OTHER GAMES : Oklahoma Can Move Up, but Just to No. 2, as New Year’s Day 1987 Is for Also-Rans

Just a year ago, Oklahoma went into the Orange Bowl game ranked third in the country behind Penn State and Miami of Florida.

Same as today.

The Sooners wound up with the national championship when they defeated No. 1 Penn State in the Orange Bowl, 25-10, and No. 2 Miami was upset by Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl, 35-7.

The Sooners won’t win another national title today. Oklahoma, one of only two teams to be ranked No. 1 this season, surrendered its claim when it lost to Miami in September, 28-16.

Instead, the No. 3 Sooners (10-1) will be playing No. 9 Arkansas (9-2) in Miami for a possible shot at No. 2.

Other high-ranked teams playing in New Year’s Day bowl games--such as Sugar Bowl rivals No. 5 LSU (9-2) and No. 6 Nebraska (9-2) and Cotton Bowl foes No. 8 Texas A&M; (9-2) and No. 11 Ohio State (9-3)--are also out of the running.

Because the national championship will be determined Friday when No. 1 Miami (11-0) plays No. 2 Penn State (11-0) in the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl at Tempe, Ariz.

Although the No. 1 ranking is out of the question for Oklahoma, there still is more at stake than its eight-game winning streak. The Big Eight champions have an old score to settle with the Razorbacks of the Southwest Conference.

Nine years ago, Oklahoma went to the Orange Bowl ranked second in the nation, needing only to beat Arkansas on that night of Jan. 2, 1978, to wind up No. 1.

Earlier in the day, No. 1-ranked Texas lost in the Cotton Bowl to Notre Dame, leaving the door open for Oklahoma. Instead, the Razorbacks, coached at the time by Lou Holtz, unleashed a back named Roland Sales for a record 205 yards and beat Oklahoma, an 18-point favorite, 31-6, in one of the bowl’s biggest upsets.

Once again, Oklahoma is an 18-point favorite.

THE ORANGE BOWL

Oklahoma’s Butkus Award-winning linebacker, 6-2, 238-pound Brian Bosworth, isn’t eligible for today’s game (Channel 4, 5:30 p.m.) because of steroid use. But that shouldn’t hamper the only lineup ever to lead the nation in total defense, 169.6 yards a game; scoring defense, 6.6 points; rushing defense, 60.7 yards, and passing defense, 108.9 yards, in the same year, and a lineup that has allowed only one rushing touchdown this season--against Nebraska.

Replacing Bosworth is Dante Jones, who started six games while alternating with Paul Migliazzo at weak-side linebacker. Jones is tied for third on the team with 59 tackles.

Even without Bosworth, the Sooners will have two All-Americans performing against the Razorbacks--6-3, 242-pound tight end Keith Jackson and 6-4, 280-pound offensive guard Mark Hutson. Both are juniors and both are from Arkansas--Jackson from Little Rock, Hutson from Fort Smith.

Not only that, but Oklahoma Coach Barry Switzer, who has a winning percentage of .836--136-25-4--best in the nation, is a native of Crossett, Ark., and even played for the Razorbacks in 1957-59.

Nevertheless, the biggest threat on the team is Jackson, who is more than just an outstanding blocker. Although he has touched the ball only 20 times in Oklahoma’s wishbone offense this season, he has scored 8 touchdowns.

He caught 14 passes for 403 yards and 5 touchdowns, averaging 28.8 yards a catch, and he carried 6 times on end-around plays for 98 yards and 3 touchdowns.

In a 20-17 victory over Nebraska, Jackson caught 3 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. One of his catches was a juggling grab along the sideline that set up the winning field goal.

“He’s the best tight end in the country, absolutely,” Switzer said.

Oklahoma is 21-2 since Jamelle Holieway, who starred at Banning High in Wilmington, started running the offense, and the 5-11, 180-pound sophomore quarterback leads the team in rushing with 811 yards this season, averaging 5.8 yards a carry.

Like Oklahoma, Arkansas runs the wishbone. The Razorbacks are led by quarterback Greg Thomas, a 5-11, 195-pound junior who completed 61% of his passes--67 of 109 for 1,032 yards, 6 touchdowns. He has thrown just 1 interception. His leading receiver is split end James Shibest, who caught 22 passes for 473 yards, an average of 21.5 yards a catch.

The Razorbacks led the Southwest Conference in rushing with 247.4 yards a game and are coached by another Arkansas alumnus, Ken Hatfield, who has the SWC’s best coaching record for the last three years, 26-8-1.

This will be the 14th meeting between the schools. Oklahoma has won eight, lost four, and there has been one tie.

THE SUGAR BOWL

Playing for the last time for Coach Bill Arnsparger, LSU takes on Nebraska at New Orleans today (Channel 7, 12:30 p.m.) in what will be the Cornhuskers’ 18th consecutive bowl appearance and 24th in the last 26 years.

Arnsparger, 60, is quitting to take over as athletic director at Florida. His record in three years as the Tigers’ coach is 26-7-2. The season before he arrived, LSU was 4-7 overall, 0-6 in the Southeastern Conference. The next season, the Tigers finished 8-3-1 and 4-1-1.

On the other side of the field will be Tom Osborne, who has a 136-32-2 record and as many victories in his 14 years at Nebraska as Switzer does in his 14 years at Oklahoma.

And, although Nebraska ranks No. 2 in the nation behind Oklahoma in total defense, allowing opponents an average of 235.5 yards a game, the Cornhuskers will have their hands full trying to stop Tom Hodson, the Southeastern Conference champion’s redshirt freshman quarterback.

Hodson, ranked No. 6 in the nation in passing, has completed 175 of 288 passes for 2,261 yards and 19 touchdowns, and has thrown 8 interceptions.

Only three years ago, Nebraska was beaten in a bowl game, 31-30, by another redshirt freshman quarterback, Miami’s Bernie Kosar.

Hodson’s favorite target is All-American wide receiver Wendell Davis, a 6-0, 185-pound junior who is No. 3 in the nation in receiving with 80 catches for 1,244 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Putting the rush on Hodson will be All-American nose guard Danny Noonan, a 6-4, 285-pound senior who Osborne says is the greatest defensive lineman in Cornhusker history.

Another outstanding performer on defense for Nebraska is Broderick Thomas, a 6-2, 235-pound sophomore end.

On offense, the Cornhuskers, who rank No. 2 in rushing behind Oklahoma with 305.5 yards a game, are led by option quarterback Steve Taylor, a 5-11, 195-pound sophomore who broke Marcus Allen’s records at San Diego’s Lincoln High School, and running back Keith Jones, a 5-10, 190-pound junior who broke Gale Sayers’ records at Omaha’s Central High School.

Taylor rushed for 537 yards and 9 touchdowns this season and passed for 808 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Jones, the fastest back ever to play for Nebraska, took over when Doug DuBose, a two-time All-Big Eight player, suffered a preseason knee injury. In 10 games, Jones has rushed for 830 yards in 161 carries and scored a league-leading 14 touchdowns.

The Cornhuskers, who are five-point favorites, lead this series, 4-0-1. Their victories include two in the Orange Bowl, in 1971 and 1983, and one in the 1985 Sugar Bowl.

THE COTTON BOWL

Texas A&M;, which plays Ohio State at Dallas today (Channel 2, 10:30 a.m.), has the nation’s No. 3 offense, averaging 440.2 yards a game, and the No. 4 defense, allowing 257.7 yards a game.

The Aggies, who beat Auburn a year ago, 36-16, are trying to become only the second team in the Cotton Bowl’s 51-year history to repeat as champions. Texas, which beat Tennessee in 1969 and Notre Dame in 1970, is the only school to win consecutive Cotton Bowl games.

Top guns at A&M; include:

--Quarterback Kevin Murray, a 6-2, 190-pound junior who completed 212 of 349 passes for 2,463 yards and 17 touchdowns.

--Roger Vick, a 6-3, 221-pound fullback who rushed for a Southwest Conference-high 960 yards and 10 touchdowns.

--Tight end Rod Bernstine, a 6-3, 230-pounder who led the Aggies with 65 pass receptions for 710 yards.

--Running back Keith Woodside, a 6-foot, 198-pounder who rushed for 569 yards and also caught 52 passes for another 603 yards.

Murray, a third-team All-American, runs the show. He was the MVP of the 1986 Cotton Bowl, completing 16 of 26 passes for 292 yards.

The stars for Ohio State include a couple of All-Americans--6-2, 232-pound linebacker Chris Spielman, and 6-3, 194-pound wide receiver Cris Carter--and a 24-year-old alum named Jim Karsatos.

Spielman, a finalist for the Lombardi and Butkus awards, closed out the regular season with 29 tackles against Michigan, tying the Buckeyes’ single-game record. He has 194 tackles for the season, second only to Tom Cousineau’s 211 in 1979.

Carter has caught 65 passes for 1,066 yards this season, all school records, and has career records of 164 catches and 27 touchdowns.

“Carter is the premier receiver in college football, there’s no question,” said Texas A&M; Coach Jackie Sherrill, whose five-year record at A&M; is 35-20-1.

If there is a key to Ohio State’s chances, says Coach Earle Bruce, it will be the performance of Karsatos, who is starting his 25th straight game.

Karsatos, who already has earned his college degree, has been around almost as long as Bruce, who is 74-22-0 in his eight years at Ohio State.

Karsatos has thrown for 1,927 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, completing 135 of 251 passes.

“He has to have a big game,” Bruce said of the 6-3, 220-pound senior who played at Sunny Hills High in Fullerton.

Leading Ohio State in rushing is Vince Workman, who has gained 985 yards in 197 carries for an average of 5 yards a carry.

The Buckeyes, who are 2-0 in games against A&M;, were among this season’s leaders nationally in turnover ratio as the defense intercepted 24 passes and recovered 21 fumbles. The offense gave up 10 interceptions and lost 11 fumbles.

And, Ohio State, a two-point underdog making its 15th straight bowl appearance, will become the first Big Ten team to have played in the four major bowls--the Rose, Sugar, Orange and Cotton.