8Football 1984September 13, 1984
Race is wide open for college football title
By SCOTT SMITH
Staff Writer
This year's race for. the national
championship should be one of the
most wide-open ever.
At least 15 teams look on paper
as if they can go all the way, with
the right breaks. That lends sup
port to the theory of growing
parity in college football that
coaches are always talking about.
Even the so-called experts had
trouble in pre-season polls predict
ing who will be No. 1. For
instance, in many polls Auburn
was picked to finish first, but in
one poll they couldn't even be
found in the Top 20.
The following is a composite
Top 20 of the AP, UPI, Sports
Illustrated, Sport, The Sporting
News, Street and Smith and
Playboy preseason polls:
Auburn
With Heisman candidate Bo
Jackson, a running back who
could make the South forget about
Herschel Walker, and a stingy
defense with four possible All
Americans, this team is the con
sensus pre-season pick to take it
all.
Junior tailback Jackson, a 222
pound superman who had a 7.7
yards per carry average last year,
spearheads a potent wishbone
attack. The only missing piece to
the offensive puzzle is at quarter
back, where flawless triple-option
threat Randy Campbell has grad
uated. Junior Pat Washington, a
gifted passer, looks to be the man
to fill the job.
Defensive end Gerald Robin
son, tackle Ben Thomas, line
backer Greg Carr and cornerback
David King anchor another strong
Tiger defense.
Even with the opening-game
loss to defending champ Miami,
coach Pat Dye should have plenty
to smile about this season.
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Clemson
Although probation keeps the
Tigers ineligible for the ACC title,
it doesn't hinder them from going
undefeated and being voted
number one in the final AP poll.
Both are good possibilities, as
coach Danny Ford directs his best
team since the 1981 national
championship club. Forty-seven
lettermen return, including an
especially strong senior class.
The always-tough Clemson
defense will be particularly stingy
this season. Mammoth noseguard
William Perry (6-3, 320), a pre
season All-America pick, heads up
a veteran cast that will be tough
to penetrate.
Offensively, firepower abounds
as underrated QB Mike Eppley is
back to call signals for a veteran
crew that includes elusive running
backs Stacy Driver and Terrence
Flagler and what Ford calls one
of the best Tiger receiving corps
in a while. Those receivers include
wide-outs Terrence Rhoulac and
Shelton Boyer, plus tight end K.D.
Dunn.
All in all, probation won't keep
Clemson fans from enjoying one
of its best teams ever. It's no
accident that Clemson is the only
school in the ACC that puts
football ahead of basketball.
Texas
Only a narrow 10-9 loss to
Georgia in the Cotton Bowl kept
the Longhorns from going unde
feated and winning the national
championship last season. This
season, if everyone stays healthy
coach Fred Aker's team could
have the same opportunities as last
year.
The reason the Longhorns must
keep a clean bill of health is two
fold. Both starting QB Rob Moer
schell and multi-talented tailback
Edwin Simmons went down with
TSie
Mon.-Sat. 10-9
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injuries at mid-season last year and
weren't able to come back.
Both are presumably healthy
this year and should add some
punch to what was, at times, an
anemic offense last season. Akers
is looking for a big year in
particular from Simmons, who is
said to be the most dynamic back
in the Southwest Conference.
Texas had the number one
defensive unit in the country last
year. However, seven starters are
gone and that has Longhorn
coaches worried. Still, this team
should be a powerhouse if it can
hold steady on defense and Sim
mons fulfills his promise at
tailback.
Nebraska
Last year many said the Corn
huskers' second string could beat
most first units in the country. This
year well be able to see if that's
true.
Although they return eight
starters on defense, the Nebraska
offense will not resemble last year's
high-powered attack at all. Gone
are the likes of QB Turner Gill,
Heisman Trophy winner Mike
Rozier and number one NFL pick
Irving Fryar.
Trying to fill those spots will be
QB Craig Sundberg, RB Jeff
Smith, who sparked the Orange
Bowl comeback against Miami,
and wingback Shane Swanson,
who coach Tom Osborne says
lacks Fryar's explosiveness but has
better hands.
Blocking for those people will
be the usual tank-like Nebraska
offensive line. This year's version
averages 265 pounds and is led by
guard Harry Grimminger.
The defense will probably be
even better than last year, as free
safety Bret Clark heads up a
particularly strong defensive
backfield.
While probably not winning by
the same 73-6 scores as last year,
this year's Nebraska club should
i find its way back to Miami for
a fourth-straight Orange Bowl and
Big Eight championship.
Pittsburgh
If the Panthers can get past a
tough early-season schedule,
coach Foge Fazio's troups could
be in line for an outstanding year.
In all, 45 lettermen return.
Leading the cast of offensive
returnees is junior QB John Con
gemi, who took over the signal
r
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calling midway through last year
and showed a fine arm. Marlon
Mclntyre and Chuck Scales make
up a potent backfield. But the real
offensive strength is in the offen
sive line, where two-time All
American Bill Fralic paces one of
the country's best interior lines.
Senior linebacker Troy Benson
heads up what is always a tough
defense. Only a young defensive
line keeps this contingent from
being one of the best.
If Fazio can get that young line
to come of age in a hurry, Pitt
can again lay claim to being the
best in the East, if not the entire
country.
UCLA
It's hard to believe that the
Bruins bounced back from a 0-3-1
start last year to win their second
straight Pac-10 title, but they did.
After a few lax years in the late
70s and early 80s, coach Terry
Donahue has been quietly building
some solid football teams. With
superior personnel and back-to-back
super recruiting years, this
could be a team for the 80s.
Senior QB Steve Bono will lead
a dynamic passing attack centered
around a talented crew of receivers
that include Mike Sherrod (48
catches last year), Mike Young
and tight end Karl Dorrell. What
running the Bruins do will be
handled by senior tailback Danny
Andrews.
On defense Donahue returns six
starters and several other expe
rienced players. All Pac-10 line
backer Neal Dellocono highlights
a solid contingent.
Another plus is the kicking
game, where junior John Lee
made 31 of 39 field goals last year.
Overall, with seven home
games, this UCLA squad could be
in the thick of the national cham
pionship derby if it fulfills the
promise of its immense talent.
Notre Dame
Under Gerry Faust, the Irish
have always been a perennial pre
season top 10 pick, but somehow
always seem to fizzle out by mid
season. The experts have to rate
this team high, if for nothing else,
their unbelievable talent. With
good recruiting under his belt, all
Faust has to do is mold this unit
and it should come out looking
like a masterpiece.
Sophomore quarterback Steve
Beuerlein, junior RB Allen Pin-
St
kett, who could break the school
rushing record this season, and
defensive tackle Mike Golic (6-5,
257) are at the top of a star
studded list of returnees.
Faust has a lot of talented pieces
to a winning puzzle in 1984. The
only question is, after three years
will he finally be able to put it
together?
Arizona State
Three things make you want to
bet that the Sun' Devils will have
their best season ever in 1984: (1)
there are eight home games dotting
the schedule, (2) the defense
returns 21 of the top 22 players
and (3) Luis Zendejas, probably
the best kicker in the NCAA, is
back.
However, there are some ques
tion marks. Foremost of them is
how well third-year QB Jeff Von
Rasphorst will replace the
departed Todd Hons. Coach Dar
ryl Rogers says Van Rasphorst's
leadership qualities will make him
successful in engineering an explo
sive Sun Devil offense.
That offense will include last
year's Pac-10 rushing runner-up
Darryl Clack (932 yards) and
strong fullback Channing Willi
ams. Doug Allen and Paul Day
are veteran receivers.
All-America hopeful safety
David Fulcher, who had 110
tackles last year, leads an offense
that coach Rogers says should
carry the team through the first
half of the season.
If all goes as expected, ASU
could get its first taste of the Rose
Bowl and national limelight in
1984.
Michigan
Last year's 9-3 team that played
Auburn to a virtual standstill in
the Sugar Bowl, returns a good
nucleus this year. With the excep
tion of graduated QB Steve Smith,
the offense is pretty much back
intact.
That offense will feature the
Rogers and Hammerstein show.
However, this orchestra will not
be playing music. The brother
tandem of Mark and Mike Ham
merstein will be opening holes for
tailback Rick Rogers, who gained
1000 yards last year, to spearhead
the offense. Junior Jim Harbaugh
will be the new quarterback, in
what coach Bo Schembechler is
See TOP 20, page 20
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