Last Hurrah for Welsh, Donnan

Virginia’s George Welsh and Georgia’s Jim Donnan will coach their teams for the last time today in the Oahu Bowl at Honolulu.

Welsh, 67, is retiring after a 19-year career at Virginia because of health concerns.

“This isn’t a game where they should win one for the Gipper,” Welsh said. “They should be just thinking about their assignments and trying to beat the guy across from them.”

Donnan, who was fired after the Bulldogs finished the season poorly against their biggest rivals, is voicing the same sentiment to his players.

“I’m not one of those coaches who will stand up and give a speech about winning the game for me,” said Donnan, who is 39-19 in five seasons at Georgia. “We’re a team together. We want to win it for the Georgia Bulldogs. That’s how it should be.”

Players haven’t paid much attention to their coaches’ wishes and are promising an emotional and physical battle on the field in hopes of a win.

No. 24 Georgia (7-4) is trying to win its fourth consecutive bowl, something the program has never accomplished.

The Bulldogs started the season winning six of seven games. They stumbled when quarterback Quincy Carter tore a ligament in his throwing hand and missed the last month of the season. The team lost three of its last four games.

Cory Phillips will start the bowl game in place of Carter. Phillips appeared in nine games, throwing for 1,093 yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions.

Virginia (6-5) is led by running back Antwoine Womack, who has rushed for 1,028 yards and nine touchdowns this season.

The Oahu Bowl will be Georgia’s third bowl matchup with Virginia in six seasons. The Cavaliers won, 34-27, in the 1995 Peach Bowl, but the Bulldogs prevailed, 35-33, in the same bowl in 1998.

While the Bulldogs ride a three-bowl winning streak, the Cavaliers have lost three consecutive bowl games since the victory in 1995.

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Arizona State has a lot to prove in Monday’s Aloha Bowl.

The Sun Devils (6-5) are finishing a wild season that saw them start three different quarterbacks and lose two conference games in double overtime. The team’s plane also was struck twice by lightning on a flight home from a game against Washington State in Pullman, Wash.

It was all capped by the firing of Coach Bruce Snyder.

“It has been the most unusual year,” Snyder said as Arizona State prepared to play Boston College.

The Sun Devils will be trying to atone for last year’s 23-3 loss to Wake Forest in the Aloha Bowl.

The Christmas Day game marks Arizona State’s first meeting with Boston College, which lost, 62-28, to Colorado last year in the Insight.com Bowl.

The Eagles (6-5) struggled at the end of the season, losing their final two games, including a 52-6 rout at the hands of Miami.

“My main concern is winning a bowl game against a good Arizona State football team that has something to prove,” Eagle Coach Tom O’Brien said. “We have something to prove ourselves after that disappointing loss at Miami. You’re only as good as your last game. And I know our guys want to come out here on Monday and wash away that bad taste.”

But the team’s prospects have dimmed with the suspensions of rushing leader William Green and defensive back D.J. Sutton for unspecified rule violations.

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While Chris Weinke was winning the Heisman Trophy, R.J. Bowers was commuting from his parents’ home to campus and quietly playing in obscurity.

Both have had prolific football careers after striking out in minor league baseball. The similarities end there.

Bowers, who will play in the Blue-Gray Classic Monday at Montgomery, Ala., became the NCAA’s all-time leading rusher and scorer in any division while performing in front of small crowds.

The 6-foot, 241-pound Bowers, from Grove City College in Pennsylvania, is trying to prove his numbers are not just a product of Division III competition.

“I think I’ve answered every question there has been out there coming from Division III,” said Bowers, who hopes to be a fullback in the NFL.

“If you watched the practices, if you didn’t look at the roster to see that I was from Grove City College, you wouldn’t be able to tell.”

Bowers set eight all-division NCAA records at Grove City, compiling 7,353 yards and 562 points. His 9,253 all-purpose yards were 48 shy of Brian Shay’s all-time record at Emporia State.

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Derek Watson, South Carolina’s first 1,000-yard rusher in four years, will sit out the Outback Bowl because of an unspecified violation of team policy.

Watson was absent at several practices and the team’s fan appreciation day on Dec. 3. Watson and team officials said the absences were because of a death in the family.

Then this week, Watson was unhurt in an accident that occurred while he was driving teammate Teddy Crawford’s car at 3 a.m. Thursday. Watson said a blown tire caused the accident. The police report said Watson was ticketed for driving too fast and driving with a suspended license.

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Auburn’s Alton Moore and Roshard Gilyard will sit out the Citrus Bowl because they failed to pass six credit hours--roughly two courses--the Southeastern Conference minimum for a bowl appearance. Moore, a junior defensive end, started two games and finished with 19 tackles. Gilyard, a safety, started seven games, registering 20 tackles. . . . Alabama Coach Dennis Franchione hired North Carolina assistant Ken Rucker as running backs coach. . . . Expect plenty of empty seats in the Houston Astrodome Wednesday for the Galleryfurniture.com Bowl. Although it was announced on Dec. 7 that 28,000 tickets had been sold, a recount showed only 4,200 had been purchased. Officials are still hoping for a crowd between 30,000 and 40,000.