COLLEGE FOOTBALL : When Dust Clears, Everything Could Be Coming Up Oranges

The Orange Bowl appears to be the big winner of last weekend’s Bloody Saturday, when eight of the top 25 ranked teams eliminated themselves from the national championship race with losses--some unexpected, some not.

The has-beens include Tennessee (shocked by Alabama), Miami (defeated by Notre Dame), Florida State (loser to Auburn), Michigan (dropped by Iowa), USC (surprised by Arizona), Michigan State (as if the Spartans had a chance against Illinois), Oklahoma (stunned by Iowa State) and Indiana (beaten by Minnesota).

Allowing for the unexpected, that leaves five teams in a legitimate position to win a national title: Virginia, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Auburn and Colorado.

Houston, which is ineligible for bowl play, could finish the regular season undefeated and be voted No. 1 in the Associated Press poll, but the Cougars are a longshot at best.

The reason Orange Bowl committee members are so happy is that undefeated Nebraska, now ranked fourth, has a better-than-average chance of winning its remaining games against Iowa State, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma.

If that happens, the Cornhuskers, as Big Eight champions, will receive an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl and start the game ranked as high as No. 1, but probably no lower than No. 3.

The thinking here is that Nebraska, on the strength of victories over highly regarded Colorado and Oklahoma, would overtake Virginia in the rankings, even if the Cavaliers manage to beat Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia Tech.

Now, here come the ifs:

-- If Nebraska finishes the regular season as No. 1, the Orange Bowl could have the national championship game.

-- If Notre Dame wins its remaining games against Pittsburgh, Navy, Tennessee, Penn State and USC (no small feat), then the Orange Bowl probably will offer its at-large berth to the Irish, even if they were ranked No. 3, behind Virginia. This comes from an Orange Bowl official who requested anonymity.

The reasoning: Notre Dame brings the best television ratings.

“If you don’t (choose the Irish), then Auburn plays Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl during the same time slot,” the official said.

-- If Virginia is ranked No. 2, 3 or 4 in the United Press International poll on Nov. 13, then the Cavaliers can opt out of their agreement with the Citrus Bowl, but only if they can play the No. 1 team in the Cotton Bowl, Sugar Bowl or Orange Bowl. A Notre Dame loss along the way makes the Virginia-Orange Bowl scenario a distinct possibility.

-- If Nebraska loses one of its remaining games, disregard all of the above.

The Citrus Bowl is devoting all its attention to alternative plans should Georgia Tech defeat Virginia Nov. 3 at Charlottesville, Va. A Cavalier loss would probably mean that the Yellow Jackets would win the Atlantic Coast Conference title and receive the automatic bid to the game in Orlando, Fla.

Again, because of the unusual contract between the ACC and the Citrus Bowl, Georgia Tech could play somewhere else, but only if it meets the same requirements mentioned above.

The Yellow Jackets, ranked 16th this week, would have a difficult time jumping 12 spots by that Nov. 13 deadline.

Meanwhile, Citrus Bowl officials are desperately looking for a second corporate sponsor to help supplement its payout, should Virginia finish No. 1 and play for the national title in Orlando. So far, no takers.

Right now, the Citrus pays $1.2 million a team, compared to the $4.2 million for Orange Bowl participants. Virginia, if still No. 1, would be obligated to stay in the Citrus only if the bowl can come up with a comparable payoff.

If the Cavaliers stay put atop the polls, the Citrus will invite Notre Dame, assuming the Irish are 10-1. If Virginia fizzles, the list of potential teams grows to 12, among them USC.

The earliest date the NCAA allows bowls to extend formal invitations is Nov. 24, at 3 p.m., PST.

More bowl gossip: Miami vs. Texas or Texas Christian in the Cotton Bowl; Auburn vs. Colorado (if Big Eight runner-up) or Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl; some combination of Florida State, Penn State, USC or Tennessee in the Fiesta Bowl.

Saturday marks the anniversary of the neck injury suffered by Mississippi defensive back Chucky Mullins, who was hurt while making a tackle against Vanderbilt. He is paralyzed from the shoulders down, although he has regained slight movement in his right arm.

Since the injury, a trust fund, which now totals about $900,000, has been established for him.

The city of Oxford, home of the university, donated land and built a house for Mullins so he could return to school and finish requirements for his degree in health, physical education and recreation. Mullins plans to begin classes in January. He wants to become a football coach.

Mullins attends all Mississippi games, makes numerous speaking appearances and even has his own weekly radio show called, “Chucky’s Picks,” on which he selects the winners of that Saturday’s top college games. His record so far hovers around 72%.

Mullins will travel with the Rebels this week, too. Ole Miss plays Vanderbilt.

Not surprisingly, Miami Coach Dennis Erickson chose Notre Dame as the nation’s No. 1 team. He called last Saturday’s 29-20 defeat by the Irish, “the toughest loss I’ve been involved in.” . . . Now that Alabama has beaten Tennessee, new Coach Gene Stallings can relax a bit. The games that matter most at Alabama are against Tennessee and Auburn.

Not so fortunate are Purdue’s Fred Akers, Ohio State’s John Cooper and Arkansas’ Jack Crowe. Purdue is 0-3 in the Big Ten, 1-5 overall this season. Since Akers arrived, the Boilermakers are 8-19 in the conference and 11-27-1 overall. Cooper can’t seem to please anybody at Ohio State. Crowe is winless in the Southwest Conference and 2-4 overall in his first--and maybe last--season. Worse yet, in the waning moments of Texas’ 49-17 victory over the Razorbacks last Saturday at Austin, Tex., the sarcastic crowd chanted, “SEC, SEC, SEC,” jeering Arkansas’ decision to join the Southeastern Conference.

Coach Hayden Fry was so pleased with Iowa’s victory over Michigan on Saturday that he canceled Monday’s Hawkeye practice, a first for the demanding Fry. . . . By the way, this is the first time since 1967 that Michigan (3-3) has lost two consecutive home games or a homecoming game.

Houston Coach John Jenkins said David Klingler of the Cougars is the best quarterback in the country. He may have a point. Klingler has more completions, passing yardage and touchdowns than BYU’s Ty Detmer. He also has six interceptions, compared to Detmer’s 13. . . . Louisville, which has beaten West Virginia and Pittsburgh this season, could finish 9-1-1. Howard Schnellenberger’s team has Western Kentucky, Cincinnati and Boston College left. This is Louisville’s best start since 1972. The Cardinals haven’t been to a bowl since 1977.

Last Saturday was tough on coaches. After Baylor tied Texas A&M;, an angry Bear fan grabbed Coach Grant Teaff and accused him of running out the clock rather than trying to score against the Aggies. Georgia Tech’s Bobby Ross limped out of the locker room after he was accidentally kicked by one of his own players. Georgia Tech, coincidentally, tied North Carolina.

How shocking was Iowa State’s victory over Oklahoma? The Sooners had beaten the Cyclones in 56 of their past 62 meetings. . . . We’re still looking for anyone who correctly predicted that the Nov. 17 meeting between Texas and TCU at Ft. Worth would be the pivotal Southwest Conference game of the season.

Our top 10: (1) Notre Dame, (2) Virginia, (3) Auburn, (4) Washington, (5) Nebraska, (6) Houston, (7) Colorado, (8) Illinois, (9) BYU, (10) Miami.

Our waiting list: Tennessee, Texas, Iowa, Georgia Tech, Mississippi.