THE BOWLS DAILY REPORT : ROSE : Note to Ducks: Sun Can Be Seen Here

The only concern Oregon coaches and players had as they arrived in Pasadena on Monday to resume preparation for their Jan. 2 game against Penn State was the strange ball of fire in the sky.

Known here as the sun, it is seldom seen at this time of the year in the Ducks’ home of Eugene, Ore. As Mike Ward, president of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, welcomed them in a ceremony in the plaza of the Doubletree Hotel, many players huddled in the shade to protect their sensitive skin.

“I’m sorry about the weather,” Ward said. “I didn’t realize we’d have to be outside.”

Oregon Coach Rich Brooks said that he would add extra sprints to the practices that began Monday at Glendora’s Citrus College to help the players acclimate.

“We’ll have to take a few days to get adjusted to the extra heat down here,” he said.

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Of 96 players on the traveling squad, only Kip East, a defensive back from San Jose who is not eligible to play because he is a redshirt, did not arrive by Monday’s 2 p.m. team meeting. He missed his flight from the Bay Area.

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Two players who feared that they might not arrive on time were linebackers Jeremy Asher and Rich Ruhl, who drove. After their car broke down in Bakersfield, they briefly considered hitchhiking the rest of the way. Instead, they slept on the decision in a low-budget motel, eventually choosing to rent a car.

Many Oregon players drove to Pasadena, taking advantage of an NCAA rule that allows bowl participants to receive cash for the amount of the air fare from their hometowns to the site of the game even if they choose not to fly. But 24 are from Southern California.

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Even though a victory by Miami over No. 1-ranked Nebraska in the Orange Bowl Sunday night would enhance No. 2 Penn State’s chance at a national championship, Coach Joe Paterno said, “I don’t know if I can bring myself to root for Miami because (Nebraska Coach) Tom Osborne is a good friend of mine . . . and he needs a win down there.”

Osborne’s Cornhuskers have lost seven consecutive bowl games, six in Florida.

And in Miami, Osborne told Orange Bowl reporters that he would rather his Nebraska team be playing Penn State.

“I think it’s a real tragedy that the people in college football, if they’re not going to have a playoff, are not going to be able to somehow have two teams who are undefeated . . . get together somehow,” Osborne said.