Advertisement

Nebraska, Florida Ranked 1-2 : College football: Cornhuskers and Gators set for a showdown in Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2.

Share
From Associated Press

Florida moved up to No. 2 in the Associated Press college football poll Sunday, setting up a Fiesta Bowl showdown against No. 1 Nebraska.

Florida (11-0) rose one spot after defeating Florida State, 35-24, Saturday. If the Gators defeat No. 23 Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference championship game, they will play Nebraska (11-0) for the national title Jan. 2 in the Fiesta Bowl.

Nebraska remained No. 1 after defeating Oklahoma, 37-0, Friday. The Cornhuskers received 51 first-place votes and 1,539 points from a nationwide media panel, while Florida got 11 firsts and 1,499 points.

Advertisement

Northwestern (10-1), which finished its regular season a week ago, moved up one notch to No. 3 and Tennessee (10-1) climbed one spot to No. 4 after defeating Vanderbilt, 12-7.

Both teams jumped over Ohio State (11-1), which fell from second to fifth after losing to Michigan, 31-23.

Notre Dame was sixth, followed by Colorado, Florida State, Texas and Kansas State. All those teams were idle except Florida State and Texas, which defeated Baylor, 21-13, Thursday.

No. 25 Toledo (10-0-1), the only unbeaten team besides Nebraska and Florida, is ranked for the first time since the final poll of the 1971 season.

*

Beau Morgan rushed for four touchdowns and passed for a fifth Saturday night at Honolulu to power Air Force to a 45-28 victory over Hawaii and a share of the Western Athletic Conference championship.

The victory gave the Falcons a 6-2 conference record and a share of the title with Colorado State, Utah and Brigham Young. But more importantly, the victory kept open their hopes for a major bowl game. Colorado State will represent the WAC in the Holiday Bowl.

Advertisement

Morgan was spectacular, rushing for 206 yards in 30 carries and completing eight of 11 passes for 103 yards, as he guided the Falcons (8-4 overall) to 518 offensive yards.

*

Miami’s next game could be in the Orange Bowl or the Gator Bowl. Or it could be in September 1996.

Most probable for the Big East Conference co-champions is an Orange Bowl matchup against sixth-ranked Notre Dame on New Year’s night.

If the NCAA announces sanctions against the Hurricanes before Sunday’s bowl-bid deadline, they might begin probation immediately so that it ends sooner, reducing the impact on recruiting.

*

USC wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson and UCLA offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden were named to the Walter Camp All-America team. The quarterback was Nebraska’s Tommie Frazier, with Ohio State’s Eddie George and Iowa State’s 2,000-yard rusher Troy Davis the running backs.

*

Wisconsin quarterback Darrell Bevell’s condition was upgraded to fair as he remained hospitalized because of a bruised kidney suffered in Saturday’s game against Illinois.

Advertisement

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Bowl Picture

Official invitations won’t be announced until Dec. 3, but most postseason matchups are taking shape. A look at where they appear to be heading:

BOWL GAME: Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Dec. 14, 6 p.m. (ESPN)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Nevada (9-2) vs. Toledo (10-0-1)

*

BOWL GAME: Aloha

Honolulu, Dec. 25, 12:30 p.m. (ABC)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Kansas (9-2) vs. UCLA (7-4)

*

BOWL GAME: Copper

Tucson, Dec. 27, 6 p.m. (ESPN)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Utah (7-4) vs. Texas Tech (8-3)

*

BOWL GAME: Alamo

San Antonio, Dec. 28, 5 p.m. (ESPN)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Michigan (9-3) vs. Texas (9-1-1) or Texas A&M; (8-2)

*

BOWL GAME: Sun

El Paso, Dec. 29, 11:30 a.m. (CBS)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Washington (7-3-1) vs. Iowa (7-4)

*

BOWL GAME: Independence

Shreveport, La., Dec. 29, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

LSU (6-4-1) vs. Michigan State (6-4-1)

*

BOWL GAME: Holiday

San Diego, Dec. 29, 6 p.m. (ESPN)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Colorado State (8-3) vs. Kansas State (9-2)

*

BOWL GAME: Liberty

Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 30, 9 a.m. (ESPN)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

East Carolina (8-3) vs. Stanford (7-3-1)

*

BOWL GAME: Carquest

Miami, Dec. 30, 4:30 p.m. (TBS)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Syracuse (8-3) vs. North Carolina (6-5)

*

BOWL GAME: Peach

Atlanta, Dec. 30, 5 p.m. (ESPN)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Virginia (8-4) vs. Auburn (8-3)

*

BOWL GAME: Sugar

New Orleans, Dec. 31, 4:30 p.m. (ABC)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Florida State (9-2) vs. Texas (9-1-1) or Texas A&M; (8-2)

*

BOWL GAME: Outback

Tampa, Fla., Jan. 1, 8 a.m. (ESPN)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Penn State (8-3) vs. Arkansas (8-3)

*

BOWL GAME: Gator

Jacksonville, Fla., Jan. 1, 9:30 a.m. (NBC)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Virginia Tech (9-2) vs. Clemson (8-3)

*

BOWL GAME: Citrus

Orlando, Fla., Jan. 1, 10 a.m. (ABC)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Tennessee (10-1) vs. Ohio State (11-1)

*

BOWL GAME: Cotton

Dallas, Jan. 1, 10:30 a.m. (CBS)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Colorado (9-2) vs. Oregon (9-2)

*

BOWL GAME: Rose

Pasadena, Jan. 1, 2 p.m. (ABC)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Northwestern (10-1-0) vs. USC (8-2-1)

*

BOWL GAME: Orange

Miami, Jan. 1, 5 p.m. (CBS)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Miami (8-3) vs. Notre Dame (9-2)

*

BOWL GAME: Fiesta

Tempe, Ariz., Jan. 2, 5:30 p.m. (CBS)

LIKELY OPPONENTS

Nebraska (11-0) vs. Florida (11-0)

Advertisement