In the Cotton Bowl, It’s Flutie’s Supporting Cast That Stars

Bostonians named an ice cream--Tutti Flutie--for Doug Flutie after he overcame the Miami Hurricanes, but a 17-m.p.h. wind from the north Tuesday at the Cotton Bowl was more than a match for the Boston College quarterback.

Nevertheless, Flutie, 5-9 3/4, proved once and for all that he is not too short to hand off in the pros.

Gaining 533 yards in total offense, 353 on the ground, Boston College scored more points than any team ever has in the Cotton Bowl and beat Houston, 45-28.

Flutie threw three touchdown passes, including one for 63 yards, but the Heisman Trophy winner called it a “very mediocre” day for him.

He threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, and completed only 13 of 37 passes for 180 yards. He completed only 2 of 13 passes for 14 yards in the second half.

While the other Boston College players weren’t necessarily pleased to see Flutie struggling in the wind, on a slippery field, against a blitzing Houston defense, they were grateful that they finally were recognized for their contributions to the team in a 10-2 season.

They were as amazed as everyone else by Flutie’s last-second heroics against Miami in the next-to-last regular-season game, but several of the players admitted Tuesday that they were bothered because they weren’t given more credit for their roles in the 47-45 victory over the Hurricanes.

To them, this victory was more significant. “Doug definitely deserves everything he’s gotten,” defensive tackle Scott Harrington said, “but this was one of those days when we crawled out from under his shadow.”

Guard Mark Bardwell said: “A lot of people say Doug Flutie is the football team, but he’s surrounded by a lot of great players.”

The Eagles would not have won Tuesday without the running of tailback Troy Stradford, who gained 198 yards on 20 carries, or fullback Steve Strachan, who gained 93 yards on 23 carries, or without an underrated offensive line that consistently opened holes for them.

The Eagles would not have won Tuesday without a defense that limited the Cougars (7-5) to two touchdowns and was directly responsible for 17 first-half points by turning the ball over to Flutie’s offense at the Houston 26, 15 and 39.

“Everybody before the game was talking about offense, offense, offense, Flutie, Flutie, Flutie,” Boston College Coach Jack Bicknell said. “The defense came in with the idea of proving to people that they had something to do with our being here.”

Six plays after an interception gave the Eagles the ball at the Houston 39, they scored their fourth touchdown of the first half and had a 31-7 lead with 1:41 remaining before halftime.

Houston’s only score had come on a 98-yard kickoff return by Earl Allen.

But while the Cougars’ sophomore quarterback, Gerald Landry, had missed on his first 10 passes, he finally completed one with less than a minute remaining in the first half, a 38-yarder to tight end Carl Hilton to the Boston College 24.

Three plays later, Landry completed another--a 15-yarder to flanker Larry Shepherd for a touchdown. Boston College’s halftime lead was 31-14.

That is the way it remained until 10 minutes into the third quarter, when Landry hit Hilton for 26 yards. Two plays later, running back Rodney Tate carried for 33 yards to the Boston College two. He scored on the next play. With 4:04 remaining in the third quarter, the Cougars were within 10 of the Eagles, 31-21.

Two plays after the kickoff, on second and nine from the Boston College 18, Flutie was pressured by Houston’s rush. Instead of taking the sack or throwing the ball away, he threw over the middle.

The ball slipped off his hand and into the hands of Houston safety Audrey McMillian, who returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. With 3:10 remaining in the third quarter, the Eagles’ lead was 31-28.

“Our kids were beginning to pucker up,” Bicknell said.

The crowd of 56,522 was beginning to get interested again.

On the Cougars’ first offensive play of the fourth quarter, Landry ran for 14 yards to the Houston 48. Tate then broke off right tackle for 22 yards to the Boston College 30. The Cougars were rolling.

But Hilton was flagged for clipping on the play, bringing the Cougars back to their 37. On second down, they were caught holding. When they finally punted from their own 31, it carried only 12 yards into the wind.

“We had the momentum going, and I thought we were going to win,” Landry said, who complained about the officials. “The penalties stopped us. They broke our backs.”

Realizing that Flutie was having difficulty adjusting to the wind, Bicknell finally deserted the passing attack that has been so successful this season for the Eagles.

Nine straight runs into the center of the line by Stradford and Strachan netted 44 yards and Boston College’s first touchdown of the second half with 5:45 remaining.

Runs of 37 and 18 yards by Stradford resulted in a final touchdown with 1:08 remaining.