Colorado State, Oregon Are Glad to Be in Anaheim

After several years of serving a bowl of holiday leftovers, this year the Freedom Bowl offers something different. So what if Oregon and Colorado State aren’t haute cuisine? At least these teams aren’t the warmed-over remnants of seasons gone bad.

No more teams such as Florida, which sold only 1,200 tickets before slogging through the final comedown of a disappointing season in last year’s game.

Yes, Oregon and Colorado State are happy to be here, as both coaches and any third-string free safety seemed pleased to say this week, prompted or not.

Oregon is making its bid for respectability by playing in consecutive bowl games for the first time.

“Coming from the University of Oregon, it feels like back-to-back Super Bowls,” said Michael McClellan, a senior flanker.

The Ducks have built their 8-3 record on the arm of Bill Musgrave, who was the All-Pacific 10 quarterback, despite the attention devoted to others.

Colorado State is positively giddy over its first bowl game in 42 years, getting a sequel, at long last, to its 1949 Raisin Bowl appearance. It has taken only two years for Earle Bruce, the former Ohio State coach, to bring the Rams from 1-10 to 8-4.

Is this game a comedown for a man who took the Buckeyes to two Rose Bowl games? Bruce, his ability proved once again, just smiles.

“I’ve also been in the Peach, the Liberty, the Hall of Fame, the Fiesta,” Bruce said. “I’ve been to the Citrus Bowl and the Tangerine. I can’t say I haven’t had all the experiences.

“It doesn’t feel any different. I think it’s different for the kids. I’ve never coached a more appreciative football team than this. Sometimes in other programs, they don’t appreciate it. They have been so receptive and worked so hard. We’re not the most talented football team, but we have some talent.”

All this good feeling came by design, not happenstance, said Don Andersen, the game’s executive director.

“We felt it was important to have teams here that were anxious to be here,” Andersen said, calling it “the game plan” to get teams from the Pac-10 and the Western Athletic Conference. “We didn’t even go to the Big Ten, the SEC, Notre Dame. We took a very practical approach.”

Oregon is favored in this match, billed as a battle between the Ducks’ passing offense, in which Musgrave has averaged 222 yards a game, and Colorado State’s multiple-formation ground game.

Oregon Coach Rich Brooks is encouraged that his offense will be stronger than it was in the final two games, when an injury-depleted unit failed to score a touchdown while losing to California, 28-3, and defeating Oregon State, 6-3.

Musgrave has had time to recover from several injuries, the most recent of which kept him out of the last six quarters of the regular season with a bruise in his throwing shoulder. Two receivers are back after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, McClellan and Joe Reitzug.

Finally, tailback Sean Burwell, a redshirt freshman who led the team with 949 yards rushing after being forced into action because of an early-season injury to the starter, is back after missing most of the Oregon State game because of a back injury.

“They’re all healthy,” Brooks said. “It makes me feel a little better about our chances on the offensive side since we struggled so much in the last two games of the year.”

The Ducks are not as sound on defense, where they lost senior Peter Brantley, an all-conference outside linebacker, because of a strained left knee suffered in practice last week in Irvine.

Colorado State also has had time for an important player to heal.

Tony Alford, a tailback who ran for 1,035 yards last season, has been bothered by a right hamstring pull and later by a strained tendon in his right foot. He rushed for 647 yards, but started only one game. The bulk of the ground work went to Brian Copeland and Todd Yert, a short-yardage fullback who has put his head down and bulled to 16 touchdowns.

“Alford, there’s a guy who hasn’t been well all year,” Bruce said. “He’s going to see the football quite a bit--if we get the football quite a bit.”

Bruce keeps his own counsel as to which of two rotating quarterbacks he will start--Mike Gimenez, the better option quarterback and the starter in the past five games, or Kevin Verdugo, the better passer, who was slowed by a shoulder injury late in the season.

Known to surprise even his assistants with his choice of a starter, Bruce strayed from an earlier expectation that Gimenez would start and said Friday, “I think probably (it would be) Verdugo, if we had to start right now.”

Defensively, Colorado State lost a starter in the secondary this week when Harlan Carroll came down with what was diagnosed as mononucleosis. That will put added pressure on a defensive backfield already facing a great deal of it.

“Musgrave throws the ball, and if you overdo (setting the defense for) that, they’ll run the ball and put it in the end zone,” Bruce said.

Oregon must be watchful of the curse of the favorite: overconfidence.

“I’m obviously concerned that could be the case with our team,” Brooks said. “There’s no question Colorado State is challenged. Earle Bruce is challenged when he gets up in the morning. There’s no question they’ll be ready to play and come out and bloody our noses.”

Freedom Bowl Notes

The kickoff is at 5 p.m. for the game, which will be on Channel 9 and the Raycom Sports Network. The game was televised by NBC last year.

Oregon had sold 18,000 tickets as of Friday, and Colorado State had made 8,000 of a total of 11,800 guaranteed sales by the Western Athletic Conference. An additional 10,000 tickets were sold by the Orange County Sports Assn., and another 10,000 have been given away for distribution to military families. About 3,000 in walk-up sales are expected. The record for ticket sales is 56,910, set in 1986 for the UCLA-Brigham Young game.

Colorado State Coach Earle Bruce was asked for his reaction to Air Force’s upset of Ohio State, his former employer. Bruce beamed good-naturedly. “That’s a good question. I’ve been waiting for that one. . . . Great coaching job by (Air Force Coach) Fisher DeBerry. That was a great win for us as a conference, a prestige win that shows the WAC is coming of age.”

THE PLAYERS

COLORADO STATE

No. Name Pos. Yr. Ht. Wgt. Hometown 1 Peter Rantzau PK Jr. 5-10 200 Aurora, Colo. 2 Selwyn Jones CB Jr. 6-0 181 Missouri City, Tex. 3 Mike Brown PK Jr. 5-11 199 Colorado Springs 4 Craig Jersild CB Sr. 5-10 175 Alamo, Calif. 5 Vincent Tate CB Fr. 5-11 173 Chicago 6 Harlan Carroll CB Jr. 5-11 180 Poway 7 Mike Gimenez QB Sr. 6-2 205 Woodland 8 Sylvester Mabry CB So. 5-8 164 Phoenix 9 Jerry Dunn QB So. 6-0 193 Denver 10 Andy Byrne FS Sr. 6-2 193 Poway 11 Chauncey Sims CB Jr. 5-9 177 Denver 12 Andy Loveland QB Fr. 6-0 195 Escondido 13 Kevin Verdugo QB Jr. 6-3 210 Pittsburg, Kan. 14 Anthony Hill QB Fr. 6-1 175 San Diego 15 Andre Strode CB Fr. 5-10 180 Denver 15 Giani Marcantonio PK Fr. 6-1 178 Boulder, Colo. 16 Rob Mackay QB Fr. 6-2 196 Vancouver, Canada 17 Val Lefrere CB Fr. 5-10 180 Denver 18 Vincent Booker CB Fr. 5-9 170 Harvey, Ill. 19 Robert Stratman SS Jr. 6-0 189 Golden, Colo. 20 Tony Branch FL Sr. 5-9 170 Alamogordo, N.M. 22 Mike Mickens FB Jr. 5-8 195 Montrose, Colo. 23 Adolf Renaud FS Sr. 6-0 197 La Habra 24 Tony Alford TB Sr. 5-11 198 Colorado Springs 25 Mark Holmes FL Jr. 6-0 186 Englewood, Colo. 26 Billy Gonzales FL So. 5-10 166 Thornton, Colo. 27 Greg Primus SE So. 5-11 172 Denver 28 Eric Olsen SE Fr. 6-1 185 San Marcos 29 Jason White TB Fr. 5-9 175 Bakersfield 30 Brian Schneider FS Fr. 6-1 201 Arvada, Colo. 31 Alan Glazer P Jr. 5-10 182 Beverly Hills 32 Tony Carr TB Jr. 6-0 174 Denver 33 Pat Ingrassia TB Fr. 6-0 180 Colorado Springs 34 Brian Copeland TB Jr. 5-9 195 Security, Colo. 35 Jeff Christmann FB Sr. 5-10 180 Lubbock, Tex. 36 Otis Hamilton LB So. 6-0 221 Denver 37 Roy Williams SS Fr. 5-11 196 Houston 38 Tim Luke P Sr. 6-0 198 Wheat Ridge, Colo. 39 T.J. O’Rourke CB So. 5-10 190 Evergreen, Colo. 40 Jack Christy TB Fr. 6-0 180 Carmel, Ind. 41 Todd Yert FB Sr. 6-1 223 Mission Viejo 42 Paul MacRenato FB Sr. 6-0 205 San Diego 43 Jon Boyd LB Jr. 6-1 224 Denver 44 Monty Wherry LB So. 6-4 200 Broomfield, Colo. 45 Thomas Romero LB Fr. 6-1 210 Ft. Collins, Colo. 47 James Mestek SS Jr. 6-2 200 Denver 49 James Coffey LB Fr. 6-2 228 Denver 50 Bob Cox C Fr. 6-1 259 Joliet, Ill. 51 Kevin Lynch LB So. 6-3 232 Arvada, Colo. 52 Mike Aragon C So. 5-11 265 Boulder, Colo. 53 Rick Ward LB So. 6-0 215 LaVerne 54 Mike Padilla C Jr. 6-0 244 Wilmington 55 John Polousky DT Fr. 6-3 240 Walnut Creek 56 John Moran LB Jr. 6-1 226 Pueblo, Colo. 57 Craig Rhodes LB Fr. 6-1 210 Arlington, Tex. 58 David Laskowski LB Jr. 6-0 216 Englewood, Fla. 59 Steve Rule LB Sr. 6-4 234 Englewood, Colo. 60 Robert Chirico DE Sr. 6-4 255 Aurora, Colo. 61 Mike Pagel NG Jr. 6-1 235 Yuma, Colo. 62 Doug Hutchins OG So. 6-3 252 Scott City, Kan. 63 Mark Donnelly OG Fr. 6-3 240 Terre Haute, Ind. 64 Matt Ruggiera OL Fr. 6-2 255 Syracuse, N.Y. 64 Bill Hendershot OT So. 6-2 263 Lakewood, Colo. 65 Adam Whitmer OG Jr. 6-3 242 Northglenn, Colo. 66 John Laurita OG Sr. 6-1 264 Arvada, Colo. 67 Al Thompkins OT Jr. 6-3 284 Chicago 68 Scott Anderson OG So. 6-5 263 Arvada, Colo. 69 Tom Cowen OT Fr. 6-4 250 Cypress 70 Todd Bean OT Jr. 6-5 277 Greeley, Colo. 71 Pat Meyer OL Fr. 6-3 275 Girard, Ohio 72 Scott Doerr OT Sr. 6-6 265 Wenatchee, Wash. 73 Jason Basso OT So. 6-6 283 Lincoln, Neb. 75 Tony Ulaszek DT Fr. 6-2 245 Chicago 76 Derek Yurosek OT Fr. 6-3 229 Bakersfield 77 Steve Ullrich OT So. 6-5 228 St. Louis, Mo. 78 Brandon Ward DT Fr. 6-3 250 Dallas, Tex. 79 Don Jones DT Fr. 6-4 235 Mokena, Ill. 80 Keith Sheaffer LB Jr. 6-1 211 Tucson, Ariz. 81 Mark Smith TE Fr. 6-5 205 Kokomo, Ind. 82 Doug Lindner TE Sr. 6-5 247 Seward, Neb. 82 Matt Phillips FL Fr. 6-2 180 Grand Junction, Colo. 83 Jason Tisdale FL So. 6-3 195 Middletown, Ohio 85 Matt Rood DE Fr. 6-4 213 Lombard, Ill. 86 Paul Gasser DE Jr. 6-5 232 Durango, Colo. 87 Skip Shirlaw DT Jr. 6-4 235 Lakewood, Colo. 88 Mark McKenzie TE Jr. 6-2 229 Glendale, Ariz. 89 Eric Tippeconnic LB Sr. 6-1 226 Albuquerque, N.M. 90 Paul Hanks DE Sr. 6-5 237 Hemingford, Neb. 92 Donovan Gans LB So. 6-1 214 Orange, Tex. 93 Garo Sirinian TE Jr. 6-3 210 Hacienda Heights 95 Eric Schaller DT Sr. 6-4 231 Lakewood, Colo. 96 Steve Norton DT Fr. 6-2 226 Cincinnati 97 Kenya Ragsdale LB Fr. 6-2 215 Akron, Ohio. 98 Kareem Ingram LB Fr. 6-1 210 Cleveland Hgts., Ohio 99 Ron Martin LB Sr. 6-6 245 Colorado Springs

OREGON

No. Name Pos. Yr. Ht. Wgt. Hometown 1 Steve Kemp FS Sr. 5-11 174 Milpitas 2 Devon Hosey CB Jr. 5-10 165 Pasadena 3 Rory Dairy SS Sr. 5-10 190 Compton 4 Michael McClellan SE Sr. 5-9 165 Bloomington 5 Ron Hardy LB So. 6-1 191 Lake View Terrace 6 Joe Reitzug SE Sr. 5-10 170 Tacoma, Wash. 7 Tony Hargain FL Sr. 6-1 191 North Highlands 8 Kenny Phillips SS Jr. 6-0 180 Pasadena 9 Greg McCallum PK Jr. 5-9 178 Seattle 10 Liam Hayes PK Sr. 5-9 185 Tigard, Ore. 11 Muhammad Oliver CB Jr. 5-11 170 Phoenix 12 Eric Castle FS So. 6-3 206 Lebanon, Ore. 13 Kristian Hansen QB Fr. 6-4 205 Danville 13 Jeff Burdick FS Fr. 6-1 170 Hidden Hills 14 Bill Musgrave QB Sr. 6-3 200 Grand Junction, Colo. 15 Ben Rough P So. 5-10 168 Danville 16 Danny O’Neil QB Fr. 6-2 180 Newport Beach 17 Jon Okken QB Jr. 6-1 191 El Cajon 18 Anthony Jones FL So. 5-11 185 Cerritos 19 Bob Brothers QB Jr. 6-2 176 Eugene, Ore. 20 Daryle Smith CB Jr. 6-1 181 Los Angeles 21 Sean Burwell TB Fr. 5-11 181 Canoga Park 22 Kerrell Robinson FB Sr. 6-1 215 San Jose 23 Kerry Garrett TB Fr. 5-11 170 San Bernardino 24 Juan Shedrick FB Fr. 6-2 216 San Rafael 25 Paul Rodriguez CB So. 5-9 175 Sacramento 26 Michael Hoopaugh FS Fr. 6-2 185 Redding 27 Daryl Singleton CB Sr. 5-9 176 Los Angeles 28 Ngalu Kelemeni FB So. 6-1 208 Pueblo, Colo. 29 Tommy Thompson PK Fr. 5-10 160 Lompoc 30 Dan Meade FB Fr. 6-3 215 Auburn, Wash. 30 Eric Johannsen PK Fr. 6-1 185 Medford, Ore. 31 Johnny Taylor CB Sr. 5-11 175 Olympia, Wash. 32 Dwayne Jones FB Fr. 6-2 215 La Puente 33 Chad Cota FS Fr. 6-1 188 Ashland, Ore. 34 Howard Blackwell TB Fr. 5-10 185 Valencia 35 Brandon Jumper FB So. 6-3 234 Graham, Wash. 36 Steve Ward FB Fr. 6-3 198 Dallas, Ore 37 Herman O’Berry CB Fr. 5-11 185 North Highlands 38 Ed Cabs LB Fr. 6-3 194 Long Beach 39 Dave Massey LB Fr. 6-2 227 Vancouver, Wash. 40 Ernest Jones LB Fr. 6-2 206 Utica, N.Y. 41 R. Hines-Norwood TB Fr. 5-10 186 Portland, Ore. 42 Kealii Clifford TB Fr. 5-11 185 Santa Ana 42 Chris Cook SS Fr. 6-2 175 Los Angeles 43 Tony Koker LB Fr. 6-4 200 Lebanon, Ore. 44 Doug Douglass LB Jr. 6-4 223 Tigard, Ore. 45 James Bautista LB Jr. 6-1 232 Daly City 46 John Taumoepeau LB Fr. 6-2 221 Millbrae 47 Andy Conner LB Jr. 6-3 236 Klamath River 48 John Fitzgerald LB Sr. 6-3 217 Eugene, Ore. 49 Terrell Edwards LB Fr. 6-2 225 Inglewood 50 Silila Malepeai NT Fr. 6-1 235 Honolulu 51 Joe Farwell LB So. 6-2 210 Los Gatos 52 Scot Boatright C Sr. 6-2 254 Danville 53 Collin Hall C Sr. 6-3 253 Eugene, Ore. 54 Gary Williams NT Fr. 6-2 260 Fresno 54 Kurt Bonar OG Fr. 6-3 225 Springfield, Ore. 55 Eric Dozier LB Sr. 6-2 217 Carson 57 Kyle Bradbury LB Fr. 5-11 213 The Dalles, Ore. 58 Joe Baguio DE Jr. 6-6 260 Santa Rosa 59 Andy Sunia OG Sr. 5-11 284 Oxnard 60 David Cuttrell C Fr. 6-4 248 El Toro 61 John Niemela OT Jr. 6-4 256 Eugene, Ore. 63 Jason Redding C So. x6-3 255 Salem, Ore. 64 John Tattersall OG So. 6-4 285 Agoura Hills 65 Jeff Allen OG So. 6-5 251 Lake Oswego, Ore. 66 Mike Keeter OG Jr. 6-3 262 Independence, Ore. 67 Bud Bowie OG Jr. 6-5 260 Central Point, Ore. 68 Heath Howington OG Fr. 6-4 310 Roseburg, Ore. 69 Marcus Woods NT Jr. 6-2 283 Corvallis, Ore. 70 Leif Jacobsen OT Fr. 6-6 275 Palmer, Alaska 71 Matt Martin OT Jr. 6-6 265 San Mateo 72 Todd Gydesen OT Jr. 6-6 270 Salem, Ore. 74 Chris Jefferis OG Fr. 6-2 230 Anchorage, Alaska 75 David Collinsworth OT So. 6-4 280 Woodland 77 Steve Hardin DE Fr. 6-7 280 Snohomish, Wash. 78 Greg Phillips OG Jr. 6-4 250 Salem, Ore. 79 Todd Kaanapu OT Sr. 6-3 271 Campbell 80 Brian Brown FL Fr. 6-2 185 Yuba City 81 Ronnie Harris SE So. 5-10 170 San Jose 83 Jeff Thomason TE Jr. 6-4 229 Newport Beach 84 Scott Bryan SE Fr. 6-0 170 Auburn 85 Peter Brantley LB Jr. 6-4 230 Irvine 86 James Jessie FL Fr. 6-2 176 Palm Springs 87 Willy Tate TE Fr. 6-3 217 Elk Grove 88 Vince Ferry TE So. 6-4 234 Granada Hills 89 Mark Spear TE Sr. 6-2 220 Eugene, Ore. 90 Matt LaBounty DE Jr. 6-4 246 Novato 91 Thad Holub TE Sr. 6-6 234 Forest Grove, Ore. 92 Bryon Rockwell LB Fr. 6-3 225 Davis 93 Mark Slymen DE Fr. 6-2 250 Mission Viejo 94 Steve O’Connor NT Sr. 6-3 243 Sheridan, Ore. 95 D.J. Cabrera DE Fr. 6-4 245 Honolulu 96 Pat DeLeon DE So. 6-3 253 Snohomish, Wash. 97 Romeo Bandison DE Fr. 6-5 272 Mill Valley 98 Dan Mitchell TE Fr. 6-7 254 Renton, Wash. 99 Jeff Cummins De Jr. 6-6 255 Torrance