COLLEGE FOOTBALL / GENE WOJCIECHOWSKI : A Look in Mirror Would Give Trojans Perspective

We don’t want to hear a peep from USC fans complaining about the Pacific 10 Conference’s deal with the Freedom Bowl. The Trojans brought it on themselves by gagging last Saturday against UCLA.

Every time USC had a chance to establish itself as a legitimate national power this season, the Trojans botched it. They tied San Diego State, beat Oklahoma at Norman but then lost to Washington. Then they won four in a row, only to travel to Palo Alto and perform listlessly against Stanford in a convincing 14-point defeat. Then they scored an impressive victory against Arizona, only to blow a lead and then a game to a UCLA team quarterbacked by a walk-on senior.

“They made one more big play than we did,” Coach Larry Smith said.

Smith misses the point. It should have never come down to one play. Not this season. Not against that UCLA team.

By the way, Trojans, enjoy Anaheim. It’s lovely this time of year.

It was only fitting that Wisconsin and Iowa lost last Saturday, thus saving America from having to endure two more mediocre Big Ten teams in bowl games.

If ever there was a Big Ten season to forget, this was it. Seven of the 10 teams had losing records and no team had more than eight victories. Particularly unsatisfying was the annual Michigan-Ohio State game, in which the teams battled to a dreadful 13-13 tie. It was the Wolverines’ third tie of the season and produced these comments from Chicago Tribune columnist Bernie Lincicome, an Ohio State alumnus:

--On the rivalry: “Michigan-Ohio State. A game for the ages. Stone, I think.”

--On Ohio State Coach John Cooper’s fourth-quarter strategy: “Cooper refused twice to take a chance on victory, ignoring a two-point conversion with 4:24 to play. ‘Never entered my mind,’ Cooper said, not that there isn’t room.”

--On rumors of Cooper’s imminent firing: “Nothing he did Saturday will dismiss the speculation that he is the wrong man in the right place.”

Barring any last-minute deals and providing that, a) Notre Dame beats USC and, b) Nebraska beats Oklahoma and, c) Alabama and Florida State win their remaining games, the bowl lineup will be:

Sugar--Miami vs. Alabama.

Orange--Florida State or Notre Dame vs. Nebraska.

Rose--Michigan vs. Washington.

Cotton--Texas A&M; vs. Notre Dame or Florida State.

Fiesta--Colorado or Stanford (Colorado is the likely choice) vs. Syracuse.

Hall of Fame--Tennessee vs. Boston College.

Citrus--Ohio State vs. Florida.

Peach--Mississippi State vs. North Carolina.

Independence--Oregon vs. Wake Forest.

Liberty--Mississippi vs. Air Force.

Freedom--USC vs. Fresno State.

Hancock--Texas, Rice or Baylor vs. Arizona.

Blockbuster--Penn State vs. Stanford.

Gator--North Carolina State vs. Georgia.

Copper--Washington State vs. Utah.

Aloha--Brigham Young vs. Kansas.

Holiday--Hawaii vs. Illinois.

Las Vegas Bowl--Nevada vs. Bowling Green.

Add bowls: If Oklahoma upsets Nebraska, the Sooners will go to the Aloha, Colorado will go to Orange and the Cornhuskers will probably play in the Blockbuster. And Kansas, which finished 7-4 but lost its last three games, will probably be squeezed out of bowl consideration. . . . The Freedom Bowl could have waited a week and hoped for an Oklahoma victory, thus freeing the Jayhawks for an invitation to Anaheim. But by waiting, the Freedom might have lost Fresno State to the Copper Bowl, which is still steaming about having to take Utah. Copper officials believed they had an agreement with the Western Athletic Conference that would have brought Fresno to Tucson. Instead, it gets Utah (6-5), the same team that lost to Texas El Paso (1-9) and New Mexico (3-8).

If USC manages to upset Notre Dame, the Irish will play in the Orange Bowl. . . . Word is that a Hancock Bowl representative invited Arizona (6-4-1), which had just lost to Arizona State, to its game before consulting with Hancock director Tom Starr. The Hancock tried to back out of the invitation, but too late. Arizona wouldn’t budge. . . . Arizona State (6-5), UCLA (6-5), Rutgers (7-4), Southern Mississippi (7-4) and Virginia (7-4) were ignored by the bowls. Only Virginia deserved serious consideration.

Let’s see: Before co-starter Billy Joe Hobert was ruled ineligible for accepting loans totaling $50,000, Washington was undefeated and ranked No. 1. Since then, Washington has lost two of three games and dropped to 12th in the Associated Press poll and 13th in the USA Today/CNN coaches’ poll. Coach Don James and his players swear Hobert’s absence had nothing to do with the free fall. Sure it didn’t.

San Diego State Coach Al Luginbill is getting hammered on the local sports-talk shows because of the Aztecs’ defeat by Fresno State, which cost the school the WAC title, a Holiday Bowl bid and a considerable share of the $1.5-million payout. In this case, the criticism is justified. This is a team that could have been, should have been in a postseason game. The Aztecs played an ambitious schedule--nonconference opponents USC, UCLA and this week, Miami--but that isn’t what prevented them from receiving a bowl invitation. The killers were a defeat at home by Air Force, a road defeat by Wyoming and last Saturday’s home loss to Fresno. Luginbill’s team simply never got better as the season progressed, and his efforts to develop a dependable defense have failed miserably.

Don’t be surprised if Grant Teaff, scheduled to give up his coaching duties at season’s end and become Baylor’s full-time athletic director, is hired elsewhere. Teaff has indicated that he still wants to coach and will listen to any offers. With Pat Dye out at Auburn, Teaff might be a logical candidate.

Statistics to ponder as a nation turns its lonely eyes to an uninspiring Heisman Trophy race: Miami quarterback Gino Torretta in games against top-25 opponents--90 for 173 passing (52%) for 1,108 yards (277-yard average), four touchdowns, five interceptions and four victories. . . . Despite missing the better part of two games, San Diego State running back Marshall Faulk has rushed for an NCAA-leading 1,630-yards and 15 touchdowns, fifth-best in the country. Miami plays San Diego State on Saturday at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Faulk, who is nursing a sprained right knee, is questionable for the game.

Nothing against Torretta, whose 25-1 record as a Miami starter is impressive--former Hurricane quarterback Steve Walsh was 23-1, but that doesn’t mean he deserved a Heisman--but the best player on the team may be linebacker Michael Barrow, who recorded 11 tackles against Syracuse. Barrow and Florida State linebacker Marvin Jones, both Butkus Award finalists, deserve as much Heisman consideration as their offensive counterparts.

Speaking of Jones, Florida State sports information officials are making a creative push on behalf of their longshot candidate. An excerpt from their literature sent to Heisman voters: “This season . . . No one has passed his way to the Heisman. No one has run his way to the Heisman. No one has caught his way to the Heisman. Florida State’s Marvin Jones is ready to tackle the Heisman. After all, he’s already tackled everything else.” And then, “A Vote for Marvin Jones is a Vote for Change.” Also included is an accompanying poster of Jones absolutely knocking a Miami player silly. It features only one piece of copy: “ ‘Marvin Jones is the best linebacker I’ve ever seen playing college football.’--Miami Coach Dennis Erickson.”

Gerry Faust, the former Cincinnati Moeller High coach who was hired by Notre Dame (a disaster) and eventually ended up at Akron, enjoyed his best season in seven years. Making his first coaching appearance in Cincinnati since he was at Moeller, Faust led Akron to a 24-22 victory over the Bearcats. His team finished 7-3-1. . . . After a 1-3 start, Brigham Young won seven of its last eight games.

A telling leftover from Miami’s 16-10 victory over Syracuse, the Hurricanes’ fourth this season by six points or fewer: “Winning like this is a tradition here that we’ve had over the years,” Erickson said. “We just feel like we can win it. But you can’t tell my heart that.” . . . Rumors of Erickson’s departure have begun to surface, which is something of an annual event. Last week, he was going to the Seattle Seahawks. This week, Tennessee supposedly had contacted him about its opening. Informed of the Tennessee rumor, Erickson sarcastically responded, “Please.”

Johnny Majors’ last home game at Tennessee reportedly featured the largest fan turnout for the team’s walk from the athletic dormitory to Neyland Stadium. As Majors made the three-block trip, Volunteer fans kept reaching out to shake his hand and say farewell. Then, moments before the game began, the school’s band, as it always does, formed a letter T, allowing the team to run through it. That done, Majors did a solo run and was greeted with a standing ovation. And after the Volunteers’ 34-13 victory over Kentucky, Majors was hoisted atop his players’ shoulders and carried off the field. Wonder if he had any second thoughts about resigning? . . . Kentucky fans attending the game saw their team finish 4-7. But the day wasn’t a total loss. When the stadium public address announcer told the crowd of Tennessee’s defeat by Seton Hall in the preseason NIT, Wildcat fans applauded.

Top 10

As selected by staff writer Gene Wojciechowski.

NO. TEAM RECORD 1. Miami 10-0 2. Alabama 11-0 3. Texas A&M; 12-0 4. Florida State 9-1 5. Notre Dame 8-1-1 6. Florida 8-2 7. Colorado 9-1-1 8. Stanford 9-3 9. Georgia 8-2 10. North Carolina State 9-2-1

Waiting list: Michigan (8-0-3), Syracuse (9-2), Washington (9-2), Nebraska (7-2), Mississippi State (7-3).