It’s Father-Son Night at Clemson

GAME OF THE WEEK

Only the great schedule maker in the sky could dream this up: father versus son, Seminole versus Tiger, brother versus brother.

What’s a wife and mother to do?

Bobby Bowden versus Tommy Bowden is a rare moment in sports because it was not contrived.

Oh, they tried to contrive it. Last year, ESPN was set to pit then-Auburn coach Terry Bowden against his daddy to kick off the 1999 season, but the deal fell through when Terry resigned at mid-season, his program in turmoil.

Bobby was fixing to put a big hurt on Auburn until Auburn wisely pulled out of the game.

Yet, a gala night in cable television was rescued when Tommy Bowden, capitalizing on his stunning 11-0 season at Tulane, was hired at Clemson, pitting himself against his legendary dad in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Adding to the drama of the first father-son matchup in college football history is that Bobby Bowden seeks Saturday to become the fifth Division I-A coach to reach 300 victories.

The game also has huge implications for the top-ranked Seminoles, who are smack-dab in another national title chase.

It is interesting to note that although Terry and Tommy have each posted an undefeated season--Terry at Auburn, Tommy at Tulane--the senior Bowden has never turned that trick.

A family affair? Ann Bowden, Bobby’s wife of 50 years and Tommy’s mother, is rooting for a close Florida State victory because her husband has more to lose. But the family ties extend beyond that:

* Jeff Bowden, one of the Bowdens’ four sons, is Florida State’s receiver coach.

* Jack Hines, who coaches Clemson’s defensive backs, is married to the former Robyn Bowden, one of two Bowden daughters.

* Terry Bowden, the ex-coach turned TV analyst, will be monitoring this BCS (Bowden Championship Series) game from a New York studio.

* Line: Florida State by 15 1/2.

RATING THE TRV GAMES

**** Whoa, Nellie

*** Fix the car tomorrow

** OK to watch golf infomercials

* For WWF scouts only

** No. 23 Miami (2-3) at Boston College (5-1), 9 a.m., Channel 2

Billed across the Eastern seaboard as a matchup of the best 2-3 team and the worst 5-1 school.

* Line: Miami by 18 1/2.

*** No. 22 Ohio State (4-3) at No. 24 Minnesota (5-1), 9 a.m., ESPN

Only the “Psychic Friends” beat reporter predicted the Gophers would be the team here with Rose Bowl hopes.

* Line: Minnesota by 2 1/2.

*** No. 11 Michigan State (6-1) at No. 17 Wisconsin (5-2), 9 a.m., ESPN2

Ron Dayne either rushes for 250 yards or leaves in first quarter with sprained ankle.

* Line: Wisconsin by 2.

** No. 7 Kansas State (6-0) at Oklahoma State (3-2), 9:30 a.m., FSW2

Bruising K-State back Joe Hall weighs in for game on truck scale.

* Line: Kansas State by 7.

**** No. 5 Tennessee (4-1) at No. 10 Alabama (5-1), 12:30 p.m., Channel 2

This would have been the game of the week if not for those blasted Bowdens.

* Line: Tennessee by 3.

* Hawaii (4-2) at Tulsa (1-5), 1 p.m., FSW2

Waitress Trixie tosses wise-guy Hawaii player out of diner for ordering mahi-mahi.

* Line: Hawaii by 6.

** Louisiana State (2-4) at No. 12 Mississippi State (6-0), 3 p.m., ESPN2

Carrier-pigeon reports out of Starkville confirm Bulldogs are really good.

* Line: Mississippi State by 14 1/2.

** No. 13 Texas A&M; (5-1) at Oklahoma (3-2), 4 p.m., FSW

We’ll find out here if you can say later to the Sooners.

* Line: Texas A&M; by 3 1/2.

** Colorado State (3-3) at Wyoming (4-2), 6 p.m., ESPN2

Rams reeling from consecutive losses; Cowboys reeling in lots of trout.

* Line: Wyoming by 2.

** Oregon (3-3) at Arizona (5-2), 7:15 p.m., FSW

Thanks to Pac-10’s poor play, game may be preempted by “This Week in Welding.”

* Line: Arizona by 3.

5 THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1. Alabama’s first Heisman Trophy winner? Incredible as it sounds, no player from the school with 12 national titles and 17 players in the College Football Hall of Fame has won the award, but fifth-year senior tailback Shaun Alexander can make his trophy case Saturday in a national TV matchup against Tennessee. Last week against Mississippi State, Alexander vaulted into the Heisman vacuum left by clotheshorse Peter Warrick, rushing for 214 yards against the nation’s No. 2 rush defense. The closest an Alabama player has come to winning the Heisman? David Palmer finished third in 1993.

2. The biggest game in Nevada Las Vegas football history. First-year Coach John Robinson has got the mojo working. His Rebels, 0-11 in 1998, are 3-3 and host Brigham Young on Saturday in a key measuring-stick game. Robinson says 5-1 BYU is as good as Florida State or Michigan--John, BYU lost at home to Virginia!--but you can forgive the coach for getting lost in the hype. “Three and three is probably better than people would have expected from us at this point,” he said.

Uh, don’t think he ever said that at USC.

3. A record-book rewrite. Ricky Williams, you might want to take your helmet off for this. Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne needs to average 174.3 yards in his last four games to break your NCAA rushing record of 6,279, and Miami of Ohio tailback Travis Prentice needs four touchdowns to break your NCAA mark of 75, and 21 points to eclipse your record of 452.

4. A “For Sale” sign in Baton Rouge. LSU Coach Gerry DiNardo got the dreaded vote of confidence this week when Athletic Director Joe Dean said DiNardo’s job is safe through the season. Where have we heard that before, from Mike Garrett? Tigers are 0-4 after a 2-0 start and have lost 10 of their last 11 conference games. DiNardo issued a statement, which read in part, “I will not waste time politicking for a job I already have.”

5. The opening of the Pac-10 basketball season. Believe us, officials in Walnut Creek can’t wait to change the subject, and here’s why: Three schools from the conference are ranked among the top 11 in the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook’s preseason poll. Arizona debuts at No. 7, Stanford at No. 10, and UCLA at No. 11.

Fortunately, Arizona does not open the hoops season at Penn State.