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College football around the nation

By Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 19, 2000

Upon further review, the play stands for Gators

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Bobby Gaston, the Southeastern Conference chief of officials, said Monday that the line judge was in the right spot to make the call when he allowed Florida's late touchdown to stand in the Gators' 27-23 win over Tennessee on Saturday.

Line judge Al Matthews ruled that Florida's Jabar Gaffney had possession of the ball in the end zone long enough for a score.

"(Matthews) ruled on what he saw, and my observation is, at this stage at least, I don't have any fault with what he did," Gaston said.

Jesse Palmer's 3-yard pass with 14 seconds left went to Gaffney, who had the ball for an instant before it was knocked away by the Vols' Willie Miles.

The play has generated a great debate, with Vols coach Phillip Fulmer and his players believing the pass was incomplete, and Gators coach Steve Spurrier saying the call could have gone either way.

Gaston wouldn't say whether the play was indeed a catch, only that Matthews did everything he could to make the right call.

"Is he right or wrong? I don't know," Gaston said. "You don't know. Coach Fulmer doesn't know. Coach Spurrier doesn't know. We just know he was looking straight at it and he didn't hesitate with it."

Gaston said the same rule about possession -- "the holding or controlling of a live ball" -- also applied to Travis Henry's touchdown that gave Tennessee a 20-17 lead.

NAVY: Quarterback Brian Broadwater will miss 4-6 weeks after suffering a broken larynx during Saturday's loss to Georgia Tech.

OHIO STATE: John Cooper can relate to Penn State coach Joe Paterno. "It's the same thing I went through last year," the Buckeyes coach said. "It's the same thing all of us go through one time or another in our coaching career." Penn State has lost three of its first four games -- its worst start in 17 years -- as it heads into Saturday's game against the Buckeyes.

UCLA: Kenyon Coleman, one of the top defensive linemen in the country, is scheduled for surgery today to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. He is expected to miss at least three weeks. Fullback Matt Stanley is out at least four weeks with a dislocated his right shoulder.

UTAH: Defensive end Sean Patrick O'Keefe was arrested on charges of breaking a baseball bat over the head of a teenager in Salt Lake City, sending the teen to a hospital with serious head injuries. The freshman walk-on, who was suspended from the team, was being held without bail on suspicion of aggravated assault. Linebacker Corey Dodds also was suspended because the school received information he was involved in the beating, a school spokeswoman said.

WAKE FOREST: Starting quarterback C.J. Leak will miss the rest of the season after injuring his left knee in Saturday's game against Clemson.

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