Sugar Bowl

Let the debate continue. No. 7 Utah strengthened its case that it is the best team in the country, improving to 13-0 with a 31-17 victory over No. 4 Alabama last night in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. While No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Florida will square off in the BCS Championship Game next Thursday night, both of them are 12-1. Brian Johnson threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, as the Utes became the first team from a non-BCS conference (Mountain West) to win two BCS bowls.

Steve Slaton never dreamed he would come this far this fast. The former Conwell-Egan High star did not carry the ball in the first four games of his freshman season at West Virginia. He carried it plenty Monday night in the Sugar Bowl. Slaton set a Sugar Bowl record with 204 rushing yards on 26 carries and scored three touchdowns in the Mountaineers' 38-35 victory over Georgia. "I think it was a pretty big accomplishment for me and my team," Slaton said by telephone last night.

The Sugar Bowl will be played in either Baton Rouge, La., or Atlanta after being forced out of the Superdome in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. Sugar Bowl officials said yesterday they will know in about 3 weeks whether Louisiana has recovered sufficiently to keep the game in the state where it has been played every year since it was established in 1935. Tiger Stadium on the LSU campus holds almost 92,000 and would make an adequate game site, but the city of Baton Rouge has insufficient hotel rooms and infrastructure to host an event that would attract thousands on Jan. 2. That means New Orleans would need to be ready to house most of the fans, participants and media going to the game.

The Sugar Bowl likely is heading to the Georgia Dome on Jan. 2, forced out of New Orleans for the first time because of Hurricane Katrina. Bowl officials declined to confirm the game was headed to Atlanta before a news conference tomorrow, when the announcement is expected. But USA Today, citing a person involved in the decision, said the bowl's executive committee gave its approval Tuesday night. Sugar Bowl officials said last month the game would be played in either the Georgia Dome or Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. Baton Rouge doesn't have enough hotel rooms to accommodate the tens of thousands of people the game attracts.

NEW ORLEANS - Terell Floyd returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the game, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater directed four more scoring drives, and No. 22 Louisville recorded a convincing 33-23 upset win over heavily favored No. 4 Florida in the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday night. Shaking off an early hit that flattened him and knocked off his helmet, Bridgewater was 20 of 32 passing for 266 yards and two touchdowns. Among his throws was a pinpoint, 15-yard toss in the second quarter that DeVante Parker acrobatically grabbed as he touched one foot down in the corner of the end zone.

The first semifinal games in the new college football playoff system will be played in the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2015. The BCS conference commissioners announced the dates for all 12 years of the upcoming postseason. The Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl will always be played on Jan. 1, or Jan. 2 in years in which New Year's Day falls on a Sunday. In the eight years in which the Rose and Sugar do not host the semifinals, the four playoff teams will kick off on New Year's Eve or Saturday, Dec. 30. The site of the first championship game in the new system is still to be picked, but first one will be played Jan. 12, 2015.

The Bensalem High School Marching Band will perform at halftime ceremonies at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on New Year's Day. The band is one of five throughout the country that has been invited to play during halftime and before the game. The band leaves for the Super Dome on Dec. 28 and returns Jan. 3. Students will play three times at different locations in New Orleans, with the final performance at the Sugar Bowl. Last month, the band placed third overall in the Atlantic Coast Championship of the Tournament of Bands competition held in Scranton.

Danny Wuerffel doesn't look the part. He never really has. The first time he practiced at Florida, some of his new teammates in the defensive secondary made fun of his passing motion and his lack of arm strength. Four record-shattering years later, nobody is snickering. Sure, Wuerffel still has his detractors. People who say he is nothing more than another product of coach Steve Spurrier's system. Folks who feel he really didn't deserve to win the Heisman Trophy this season. A lot of critics will tell you that Wuerffel has no shot at the next level.

Tomorrow afternoon's Sugar Bowl game just might produce a national championship team. Next season. No. 5 Louisiana State (9-2), which will meet No. 6 Nebraska (9-2) tomorrow, will return 16 starters and both kickers next season. The Tigers are hoping that a victory will elevate them to a No. 3 ranking in this season's final poll and serve as a springboard to a possible national title next season. "This team has the possibility of being national champions next season," LSU nose guard Henry Thomas said.

The powers that be at Conwell-Egan High School decided to move last night's basketball game against visiting North Catholic up an hour - from 7:30 to 6:30 - so that fans would be able to get home in time to watch the Sugar Bowl in its entirety. The reason: Freshman running back Steve Slaton stars for West Virginia. If the unprecedented time change had not been made, the fans at the basketball game would have missed Slaton's 52-yard touchdown run on West Virginia's fourth play of the game.

Physical numbers Height   Weight   Arm length   Hands    6-foot-3   297 lbs.   313/4 in.   101/8 in.    Combine results 40-yard dash: 4.92 seconds    Bench press: n/a Vertical jump: 30 inches    Broad jump: 106 inches 3-cone drill: 7.4 seconds    20-yard shuttle: 4.75 secs. Skinny Floyd is perhaps the best defensive player in the draft, a versatile lineman who can play in different schemes - whether it's a 4-3 or a 3-4 defense, or a hybrid, like the Eagles are expected to play.

The first semifinal games in the new college football playoff system will be played in the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2015. The BCS conference commissioners announced the dates for all 12 years of the upcoming postseason. The Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl will always be played on Jan. 1, or Jan. 2 in years in which New Year's Day falls on a Sunday. In the eight years in which the Rose and Sugar do not host the semifinals, the four playoff teams will kick off on New Year's Eve or Saturday, Dec. 30. The site of the first championship game in the new system is still to be picked, but first one will be played Jan. 12, 2015.

De'Anthony Thomas returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for the first of his two touchdowns, Marcus Mariota accounted for three scores, and No. 5 Oregon raced past No. 7 Kansas State, 35-17, at the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night in Glendale, Ariz. Oregon (12-1) jumped out to a 15-0 lead behind Thomas' opening return and 23-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. Kansas State (11-2) tried to bull its way behind Heisman Trophy finalist Collin Klein, only to get overwhelmed by the speedy Ducks, who got some help with an obscure one-point safety on a blocked extra-point kick.

NEW ORLEANS - Terell Floyd returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the game, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater directed four more scoring drives, and No. 22 Louisville recorded a convincing 33-23 upset win over heavily favored No. 4 Florida in the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday night. Shaking off an early hit that flattened him and knocked off his helmet, Bridgewater was 20 of 32 passing for 266 yards and two touchdowns. Among his throws was a pinpoint, 15-yard toss in the second quarter that DeVante Parker acrobatically grabbed as he touched one foot down in the corner of the end zone.

Remember a few weeks ago when it didn't look as if enough teams would get the required six victories to fill all 70 bowl participation slots? Rest easy, folks, we have 70, and more. Georgia Tech received a waiver from the NCAA to participate even with a 6-7 record if it loses in the ACC championship game against Florida State. If Connecticut and Pittsburgh win their Big East finales, each will become bowl eligible and ready to be plucked during Sunday's selections. So that gets us to 73. Joy, right?

Mix Diskerud scored his first international goal in the third minute of injury time, giving the United States a 2-2 tie against Russia on Wednesday in an exhibition game in Krasnodar, Russia. Michael Bradley, who scored in the 76th minute, sent a long ball into the penalty area toward Terrence Boyd, who was battling defender Sergei Ignashevich. The ball rebounded off Ignashevich to Diskerud, who had entered in the 87th minute. He bounced a 20-yard, right-footed shot in off the hand of goalkeeper Vladimir Gabulov.

NEW ORLEANS will be the site of the new marquee bowl game between the Southeastern Conference and Big 12. The game will still be called the Sugar Bowl and will be played in the Superdome. The agreement between the leagues and the bowl is for 12 years. The SEC has a long history with the Sugar Bowl. Seventy-one times an SEC team has played in the game, far more than any other league. The first Sugar Bowl in 1935 matched Tulane, then of the SEC, against Temple. Several sites were vying to host the game, including Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

What: Pittsburgh (3-10) at Soul (11-3) When: Sunday, 6:05 p.m. Where: Wells Fargo Center (19,500) TV: TCN About the Power: Their only win in the last eight games was a forfeit by Cleveland on June 8. . . . The Power's quarterback is Bryan Randall, who led Virginia Tech to the Sugar Bowl after the 2004 season. . . . Former NFL quarterback Mike Tomczak was brought in midseason as the offensive coordinator. About the Soul: They already clinched the American Conference's No. 1 seed, but with a limited game-day roster of 24, expect the starters to play throughout.

THERE IS SOME real starch to the Cotton Bowl, some drama along the sidelines in the Compass and the Northern Illinois coach is one smilin' Huskie these days. They're almost over. Here's a look at the three remaining bowls leading up to Monday's BCS title game.   COTTON Arkansas (10-2) vs. Kansas State (10-2) When: Tomorrow, 8 p.m. (Fox) Where: Arlington, Texas Bowl bits: Arkansas is sixth in the BCS standings and K-State is No. 8 . . . Arkansas' two losses were to Alabama (by 24)

THE BIGGEST crime of the bowl season is at hand as Boise State, one of the top teams all year with a sterling 11-1 record, gets a yawner tonight against 6-6 Arizona State in the MAACO. Only the BCS could take the fun out of a Vegas trip. Elsewhere in Round 2 of our bowl previews, Purdue has an intriguing offensive lineman, N.C. State has an interception machine and Cal finally gets a chance to scratch a 7-year itch of revenge. Here's a look at the next group of bowl games: MAACO LAS VEGAS Boise St. (11-1)