Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 40

it 1 SPOR Who is the winningest active coach in the National Football League? Answer on D-19 TRIVIA SECTION PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2000 Nebraska rewrites 5 Irish lore Crouch's TD in overtime pulls out a 27-24 victory Bv Richard Rosenblatt By Richard Rosenblatt quarterback knew his team was lucky to escape. "It was something that I'll never forget, especially at a place like Notre Dame," Crouch said. "Just the aura that this place has. It's real hard for any team rated No. 1 to come in here and beat these guys." Nebraska (2-0) found out how difficult as Notre Dame (1-1) nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in its storied history.

In 1993, the Irish beat No. 1 Florida State, 31-24; and in '88 the Irish defeated No. 1 Miami, 31-30. The Huskers, in their first visit here since 1947, won despite a valiant effort from an Irish team trying to return to national prominence after finishing 5-7 last season. Notre Dame rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to tie the score at 21 on a 100-yard kickoff return by Julius Jones and an 83-yard punt return by Joey Getherall.

"We knew it was not going to be easy coming in, in this stadium and getting out with a win," Nebraska Coach Frank Solich said. "It was a great ballgame. I think it lived up to all the expectations the fans had." Not for the Notre Dame players. "I'm not big on that moral victory stuff. We're Notre Dame," linebacker Rocky Boiman said.

"We played hard. We poured out our hearts and souls into this game, and my guts are torn up inside." SEE NEBRASKA, PAGE D-8 The Associated Press SOUTH BEND, Ind. Eric Crouch is well versed in Notre Dame football lore, especially the part about No. 1 teams coming to town and leaving with a loss. After his third touchdown run of the game a 7-yarder in overtime gave the top-ranked Cornhuskers a nerve-racking, 27-24 victory over the 23rd-ranked Fighting Irish yesterday, the Sue OgrockiReuters Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch scores in overtime to give the top-ranked Cornhuskers a victory over Notre Dame yesterday.

rv Pitt wide receiver Latef Grim tries to get turnover into a touchdown three minutes into the game yesterday, Penn State Coach Joe Paterno was not thinking "Here we go again." Louisiana Tech (1-2) does not have the talent or size of Southern Cal or Toledo the teams that dominated Penn State in the Nittany Lions' first two games. Plus, Paterno didn't have much time to think about the early deficit. Penn State (1-2) scored 27 points over I-''. n't, 1 1 i Turman takes lead in QB derby, directs Panthers to 34-16 victory By Shelly Anderson Post-Gazette Sports Writer BOWLING GREEN, Ohio For a quarter, it looked as if Bowling Green Coach Gary Blackney might have won the war of words, what with his talk all week about the Falcons expecting to beat Pitt, while Panthers Coach Walt Harris expressed worry over the game. Then came John Turman.

So much for talk. Harris stuck to his game plan with his quarterbacks, playing junior David Priestley for three series before switching to Turman. In his first series, Turman was foiled by a dropped pass by receiver Antonio Bryant that surely would have been a touchdown. Turman then led Pitt to touchdowns on three successive possessions for an insurmountable lead as the Panthers (2-0) slapped Bowling Green, 34-16, in front of 11,533 yesterday at Doyt L. Perry Stadium.

The Falcons (0-2) shut down the Pitt running game so Turman and the Panthers took to the air. Turman completed 12 of 17 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Bryant. "I think they really wanted to shut our run game down," turman said. "And I think we were able to come back with a passing game that was pretty effective. "I felt real good." Harris, who has been waiting for one of the two quarterbacks to establish himself as the starter since the beginning of the 1999 season, wouldn't commit to one after the game.

He did stick with Turman beyond a three-series rotation, though. And he said he pulled Turman late in the third quarter primarily because the senior needed a break after sustaining a bruised neck. "He had ice on his neck and he was a little sore, and we thought the score was safe enough at the time that we didn't want to take any chances," Harris said. Turman's last play was a touchdown pass, 29 yards to Bryant, that gave Pitt a SEE PITT, PAGE D-10 Venus sweeps to title Too much for Davenport in Open final, 6-4, 7-5 By Steve Wilstein The Associated Press NEW YORK A glittery tiara in her hair and menace in her strokes, Venus Williams tightened the family grip on women's tennis last night, capturing the U.S. Open title her sister won a year ago.

Two months after beating Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon for her first Grand Slam title, Williams confirmed her place as the best in the game, if not in the rankings, by beating Davenport again, 6-4, 7-5, in the hardest-hitting women's final in U.S. Open history. Never before had two women's finalists walloped shots so fiercely, so consistently, from both sides as Williams and Davenport in this rain-. delayed, 1-hour, 25-minute duel. They each needed to be fast to keep up with the other, and no one in the game is faster than the sinewy, long-legged Williams.

"I really have some wheels," Williams said. "I'm really speedy SEE OPEN, PAGE D-18 Sampras, Safin in men's final. Page D-18. Pirates' streak stopped Benson struggles again as Cincinnati wins, 6-4 By Paul Meyer Post-Gazette Sports Writer Cincinnati last night decided eight was enough for the Pirates and ended their winning streak with a 6-4 come-from-behind triumph. Steve Parris recovered from a shaky beginning to win his sixth consecutive start, becoming the first Cincinnati right-hander to win that many consecutive starts since Jose Rijo in 1991.

Meanwhile, Pirates starter Kris Benson had a second consecutive shaky start. Benson allowed 12 hits and five runs in seven tough innings in which he had to contend with 15 base runners. In his past two starts, Benson has yielded 25 hits and 11 runs in 13'A innings. Since the All-Star break, Benson SEE PIRATES, PAGE D-6 away from Bowling Green's Michael Malone. Louisiana the next nine minutes and cruised to a 67-7 victory at Beaver Stadium.

The Nittany Lions' defense, which struggled mightily against Toledo last week, forced seven turnovers and held Louisiana Tech to 122 yards passing. Senior safety James Boyd sparked the defensive effort with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries, and the Lions converted those seven turnovers into 37 points. Take into account two blocked Nittany Lions lay it on Capitalize on 7 turnovers; Casey throws for 5 TDs By Ray Fittipaldo Post-Gazette Sports Writer UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. When Rashard Casey fumbled on the opening drive and Louisiana Tech converted the Jetta FraserToledo Blade Grim had seven catches for 66 yards. Tech, 67-7 punts that led to 14 points, and 51 of the 67 points came after Louisiana Tech miscues.

Penn State's offense had more yards rushing in the first six minutes yesterday than it had in the first two games. Lions running backs amassed 299 yards, and Casey tied a school record with five touchdown passes in an offensive performance that left the 94,955 in attendance SEE LIONS, PAGE D-10 DID YOU KNOW? Toronto David in his yesterday, only 31 innings Blue Jays pitcher Wells, who failed bid for win No. 20 has walked batters in 202 this season. INSIDE SPORTS TODAY THE LINEUP RON COOK 2 BASEBALL 4 PRO FOOTBALL 12 HIGH SCHOOLS 15 HOCKEY 16 OUTDOORS 20 FOR QUI WEEK, THE HEAT IS OFF The bye week comes at a perfect time for the Steelers' defensive line, which is in a healing mode after the opener. PAGE D-13 SPADAFORA CRUISES TO Will Getting back to basics gets Paul Spadafora a convincing 10-round victory over Rodney Jones.

PAGE D-18 E-MAIL: PHONE: 412-263-1621 WEB: HEADLINES I EDITOR: FRITZ HUYSMAN 5.