Notes on a Scorecard - Nov. 28, 1994

The Raiders were on their very best behavior Sunday at the Coliseum. . . .

They were assessed only two penalties for 10 yards. . . .

Seldom did they get the Pittsburgh Steelers mad at them. . . .

Instead, they got manhandled, 21-3. . . .

There’s nothing fancy about the Steelers. They just keep pounding you. . . .

This time they had five sacks, pounced on two fumbles and killed the clock in the second half with a four yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust attack that would have made Woody Hayes proud. . . .

The team that should have tried to show some imagination, the Raiders, didn’t. Their predictability made it easy for the Steel Curtain. If they have a trick play in their book, they’re saving for it some special occasion. . . .

Three points equals the Raiders’ fewest for a game at the Coliseum, their home field since 1982. On Dec. 27, 1987, the Chicago Bears beat them, 6-3. . . .

Poor Jeff Hostetler. The Raider quarterback either saw two images of the same receiver because he was suffering from blurred vision or no receivers at all because Kevin Greene’s hands were in his face. . . .

This was only the second time that Hostetler’s father-in-law, West Virginia Coach Don Nehlen, had seen him perform in an NFL game. . . .

What has happened to Rocket Ismail as a kickoff return threat? . . .

Upset of the day was Steeler field-goal kicker Gary Anderson going zero for three. . . .

The season’s largest NFL crowd at the Coliseum, 58,327, was loud, but nearly as well-behaved as the Raiders. . . .

Against teams that currently have winning records, the Raiders are 0-5. . . .

Next up are the Chargers (9-3) Monday night at San Diego. . . .

It’s beginning to look as though a 9-7 record might be good enough to make the AFC playoffs. That got the Steelers and Denver in last season. In 1991, the New York Jets earned a wild-card berth at 8-8. . . .

You realize Ground Chuck is a thing of the past when Chris Miller throws 47 times and Jerome Bettis carries 10 times for the Rams in their 31-17 loss to the San Diego Chargers. . . .

*

High on my sports hate list is the tie. . . .

I refuse to score a round even in a boxing match. . . .

Somebody has to have the edge, no matter how small. . . .

In other words, Saturday wasn’t my kind of day, not when Florida and Florida State tie, 31-31, and Notre Dame and USC tie, 17-17. . . .

Now is the time for the NCAA to adopt the NFL overtime rule. Let them play sudden death with a 15-minute time limit. . . .

No NFL game has ended in a tie since the one between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cleveland Browns in 1989. . . .

There shouldn’t have been one Saturday in Tallahassee, Fla., either. . . .

Coach Bobby Bowden should have gone for two points, instead of one, after Florida State rallied to within 31-30 of Florida with 1:45 left. . . .

The Seminoles had the weary Gators on the ropes; all they needed was a three-yard gain, and a victory would have meant the greatest fourth-quarter comeback in NCAA Division I history. . . .

Besides, I always thought the idea of the game was to try to win, not to try not to lose. . . .

*

However, I have more trouble quibbling with USC Coach John Robinson’s decision to settle for a one-point attempt against Notre Dame in the fourth quarter. There was 4:53 to play and the Trojans had a chance to get the ball back again, which they did. . . .

The problem was that USC’s final series, in the words of ABC commentator Bob Griese, was “abominable.” . . .

Bad taste awards went to those who booed the presentation of quarterback Rob Johnson at the season-ending gathering in front of the student section. . . .

A college kid, especially one who broke so many school records, doesn’t deserve that kind of treatment. . . .

Notre Dame’s 6-4-1 record is its worst since 1986, when the Irish were 5-6 in Lou Holtz’s first season. . . .

If the Trojans are going to beat Notre Dame and/or UCLA again, they’re going to have to find a way to stop the run. . . .

I’ve been attending football games at the Coliseum for a span of six decades and can’t remember colder conditions than Saturday night when the wind-chill factor dipped to 26 degrees. . . .

This final score just in from Honolulu--Missouri 32, Hawaii 32. Oh, those ties.