TODAY’S OTHER BOWL GAMES : Buckeyes Can’t Spend Whole Time on Hearst

The tendency to concentrate on another team’s star player may give No. 8 Georgia an advantage when the Bulldogs meet No. 15 Ohio State in the Florida Citrus Bowl today at Orlando, Fla.

In worrying about tailback Garrison Hearst, the Buckeyes (8-2-1) may forget about Eric Zeier.

Zeier, a sophomore quarterback, has given the Bulldogs (9-2) a dimension they did not have for most of Vince Dooley’s 25-year coaching career--a passing game.

Dooley’s successor, Ray Goff, decided two years ago after a 4-7 season that the Bulldogs needed to change their offense.

As a freshman last season, Zeier passed for 1,984 yards and seven touchdowns after gaining the starting berth halfway through the season.

This season he passed for 2,248 yards and 12 scores but was overshadowed by Hearst, who ran for 1,547 yards, set a Southeastern Conference record with 21 touchdowns and finished third in the Heisman voting.

Ohio State, which has lost three bowls in a row, is led by Robert Smith, who averaged 5.8 yards per carry while leading the Buckeyes with 707 yards. He was slowed by a cracked rib and sprained left ankle during the season.

The men who will be the center of attention in today’s Hall of Fame Bowl at Tampa, Fla., would just as soon the spotlight focus on their players. Neither Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer nor Boston College’s Tom Coughlin want to detract from what the Volunteers (8-3) and Eagles (8-2-1) have accomplished this season.

“Everybody wants to say this is the beginning of the Phillip Fulmer era and this is the most important game of all time. I don’t see it that way,” said Fulmer, who succeeded Johnny Majors at Tennessee at the conclusion of the regular season.

Coughlin reportedly is a leading candidate for the New York Giants’ vacancy that opened when Ray Handley was fired. He reiterated Thursday that he has not been contacted about the job and is concerned only with having his players prepared for Tennessee.

“They’re here because of what they’ve accomplished,” Coughlin said.