Pro Football Spotlight

FIRST CAME THE CIRCUS, THEN CAME THE GAME

They were dancing in the streets of Birmingham, Ala. And that was before the Crimson Tide’s 21-14 victory over Auburn.

After all, both teams went into the annual season-ending matchup undefeated for the first time in 23 years. The hype was of historic proportions.

Two hours before kickoff, mounted police unsuccessfully tried to shoo fans off the street in front of the stadium.

The stadium’s 83,091 seats appeared full an hour before kickoff, and scalpers were asking $200 for a pair of 50-yard-line seats.

Across the street outside the Tide and Tiger bar, dozens of people stood in a line that weaved through cars and empty beer cases. At the front, people paid $1 to use portable toilets.

Even the players were amazed at the circus-like atmosphere that gripped the city.

“It’s probably not as intense on the field as it is in some homes this time of year when there’s a mixed crowd,” Alabama quarterback Jay Barker said after the game.

MAYBE THEIR HEADS JUST WEREN’T IN IT

Michigan’s troubles began long before its game against Ohio State, a game the Wolverines lost, 22-6.

Five Michigan helmets were stolen from the visiting locker room at Ohio Stadium on Friday night. They belonged to tailback Tyrone Wheatley, quarterback Todd Collins, tight end Jay Riemersma, wide receiver Amani Toomer and backup quarterback Scott Dreisbach.

Replacements were issued, but some of the players complained that they didn’t fit properly.

Michigan equipment manager Jon Falk said an investigation is under way.

“Will look into who has access to the room. . . . We will also be keeping an eye out for five Michigan helmets,” he said.

SALAAM BUFFALOES WAY INTO CLUB 2,000

The 67-yard run by Colorado’s Rashaan Salaam, his longest of the year, put him past the 2,000-yard rushing mark for the season. Salaam becomes the first Division I-A running back to rush for more than 2,000 yards since Barry Sanders did it with Oklahoma State in 1988.

JO JO JONES PUTS PAYTON IN HIS PLACE

Jo Jo Jones rushed for 311 yards and four touchdowns, breaking Walter Payton’s all-time college touchdown record, as Lambuth (Tenn.) beat Evangel (Mo.), 48-19, in the first round of the NAIA Division II playoffs.

Jones has rushed for 64 touchdowns. That tops the 63 Payton scored between 1971 and 1974 at Jackson State.

AIR McNAIR ENDS SEASON WITH ANOTHER WALK IN PARK

Steve McNair, playing in his final regular-season college game, passed for 533 yards and five touchdowns as Alcorn State defeated Jackson State, 52-34, and might have wrapped up a Division I-AA playoff berth.

McNair, the NCAA all-divisions career leader in total offense, had 564 total yards. It was the fifth game this season he had more than 500 yards, a Division I-AA record.

McNair, who completed 29 of 54 passes on Saturday, has 16,823 career total yards. He ended the regular season having completed 303 of 524 passes for 4,899 yards with 44 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He also had 936 yards rushing and nine touchdowns.

MAYBE IT WASN’T HIS TURF, AFTER ALL

Nevada Las Vegas Coach Jeff Horton was ordered to apologize to a Reno television reporter after swearing and kicking the reporter out of practice two days before the UNLV-Nevada game.

Horton reportedly told KOLO-TV sports director Dana Wagner: “Now you’re on my turf pal. You can take your . . . camera and you can get the . . . out of here.”

His tone changed after being reprimanded by the school.

“I apologize to members of the public and university community for my use of profanity,” he said in a statement, explaining that the incident stemmed from a personal dispute with the reporter.

QUOTEWORTHY

“This chapter has ended. I don’t know quite what’s around the corner.”

--Colorado Coach Bill McCartney, who moments after the Buffaloes’ 41-20 victory over Iowa State announced he will resign after this season.

AT THIS POINT, MAYBE THEY DON’T GIVE A HOOT

Only 11,873 showed in Philadelphia to watch Temple finish its season. No surprise. The Owls, in falling to No. 5 Miami, 38-14, lost their eighth in a row and their 25th consecutive Big East Conference game. They are 2-9 overall, 0-7 in the Big East.

Owl no-shows did miss history in the making, though. Temple became the only Big East team to score two touchdowns in a game against Miami this season.

FOR SOME, SEASON HAS BEEN TOO MUCH

While some Oregon fans are already clamoring for Nittany Lion blood, after the Ducks advanced to the Rose Bowl for the first time since the 1957 season, others said they will use the time between now and Jan. 2 to regroup.

“The ebb and flow (of this season) has been just short of a heart attack,” said Roberto Lopez, a 20-year Oregon fan.

BUT THE TEAM IS SURE TO REMAIN A HOT TICKET

Oregon wasted no time announcing plans for distributing its allotment of tickets.

A total of 39,000 tickets, which sell for $48 apiece, will be offered through five support groups, including the students. Anyone else who wants a ticket will have to wait until Dec. 14, when the school will announce what it will do with any that have not been sold by then.

HAS FAUST LOST HIS ZIP?

Gerry Faust has coached his last game for the University of Akron, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The newspaper, without identifying sources, said the former Notre Dame coach is being reassigned to another position.

Faust’s team was 0-10 and had the nation’s longest Division I-A losing streak at 12 before the Zips defeated Ohio University, 24-10, on Saturday.

The victory probably wouldn’t have a bearing on the school’s decision. Ohio (0-11) finished the season as the only Division I-A team without a victory or a tie in 1994.

THIS THOMAS LEAVES FEW DOUBTERS AT DUKE

Mike Thomas pulled off another miracle finish against No. 24 Duke, hitting Octavus Barnes with a 71-yard touchdown pass with 2:01 to play to lift North Carolina past the Blue Devils, 41-40.

Thomas, playing for the injured Jason Stanicek, came off the bench in Durham, N.C., two years ago to throw for 299 yards and the winning touchdown in a 31-28 North Carolina victory over Duke.

NOTEWORTHY

Penn State broke a school scoring record when Ki-Jana Carter ran for a 23-yard touchdown with 19 seconds to play in the first half against Northwestern. The Nittany Lions have scored 467 points this year, breaking the record of 454 set in 1971. . . . Brown rallied to beat Columbia, 59-27, in an Ivy League game. Brown’s 59 points tied a conference record set by Princeton against the Bears in 1991. . . . Alex Smith of Indiana ran for 245 yards and two touchdowns, setting Big Ten freshman rushing records for a game and a season in the Hoosiers’ 33-29 victory over Purdue. Smith’s 1,475 yards broke the freshman record of 1,240 set by Minnesota’s Darrell Thompson in 1986.

Spence Fischer completed 33 of 57 passes for 395 yards--all career highs--in Duke’s 41-40 loss to North Carolina. . . . Jason Truman completed 33 of 55 passes for 401 yards and four touchdowns as Western Montana outgunned Glenville State, 48-38, in an NAIA Division I first-round playoff game. . . . In losing to Alabama Birmingham, 48-6, Prairie View extended its record NCAA Division I-AA losing streak to 46 in a row. . . . Jeff Soucie, 20, a redshirt sophomore fullback for Iowa State, died Saturday in an automobile accident. Soucie was a passenger in a car that collided at an intersection shortly after 1 a.m. in Lincoln, Neb.

FORGET AMAZING KRESKIN; HERE ARE REAL RISKY PICKS

The bowl picture cleared a bit Saturday, but there are still too many key games remaining for definitive matchups to be set. The USC-Notre Dame game and the Texas Tech-Texas Christian game, for instance, will have a trickle-down impact on a handful of bowl games. But following the no-guts, no-glory theory of prognosticating, here’s a look at one set of possibilities with teams that have reportedly settled on games in bold.

ROSE--Penn State vs. Oregon ORANGE--Nebraska vs. Miami SUGAR--Florida-Alabama winner vs. Virginia or Florida State COTTON--Texas Tech vs. Notre Dame FIESTA--Colorado vs. Virginia or Florida State GATOR--Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee CITRUS--Ohio State vs. Florida-Alabama loser ALAMO--Washington State vs. Texas-Baylor loser SUN--Texas-Baylor winner vs. USC FREEDOM--Arizona vs. Utah ALOHA--Kansas State vs. Boston College COPPER--Oklahoma vs. Brigham Young PEACH--North Carolina vs. Mississippi State HALL OF FAME--Wisconsin vs. Duke HOLIDAY--Michigan vs. Colorado State LIBERTY--Illinois vs. East Carolina CARQUEST--Syracuse vs. South Carolina INDEPENDENCE--Georgia vs. N.C. State LAS VEGAS--Nevada Las Vegas vs. Central Michigan