UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, August 18, 1993
15B
Player losses leave Irish fighting
The Associated Press
It has been five years since Notre Dame entered a football season with so many holes to fill. It has been exactly that long since the Fighting Irish won a national championship.
If a major building project foreshadows a big year in South Bend, Ind, the circumstances are right in 1993.
In 1988, 10 players, including six sophomores, made their first college start as the
Irish beat Michigan in their season opener. Three freshmen were starters by the time Notre Dame capped its 12-0 season. This year, 12 starters are gone.
The Irish face a typically grueling schedule with a completely retooled offense and a defense that could be among the nation's best.
When preseason practice began, six players who never started a college game were the front-runners at
their positions. Five more have started two games or fewer.
Defense, Dame, will be the key if Notre Dame will be the key if the Irish are to survive a schedule that includes a second-week trip to Michigan and Florida State's visit to South Bend in the second-to-last week.
Seven starters return from a defensive unit that improved dramatically last season. It finished at the ninth-best run
defense in the country, giving up 111.1 yards per game.
But most of the attention prior to the Sept. 4 opener against Northwestern will be on the Irish quarterbacks.
Senior Kevin McDougal emerged from spring practice with a narrow edge over junior Paul Failla. They will be challenged by freshman Ron Poulus, widely considered the best prep player in America last year.
Fighting Irish
Last year's record:
10-1-1
1992 postseason
1992 AP end-of-season ranking; No. 4
1992 postseason play. Cotton Bowl victor over Texas A&M, 28-3
Season opener: Northwestern
One call: best yet 'Huskers
The Associated Press
In his 21st season as head coach at Nebraska. Tom Osborne says the Cornhusker football team on the field this fall will be the most athletically gifted of them all.
The Cornhuskers
Headlining the list will be I-back Calvin Jones, a junior who twice led the Big Eight Conference in scoring
"I'd be hard put to say we've had a more athletic team, but there are a few spots that are thin." Osborne said last week as he greeted his squad for its annual media day fall kickoff. "But I'd say our overall team speed, the top 25 or 30 players on both sides of the ball, are about as good as we've ever tred."
Last year's record: 9-3
1992 AP end-of-season ranking:
No. 14
1992 postseason play:
Orange Bowl defeat to Florida State. 27-14
Season opener: North Texas
and is the defending rushing champ for the league. Also on the list is sophomore quarterback Tommie Frazier, who became the first true freshman to win the starting job at his position and led Nebraska to the Big Eight title and Orange Bowlerber.
Speed has been a hot topic at Nebraska over the past several seasons. It seems to have led to several disappointing bowl losses against some of the nation's best and fastest teams — Miami and Florida State
The Huskers dropped a 27-14 decision to Florida State in last season's Orange Bowl.
Syracuse a contender despite loss of talent
The Associated Press
Syracuse's offense will be missing last year's top scorer, leading rusher and two of its most productive receiver.
So why is the offense considered so potent, and why is there talk of the Orangemen competing for a national championship this season?
One reason: Marvin Graves.
During three seasons as a starter, Graves has emerged as one of the nation's top quarterbacks. He was second in the nation in passing efficiency in 1992 while running Syracuse's complicated freeze option offense. He threw for 2,296 yards and 14 touchdowns.
With Graves returning, Syracuse thinks it can supplant Miami atop the Big East Conference and challenge for the national title in 1993.
The Orangemen
Last year's record: 10-2
1992 postseason play: Fies
1992 AP end-of-season rank ing: No. 6
1992 postseason play: Fiesa
baiw victory over Colorado,
26-22
Season opener: Ball State
can tight end Chris Gedney, leading rusher David Walker, leading receiver Qadyr Ismail and leading scorer, kicker John Biskup, the 1993 Orangen will be more than a one-man show.
Syracuse still has a dozen starters returning and enough talented under-classmen to fill most of the holes.
The Orangemen's toughest tests figure to come Sept. 18 at Texas and Oct. 23 at the Orange Bowl against Miami.
Charges could keep Washington from bowl
The Associated Press
The Washington Huskies, 31-5 in the past three years, hope to play in their fourth straight Rose Bowl on New Year's Day and are the preseason favorite. However, the Huskies' fate might be determined before they play their first game.
Coach Don James and university officials met with the Pac-10 Enforcement Committee in San Francisco this week. The committee will review the case and determine punishment, if any, later this month.
The school's football program faces a series of charges by the conference, including alleged improprieties involving Husky boosters and athletes.
So when the Huskies open their season against highly regarded Stanford on Sept. 4 in Seattle, their Rose Bowl hopes may already be dashed.
"We'll be glad when all this is past," said James, about to begin his 19th season as Washington's coach and the career leader among Pac-10 coaches with 97 league victories.
The Huskies
Even with the losses of All-Ameri-
Last year's record: 9-3
1992 AP end-of-season rank ing: No. 11
1992 postseason play: Rose
1992 postseason play; Rose Bowl defeat to Michigan,
38-31
"We've been living with this for a number of months."
"I would think that there are probably about a half-dozen teams in our league that can win the title," James said. "I think our league race is probably as wide open as it's ever been."
Season opener: Stanford
Even if the verdict is favorable. Washington has no automatic ticket back to Pasadena.
Bill Walsh, Stanford coach,
returned a year ago and led the Cardinals to a 10-3 record, including a 24-3 victory over Penn State in the Blockbuster Bowl.
Aggies look to past for future victories
The Texas A&M Aggies aren't trying to forget their season-ending loss to Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl.
The Associated Press
"You always think about your last game," Inebacker Jason Atkinson said. "If we'd won, we might have been more complacent. Now we have every reason to get back to the Cotton Bowl and prove that we can win one."
They want to remember every gruesome detail.
The Aggies have flirted with the national championship the past two seasons, but have come up short both times in the Cotton Bowl. Two years ago, they lost to Florida State 10-2 in Dallas. Last season, the Aggies fell to Notre Dame 28-3.
That has given the Aggies even more incentive to win a third straight Southwest Conference title and another shot at the Cotton Bowl.
The Aggies are heavily favored to win the SWC title with 16 returning starters from last season's 12-1 team that was filled with freshmen and sophomores.
The Aggies may have to start the season without leading rusher Greg Hill, one of four A&M players suspended before the Cotton Bowl over a summer job controversy. Hill and six other players could miss one or more games this season because of the infractions.
But there is plenty of defensive talent returning, including Atkinson, cornerback Aaron Glenn, and lineman Sam Adams. Glenn upd
The Aggies must replace star defensive players Marcus Buckley and Patrick Bates and find a pointer to fill in for All-SWC leader David Davis.
The Aggies
Last year's record: 121
1992 AP end-of-season ranking: No. 7
1992 postseason play: Cotton Bowl defeat to Notre Dame, 28-3
Season opener:
Louisiana State
SWC-record 20 passes last season, and Atkinson was the team's leading tackler.
"We're going to be better than we were last year," Atkinson said. "We lost some players on defense, but we've got some others back and we've got some good replacements coming in. We're really excited about trying to get back to the Cotton Bowl."
Quarterback Corey Pullig, who started the final five games as a freshman last season, is back to lead the Aggies' offense.
But their offensive strength should be a powerful running game that features Hill, Rodney Thomas and newcomer Leelain McEliro. Hill has run for 2,555 yards in only two seasons, and topped the 100-mark 14 times.
The Aggies tried to diversify their offense with passes to Tony Harrison and Ryan Mathews last year, and the goal is the same this season. But they won't forget how to run.
"it's kind of hard to forget about the running game, but we've concentrated a whole lot on the passing game and we're doing real well." Pallig said.
Shortcomings do not stop Florida Gators
The Associated Press
Steve Spurrier peruses the numbers and wonders how his team ever won nine games.
Florida led the Southeastern Conference in passing for the third consecutive season and was the only team in the nation to feature both a 3,000-yard passer and a running back who gained more than 900 yards.
One of the SEC's strongest defenses the past decade, Florida slipped to ninth in total defense, ninth in scoring defense and last — 12th — in pass defense.
opponents gamed were the most since 1982. Go back to 1766 to find a Florida team that gave up 274 points.
Spurrier's team battled back from a 1-2 start to win seven consecutive games and claim the SEC East. After losing to Florida State in the regular-season finale and Alabama in the inaugural SEC championship game, Florida finished 9-4 by beating North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl.
The team's 28-8 record under Spurrier, including 10-4 in the SEC and a sparkling 18-0 at home, is the best three-year stretch in school history. And the young but
The 343 yards per game that
experienced Gators should be even better this season.
Ten starters return on offense, and the Gators' defense figures to get stingier If Spurrier gets the kind of pass rush and improved play in the secondary that he is looking for.
Terry Dean is the lone new starter on offense, replacing two-time SEC player of the year Shane Matthews at quarterback.
Dean, a 6-foot-2-inch, 204-pound junior, saw limited action in 1992, completing 13 of 35 passes for 174 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The last time Spurrier started the season
with an mpexpened quarterback, Matthews threw for 2,952 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Six of the Gators' top seven receivers are back including Harrison Houston and Willie Jackson.
The running game was less productive a year ago, but Errict Rhett is healthy again after gaining 1,109 yards in 1991 and 903 yards in 1992.
Spurrier looks for continued improvement from an offensive line anchored by sophomores Reggie Green and Jason Odom, who started as freshmen.
The Gators
Junior Michael Gilmore and redshirt freshmen Anthone
1992 end-of-season ranking: No. 10
Last year's record:
9-4
1992 postseason
play: Gator Bowl victory
over North Carolina
State. 27-10
Season opener:
Arkansas State
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