SPOTLIGHT / SATURDAY’S GAMES AT A GLANCE : SIGN OF THE TIMES

No season in recent memory has been as filled with player unrest as this one. Some of the actions of players have preceded turnarounds; some haven’t seemed to have any effect at all. This week’s movement at Morgan State produced the most dramatic result yet: It ended the season.

A petition, signed by 69 players seeking dismissal of Coach Ricky Diggs, was presented to administrators on Wednesday. Players charged Diggs with favoritism and said he was unapproachable.

Saturday in Baltimore, because of a potential halftime demonstration by players, administrators decided to forfeit the team’s final scheduled game against Bethune-Cookman.

“The university made an assessment, based on our concern about public safety,” said Joe McIver, acting athletic director. “It wasn’t the demonstration, but our concern about people who are not part of the university becoming part of this thing. It only takes one person to start something.”

Diggs went to Morgan State after being an assistant at two military schools, The Citadel and Air Force.

“He’s a strong disciplinarian. That came with the package,” said Leonard Braxton, who hired Diggs but is now at Arizona State.

Added McIver: “If we were winning, he’d be called Bear Bryant. But unfortunately we’re not winning.”

The forfeit gave Morgan State a record of 2-9. The Bears were 1-10 last year and won only once in the season before Diggs’ arrival.

Raymond Downs, vice president for student affairs at Morgan, said he will review the complaints next week.

Three other schools have had player revolts. South Carolina, after players voted to support the ouster of Coach Sparky Woods, finished the season by winning five of its last six games, with Woods at the helm.

At Memphis State, after the Tigers started 0-3, players sought the removal of Coach Chuck Stobart. Stobart stayed, and the team won its next five.

At Cal State Fullerton, players threatened to boycott the game at Southwestern Louisiana because they wanted assurances that the program was going to continue past this season and that they would keep their scholarships. They called off the boycott and managed to beat Southwestern Louisiana. But they are 2-8 with one game remaining and the future of the program very much in doubt.

TYPOGRAPHICAL ASSIST

North Carolina State quarterback Terry Jordan couldn’t believe what he was reading about Saturday’s game against Wake Forest. In a newspaper report comparing the Wolfpack, ranked 13th, with the 25th-ranked Demon Deacons, Wake Forest was given the edge in several categories, including quarterback. Turns out, North Carolina State was supposed to be given the edge, but a typographical error put the mark in the wrong spot. “That kind of got me mad. That ticked me off,” Jordan said. “I think that shows us that we don’t get any respect.” Jordan passed for two touchdowns in a 42-14 victory.

STREAKS

Miami has won 28 in a row. . . . Duke has lost 13 consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference games and 10 in a row to ranked opponents. . . . Temple lost its 10th game in a row, 35-10, to Rutgers. . . . Florida, which beat Vanderbilt, 41-21, has won seven games in a row. . . . Virginia Tech finished with eight consecutive losses, the worst streak since 1950.

HOLLOW NUMBERS

Pittsburgh’s Alex Van Pelt has passed for 10,594 yards and moved past Doug Flutie to become No. 4 on the all-time list. But here are the more painful numbers during Van Pelt’s tenure: Van Pelt is 0-4 against Notre Dame, 1-2-1 against West Virginia, 1-2-1 against Syracuse, 0-2 against Miami, 0-1 against Oklahoma and now 0-4 against rival Penn State. The Nittany Lions routed the Panthers, 57-13, on Saturday. Van Pelt completed 10 of 25 passes for 149 yards. Saturday’s statistics belonged to Penn State’s O.J. McDuffie, who set four school records. McDuffie broke the single-season reception record of 55 with 62 and the career mark of 117 with 124. He also surpassed Blair Thomas’ single-season all-purpose yardage of 1,772, with 1,850, and the school’s one-season touchdown mark of eight with nine.

PICK ONE

Maybe there will be no Heisman Trophy this year. Marshall Faulk? He hurt his knee early Saturday. Gino Torretta? He had 343 yards against Syracuse, but three interceptions. Miami plays at San Diego State next Saturday .

GRANDKLUNKER

Good thing the Rose Bowl isn’t affiliated with the new bowl coalition and it stuck with its Big Ten-Pac-10 affiliation. Otherwise, how else could fans see those juggernauts--Washington and Michigan--in the Granddaddy of them all on New Year’s Day? They might be better suited for the defunct California Raisin Bowl now. Michigan tied Ohio State, 13-13, Saturday for its second consecutive tie to finish the regular season 8-0-3. Washington was humiliated by Washington State, 42-23, to lose for the second time in three games.

BOWL BUSTS

Wisconsin had representatives of the Independence and Freedom bowls watching; Michigan State was looking at a Holiday Bowl berth. Neither Big Ten team will play again this season. Wisconsin lost to Northwestern, 27-25, and Michigan State lost to Illinois, 14-10, leaving each bowl hopeful with only five victories, one short of the required number for bowl consideration.

NOTEWORTHY

North Carolina State (9-2-1) matched the school’s record for regular-season victories, accomplished in 1974 and matched last season. . . . Clemson finished 5-6, its first losing season since 1976. . . . Columbia beat Brown, 34-28, to finish 3-7, its best record since 1978, and won for the second time in a row, the Lions’ first winning streak since ’78. . . . Mike Giardi tied Harvard’s record for career rushing touchdowns at 21 in a 14-0 victory over Yale. Charlie Brickley, Class of 1915, set the record. . . . Florida’s Shane Matthews increased his number of SEC passing records to 10 with his 70th touchdown pass and 675th completion in a 41-21 victory over Vanderbilt. The league records had been held by Louisiana State’s Tommy Hodson. . . . Missouri’s Jeff Jacke kicked a school-record five field goals in a 22-17 victory over Kansas and became the school’s scoring leader with 225 points. . . . Kordell Stewart set a Colorado single-season passing record with 2,109 yards in a 31-10 victory over Iowa State. . . . Kansas State ended its home season 5-0, the first perfect home mark since 1934.

IN QUOTES

Michigan Coach Gary Moeller, complaining about almost anything after a 13-13 tie with Ohio State at Columbus: “You can’t stand up on that field. It’s a joke! It’s a joke! You can’t stand up on that field. It was like an ice rink. ... You can’t hear, and we got no help from the officials. The whole world was against us out there. It’s never been like this here.”

SEASON TO REMEMBER

No player currently on the Rice roster was born the last time the Owls had a winning season. Rice had had 28 consecutive losing seasons before its 27-22 victory over Navy gave the Owls a 6-4 record with one game remaining. “I’m overwhelmed,” said teary-eyed Rice Coach Fred Goldsmith, 48, who was a freshman in college the last time the Owls had a winning season.

THE OLDEST RIVALRY

The nation’s oldest football rivalry is Lafayette-Lehigh. Lafayette increased its advantage in the series to 70-53-5 with a 32-29 victory.