Last week’s losers try to become winners again

Richard Rosenblatt

Thursday, Oct. 28, 1999 | 10:19 a.m.

Nebraska's whining, Alabama and Texas A&M are wincing and Michigan is still wondering what happened. Such is the state of last week's high-profile losers as they prepare to rebound on Saturday.

The eighth-ranked Cornhuskers (6-1), their coach Frank Solich yapping over poor officiating after his team's 24-20 loss at Texas, should have an easy time winning again when they visit Kansas (3-5). The Huskers have won 30 in a row against the Jayhawks.

"I would rather not comment on officiating," Solich said a few days after using the words "horrendous" and "ridiculous" to describe two decisions that went against his team. "It appears I've done quite a bit in the last two days."

The 14th-ranked Crimson Tide (5-2), 21-7 losers to Tennessee last week, play No. 20 Southern Mississippi (5-2), but their two stars, running back Shaun Alexander and quarterback Andrew Zow, have sprained ankles.

Coach Mike DuBose listed both players as doubtful, but both have been running in practice and said they expect to play. Alexander leads the nation in all-purpose yards with 198 per game.

No. 22 Texas A&M (5-2) is not only trying to wipe out memories of a 51-6 loss to Oklahoma when it plays host to Oklahoma State (3-3), but quarterback Randy McCown might miss the game with a separated left shoulder (non-throwing arm). McCown has thrown for 1,659 yards and 10 TDs.

His backup is Mark Farris, a 24-year-old freshman who played minor league baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization. Farris is 6-of-16 for 53 yards.

And then there's No. 15 Michigan, 5-2 after consecutive losses to Michigan State and Illinois. The Wolverines are at Indiana (4-4) following their shocking 35-29 loss to the Illini.

The loss was a heavy hit for Michigan.

"If you have people around your team in leadership roles who have great pride in who they are and what they want to achieve," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said, "I think that's the key to being able to bounce back from adversity."

Also, HokieHysteria is back on Saturday, when No. 3 Virginia Tech visits Pittsburgh 4-3). The Hokies (6-0) did not play last week, and have had two weeks to watch and read about how good they are.

The Panthers are coming off a 38-15 win over Rutgers, a game in which David Priestley threw for 375 yards and four TDs.

The picks:

No. 1 Florida State (minus 14) at Virginia

Seminoles 60-2 in ACC - one loss came against Cavs in Charlottesville. ... FLORIDA STATE, 38-21.

No. 2 Penn State (minus 17) at Illinois

Illini have full attention of Nittany Lions after Illinois upset of Michigan. ... PENN STATE, 31-20.

No. 3. Virginia Tech (minus 21 1/2 ) at Pittsburgh

Hokies lead nation in scoring offense (43.3 ppg) and scoring defense (8 ppg). ... VIRGINIA TECH, 35-20.

South Carolina (plus 33) at No. 4 Tennessee

Will Vols have mercy on winless Gamecocks? ... TENNESSEE, 45-0.

No. 5 Florida (minus 7) vs. No. 10 Georgia (at Jacksonville, Fla.)

Gators QB Doug Johnson wants to keep his job. ... FLORIDA, 31-21.

Baylor (plus 38) at No. 6 Kansas State

Will Wildcats have mercy on 1-6 Bears? KANSAS STATE, 41-0.

North Carolina State (plus 17) at No. 7 Georgia Tech

After a week off, Tech QB Joe Hamilton gets back in Heisman race. ... GEORGIA TECH, 41-14.

No. 8 Nebraska (minus 32 1/2 ) at Kansas

Huskers riding 30-game win streak against Jayhawks. ... NEBRASKA, 42-17.

No. 11 Wisconsin (minus 20) at Northwestern

Badgers still in Big Ten race, Dayne back in Heisman race. ... WISCONSIN, 38-14.

No 12 Texas (minus 10 1/2 ) at Iowa State

'Horns riding high after upset of Huskers, but better beware of Cyclones. ... TEXAS, 30-24.

Northern Illinois (plus 27) at No. 13 Marshall

Herd QB Chad Pennington has thrown for 2,301 yards and 22 TDs. ... MARSHALL, 45-14.

No. 20 Southern Mississippi (no line) at No. 14 Alabama

'Bama's RB Shaun Alexander and QB Andrew Zow iffy with injuries. ... SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI, 27-24.

No. 15 Michigan (minus 17) at Indiana

Hoosiers won't be a pushover for Wolverines, losers of two in a row. ... MICHIGAN, 35-31.

Air Force (plus 8) at No. 16 BYU

Cougars coach LaVell Edwards goes for career win No. 250. ... BYU, 28-17.

No. 17 East Carolina (minus 5) at Houston

Pirates QB David Garrard having terrific season. ... EAST CAROLINA, 35-28.

No. 18 Purdue (minus 2 1/2 ) at Minnesota

Both teams coming off tough losses. ... PURDUE, 31-24.

Iowa (plus 22) at No. 21 Ohio State

If Buckeyes struggle to win this one. ... OHIO STATE, 35-7.

Oklahoma State (no line) at No. 22 Texas A&M

Aggies still reeling from loss to Oklahoma. ... TEXAS A&M, 31-20.

No. 23 Miami (minus 17 1/2 ) at West Virginia

If WVU QB Marc Bulger is on target, this could be a close one. ... MIAMI, 31-24.

No. 24 Oklahoma (minus 3 1/2 ) at Colorado

Sooners QB Josh Heupel coming off six-TD effort last week. ... OKLAHOMA, 35-23.

No. 25 Mississippi (minus 5) at LSU

Tigers getting closer to a win. ... LSU, 27-24.

---

Last week: 10-6 (straight up); 7-9 (vs. points)

Season: 120-30 (straight up); 76-69-1 (vs. points)

archive