European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 28, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday september 28, 1994 sports the stars and stripes Page 35  Dit id r s to Al Ilin re t be i y n Sec on Cupcake schedules while spectators moan in agony 4 by Paul Newberry Montgomery Ala. Api on a Day when there were marquee games like Colorado Michigan and Washington Miami on the National schedule fans in Alabama were watching their teams devour cup cakes v "-. At legion Field the Crimson tide beat Tulane 20 10. At Auburn the tigers beat up East tennesseestate38-0., ."./. I started out at $10, now i m Down to $5," complained Jimmy Jones of Birmingham a longtime Ala Bama season ticket Holder As he stood outside legion Field trying to peddle four extra tickets. They re fixing to be free Here in a  there Are plenty of games like that in the Southeast Ern conference where teams have loaded their sched uling plates with regional turkeys like Louisiana tech East Carolina Northeast Louisiana and Arkansas state. .".-.  ,. Tennessee has the Only Tough non conference sched ule in the Sec this Yean the volunteers lost at Urcla in the season opener and face no 17 Washington stat eat Home this saturday. It s sad we Don t play More intersection Al games Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. But i under stand Why we Don t. It s the eight conference  the fans though find that explanation hard to Swal Low especially a fan like Jones who has to pay $500 just for the privilege of buying season tickets. The Pacific-10 and big ten both have eight Gam league schedules and their teams still find room for duality out of conference opponents. Michigan s Slat includes Boston College notre Dame and Colorado Southern California has games against Penn state Baylor and notre Dame. By contrast Auburn s 38-0 Victory Pyer East Tennes see state last weekend did t quite measure up on the excitement  Tennessee played Urcla i thought Why Don t we play a team like that " said Kendall Hoffman of Birmingham who attended the game at Jordan Hare stadium with her husband and his family. I d kind of like to see them play somebody from a different Confer ence. You know they say they re better and we say we re better. Well let s find  still the fans keep coming. The Sec set an All Tim attendance record last year of nearly 4.9 million and league stadiums were filled to 92 percent capacity. Not so Long ago Alabama was playing teams like Nebraska Southern California and notre Darrie. But that was in the Days of the six and seven game conference schedule. The tide has t ventured outside the South for a regular season game since visiting Penn state in i d rather see us play Good games said Alabama fan Mark Shelton As he entered legion Field for the Crimson tide s 20-10 snoozer Over Tulane. I Don t think any team ought to schedule those Little teams especially i a  Alabama and Auburn have both stooped that  tide opened the season with an easy Victory Over Tennessee Chattanooga while Auburn. Coping wit the financial effects of probation picked up East Tennessee state to have an extra Home game before the end of the fiscal year on sept. 30. Auburn coach Terry Bowden said he would like to play a tougher schedule but the school administration mandates seven Home games a year. Since the Confer ence games Are split evenly Home and away the Tiger must schedule three other teams willing to come to Jor Dan Hare without a return visit. Each Home game brings in about $1.6 million in ticket sales alone not to mention concessions and parking. That s a pretty Good return on the $200,000 or so that intakes to bring in an opponent. If the Sec Ever drops a conference game i d like Todd somebody like a Nebraska Bowden said. You give me six or seven conference games i la give you some pretty Good non conference  it s hard to argue with Auburn s logic when you con Sider the financial Bath Michigan takes every time the wolverines hit the Road for an out of conference game. If we played seven Home games every season instead of six it Yould probably mean an extra $1.5 million or $2 million for us said Jeff Long Michigan s assistant ath Letic director. The wolverines can afford the loss because their 105,000-Sneat stadium generates More Revenue than any other Home Field. And Bowden they can t afford not to have a Strong out of conference schedule to keep that Mammoth stadium filled Long said. On the other hand teams like Michigan Are often victimized by. Their schedule. The wolverines National championship Hopes were severely damaged by the loss to Colorado and people around the Sec Are Quick to note the big ten has t produced a no. 1 team since 1968. Alabama has won three titles by itself during that Span including 1992. Long said that s not a consideration at Michigan. We Don t pay a whole lot of attention to Man Euver ing our schedule to get us a National title he said. We try to give our fans and alumni a Good Quality schedule from year to year. And by doing that we re helping our team prepare for the big ten  by Steven wine Coral Gables Fla. A the Miami hurricanes latest lopsided loss lends further credence to the Contention that their dynasty is in decline Washington gave the Miami mystique drubbing in two respects saturday. By winning 38-20, Washington shattered the hurricanes Aura of invincibility at Home ending their Mcaa record 58 game winning Streak in the Orange bowl. What s More Miami was manhandle for the second time in four games. Arizo a stunned the hurricanes 29-0 in Las season s fiesta bowl. People out there Are going to doubt us and write bad things and the City ingoing to say bad things Miami quarterback Frank Costa said. The radio Sta Tion talk shows Are going to have a Field Day on this  certainly Confidence in the canes 2-, 1 is on the decline. As a result of their first september defeat since 1990, they dropped from sixth to 13th in the rank Ings released sunday. Washington 2-1 climbed from 17th to 12th. This season began with doubts about Miami program that has won four nation Al championships since 1983 but finished disappointing 9-3 in 93. Saturday s col lapse when the hurricanes were out scored 35-6 in the second half will Only fuel speculation that their heyday is past. Really Don t have an answer for the second half coach Dennis Erickson said sunday. A team that was As Good asm Ost in the first half was t very Damn Good in the second half.". During the hurricanes winning Stream the Orange bowl they never gave up a re than 23 Points. Washington scored decline 25 in the third Quarter alone. In the second half the huskies rushed for 134 Yards and were 7-for-9 on third Down conversions. They also clamped Down on Costa who completed just 10 of 27 passes with two interceptions after halftime. Whammy in Miami said washing ton offensive tackle Robert Sapp who scored on a Fumble recovery. That was one of three touchdowns by the huskies in the first five minutes of the second half when they turned a 14-3 deficit into a 25-14 Lead. In a five minute period you lose com plete control of the game Erickson said. Then we did t react very Well an that s my biggest disappointment. When it was 25-14, we still had an  but two Miami scoring threats produced just a pair of Field goals. Otherwise the huskies controlled the  be got to give them credit Erickson said. They smelled blood and went after it. They have great tradition and they Veblen in a lot of stadiums in their lives. This was t their first  nonetheless the win was special forthe huskies. They still regard Miami As one of the nations most prestigious pro Grams. This was probably the biggest game in Huskie history said Washington cornerback Russell Hairston who scored on an interception return. But the hurricanes prestige is slip Ping. And now that they be been beaten m the Orange bowl for the first Tim since 1985, they could easily lose two in a Row there. The next Home game is against no. 3 Florida state in two weeks. Special $20,00tune-up by appointment ii a Bike shop Civ 0656s61-6635 Dan 452-6635 located in the Saber s Edge sports store