New Years Bowl Roundup: Washington wins Rose; Vick ponders future

Tuesday, January 2nd 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(AP)- Washington didn't need another comeback to win the Rose Bowl, while Virginia Tech can only wait and see if quarterback Michael Vick will come back to school after winning the Gator Bowl.

No. 4 Washington, which rallied to win eight games this season, never trailed in the Rose Bowl, beating No. 14 Purdue 34-24 Monday.

Marques Tuiasosopo, who missed the end of the third quarter with an injured right shoulder, ran for one touchdown, passed for another and accounted for 213 yards to win the player of the game.

``He is the absolute epitome of what a quarterback should be,'' Washington coach Rick Neuheisel said. ``He hurt his shoulder, he came back in there and said he could play. The rest, as they say, is history.''

So might Vick's college career. Vick threw for 205 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score as sixth-ranked Virginia Tech beat No. 16 Clemson 41-20.

The sophomore quarterback, still trying to decide whether to return to the Hokies next season or turn pro, said he'll use the time between now and the Jan. 12 deadline to consider his options.

``I haven't set a timeline,'' he said. ``I realize I have a couple of days to think about some things and make my decision, what I'm going to do. I'm going to take advantage of those next six or seven days.''

Also Monday, No. 5 Oregon State won its first bowl game since 1962, beating 10th-ranked Notre Dame 41-9 in the Fiesta Bowl, the second-worst bowl loss ever for the Fighting Irish.

``I'm obviously embarrassed by the way we played, but I'll never be embarrassed of this football team,'' Notre Dame coach Bob Davie said.

In other games Monday, it was Michigan 31, Auburn 28 in the Citrus Bowl; Kansas State 35, Tennessee 21 in the Cotton Bowl; and South Carolina 24, Ohio State 7 in the Outback Bowl.

On Tuesday night, No. 2 Miami plays No. 7 Florida in the Sugar Bowl as the Hurricanes try to win a share of the national title. No. 3 Florida State plays No. 1 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl on Wednesday night.

Rose Bowl

No. 4 Washington 34, No. 14 Purdue 24

Tuiasosopo missed the last three plays of the third quarter, but returned for the fourth and threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Todd Elstrom to put the Huskies up by 10.

Willie Hurst's 8-yard run made it 34-17 as Washington (11-1) gave the Pac-10 its first Rose Bowl victory in five years.

The Boilermakers (8-4) were playing in their first Rose Bowl in 34 years. Purdue's Drew Brees was 23-of-39 for 275 yards and two touchdowns _ both to Vinny Sutherland.

Gator Bowl

No. 6 Virginia Tech 41, No. 16 Clemson 20

Lee Suggs ran for three touchdowns to complement Vick for Virginia Tech (11-1).

Quarterback Woodrow Dantzler was a virtual one-man show for Clemson after the Tigers (9-3) lost tailback Travis Zachery with a broken foot early in the second quarter.

Dantzler rushed 18 times for 81 yards and was 15-of-32 for 180 yards and one touchdown.

Fiesta Bowl

No. 5 Oregon St. 41, No. 10 Notre Dame 9

Jonathan Smith threw three touchdown passes as Oregon State completed its remarkable rise from pitiful to powerhouse.

``What can you say?'' Oregon State coach Dennis Erickson said. ``We came out and played in all three phases about as well as we can play.''

The Beavers (11-1), college football's laughingstock for more than a quarter-century, handed the Fighting Irish their worst bowl defeat since a 40-6 loss to Nebraska in the 1973 Orange Bowl.

Smith, the 5-foot-10 former walk-on who was mistaken for the team manager when coach Dennis Erickson first saw him, completed 16 of 24 passes for 305 yards, then sat out the final quarter.

Citrus Bowl

No. 17 Michigan 31, No. 20 Auburn 28

Anthony Thomas ran for 182 yards and two touchdowns, and Drew Henson passed for two TDs for Michigan.

Henson was 15-of-20 for 294 yards for the Wolverines (9-3), which has won bowls in four straight seasons for the first time.

Down 31-21, Auburn (9-4) stayed alive when Ben Leard hit a leaping Deandre Green with a 21-yard touchdown pass with 2:26 left.

Michigan's Ronald Bellamy then recovered the onside kick and the Wolverines ran out the clock.

Cotton Bowl

No. 11 Kansas St. 35, No. 21 Tennessee 21

Jonathan Beasley ran for a career-best 98 yards and a touchdown, threw for 210 yards and two TDs and quick-kicked the ball to the 4 late for Kansas State.

The 297 yards rushing by Kansas State (11-3) were the most against Tennessee (8-4) since Nebraska had 409 in last year's Fiesta Bowl. Josh Scobey ran 28 times for 147 yards for Kansas State, two shy of his career best.

Outback Bowl

South Carolina 24, No. 19 Ohio St. 7

Ryan Brewer, an Ohio native, rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns as South Carolina (8-4) finished the most dramatic one-year turnaround in Southeastern Conference history.

The Gamecocks entered the season on a 21-game losing streak.

The Buckeyes (8-4) fell to 3-8 in bowl games under coach John Cooper.