NOTES : Little-Known Schools Get Day in the Sun

An athlete needn’t have attended a college football power to play in the Super Bowl.

There are athletes here from Kutztown to North Dakota State.

James Madison, a Division I-AA school in Virginia, will send out famous players today to each side of the field--Gary Clark, one of the Washington Redskins’ leading receivers, and Scott Norwood, the Buffalo Bills’ kicker.

Two Buffalo wide receivers, Andre Reed and Don Beebe, are from Kutztown (Pa.) and Chadron State (Neb.), respectively.

One of the Redskins’ five tight ends, John Brandes, played for Cameron (Okla).

The North Dakota State product is Bill rookie Phil Hansen, the defensive end who logged more time in Bruce Smith’s position this year than Smith did.

What has Hansen learned about the NFL so far?

“The whole game is so much faster than anything you see in college,” he said.

Richie Petitbon, the Redskins’ defensive coach, was asked to describe the kind of message he conveys to his captains in the heat of a tough game.

“I cup my hands,” he said, “and shout: ‘Stop ‘em!’ ”

For those who want to get an early start picking the winner today--after the game starts--Smith, Buffalo’s best player, is the defensive end to watch.

Smith will match up much of the time with Washington’s best blocker, Jim Lachey.

The other place to look in the game’s first 10 or 20 minutes is right next door, where Buffalo nose tackle Jeff Wright will oppose Washington’s veteran center, Jeff Bostic.

Wright is, perhaps, the key. For in any 3-4 defense, everything starts with, and depends on, the nose tackle.

As the underdog, and also as the team that lost last year--extending the AFC losing streak to seven--Buffalo needs good, early production from Smith and Wright to establish credibility.

The Redskins are confident that they can run against Buffalo. But if the Bills stop the Redskin running game early--and if the Bills can score quickly--it’s a game.

“I’m only about 80%,” said Smith, who sat out for most of the season because of a knee injury. “But I think I can do it on 80%.”

Said Lachey, who outweighs the 275-pound Smith by 25 pounds: “I won’t have to handle him alone. We’ll keep seven (pass blockers) in a lot, and sometimes eight.”

A fast start is psychologically necessary to the Bills, who, if they are losing, will find it hard not to panic when they reflect that another defeat will run their Super Bowl record to 0-2.

Under Coach Joe Gibbs, the Redskins are 2-1 in Super Bowls since 1982. Having won twice, the Redskins, if they fall behind, are less likely than the Bills to be disturbed.

“The score at any given time isn’t a problem,” Gibbs said. “The problem is (Buffalo quarterback) Jim Kelly.”

Atlanta Falcon Coach Jerry Glanville, dressed in black from his boots to his cowboy hat, wandered into the Super Bowl media center Saturday and said he belonged there.

“I’m doing the (live) radio broadcast to England,” he said.

Asked if he could sit still that long, he said: “I’ll manage. It pays better than coaching.”

Matt Millen, the linebacker who jumped from the Raiders to the Redskin starting lineup this season, probably won’t play much today.

“As everybody knows, Matt is very valuable to our team,” Gibbs said. “We got him to help win the Eastern Division. But we’re playing a different kind of team now.

“We’ve played two run-and-shoot teams (in the playoffs) and now three-(wide receiver formations) in the Super Bowl. It’s tough for him, but he’s got a great attitude.”

Millen hasn’t played in the postseason.

The Redskins used him this season as their starting middle linebacker--as a run-stopper who usually came out on passing downs--because their competition in the NFC East is provided by three old-fashioned running teams--the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.

And Millen played his part well when the Redskins were engaged with those three and other conservative teams.

“Just don’t confuse me with a cornerback,” he said.

The Rose Bowl people have been manning the most popular booth in the Super Bowl media center here this week, thus calling attention to the fact that game XXVII will be played in Pasadena a year from today.

“There’s a lot of interest in our new ($8.5-million) press box,” said Greg A. Asbury, general manager of the Rose Bowl.

Then, noting a temperature reading of 15 in Minneapolis, Asbury said: “But there may be even more interest in our weather.”

Half of the linebackers on the 1987 All-American team will start today. They are Cornelius Bennett of Alabama and Shane Conlan of Penn State, both Bills.

Quotes: Jim Kelly, Buffalo quarterback, on his formative years: “I remember watching (Charger quarterback) Dan Fouts ringing up 450 yards every game. That’s the type of offense I always wanted to play. Wing it, gun it.”

Joe Gibbs, Redskin coach, on the Buffalo lineup: “I think we would have trouble matching up with them one-on-one. I think the idea is not to have to match up with them one-on-one. That’s why we’ll do some different things.”

Matt Millen, Redskin linebacker, on playing for Joe Paterno, Al Davis, Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs: “The one common thread with each of them is that each is totally convinced that his way is the only way.”