European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 3, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 38 the stars and stripes sports monday january 3,1994 Fig makes Case by Denne h. Freeman Dallas apr it took a 45-Yard punt return by Mike Miller and Kevin Pendergast a 31-Yard Field goal with 2 17 to play but notre Dame made its Case for no. 1 with a come from behind 24-21 Cotton bowl Victory saturday Over Texas a amp a. J a everybody talks about the playoff system but we done to need one this year a notre Dame coach Lou Holtz Saia after top ranked Florida state beat second ranked Nebraska 18-16 in Miami. A Only two teams Are left at the top and we beat that  fourth ranked notre Dame 11-1beat Florida state 12-1 31-24 at South Bend ind., during the regular season. A if no football team in this country goes undefeated we deserve the National title Quot Holtz said. A the first tiebreaker in the nil is head to head. Miami beat us out in 1989, and the tiebreaker was  As it turned out Holtz got the perfect scenario for his cause. The Irish were hoping for a slim Victo Cotton bowl by by Florida state Over unbeaten Nebraska in the Orange bowl and in the sugar bowl they needed unbeaten West Virginia to fall and it did 41-7 to Florida. Notre Dames Only loss was 41-39 to Boston College on a last second Field goal. ,. A fall i know is we beat one Fine football team and lets see what happens because i remember we beat Florida state head to head a Holtz said. A playing a amp a Here is very Tough. We  hear. A nobody wants to play a amp a in Dallas. They have a great team. I knew it was going to be Tough and it  f Tough enough that the fighting Irish had to come from behind twice to subdue the aggie 10-2who were looking for respect after last years 25-Point loss to the Irish. But Holtz said he Wasny to worried about soccer Star Pendergast a coming through. Pendergast was a Little. A i was kind of nervous when we were driving after Mike s punt return a Pendergast said. A but i Wasny to nervous at All when i made the  the eight Point underdog aggie who lost 28-3 to notre Dame in last years Cotton bowl survived an opening 91-Yard scoring drive by the Irish to rally for a 14-7 halftime Lead. After quarterback Kevin Mcdougal ran 19 Yards for a notre Dame touchdown on the option the aggie tied it with a 79-Yard drive. Corey Pullig completed a key 21-Yard screen pass to Rodney Thomas on third-and-16 to set up Greg Hills eight Yard touchdown run the first for the aggie in three Cotton bowls. Then two daring gambles by the aggie paid off in the go ahead touchdown a 15-Yard pass from Pullig to fullback Detron Smith on Fourlh-and-1. The key play was on fourth-and-1 from the a amp a 45. The aggie called a timeout and Pullig sneaked two Yards for the first Down to keep the 77-Yard drive alive. Then Pullig hit Tony Harrison on a 21 Yard pass. At the notre Dame 15, Pullig faked into the line and found Smith running free in the befuddled Irish secondary for his first collegiate score. Notre Dame tied it 14-14 to Start the second half on a 2-Yard run by Ray Zel Lars but the aggie went ahead 21-14 on a one Yard plunge by Rodney Thomas. The Irish tied it 21-21 when Marc Edwards bulled across on a 2-Yard Ruh just before the end of the third period. Notre Dames Lee Becton was the offensive map with 138 Yards on 26 carries and a amp mrs Antonio Shorter who had three sacks was the Defonsi a map. A we have no excuses a Texas a amp a coach , Slocum said. A they made the plays they had to  Slocum also lobbied for notre Dame. A if i was notre Dame id make a Strong argument for no. 1,�?� he said. A a in be said All along they had the tiebreaker. At the top of every list of tiebreakers is head to head  Pullig was 17 for 29 for 238 Yards with one interception. Mcdougal was 7 for 15 105 Yards. Chew up by Ben Walker new Orleans apr a it took West Virginia All season to build its Case for a National championship. It took Florida Only a few minutes to rip it apart. With coach Steve Spurrier signalling in his own plays the eighth ranked gators used their Quick strike offence to overwhelm no. 3 West Virginia 41-7 saturday night in the sugar bowl and wreck the mountaineers perfect season. A a we got whipped big time. There a very Little to say other than we got whipped a West Virginia coach Don Nehlen said. A we certainly played  Derrict Rhett ran for 105 Yards and three Short touch a Downs All set up by Terry Deans passing and Lawrence Wright scored on a sensational 52-Yard interception return for the gators 11-2who won the sugar bowl for the first time. The mountaineers 11-1meanwhile did nothing right after taking a 7-0 Lead on their first Possession. The quarterback platoon of Jake Kelchner and Darren Studstill could not solve the gators defense while Spurrier amp co. Made it a Long night for Nehlen on his 5�th birthday. The loss was a sorry end for West Virginia which also lost a Chance for the 1988 National title when notre Dame ruined its undefeated season in the fiesta bowl. West Virginia went into this game with Little Chance of winning the a title a no. 1 Florida state was playing no. 2 Nebraska in the Orange bowl a but had a Chance at the Usa today can coaches championship. West Virginia was ranked no. 2 in that poll and needed to win plus a loss by Nebraska for that Crown. Florida state wound up beating Nebraska 18-16, but sugar bowl that did no to help the mountaineers Wrights spinning return put Florida ahead with 9 12 left in the second Quarter and Deans 39-Yard touchdown pass to Willie Jackson made it 21-7 Only 51 seconds before halftime. Dean completed 22 of 37 for 255 Yards. He played the whole Way because Danny Wuerf Fel who shared time with Dean had an injured knee Rhett scored his second touchdown on a two Yard run Early in the third period and West Virginia a Fumble on the ensuing kick off led to a one Yard run by Rhett for a 35-7 Lead with 8 58 left in the Quarter. A it was a lot easier to run on them a Rhett said. A i Felt like they  Stop me. I done to think they were in that Good shape. I knew that because i kept helping them  Florida counted on big plays throughout 1993, and got a spectacular Effort for its first Lead in 1994. With the score tied at 7 Midway through the second Quarter Monty crowds hard hit forced Studstill into a wobbly throw that Wright intercepted at Midfield. Wright ran to the right and stopped just Short of the sideline near the West Virginia 40. Players on both teams seemed to think he was going out of Bounds and stopped but Wright did no to. Instead the freshman safety circled Back a few Yards and took off toward the Middle of the Field. Picking up some blocks he veered Back to the right and ran untouched for a 52-Yard touchdown return. Florida a first interception return for a score in 21 bowl games a and the first turnover against West Virginia that was taken Back for a touchdown this year a unidentified Mountaineer stops Gator Kelvin Randolph. Made it 14-7 with 9 12 left in the second Quarter. The gators used their Quick strike offence to score again 51 seconds before halftime. They marched 75 Yards in seven plays and scored on Deans 39-Yard toss to Willie Jackson. Mountaineers Only Bright moments came on their first drive when Kelchner scrambled his team 80 Yards for a score. Paterno ties Bryant for bowl get me wins a it v a % t a. A it a s a a m v my. _ v. Quot. A. Orlando Al. Up tennies seems High octane offence dissolved saturday and. Joe Paterno added to his coaching legend in the Florida Citrus bowl. Wide receiver and map Bobby Engram quarterback Kerry Collins and tailback i Jana Carter combined to Wear Down the volunteers defense before a record crowd bringing the no. 12 Penn state Kittany Lions a 31-13 win Over fifth ranked Tennessee. And while Penn states offence was gathering steam Penn state linebacker Eric Ravotti free safety Lee Rubin and a Host of other Lions hounded Tennessee quarterback Heath Shuler. Shuler a the Heisman trophy runner Citrus bowl up who had passed for 2,354 Yards and a school record 25 touchdowns during the regular season a had been sacked Only twice during the volunteers Campaign. But Penn state got to him three times saturday helping bring Paterno his 15th bowl Victory. That tied him for the most in history with the late Bear Bryant. A sure its Nice to have your name next to Bear Bryant but i know who won this game a said Paterno. A we won because we were consistent in All areas and made no major  a Tennessee was Good but we got tired of hearing How bad we were and now bad they were going to beat us a said Penn state defensive tackle Toyoka Jackson whose tipped pass helped Rubin claim Shulery a Only interception. Carter ran for two touchdowns and Collins threw for two More in boosting Penn state to 10-2 for the year. Tennessee finished at 9-2-1. It marked the second time in three years that Penn state had trounced the volunteers in a bowl game. Penn state scored 35 unanswered Points in an eight minute sequence of the second half to defeat the volunteers 42-17 in the 1992 fiesta bowl. Penn state closed its season with five straight victories and improved to 15-8-1 in bowl games under Paterno. Carter scored on a 14-Yard run with three seconds left in the second quart to give the Kittany Lions a 17-13 Hal tin Lead. Tennessee had taken a 13-10 let less than a minute earlier on a 50-Yai Field goal by John Becksvoort. Collins threw a seven Yard touchdown pass to Kyle Brady Early in the this Quarter and a 15-Yard scoring strike 1 Bobby Engram 32 seconds in the final p Rod to increase the Lead to 31-13. Tennessee jumped to a 10-0 Lead be than six minutes into the game on a 4i Yard Field goal by Becksvoort and a a Yard to pass from Heath Shuler to co Fleming. Penn state then tied it on three Yard run by Carter late in the fir Quarter and a 19-Yard Field goal by Cra Fayak Early in the second