Show 'irinrin Standard-Examine- Classic title game pits Notre Dame USC By HERSCHEL N1SSENSONI oo‘Catl vriter Notre Dame vs Southern California Notre Dame 0 and ranked No vs Southern California 10-- 0 and ranked No 2 Notre Dame whose 669 victories are second only to Michigan's 692 vs Southern Cal which ranks ninth with 10-- 1 596 Notre centage tory vs at 711 “This Dame whose 756 winning peris the best in college football hisSouthern Cal which stands fifth game is what college football is about" Notre Dame Coach Lou all Holtz says “It could very well determine the national championship” “This promises to be one of the great games of all time It’s a classic national championship game” Southern Cal Coach Larry Smith says “It isn't strictly for the national championship from the standpoint that no matter which team wins it will still have to win its bowl game (Notre Dame against West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl Southern Cal against Michigan in the Rose Bowl) It’s the next biggest step to the national championship” Notre Dame and Southern Cal aren’t the only contenders for the national title Miami which still nurtures hopes of repeating its 1987 championship meets No 8 Arkansas today d West Virginia wound up an 0 regular-seasolast week No 5 Florida State entertains Florida tonight Third-ranke- d fourth-ranke- 11-- n Coliege Football and No 6 Nebraska has finished an 1 -1 12-- 0 regular-seaso- n In Friday’s only game seventh-ranke- d Auburn earned a share of the Southeastern Conference crown and a Sugar Bowl bid with a 0 victory over No 17 Al15-1- abama The No teams — UCLA Oklahoma Michigan Oklahoma State Clemson — are idle Houston No 14 entertains winless Rice No 16 LSU plays host to Tulane in a night game and Georgia Tech visits No 20 Georgia while No 15 Wyoming No 18 Washington State and No 19 Syracuse are off today Notre Dame will be trying to snap a budding jinx that has seen the No team lose the last four showdowns The Irish also are trying for their first-ev1 -2 er 0 regular-seaso- n “USC may be the best football team in 1 in every area” Holtz said “Ii's the best in the East against the best in the West” Southern Cal off to its best start since and won the the 1972 team went national championship owns college football’s longest regular-seaso- n winning streak at 14 games “The Rose Bowl is one of our goals and getting there was done with a great team victory over UCLA” Smith said “All three phases of our team — offense defense and special teams — contributed to the win And we had some outstanding individual performances Now we have to kick it up several notches against Notre Dame” Smith called Peete’s passing performance against UCLA several days after he was hospitalized with the measles “one of the greatest I’ve ever seen It was a superhuman effort — gutty classy full of big plays If that wasn’t a Heisman performance I don’t know what is” Miami Coach Jimmy Meanwhile Johnson hopes his team won't be complacent against Arkansas a team it walloped 51-- 7 last year after last week’s 44-- 3 trouncing of LSU “Without question there will be a tendency for our team to have a letdown” he said “I am realistic in thinking this team will be somewhat complacent in preparing for Arkansas There's no way I can expect our team to be as intense as they were a week ago” Notre Dame Southern Cal West Vir-- 1 -- the country” Holtz said “They don’t appear to have a weakness no matter how hard you try to find one (Quarterback) Rodney Peete is as talented as any player in the country He throws with tremendous accuracy and he can get away from the rush “Beating the Southern Cal blockers is one thing trying to tackle Rodney Peete after you get there is another thing “They just seem to have tremendous chemistry with this group They just have a team that is fundamentally sound l6-of-- 189-yar- d ginia and Aikansas are the four remainteams and the ing unbeaten-untie- d Razorbacks are seeking their first perfect season since the NCAA went to an schedule in 1970 Arkansas won 11 games only in 1964 (10-- 0 plus a Cotton Bowl victory over Nebraska) and 1977 (10-- 1 plus an Orange Bowl victory over Oklahoma) Ironically Johnson was a captain of that 1 1964 club 1 Florida State trails in its series with Florida but the Seminoles are 2' touchdown favorites over the All Amerid can Gators this time Florida State has won nine straight since dropping its opener to Miami 31-- 0 “This is our second season” FSU Coach Bobby Bowden said “The first 10 games are always our first season The Florida game is a season in itself We can never underestimate Florida “Their defense is about as good as anybody in the country (No 2 nationally) When you can play defense like they can you’re always going to be in the game” Florida's Galen Hall said FSU “presents the biggest challenge we have had this season I doubt if there is a better football team in the country right now They have more talent down through the lineup than any team we’ve seen and there are people on their second and third teams who could start for most schools” 22-7-- Bowl-boun- Tigers get Sugar bid BIRMINGHAM Ala (AP) — Auburn gained a share of the Southeastern Conference championship and a berth in the Sugar Bowl with Sevent- its specialty: defense With tackle Ron Stallworth recording four quarterback sacks one for a safety the Tigers held No 17 Alabama to 12 15-1- 91-8- 2 first-roun- season-openin- 93-4- 42-3- 9 first-ye- ar See-haw- 7-- Associated Auburn’s James Joseph (10) attempts to spin out of the grasp of Alabama’s Keith McCants (86) Also in were around him all day long” It was the sixth victory in a row for the Tigers who closed the regular-seaso- n at 10-- 1 overall and 1 in the SEC Alabama headed for a Sun Bowl game against Army after closing the regular-season at Texas A&M next Thursday night fell to 3 for the year and 3 in the conference It was Auburn’s third victory in a row over the Crimson Tide its longest streak 6-- 7-- 4-- NFL Stoudt will start again Giants at Saints The Giants 5 are expected to have Phil Simms back at quarterback against the Saints 3 leaders of the NFC West Simms suffered a shoulder injury in last Sunday’s overtime loss to Philadelphia The Saints are coming off the most lopsided victory in their history 42-over Denver 7-- 9-- 0 in the series since putting together five in a row in the 1950s — the last Tiger win coming in Bear Bryant’s first year at Alabama Stallworth's sack of Smith in the end zone broke a 3 tie with 3:18 left in the opening quarter Tillman’s catch set up a scoring run by Vincent Harris with 2:55 left in the third period staking the Tigers to a 3 lead that virtually put the game 3-- 15-- and tied for the NFC East lead with the Giants — and both are hungry for a playoff berth The Cardinals last made the playoffs in 1982 ‘(he Eagles in 1981 Phoenix quarterback Neil Lomax 0 loss to who missed last Sunday’s Houston with a knee injury could be ready for the Eagles If not veteran Giff Denver 6 is tied with the Raiders and Seattle for first place in the AFC West while the Rams 5 are fighting for an NFC playoff spot Both teams are coming off disastrous losses the Rams going down for the third game in a row 6-- 7-- Browns at Redskins 6 is in danger of Washington coming the ninth straight Super Bowl champion not to repeat Even worse the Redskins who have lost three of their last four games are in peril of not even making the playoffs The Browns 5 are in the hunt for an AFC wild card spot 6-- 7-- out of reach Tillman leaped up with defender Lee Ozmint to spear the bomb from Reggie Slack at the Alabama 33 On the next play Stacy Danley raced 18 yards to the 5 and Harris scored one play after Slack fired a pass to Freddy 53-ya- rd 1 12-ya- rd Wegand 5 Yzaga ranked 101st in the world by the Association of Tennis Professionals wasn't bothered by temperature charging the net at every opportunity and smashing crisp passing shots for winners Jaite ranked 49th worldwide by the ATP hung tough for most of the contest with a powerful serve in spite of the strong sun and heat But with the match in the second set Yzaga stung tied at Jaite with two sizzling baseline shots to break service and electrify the crowd In the other semifinal Frana ranked 132nd by the ATP came back from a 2 deficit in the tiebreaker of the opening set with four straight points to win it Auburn’s other scoring came on field of 25 and 22 yards by Win Lyle goals Packers at Bears first meeting this season These teams are going in opposite directions The Bears 10-- own the NFC’s best record and if they win their remaining games would have home-fiel- d advantage throughout the conference playoffs are in the running The Packers to get the No pick in the college draft Green Bay has scored only 22 points and two touchdowns in its last four Buccaneers at Falcons 2-- 1 games -1 2-- be- Dolphins at Jets A 44-3- 0 Atlanta 8 has shown signs of improvement winning three of its last four games When quarterback Chris Miller plays the Falcons are even more respectable with a 5 record The Bucs 9 have been hurt by the 28 interceptions — most in the league — against Vinny Testaverde 4-- 4-- 3-- 49ers at Chargers The 49ers 5 are in contention for a d berth — and surprisingly so are the Chargers 8 San Francisco trails New Orleans by two games in the NFC West while San Diego although in fourth place in the AFC West is only two games in back of the three teams tied for the division 7-- The Chiefs’ offense dormant in the first 10 games has perked up the past two weeks and the result has been upsets over Cincinnati and Seattle boosting their record to have been hapless The Steelers except for Gary Anderson who has made 197 straight extra points Only three kickers in NFL history have converted 200 in a row battle for last place in the AFC East The Dolphins 7 occupy the cellar will replace However the Jets Miami if they lose The Jets won the wild-car- 4-- lead Patriots at Colts Behind quarterback Doug Flutie the Patriots 5 have prospered and own a e winning streak giving them the edge in the battle for the final AFC wild card spot To complete a season’s series sweep — whom they beat over the Colts (6-in Week 5 — the Patriots will have to contain Eric Dickerson the league’s leading rusher with 1237 yards 7-- four-gam- 23-1- 7 -1 5-- 8-- so are Bengals Chiefs at Steelers Rams at Broncos Press pursuit are Alabama's Tommy Cole (51) Derrick Thomas (55) and Greg Gilbert (56) 2 9-- Cardinals at Eagles 7-- (8-- 6) 6 102-degr- 2-- 9-- cs -- 6-- 6-- 11-- half-gam- Super-Soni- RIO DE JANEIRO Brazil (AP) — Peru’s Jaime Yzaga and Argentina’s Javier Frana won semifinal matches Friday in the $305000 Citibank Open men’s tennis tournament Yzaga upset Argentina’s Martin Jaite 3 4 in 90 minutes and the 21 year-old Frana ousted Spain’s Diego Perez Associated Press The Buffalo Bills are rolling along with an 1 record the best in the National Football League and enjoying a dramatseasons of 1984 ic reversal of their 'and 1985 “It’s like buying a Ferrari after driving ta junk car” nose tackle Fred Smerlas said “You don't look back and say driving the junk car was a pain in the neck You just enjoy the Ferrari” The Bills are enjoying being AFC East champions for the first time since 1980 ' They can celebrate again Sunday if they beat the Bengals 3 and leaders of e over the the AFC Central by a Houston Oilers 4 A victory would ensure the Bills the home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs The Bengals also have a lot of incentive — maintaining sole possession of first place Sunday’s other matchups: er Jaite suffers semifinal setback in tennis tourney Bills motivated by record but 38-2- ORANGE Calif — Sophomore guard free throw Melanie Knott hit lead the in second to half the attempts Weber State women’s basketball team to a victory over US International d in action of the Chapman Doubletree Classic here Friday night g win Weber State’s sends the Lady Wildcats into the tournament championship game against host Chapman College which beat San Fran7 cisco State tonight at 6:45 (MST) The Lady 'Cats led throughout the first half playing a tenacious defense halftime lead and staking a The teams were trading baskets in a close second half before Knott came to life in the last 12 minutes of the game repeatedly driving to the basket and drawing fouls to set up all 16 of her free throw attempts in the second half “I thought they (the Lady Wildcats) Weber State played great” said Coach Carla Taylor “They played with a lot of intensity and desire They played hard the whole 40 minutes” Although Knott’s 17 points were crucial in the game’s second half senior Katie Wevenberg had 27 to lead the Lady 'Cats Senior forward Laurie and junior forward Dawn Lawler had 20 points apiece for Weber State Senior play maker Sheila Krahn also played well said Taylor “She did a good job of running the offense and taking control of the game” US International and San Francisco State will meet in the tourney’s consolation round today at 2:15 pm ns 53-ya- rd 5 Weber State women’s team opens season with victory NEW YORK (AP) — Portland’s Steve Johnson and Seattle's Xavier McDaniel and Michael Cage were fined a total of $7000 for their actions during the Trail 4 Blazers’ victory over the the NBA announced Friday The game played Tuesday night at Seattle was marred by eight technical fouls and two fights in the second quarter The first fight occurred between Johnson and Cage with five minutes remaining in the half The second occurred three minutes later between Portland’s Jerome Kersey and McDaniel For their actions Johnson was fined $3500 for fighting Cage $1000 for pushing and McDaniel $2500 for failure to leave the court in a timely fashion after being ejected and for inflammatory actions NBA vice president-operatioRod Thom said h-ranked 7-- Sports briefs 125-10- net yards rushing and trimmed the 0 Crimson Tide on Friday afternoon “We did not play too pretty but we came away with the victory” Auburn Coach Pat Dye said The triumph lifted the Tigers into a tie with No 16 Louisiana State for the SEC title and the Sugar Bowl immediately extended and Auburn accepted an invitation to face No 5 Florida State in the New Orleans event Jan 2 "This is a might happy dressing room” Dye said “I am mighty proud of this football team” The SEC crown was the second in a row for the Tigers and the fourth in their history The Tigers had six sacks for the day and Lawyer Tillman turned in the game’s biggest offensive play a leaping catch of a pass over a defender to set up Auburn’s only touchdown “They have an outstanding football team — one of the best I’ve coached against” Alabama Coach Bill Curry said “We just didn’t quite execute well enough in the clutch a couple of times and it cost us the game” LSU will now head for the Hall of Fame Bowl in Tampa to face Syracuse a team that had dearly wanted Auburn as it foe after the two teams battled to a tie in last year’s Sugar Bowl Dye praised the work of Stallworth and his entire defense “Ron is a very consistent football player” Dye said “He put good pressure on (Alabama quarterback David) Smith along with the rest of our defense We 3S 1S88 Three NBA players slapped with fines following fight with win Both teams are Saturday November 26 r 6 Leconte Hlasek advance into tourney semifinals BRUSSELS Belgium (AP) — Henri Leconte of France downed 3 Australian Wally Masur 4 Friday to advance into the semifinals of the $490000 Belgian Indoor Tennis Championships Jakob Hlasek of Switzerland the No 4 2 seed also advanced with a 5 victory over Tom Nijssen of the NetherTop-seed- 6-- -6 7-- ed 6-- 6-- lands In other quarterfinal matches Australian John Fitzgerald beat West German 0 6 1 and another Eric Jelen West German Patrick Kuhnen overpowered France's Eric Winogradsky 4 6-- 3-- 6-- 6-- 6-- 2 Leconte meets Fitzgerald the fourth seed in one of today’s semifinal matches while Hlasek plays unseeded Kuhnen in the other Spanish golf star marries member of banking family SANTANDER Spain (AP) — International men’s pro golf star Severiano Ballesteros of Spain and Carmen Botin a member of a banking family were married Friday the national Spanish news agency EFE announced The private ceremony between the 31 year-old golfer and Botin was held at the residence of Emilio Botin grandfather of the bride and honorary president of the Banco de Santander currently headed by her father Emilio Botin -- |