Bowl Bids, Records Rest On Rivalries

This is the week of The Game, the Big Game and the Most Played Game. Teams are also playing for barrels, bells and buckets.

Most of all, bowl bids and perfect seasons are on the line Saturday as the college football season moves into its final weeks.

Yale is at Harvard in The Game, Stanford at Cal in the Big Game and Lehigh at Lafayette in the 132nd meeting between the teams. Carm Cozza coaches his last game for Yale, Stanford needs a win for a bowl bid and a victory gives Lafayette the Patriot League title.

Kentucky is at No. 9 Tennessee with the Beer Barrel up for grabs, Duke is at No. 13 North Carolina for the Victory Bell and it’s Indiana-Purdue for the Old Oaken Bucket.

Afterward, both coaches - Purdue’s Jim Colletto and Indiana’s Bill Mallory - kick the coaching bucket, with neither returning next season.

As for the national title, No. 21 Michigan is at No. 2 Ohio State in a game that needs no subtitle and No. 4 Arizona State plays Arizona in the Civil War. The Buckeyes and Sun Devils, both 10-0, are a win away from giving the Rose Bowl its first match-up of undefeated, untied teams in 66 years.

It doesn’t take much to see the importance of the Michigan-Ohio State game. As early as Tuesday, Buckeyes coach John Cooper was wound tighter than a ball of string. At his weekly news conference, he didn’t even wait for questions before saying he won’t disclose his starting quarterback - Stanley Jackson or Joe Germaine - until game time.

Asked why, Cooper snapped: “Just to give you guys something to think about this week. To give Michigan something to think about this week.”

Perhaps Cooper’s 1-6-1 record against the Wolverines, including last year’s 31-23 loss that spoiled a perfect season, has something to do with his testy behavior.

Says Michigan’s Lloyd Carr: “Certainly, they have had opportunities, and it’s just happened that we’ve had things bounce our way.”

The Sun Devils travel to Tucson having won just once in the last seven games at Arizona Stadium. Since 1982, Arizona is 11-2-1 against ASU.

“They have had a great season, they’re going to the Rose Bowl,” Arizona linebacker Armon Williams said. “We just want to finish strong.”

No. 21 Michigan (plus 17) at No. 2 Ohio State: Germaine or Jackson aside, Buckeyes can keep Wolverines out of end zone… . OHIO STATE 31-21.

No. 3 Florida State (minus 34) vs. Maryland (at Miami): Seminoles have won last four meetings by 37.8 points per game… . FLORIDA STATE 49-10.

No. 4 Arizona State (minus 7) at Arizona: Can Wildcats ambush Jake Plummer and spring annual upset? … ARIZONA 28-27.

Michigan State (plus 8) at No. 7 Penn State: Joe Paterno’s kids are headed for Fiesta or Orange bowl… . PENN STATE 31-24.

No. 8 Brigham Young (minus 6) at Utah: Winner moves on to WAC title game… . BRIGHAM YOUNG 35-31.

Kentucky (plus 27-1/2) at No. 9 Tennessee: Bill Curry’s last game as coach of the Wildcats… . TENNESSEE 37-20.

Rutgers (plus 40-1/2) at No. 10 Notre Dame: Lou Holtz’s last game at Notre Dame Stadium… . NOTRE DAME 52-0.

No. 12 Washington (minus 11) at Washington State: Apple Cup at stake as Huskies hope for Cotton Bowl bid… . WASHINGTON 27-21.

No. 13 North Carolina (minus 29-1/2) at Duke: A loss and Blue Devils become ACC’s first 0-11 team… . NORTH CAROLINA 45-14.

Iowa State (plus 20-1/2) at No. 14 Kansas State: Troy Davis gets his second 2,000-yard season; K-State gets win No. 9… . KANSAS STATE 44-27.

Auburn (plus 6) at No. 15 Alabama: ‘Bama needs Iron Bowl win to advance to SEC title game… . AUBURN 27-21.

No. 16 Syracuse (minus 31) at Temple: Orangemen prep for next week’s Big East showdown against Miami. … SYRACUSE 52-7.

No. 23 West Virginia (plus 4-1/2) at No. 17 Virginia Tech: WVU’s shaky offense is the difference… . VIRGINIA TECH 21-10.

Tulane (plus 24) at No. 18 LSU: LSU has won last 12 meetings… . LSU 41-21.

South Carolina (plus 6) at No. 22 Clemson: Visitors have won last five games… . CLEMSON 27-24.

No. 24 Iowa (minus 11) at Minnesota: Golden Gophers come up short in coach Jim Wacker’s last game… . IOWA 31-27.

Boston College (plus 21-1/2) at No. 25 Miami: Probably BC coach Dan Henning’s final game… . MIAMI 42-14.

Others: Yale (plus 5) at Harvard - YALE 21-20; Stanford (plus 2-1/2) at California - STANFORD 28-27; Lehigh (no line) at Lafayette - LAFAYETTE 32-22; Indiana (plus 7) at Purdue - PURDUE 28-24.

Last week: 12-6 (straight); 5-12 (spread).

Season: 174-40 (straight); 96-108-5 (spread).