The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 119

CLASSIFIEDSm H0RSES12D SC0REB0ARD12D Tuesday January 3 1989 The Miami Herald Section reffai No unanimous title for Irish The final Associated Press football poll of writers and broadcasters will be announced at noon today but Notre Dame be crowned a unanimous champion The Irish are expected to be No 1 and the University of Miami will probably remain No 2 but the Hurricanes will get at least one first-place vote Bob West of The Port Arthur (Texas) News said early this morning he voted for UM think supposed to be voting for who I think is the best team in the said West who works the hometown of UM Coach Jimmy Johnson one-point game in South Bend that UM could have tied by kicking the extra point prove By SHAUN POWELL Herald Sports Writer TEMPE Ariz Cheer cheer for new Notre Dame a dynamic college football team that recaptured the mystique of the Gipper days that during this decade seemed squirreled away forever For the first time school history the top-ranked Irish finished 12-0 and will be voted the national champion after 34-21 victory over previously undefeated and No 3-ranked West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl It was a performance of dominance and near mistake-free execution by Notre Dame which won its first championship mil years and eighth since The Associated Press mated this football team all areas If not for us Miami and West Virginia would still be undefeated know how you all are going to judge us But this football team has got to go down as being an excellent A jury of 74911 at Sun Devil Stadium the largest crowd Fiesta Bowl history probably would make that opinion unanimous Fortified by the running and get this passing of junior quarterback Tony Rice the offensive player of the game Notre Dame rolled to 455 total yards And the Irish defense definitely the survival kit this season limited the big-play Turn to FIESTA 8D began its current poll system 1936 thought our football team played the way they did all said Lou Holtz a wisp of a man who has rekindled the winning spirit after only three years as coach of the Irish really thmk underesti Associated Press Coach Lou Holtz gets a victory ride after the Irish beat West Virginia 34-21 in the Fiesta Bowl to finish 12-0 and No 1 Defense holds Huskers to 50-yard FG 23-3 liMET Edwin Pope The Hurricanes are the best 1A Hyde on TV coverage 4D Andre Brown I'll explain next week 5D big night 5D Statistics from game 6D comments 7D By GREG COTE Herald Sports Writer The Orange had never been so bittersweet as it was Monday night for the University of Miami football team The Hurricanes dominated Nebraska in a defensive swarm to claim the 55th Orange Bowl Classic 23-3 in an OB jammed with 79480 fans But the New triumph meant consolation not champagne No 1 Notre 34-21 victory over No 3 West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl earlier the day meant No 2 UM was playing only to keep its runner-up perch in the final rankings against No 6 Nebraska the Big Eight champion Five OB Classics ago UM parlayed a 31-30 upset of Nebraska to a national championship The rematch saw a clearly greater Hurricane dominance just the after-math that be as great for Miami Today the polls will anoint the Irish (12-0) as national champions and leave defending champion Miami (11-1) as runner-up for the second time in the past three seasons might not be No 1 in the Coach Jimmy Johnson said right now we are the best team the A missed two-pomt conversion pass in October spelling a 31-30 UM loss at Notre Dame proved to be the single play separating Miami from its third straight unbeaten regular season and from its second consecutive title our hearts we think the best team in the quarterback Steve Walsh said moments after the overshadowed bowl had ended To the surprise of many Walsh was chosen as one of the two MVPs (Nebraska defensive back Charles Fryar was the other) by NBC-TV after he completed 21 of 44 passes for 277 yards two touchdowns and three interceptions The Turn to ORANGE BOWL 6D Johnson: This proves best in nation lob Rubin Hoarse and drenched in victory sweat Jimmy Johnson defiantly claimed national supremacy for his University of Miami Hurricanes Monday night after a 23-3 triumph over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl Classic that was a far more thorough whipping than the score indicates wanted to prove to the country that we are the very very best team in the Johnson said might not be No 1 but right now we are the best the Notre Dame will be No 1 by virtue of finishing an undefeated season with a 34-21 victory over West Virginia Monday afternoon in the Fiesta Bowl Johnson quarrel with that He has no second thoughts about having gone for two at the end of a 31-30 loss to Notre Dame Oct 15 the play that cost the 11-1 Canes their second straight national championship good enough that Johnson said were too inexperienced to overcome all those turnovers But come a long way since All the way right The Canes are the best team in the country and if pressed probably a majority of the coaches and media Turn to RUBIN 4D BILL FRAKES Miami Herald Staff UM end Bill Hawkins sacks Steve Taylor for a six-yard loss midway through second quarter No 3: Seminoles hold off Auburn 13-7 33-year-old Georgia aide replaces Dooley Georgia named assistant coach and former Bulldog quarterback Ray Goff 33 to replace Coach Vince Dooley The announcement came one day after Georgia 34-27 victory over Michigan State in the Gator Bowl Page 11D Goff By GARY LONG Herald Sports Writer NEW ORLEANS The Florida State Seminoles played like a team with a death wish at times Monday night But at other tunes they played like the No 3 team in the nation which is what they probably will be after a nerve-racking 13-7 Sugar Bowl victory over Auburn Tigers quarterback Reggie Slack kept firing until the end But All-American cornerback Deion Sanders climaxed his career by intercepting the end zone with five seconds remaining The play had started at the FSU 22-yard line last play was like a storybook ending for Sanders said week I had visualized something like that was tired from being on the field so long But no quarterback who can pick on Slack had kept the drive alive with three fourth-down completions On fourth and nne from his 38-yard hne he passed 17 yards to wide receiver Freddie Weygand On fourth and five from the FSU 40 he hit Lawyer Tillman for seven And on fourth and six from the FSU 29 he found Greg Taylor for seven A deep second-down pass toward Weygand at the goal was broken up by free safety Dednck Dodge on a play that Auburn partisans in a crowd of 61934 thought was pass interference But the official on the spot ruled it a good break-up Sanders stole the game on the next play when they thought that Prime Tune Sanders was gone" Dodge said makes the key play of the FSU tailback Sammie Smith rushed for 124 yards on 15 carries to earn the Miller-Digby Trophy as the outstanding plaver He also saw a 69-yard sprint ith a Chip Ferguson pass nullified by one of numerous penalties that hampered FSU made up my mmd early in the week to concentrate on Smith said been out on Bourbon Street I just had my mind on the The gratification was greater he said because were by far the toughest defense we've played all year Their front three was just Auburn Coach Pat Dye would not argue defense was put into Turn to SUGAR BOW 10D A bad day for the Arkansas Oklahoma fail The flex-bone offense of Arkansas and the wishbone of Oklahoma were shut down Monday Arkansas had 42 yards in a 17-3 loss to UCLA in the Cotton Bowl Oklahoma rushed for 1 16 yards 227 under its average in a 13-6 loss to Clem-son in the Florida Citrus Bowl Page 9D Michigan rally beats USC Leroy Hoard scored two fourth-quarter TDs to help 1 1th-ranked Michigan to a 22-14 Rose Bowl victory over No 5 Southern Cal Page 9D Associated Press Sammie Smith voted the Sugar outstanding player moves past Quentin Riggins (41) and Craig Ogletree mm.