European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 29, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Sunday december 29, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 21 today s College football matchup sooner Cavaliers Well matched Jacksonville Fla. Apr Oklahoma and Virginia coaches say their teams Are Well matched and ready meaning the 47th annual Gator bowl sunday night should be a tight football game. A i think it will be one of the most exciting football games of the bowl season a said Oklahoma coach Gary Gibbs. I think it is two very balanced or evenly matched football teams a a a we be had a pretty Good bowl week. Our players did a pretty Good Iob on the practice Field. The heavy work is Over now a George Welsh coach of the 8-2-1 Virginia Cavaliers said Friday. His words were echoed by Gibbs whose team finished the regular season at 8-3. A a we be had four excellent practices since we be been Here in Jacksonville. I think our preparation both mentally and physically is looking Good a Gibbs said. The postseason game is the first bowl game for Gibbs As head coach. Virginia is ranked 19th in the associated press col Jege poll and Oklahoma is 20th. The Cavaliers Are playing in their third consecutive bowl game while Oklah Gator bowl a is playing in its first bowl game since 1989 because of Mcaa probation. Virginia is led by senior Matt Blundin a 6-foot-7 quarterback who finished the season without throwing a pass interception in 224 attempts an Mcaa record. Blundin passed for 1,902 Yards and 19 touchdowns. Is a ver talented player who makes Good decisions a Gibbs said about the opposing quarterback. Oklahoma a quarterback Cale Gundy a Sophomore is the most prolific passer the sooner have had in years. Gundy passed for 1,228 Yards and eight touchdowns. Both teams also have Superb running backs. Virginia tailback Terry Kirby rushed for 887 Yards gained another 406 Yards receiving and scored nine touchdowns. Mike Gaddis coming off a crippling knee injury rushed for 1,240 Yards for the sooner and scored 14 touchdowns. Arkansas Georgia not looking ahead to matchup in Sec Welsh said he expects to see the sooner try some new tricks against the Cavaliers but added a whatever got you Here is usually what you have to depend on to win. The coaches also had Praise for their opponents de Ense. Oklahoma is one of the two Best defensive teams we be played. They have really Good people up front. Great linebacker play and they Are very sound in the secondary. They done to try to fool you they line up and play football Quot Welsh said of the sooner. The sooner so defense led the big eight in every category and Are ranked High nationally in defense including no. 7 in scoring defense no. 9 against the run no. 10 against passing efficiency and no. 12 in total defense. With All the attention on Blundin s no interception season Gibbs said the Cavaliers a defense has been overlooked. A they arc extremely talented. They rank nationally in scoring defense. They do an outstanding Job of keeping people out of the end zone a Gibbs said. Shreveport la. A the 16th Independence bowl is a preview of things to come in the Southeastern conference. Arkansas a member of the Southwest conference since 1914, will join the Sec football wars next season. But Razorbacks coach Jack Crowe says that a next year. A this is still a team that is guided by seniors Quot Crowe said. A their future is not in the Sec. They re the Razorbacks 6-5who tied for second in the Sec with a 5-3 Mark meet no. 25 Georgia 8-3a charter member of the Sec in sundays Independence bowl. Arkansas is the underdog by More than a touchdown. A the focus for me and the whole team is that the seniors have to provide the leadership and get the commitment from the younger players a Crowe said. A this team has played for the seniors a a. The seniors Are the pulse of the team. And that does no to have anything to do with the Georgia coach Ray Goff who was at quarterback when the bulldogs lost to Independence bowl Arkansas in the 1977 Cotton bowl has the same feelings. A i done to think our Sec meeting next year will have any significance to this game a said Goff. A we just want to even the series up before we go into the conference with Goff says his bulldogs Are thinking Only of their ninth Victory of 1991. A anytime you play a game and you Are a competitor you want to win a Goff said. A whether its in the league out of the league or leaving the league it does no to matter a the Razorbacks have met Georgia in three previous games a All in the postseason. They last played in the 1987 Liberty bowl with Georgia winning 20-17 on John Kasay a last second 39-Yard Field goal. Arkansas won the other two meetings a 31-10 in the 1976 Cotton bowl and 162 in the 1969 sugar bowl a a in be tried not to distract our players with a lot of the Sec talk a Crowe said. Georgia head coach Ray Goff downplays Independence bowl As an Sec preview the Razorbacks will play Georgia in a year adds some spice to the game a said Teague game next oct. 3 at Fayetteville Eric Zeier Georgia a freshman quark. Terback. A but we want to be successful just being Able to see them again next and concentrate on this game this Falcon ground machine faces bulldog test Uch Duic t / a �1\ a or. Memphis Tenn. Apr air Force is bracing for a taste of its own ground gobbling Medicine when the hard running Falcons pit their Wishbone offence against Mississippi state in the Liberty bowl. The Falcons 9-3 take the nations no. 2 Rushing game into sundays meeting with the bulldogs 7-4while the air Force defenders will be faced with Mississippi state coach Jackie Sherrill a version of the option offence. Air Force a member of the Western athletic conference went to the Wishbone in 1980 under coach Ken Hatifield and the Falcons have continued to thrive on the ground in current coach Fisher Deberry a eight years at the throttle. A what it the Wishbone did was it gave us a Chance. Its an offence your opponents done to see every week Quot Deberry said. The Falcons who have won the wac Rushing title in each of the past 10 sea Liberty bowl sons averaged 338.1 Yards a game on the ground. One of those carrying the air forces Hopes against the bulldogs will be senior fullback Jason Jones who rushed for 771 Yards on 156 carries. A the offence is coming off a really Strong year. The offence matured this year a said Jones the no. 2 air Force rusher behind quarterback Rob Perez who accounted for 1,157 Yards on 253 carries. The Falcons who averaged 28.7 Points a game scored 35 touchdowns on the ground but Are running into a bulldog defense that allowed Only 129 Yards a game on the ground held Cal St ate Fullerton Texas Kentucky and Mississippi to less than 10 Points each and blanked Tulane. Keys to the bulldogs defense Are a pair of the Southeastern conference s top inside linebackers Daniel Boyd and co Coleman. Under Sherrill Mississippi state puts a More aggressive defense on the Field. A we tried to get after people More a said Coleman. A last year it was like we did no to Blitz a we just played our scheme. This season we be tried to get to the Ball before it gets to Boyd is usually one of the first to arrive posting team highs with 74 Solo tackles and five quarterback sacks. Sherrill has made a triumphant return to College coaching this season after leaving Texas a amp a for private business in 1988. The bulldogs registered their first winning record since 1986 and posted a fourth place finish 4-3 in the rugged Sec. Sundays Liberty bowl is the bulldogs first bowl trip since a 10-0 win Over Kansas in the 1981 Hall of Fame bowl. Mississippi state also topped archrival Mississippi for the first time since 1987. But Sherrill reminds those who relish in Mississippi states Success that the players did the work. A people make this game a lot More complicated than it is a Sherrill said. A coaches gel Loo Many accolades. You do it win with players. Everybody has Talent but the players themselves make the decision whether you win or the prime reason for the bulldogs Success has been the coming of age of Junior quarterback William a a sleepy Robinson who admitted to Sherrill before the season that he was confused about his role within the team. Robinson found his Niche quickly As he became the top Rushing quarterback in the Sec with 543 Yards and five touchdowns while also connecting on 77 of 141 pass attempts for 1,167 Yards and eight touchdowns. Air Force lost to Mississippi 42-29 in the 1989 Liberty bowl and Defeated Ohio state 23-11 Here last year
