Buckeyes No. 1 — if you believe in computers

Tuesday, Jan. 5, 1999 | 10:30 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's notes column appears Tuesday. Reach him at 259-4088 or ron@ lasvegassun.com.

If Ohio State had replaced coach John Cooper with a 100-mhz Pentium prior to the start of the college football season, chances are the Buckeyes would be celebrating the national championship today.

Ohio State defeated Florida State 17-10 in the inaugural FANSonly Virtual Championship Game Series title game, capping a 16-game cyberspace playoff tournament conducted by the CBS Sportsline Internet staff.

Buckeyes quarterback Joe Germaine tossed a 36-yard touchdown pass to Darryl Boston for the decisive points in the inaugural Cyber Bowl. FSU quarterback Marcus Outzen completed 26 of 39 passes for 276 yards, including a 26-yard scoring strike to Marvin Minnis, to earn player of the game laurels.

Ohio State defeated No. 13 Arkansas (41-0), No. 12 Virginia (45-21) and No. 1 Tennessee (24-23) to reach the championship game. Florida State's road to the final was paved with wins over No. 15 Syracuse (45-24), No. 7 Arizona (20-14) and third-ranked Kansas State (36-2).

The nation's top 15 teams in the BCS standings and the highest-ranked AP poll team that didn't make the BCS ratings (Michigan) were seeded into the 16-team Internet tournament. The results were determined using Lance Haffner's 3-in-1 Football, a statistic based computer simulation that can be purchased via mail order.

Tournament statistics and stories on each game are available at the CBS SportsLine web site (www.sportsline.com).

Peach was keenOne man's vote for the most exciting game of the bowl season: Georgia's 35-33 victory over Virginia in the Peach Bowl on New Year's Eve. The Bulldogs rallied from a 21-0 deficit to take the lead, then withstood a Cavaliers rally that included a successful onside kick.

Virginia missed an extra point, a two-point conversion and a field-goal attempt on the last play of a thrilling contest.

And anybody who thinks the bowl system doesn't have its redeeming qualities should take into consideration the Peach Bowl attracted a Georgia Dome crowd in excess of 72,000.

That's more fans than have watched the Falcons on any given Sunday this season.

Bowling you overIt was three yards and a cloud of victories for the Big Ten. One of the most maligned conferences when it comes to postseason play, the Big Ten posted a remarkable 5-0 record this season.

Purdue set the table with a stunning 39-34 upset of Kansas State in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29. Then came a New Year's Day four-win blitzkrieg. Penn State whipped Kentucky 36-14 in the Outback Bowl, Michigan squeezed Arkansas 45-31 in the Citrus Bowl, Wisconsin downed UCLA 38-31 in the Rose Bowl and Ohio State topped Texas A&M 24-14 in the Sugar Bowl.

Somewhere, Bo Schembechler is smiling. And Woody Hayes is scowling a little less than usual.

Sent packingWhat should have been a memorable senior season ended on a sour note for Green Valley's Wade Perkins, a starting cornerback at Missouri who was sent home prior to the Tigers' 34-31 victory over West Virginia in the Insight.com bowl for violating an unspecified team rule.

Perkins led the Tigers with six interceptions this past season, returning one for a touchdown. The 6-1, 190-pound defender also was Mizzou's sixth-leading tackler with 56, including seven for losses.

Around the hornThe creators of Enhanced TV PrimeTime Football were hoping that 1 of every 100 personal computer users would log on to the Internet for an interactive presentation of Monday's Fiesta Bowl. Thefirst-time effort actually did much better than that, receiving as many hits as Florida State QB Marcus Outzen did from the Tennessee defense. I tried to connect three times without success. ... It's got to be coincidence or simply luck. Whereas most NFL games these days seem to be decided by the officials, bad calls in college games of significance have been few and far between this year. ... Nice touch: Instead of spray painting the endzone with the word "TENNESSEE," the Fiesta Bowl groundskeepers opted for the orange-and-white checkerboard scheme, sans letters, that the Volunteeers use at Neyland Stadium. ... You know you're getting older when the CE Os presenting the trophies at the various bowl games look like your nephew. ... Has anybody ever seen investment banker Charles Schwab and Falcons coach Da

n Reeves together in the same room? ... Former UNLV wide receiver Keenan McCardell of the Jacksonville Jaguars was called the best dressed man in the NFL by the CBS broadcast crew Sunday. ... The official website for next week's Mike Tyson-Frans Botha heavyweight title fight at the MGM Grand is MTyson.com. Wonder how that makes the FBotha camp feel?