COLLEGE FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT / THE BOWL GAMES : DID HE SAY THAT?

Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz was effusive about Irish quarterback Rick Mirer after the Cotton Bowl victory over Texas A&M.; “Rick is the most underrated quarterback in America,” Holtz said. Apparently, early in the season, Holtz was one of those who didn’t put Mirer on a pedestal. Remember the 17-17 tie against Michigan on Sept. 12? Holtz’s conservative play-calling at the end of the game effectively took the ball out of his quarterback’s hands and ensured that the Irish could do no better than tie.

THERE’S MORE?

This game is for those fanatics who didn’t get enough college football on Friday, with bowl games televised from 8 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. Tonight’s Peach Bowl brings to an end the bowl season, with the exception of four all-star games played almost as much for pro scouts as for any kind of fan interest.

No. 19 North Carolina (8-3) will play No. 24 Mississippi State (7-4) at 5 p.m. PST in the Georgia Dome at Atlanta. Both teams have relied heavily on the run and usually throw only when they need to.

North Carolina’s Natrone Means rushed for 1,195 yards, and Mississippi State has run almost 300 more times than it has passed.

Both coaches said they will stick with the things that have taken them this far.

“At this time of year, if you don’t have tendencies, you’re not still playing,” North Carolina’s Mack Brown said. “The good football teams have done some things successfully week after week to get to this point, and you’re sure not going to change them.”

Said Mississippi State’s Jackie Sherrill: “It’s like the old saying: ‘Dance with the lady that brought you.’ The players that brought you, you better dance with them. I think you make mistakes changing a lot of things that don’t fit in your offense.”

If the game lives up to its tradition, it might actually be worth watching. North Carolina State beat East Carolina, 37-34, last year, and the last eight Peach Bowls have been decided by a total of 24 points. Six of the last seven games were decided in the final 60 seconds.