COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Seminoles Wield Power, on Field and Off

The problem with chiseling a New Year’s Day bowl matchup into stone is that sometimes you need an eraser.

No one knows this better than the frazzled folks at the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., where plans for a Florida State vs. Notre Dame potential national championship game, so firm a few weeks ago, now appear in jeopardy.

The troublemaker is No. 1-ranked Florida State. The Seminoles have become the real postseason power brokers, and now they are making noises about going to the Orange Bowl in Miami rather than to the Fiesta Bowl.

Here’s why (and remember, all of this is predicated on Florida State beating Miami at Tallahassee, Fla., on Nov. 16):

(1) Florida State, which has come so close, desperately wants to win a national championship. Chances are it would have an easier time against Big Eight champion Nebraska or Colorado than it would against Notre Dame.

(2) The Orange Bowl pays $4.2 million; the Fiesta, which signed a new TV deal Wednesday, about $2 million ($3 million if it has the top-ranked team).

(3) In the cutthroat recruiting wars of Florida, an in-state bowl appearance can do wonders.

(4) An in-state bowl would allow about 30,000 Seminole fans to attend the game.

(5) If Florida State loses to Florida on Nov. 30, thus ending the team’s national championship hopes, the Seminoles still would have the big payday, the in-state exposure and peace of mind.

It is no secret that the Orange Bowl wants the winner of the Florida State-Miami game. Nor is it much of a secret that Florida State is leaning toward kissing off the Fiesta Bowl, regardless of Notre Dame’s record and ranking.

Seminole Athletic Director Bob Goin said a victory over Miami would put Florida State “in the driver’s seat.” He added that no decision has been made regarding Florida State’s plans, and that respective bowl payouts “are not a priority at this stage of the game.

“The largest priority is how we can position our football team to do what it started when it arrived here for fall practice: Win a national championship.”

Florida State, Part II:

If Florida State chooses to stiff the Fiesta Bowl and Notre Dame, there probably will be lots of Seminole-bashing. Consider:

--If the Irish finish the regular season 11-1 and ranked No. 4, it will look as if Florida State was scared to play Notre Dame.

--A convincing victory by No. 2-ranked Washington against No. 4 Michigan in the Rose Bowl, coupled with a not-so-convincing Seminole victory over the Big Eight champion could cause a voter backlash in the polls.

The affable Goin nearly reaches for a meat cleaver when informed of those negative possibilities.

“I’m not going to let anybody say we dodged anybody,” he said. “I don’t think this team has to make any excuses (about) who the best football team in the country is.”

Goin has a point. The Seminoles beat 19th-ranked Brigham Young in Anaheim, then second-ranked Michigan at Ann Arbor, Mich., and then-No. 10 Syracuse at Tallahassee. A victory over Miami, tied for second with Washington, would make it difficult to argue with Goin’s logic.

Still, Florida State has earned a reputation under Coach Bobby Bowden of going anywhere, anytime to play anybody. To bypass a chance to face a Notre Dame team with only one loss--if the Irish can beat Tennessee and Penn State--seems uncharacteristic of the Seminoles. It’s to be hoped that Florida State, if faced with the decision, chooses the highest-ranked team rather than the biggest payday or the easiest opponent.

There will be some serious frequent-flyer mileage recorded by the boys in bowl blazers this weekend. There are some big games, with big ramifications.

For instance: Florida vs. Georgia at Jacksonville, Indiana at Iowa, Tennessee at Notre Dame, UCLA at Stanford, Texas A&M; at Texas Christian (tonight), Washington at USC and Virginia at North Carolina State.

You get the idea. Depending on upsets, the bowl picture could again experience a temblor or two. And it could change even more if the bowl alliance decides to crank up its team draft this year instead of waiting until 1992, as planned.

But for now, the 18 bowl matchups are shaping up this way:

California, Dec. 14--Fresno State vs. Bowling Green.

Aloha, Dec. 25--Georgia Tech vs. Oklahoma (Understudies: UCLA, Colorado, Stanford).

Freedom, Dec. 27--Tulsa vs. San Diego State or BYU. (Understudies: Stanford, Baylor, Texas).

Blockbuster, Dec. 28--Syracuse vs. Tennessee (Understudy: North Carolina State).

Liberty, Dec. 29--Air Force vs. Mississippi-Mississippi State winner.

Gator, Dec. 29--Virginia or North Carolina State vs. Ohio State (Understudy: Oklahoma).

Independence, Dec. 29--Arkansas vs. North Carolina (Understudies: TCU, East Carolina).

Holiday, Dec. 30--BYU or San Diego State vs. Iowa.

John Hancock, Dec. 31--UCLA vs. Ohio State. (Understudy: Stanford).

Copper, Dec. 31--Arizona State vs. Baylor (Understudies: BYU-San Diego State loser, Arkansas).

Peach, Jan. 1--Virginia or North Carolina State vs. Illinois (Understudy: East Carolina).

Hall of Fame, Jan. 1--Colorado or Nebraska vs. Georgia (Understudy: Tennessee).

Citrus, Jan. 1--Penn State vs. Clemson (Understudy: California).

Cotton, Jan. 1--Alabama vs. Texas A&M; (Understudy: Notre Dame).

Fiesta, Jan. 1--Notre Dame vs. Florida State-Miami loser--or so it seems (Understudies: California, UCLA, Tennessee).

Rose, Jan. 1--Michigan vs. Washington.

Orange, Jan. 1--Nebraska or Colorado vs. Florida State. (Understudies: Notre Dame, Alabama).

Sugar, Jan. 1--Florida vs. Penn State--if it beats Notre Dame. (Understudies: Miami, California).

Convinced that the Louisville program had turned the corner under Coach Howard Schnellenberger, we boldly predicted that the Cardinals would enjoy continued success and maybe, just maybe, upset Florida State.

“Laugh now,” we said in August, “marvel at the prophecy later.”

Well, go ahead and chuckle. The Cardinals, because of a seemingly unending string of injuries, defections and ejections, are in disarray.

After winning 10 games last season, including a convincing Fiesta Bowl victory over Alabama, Louisville has hit hard times. The Cardinals opened their season with a victory over Division I-AA Eastern Kentucky, but have since lost seven of eight games to such teams as Army (3-4), Cincinnati (3-6) and Boston College (3-5).

The reasons are varied, but any calamity checklist should include injuries--the Cardinals have had 16 starters miss a total of 30 games of playing time--and the loss of two starters, including one of Schnellenberger’s favorites, running back Curtis Lipsey, who were ruled academically ineligible before the season started.

Despite its record, Schnellenberger said this year’s team had more talent than last season’s squad. The difference, he said, was experience.

Schnellenberger’s cross-state rival, Bill Curry of Kentucky, isn’t doing much better. The Wildcats are 3-5 and on a pace to equal last year’s 4-7 record. Before defeating Cincinnati on Saturday, Kentucky had lost four games in a row, allowing 49, 29, 31 and 35 points, and provided opposing quarterbacks with career-best performances.

“We are working through a very difficult stage,” Curry said. “But in my career, I’ve always been able to break through to the other side. But it would be fun to avoid this stage.”

No such luck. Kentucky finishes with games against resurgent Vanderbilt, Florida and Tennessee.

“We’ll get it done,” Curry said. “We’ve just got to be persistent. That’s the only thing I’m good at.”

What began as a two-minute interview between embattled Auburn Coach Pat Dye and reporters Ed Sherman of the Chicago Tribune and William Rhoden of the New York Times, turned into an unexpected two-hour visit.

It was one of the rare times that Dye has specifically addressed the swelling controversy involving former Tiger player Eric Ramsey and tape-recorded conversations that allegedly implicate Auburn boosters, assistant coaches and possibly Dye himself in making illegal payoffs.

So involved did Dye become in last Sunday’s interview, he missed an important coaches’ meeting and cut short a conference call with several other reporters.

Dye on accountability: “If the tapes are true, then what I’m guilty of is doing a very poor job of management. I didn’t know he was getting all this help. I should have known but I didn’t.”

Dye on his failure to react when Ramsey asked for money: “The mistake I made was not doing a better job of supervising. I knew the danger was there, and I didn’t manage it as well as I should have. Pure and simple, I knew the danger, and that’s where I should have been stronger.”

And Dye on the allegation that, through another assistant coach, he gave Ramsey a $300 wedding gift: “It’s ridiculous. Do you think I’m going to risk my career by giving someone a $300 wedding gift?”

As if Dye doesn’t have enough worries, his team could finish 5-6, the first losing season he would have since 1981, his first year at Auburn.

If Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz does go to the Minnesota Vikings at season’s end, the word is that he will take former Irish offensive coordinator Jim Strong, now the coach of Nevada Las Vegas, with him. If so, UNLV is supposedly is interested in Ron Meyer, fired earlier this year by the Indianapolis Colts. . . . Talk all you want about Stanford’s bowl chances, but if the Cardinal doesn’t win two of the next three games, it isn’t going anywhere. To qualify for postseason play, you need six Division I-A victories. Stanford has four.

Top 10

As selected by staff writer Gene Wojciechowski

No. Team Record 1. Florida State 9-0 2. Washington 8-0 3. Miami 7-0 4. Michigan 7-1 5. Notre Dame 8-1 6. Penn State 7-2 7. Florida 7-1 8. California 7-1 9. Texas A&M; 6-1 10. Alabama 7-1

Waiting list: Iowa (7-1), Nebraska (6-1-1), Colorado (5-2-1), East Carolina (7-1), Virginia (6-2-1).