Arkansas, ASU Play in Holiday

Arkansas will face Arizona State in the Dec. 22 Holiday Bowl at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

The Razorbacks (9-2) accepted a Holiday Bowl bid after it lost last week to Texas A&M;, 10-6, thus falling out of the Southwest Conference race. The Razorbacks (9-2) concluded regular-season play Saturday by defeating Southern Methodist, 15-9.

Third-ranked Iowa and No. 5-ranked Oklahoma clinched the titles in their conferences Saturday as the New Year’s Day bowl situation solidified.

Iowa (10-1) defeated Minnesota, 31-9, to win the Big Ten championship and earn a trip to the the Rose Bowl against UCLA on New Year’s Day.

When UCLA lost to USC Saturday afternoon, Arizona State (8-3) had a shot at earning a spot in the Rose Bowl. But the Sun Devils lost to Arizona, 16-13, Saturday night.

Defense has been the forte of Arkansas. It allowed only two rushing touchdowns all season, none in eight Southwest Conference games. The Razorbacks, who were seventh in the nation defensively before Saturday, have allowed an average of 11.7 points a game.

Ken Hatfield, second-year coach at Arkansas, formerly coached at Air Force for five years. Air Force could have clinched a Holiday Bowl berth in any of the past seven years by winning the Western Athletic Conference, but Brigham Young won the WAC each year. The Holiday Bowl is inviting two at-large teams for the first time in 1985.

“I always said I would be at the Holiday Bowl some day,” Hatfield said. “I didn’t know I would have to go to the Ozarks to get there.”

Oklahoma (8-1) upset No. 2 Nebraska, 27-7, to win the Big Eight title and move into the Orange Bowl at Miami on New Year’s night against No. 1 Penn State (11-0).

After the loss, the Cornhuskers (9-2) accepted an invitation to the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1 at Tempe, Ariz., against No. 6-ranked Michigan (9-1-1). The Wolverines beat 12th-ranked Ohio State, 27-17.

Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said he couldn’t believe there were any teams in the country better than Oklahoma.

“If they play like they played today, most people around the country are going to have an awfully hard time with them,” Osborne said of the Sooners. “They’re probably the best team in the country right now.”

Two other New Year’s Day bowls--the Cotton and Sugar--are still awaiting the outcome of conference races. Unranked Texas upset 15th-ranked Baylor, 17-10, to set up a Thanksgiving Day showdown with Texas A&M; for the Southwest Conference title and a berth in the Cotton Bowl at Dallas against Auburn (8-2).

No. 4-ranked Miami of Florida (9-1) accepted an invitation to play in the Sugar Bowl at New Orleans against the Southeastern Conference champion, which could be either Tennessee, Alabama or LSU. No. 16-ranked Tennessee (7-1-2) beat Kentucky, 42-0, and needs a win over Vanderbilt next weekend to clinch the SEC title. If Tennessee should lose and Alabama beats Auburn, the Crimson Tide would finish with a 4-1-1 conference record, identical to LSU’s. Since the tie came when Alabama and LSU played each other, the Sugar Bowl committee would have to pick which team would play on New Year’s Day.

Two Dec. 31 bowls--the Peach and the All-American--also were filled Saturday. Army (8-2) and Illinois (6-4-1) will compete in the Peach Bowl at Atlanta, and Michigan State (7-4) and Georgia Tech (7-2-1) accepted invitations to the All-American Bowl at Birmingham, Ala.

Air Force (10-1) accepted an invitation to play in the Bluebonnet Bowl the same day in Houston against an undetermined opponent, probably the loser of the Texas-Texas A&M; game.

The Gator Bowl on Dec. 30 at Jacksonville, Fla., will pit Florida State (8-2) against Oklahoma State (8-2). Washington (6-5) will go to the Freedom Bowl at Anaheim, probably against Colorado or Tennessee, if the Vols fail to win the SEC title.

Ohio State (8-3) and Brigham Young (10-2) accepted invitations to the Florida Citrus Bowl at Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 28.

The Sun Bowl, on Dec. 28 at El Paso, Tex., will pit Georgia (7-2-1) against Arizona (8-3), and the Aloha Bowl, also on Dec. 28, in Honolulu has matched West Virginia (6-3-1) against Alabama (7-2-1) if the Crimson Tide doesn’t win the SEC.

The first Division I-A bowl of the season will be the California Bowl Dec. 14 at Fresno between Bowling Green (11-0) and Fresno State (10-0-1).

On Dec. 21, Clemson (6-5) and Minnesota (6-5) will play in the Independence Bowl at Shreveport, La., and Syracuse (7-3) has accepted an invitation to the Cherry Bowl at Pontiac, Mich., against Maryland (7-3).

The Dec. 27 Liberty Bowl at Memphis, Tenn., will send Baylor (8-3) against an undetermined opponent that could be LSU if the Tigers do not win the SEC and go to the Sugar Bowl.