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Show &turdd. January 2, , THE DAILY Hi: RAID. Prwiu. Utah Page COLLEGE FOOTBALL White, Hamilton send Tech past Notre Dame Ohio State hopes to sneak into No. NEW ORLEANS (AP) All No. 3 Ohio State can do now is wait on some help from Florida State and hope its 24-1victory Friday night in the Sugar Bowl was champi4 onship material. The Buckeyes kept alive their slim hopes of sharing the national title by beating No. 8 Texas A&M in a game that began like it might be the rout they could have used, but had too many anxious moments in the end. Joe Germaine threw for a touchdown, Joe Montgomery rushed for one and the special teams came up with a blocked all punt return for a score in the first quarter. But that was all the touchdowns Ohio couid muster. State ) It was the first time the Buckeyes beat Michigan and won a New Year's Day bowl game in the same season since 1968, which is also the last time Ohio State won a national championship. Whether that adds up to another one depends on No. 2 Florida State beating Tennessee in the and the AP votFiesta Bowl ers being impressed enough with Ohio State to make them No. 1. The Fiesta winner is the automatic choice for national champion in the coaches poll. "If it's a sloppy game and Florida State wins, you could make an argument that the Buckeyes are as good as anybody in the country," coach John Cooper said. The Buckeyes had few problems against the Wrecking Crew defense of Texas A&M but may have lacked (11-1- top-ranke- d (11-3- ), 1 spot the knockout punch they needed. Ohio State continually broke down once it crossed midfield, and Dan Stultz didn't help the cause by missing two I'M There were plenty of mistakes by Michigan which blew a halftime in the lead and trailed fourth quarter. Still, the victory gave the Wolverines a 10th victory, something that seemed impossible after the defending champions opened the season "We wanted to finish the season strong after the disappointing start we had," coach Lloyd Carr said. "This team had a disadvantage in that they were always going to be compared to the (1997) national championship team." on the No. 11 Arkansas other hand, exceeded expectations throughout the season and almost did it again Friday. "We were two or three steps away from getting a win," said Zac Painter, who had an interception and forced a rumble. 'They were a lot faster than we thought. They ran up the middle and made some great plays." In the end, the passing Brady to Tai Streets and the rushing of (10-3- 24-1- 0 31-2- 4 15th-ranke- ), Tsxae AIM Ohio St. I Ohio touchdown 18-yar- d 0 0 7 21 14 24 OSU-- Montgomery 10 run (Stultj kick), 4 10 Griffin 16 blocked punt return (Slult2 kick). 59 Second Quarter Stultz 31. FG 10-wi- n 17-1- 3 Hodge 76.503. 7 Third Quarter pass from Stewart (Bynum OSU 17 25 42 210 222 Rushes-yard- s 187 22 390 Passing t Return Yards 8 Time of Possession 28 18 31 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Texas A&M Toombs Hall 53 Parker 6. Stewart 5 ( 25) Ohio St Montgomery 9 Germaine 96. Wiley Wells Keller PASSING Texas ASM, Stewart Ohio St.. Germaine RECEIVING Texas A&M, Taylor Spiller Hall Parker Toombs Hodge Oliver Ohio St Campbell Bumgardner Miller Boston 28. Germany Wiley Keller Lumpkin Sacond Quarter P Rogers 2 run (Chambers kick) 13 46 Sheridan 9 pass from Hamilton 4 26 ND GT lackson White 44 Third Quarter Texas' Heisman 342 T STEVE SIMONEAU The Associated Press Evasive action: Michigan QB Tom Brady (10) tries to evade a sack by Arkansas' Jeromy Flowers (30). CITRUS BOWL Anthony Thomas, was too much for the Razorbacks. Brady drove Michigan 80 yards for the tying score, which came on Thomas' third TD run, with 5:45 to play. a Brady kept the drive alive with a completion to Streets and the on third-and-1to Streets on fourth-and-- 2 to the Arkansas 38. Thomas carried on the next four plays. kick) Fourth Quarter ND Denson 56 tun (Brown pass horn Jackson) GT White 55 pass from Hamilton (Chambers kick). 7 55 791 70 GT First downs Rushes yards Passing Return Yards 23 20 242 42 150 8 13 24 0 5 36 6 2 6 30 29 13 0 14 21 Punts 3 34 2 Fumbles-Los- the Irish got Trailing the ball twice in the final three minutes. Neither series produced a yard, and Nate who finished with Stimson 2 12 sacks, ended the final drive by forcing a fumble recovered by defensive end 753 Penalties-Yard- Possession Time of 7 30 47 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Burns Georgia Tech. C Rogers Wilder Hamilton 26-30. Spencer 3 17. Jackson RUSHING PRogeis Notre Dame. Denson " 0 237. PASSING- - Georgia Tech. Hamilton Bums Notre Dame. Jackson. 13 24 0 50 RECEIVING Georgia Tech. White 4 129 C Rogers Shendan Wilder Matvay Burns Hamilton Notie Andrzejewski Brown Dame. M Johnson J Johnson Denson Nelson Holloway COTTON BOWL 9 Trophy-winnin- half, Williams struck the Heisman pose his teammates have been after him all year to do. That cost Texas a unsportsmanlike penalty on the kickoff, but to no damage. d g back Ricky Williams . run (Sanson k.ck) 10 47 run (kick blocked) 7 23 pass from Hamilton (Chambers 2 Longhorns, Williams blast Bulldogs DALLAS By the time Ricky got his groove back, the Longhorns were already in one. 6 kick). GT GT By MIKE JONES tt 35 T 826 First Quarter 35-2- 42 7 13 . GT Hamilton 5 pass horn bums tChambeis 6 22 ND- - Denson 9 run (Sanson kick) 4 06 victory. 643 Penalties-Yard- Georgia Tsch Nolra Dama last-secon- d 3 30 t "Anytime you get to 10 wins, I think that's outstanding," said Tech coach George O'Leary. "It catapults you to next season." score. All in all, it was quite a homecoming. "All week long, I felt real comfortable," White said. "Then, coming in here today, it just felt like a home game. I was fired up, ready to play in front of my friends and fami- ly" Trying to snap a three-gam- e bowl losing streak, Notre Dame ) broke out its green jerseys for the first time since the 1995 Fiesta Bowl. But those uniforms couldn't defend White nor Hamilton, and the Fighting Irish came up short of pulling out another 85 71 , Fumbles-Los- 5 24 kick). TAM First downs 23-1- 1976. (9-3- 16 5-- 0 lead throughout the fourth quarter. Germaine continued to throw downfield. Associated Pros Hall 9 run (Bynum kick). 10 53 Germany 18 pass from Geimaine (Stultz kick). OSU 8 34 OSU OSU A he n First Quarter TAM TAM I ak for a bet- The victory reversed a long trend in this series for Georgia Tech and might be a good indicator of just how far the Yellow Jackets have come in two years. They opened last season as losers to Notre Dame and closed this one with only their fifth victory over the Irish in 32 meetings and their first since Pepper in Rodgers' team won Fort Worth burst out of the fog for 104 yards, including touchdown runs of 37 and two yards, to lead Texas to 24 points and the record for the most productive third quarter in Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl history. Williams finished with a 110 1 - Na" ' " F . f iff 203 yards on 30 carries and caught five passes for 45 more yards on Friday, earning him honors as offensive player of the game. But the groundwork for Texas' 38-1- 1 victory against Mississippi State before a crowd of 72,611 had already been laid through the air and in the trenches. On the way to a 14-- halftime lead, the Longhorns' surprising defense, led by linebacker Aaron Babino, had withstood the best 3 O 7 3 8 O 24 7 0 First Quarter Tex McGanty 59 pass from Applewhite (Stockton as kick). 2 -- St. Mississippi Texas 17 Second Quarter Tex McGanty 52 pass from Applewhite (Stockton kick). 5 MSt FG Hazelwood 39 2 32 Tex Tex Tex Tex :14 Las.. Texas 15-ya- MSt A ERIC GAY The Associated Grant 72,61 5 McGarity connected for first-hal- f touchdown passes of 59 and 52 yards. And those jabs set the Bulldogs up for Williams' knockout punches. After his scoring run put Texas up 21-- less than three minutes into the second 37-yar- d 3 First downs Rushes yards Passing Int Comp-At- Return Yards Punts Avg Fumbles Lost MSt Tea 18 32 87 205 16 40 I 225 15 260 27 65 741 18 6 37 2 9 89 27 59 Penalties-Yard- Time of kick). Fourth Quarter pass horn Wyatt (Johnson run). 10 07, Press End zone bound: Texas running back Ricky Williams, right, heads for his second touchdown in the Cotton Bowl. that MSU tailback James Johnson had to offer. And in the meantime, Texas quarterback Major Applewhite and wide receiver Wane McGarity had taken measure of the best pass defense in the SEC. Applewhite and Third Quarter 2 34 Williams 37 run (Stockton kicrt). FG Stockton 47 6 39 R Williams 2 run (Stockton kick). 2 42 Cavio 18 pass from Applewhite (Stockton R Possession 5 55 32 01 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Slate, Johnson 22 12. Madkm 4 Prather l McKmley 2 7 Rainey R Williams 201 Texas. 2 Wyatt R Brown 315. Applewhite H Mitchell PASSING -- Mississippi State. Wyatt 156. Texas. Applewhite Madkm 0 225 RECEIvlNG-MississK Cooper State. Grant Love 2 33 Kelly Johnson McKmley 20. M Butter I 8 Texas. R.WiHams Pientiss McGanty 4 132 Cavil 3 31. Der Lewis 2 26 Nunez 1 d 0-- once-beate- fumble to end one drive, and the Buckeyes' defense made enough plays to keep the lead. The victory made it a New fear's Day sweep for the Big 10 and gave it a record in bowl games for the first time in conference history. Cooper had said he would try to score as many points as possible against the Aggies, and it showed. Ohio State didn't look anything like a team trying to milk the clock with a " d way.'" . MARTIN DAVE SUGAR BOWL ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) 21-yar- 8 Who's No. 1? Receiver Reggie Germany (80) of State flashes the No. 1 sign as he celebrates an catch against Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl. d WW" ble. You couldn't ter ending." 44-yar- d 24-1- 4 "'"'! Jesse Tarplin. "This is great," Stimson said. "It's the last game of my career, the game's on the line late and I'm able to sack the quarterback and force a fum- White and quarterback Joe Hamilton outdueled Jarious Jackson and Autry Denson. ) to the leading Tech mark for the first time since 1990 and just the second time in history. touchWhite had a down catch to stifle Notre Dame's momentum in the third quarter and a in the fourth for the winning (10-2- before losing 23-1"We'll play anybody in the country," said receiver David Boston, the Sugar Bowl MVP after catching 1 1 passes for 105 yards. "I'm not going to make a comment on No. 1. We'll have to see how everything shakes out." Texas A&M, which came from behind in five of its victories this year, never quit. After trailing 24-- 7 at halftime, the Aggies closed to on a touchdown pass from Branndon Stewart to Leroy Hodge. They tried for one more comeback just like the one over Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship game that put them in the Sugar Bowl but Jerry Rudzinski tipped a lateral pass and recovered the head-to-hea- GATOR BOWL 8 shot at sharing the national title, and he may know best as the only coach to face Ohio State and Florida State. In the Kickoff Classic, his Aggies put a scare into the Seminoles Michigan outlasts Arkansas 45-3- JTWV At field goals. "I thought we played a real good, solid game tonight," Cooper said. "I thought we played a real good, solid team. I was a little disappointed at halftime that we didn't score a couple of more touchdowns." The Aggies were making their first appearance in the Sugar Bowl since winning their only national championship 49 years ago. Coach R.C. Slocum had said the Buckeyes should have a " After his mistakes helped Arkansas get back in the game, Tom Brady finally relaxed and led Michigan to victory in the Citrus Bowl. Brady threw two interceptions but then engineered two scoring drives in the final six minutes Friday as the Wolverines came back to beat the Razorbacks "I don't exactly know why it loosens you up," said Brady, whose pass to DiAllo Johnson gave the Wolverines the lead for good with 2:25 left. "Sometimes you're out there and you're playing and you don't want to make a mistake. But once you make a mistake, you go, 'Golly, I'm not too successful thinking that JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Georgia Tech was looking for its 10th victory of the season. Dez White couldn't imagine a better place to get it. White, a Jacksonville native, returned home Friday and caught two long touchdown passes to lead the No. 12 vicYellow Jackets to a 35-2tory over No. 17 Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl. In an unexpected shootout. 10 21 Arkansas Michigan 14 0 7 21 First Quarts' FG Feely 43. 6 28 Mich Sacond Quarter Ark M Williams 35 pass from Stoerner (Latourette kick). 10 37 Mich Thomas 2 run (Feely kick). 7 40 Mich Gold 46 interception return (Feely kick). 5 39 Ark FG Latourette 42. 212 Mich Thomas 5 run (Feely kick). :34 Ark Ark Third Quarter Chukwuma 2 run (Latourette Chukwume run (Latourette kick). 9:10 kick), 5:48 Fourth Quarter Ark Davenport 9 pass from Stoerner (Latourette kick). 12:18 run (Feely kick). 5:49 Mich Thomas Mich O Johnson 21 pass from Brady (Feely kick). 1 47 first-quart- Ark (9-3- ), First downs 20 16 232 21 40-- Rushes-yard- Passing Return Yards 61 230 109 . Fumbles-Los- 00 t Penalties-yard- Time of Possession 4 31 28 43 II 104 31:17 12 INDIVIDUAL STATISTIC Hi RUSHING Arkansas. Chukwuma Norman Stoerner 814. Branch Michigan. Coleman CVMiams Thomas Brady PASSING Arkansas. Stoerner Joe TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Paterno is hard to beat in a bowl game. Give him a month to prepare, and he can make it tough on anybody including Tim Couch. No. 22 Penn State grounded Couch and Kentucky's explosive passing attack after a flying start to dominate the final three quarters of the Outback Bowl for a 26-1victory Friday. Couch, playing perhaps his last college game, threw for two touchdowns and finished with 337 yards passing. But he was also intercepted twice and sacked six times. 4 225 Mich Whitley 26 interception return (Feely kick). A 63.584. Penn State defense sits on Couch Michigan, Johnson Henson 2 2 Brady Lucas RECEIVING Arkansas. M Williams Momukt 136. Hi Davenport Smith C WHkams 2 Streets Chukwuma Michigan. Terrell i ze, Johnson. t. i nomas 15. Shea I e. 12. Campbell Knight Paterno, the winningest coach in bowl history, improved his postseason record to Kevin Thompson threw a TD pass to Joe Nastasi, Chafie Fields scored on a reverse, and Travis Forney kicked an Outback 19-9-- 56-ya- 19-ya- Bowl-recor- d four field goals for OUTBACK BOWL Penn State But threal story of the game was the Nittany Lions' defense, which ranked 12th nationally during the regular season and led the Big Ten with 47 sacks. playing in Kentucky a New Year's bowl for the first time since 1952, had the produccountry's second-mos- t tive passing attack this season with Couch throwing for 4,275 yards and 36 touchdowns. Penn State slowed the junior down by mixing coverages and unleashing a relentless pass rush after falling behind 14-The Nittany Lions also blocked a short Kentucky field goal, stopped the Wildcats on downs to set up Fields' TD, and turned back (9-3- ). (7-5- ), fourth-qu&dt- BYU. Couch's most promising drive of the second half in the closing minutes. 3 Penn Stale Kentucky 14 Mickelsen 36 Ky 743 PS-- FG Ky S 0 10 O 26 7 Men's & Women's Basketball & FREE PIZZA! 14) rim yusraar t pass from Couch (Hanson kick). Forney 43. 5 25 A White 16 pass from Couch (Hanson kick). 3 51. Men's Basketball Second Quarter Nastasi 56 pass from Thompson (Forney kick). 12 33 RS-- FG Forney 26. 03. PS it 3 ft life Third Quarter Forney 21. 7:51. Forney 25, 13. PS-- FG PS-- FG Fourth Quarter d" 03 19 run (Forney kick). Women's PS First downs 24 24 187 336 91 0 8 58 27 07 3253 BYU Rushes-yard- Passing Return Yards ; Basketed vs. Portland 5:30 pm t Punts v t Fumbles-Los- t Penalties-Yard- Time q) Possession INOtVIDUAL STATISTICS A Hams 13- Penn Slate. McCoo Canmele Thompson Casey RUSHING 54 Fields 2 Kentucky. A White Homer 12 26. Couch 10-McCord 8. Yeast Penn State. Thompson PASSING 2 336 Kentucky Couch McCoo RECEIVING Penn Stnte. Stewart Nsstasi Fields Kentucky. Homer A. White Whslen Mickelsen Coleman Yeast Robinson 2 23. AHen Davis 10 MISSED FIELD GOALS-Pe- nn Kentucky. Hanson 29 (BU. State. Forney 51 (S). fir-- w3hejt im |