COLLEGE FOOTBALL SENIOR BOWL : Weather Is Miserable, and So Is the Game

Tyrone Williams said the weather was miserable, even by the standards of the first Canadian college player invited to the Senior Bowl.

Nevertheless, Williams seemed to adapt better than most. He caught a 36-yard touchdown pass as the AFC sloshed its way to a 13-10 victory over the NFC Saturday.

A steady rain transformed the field into a small lake, and temperatures in the high 30s with winds gusting to 30 m.p.h. made things even worse.

Most of the announced crowd of 37,100 left at halftime. Officials ran the clock during timeouts in the fourth quarter to get the game over quicker.

Neither team generated much offense. There were only 17 first downs--one on a fake punt--and four completed passes by four of the best quarterbacks in the country. The NFC had 177 yards of total offense; the AFC had 112.

Houston’s David Klingler, the NCAA’a career passing leader, completed none of his four passes for the AFC. NFC starter Casey Weldon of Florida State was only one for seven for 15 yards.

Alabama’s Siran Stacy, a 1,000-yard rusher, gained only four yards on four carries.

The AFC finally broke through after a key special teams play. Minnesota’s Shawn Lumpkin deflected a punt by Arden Czyzewski of Florida and the ball rolled dead at the NFC 36.

On the next play, Virginia Tech’s Will Furrer threw a pass down the right sideline to Williams, who beat Auburn’s Corey Barlow and pulled it down in the end zone with 9:02 left in the third quarter.

Later in the quarter, Ashley Ambrose of Mississippi Valley scored what turned out to be the deciding points with a 44-yard interception return.