European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 28, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A amp be 22 b the stars and stripes sports j monday december 28,1992 canes picked to Stem tide by Rick Warner a football writer Alabama fans take heart. Sure Miami is no. 1, has a 29-game winning Streak and is gunning for its second straight National championship third in four years and fifth in the last decade. But remember this the last four times no. 1 has played no 2 in a bowl game no. 2 has won. And the trend started when no. 2 Alabama beat no. 1 Penn state 14-7 in the 1979 sugar bowl. Yes the same sugar bowl and same super dome where no. 2 Alabama 12-0 will play no. 1 Miami 110 on new years night. In 1979, Alabama needed an incredible goal line stand in the fourth Quarter to beat Penn state. The Crimson tide will need another tremendous defensive Effort to defeat Miami. Both teams have great defences so it should be a Low scoring game. Alabama led the nation in Rushing and total defense and was no 2 in Points allowed and pass defense. Miami was third in Points allowed fifth against the pass and eighth in Rushing and total defense. A both defences have great Talent but they use different systems a said Miami quarterback Gino Torretta a they do More guessing than we  the guess Here is that Miami will Wear Down Alabama score three touchdowns and Complete the greatest 10-year run in College football history Alabama has struggled in two of its last three games giving up a season nigh 21 Points to Mississippi state and Florida. The gators had the tide on the ropes in the Southeastern conference championship game until Antonio Langham came to the Rescue with a 27-Yard interception return. There will be no such Miracle against the hurricanes who Are 8-Point favourites. Miami 21-10. Other new years bowls Cotton a notre Dame minus 4 is. Texas a amp a both teams Are on a Roll. The no. 5 aggie also Are on a Mission against the no. 4 Irish out to prove the pollsters wrong. Texas a amp a 27-24. Orange a Florida St. Minus 10 is. Nebraska the third ranked seminoles Are 9-0-1 in last 10 bowl games no. 11 Nebraska has lost five straight bowls by combined score of 162-69. Florida state 42-28. Rose a Washington minus 2 a is. Michigan the no. 9 huskies lost two of their last three games and Are beset by off the Field problems. Seventh ranked Michigan has an even bigger Burden a rep resenting the woeful big ten against the powerful Pac 10washington 24-17. Fiesta a Syracuse minus 3 is. Colorado the no. 10 buffaloes have lost eight of last nine bowl games the orangemen ranked sixth Are unbeaten in last five postseason appearances. Syracuse 31-21. Citrus a Georgia minus 4 is. Ohio St. No. 8 Georgia a High octane offence is. No. 15 Ohio states stingy defense. Buckeyes May be Able to Stop Eric Zeier or Garrison Hearst but not both. Georgia 24-14. Blockbuster a Stanford even is. Penn St. The Genius Bill Walsh coach of the no. 13 Cardinal is. The legend Joe Paterno coach of the no. 21 Nitta by Lions. Should be mind boggling. Stanford 17-14. Hall of Fame a Tennessee minus 3vi is. . Johnny majors has gone marching Back to Pittsburgh leaving the no. 17 vols in the hands of Phillip Fulmer against no. 16 Boston College no problem. Fulmer was 3-0 As interim coach when majors was recovering from heart surgery. Tennessee 31-28. Last week 4-0 straight 2-2 spread. Season 177-52 straight 107-101 spread. Forget Stallings losing record a he s one of Bear s cubs by Paul Newberry Tuscaloosa Ala. A Gene Stallings knows he s Lucky to be in this position coaching at Alabama one Victory away from a National championship. After All most people with a career record of 50-79-2 never would have gotten the Chance to take Over the reins of one of the country Slop College football programs. But Stallings had an Edge. He was one of Bear Bryant s boys. A i done to think athletic director Hoo tie Ingram hired me just because  and worked for coach Bryant a Stallings 57, says. A but the fact that i did certainly did no to Hurt my acceptance with the people  to begin with the physical similarities Between Stallings Anil Bryant who died in 1983, Are almost eerie. A a he a kind of got that slow drawl like coach Bryant had a says Bob Baumhower who played at Alabama in the mid-1970s. A also coach Stallings is a big Man like coach Bryant. Lies big in stature and carries himself with that confident air about him like coach Bryant. A a in a not saying he a coach Bryant All Over again but he s got that Way about  that Way also includes winning a at least since he got to Alabama in 1990. Stallings has posted a record of 30-6, including a 12-0 Mark this season As the no. 2 Crimson tide prepares to play top ranked Miami in fridays sugar bowl. A a five had several satisfying seasons a says Stallings whose Overall record is still a very in Bear like 80-85-2. A but this one probably tops the  Success Nas not always followed Stallings As it did Bryant. After serving As an assistant at Alabama from 1958-64, Stallings landed his first head coaching Job at Texas a amp a. He won a Southwest conference championship in 1967 but was fired by his Alma mater after going 27-45-1 in seven seasons. A Texas a amp a was a military school a Stallings says. A that was during the Vietnam War and we had a hard time  _ then after 14 Bryant years As an assistant under Tom Landry with the Dallas cowboys Stallings got another head coaching Chance with the St. Louis soon to be Phoenix cardinals he was 23-34-1 before he was let go with five games left in the 1989 season. At age 54, that would have been the end for Many coaches a most of the time a coach is judged by his won loss record a Stallings says. A but i judge a coach by what he does with what he has. A lot of times the Best coaching jobs Are done by a coach who loses. He just Hasni to got the  Stallings was Bryants Choice to succeed him when he retired in 1982, says Mickey Herskowitz a columnist at the Houston Post who became friends with both men. But Stallings would not leave the cowboys until after the playoffs and Alabama officials picked Ray Perkins to succeed the Bear. Eight years later Stallings got a second Chance at Alabama a and third Chance Overall a when Bill Curry left after three tumultuous seasons. He did no to strike out this time relying on the defense wins games philosophy that guided Bryant. At Alabama Stallings surrounded himself with people from the Bryant Era like offensive coordinator Mai Moore offensive line coach Jim Fuller defensive line coach Mike Dubose and secondary coach Bill Oliver. A i think he a the Symbol of a really Fine staff a says Perkins who left Alabama in 1986 and now coaches at Arkansas state. The comparisons Between Bryant and Stallings Are natural. Stallings was part of Bryants first team at Texas a amp a in 1954, a group of players known As the a Junction boys Quot who survived a tortuous training Camp and won Only one game. It was Bryants Only losing season in 38 years of coaching but that team was one of his favourites according to Herskowitz. Next to Bryant Landry had perhaps the biggest Impact on Stallings a for different reasons. Alabama coach Gene Stallings. Has a Bryant Way a the was extremely organized a Stallings says of Landry. A the researched every Point on offence and defense. His is and of were better than anybody a is and of. A on the other hand coach Bryant was More of a people person. His is and of a were not any better than anyone else so but his players thought they  wants no part of retirement motivation by Suzanne Gamboa Elpaso Texas apr last Chance last Hurrah Baylor coach Grant Teaff wants no part of it. Teaff who is preparing for his final game As coach after three decades said he wants the desire for Victory not his retirement to motivate his players against no. 23 Arizona in the thursdays Hancock bowl. A motivation is deep within an individual. Its not superficial and people who Deal in superficial motivation it does no to last very Long a Teaff said. The bears 6-5 finished the season with a 21-20 Victory Over Texas to earn a bowl berth. Although Arizona 6-4-1 is a 6-Point favorite some analysts give the Edge to Baylor because of the desire to Send Teaff out a Winner. A if this team was going to have a winning season be cause it was my last year that a the wrong motivation. If they were going to try to go to a bowl game because its my last year that a the wrong motivation. That will Wear out in a  Arizona coach Dick Tomey also is reaching for a career Benchmark since a Victory in the bowl would be his 100th. His record is 99-74-7 after 16 years. Arizona enjoyed a five game winning Streak during the season capped by a 16-3 Victory Over then no. 1 Washington. But the wildcats lost 14-7 to us and 7-6 to Arizona state to close the year. Quot they played better at the end of the season than we did. So we need to put together a Good Ball game a a Tomey said. Tomey is concerned about Baylor s offence Ted by quarterback . Joe which he added is a very difficult to Blitz because they have the threat of the  a from a defensive standpoint Baylor presents us with a Challenge that we really Haven to seen so far this year a he said. A they run offences similar to what we ran several years ago an option attack with two split  Joe completed 88 of 189 passes for 1,765 Yards and 14 touchdowns this season. He also ran for 378 Yards and five touchdowns. Leaff said the bears already have made some adjustments for an Arizona defense that ranks second nationally Overall and no. 1 in scoring defense. I his team started out 1-3 and it got better and Belle i As the year went on. Right now we re a pretty Good football team and we re going to have to be to measure up to the Competition a Teaff said