2B - The Michigan Daily - SportsWednesday - January 5, 2000
'Noles nail Tech 46-29, claim national title
ATbH LiEiO TWE
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - No. 1 at
the start, No. 1 at the finish.
Florida State is the perfect national
champion.
Led by the sizzling Peter Warrick and
the steady Chris Weinke, the Seminoles
held off Virginia Tech for a 46-29 victo-
ry Tuesday night in the Sugar Bowl.
The Hokies' freshman quarterback,
Michael Vick, played an electrifying
game of catch-me-if-you-can, but it
wasn't enough.
Warrick thrilled a Superdome crowd
with a record 20-point game - he
caught touchdown passes of 64 and 43
yards, returned a punt 59 yards for a
score and snagged a 2-point conversion
pass from Weinke.
The 27-year-old Weinke, playing per-
haps the final game of his college career,
completed 20 of 34 passes for 329 yards
and four TDs -two to Warrick and two
to Ron Dugans. Warrick finished with
six catches for 163 yards in the highest-
scoring Sugar Bowl in history.
Vick threw for 225 yards and one TD
and ran for 97 yards and a score.
Florida State was certain to become
the first team to go wire-to-wire in the
Associated Press' poll since the presea-
son ratings began in 1950. The final AP
poll will be released early Wednesday to
confirm the obvious.
The Seminoles were automatically
crowned national champs in the USA
Today-ESPN coaches' poll under the
Bowl Championship Series format.
All week, Warrick and his senior pals
promised each other they would do
everything possible to avoid losing three
title games. They did - in a big way -
and Bobby Bowden completed a
remarkable year. He won his 300th
game in the first father vs. son coaching
matchup, celebrated his 70th birthday
and 50th wedding anniversary and final-
ly attained his first perfect season in 40
years as a coach.
Warrick, the All-American wide
receiver who lost his chance at the
Heisman Trophy after a two-game sus-
pension for his role in a shopping mall
scam, came up with his best perfor-
mance in the final game of his college
career.
In the first half, he caught three pass-
es for 100 yards and his punt return
helped the Seminoles build a 28-14 lead
after 30 minutes of big plays. Last sea-
son, he was held to one catch for seven
yards in a Fiesta Bowl loss to Tennessee
in the national title game. In fact, in
three previous bowl games, Warrick
totaled five catches and no TDs.
He opened the scoring with his 64-
yard grab, then took a punt and blazed
past Tech defenders for a 59-yard score
and a 28-7 lead.
Late in the game, with half the crowd
of 79,280 chanting "Peter Warrick,
Who: Joe DeGain Sport: Wrestling
Hometown: Clarkston Weight Class: 184
High School: Clarkston H.S. Year: Junior
Why: DeGain had a breakout performance at the Midlands
Championship over break. He placed seventh in his class and shutout
the seventh ranked 184-pound wrestler.
Background: Eighth in the Big 10 in 97-98; Academic All Big 10 in
97-98; Ninth-team High School All American by Amateur Wrestling
News (189 pounds); 1996 Michigan State Champion; Seventh place
in 1996rNational High School Championships;
School record
159-32 overall High
AP PHOTO
Michael Vick and Virginia Tech were left wincing after Florida State walled on
them in the Sugar Bowl. Virginia Tech was left without its first national title.
Peter Warrick," Weinke reared back and
threw a 43-yard TD pass to the wide
receiver, who caught the ball while div-
ing into the end zone with a Virginia
Tech defender draped over him.The
chants rang out again and Warrick ran to
the sideline to celebrate with his team-
mates.
The win over the upstart Hokies
stamped the Seminoles as the Team of
the Decade and ended a run of national
title misses under Bowden. Since win-
ning its first national crown in 1993,
Florida State had lost two of the past
three title games - 23-16 to Tennessee
last season, and 52-20 to Florida in '97
in what until Tuesdav night was the
highest-scoring Sugar Bowl.
'M' SCHEDULE
Wednesday. January S
Men's basketball at Minnesota, 9 p.m.
Men's tennis at Milwaukee Tennis Classic
Thursdanuarv
Women's basketball at Indiana, 8 pm.
Men's tennis at Milwaukee Tennis Classic
cFidav Janua r 7
Men's swimming and diving at Arizona State,
4 p.m.
Ice hockey at Michigan State, 7:05 p.m.
Men's tennis at Milwaukee Tennis Classic
Wrestling at Virginia Duals
Saturdav Januarvl
Men's and women's track and field hosts Jack
Harvey Invitational, 9:30 a ,m.
Women's basketball vs. Purdue, noon
Men's basketball at Purdue, 2:31 p~m.
Men's swimming and diving at Arizona, 4
p.m.
Women's gymnastics at Super Six Challenge
in Athens, Georgia. 6:30 p.m.
Men's tennis at Milwaukee Tennis Classic
Wrestling at Virginia Duals
COACHES' HOOPS POLL
Maine 89, Towson 80
Quinnipiac 70, Army 63
Seton Hall 71, Villanova 64
Vermont 69, Hartford 67
SOUTH
Campbell 69, Georgia St. 64
East Carolina 72, Mt. St. Mary's, Md. 49
Elon 100, S. Virginia 64
Florida St. 66, Wake Forest 64
Samford 73, Stetson 57
Troy St. 77, Florida Atlantic 51
UNCGreensboro 82, VMI 71
MIDWEST
Kansas 105, Penn 59
Nebraska 92, Pacific 68
Winthrop 51, Missouri 46
NFL FINAL STAND.INS
Dayne claims Rose Bowl MVP, win for Bagers
PASADENA - Ron Dayne got
going after a "nice ... little halftime
talk" and Wisconsin got its second
straight Rose Bowl victory.
Dayne scored a touchdown and had
154 yards in the second half as the
Badgers became the first Big Ten team
to win back-to-back Rose Bowls, over-
coming Stanford 17-9 Saturday in the
lowest-scoring Rose Bowl since 1977.
Dayne was held to 46 yards in the
first half by a Stanford defense that
ranked fifth worst in the nation. But he
broke loose for a 64-yard gain on the
second play after halftime and scored
on 4-yard run two plays later.
"We had a nice talk and everybody
got more motivated," Dayne said. "I
think that really gave us momentum
and we just carried on. It would have
been nice if we could have scored some
more, so we wouldn't have had to bite
our nails at the end"
Dayne, who passed 7,000 career
rushing yards in the game, joined quar-
terback Bob Schloredt and tailback
Charles White as winner of consecutive
Rose Bowl MVP awards.
Wisconsin held No. 22 Stanford to
minus-5 yards on 27 rushes, a Rose
Bowl record. The Cardinal, playing in
their first Rose Bowl in 28 years, were
held to 259 yards of total offense after
'a raging 467 per game this season.
"We had a long layoff after that last
game, and it took us a little while to get
:in a rhythm," said Wisconsin coach
Barry Alvarez, noting the Badgers had
not played since Nov. 13. "Big 33
(Iayne) got lathered up a little bit and
Nebraska's
that seemed to help a little."
Dayne, who had 34 carries for 200
yards Saturday, reached 200 yards in
three of the four bowls game in which
he played. He finished his college
career with 200 yards or more in four of
his final five games.
Brooks Bollinger had a 1-yard TD on
a quarterback sneak for Wisconsin and
Vitaly Pisetsky added a 31-yard field
goal. Kerry Carter had a 1-yard scoring
run for Stanford, and Mike Biselli had a
28-yard field goal.
Wisconsin finally got its offense
going with a 71-yard drive that led to
Pisetsky's field goal with 9:19 left
before halftime.
After an exchange of punts, Walters'
19-yard reception and a couple of
Wisconsin penalties helped the
Cardinal march 45 yards on a drive
capped by Carter's scoring run.
Gabriel's high snap foiled the extra
point, though, leaving the score at 9-3.
On the second play after halftime,
Dayne broke two tackles on his 64-yard
run up the middle to the Stanford I1.
Two plays later, he bounced outside to
become the career Rose Bowl scoring
leader with his fifth touchdown.
The Badgers had a chance to widen
the lead when Dayne ran for 33 yards
on a 46-yard drive to the Stanford 17,
but Pisetsky missed a 33-yard field
goal to give Stanford one more chance.
Husak, who was 17-of-34 for 258
yards, completed four straight passes as
the Cardinal reached the Wisconsin 41,
but was sacked on fourth-and-12 to end
the comeback attempt.
offense unst
ESPN/USA Todayt
Coaches' Top 25, Jan. 3T
(first place votes in parentheses)
Team
1. Stanford (29)
2. Connecticut
3. Cincinnati (2)
4. Arizona
5. Auburn
6. Florida
7. Duke
8. Syracuse
9. Kansas
10. Michigan State
11. Indiana
12. Oklahoma State
13. Tennessee
14. North Carolina
15. Maryland
16. Texas
17. Illinois
18. Ohio State
19. Oklahoma
20. UCLA
21. Temple
22. Utah
23. Depaul
24. Kentucky
25. Tulsa
Record
11-0
9-1
12-1
11-2
12-1
11-1
9-2
9-0
10-2
9-4
10-1
104
12-1
9-4
11-2
73
8-3
8-2
11-1
8.2
6-3
11-2
10-3
8-41
13-1
Pts
772
724
723
655
636
582
579
541
512
457
440
368
367
334
304
286
228
227
195
167
160
157
148
98
92
Pvs
1
2
3
4
5
7
8
9
10
6
12
11
13
- 14
16
15
20
18
22
21
17
24
23
25
AFC East
Y - Indianapolis
X- Buffalo
X- Miami
New York Jets
New England
AFC Central
Yz - Jacksonville
X- Tennessee
Baltimore
Pittsburgh
Cincinnati
Cleveland
AFC West
Y - Seattle
Kansas City
Oakland
San Diego
Denver
NFC East
Y - Washington
X- Dallas
New York Giants
Arizona
Philadelphia
NFC. Central
Y - Tampa Bay
X - Minnesota
X - Detroit
Green Bay
Chicago
NFC West
Yz - St. Louis
Carolina
Atlanta
San Francisco
New Orleans
PF
423
320
326
308
299
PF
396
392
324
}317
283
217
PF
338
390
390
269
314
PF
443
352
299
3 245
272
PF
270
399
322
357
272
PF
526
421
285
295
260
PA.
333
229
336
309
284
PA
217
324
277
320
460
437
PA
298
322
329
316
318
PA
377
276
358
382
357
PA
235
335
323
341
341
PA
242
381
380
453
434
COLLEGE BASKETBALL,
EAST
Colgate 68, Cornell 63, OT
Delaware 96, New Hampshire 57
Drexel 58, Boston U. 50
Hofstra 84, Northeastern 45
Y " Won Division Title
X - Clinched Playoff Birth
Yz - Clinched Home Field Advantage
Ron Dayne was only the third player ever to win
after Wisconsin's 17-9 victory over Stanford.
AP PHOTO
two consecutive Rose Bowl MVPs
SPORTS BRIEFS
oppable at Fiesta Bowl
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - At its best,
the option is unstoppable, and Nebraska
was at its best in the second half of the
Fiesta Bowl.
In touchdown drives of 96 and 99
yards, followed by a marathon, 7-
minute, 25-second march to end the
game, the third-ranked Cornhuskers
used a deadly combination of speed and
strength Sunday night to beat No. 6
Tennessee 31-21.
"We had to be the most physical
team," Nebraska quarterback Eric
Crouch said. "1 think it showed."
Crouch was the game's MVP The
shifty, lightning-quick sophomore at
the controls of Nebraska's offense never
was corralled by the Volunteers for
long.
This time, after Tennessee cut the lead
to 17-14 following a fumble by the
Huskers on the first play of the second
half. Then, Nebraska': offense took over.
The Cornhuskers went 96 yards in
nine plays, with Crouch throwing to
wide-open tight end Aaron Goliday for
a 13-yard touchdown and it was 24-14
with 4:44 left in the third quarter.
Crouch never threw another pass.
A perfect punt pinned the Huskers at
their own I the next time they got the
ball, and they went 99 yards in 10 plays
to take a 31-14 lead on Correll
Huckhulter's 2-yard touchdown run
with 12:01 left.
When Tennessee cut the lead to 31-
21 on a trick 44-yard pass play from
wide receiver Cedric Wilson to Donte'
Stallworth with 7:25 to play, it looked
like a comeback was possible.
But the Huskers, whose only loss
was by four points at Texas, never gave
up the ball again and the Vols could do
nothing as ime ran out.
It was a sobering end to Tee Martin's
magnilicent college carer, and it hap-
pened on the same field where he
directed Tennessee to a national chain-
pionship a year- ago.
In his last college game, Martin com-
pleted 19 of 34 passes 1or 223 yards and
a touchdown, lie threw two intercep-
tions. One of them bounced off of
Wilson's chest into the hands of
Nebraska's Joe Walker. Mike Brown,
the game's defensive MVP, made a div-
ing catch of Martin's long bomb for the
other interception.
Carr announces
replacements on
coaching staff
In the wake of the thrilling victory
in the Orange Bowl, Michigan coach
Lloyd Carr announced several addi-
tions to his coaching staff for the
coming season.
In response to former offensive
coordinator Mike DeBord's decision
to take the head coach position at
Central Michigan, Carr promoted
quarterback coach Stan Parrish to
the position. In addition, Carr named
former Michigan player Andy
Moeller as offensive tackles coach.
Parrish coached Michigan's quar-
terbacks for the past four years.
Prior to his tenure at Michigan,
Parrish spent six seasons as quarter-
backs coach at Rutgers, the last three
as a head coach. His head-coaching
resume also includes time at
Wabash, Marshall and Kansas State.
This past season was Parrish's 25th
asa coach on the college circuit.
In the second move, the 35 year-
old son of former Michigan head
coach Gary Moeller was added to
the Michigan staff.
Andy Moeller spent two seasons
in the mid-1980s as the starting line-
backer for the Wolverines and his
326 career tackles still rank as 12th
on Michigan's all-time list. In his
senior year, he helped lead his team
to the Rose Bowl.
Moeller comes to Michigan from
Missouri where he was a coach for
six seasons, helping lead three offen-
Mchigan State's
Burress, Ohio
State's Diggs
declare for NFL
Michigan State wide receiver
Plaxico Burress said Tuesday he
will forgo his senior season for the
Spartans and enter this spring's
NFL draft.
Burress, an all-Big Ten selection,
led the Spartans with 53 catches for
957 yards during the past regular
season. The Spartans' Citrus Bowl
victory Saturday over Florida, he
caught a school-record 13 passes
for 185 yards and three touch-
downs.
"Since I started playing football,
I have dreamed of playing in the
National Football League," Burress
told the Detroit Free Press. "But the*
past two years at Michigan State
have made me think hard about
realizing it early."
Burress, who is 6-foot-6, said
that "his teammates and most
importantly, the fans, have made
this experience truy memorable."
Burress wasn't the only Big Ten
standout to declare NFL draft eligi-
bility on Tuesday.
Linebacker Na'il Diggs, Ohio
State's leading tackler last season,
seldom wavered on the field. But he
sure did in the days and hours lead-
ing up to Tuesday's decision to
forgo his senior season.
The tormented Diggs destroyed
AP ' rr
The Cornhuskers dominated the second half offensively to defeat Tennesse in the
Fiesta Bowl, -21
Marshall shepherds 21-3 victory at Silverdome
By Chris Duprey
Daily Sports Editor
PONTIAC, Mich. - Chad
Pennington's last pass in a Marshall
uniform had to be one of his worst.
The telegraphed throw by the senior
was almost intercepted and returned
"We just kept believing that some-
thing would happen," Brigham
Young's Setema Gali said. "There's
miracles that happen out there in
games. Unfortunately, not for us
today."
The contest wasn't the aerial
complaints, confronting lineman
Matt Johnson in the huddle for
allowing a weak-side blitzer a free
hit.
Feterik took one too many hits,
and was forced out of the game per-
manently in the third quarter with a
Valuable Player award. A 30-yard
reception over the middle from
Pennington with 8:18 remaining in
the second quarter put Marshall
ahead to stay, 7-3.
An 87-yard breakout run at the end
of the third quarter gave the Herd a