and not pouting." The game's only touchdowns came on Walsh passes of 22 and 42 yards to Conley. The latter score included a dazzling effort by the running back, who caught a swing pass at the 38-yard line and weaved down the left sideline with the help of blocks by three teammates. Miami's Carlos Huerta added field goals of 18, 37 and 37 yards. One of the kicks followed a blocked punt by Bubba McDowell, the 1 0th of his career. Nebraska's Gregg Barrios kicked a 50-yard field goal in the third quarter.

"Our big problem was that we couldn't generate enough offense to keep the pressure off of our defense," Osborne said. "I really felt our defense played well enough to win a lot of games." Walsh, named the game's most valuable player, passed for 277 yards and set Orange Bowl records with 21 completions in 44 attempts. The old marks were 20 completions by Alabama's Steve Sloan in 1966 and 37 attempts by Alabama's Joe Namath in 1965. Conley caught four passes for 94 yards and said he was not disappointed by the prospect of finishing No. 2 behind Notre Dame.

"Numbers don't really mean anything," he said. "We know we have the better team." time lead thanks to two touch-downpasses from Walsh to Leonard Conley and a defense that allowed only two first downs. "They're the best team we've faced this season," Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said. "I'm sure that Notre Dame will be number one, but I don't think there are many teams that would come into the Orange Bowl and be favored to beat Miami." Sixth-ranked Nebraska, 11-2, finished with 80 yards rushing, its lowest total in a bowl game since the 1941 Rose Bowl. I-back Ken Clark, who rushed for 1,497 yards during the regular season, was held to a season-low 36 yards in 14 carries.

"The defense pretty well had them zeroed in with everything that they did," Johnson said. "I think that we dominated the line of scrimmage more than anything else." Nebraska's Steve Taylor completed only eight of 21 passes for 55 yards and ran 17 times for 12 yards. He suffered six sacks, including two by defensive end Greg Mark. "We practiced containing Taylor all week long, because we felt that was the key," Mark said. "Our defense just got off the ball real quick and beat the Nebraska line to the punch." The Hurricanes had a big advantage in total yards, 354-135.

HAPPY FAMILY University of Miami coach walking off the field following a 23-3 win over the Uni-Jimmy Johnson, center, is hugged by his sons while versity of Nebraska in the 55th Orange Bowl. (AP) Aikman, defense leads UCLA DALLAS (AP) Troy Aikman may have found himself a permament home in Dallas. The UCLA quarterback led the ninth-ranked Bruins to an NCAA record seventh consecutive bowl victory Monday with a 17-3 win over eighth-ranked Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. Aikman was almost overwhelmed by "Aikmania" when the Bruins came to Dallas for their historic first Cotton Bowl visit. "I was more distracted this week than in all of the other weeks combined," Aikman said.

What he saw was an Arkansas defense that tried to negate the long passes. So Aikman picked apart Arkansas with a short passing game. He hit 19 of 27 passes for 172 yards and one touchdown and converted 12 of 20 third-down situations to earn Cotton Bowl offensive Most Valuable Player years ago. UCLA, 10-2, was runner-up in the Pac-10 behind Southern California while Arkansas, 10-2, was the Southwest Conference champion. Arkansas coach Ken Hatfield blamed himself for the collapse of Arkansas' offense, which produced only 42 yards and four first downs.

"We may have tried to put in too many he said. "Our defense did a pretty good job. "No team has ever dominated us like UCLA Arkansas' 42 total yards was the second lowest in Cotton Bowl history, 10 yards behind Tennessee's total in a loss to Texas in 1953. Arkansas quarterback Quinn Grovey said UCLA just smothered him. "My mother could have done a better job of running the wishbone," Grovey said.

'Neon Deion' saves Seminoles honors. Aikman, who bounced back after an early interception, directed scoring drives of 93 and 74 yards. UCLA led 14-0 at halftime, and the Bruin defense made it stand up. Arkansas' only points came on a 49-yard field goal by Kendall Trainor in the third period. It was his 24th consecutive field goal.

UCLA countered on Alfredo Velasco's 32-yard field goal in the fourth period. UCLA coach Terry Donahue said Aikman did a good job of staying under control. "Troy needed to play his game and he did," Donahue said. "He was under an unusual amount of pressure and came through." It was the first appearance by a West Coast team since Oregon lost to Southern Methodist 40 "In the end, I was able to come up with the big play," he said. "Auburn was a very physical team, but FSU not known for its defense, came through in the end." What happened was that the finesse team turned slugger and scored a knockout.

Florida State, noted for its wide open passing offense and trick plays, used a bruising running game and a sturdy defense to force five turnovers. All the scoring came in the first half. Sammie Smith rushed for 116 yards, the first time in more than two years that a back gained over a hundred yards against Auburn. "All week in my mind I visualized what would happen in this game and how it would end." The week began badly for Sanders. On Christmas Eve, he was arrested after a scuffle at a gift shop in his hometown of Fort Myers, Fla.

When the Seminoles moved their pre-bowl training camp to New Orleans on Dec. 26, Sanders was surrounded by reporters seeking details of the incident. Unusually subdued, Sanders refused to talk about it and promised that the real "Prime Time" would emerge in the Sugar Bowl. Motivation keys Clemson win NEW ORLEANS (AP) What began as something less the the best of weeks for Florida State's "Neon" Deion Sanders became a "Prime Time" hit starring the All-America cornerback in a game-saving siutuation at the Sugar Bowl. Twice in the fourth quarter fourth-ranked Florida State stopped No.

7 Auburn with big defensive plays, the second time with 12 seconds left in the game Monday. On fourth down at the Florida State 9-yard line with 7:58 left in the game, Howard Dinkins broke through and caused Auburn quarterback Reggie Slack to draw a penalty for intentional grounding. Then, after Auburn drove from its own 4-yard line to the Florida State 22 in the final minutes, Sanders outwrestled Auburn's Lawyer Tillman to come up with the game-saving interception the fifth Auburn turnover of the game. It preserved a 1 3-7 victory. Sanders, known as "Neon Deion" and "Prime Time," had been victimized earlier on Auburn's touchdown drive.

On a play starting at the Florida State 20-yard line, tight end Walter Reeves caught a pass at the 3-yard line and dragged Sanders into the end zone. "The ending to the game was a storybook ending," Sanders said. halftime, Oklahoma had 56 total yards. After three quarters, the total was 99 yards. The Sooners finished with 254 yards, but only because Jamelle Holieway threw that's right, threw for 138 yards in the fourth quarter.

"I think the only thing we did improperly was give up the big pass," Ford said. "We really didn't think that they had that big a passing game. But we didn't give up the big run and we're happy and fortunate there." Oklahoma was held to only 1 16 yards rushing, 227 below its average. Clemson didn't exactly have its way with the Sooners, particularly in the early going. The Tigers' first four series lasted three plays each, and they didn't make a first down until midway through the second quarter.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer says that not only was No. 13 Clemson the better team in the Citrus Bowl, but the Tigers also had more motivation than his 10th-ranked Sooners. "We were coming in as a loser. They were coming as a winner.

That's obviously a motivating factor," Switzer said after Monday's 13-6 loss. Clemson coach Danny Ford wouldn't go that far, although he admitted playing the Sooners guaranteed his team would have no problem getting emotional. "Just playing Oklahoma is great for our program, but beating them is even more of a plum," Ford said. "Our youngsters played awfully hard against a team that has a football reputation every year, not just every now and then." Clemson, which finished 10-2, earned a berth in the Citrus Bowl by winning the Atlantic Coast Conference title. Oklahoma, 9-3, came to Orlando after losing the Big Eight title game and the automatic berth in the Orange Bowl to Nebraska.

The victory represented the first by an ACC team over Oklahoma in 1 7 tries. The Sooners had hoped to begin the new year with a victory if for no other reason than the fact they can't go to a bowl game after the 1989 or 1990 seasons, due to NCAA probation for recruiting violations. A hapless offensive performance kept it from happening. The Sooners came in averaging 410 yards of offense per game. At is a New year finds Warriors at No.

14 and Indians hosting NEC foe Bulldogs COMING UP ROSES Michigan coach Bo Schembechler hoists the Rose Bowl trophy aloft Monday after his Wolverines upset Southern Cal in Pasadena, Calif. (AP) Michigan wins Rose The new year opens with a pair of local high school teams who would like to see their fortunes change in 1989. Tonight, North Knox, 1-6, visits powerful Loogootee and Lawrenceville, 1-9, hosts Carmi. North Knox (1-6) at Loogootee (8-1) North Knox's basketball team has not had an easy time so far this season and the start of the new year doesn't get any easier. The Warriors open the 1989 portion of their schedule against a Lions team that has been ranked as high as ninth in The Associated Press and is currently ranked 14th in the state.

Loogootee leads the Blue Chip Conference at 4-1. North Knox stands at 1-2 in the BCC. North Knox coach John Godare has looked ahead to the first three opponents of this year and doesn't like what he has seen. After tonight's game, the Warriors host Washington Catholic on Friday then play a home game against Washington next Tuesday. "In these first three games we'll just have to do the best we can," Godare said.

"I haven't seen that much improvement in our team in practices, but we won't know for sure until tonight." The Warriors will go with a different lineup against Loogootee as Ken Pack has earned his first start in the center position and Brent Hale will be inserted as a forward. Hale takes the place of guard Matt Osborne, who missed practice all last week with bronchitis. Swingman Ken McRae will move to a guard. "What I want to see us do is basically play a whole game," Godare said. "We need to show more intensity.

We'll have it for a while, then we'll lose it, then it's hard to get it back. If we can show intensity for a whole game, then we'll be able to play against some teams. "Loogootee is solid throughout," Godare said. "A big key is that we're going to have to rebound with them, because if we don't, (Jeff) Doyle and some of the others will tear us up. I imagine they'll press us too, so we're going to have to handle that." The only blemish on the Lions' record is a 68-67 loss in double-overtime at South Knox, on Dec.

16. "We don't seem to be shooting the ball with as much confidence," Loogootee coach Jack Butcher said. "That was probably our biggest asset earlier in the year." Butcher said he is adding 6-3 sophomore center Jon Eckerle to the starting lineup of 6-4 forward Doyle, 6-2 forward Jeff Nonte and guards Brian Grindstaff and Kenny Frye. All five are underclassmen. "I think it's Eckcrlc's turn to start," Butcher said.

"I think he needs a little encouragement and motivation and maybe this will give it to him." McRae is the leading scorer for the Warriors. His 14.9 average is the only one in double figures for North Knox. Loogootee is paced by Doyle's 20 points a game. Frye and Nonte each knock down around 10 a game. Prediction: Loogootee by 25.

Carmi (3-7) at Lawrenceville (1-9) This is a battle between the teams that fought it out for second place in the North Egypt Conference last year. They're battling for position again this year, but not at such a lofty level. Coach Jim Mongc's Lawrenceville team comes in with a 1-9 record and stands at 0-3 in the North Egypt Conference. Coach Randy Goin's Bulldogs have won three in a row and are 3-7, but they are a half game behind the Indians in the NEC table at 0-4. Carmi lost the first game in the Eldorado Holiday Tournament to fall to 0-7, but then won its next three over Gallatin County, Eldorado and Egyptian to take the consolation bracket title.

Lawrenceville, after winning its first against Martinsville on Dec. 16, came away from the Charleston Holiday Tournament with losses to Mattoon and Monticcllo. "We're not as bad as we sometimes look," Monge said. "But we are limited, particularly on offense. We are continuing to make adjustments to take advantage of what we do have." As for Carmi, Monge said, "Here's another team that's not big, but not little either.

They play good defense and have several players who can score well. They pass the ball well. If we are going to win, we must keep them under 55 points, which seems to be about our limit." Both teams' starting fives are between 5-1 1 and 6-3. Carmi is led by 5-11 guard Patrick Grcathouse, a sophomore averaging 16.5. Matt Broom, another sophomore guard, is 6-0 and scores at 10 per game.

The center is 6-3 senior Barry Carter (10 ppg), and the forwards are 6-1 senior Eric Dixon (13.5 ppg) and 6-0 senior Chad Bchrand (9 ppg). Bobby Waggoner, a 6-2 senior center, leads Lawrenceville at 1 3 per game. Chad Kelly, 6-1 senior guard-forward, is next at 12, followed by 5-1 1 senior guard Matt Denison, 7.5. Senior Dennis Tarr averages 5 per game and will be at forward. Jim Sherman, a 5-10 junior guard averaging 5.7, will be at guard after missing the Monticcllo game with a sprained ankle.

Prediction: Carmi by 8. tackles," said Schembechler, who suspended Hoard for the Northwestern game during the regular season because the fullback skipped some classes. "He ran like a man possessed. That last long run was one of the great runs I've ever seen. "Leroy's a dangerous runner.

I can't say enough about him." Pccte, with his 158 yards passing, finished the season with 2,8 1 2 yards through the air, breaking his own school record. Trojan split end Erik Affholter, who had five catches for 56 yards, finished with 68 catches for the season and 123 for his career, both USC records. Although only regular-season statistics are used in compiling records for the NCAA. USC adds bowl-game figures for the purpose of determining school records. continued from page 9 didn't make too many adjustments at halftime.

"Bo was pretty upset that we weren't doing as well as he thought we could. He said all we had to do was execute better and we did." Hoard, who became the first runner to gain over 100 yards against the Trojans this season, began to take charge midway though the third quarter. Hoard broke a 32-yard run to key a nine-play, 92-yard drive that put Michigan ahead 15-14 on his 1-yard sweep around right end on the first play of the fourth quarter. Hoard broke two tackles on a 61 -yard run that started the Wolverines' final touchdown drive, which he capped with another 1-yard dive with 1:52 remaining. "Leroy just ran through some.