COLLEGE FOOTBALL : No. 1 Rule Is, Nice Guys Finish Second

Nothing against Washington, which sent Stanford Coach Bill Walsh and the Cardinal slinking back to Palo Alto last Saturday, but the Huskies don’t deserve their No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press poll.

At the risk of having mammoth Husky tackle Lincoln Kennedy pinch our head off, the Miami Hurricanes should still be atop the AP standings. Instead, the Hurricanes were penalized for being too nice in their most recent game against West Virginia.

Ahead, 35-3, in the fourth quarter, Miami Coach Dennis Erickson inserted his second- and third-teamers. West Virginia, which didn’t bench a soul, promptly scored 20 unanswered points, forcing Erickson to return several of his defensive starters to the lineup.

Too late. Miami won the game but lost votes in a flawed process that puts too much emphasis on scores and not enough on circumstances. Rather than retain their place atop the AP poll, the Hurricanes dropped a spot.

Washington’s impressive performance against Stanford had a lot to do with it, but so did a blowout mentality among voters. Taking the easy way out, some voters simply decided Washington’s 34-point victory margin against the Cardinal was worth more than Miami’s 12-point margin against West Virginia. And on face value, they’re right.

But this much is fact: Until Erickson pulled his starters, Miami’s play was every bit as complete as the Huskies’ efforts. And had Erickson been in the mood, he could have added to the Miami lead. Instead, he did the classy thing and now finds his team paying the price.

“If they moved us down because of what happened the last five minutes of the game, then we’re sending a bad message to college football,” Erickson said. “If you can’t put your second and third group in there the last five minutes and let them play, and if you get penalized for that, then we’re giving the wrong message. The message is keep everybody in there and beat the heck out of everybody you play, which is not what college football and athletics is about.”

He added: “If we lost votes because of how Washington played against Stanford, that’s fine. They played extremely well and deserve that.”

As usual, Washington Coach Don James was overwhelmed with excitement when informed of the Huskies’ rise to No. 1. “We are? Great,” he said.

In this most fickle of Heisman Trophy races, Miami quarterback Gino Torretta has squeezed his way onto the list of serious candidates, which until last week numbered two: San Diego State running back Marshall Faulk and Georgia running back Garrison Hearst.

Granted, it helps to play Texas Christian (1-6-1), Virginia Tech (2-5-1) and West Virginia (3-3-2), as Miami has done in its last three games. It helps to play in a high-profile and ultra-successful program such as Miami’s. And it also helps when ESPN’s Lee Corso is seen by a national cable audience holding a Torretta cardboard mask in front of his face. (Credit Miami sports information director Linda Venzon for that one. She had three of the masks air expressed to the ESPN crew in time for the Saturday night broadcast.)

But the truth is, Torretta and the rest of the Hurricane offense seems to be getting better each week. The offensive line, a trouble spot early on, has improved considerably. So has the running game and with it, the passing game.

Now then, is Torretta the best college player in the country? At this point, no. Torretta is tough, smart, a leader and is an excellent long passer. But if we had to pick right now, we’d list Florida State linebacker Marvin Jones and Faulk ahead of him.

Five things worth knowing about the bowls:

1--The most nervous man in America today is none other than Mickey Holmes, executive director of the Sugar Bowl. That’s because Holmes is either sitting on the best New Year’s game of the season, or the worst.

As long as No. 2-ranked Miami and No. 3-ranked Alabama remain unbeaten, Holmes is golden, especially if top-ranked Washington somehow falters and is replaced atop the Associated Press poll by the Hurricanes. Miami is ranked first in the USA Today/CNN coaches poll.

In Holmes’ favor is the schedule. Miami plays Temple (1-7) and travels to Syracuse (7-1) and San Diego State (4-2-1). Not easy, but not as tough as Washington’s, which features trips to Arizona (5-2-1) and Washington State (6-2) and a home appearance against Oregon State (1-6-1).

As for Alabama, the Crimson Tide plays Louisiana State (1-7) and Mississippi State (6-2) on the road and Auburn (5-3-1) at home. Then comes a likely appearance in the Southeastern Conference championship game, which will be played in the friendly confines of Birmingham’s Legion Field, site of three regular-season contests for the Crimson Tide.

Anyway, if all goes as expected, the Sugar Bowl could have No. 1 or No. 2 Miami vs. No. 3 or even No. 2 Alabama.

Holmes’ worst nightmare involves suddenly resurgent Florida. The Gators need only to beat SEC opponents Vanderbilt (2-5) and South Carolina (3-5) and they are in the championship game. Then let’s say they upset Alabama and advance to the Sugar Bowl. After Holmes was revived and the bowl alliance conducted its team draft, the Sugar Bowl would find itself with, at the minimum, a twice-beaten Florida team vs. Florida State again.

Close your eyes and you can just see a nation clicking its channel changer to the Orange Bowl.

2--If the selection process were held tomorrow the major bowl lineup would be: Rose--Washington vs. Michigan; Sugar--Miami vs. Alabama; Cotton--Texas A&M; vs. Florida State or Notre Dame (in all likelihood, Notre Dame); Orange--Nebraska vs. Florida State; Fiesta--Boston College vs. USC (Arizona and Syracuse also remain in the mix).

3--The Freedom Bowl is headed toward a Stanford vs. Brigham Young or Utah matchup, though USC or Arizona could still finish in Anaheim, as could Fresno State or Wisconsin in the other bracket. Fresno State officials are promising 20,000 fans, and the Big Ten is investigating the possibility of guaranteeing the Badgers a bowl spot. All things considered, the Freedom would only be interested in Wisconsin if the school or Big Ten included a ticket sale commitment.

Oklahoma, which will be hard-pressed to gain the NCAA required six victories for postseason play, is all but off the Freedom Bowl wish list.

4--The Aloha Bowl, which has struggled in recent years, desperately needs and wants Hawaii in its game to face Kansas or Colorado. Problem is, the Rainbows are tied with San Diego State for the lead in the Western Athletic Conference, which automatically sends its champion to the Holiday Bowl.

The date of importance: Nov. 14, when Hawaii and San Diego State meet at Jack Murphy Stadium.

5--Although it could exercise its contractual right not to take a No. 3 team from the Big Ten, which is experiencing a down year, the Holiday Bowl is expected to stick with the league and choose between a projected team pool of Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan State. That said, the Holiday Bowl is desperately hoping that the hometown Aztecs finish atop the WAC, thus rescuing it from a possible Hawaii vs. Indiana matchup.

Without looking, name the only conference with three teams ranked in the top 10 of the two major polls. The Pacific 10? The SEC? The ACC? Nope. Despite popular opinion that the Pac-10 is the strongest of all leagues this season, it is the Big East that dominates the top 10 (Miami, Boston College and Syracuse). Doesn’t matter. Until the Big East begins a full league schedule next year, the Pac-10 still gets our vote as the best in the country. . . . Rumor has it the Orange Bowl would rather have Florida State than Miami this year. What with the economic devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew, Orange Bowl officials think visiting Florida State followers would provide the area with a greater infusion of tourist dollars than the hometown University of Miami fans. Of course, that thinking would change if somehow Nebraska vs. Miami was for a national championship. . . . Michigan might still win a national title, but the rest of this milk-bone league is 31-42. . . . With two more victories last Saturday, including South Carolina’s upset against Tennessee, the Gamecocks and Memphis State are a combined 8-0 since their player revolts. . . . Anyone notice that Boston College running back Chuckie Dukes has rushed for more than 1,000 yards and has a string of seven games of 100 yards or more? And asked if Saturday’s game against Notre Dame would provide the Eagles with a chance to prove they belonged in the top 20, Boston College Coach Tom Coughlin said: “I think we did a little bit of that being-for-real a couple of weeks ago. I think that’s been established. We’re 7-0-1. That’s pretty special.”

How did Nebraska beat Colorado, 52-7, and at last end a four-year losing streak against top-10- teams? The absence of turnovers had a lot to do with it. The Cornhuskers haven’t turned the ball over in nearly 3 1/2 games. Colorado committed six turnovers against Nebraska. . . . For what it’s worth, Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said upcoming opponent Kansas is tougher than Colorado. Osborne also zinged his many critics who often mention his record against highly ranked teams. “My reputation is that I can’t win the big ones,” he said, when asked about the Jayhawks’ chances, “so it might be an advantage to Kansas.” . . . Kansas Coach Glen Mason on Saturday’s game against Nebraska: “Don’t remind me. There was a day around here when I would win a football game and be the happiest person in the world, enjoy it through Saturday. Then I went home and watched Colorado and the Cornhuskers play and that ruined my entire night.” . . . That sigh of relief you might have heard Tuesday came from the Fiesta Bowl. The proposition calling for a paid state holiday in Arizona on Martin Luther King’s birthday passed.

Top 10

As selected by staff writer Gene Wojciechowski

No. Team Record 1. Miami 8-0 2. Washington 8-0 3. Alabama 8-0 4. Texas A&M; 8-0 5. Michigan 7-0-1 6. Nebraska 6-1 7. Florida State 7-1 8. Notre Dame 6-1-1 9. Boston College 7-0-1 10. USC 5-1-1

Waiting list: Arizona (5-2-1), Syracuse (7-1), Kansas (7-1), Hawaii (6-1), Georgia (7-2)