One Bowl For No. 1: The Rest For Fun

Playing more than half the season with his injured knees, ankles and right shoulder swathed in 40 yards of tape. Brown nevertheless gained 1,350 yards, thereby increasing his career total to 4,602 yards. Now rested, the 5'10", 199-pound senior should put on a spectacular display for the pro scouts.

To do so, he will have to run away from the likes of Hugh Green, an All-America sophomore defensive end, and Safety Jeff Delaney, who are the backbone of the Pitt defense, which ranked ninth nationally against rushing.

A young team starting only five seniors, Pitt relies heavily on Quarterback Rick Trocano, a sophomore who was the Panthers' busiest ballcarrier (167 tries for 275 yards). Gordon Jones, an All-America split end who caught 45 passes, is a deep threat and also a dazzling kick returner.

Dick Crum of North Carolina lost to both Pitt (20-16) and North Carolina State (34-7), and he calls the game even but says that "Ted Brown is in a class by himself. He's a truly great runner, and he'll be the best on the field." He's also likely to finish his college career a winner.

FIESTA BOWL
Dec. 25
Arkansas (9-2) vs. UCLA (8-3)

When Arkansas Coach Lou Holtz could finally afford to take his wife on a honeymoon several years after they were married, he says, it consisted of a special $99 cruise to the Bahamas. Did you have a good time, Lou? "Sure, but we would have enjoyed it more if we hadn't had to row." Things never have come easily for Holtz, and this year was no exception. His team made an early run at the national title but was bushwhacked in midseason. Holtz had said privately before the season that he was dead certain the Hogs would beat Texas, but he greatly feared they would lose the next week to Houston. He was half right; they lost to Houston and Texas.

Still, the Hogs put things back together, and Arkansas is favored to beat UCLA in the Fiesta Bowl. That's bad, says Holtz, because it's his view that underdogs win 75% of the bowl games. Then he brightens. "This team seems to play better when it's in trouble," he says. And for the second year in a row, trouble in the form of suspensions of Arkansas players between the end of the regular season and a bowl game may deplete Holtz' stock of offensive talent. But the Hogs have an exceptional defensive line and linebackers, and the offensive backfield has depth with the option running of Ron Calcagni, a durable quarterback, and Ben Cowins, who rushed for 1,006 yards. Where the Hogs can be hurt is in the secondary, but that might not hurt them in this game.

UCLA Coach Terry Donahue is trying to pump up his team, which lost its last two games this year and thus a trip to the Rose Bowl—again. What the Bruins need is a big game from Theotis Brown, who ran well before suffering a series of injuries. Brown is the key, because the Bruins have relatively little passing. But led by Jerry Robinson, a three-time All-America linebacker, UCLA is awe-inspiring on defense.

While getting his team ready, Holtz quipped, "It's like my grandmother used to say, 'Do the best you can, then the hell with it.' " Arkansas' best should be good enough to keep Holtz from having to row back to Fayetteville. And from Tempe, that wouldn't be too enjoyable, either.

PEACH BOWL
Dec. 25
Georgia Tech (7-4) vs. Purdue (8-2-1)