Rose Bowl

Three more Ohio State players will miss the Rose Bowl game against Oregon. On his weekly radio show, coach Jim Tressel confirmed the team's top kick returner, Ray Small , defensive lineman Rob Rose and running back Bo Delande would not travel with the team to Pasadena and were suspended for undisclosed violations of team rules. Freshman receiver Duron Carter , the son of former Ohio State and NFL great Cris Carter , was declared academically ineligible last week.

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald is calling the Wildcats' trip to Houston for the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas a "road game," and you can see why. The opponent will be Texas A&M, located 100 miles from bowl site Reliant Stadium. Then again, Fitzgerald estimates he has visited Houston 100 times, mostly while recruiting. "I know Houston probably better than I know Chicago," he said. "You name two towns, I can tell you how to go without GPS. " The Wildcats continue to seek directions for winning a bowl game.

Tide will roll with Ingram Andrea Adelson Orlando Sentinel Alabama and Texas have two of the best defenses in the country, two of the best players in the country and two of the best coaches in the country. So why will Alabama win the BCS national championship? Because a good running game beats a good passing game when championships are on the line. That means the Tide will win on the legs of Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, while Texas will suffer because of its inconsistency on the ground.

TEXAS BOWL Illinois (6-6) vs. Baylor (7-5) When: Today, 6 p.m. Where: Houston TV: ESPN About Illinois (4-4 Big Ten): The Illini finished on a down-note, losing three out of its final four games but still managed to make the postseason for the first time since the 2007 Rose Bowl. RB Mikel LeShoure is second in the conference in rushing (1,513). About Baylor (4-4 Big 12): After a 7-2 start, the Bears stumbled down the stretch losing its final three games.

Arizona State (11-0) vs. Ohio State (10-1)Site: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.Time: 4: 30 p.m. todayTV: Chs. 2, 7Line: Ohio State by 2Players to watch:Jake Plummer, Arizona State: The four-year starter threw for 23 TDs and 2,575 yards.Ohio State: The Buckeyes quarterback situation has been muddled over the past few weeks of the seasons. Stanley Jackson has not played well, and Joe Germaine looks more comfortable coming off the bench. Ohio State needs positive play from one or both to get its offense on track.

LOS ANGELES -- Eighth-ranked Southern California and third-ranked Michigan are playing today in the Rose Bowl, not for the Bowl Championship Series title. But the winner of today's game likely will be No. 1. In the 2007 preseason polls. "It's probably the biggest bowl game for next year and everyone knows that," Michigan running back Mike Hart said. Count USC quarterback John David Booty among the believers. "I think even the loser will be No. 2 or 3," he said. If recent form holds, USC or Michigan, both loaded with key junior starters and talented underclassmen, will follow the path of Ohio State.

PASADENA, Calif. - For a guy who grew up in the shadow of the Matterhorn (and we're talking about the fake one in Southern California, of course), the Rose Bowl has always been a repository of tradition in a land of constant change. The Tournament of Roses spawned the first bowl game more than a century ago and tried hard to resist the siren call of the Bowl Championship Series, but you can only stand in the way of progress for so long if you want the biggest share of all that TV money.

Star power With the last two Heisman Trophy winners, tailback Reggie Bush and quarterback Matt Leinart, lining up for the Trojans, and this year's Heisman runner-up, quarterback Vince Young, playing for the Longhorns, it's fitting that this game is being held near Hollywood. It marks the first time that two Heisman-winning teammates will play in the same championship game. USC certainly has more marquee names - the Trojans also boast All-Americans in wide-out Dwayne Jarrett and tailback LenDale White - but that could just give the mostly no-name Longhorns more motivation.

The Manson house was easy to find yesterday: It was the one in Roland Park with the huge Northwestern flag out front and flashing purple Christmas lights in the shape of an "N."Nearly 20 people -- including almost a dozen Northwestern University alumni -- gathered there to watch the Rose Bowl and cheer on a team that hadn't played in a college bowl game since 1949."It's unbelievable," said Dr. Paul Manson, a 1964 graduate of Northwestern and a 1968 graduate of its medical school. "So many people around here are from Northwestern, and now we're all coming out of the closet."

CHICAGO -- The U.S. soccer team will play its three first-round games of the 1994 World Cup in Pontiac, Mich., and Pasadena, Calif.The Chicago Tribune has learned Team USA will open June 18, 1994, at the Pontiac Silverdome and then play June 22 and June 26 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.Opponents for those games will not be determined until December 1993, when the draw for the 24-team tournament is held.Only two teams are automatic qualifiers -- the host and the defending champion, Germany, both of which are among the six seeded teams.

Three games in the Wild West this weekend could factor prominently in finding an opponent for the Big Ten champion in this year's Rose Bowl. One of them even involves the Pac-10. Huh? Every time you turn around in college football people are making up rules as they go along. It used to be you set your clock to Pac-10/Big Ten in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, but some would say the new system is more like a broken clock — it's right twice a day. After 12 years of the Bowl Championship Series, most have become anesthetized to the fact the Rose Bowl must surrender one or both of its champions to the title game if they are ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the final BCS standings.

News item:: The New England Patriots are favored by about a field goal in Sunday's playoff showdown with the Ravens at Gillette Stadium. My take: : That means both teams are pretty evenly matched, so the game probably will come down to how well Tom Brady is able to exploit the Ravens' secondary. Bonus take: : OK, who am I kidding? I've heard the officiating crew is going to just give him his own penalty flag for this game. News item: : The Indianapolis Colts have announced that Matt Stover will be the team's kicker during the playoffs, even though Adam Vinatieri has returned from midseason knee surgery.

N ews item: The New England Patriots are favored by about a field goal in Sunday's playoff showdown with the Ravens at Gillette Stadium. My take: That means both teams are pretty evenly matched, so the game probably will come down to how well Tom Brady is able to exploit the Ravens' secondary. Bonus take: OK, who am I kidding? I've heard the officiating crew is going to just give him his own penalty flag for this game. News item: The Indianapolis Colts have announced that Matt Stover will be the team's kicker during the playoffs, even though Adam Vinatieri has returned from midseason knee surgery.

LOS ANGELES - Texas will win the national championship because, in LA-LA land, people like scripts that come full circle, having their fortunes told and Jupiter aligned with Mars. There are too many coincidences to think it can go any other way, at least that's what the palm reader said. Four years ago, at the Rose Bowl, Texas defeated USC to win the national title. Before trotting onto the field to lead the Longhorns on the game-winning drive, quarterback Vince Young turned to a skinny redshirt freshman holding a clipboard and told him to pay attention because he was going to be in this position someday.

Tide will roll with Ingram Andrea Adelson Orlando Sentinel Alabama and Texas have two of the best defenses in the country, two of the best players in the country and two of the best coaches in the country. So why will Alabama win the BCS national championship? Because a good running game beats a good passing game when championships are on the line. That means the Tide will win on the legs of Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, while Texas will suffer because of its inconsistency on the ground.

TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS M. bask. St. Joseph's@Temple CN8, CSNP 7 Memphis@Syracuse ESPN2 7 Louisville@Providence ESPNU 7 Georgetown@Marquette MASN 8 Air Force@Texas Christian CBSCS 9 Duke vs. Iowa State ESPN2 9 Northern Iowa@Southern Illinois ...

Buckeyes blow it Andrea Adelson, Orlando Sentinel Let's be honest, the last three BCS national championship games have turned into busts. No Miami- Ohio State excitement, no USC-Texas thriller. You can blame Ohio State, which failed to show up in two of the games. In Ohio State's BCS game against Florida in 2007, the Buckeyes were the favorites and then forgot to actually play the game. What sticks out most was not the freshman Tim Tebow or the senior Chris Leak leading the Gators to the win, but Ted Ginn Jr. getting injured celebrating his opening kickoff return for a touchdown and Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith repeatedly getting pummeled to the turf.

TUSCOLA, Texas - The road sign on Route 83 that welcomes you to Colt McCoy's hometown needs updating, because it states, "Tuscola, population 714." That head count was taken 10 years ago. "I imagine we're pretty close to 800 now," City Secretary Billie Pearce said from behind the counter at City Hall. It was Dec. 22, and Pearce was about to celebrate her 78th Christmas here. "If you saw where the funeral home is?" she said, pointing outside to Bartlett's parlor.