COLLEGE FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT : HOW THE TOP 25 FARED

RANK: 1

TEAM: Nebraska (13-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Miami, 24-17; Who needs a playoff system? The best game of the season decided the national title.

RANK: 2

TEAM: Penn State (12-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Oregon, 38-20; In between sobs for the Nittany Lions, remember they didn’t have to defeat Colorado and Miami. Nebraska did.

RANK: 3

TEAM: Miami (10-2)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to Nebraska, 24-17; Think how the Hurricanes will feel if they lose not only Warren Sapp, but Coach Dennis Erickson to the NFL.

RANK: 4

TEAM: Colorado (11-1)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Notre Dame, 41-24; Fiesta Bowl perfect example why bowl coalition never worked. Irish belonged, at best, in Cotton.

RANK: 5

TEAM: Florida (10-2-1)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to Florida State, 23-17; Seminole kicker Dan Mowrey almost saved Gators, proving again he is decade’s most overrated recruit.

RANK: 6

TEAM: Alabama (12-1)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Ohio State, 24-17; Crimson Tide won by more than 11 points only twice, so fans knew close game was good sign.

RANK: 7

TEAM: Florida State (10-1-1)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Florida, 23-17; Less than four minutes left, leading by six, Seminoles keep throwing. That’s how you play a meaningless bowl.

RANK: 8

TEAM: Texas A&M; (10-0-1)

SYNOPSIS: Idle. On probation and ineligible for posteseason play.

RANK: 9

TEAM: Auburn (9-1-1)

SYNOPSIS: Idle. On probation and ineligible for posteseason play.

RANK: 10

TEAM: Colorado State (10-2)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to Michigan, 24-14; Fine drive by Rams and other Western Athletic Conference teams crashes into the reality of Big Ten.

RANK: 11

TEAM: Kansas State (9-3)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to Boston College, 12-7; Well, maybe the Wildcats deserved no better than the Aloha Bowl after all.

RANK: 12

TEAM: Oregon (9-4)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to Penn State, 38-20; At least Ducks can boast that their Rose Bowl loss came down, at least partly, to missed field goal or three.

RANK: 13

TEAM: Ohio State (9-4)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to Alabama, 24-17; Buckeye receiver Joey Galloway scores twice and makes case for being picked before J.J. Stokes in NFL draft.

RANK: 14

TEAM: Utah (10-2)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Arizona, 16-13; Utes want badly to finish the season ranked in the top 10, and Freedom Bowl effort might put them there.

RANK: 15

TEAM: Arizona (8-4)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to Utah, 16-13; Gee, a WAC team defeats a Pacific 10 team. Sound familiar?

RANK: 16

TEAM: Mississippi State (8-4)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to North Carolina State, 28-24; Exactly who was the genius who scheduled the Peach Bowl opposite the Orange Bowl?

RANK: 17

TEAM: Virginia Tech (8-4)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to Tennessee, 45-23; Volunteer freshman quarterback Peyton Manning proves he’s no Jughead. Remember the name.

RANK: 18

TEAM: Virginia (9-3)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Texas Christian, 20-10; Those Poulan/Weed Eater Independ ence Bowl victories never come easy.

RANK: 19

TEAM: North Carolina (8-4)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to Texas, 35-31; Tar Heels suffer the ignominy of being only team to lose to an SWC foe in a bowl.

RANK: 20

TEAM: Michigan (8-4)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Colorado State, 24-14; Losing to Rams after falling to Ohio State might have made Coach Gary Moeller permanent San Diego resident.

RANK: 21

TEAM: USC (8-3-1)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Texas Tech, 55-14; Before ordering 1995 national championship banners, remember Red Raiders were 6-5 in a dying league.

RANK: 22

TEAM: BYU (10-3)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Oklahoma, 31-6; Copper Bowl triumph means plenty to the Cougars, who had won only two of last nine postseason games.

RANK: 23

TEAM: N.C. State (9-3)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Mississippi State, 28-24; Wolfpack snuck past Virginia to win ACC title, then surprised the Bulldogs.

RANK: 24

TEAM: Washington State (8-4)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Baylor, 10-3; All you need to know is that Texas Tech defeated the Bears, 38-7, this season.

RANK: 25

TEAM: Duke (8-4)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to Wisconsin, 34-20; Blue Devils couldn’t stop Terrell Fletcher, who rushed for 241 yards; basketball team might be overrated too.

PASSING

Player Comp. Att. Yds. TD O’NEIL, Oregon 41 61 456 2 WUERFFEL, Florida 28 39 394 1 BARKER, Alabama 18 37 317 1 FISCHER, Duke 28 46 314 0 R. JOHNSON, USC 16 21 289 3 POWLUS, Notre Dame 18 34 259 3 KANELL, Florida St. 23 40 252 1 JOHNSTON, W. Virginia 19 32 240 2 TANEYHILL, So. Carolina 26 36 227 1

RUSHING

Player No. Yards TD FLETCHER, Wisconsin 39 241 3 WILLIAMS, Alabama 27 166 1 CARTER, Penn St. 21 156 3 STEWART, Colorado 7 143 1 WALKER, W. Virginia 16 132 1 BENNETT, So. Carolina 14 100 0 GEORGE, Ohio St. 15 89 0 WALTERS, USC 14 82 1 BECTON, Notre Dame 17 81 0

RECEIVING

Player No. Yards TD WILCOX, Oregon 11 135 1 KHAYAT, Duke 11 109 0 McLEMORE, Oregon 10 90 0 K. JOHNSON, USC 8 222 3 WILLIAMS, Alabama 8 155 1 GALLOWAY, Ohio St. 8 146 2 ABRAHAM, W. Virginia 7 107 0 J. JACKSON, Florida 6 128 0 JENSEN, Duke 6 97 0