The first Freedom Bowl didn't draw well-30,365 tickets sold, 24,093 in the house-but enough to probably earn a second go-round in 1985. "I have talked extensively to presidents of many universities" Foote said. Ditka reinstalled the iron-wrist game of the Nagurskis, Osmanskis, Casareses, Butkuses, the "knock somebody down, help them up and knock them down again" school of play You may have noticed. Will Mauch II enjoy a successful run? Only if Gene Autry and new General Manager Mike Port exhibit some patience, because the current Angels-sans Fred Lynn, sans Don Aase-are in need of an extensive overhaul But patience has never been a virtue with the Angels.

Add to that the fact that Donahue has never lost at Sun Devil Stadium He's 3-0-1. The group could operate from within the NCAA, or it could, as the College Football Assn has done, splinter off. "If there is ever a team that understands what a fortress running back can do, it's USC If your team knows that, then respect it. And Murphy, who coveted the University of Missouri coaching job and was courted by Oregon State and Utah, wound up going nowhere.

First came the Cal State Fullerton controversy (To Tab Or Not To Tab the Titans, with irate Fullerton fans phoning the Freedom Bowl office with bomb and death threats in protest over the Titans' non-candidacy. Things I learned: That Southern Section Commissioner Ray Plutko needs the services of a qualified optometrist. Or so it seemed, when the NCAA gave approval to Orange County's first major-college bowl in August. Then, there was the eventual selection of Top-20 teams Iowa and Texas, a coup for a first-year bowl. "Might be hope for me yet" Sunday afternoon, Payton and Riggins were faced with very similar challenges, defenses geared almost entirely to stop them.

The Trojans aren't a big-play, catchup team, according to Coach Ted Tollner, who has structured his offense to suit his personnel. But, Oregon State stiffened and regained control behind Raspberry, who hit six straight free throws down the stretch. "They got pretty hot and Hakeman was unbelievable" Wilson Coach Mike Lowe said. From New York Giants running back Rob Carpenter after the 21-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers: "Bill Walsh is the best coach in football Their offense is so finely tuned it's a Jaguar He makes sure they have no tendencies whatsoever He's the reason they're 16-1.

"But, in USC's case, you could say they got here by this or that, but if they turn the ball over a couple of times-and they've been doing that lately-they can't play smack-it-out football "So why not have some fun Put the ball up Run some misdirection screens Then go back to heavy pounding. "I usually buy horses who are out of mares that I remember running" Stute said. The Orange County sports story of the year could easily be: The Rams' Eric Dickerson running past O. J Simpson for a record 2,105 rushing yards in one season Or. In 1984, the Monarchs discovered the price of such achievement. "The NCAA is ill-equipped to deal with problems that now confront major college athletics.

The Diablos (11-3) missed the front end of four, one-and-one free throw opportunities in the final 45 seconds, but Brea made only two of nine field goal attempts in the final quarter The Wildcats fell to 9-4 with the loss. In looking to the future, the UCLA athletic administration turned to the past and named Hazzard to replace Larry Farmer as coach after Farmer handed in his resignation. But University of Houston officials realize that the sentiment, although not usually expressed publicly, is very real. "I think all of us recognize if Oklahoma was undefeated, Michigan was undefeated, Ohio State was undefeated, LSU was undefeated, Nebraska was undefeated, they would be ranked No 1 in the country regardless of Brigham Young being 13-0 "There's been a precedent for it.

And then there is the UCLA placekicker, John (Certain) Lee, who is such a sure thing on field goals that he may be something of a detriment to Donahue today. 1 concern, and that of the NCAA, is academic enrichment" Foote said. Clayton is just now emerging as one of the NFL's great athletes. Fred Dean was a piece of cake for me" That's Vernon, not Fred, Dennis You'll see Fred next Sunday at Candlestick Park. Oklahoma's only loss, to Kansas, came when Bradley was out with an injury. Montana is given a single target on each play and trained to hit it in a hurry. Jackson put some suspense into the Race for 500-too much, as even Jackson would admit Finally, on Sept 17 at Anaheim Stadium, it came.