European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 27, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 34 the stars and stripes sports thursday october 27t 1994 it s time to some people think the color of the leaves or the chill in the air is the Best Way to keep track of autumn a Progress. Not me. ,. A a Quot a a a a. A a a. A the surest sign i know both the season and College football have entered the stretch run is that some big name coach or other is whining about the polls again. In a Norma year a meaning any year in which notre Dames National title Hopes survive the first Frost a one voice usually can be heard complaining above All the rest. It belongs to floppy Lou Holtz the coach of the fighting Irish and you can practically set your Calendar by  if Holtzm steam is ranked second in a poll and he is moaning about too much respect it must be August. A if the Irish Are second and Holtz is moaning about too Little respect then its probably november. A and if the Irish Are second and Holtz is lecturing on historical perspective then its almost certainly Jan. 2 a and too late to do him any Good. This season unfortunately that most convenient of markers is being denied us. Some 2v6 weeks ago Boston College saw to that by handing notre Dame its second loss and effectively gagging Holtz until sometime Jim Litke next year. Fortunately there never appears to be a shortage of comrades willing to step out from the shadows and into the spotlight. This year apparently the role is going to be taken up by Joe Paturno. During a teleconference tuesday someone presented the Penn state coach the current no. 1, with the Opportunity by asking him two questions about the polls. The first was How he Felt about the possibility that regardless of the outcome of Penn states game saturday against Ohio state the Winner of the game Between no. 2 Colorado and no. 3 Nebraska would supplant his team at the top of the polls. And the second question was whether in Light of that possibility Penn state would try to run up it the score on the buckeyes. Paterno did hot have to think Long about his answers. A a that a he said dismissing both questions at once a has not even entered my  Paterno went on to add with some humility that he Only hoped to beat Ohio state by one Point. And at another moment in response to another question Paterno said he was a not even sure How the polls were made up. I think they re Fine if you want to sell news and get people to argue with each other. A but i done to think a he added a that it Means anything until the end of the  this May sound like Blissful a or at the very least wilful a ignorance for a Man who a already won two National championships and been in the business for in6re than three decades. But in fact its neither. Paterno knows exactly How the polls work and he knows Only too Well that Given the weakness of his opponents even winning All the remaining games on his schedule wont justify Penn state being rated above the Colorado Nebraska Winner if that team remains unbeaten through the remainder of the season and the bowl games As Well. So what he does is flog the polls and the voters for the Sake of those fans who Are paying attention at this Point of the season while reserving the right to nudge those same voters again should the Colorado Nebraska Winner slip and Penn state be the Only unbeaten team left on Jan. 2, a frankly we were hoping for something a Little More creative from Paterno. This after All is the same Joe who got off one of the All time zingers on the poll at the expense of president Richard Nixon Only a few years ago. 7 / / a a the Kittany Lions went 11-0 during both the 1968 and 1969 campaigns under Paterno but managed no higher than a second place finish in the polls both years. Though Paterno a lifelong Republican said nothing about it at the time some people Felt that Nixon a appearance in the Texas locker room and his decision to proclaim the longhorns National champs following their win Over Arkansas in 1969 was the act that sealed Penn states Fate. And if he forgave at least Paterno proved he did not forget easily. A How come Richard Nixon knew so much about College football in 1969,�?� Paterno asked at a commencement speech he gave a few years later at Penn state a and so Little about watergate in 1972, a the associated Presa a a Copper bowl will feature wac team Tucson Ariz. A the Copper bowl announced tuesday an agreement with the Western athletic conference that virtually assures the game a current top 25 team this december. A two year agreement will pit 111 is seasons third Choice from the wac bowl qualifiers against the big eight a fourth place team in the sixth Copper bowl dec. 29 at Arizona stadium. Right now Utah Colorado state and Brigham Young of the wac Are All in the top 25. Next year the second Choice from the wac will play in the Copper bowl. The Copper bowl had ended an arrangement with the wac earlier this year after trying to get the leagues second team this season. It then had opted to choose an at Large team to face the big eight a fourth place team. A this year the wac football program has reached a new level in our opinion a said Larry Brown executive director of the Copper bowl foundation a a they be got three in the top 25.a a we re tied in with the big eight already and we wanted to stay with the West and get a shot at one of the top 2q teams we re in a Superb position this  Penn state s defense is clearly not no. 1 by Michael a. Giarrusso state College a. A Penn state has risen to the no. 1 ranking with a High powered offence while its do sense plagued by injuries and a propensity to give up big plays has been merely adequate. S Penn state 6-0, 3-0 big ten gives up 386.3 Yards per game seventh in the con Ferince and nearly 100 Yards More per game than Ohio state. The no 21 buckeyes 6-2, 3-1 face the Kittany Lions in Beaver stadium saturday. A your defense is not where i had hoped it would be and that a because of a tremendous amount of injuries we had to key people a coach Joe Paterno said tuesday at his weekly news conference. A at one time or another Vic had As Many As six first stringers who were not Able to practice and have gone into games where five of them could not really play  Penn state was at its worst against Rutgers allowing the Scarlet knights 513 Yards in a 55-27 Victory. Temple 2-5 also embarrassed Penn state by throwing for 323 Yards in a 48-21 Kittany lion Victory. A a a a there a no excuse for our play a linebacker Brian Gelzheiser said after the Temple game. A a we be got to get Back to  it appeared Penn state had returned to the linebacker u. Of old As it built a 16-3 first half Lead against Michigan. But Michigan took the Lead in the third Quarter sparked by touchdown runs of 67 and 21 Yards by Tyrone Wheatley. After Penn state regained the Lead an interception by cornerback Brian Miller ended a late Wolverine drive to preserve the 31-24 Victory. A i thought we played a solid game against Michigan particularly in the clutch when we had to do it a Paterno said a we had a couple of breakdowns on a couple big plays by Wheatley and a couple Long passes. A i knew we would not be a overpowering defense but i Felt we could run and we would not give up big plays a he said. As always at Penn state the anchors of the defense Are the linebackers. Gelzheiser and Willie Smith Lead the team in tackles even though Gelzheiser missed the opener against Minnesota because of a knee injury. Smith has five sacks and linebacker Terry Killens has three. The defensive line has been hit hard by injuries. Tackle Vin Stewart will miss the Ohio state game with a bad foot tackles Chris Mazyck and Eric Clair were both hampered by nagging knee injuries. End Todd Atkins has been the most consistent lineman with four sacks and 25  states secondary struggled against Michigan prompting Paterno to Bench senior cornerback Tony Pittman. A Pittman had some problems. And i think we have that straightened out so he will Start a Paterno said. But starting safety Cliff Dingle has a sprained knee forcing Sophomore Kim herring to Start against Ohio state. Herrings aggressiveness Hurt Penn state against Michigan Paterno said. 1it it a coach Joe Paterno. Injuries have Hurt antique auction 29 oct 1994 1000 hrs viewing 1900 hrs Biddin armstrongs Kaiserslautern for More info call489-6000 Mobile Ala. A a defamation lawsuit against former Alabama football player Gene Jelks has been expanded to include Jelks lawyer and sex Auburn Booster Corky Frost. Jelks meanwhile claims he was shot at last month., he said it possibly was part of a conspiracy by Alabama supporters to silence him. Former Alabama assistant coach Jerry Pullen is suing Jelks who claims lie re suit against Jelks expanded Cei Ved illegal payments from Pullen while playing for the Crimson tide. The Mcaa said last month that Alabama a football program May have been guilty of two rules violations but none were related to Jelks original allegations. Pullens attorney Tom Cauthorn told the Mobile press Register he filed a motion in Dekalb county a Superior court to add Frost and attorney Stan Kreimer of Atlanta As co conspirator Cauthorn said his Mission is to find who is funding Jelks through his Atto he said Kreimer had until oct. 31 t lease the information or face a cont it of court charge. On oct. 12, court records revealed checks totalling Over $37,000 were or to Jelks or on his behalf from an is account controlled by Kreimer and the attorneys personal business acco