Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California • Page 54

D-4 Sunday, Oct. 4, 1992 Santa Cruz Sentinel bGininoies oiow i it? Or The Associated Press MIAMI Once again, Florida State missed a short field goal in the closing seconds. And once again. Miami celebrated a miraculous Victory. In a near replay of last year's memorable game, second-ranked Miami beat No.

3 Florida State 19-16 on Saturday when Dan Mo-wrey' missed a 39-yard field goal attempt on the final play. Last year, Miami won 17-16 when Florida State's Gerry Thomas' 34-yard kick sailed inches wide with 25 seconds remaining. This time, Mow rev's kick was yards wide, but the pain was just as great for the Seminoles. the joy just as great for the Hurricanes. "Just like last year, the kicker choked," Miami running back Stephen McGuire said.

"But he made three field goals so you can't blame it on him." It was the second straight week that Miami (4-0) survived a field-goal attempt on the last play. The Hurricanes edged Arizona 8-7 last week when the Wildcats missed a 51-yarder as time expired. "Wide right is what has saved Miami's life in three ballgames," Florida State Coach Bobby Buwden said. It was Miami's seventh win in its last eight games against Florida State (4-1). and the fifth time in the last six years that the Hurricanes probably ruined the Seminoles' bid for a national championship.

"Either they're living right or we're not living right. Whichever it is, we just have to live with it," said defensive back Clifton Abraham, who was burned on Miami's go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter a 33-yard pass from Gi-no Torretta to Lamar Thomas with 6:50 left. The Hurricanes, who lost their No. 1 ranking after the squeaker over Arizona, added a safety with 2:59 remaining on a botched punt return. But Florida State drove from its own 19 to the Miami 22 in the closing minutes and went for the tie, a tactic Bowden has disdained in the past.

However, Mowrey, whose two second-half field goals had given the Seminoles a 16-10 lead, wasn't even close, sparking a wild celebration by the Hurricanes. "We figured they'd choke; God works in mysterious ways," Miami linebacker Micheal Barrow said. "He folded under pressure. I think we have a bigger heart than they have." Mowrey, who made three of six field goal" attempts, said he "just didn't hit" the final kick. "I stepped out there just like in the first half, but as soon as I hit it, I knew I missed it," the sophomore said.

Miami extended winning streaks to 22 straight overall and 48 in a row at the Orange Bowl, the second-longest home streak in NCAA history. The victory also could boost the Hurricanes back to No. 1. Top-ranked Washington beat No. 20 Southern California 17-10.

"Obviously, people don't like us very well, so who knows what's go- ing to happen," Miami Coach Den- nis Erickson said. Miami's defense performed well despite the loss of star lineman Rusty Medearis, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against Arizona. "It's the biggest win I've ever had. including the national championships, because we've had a lot of adversity," Barrow said. The game was intense, but sloppy.

There were six turnovers, four bv Florida State. anotiiei Eiunicaoes Badgers shock No. 12 Buckeyes I- V) The Associated Press MADISON, Wis. Darrell Be-vell's passing keyed two third-quarter scoring drives and Wisconsin stopped Ohio State on fourth down at the Badgers' 23 with 2 minutes, 15 seconds left Saturday, preserving a 20-16 upset of the No. 12 Buckeyes.

Trailing 20-10, Ohio State scored on Kirk Herbstreit's 3-yard pass to I Nv vV hmmm Brian Sta- College football blein with 4:29 left, capping a 76-yard drive. Wisconsin Georgia Tech goes deep to top NC State The Associated Press ATLANTA Shawn Jones completed a 54-yard pass to Keenan Walker with one second left to set up Scott Sisson's 29-yard field goal, boosting No. 23 Georgia Tech over No. 21 North Carolina State 16-13 on Saturday. State's Steve Videtich missed four field goals, including a 51-yarder that fell short with 11 seconds left.

On the next play, Jones found Walker, who beat Mike Reid and Rickey Turner circling under the ball. Sisson's winning kick was his third field goal of the game. He had hit from 37 and 36 yards. Tech (3-1 overall, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) got its only touchdown on Jones' 16-yard pass to Jeff Papushak. The Wolfpack (4-2, 2-2) scored on Terry Jordan's 11-yard pass to Robert Hin-ton and on Videtich's field goals of 38 and 31 yards.

4 Walsh plan frustrates Irish QB Mirer suffers through 13-for-38 afternoon By DAN McGRATH McClatchy News Service SOUTH BEND, Ind. Bill Walsh, who made his football bones by assembling quarterbacks with the care and precision of a Swiss watchmaker, has a lesser-known talent for disassembling them. Never his own, of course. But history shows that the San Francisco 49ers' path to the three Super Bowls they won under Walsh was littered with the bones of Jim Everett, Bernie Kosar, Dan Marino and Boomer Esiason, young quarterbacks whose gift for making it look easy simply vanished on first exposure to San Francisco's sophisticated defensive schemes. Walsh is in his first year back on the job as Stanford's coach, and in Saturday's breakthrough 33-16 thumping of sixth-ranked Notre Dame, he showed that he has lost none of his edge.

While his own quarterback, Steve Stenstrom, performed credibly if not flawlessly in wringing 27 points out of five second-half scoring drives, Stanford's defense was frustrating Rick Mirer into an inexplicable Dieter Brock impersonation. Notre Dame led 9-0 after 2 '2 minutes but managed only seven points over the next 57 as its. All-America candidate suffered through the longest afternoon of his life. Mirer completed only 13 of 38 passes with one interception, a third-quarter goal-line number that ended the Irish's final scoring threat and pretty much finished them after Stanford had taken its first lead of the day, 20-16, on Sten-strom's second touchdown pass, a 20-yarder to J.J Lasley. i "That's the most frustrating it's ever been for me," Mirer said, his voice barely above a whisper in a tomb-like Notre Dame locker room.

"I'll take the blame. I have to do a better job getting the ball to the receivers. I didn't miss by allot, but I missed." Rick iNot to be rude, but he missed by plenty eight in a row at one stretch. There was an occasional drop, but most were simple misfires A overthrown, underthrown, wide of the mark. was shaking his head as Mirer, a quarterback he'd praised lavishly as a TV analyst, left a lingering impression that he couldn't hit the water if he fell out of a boat.

i'They tried some exotic pass plays that they difln't hit on first down, so they were looking at second and 10 a lot, and that limits you," Walsh said charitably. "I wouldn't say we did anything to confuse Rick. I think we were a little quicker to the ball than Notre Dame expected. We're also capable of playing good man-to-man coverage, and we can get a pass rush when we vx a 4 The Associated Press Stanford's Toby Norwood, left, and Dave Garnett, rear, tackle Jerome Bettis. then was called for a personal foul on the extra point, which was good.

Ohio State decided to take the point off the board and go for two from the 1-yard-line, but Ray-mont Harris was stopped short, leaving the Buckeyes four points back. The Buckeyes (3-1) got the ball back at the 41 after a short punt and moved to the 26. On fourth-and-5, Herbstreit was dragged down by Reggie Holt after a 3-yard gain. Wisconsin moved for a first down and then ran out the clock in the biggest victory of third-year coach Barry Alvarez's career with the Badgers. Michigan 52, Iowa 28 ANN ARBOR, Mich.

Tyrone Wheatley rushed for 224 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 4 Michigan. The Wolverines (3-0-1 overall, 1-0 Big Ten), seeking a fifth straight conference title, have won 14 consecutive Big Ten games. Michigan's last Big Ten defeat was in 1990 when Iowa (1-4, 0-1) beat the W7olverines 24-23 at Ann Arbor. Elvis Grbac, returning to the Michigan lineup after missing two games with an injured left ankle, completed 11 of 17 passes for 101 yards and one touchdown, with two interceptions.

Texas 19, Texas Tech 17 COLLEGE STATION, Texas Terry Venetoulias, whose missed extra point put No. 5 Texas in grave danger, kicked a 21-yard field goal as time expired to keep the Aggies undefeated. Jon Davis kicked a 30-yard field goal into a stiff wind with 5:19 left to give the Red Raiders (2-3 overall, 1-1 Southwest Conference) a 17-16 lead. But quarterback Jeff Granger directed the Aggies (5-0, 1-0) on a 76-yard drive against the clock. converted a fourth down on the drive and Granger hit tight end Greg Schorp for 13 yards to get the Aggies into field goal position, which was converted for the win.

Tennessee 20, LSU 0 BATON ROUGE, La. Seventh-ranked Tennessee welcomed Coach Johnny Majors back to the sideline with a second straight shutout. It was the first time since 1985 Tennessee has put together successive shutouts. Last week, the Volunteers blanked Cincinnati 40-0. The victory put Tennessee at 5-0 overall and 3-0 atop the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division.

Penn St. 38, Rutgers 24 EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. John Sacca threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns as No. 8 Penn State won, giving the Nittany Lions their best start since winning the national championship in 1986. The victory was the 19th straight for Penn State (5-0) against an eastern opponent and its 19th in 21 out second best in several collisions with free safety John Lynch, who gives away 35 pounds to Bettis but fearlessly took him head-on each time the Irish fullback ventured beyond the line of scrimmage.

"John is just a massive hitter. He had a wonderful game," Walsh said. "We all played with a great deal of courage." Bettis also lost two fumbles that set up both of Stanford's third-quarter touchdowns. "I hope anyone won't say that this came down to a dropped pass or a fumble," Walsh said. "This was a case of Stanford beating Notre Dame, and it's just great a huge win for us." need it.

"I kept expecting Rick to make plays, to be honest. I still think he's a great player. I'd take him in a second." Mirer said he was more tired than confused. "I don't know if it was the heat or what, but I was exhausted. We put in a lot of hours this week.

We were prepared for everything they did. Preparation is important, but then it comes down to execution, and we didn't have that." Mirer wasn't the only Irish villain. Fullback Jerome Bettis, who shredded Stanford for 179 yards and four touchdowns last season, managed 54 yards in 17 carries this time, coming games against Rutgers (3-2). Alabama 48, S. Carolina 7 TUSCALOOSA, Ala.

Alabama's maligned offense, led by Chris Anderson and Derrick Lassie, came alive against South Carolina and the No. 9 Crimson Tide romped. Alabama (5-0 overall, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) was so dominant that it took a 38-0 lead the Gamecocks (0-5, 0-4) got their1 initial first down, with just 2:31 left in the half. Georgia 27, Arkansas 3 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. Eric Zeier and Garrison Hearst, both out of synch in the first quarter, got on track later and led 16th-ranked Georgia.

Zeier, a sophomore already possessing two of the top three passing performances in school ry, threw for one touchdown under pressure and set up another TD with a perfect 27-yard completion. Hearst, who made only 14 yards in the first quarter, later scored his ninth and 10th touchdowns of the season. Syracuse 15, Louisville 9 LOUISVILLE, Ky. Terry Richardson and Al Wooten had short touchdown runs to lift No. 17 Syracuse.

Syracuse (3-1) moved the ball 63 yards on eight plays for its winning score, a 1-yard run by Rich-" ardson off left tackle in the third period. Quarterback Marvin Graves scampered in for a two-point conversion. Boston Col. 24, W. Virginia 24 MORGANTOWN, W.Va.

David Mayfield blocked a 43-yard field goal attempt by David Gordon with 19 seconds left to preserve West Virginia's 24-24 tie with No. 22 Boston College. It was the second tie this season for the Mountaineers (3-0-2), who were led by tailback Adrian Mur-rell's 150 yards on 16 carries. Comeback es here in the last six years, and Stanford owns two of them. This, after giving up 200 yards to the Irish in the first 22 minutes.

When the Cardinal defense adjusted, however, the results were fairly remarkable; Notre Dame, the nation's No. 1 offense at 512 yards a game, finished with 349. With Stenstrom getting time to look around, the Cardinal offense began showing true signs of life after trailing 16-6 at the half. Bettis' fumble at the Irish 22, on the first play of the third quarter, set up Stenstrom's eight-yard touchdown pass to Justin Armour. Then Stanford surged ahead with a methodical 66-yard, eight-play drive, Stenstrom rolling left and flaring the ball to running back J.J.

Lasley for a 20-yard touchdown play. It was 20-16 Stanford, with 4:49 still left in the third. "Our line did a great job," Stenstrom said. "I told the line all week that if they gave me time, there were holes in the Notre Dame defense." From there, the game deteriorated badly for the Irish. Notre Dame drove 11 plays to Lynch's interception.

Stanford drove 55 yards to Eric Abrams' 37-yard field goal. Notre Dame went three and out. Stanford went 72 yards to Milburn's 14-yard scoring sweep. The topper came on the ensuing kickoff. Notre Dame's Clint Johnson ran the ball out of the end zone, then tried to throw a lateral to teammate Lee Becton.

Stanford freshman David Walker intercepted at the Irish 8, and Abrams was soon kicking an 18-yard field goal for the final count. routes, out patterns and dumps to the backs. It was a vintage Walsh offense, and Stenstrom hit 21 of 32 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns. The flip side was Mirer, an ex-Heisman Trophy candidate who started badly and got worse. Four times in the first half, Irish receivers were flying alone behind the Stanford defense.

Four times Mirer overthrew them on his way to a 13-for-38, 195-yard performance. "It was all the pressure they w-ere applying to Rick," Notre Dame receiver Lake Dawson said. "He had no time to read, so you have to give credit to Stanford for that." Stanford thus became the first visiting team to win consecutive games at Notre Dame Stadium since Pittsburgh did so in 1983 and 1986. The Irish have only four loss Continued from Page Dl 'If -you want it to be the most important game this season, I'll coach that So he did. Milburn carried 20 tirries' for 119 yards and two touchdowns, darting through the Irish on end-around plays and eating the fourth-quarter clock with the familiar "Bob sweep" that Walsh utilized with the 49ers.

Stanford quarterback Steve Stenstrom, unable to throw until Friday this week because of a bruised rib, "was blindsided on the game's first play by untouched Ail-American Demetrius DuBose. The ball came loose and Stanford guard Brian Cassidy recovered it in the end zone for a safety. But thereafter, Stenstrom enjoyed his best protection of the season, carving up the Irish with curl UCLA loses game, players vs. Arizona Far west FREE ESTIMATES I UNLV 21, Pacific 17 STOCKTON Jason Davis intercepted a fourth-down pass by Pacific's Dave Henigan in the UNLV end zone with 36 seconds to play to preserve the Rebels' victory in the Big West Conference. UC Davis 21, Sacramento St.

14 SACRAMENTO Khari Jones threw for two touchdowns to lead the University of California at Davis to a win over Sacramento State in non-conference play. Fresno St. 48, Louisiana Tech 14 FRESNO Quarterback Trent Dilfer from Aptos threw five touchdown passes to lead Fresno State to a rout of Louisiana Tech. Fresno State (3-2) scored less one minute into the game on a 57-yard pass from Dilfer to Michael Ross. Dilfer, who completed 13 of 20 passes for 172 yards, had a 9-yard scoring pass to Marty Thompson midway through the first quarter.

fense, but managed to beat the Trojans for the third straight year on the strength of its defense. It was the Huskies' first game as the nation's No. 1 team after moving past Miami in the rankings last Sunday. Oregon 30, Arizona St. 20 EUGENE, Ore.

Tommy Thompson tied an Oregon record by kicking five field goals as the Ducks beat Arizona State in a mistake-filled Pac-10 game. Turnovers set up two second-quarter Sun Devils touchdowns and two crucial second-half scores for Oregon, which won its third in a row to improve to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the conference. Washington State 51, Temple 10 PULLMAN, Wash. Shaumbe Wright-Fair rushed for a career-high four touchdowns as Washington State routed Temple in non-conference action. Washington State (4-0) used superior speed to roll up 558 yards against Temple (1-4).

TJie Associated Press I TUCSON Steve McLaughlin kicked three field goals and Arizona's smothering defense, building off its near-miss against Miami, shocked llth-ranked UCLA 23-3 Saturday night, though the Bruins kept their record scoring streak alive. UCLA managed to extend its NCAA-record for consecutive games scored in to 243 games on Lpuis Perez's 18-yard field goal with 1:25 remaining. then, Arizona (2-2-1, 1-1-1 in the Pacific-10 Conference) allowed the score grudgingly, after holding the Bruins on three running attempts from the Wildcats' 1-yard-lbie, The Wildcats forced four turnovers, one of which led to McLaughlin's last field goal, from 34 yards, as the Bruins fell to 3-1 in their Pac-10 opener. Santa Clara 14, Humboldt St, 10 ARCATA Aron Wise ran for tm two touchdowns and John St. Jacques completed 12 passes in 32 attempts for 111 yards to lead Santa Clara over Humboldt State.

The win boosts Santa Clara's record to 3-2, while Humboldt dropped to 3-2. Santa Clara was outgained on offense, 299 yards to 177, but the Bronco defense held Humboldt four times after the Lumberjacks drove inside the Santa Clara 10-yard line. Washington 17, USC 10 SEATTLE Billy Joe Hobert threw two touchdown passes in the first 5 minutes, 20 seconds then top-ranked Washington had to rely on its defense in defeating No. 20 Southern California. It was Washington's 18th consecutive victory over three seasons.

Washington (4-0 overall and 2-0 in the Pac-10) was shaky on of mm mm i -i -i i 1 nr i.