Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 28

B-4 PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2001 COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS, SCHEDULE fs.ir,W Seminoles' next dynasty close? COLLEGE FOOTBALL By Brent Kallestad The Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Florida State is not playing for a national championship. Still hard to believe, isn't it? The proof is in the bowl lineup, where the once-dominant Seminoles are far removed from the Bowl Championship Series and much clos TUESDAY'S SUMMARIES Las Vegas Bowl Utah 10, USC 6 Utah 7 3 0 0 10 USC 0 0 6 0 6 First Quarter Utah Tate 3 run (Kaneshiro kick), 5.26. Second Quarter Utah F5 Kaneshiro 26, 29 Third Quarter USC Byrd 1 run (kick failed), 10:03. TEAM STATISTICS Utah USC 20 First downs 12 54-222 Rushes-yards 25-1 150 Passing 136 12-21-1 Comp-Att-lnl 15-26-0 8 Return Yards 60 Punts-Avg 1- 1 Fumbles-Lost 1-0 10-95 Penalties-Yards 6-47 38 01 Time of Possession 2 1 59 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Utah.

Tate 23-103. Hunter 17-94, Russell 2-15, Ita Aehau 1-7. Houston 1-3, Rice 6-1, D.Smith 1-1. Fortune 1-1, team 2-(minus 3). USC, Byrd 10-31.

Howard 3-14, Poston 3-12. Hale 1-8, team 2-(mmus 13), Palmer 6-(minus-51). PASSING-Utah. Rice 12-21-1-136. USC, Palmer 15-26-0-150 RECEIVING- Utah.

Lyman 4-41. Richardson 3-35, DSmith 2-24. Russell 2-19. Houston 1-17. USC, Kelly 3-33.

Pitts 3-32. Colbert 2-38, Holmes 2- 16, Dickerson 2-8. Hale 1-13, Byrd 1-8, Landn-gan 1-2. Blue-Gray Classic er to home, preparing to play Virginia Tech in the Gator Bowl Jan. 1.

"Like everything," Coach Bobby Bowden said, "nothing lasts forever." For 14 years, though, Florida State had itself a pretty nice dynasty. The Seminoles played in five national title-deciding IN THE SPOTLIGHT No. 1 Miami (11-0) vs. No. 4 Nebraska (11-1), 8 p.m.

Jan. 3. TV: WTAE. The Rose Bowl. Miami, already without FB Najeh Davenport, suspended backup WR Ethenic Sands (26 catches, 385 yards) for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

By the time Nebraska plays Miami, it will have gone 41 days without playing a game. TODAY'S LIST Leading rushers thus far in the bowl season: sive, too, with at least nine wins per season from 1973-99. Now a congressman, Osborne marvels at Bowden's accomplishments. "I can't imagine 14 straight years of 10 wins and then a major bowl every one of those years," said Osborne, who lost four bowl games to the Seminoles between 1987 and 1993. "A couple of those times we had him beat, but he was able to hang on and come from behind in the fourth quarter." From the start of this season, there was a sense the Seminoles could be down.

Chris Weinke, the 2000 Heisman winner, and another half-dozen players left for the NFL after the 13-2 loss to Oklahoma in the national title game last year. A series of preseason injuries didn't help, and Bowden was nervous as the season began. "We went into the season hoping somehow we could maintain a two-loss season," he said. "Then we saw it was going to be three, and now it's four, and it could be more." Bowden played more freshmen and sophomores than in years, and the inexperience showed. He started Chris Rjx at quarterback, the first time in his career he opened with a freshman.

The learning process wasn't pretty, starting with the shocking, 41-9 Toss to North Carolina in mid-September in which Rix lost two fumbles and threw an interception. "The big thing now is we know what to expect out of them," Bowden said. "We didn't when the season started." There were other problems, too. In the late-season, 37-13 loss to Florida, Gators Coach Steve Spurrier accused Bowden of promoting dirty play. Spurrier said Seminoles tackle Darnell Dockett intentionally tried to hurt his players during the game, adding "that's the way they do things up there." The accusation brought a harsh reply from Florida State Athletic Director David Hart.

"It would probably be good if somebody just spanked him and put him to bed and hope he wakes up all grown up," Hart said of Spurrier. Bowden, 72, is not ready for too many more 7-4 seasons, so he's already working on Dynasty II. "We can see the capability, the potential of our team," he said. "There is no way this team is maxed out. "You've got to try to keep it in perspective.

This is a one-year thing. We've had a down year this year." A victory against Virginia Tech would give Bowden 323 wins, moving him into a second-place tie with Alabama's Bear Bryant, and four behind Paterno. Yards Player, school Blue 28, Gray 10 games, won two of them, never finished below fifth in the final poll and produced two Heisman Trophy winners. Since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1992, the Seminoles had won or shared every league crown until finishing 7-4 this season, with ACC losses to North Carolina and North Carolina State. The other losses were against in-state rivals Miami and Florida.

On Tuesday, the Seminoles play the Hokies for the first time since the teams met on a much bigger stage in the Sugar Bowl with the '99 national title on the line. Darrell Mudra, who preceded Bowden at Florida State, said "there is nothing comparable" to what the Seminoles have achieved. Noting that Bowden wasn't taking over an established program such as Penn State, Ohio State or Notre Dame when he arrived in 1976, Mudra said, "I don't think there has been another situation in the country where anyone had done the kind of job that Bobby Bowden has done." From 1987, Bowden's Seminoles won 145 of 164 games, a feat Penn State Coach Joe Paterno calls "phenomenal." Paterno said he doubts any school will match Florida State's 14-year run of 10 or more wins. "It seems to me most of the conferences now are starting to level off and are going to be much more competitive," Paterno said. "For a while, Florida State was so far ahead of everybody else in the ACC in a lot of ways." Tom Osborne's run at Nebraska was pretty impres Friday, Dec.

28 GAaERYFURNITURE.COM BOWL At Houston $750,000 Texas (7-4) vs TCU (6-5). 1 30 p.m. (ESPN) MUSIC CITY BOWL At Nashville, Tenn. $750,000 Boston College (7-4) vs. Georgia (8-3), 5 p.m.

(ESPN) HOLIDAY BOWL At San Diego $2 million Texas (10-2) vs. Washington (8-3), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN) Saturday, Dec. 29 MOTOR CITY BOWL At Pontlac, Mich. $750,000 Toledo (9-2) vs Cincinnati (7-4), Noon (ESPN) ALAMO BOWL At San Antonio $1.2 million Texas Tech (7-4) vs Iowa (6-5).

3 30 p.m. (ESPN) INSIGHT.COM BOWL At Phoenix $750,000 Kansas State (6-5) vs. Syracuse (9-3), 5:30 p.m. (ESPN2) Monday, Dec. 31 SUN BOWL At El Paso, Texas $1 million Washington State (9-2) vs.

Purdue (6-5), Noon (CBS) HUMANITARIAN BOWL At Boise, Idaho $750,000 Louisiana Tech (7-4) vs. Clemson (6-5), 12:30 p.m. (ESPN) SILICON VALLEY CLASSIC At San Jose, Calif. $750,000 Fresno State (11-2) vs. Michigan State (6-5), 3 p.m.

(FOXSN) LIBERTY BOWL At Memphis, Tenn. $1.3 million BYU (12-1) vs. Louisville (10-2), 4 p.m. (ESPN) PEACH BOWL At Atlanta $1.8 million North Carolina (7-5) vs. Auburn (7-4), 7:30 p.m.

(ESPN) Tuesday, Jan. 1 OUTBACK BOWL At Tampa, Fla. $2.2 million Ohio State (7-4) vs. South Carolina (8-3), 11 a.m. (ESPN) COTTON BOWL At Dallas $2 million Arkansas (7-4) vs.

Oklahoma (10-2), 11 a.m. (FOX) GATOR BOWL At Jacksonville, Fla. $1.4 million Virginia Tech (8-3) vs. Florida State (7-4), 12:30 p.m. (NBC) CITRUS BOWL At Orlando, Fla.

$4.25 million Michigan (8-3) vs. Tennessee (10-2), 1 p.m. (ABC) FIESTA BOWL At Tempe, Ariz. $11-13 million Colorado (10-2) vs. Oregon (10-1), 4:30 p.m.

(ABC) SUGAR BOWL At New Orleans $11-13 million Illinois (10-1) vs. LSUe (9-3), 8:30 p.m. (ABC) Wednesday, Jan. 2 ORANGE BOWL At Miami $11-13 million Maryland (10-1) vs. Florida (9-2), 8 p.m.

(ABC) Thursday, Jan. 3 ROSE BOWL At Pasadena, Calif. $11-13 million Miami (11-0) vs. Nebraska (11-1), 8 p.m. (ABC) Saturday, Jan.

12 EAST-WEST SHRINE CLASSIC At San Francisco West vs. East, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN2) Saturday, Jan. 26 GRIDIRON CLASSIC At Orlando, Fla. Team Florida vs.

Team USA, 2 p.m. (ESPN) SENIOR BOWL At Mobile, Ala. South vs. North, 5 p.m. (ESPN) Saturday, Feb.

2 HULA BOWL At Maul, Hawaii North vs. South, 6 p.m. (ESPN) "-Two overtimes. Blue 14 0 7 7 28 Gray 0 10 0 0 10 First Quarter Blue Easy 2 run (Hills kick). 9 44 Blue Flowers 1 run (Hills kick), 7:05 Second Quarter Gray Foreman 2 run (White kick), 8:11 Gray FG White 32, 1 31 Third Quarter Blue Drummond 3 run (Hills kick), :15 Fourth Quarter Blue Atkinson 1 1 fumble return (Hills kick), 4 10 TEAM STATISTICS Blue Gray 23 First downs 13 37-131 Rushes-yards 48-203 111 Passing 166 9 29-1 Comp-Att lnt 21-50-1 63 Return Yards 76 Punts-Avg 1-0 Fumbles-Lost 5-4 5-73 Penalties-Yards 1-10 25.1 1 Time of Possession 34.49 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Blue Easy 12-49 Drummond 8-26.

Flowers 6-18. Neill 3-16. Wiggins 5-12. Davis 1-9, Welsh 1-6. Bentley 1-(minus 5).

Gray. man 13-56, Carter 9-46, Gunn 9-36, Ougger 6-30, Kennedy 7-21. Zolman 3-13, Watson 1-1. PASSING -Blue. Welsh 8-19-1-91, Neill 1-9-0-20.

Givens 0-1-0 0. Gray, Kennedy 9-27-1-99, Zolman 12 23-0-67. RECEIVING Blue. Givens 3-42, O'Neal 2-31, Anelli 1-15 Drummond 1-8. Easy 1-8.

Blakley 1-7 Gray, Harris 5-43. Stone 3-32. Foreman 3-14, Dugger 3 13, Hemrich 2-40, Taylor 2-15. Carter 2 3 Luzai 1-6. BOWL RESULTS, SCHEDULE Tuesday, Dec.

18 NEW ORLEANS BOWL Colorado State 45 North Texas 20 Wednesday, Dec. 19 GMAC BOWL At Mobile, Ala. "-Marshall 64 East Carolina 61 Thursday, Dec. 20 TANGERINE BOWL At Orlando, Fla. Pitt 34....

North Carolina State 19 Tuesday, Dec. 25 BLUE-GRAY CLASSIC At Montgomery, Ala. Blue 28.. Gray 10 LAS VEGAS BOWL At Las Vegas Utah io. Southern California 6 i Thursday, Dec.

27 SEATTLE BOWL $750,000 Georgia Tech (7-5) vs. Stanford (9-2), 4 p.m. (ESPN) INDEPENDENCE BOWL At Shreveport, La. $1 million Iowa State (7 4) vs Alabama (6-5), 7.30 p.m. (ESPN) Dave MartinAssociated Press Henry, East Carolina 1 95 Galbraith, N.

Texas "106 Tate, Utah 103 NEWS NOTES Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey has met with Georgia Tech officials and is reportedly close to completing a deal to become the Yellow Jackets' next coach. The Telegraph in Macon, reported the story yesterday. Last night, ESPN.com reported that Gailey already had taken the job. It looks as if QB Brock Berlin, who announced earlier this month he would transfer from Florida, is likely headed for rival Miami. "He's leaning very heavily toward Miami," his mother, Nancy, says.

The Blue-Gray Classic played for the 64th time yesterday, but its days might be numbered. Game officials in Montgomery, are seeking a title sponsor. The game relied on 10 secondary sponsors this year after Kelly Tire dropped out after the 2000 game, but "we really need a title sponsor," says Charles "Fats" Jones, bowl executive director. Texas freshman TB Cedric Benson (1,053 yards) is practicing again after sustaining a neck injury in the Big 1 2 title game Dec. 1 but he won't start the Holiday Bowl Friday vs.

No. 21 Washington. He should play. Nebraska arrived in Los Angeles Monday to begin preparations for the national championship game in the Rose Bowl. The Cornhuskers' traveling party numbered 311, including 151 players.

Texas will be without CB Sean Weston in the galleryfurniture.com Bowl Friday because of a hyperextend-ed knee. Weston, who has started 22 consecutive games, will be replaced by freshman Byron Jones. Utah NG Ma'ake Ke-moeatu couldn't play in the Utes' Las Vegas Bowl win vs. USC because he improperly provided textbooks to his younger brother, Tevita, a walk-on at Utah. As a scholarship player, Kemoeatu gets textbooks at no charge.

But he also obtained three extra books for his brother, who, as a walk-on, is not allowed to receive such benefits. Texas QB Mark Far-ris, who turned his back on the Pirates to return to college football, says he'll return for his senior season next year. FOR THE RECORD After beginning his career at Illinois 3-19, Coach Ron Turner could reach .500 (34-34) with a victory vs. LSU in the Sugar Bowl. HE SAID IT Gino Guidugli, Cincinnati freshman quarterback and owner of a 3.5 grade-point average, has an interesting approach, to his time in school: "I don't like school, but school's something you've got to do.

If you're there, you might as well do well." FOURTH-AND-SHORT The days leading up to bowl games aren't just for visiting hospitals and riding roller-coasters with Mickey Mouse. Washington Coach Rick Neuheisel, who sends his Huskies against No. 9 Texas in the Holiday Bowl Friday night, took his players on a tour of the Playboy Mansion when they were in Los Angeles before the Rose Bowl last year. "We have a lot of architectural majors on our team," Neuheisel explained. Log is sure they all found it nicelv built.

THE AP TOP 25 Penn State's Omar Easy carries 12 times for 49 yards and a touchdown in the Blue's 28-10 win yesterday. BOWLS ROUNDUP PSU duo lifts Blue to win Drummond, Easy TDs spark victory vs. Gray By The Associated Press It took Penn State half a season to come together. Nittany Lions running backs Eddie Drummond and Omar Easy needed just a week to mesh with their all-star team. Drummond and Easy both had short touchdown runs, lifting the Blue to a 28-10 victory in the Blue-Gray All-Star Classic yesterday in Montgomery, Ala.

"This is a bowl game for me right here," said Easy, voted the Blue's outstanding offensive player. "It was fun. We meshed as a team from all over the country and came together for a win today." The Penn State players were relegated to the all-star game after the team lost its first four games before a strong finish came up a win short of bowl eligibility. It was a long day for the offenses, with the Gray squad committing five turnovers and none of the quarterbacks reaching 100 yards passing. After Penn State's runners put the Blue in charge, Algie Atkinson of Kansas returned a fumbled punt 11 yards for a touchdown with 4:10 remaining to seal the victory.

It was an appropriate way to decide a game dominated by the defenses from the outset. "We jelled as the week went on, almost as if we had been a team for a while here," said Northwestern linebacker Kevin Bentley, the Blue's MVP with 16 tackles and an interception. "We just wanted to get a victory, and that's what we got." The Gray managed just one first down on its first three fourth-quarter possessions before Atkinson's score. The Gray's opening drive of the final quarter ended with Tyree Foreman losing a fumble on a fourth-and-2 run from the Gray 42. The Blue's David Hills then missed a 30-yard field goal.

Mississippi State defensive back Shawn Byrdsong was MVP for the Gray, showing he could make the switch from safety to cornerback. He deflected seven passes and intercepted another. Of the four quarterbacks, only Alabama State's Darnell Kennedy (99 yards) and Idaho's John Welsh (91) approached 100 yards. "The offense needs a little bit more time to get clicking than the defense, and I guess the all-star game showed that," said Kennedy, a Montgomery native. Easy had a 2-yard score in the first quarter, and Drummond added a 3-yard score late in the third Todd DeLamielleure of Hofstra claimed the defensive honors for the Blue with 10 tackles, one for a loss.

Foreman, of Virginia, rushed for 56 yards to earn offensive honors for the Gray. Nate Morrow of Vanderbilt (15 tackles) was voted the team's top defensive plaver. A look at the pre-bowl season Associated Press Top 25 and who's playing who: 1. Miami (11-0): vs. No.

4 Nebraska in the Rose Bowl. 2. Oregon (10-1): vs. No. 3 Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl.

3. Colorado (10-2): vs, No. 2 Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl. 4. Nebraska: (11-1): vs.

No. 1 Miami in the Rose Bowl. 5. Florida (9-2): vs. No.

6 Maryland in the Orange Bowl. 6. Maryland (10-1): vs. No. 5 Florida in the Orange Bowl.

7. Illinois (10-1): vs. No. 12 LSU in the Sugar Bowl. 8.

Tennessee (10-2): vs. No. 17 Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. 9. Texas (10-2): vs.

No. 21 Washington in the Holiday Bowl. 10. Oklahoma (10-2): vs. Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl.

11. Stanford (9-2): vs. Georgia Tech in the Seattle Bowl. 12. LSU (9-3): No.

7 Illinois in the Sugar Bowl. 13. Washington State (9-2): vs. Purdue in the Sun Bowl. 14.

South Carolina (8-3): vs. No. 22 Ohio State in the Outback Bowl. 15. Virginia Tech (8-3): vs.

No. 24 Florida State in the Gator Bowl. 16. Georgia (8-3): vs. Boston College in the Music City Bowl.

17. Michigan (8-3): vs. No. 8 Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl. 18.

Syracuse (9-3): vs. Kansas State in the lnsight.com Bowl. 19. Brigham Young (12-1): vs. No.

23 Louisville in the Liberty Bowl. 20. Fresno State (11-2): vs. Michigan State in the Silcon Valley Bowl. 21.

Washington (8-3): vs. No. 9 Texas in the Holiday Bowl. 22. Ohio State (7-4): vs.

No. 14 South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. 23. Louisville (10-2): vs. No.

19 Brigham Young in the Liberty Bowl. 24. Florida State (7-4): vs. No. 1 5 Virginia Tech in the Gator Bowl.

25. Toledo (9-2): vs. Cincinnati in the Motor City Bowl. The Blue's Welsh completed 8 of 19 passes, with one interception. David Neill of Nevada was 1 for 9 for 20 yards.

The Gray's Kennedy, a Montgomery native, was 9 of 27 with an interception. Greg Zolman of Vanderbilt was 12 of 23 for 67 yards. Defensive players provided the biggest numbers. Bentley's interception set up the game's first touchdown. Byrdsong also had a punt return for a touchdown negated by penalty before fumbling his final attempt at a return.

He was still happy with the MVP trophy. "That's sweet, man," Byrdsong said. "I haven't had an MVP trophy in a while. It's a good feeling. I don't know how I'm going to get back on the plane with it.

I'm going to get it there somehow." The game, pitting the North against the South, is for seniors whose schools were not playing in bowl games. Las Vegas Utah 10, Southern California 6: Adam Tate rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown, and Utah's defense limited Southern California to 1 yard rushing as the Utes won the Las Vegas Bowl for the second time in the past three years. The Utes got a dominant performance from their defense, which embarrassed USC's high-powered offense. The Trojans (6-6), who had their four-game winning streak snapped, finished with 151 total yards. Despite going scoreless in the second half, Utah converted two long third downs in the final 3:30 to run out the clock.

When Tate surged for yet another first down with 1 :30 left, the Utes doused Coach Ron McBride with Gatorade to celebrate Utah's third bowl victory in six trips. Moved to Christmas Day to capitalize on a captive TV audience, the game was expected to draw a tiny crowd. Instead, 30,984 locals and fans of both teams filled the stadium, setting a attendance mark for the 1 0-year-old bowl. 'Jin rrr, 1 1 4 THE PLACE TO i Everything you need to give your home fresh, new look. Plus, gardening trends, furniture, antique and decorating features, home remodeling and repair tips.

Homes and Gardens Every Saturday Pittsburgh Post-awttc- i Joe CavarettaAssociated Press Utah's Dameon Hunter snags a lateral in the third quarter vs. USC as teammate Thomas Furtune blocks..