COLLEGE FOOTBALL : DAILY REPORT : THE BOWL GAMES

Barnett Is Tired of the Talk

Gary Barnett has tired of talk about his leaving Northwestern as the Wildcats prepare for the Rose Bowl.

“Once and for all. I don’t really want to say it again,” Barnett said before reiterating he’s negotiating a long-term deal with Northwestern.

“I’ve laid it to rest. I’m not going to anymore. I’ve said it. That’s all there is to it. It’s the truth.”

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Gator Bowl-bound Clemson gave Coach Tommy West a 10% raise, from $114,796 to $126,275, and a two-year contract extension. West, in his second year at Clemson, guided the Tigers to an 8-3 record and their first New Year’s Day bowl since 1991. Their Gator Bowl opponent is Syracuse (8-3).

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What Auburn quarterback Patrick Nix has seen of Penn State’s defense has made an impression.

“We have faced a lot of defenses that are very wild and do a lot of crazy things. Sometimes you can catch them out of position,” Nix said in a news conference previewing the Jan. 1 Outback Bowl. “With Penn State, it’s very rare that you will catch them out of position.”

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Gary Pinkel didn’t know what to expect after Toledo and Nevada found themselves going into an historical overtime in the Las Vegas Bowl.

This was, after all, uncharted territory for any major college football coach.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever had to play a fifth quarter,” Pinkel said after his No. 25 Toledo team emerged from the first major college overtime game with a 40-37 victory Thursday night over Nevada in the Las Vegas Bowl.

It was the first test of the new NCAA overtime rules for bowl games.

AROUND THE NATION

Division I-AA Final Today

Montana, playing in its first championship game, faces Marshall for the NCAA Division I-AA title today in Huntington, W.Va. Marshall, the host team, is playing in the title game for the fourth time in five seasons. The Herd (12-2) won in 1992.

The Grizzlies (12-2) won their three preliminary playoff games by a combined scored of 163-14. Quarterback Dave Dickenson has thrown for 1,219 yards in that span, 230 shy of the I-AA playoff record.

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Tom Masella, who spent five seasons as an assistant at Boston University before becoming coach at Fairfield, is returning to Boston. Masella, 36, succeeds Dan Allen, who resigned this week to become coach at Holy Cross.