Steve Harvey : Missouri Showed Off Again

THE COLLEGES

Midwest writers, borrowing a wrestling term, had billed this battle of the beatens as the Cage Match, meaning neither team would be allowed out of the stadium until one had a victory for 1985.

Just when it seemed as if they might be there all night, Missouri (0-7) rallied to lose the I-70 Rest Stop showdown to Kansas State, 17-20. Only four more losses and the Tigers’ name will be permanently inscribed in the Bottom Ten Hall of Fame, currently located in an old bus parked somewhere on Pacific Coast Highway.

K-O State (1-6) seemed to have so much going against it, too. Not only were there the losses to Northern Iowa and North Texas State but there was the incident in which a K-O State supporter actually jumped out of the stands and physically attacked the Mean Green mascot of North Texas.

As for the the incredible University of Texas at El Four Intercepted BYU Pasos . . . say it ain’t Paso!

The Rankings:

Team, Record Last Loss Next Loss 1. Missouri (0-7) 17-20, Kan. State Iowa State 2. Tulane (0-7) Idle Georgia 3. Columbia (0-6) 10-13, Bucknell Colgate 4. N.C. State (1-7) 10-39, Clemson S. Carolina 5. Duke (2-5) 10-40, Maryland Georgia Tech 6. BYU (6-2) 16-23, UTEP Wyoming 7. Houston (1-6) 27-57, Arkansas TCU 8. NMexSt(1-6) Queen Mary Idle 9. Cornell (0-6) 17-20, Dartmouth Bucknell 10. USC (3-3) 3-37, Notre Dame Wash. St.

11. Boston College (3-6); 12. New Mexico (1-6); 13. Wyoming (1-6); 14. Washington State (2-6); 15. Cal (3-5); 16. Wake Forest (3-5); 17. Dartmouth (1-5); 18. Pentagon (at sea) (3-4); 19. Vanderbilt (2-5); 20. Kansas State (1-6).

ROUT OF THE WEEK: Canceled, due to upset wins of Oregon State over 38-point favorite Washington and UTEP over 36-point favorite BYU in last two weeks.

CRUMMY GAME OF THE WEEK: BYU (6-2) vs. Wyoming (1-6).

SPECIAL CITATION: To the New York Times for these prognostications last Saturday: BYU over UTEP: “This might just be one of the season’s biggest margins of victory.” (UTEP won, 23-16). Texas over SMU: “Longhorns are catching Mustangs at a good time as SMU is slipping.” (SMU won, 44-14.)

THE PROS

And still there was one with none. Tampa-at-Bay (0-8) found out that there’s nothing like giving up 32 points in a row to cut down on your chances of winning a game. The Bucs can’t stop here, though. Buffalo (1-7) is still within striking-out distance in the Bottom Ten race.

Several other streaks were also in the news. The Bears’ 315-pound William (Amana) Perry played no offense against No. 9 Minnesota and there were no Refrigerator jokes for more than 48 hours afterward. Except, if Perry ever played in New York, would that be a case of the Refrigerator going into the Big Apple, instead of the other way around? Sorry.

In Anaheim, Lamb running back Eric Dickerson failed to gain 100 yards for the fifth straight game as No. 10 Anaheim fell to San Francisco. Dickerson is fast closing in on the record of the legendary George Blanda, who failed to run for more than 100 yards in 340 consecutive NFL games.

And, was it any surprise that St. Louis showed little offense in its 10-20 loss to Houston?

The Rankings:

Team, Record Last Loss Next Loss 1. TmpaBay (0-8) 14-32, N.Englnd NJGnts 2. Buffalo (1-7) 17-21, Philad. Cincinnati 3. St. Louis (3-4) 0-11, Kansas City 1986 4. Atlanta (1-7) 10-24, Dallas Washington 5. Green Bay (3-5) 10-37, Indianap. Chicago

6. Pitt (3-5); 7. New Orleans (3-5); 8. Kansas City (NFL only) (3-5); 9. Minnesota (4-4); 10. Anaheim Rams (7-1).

CRUMMY GAME OF THE WEEK: Cincinnati (3-5) at Buffalo (1-7) (a real drudge match).

ROUT OF THE WEEK: Dallas (6-2) over St. Louis (3-5) (Tudor doubtful).