Orange Bowl

Tonight's offering in the seemingly never-ending slew of bowl games features West Virginia and Clemson from the Orange Bowl in Miami. That means local fans will be tuning in to check out former Dunbar standout Tavon Austin on the big stage. But they won't be the only ones. Austin, the Mountaineers' star wide receiver and special teams All-American , has received quite a bit of local and national media attention in advance of the game (8:30 on ESPN). Andrea Adelson of ESPN.com writes that Austin's move to receiver -- after he was recruited to be the next Noel Devine -- has turned out to be a blessing in disguise . In the Charleston (W.Va.)

The Next Level is a Recruiting Report feature that focuses on natives of Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Harford County and Howard County who appear on NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision rosters. For former Dunbar star Tavon Austin , 2011 was the season that he officially lived up to -- if not exceeded -- the hype. Austin, the 2009 Baltimore Sun Male Athlete of the Year, was an often unstoppable scoring machine for West Virginia in the fall.

The Annapolis Middle School Dance Company next year will become the state's first middle school to perform in a college football bowl game when it takes the field at halftime of the Orange Bowl in Miami on Jan. 3. The 12-member dance company will be among 1,000 student performers in the sporting event known for its halftime entertainment. The Orange Bowl game will be played at the 75,000-seat Sun Life Stadium, which is also the home of the Miami Dolphins and Florida Marlins. "We are very proud and excited to represent our school and all of the dancers in our country," Annapolis Middle dance company director Kendra Smith said in a statement Friday.

Tonight's offering in the seemingly never-ending slew of bowl games features West Virginia and Clemson from the Orange Bowl in Miami. That means local fans will be tuning in to check out former Dunbar standout Tavon Austin on the big stage. But they won't be the only ones. Austin, the Mountaineers' star wide receiver and special teams All-American , has received quite a bit of local and national media attention in advance of the game (8:30 on ESPN). Andrea Adelson of ESPN.com writes that Austin's move to receiver -- after he was recruited to be the next Noel Devine -- has turned out to be a blessing in disguise . In the Charleston (W.Va.)

No. 18 Syracuse (8-3) vs. No. 7 Florida (9-2)When: Tonight, 8.Where: Orange Bowl, Miami.TV: Chs. 2, 7.Line: Florida by 7.Outlook: Syracuse is making its 19th bowl appearance and seventh of the 1990s. The Orangemen are 10-7-1. Florida is making its 26th appearance and its sixth consecutive New Year's Day bowl. The Gators are 12-13-0. This game will pit Syracuse's high-scoring offense and QB Donovan McNabb against Florida's defense, ninth nationally. This game has been moved back to the Orange Bowl (from Pro Player Stadium)

Reading Time: Two Minutes.All No. 1 Nebraska and No. 3 Miami have to do Sunday in the Orange Bowl (NBC, 8 p.m.) is approximate the battle they staged in the same surroundings a decade ago. More than a few suggest the Hurricanes' 31-30 victory in 1984 behind quarterback Bernie Kosar over Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier as the Cornhuskers missed a two-point conversion try at the end is the greatest bowl game ever. Yes, it was the "fumblerooskie" game.* It's positively wonderful listening to smaller boxers detailing their trials and tribulations when it comes to weight.

MIAMI -- A phonograph in a wireless world. That's what the Orange Bowl was at the end. All around the antique, there are iPods and computers and digital downloads. But the old lady, scratched and weary, could still be cranked up to transport you to that magical place where yesterday feels better than today. And she did it again Saturday night, one last time. Like the phonograph, she allowed you to close your eyes and let the music wash over you along with the memories. Soon, the wrecking balls will come.

Perhaps the only uncertainty going into this year's college bowl selection announcement was not in the matchups but in how the national rankings might affect the New Year's Day lineup.As things turned out, Miami's 17-16 victory at Florida State on Saturday was impressive enough to give the previously second-ranked Hurricanes a solid grip on the No. 1 spot and put them in control for their third national championship in the past five seasons.Miami (9-0) yesterday accepted its bid to the Orange Bowl to play either Nebraska or Colorado.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. -- Why do we do the things we do? Why do you do what you do, and why do I do what I do? I love these types of questions. That's how you get to the core of a person, deciphering the motive. The successful ones, it seems, have found something they like doing. Their passion is their work. But there's a whole class above them, men and women who find unprecedented success. They seem to be motivated by something very different - fear. Here in South Florida, Penn State is preparing to take on Florida State in tomorrow night's Orange Bowl.

WHILE THE Bowl Championship Series is getting harshly criticized around the country - and rightfully so - for pitting Miami against Nebraska in the Rose Bowl to determine college football's No. 1 team, there aren't any complaints in College Park. No. 6 Maryland (10-1) will play No. 5 Florida (9-2) in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2, and any tremors you are still feeling are the aftershocks of Terps coach Ralph Friedgen's jumping up and down after learning the high-powered Gators are his first opponent in 2002.

Former Dunbar star Tavon Austin is being recognized as an All-American by two major websites. CBSsports.com has Austin as a first-team "all purpose" player on special teams. Yahoo! has the West Virginia junior on its second team as a punt returner. Austin has returned 19 punts for 268 yards (14.1 per return) this season. He also also handled kick returns, averaging 26 yards per return and taking two back for touchdowns. Austin also has 89 catches for 1,063 receiving yards and 4 TDs, and he ranks second in the country in all-purpose yards.

This is it — the final regular-season poll. Half the preseason top 10 survived: Oregon (9), TCU (5), Boise State (1), Ohio State (2) and Virginia Tech (7). Auburn opened the season 18th, Stanford 19th, Wisconsin 13th and Arkansas 17th. Nevada, like a pistol shot, rose all the way from unranked. Alabama (4) disappointed slightly and Texas (8) disappointed greatly, while Florida (6) flopped by its standards. Every team in the poll has a bowl game left to impress a one-man judge and jury.

EUGENE, Ore. — A wild year in college football concluded with a relatively tame finish. The release of the final BCS standings on Sunday only confirmed what everyone already knew. Auburn and Oregon finished first and second, respectively, and will play for the national title Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz. Texas Christian held onto the No. 3 spot to earn a berth in the Rose Bowl, while Stanford was No. 4 and Wisconsin was No. 5. Those two spots earn the Cardinal a trip to the Orange Bowl while the Badgers become the Big Ten representative in the Rose Bowl.

Almost any bowl game looks appealing to a Maryland football team that remained on its chilly campus after last season while other Atlantic Coast Conference teams prepared for postseason games in enticing locations such as Miami and Orlando, Fla. But of course, there is appealing (for example, the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, or the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando) and then there is spectacular (the Orange Bowl in Miami). With three regular-season games left, many Maryland players and coaches can't help but glance at the list of bowl games and contemplate their possible December or January destinations.

The Annapolis Middle School Dance Company hadn't completed its first year of existence when the big stage beckoned. Director Kendra Smith received a call last April from a national tour organization for school performers telling her that someone had anonymously nominated her troupe to perform at a college football bowl game. "You know you're calling Annapolis Middle School, right?" Smith asked, knowing that such honors are usually reserved for high school programs. But she was assured that the caller had indeed specified her group and its performance at the Anne Arundel County Public School Dance Festival in February.

The Annapolis Middle School Dance Company next year will become the state's first middle school to perform in a college football bowl game when it takes the field at halftime of the Orange Bowl in Miami on Jan. 3. The 12-member dance company will be among 1,000 student performers in the sporting event known for its halftime entertainment. The Orange Bowl game will be played at the 75,000-seat Sun Life Stadium, which is also the home of the Miami Dolphins and Florida Marlins. "We are very proud and excited to represent our school and all of the dancers in our country," Annapolis Middle dance company director Kendra Smith said in a statement Friday.

They aren't much to look at: a pair of worn eyeglasses with nerdy black frames and Coke-bottle lenses. But the storied specs, once owned by Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, fetched a tidy sum at an online auction last week where an Elkridge couple won the bidding. Kevin and Michelle Coppola paid $9,000 for Paterno's peepers and said they were prepared to bid more. "It's a one-of-a-kind thing, a really cool piece of history," said Kevin Coppola, 29, who owns a public auto auction in Laurel.

Brandon Wegher celebrates after his 32-yard rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter ices a 24-14 victory for No. 10 Iowa against No. 9 Georgia Tech. Temperature at kickoff in the coldest Orange Bowl ever was 49 degrees. "This was Hawkeye weather," Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz said. "We feel right at home." Article, PG 6