SPOTLIGHT / SATURDAY’S GAMES AT A GLANCE

WIDE RIGHT LEFT BEHIND

What did Scott Bentley do with his Saturday morning? Well, we know one thing, he didn’t read the local sports section that featured a story and this headline: “The Truth Behind Wide Right.”

Bentley is Florida State’s place-kicker, so reading about classic missed kicks that cost the Seminoles victories over Miami in the last two years isn’t exactly the way he wanted to begin his day with another game against Miami in a couple of hours.

The newspaper isn’t all Bentley skipped. He also skipped breakfast, mainly because he was afraid of losing it. What to do? As it turns out, there was plenty. He tied his shoes. He untied his shoes. He read the inspirational poem that someone named Gina had taped to his locker.

Then, not long before kickoff, he took a call from his girlfriend’s father back home in Colorado and heard probably the last thing he wanted to hear:

“One kick does not make a career.”

The good news for Bentley is that he didn’t even have to attempt a field goal, just four extra points that he sent cleanly between the uprights.

And as an exclamation point, on Bentley’s final kickoff, he put the ball out of the end zone.

“I wanted to leave my mark on the game, somehow or other,” he said.

MR. METAPHOR

Before his Florida State team beat Miami, Coach Bobby Bowden’s back may not have been against the wall, but he was treading on thin ice. Afterward, Bowden was pleased as punch and happier than a pig in slop.

“We’ve gotten over a major hurdle, but if we put all our eggs in one basket, we’re barking up the wrong tree,” he said.

NOTEWORTHY

On Wisconsin. The unbeaten Badgers (5-0) scored 53 points in a rout of Northwestern before a sellout crowd of 77,745 in Madison and scouts from the Holiday and Citrus Bowls.

Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden moved to within one coaching victory of tying former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler for No. 6 on the all-time list with 234 victories.

Bowling Green beat Ohio University, 20-0, extending the longest losing streak in Division I-A to 15 games.

Florida State gained 303 yards and averaged 10 yards per play in the first half against a Miami defense that hadn’t given up a touchdown before halftime all season.

Kansas State is 5-0 for the first time since 1931.

Maryland quarterback Scott Milanovich was sacked nine times and had three passes intercepted in a 38-0 loss to Georgia Tech.

Lafayette gained 636 yards in a 58-6 win over Columbia.

Michigan was scoreless in the first half for the first time in six years and lost, 17-7 to Michigan State.

TYING ONE ON

Dee-fense. Dee-fense. Aw, forget it.

In what is believed to be the highest scoring tie game in history, Kermit Buggs threw a 25-yard touchdown pass with three seconds left and then ran for a two-point conversion as Norfolk State rallied from a 27-point deficit to tie Winston-Salem State, 54-54.

The NCAA does not keep records for highest-scoring tie games in Division II, but this game had more points than the highest-scoring tie game in Division I history -- a 52-52 deadlock between Brigham Young and San Diego State on Nov. 16, 1991.

LET’S TOAST THE SALAMANDER

Salamanders on the dry bed of Lake Lagunita are breathing easier today. Stanford University, fearing for the safety of a rare salamander, has cancelled the traditional bonfire before next month’s traditional Big Game with Cal.

Why? Campus planner Drew Oman said the site of the traditional bonfire could roast the California tiger salamanders, which live in the cracks of the dry lake bed, burrow into the soil in search of water and go into a state of suspended animation until the first winter rains come.

The black-and-yellow spotted reptile is expected to be put on the endangered species list soon. Senior Steve Zika, chairman of the Axe Committee, told the Stanford Daily newspaper that the committee will go ahead and hold a “small ceremonial fire” the Thursday before the Nov. 20 game.

NAME GAME

Quick, now, what’s a Catamount? Don’t say ‘about nine lives,’ okay? Actually, it’s the team mascot at Western Carolina, which lost to Georgia Southern, 19-18, when all three Catamount coversions failed.

And, as everyone knows, failed Catamount conversions are tantamount to defeat.

STATE OF CONFUSION

Department of trivia buffs, obscure division, you may want to take note. It just may be a record-setting season for Michigan.

After losing to Michigan State, 17-7 the Wolverines are 3-2 and one-third of their way to completing a historic trifecta--losing to three Big Ten state schools in one season.

Actually, there haven’t ever been three state schools in the Big Ten until this year when Penn State joined in the fun. Michigan plays at Penn State next Saturday and ends the regular season by hosting Ohio State Nov. 20.

For what it’s worth, Michigan has lost to both Michigan State and Ohio State in the same season twice in the last 10 years.

91 IF BY LAND

Baylor became the first Division I-A team in seven years to play a game without throwing a pass. The Bears rushed 91 times for 482 yards in a 31-12 victory over Southern Methodist because quarterback J. J. Joe aggravated a shoulder injury in the first quarter and couldn’t throw.

The last team that didn’t throw a pass was Oklahoma in a game against Colorado in 1986. It hadn’t happened in the Southwest Conference since 1974 when Texas A&M; did it against SMU.

QUOTEWORTHY

Oklahoma ended a four-game losing streak to Texas, thanks to quarterback Cale Gundy, who played despite injuring his left hip in practice on Wednesday. After the 38-17 victory, Gundy was asked if he felt relieved: “No, I feel sore.”

From Northwestern Coach Gary Barnett after watching Wisconsin paste his Wildcats, 53-14: “I feel sorry for the second-string Wisconsin players. They didn’t get to play very much.”

After losing to Florida State, 28-10, Miami Coach Dennis Erickson said the Big East Conference title, which guarantees a Jan. 1 bowl berth, remains a goal. But Miami defensive end Keith Patrick had a different perspective: “The Big East doesn’t mean squat. The national championship ring is still on our minds.”

LATERAL MOVE

Rochester quarterback Gregg Eisenberg’s errant pitch sailed out of his end zone with 2:21 to play. The safety gave Hobart a 2-0 victory.

POST PATTERN

Quarterback Perry Klein, a transfer from California, passed for 520 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for two more as C.W. Post beat Gannon, 55-15.

GOODBYE, MR. ED

Ed Marinaro: Television star . . . “Hill Street Blues” . . . now in “Sisters” . . . not in the Cornell record books as total offense leader any longer, though. Sorry, Ed.

Quarterback Bill Lazor threw for a touchdown and ran for another Marinaro’s record and lead Cornell to its first victory, 27-0, over Harvard.

Lazor, a senior, completed 12 of 28 passes for 151 yards and added 11 yards on the ground to give him 4,871 yards in total offense for his three-year career. Marinaro, a running back from 1969-71, compiled 4,715 yards, all on the ground.

SACCA LOST, FOUND

Penn State quarterback John Sacca, relegated to second-string and then removed from the team, has turned up in Arizona after being reported missing by his family.

He went to Phoenix to visit older brother Tony, a former Nittany Lions quarterback now playing for the Phoenix Cardinals.

KEEP ON RUSHING

Running back Carey Bender set an NCAA Division III single-game rushing record by gaining 417 yards for Coe in a 69-7 victory over Grinnell.

Bender rushed 33 times for the 417 yards, breaking the previous record of 382 yards by Pete Baranek of Carthage against North Central on Oct. 5, 1985.