THE WEEK
WEST
California beat Stanford 25-20 with some novel last-play-of-the-game shenanigans that resembled a Keystone Kops caper. Mark Harmon had seemingly given the visiting Cardinal a 20-19 win when he booted a 35-yard field goal with four seconds left. On the ensuing kickoff, Harmon had to tee the ball up on his 25 because of a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on the field goal. As Harmon kicked off, the Cardinal band inched onto the field.
Kevin (Moon Dog) Moen fielded the squib kick at his 43, made it to the Stanford 48 and, in a tackler's grasp, lateraled to Richard Rodgers who lateraled to Dwight Garner at the 44. Upon advancing a few yards upfield, Garner was nailed by three tacklers, but while going down he lateraled back to Rodgers at the Stanford 48. Rodgers then lateraled to Mariet Ford at the Cardinal 46. Ford, trapped at the 25, flipped the ball over his shoulder, hoping some teammate might grab it. Sure enough, Moon Dog was on the scene. But where next? Stanford band members and fans were all over that end of the field. Unstoppable, Moen motored by the saxes, juked a tuba and somehow made it to the end zone, where as a fitting ending to one of the most bizarre plays of all time, he bowled over a trombone player. It had been a game of forward passes until that five-lateral Garbazz play. Garbazz is the Bears' name for a game they play at practice that's similar to the one they scored on. Stanford's John Elway completed 25 of 39 throws for 330 yards, and Gale Gilbert of Cal hit on 17 of 31 for 289 yards.
The improbable also occurred in Pullman, where Washington State knocked Washington out of the Rose Bowl 24-20. About halfway through the season, Cougar Assistant Coach Ken Woody had told Head Coach Jim Walden that Husky Field-goal Kicker Chuck Nelson would end his NCAA record string of three-pointers with a game-deciding miss against State. With 4:35 to go, Nelson, who had run his two-season streak to 30 with two earlier field goals, missed a 32-yarder. That left Washington State in front 21-20. The running of Tim Harris (124 yards) and James Matthews (110 yards), both of whom scored on short rushes, helped the Cougars build their lead. The Huskies were also hurt by the loss of two fumbles and by an interception.
Yet another big play helped UCLA hold off Southern Cal 20-19. Nose Guard Karl Morgan of the Bruins sacked Quarterback Scott Tinsley on the Trojans' try for a two-point conversion with no time left. Who goes to the Rose Bowl from the Pac-10? Arizona State, if it beats or ties Arizona this week. Otherwise, it will be UCLA. The happiest Pac-men, though, may have been on the Oregon teams, both of which won for the first time this season. Oregon upset Arizona 13-7, and Oregon State beat Montana 30-10.
After scouting Notre Dame during its loss to Penn State a week earlier, Air Force Coach Ken Hatfield predicted a Falcon victory. Naturally, he was laughed at. But Marty Louthan helped Hatfield get the last laugh by directing the Air Force's wishbone and rushing for 115 yards and two TDs as the Falcons won 30-17. It was the Irish's first loss to a service academy in 33 games since 1963.
Four turnovers and 10 penalties cost Utah a 17-12 loss to Brigham Young. The Utes led 24-11 in first downs and by 468 yards to 300 in total offense, but the Cougars still sewed up the WAC title. Runner-up New Mexico scored 27 points during a 7½-minute onslaught in the fourth period that wrapped up a 41-17 win over Hawaii.
SOUTHWEST
SMU's vaunted Pony Express was bushwhacked by Arkansas, which held Eric Dickerson to 81 yards rushing and Craig James to 72. Nevertheless, the Mustangs rode off with the Southwest Conference title and a spot in the Cotton Bowl against Pitt thanks to a 17-17 tie. Dickerson may have been slowed down, but he sure wasn't stopped. He scored on a six-yard burst and broke Earl Campbell's career conference running record by raising his total to 4,448.
Baylor, which had upset Arkansas the week before, gave Texas a scare. But Longhorn Defensive End Kiki DeAyala spoiled the Bears' comeback by dropping Tailback Alfred Anderson for no gain on a fourth-and-one at the Texas six with 46 seconds to go to preserve the Longhorns' 31-23 win. Texas got 202 yards rushing from Darryl Clark, 209 yards passing from Robert Brewer and 80 and 52-yard scoring receptions from Herkie Walls.
Missouri Valley champ Tulsa beat North Texas State 38-20. The Mean Green lost despite the efforts of Flanker Marvin Walker, who tied an NCAA record for all levels of play by making 22 catches for 164 yards.
MIDWEST
Ohio State, which had already said goodby to its Rose Bowl dreams, dumped Pasadena-bound Michigan 24-14. The Buckeyes thus earned a chance to meet BYU in the Holiday Bowl. In a cold drizzle in Columbus, Ohio State forced six turnovers and broke away from a 14-14 tie in the fourth period.
A 24-18 victory at Michigan State put Iowa in the Peach Bowl against Tennessee. Following a 24-0 defeat of Minnesota that lifted Wisconsin's record to 6-5, Badger players were so ecstatic about their invitation to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. that they danced around the field.
Wisconsin's bowl opponent will be Kansas State, which beat Colorado 33-10. The 6-4-1 Wildcats' first-ever bowl bid vindicated Coach Jim Dickey, who redshirted 16 players in '81 with an eye to making 1982 the school's second winning season in 28 years.
Oklahoma State clinched third place in the Big Eight by drubbing Iowa State 49-3. National rushing leader Ernest Anderson, who was nursing a broken rib, carried 43 times for the Cowboys and gained 160 yards.
SOUTH
Gray and orange were the predominant colors in the second half as Louisiana State overpowered Florida State 55-21. The gray was a dense fog that rolled into Tiger Stadium from the nearby Mississippi River. The orange came in the form of thousands of oranges hurled onto the field during the wild goings-on in Baton Rouge. As the game ended, there was one final, humongous salvo of oranges, celebrating LSU's clinching an Orange Bowl berth.
This matchup involved a Florida State team that was second in total offense in Division I-A (485.7 yards a game) and an LSU squad that was second in total defense (213.4 yards a game). Although the Tigers gave up 425 yards, they got 620 of their own. Alan Risher passed for 212 yards and started the scoring with a 46-yard pass to Dalton Hilliard. Hilliard also scored on runs of two, one and 28 yards as part of his 36-carry, 183-yard night. With Tulane still on the regular-season schedule, Hilliard has 16 touchdowns, a I-A record for a freshman.
Seven SEC teams were chosen for bowls. In addition to LSU and Tennessee (Peach), Georgia (idle) will meet Penn State in the Sugar, Alabama (idle) will face Illinois in the Liberty, Florida (a 21-7 winner at Tulane) will take on Arkansas in the Bluebonnet, Auburn (idle) will face Boston College in the Tangerine and Vanderbilt (a 27-16 victor over Tennessee-Chattanooga) will go to the Hall of Fame game to meet Air Force.
A hula dancer greeted Maryland players in the locker room after a 45-14 blowout of Virginia that earned the Terps a spot in the first Aloha Bowl in Hawaii.
Despite being sacked four times and being helped off the field twice with bruised ribs, Ben Bennett led Duke to a 23-17 upset of North Carolina. His five-yard pass to Carl Franks early in the final period broke a 17-17 tie. For Bennett, a junior, that was his 38th career TD pass, an ACC record. Carolina's consolation: a Sun Bowl berth against Texas.
Clemson, last year's national champion, will not appear in a bowl. That decision was announced by Clemson President Bill Atchley early in the week and came as a prelude to NCAA and ACC penalties for recruiting violations that are expected to be announced this week. Clemson did retain in-state bragging rights by beating South Carolina 24-6.
Louisiana Tech (9-2) pulled off a 13-6 upset at Southern Mississippi. The Golden Eagles, who had stunned Alabama the week before, had their option game bottled up by the Bulldogs and by six turnovers.
Coach John Ayers Merritt notched his fifth unbeaten season in 20 years at Tennessee State as his Tigers (9-0-1) defeated North Carolina A&T 34-6.
EAST
Pitt's offense was alternately lethal and lethargic during a 52-6 rout of Rutgers. After scoring on its first three possessions, the Panther attack sputtered for the next 22 minutes. Then, in the third quarter, Pitt blew the game apart by scoring on five consecutive possessions. Dan Marino did some of his best passing of the season, completing 22 of 30 attempts for 262 yards and three touchdowns. Pitt's defense was its consistent self, which is to say viselike, allowing a mere 76 yards in total offense.
West Virginia's first shutout since 1977—26-0 over Syracuse—led to a spot in the Gator Bowl against Florida State. The Mountaineers got four field goals from Paul Wood-side, who has kicked a Division I-A-record 28 in 31 attempts this year.
News flash: Game delayed by tangerines. After Boston College fans, exuberant over the tendering of the Tangerine Bowl bid, rained tangerines on the field during a 35-10 victory over Holy Cross, Eagle Coach Jack Bicknell held up the game and ordered his players to police the area. Cleanliness counted: After the game BC officially accepted its first bowl invite in 40 years.
Dartmouth, Harvard and Penn finished in a tie for the Ivy League title. The Big Green earned its share by beating Princeton 43-20, and the Crimson got into the act by clobbering Yale 45-7. Penn missed a chance for a solo reign by losing 23-0 at Cornell. Big Red Coach Bob Blackman thus ended his 34-year career with a 202-118-9 record. In the last of 323 games at 60-year-old Baker Field in Manhattan, Brown beat Columbia 35-21.
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PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE: Junior Quarterback Ben Bennett paced Duke to a 23-17 upset of North Carolina by hitting on 25 of 34 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown against the nationally top-ranked Tar Heel defense.
DEFENSE: Linebacker Marcus Marek, a 6'2", 224-pound senior, helped Ohio State knock off Rose Bowl-bound Michigan 24-14 by taking part in 19 tackles and running back an interception 17 yards.