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College football briefs

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 21, 2000

Southern Miss tops TCU late

MOBILE, Ala. -- Jeff Kelly's 29-yard touchdown pass to freshman Kenny Johnson with eight seconds left lifted Southern Mississippi to a 28-21 victory Wednesday over No. 13 Texas Christian in the Mobile Alabama Bowl.

TCU tailback LaDanian Tomlinson ran for 118 yards, his lowest total of the season. The Heisman Trophy finalist carried 28 times and scored twice in the third quarter.

The Golden Eagles (8-4) got a second chance after a fourth missed field goal and trusted their senior quarterback instead of the shaky kicking game.

With 33 seconds left, they took over at the TCU 43-yard line after Mobile native Etric Pruitt got a hand on Mark Haulman's punt.

Kelly threw two incompletions, then scrambled 14 yards for a first down. On the next play, he threw the winning score over the middle above safety LaVar Veale's outstretched arm, victimizing the nation's top defense.

The Horned Frogs (10-2) endured a December coaching change and uncertainty over who would lead them into the game. Former defensive coordinator Gary Patterson replaced Dennis Franchione, the new coach at Alabama, on the sideline.

Southern Miss had two chances for a go-ahead score with just over two minutes left. For the fourth time, Brant Hanna kicked a low line drive, this one a 32-yarder that failed to clear TCU's defensive line.

It was the second block of the night for the junior, who was 12-of-18 in the regular season.

Minnesota: 13 misused code

MINNEAPOLIS -- At least 13 Minnesota players misused a university telephone access code and will be suspended until they repay about $420 in charges.

A preliminary investigation found that the players admitted using the code but denied knowing it was for university-authorized use only.

University general counsel Mark Rotenberg, who is overseeing the investigation, said because the investigation did not find that any players received the code from a university employee as a benefit, the school believes no NCAA violations occurred. The incident has been reported to the NCAA.

Rotenberg said more than 1,500 improper calls worth more than $1,600 were charged by athletes and non-athletes from Aug. 29-Nov. 29.

Rotenberg said his office would continue to investigate and it is likely the number of improper calls and dollar value will rise. He said it wasn't known who obtained the code.

Coach Glen Mason informed the players after practice of their punishment and said he expected all of them to repay the money before the Dec. 28 Micronpc.com Bowl.

ALCORN ST.: Coach Johnny Thomas will return after an 0-11 season, but offensive coordinator Riley Murry Jr. and defensive coordinator Tyrone Jones were fired.

GEORGIA: Former Auburn coach Pat Dye would be interested in coaching the Bulldogs, his son said. Dye, 61, left the sidelines in 1992 after winning four SEC championships at Auburn. He was named All-American as an offensive lineman at Georgia in 1959 and 1960.

MARYLAND: Tom Brattan left Stanford to become offensive line coach.

NOTRE DAME: Tight end Jabari Holloway is expected to miss the Fiesta Bowl because of a torn ligament in his right knee, an injury he sustained against Rutgers on Nov. 18.

OHIO STATE: Wide receiver Reggie Germany, second on the team with 22 catches, will miss the Jan. 1 Outback Bowl in Tampa because of academic problems. The Columbus Dispatch reported that Germany missed classes.

SYRACUSE: Quarterback Chad Elliott is transferring to an NAIA school without playing for the Orangemen. He said he would have been academically ineligible for the spring semester. He hadn't chosen another school.

TEXAS A&M: Offensive lineman Michael Mahan ended his career because of an irregular heart condition, coach R.C. Slocum said. Mahan, a sophomore, has had two surgeries this fall to correct Wolf-Parkinson-White Syndrome, an irregularity of the heart.

LAS VEGAS BOWL: Randy Black remembers watching as a redshirt freshman while UNLV lost its opener to Tennessee by 59 points. He has painful memories of an 0-11 season as a sophomore, part of a 16-game winless stretch.

No wonder the safety is so excited about finishing his college career in the spot he never figured to be playing in a bowl in his town tonight against Arkansas.

"I'm not sure you guys understand how big this is to me," Black said. "Going through what we went through, this is a real big deal to me."

Black, a hometown product, is the inspirational leader of a defense that has come a long way from his redshirt season, when the Rebels gave up 50 points a game.

This season's defense was more than four touchdowns better (allowing 21.8 points a game) as the Rebels continued an improbable rebound under coach John Robinson. UNLV gets a chance to show just how far the program has come in a game it was invited to only after winning its last three games and only because it is the hometown team.

The selection process matters little to the long-suffering UNLV players, though.

"We're so happy to be able to play in this bowl. I'm just speechless," said tackle John Greer, a former walk-on.

Las Vegas Bowl

WHO: UNLV vs. Arkansas.

WHEN/WHERE: 8 tonight; Las Vegas.

TV: ESPN2.

RECORDS: UNLV 7-5; Arkansas 6-5.

COACHES: UNLV -- John Robinson (10-13, second season; 114-48-4 overall); Arkansas -- Houston Nutt (23-12, third season; 59-34).

NOTES: Each school gets $800,000. UNLV is 2-0 in bowls, Arkansas 10-17-3. This is the schools' first meeting. After losing Nov. 11 at Tennessee 63-20, the Razorbacks rallied to Mississippi State and LSU. Arkansas quarterback Robby Hampton (sprained shoulder) should start. UNLV, 0-11 in 1998, is in its first bowl since 1994. The Rebels won their final three games by a combined 13 points.

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