COLLEGE FOOTBALL / BOWL REPORT : FIESTA: COLORADO vs. NOTRE DAME, Monday : Working on the Donahue Plan

Colorado Coach Bill McCartney revealed, tongue in cheek, his secret weapon for preparing his team for Monday’s game.

“We got (Rick) Neuheisel now, and he coached all those years with (Terry) Donahue at UCLA,” McCartney said. “Well, Donahue always wins all those bowl games, so I just ask Neuheisel what Donahue does during bowl weeks, he tells me, and then I do it. I asked him if Donahue looks into hotel room keyholes when he’s got his guys on curfew. Neuheisel says yes, so now I’ll do that.”

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Columnist Bob Hurt of the Arizona Republic wrote about all the religious talk flying around here this week, with both McCartney and Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz pointing to religion frequently as part of their approach to life and to teaching.

Hurt, who took less than an enthusiastic approach to this mixture of God and gridiron, quoted something said long ago on the subject by the late Frank Leahy, longtime Irish coach.

“I always thought prayers worked better,” Leahy said, “when my players were bigger.”

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Rashaan Salaam, Colorado’s star running back, said that once Neuheisel was hired to replace McCartney, the chances of his staying for his senior season, rather than turning pro, were about “90-10.” Now, he is getting a little cranky about answering questions on the subject. He told Colorado officials that he wanted the press kept away from him until he makes his decision known Friday, and he asked those officials to “spell out consequences” for those in the press who didn’t abide by his wishes.

To many reporters, that sounded like a high draft choice speaking.