College Football Week 19 - Still the Rain Kept Pourin'

College Football Week 19 – Tigers vs. Tigers on January 13

‘Still the rain kept pourin’ 

So on the Sunday before Christmas, Swamp Mama and I hit the road for the panhandle to spend the Holidays with Princess Gator, Gator Gabe and Gator Babe. It was forecast to be a terrible day across the state of Florida – rain, rain and more rain, non-stop. Twenty-four hours of rain.

We left in the morning before 7 a.m. The skies were gray – dark gray. With the weather forecast as it was, I decided to alter my normal route to the panhandle. Instead of going inland on 192 to the Florida Turnpike and I-75 North, I took I-95 North.

The forecast was correct. The rain was non-stop – sometimes light and sometimes heavy, but mostly in-between. It was a Sunday morning, coming down.

To my surprise, I had I-95 to myself. It was an open road – hardly any traffic. In 43 years, I had never seen I-95 so scarce of traffic. It must have been because of the rain. And because it was a Sunday morning – an early Sunday morning.

At Jacksonville, we merged onto I-10 West. The rain was still coming down. Who’ll stop the rain? The traffic had gotten heavier around the Jacksonville area. It thinned out as we drove West from Jacksonville. After a long stretch on I-95, it was another long stretch on I-10 – all the way from Jacksonville to Chipley.

Early afternoon, we arrived at our destination. Although we had stopped driving, the rain hadn’t stopped falling. And I wonder, still I wonder. It ended at 9:00 that night.

After two days of bowl games, the Sunday before Christmas provided a break in the bowl activity. But news from one of Saturday’s bowl teams came raining down.

Less than 24 hours after Washington beat Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl, two changes in the Huskies’ coaching staff were announced. We already knew that Washington coach Chris Petersen was stepping down after the game. We already knew that Washington’s defensive coordinator – Jimmy Lake – was replacing Petersen. However, the day after the Huskies’ bowl win, Lake took his first action as the new head coach. He fired Washington’s offensive coordinator Bush Hamden and tight ends coach Jordan Paopao.

Doesn’t it rain a lot in Seattle? Just saying.

Happy Hanukkah!

Monday, the sun made an appearance in the panhandle.

But not in Tampa where UCF (10-3) toppled Marshall (8-5) in the Gasparilla Bowl. The rain was fallin’ on their ears. UCF completed its third-straight season, winning 10 or more games. The Knights have won 35 games the past three years.

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman hired Kendal Briles as his offensive coordinator. This past season, Briles was the offensive coordinator at Florida State.

Late Monday afternoon, the five of us were joined by Swamp Mama’s cousin Donna Snyder and her husband Marc, their son Erich and his wife Erin and their son Ethan. They drove down from Dothan, Alabama, where Marc and Donna live. Erich, Erin and Ethan live in Dallas. It was a festive family gathering.

The Hawaiians like their football on Christmas Eve. There was no exception this year, as Hawaii (10-5) beat BYU (7-6), 38-34, in the Hawaii Bowl. The game was a thriller. Trailing BYU, 34-31, Hawaii scored the winning touchdown with 1:17 remaining on a 24-yard pass play from Cole McDonald to Nick Mardner. McDonald passed for 493 yards.

The five of us had a winning Christmas Eve too – dinner at the home of another relative, followed by a candlelight church service and back to the relative’s house for dessert. Then the five of us returned home to open a few presents. Finally, we were nestled all snug in our beds, while visions of sugar plumbs danced in our heads. Sugar plumbs? Really?      

Merry Christmas!

And with Christmas came a day of rest from the bowls.

The day after Christmas, Minnesota offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca was named the new offensive coordinator at Penn State. The Nittany Lions lost their offensive coordinator when Ricky Rahne left to become the head coach at Old Dominion.

In the first post-Christmas bowl game, Louisiana Tech (10-3) knocked off Miami (Florida) (6-7), 14-0, in the Independence Bowl. After the game, Miami coach Manny Diaz fired his offensive coordinator Dan Enos. Actually, the decision to fire Enos had been made before the game. Diaz made it official after the game.

Under first-year coach Diaz, the Miami program is in disarray. Temple fans must be breathing a sigh of relief. Diaz, you will remember, first accepted the Temple job last year and then 24 hours later left Temple for Miami.

Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead announced that due to an injury from an altercation with a fellow teammate, Bulldogs quarterback Garrett Shrader is out for the Music City Bowl. Apparently Shrader and the teammate got into a fight following a Mississippi State practice session. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play Louisville in the bowl game. As a result, Tommy Stevens, who lost his starting job during the season, will start the game for Mississippi State.

In the second game on Thursday, Pitt (8-5) edged Eastern Michigan (6-7), 34-30, in the Quick Lane Bowl. Near the end of the game, EMU quarterback Mike Glass punched two Pitt players. His second punch caught one of the referees on the chin, knocking the ref to the ground. Glass was ejected, but at the time of the punches, the game was all but over – less than 20 seconds left.

Friday morning, Swamp Mama and I bid farewell to Princess Gator, Gator Gabe and Gator Babe. We packed all our belongings in the SUV and left for home. The skies were partly sunny to mostly sunny as we made our way East on I-10 and South on I-95. But around New Smyrna Beach, the rain started pourin’. The rain was still coming down as we pulled into the driveway.

It was raining when we left and it was raining when we returned. And I wonder, still I wonder.

Driving home, I listened to the Military Bowl on ESPN Radio. North Carolina (7-6) slammed Temple (8-5), 55-13. North Carolina came to play football. Temple came to play. Someone said all but one of North Carolina’s starters return next year. Watch out Coastal Division.

Then, before arriving home, I listened to the first quarter of the Pinstripe Bowl. Wake Forest scored first, but at the end of one, Michigan State led, 10-7. I caught the final three quarters at home on television. Michigan State (7-6) beat Wake Forest (8-5), 27-21.

The rain stopped a few minutes after we got home. But the football didn’t.

I read where the Navy football team flew to Memphis on the New England Patriots’ plane. The Midshipmen play Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl on Tuesday. The connection: Bill Belichick’s father was once an assistant coach and scout at Navy.

In the first of the three night games Friday night, Texas A&M (8-5) rallied in the second half to beat Oklahoma State (8-5), 24-21, in the Texas Bowl. The Cowboys got off to a 14-0 first quarter lead over the Aggies. But A&M quarterback Kellen Mond led the Aggies back.

Like Miami (Florida) is the USC program in disarray? It looked like it Friday night when Iowa (10-3) demolished USC (8-5), 49-24, in the Holiday Bowl. Holding a 28-24 lead over the Trojans late in the third quarter, the Hawkeyes scored 21 unanswered points.

In the nightcap, Air Force (11-2) kept the ball away from Washington State (6-7) in the Cheez-It Bowl. The Falcons beat the Cougars, 31-21. More amazingly, Air Force had possession of the ball for more than 43 minutes. How frustrated the Washington State offense must have been.

I need some luck on Saturday. Going into the final four bowl games of the week, I was 7-10 with my picks.

Saturday began with two warmup games prior to the two playoff games. In the first warmup game, Iowa State was no match for Notre Dame in the Camping World Bowl. Iowa State was a disappointing team this season. That’s because the Cyclones were overrated at preseason.

Notre Dame (11-2) scored 10 points in each of the first three quarters and then added three points in the fourth quarter for good measure. The Irish beat Iowa State (7-6), 33-9, in the Camping World Bowl.

In the other warmup game it appeared for a while that the Penn State and Memphis basketball teams showed up to play in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Penn State (11-2) outshot Memphis (12-2), 53-39. At the end of three quarters, the score was 45-36. Both teams cooled their heels in the fourth quarter.

A day after USC’s 49-24 loss to Iowa in the Holiday Bowl, Trojans coach Clay Helton fired his defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast and his special teams coordinator John Baxter.

Note to the CFP selection committee: In the future, do not select Oklahoma as a playoff team, even if the Sooners are undefeated. After Saturday’s Peach Bowl, Oklahoma is now 0-4 in playoff games, giving up 50 points a game to its opponents. LSU (14-0) slaughtered Oklahoma (12-2), 63-28, in the Peach Bowl – a semifinal Playoff game.

LSU quarterback Joe Burrow was nothing short of sensational. Burrow was 29-for-39, passing for 493 yards and seven touchdowns. He rushed for an eighth touchdown. Burrow had a hand in eight of LSU’s nine touchdowns. And he only played three quarters. Burrow and LSU broke 14 records in the game. Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts was ineffective passing and running.

Sports Illustrated writer Ross Dellenger reported that coming into the Playoff semifinal game, the LSU coaching staff thought that Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Georgia were all better than Oklahoma. Interesting.

If you were about to fall asleep around the time Saturday’s fourth game began, I’m sure you were wide awake and alert before it was over – long before it was over. The Clemson and Ohio State game had us on the edge of our seats. There were moments when we almost fell off the edge. It was a nail biter. At times we didn’t have enough nails to bite.

In the second semifinal Playoff game, Clemson (14-0) trimmed Ohio State (13-1), 29-23, in the Fiesta Bowl. Until late in the second quarter, this contest looked like it would become another blowout like the LSU-Oklahoma game. Ohio State had a 16-0 lead on Clemson midway through the second quarter. The Tigers offense was flat. The Tigers defense was lacking.

But late in the second quarter, the fireworks began. Clemson’s offense and defense snapped out of it. The Tigers scored two touchdowns in the final 2:45 of the first half. Ohio State’s lead was cut to two points. At the break, the Buckeyes led, 16-14. We had a ballgame.

Halfway through the third quarter, Clemson took its first lead in the game. The Tigers scored a touchdown to go up 21-16. Not to be outdone, early in the fourth quarter, Ohio State scored and retook the lead at 23-21. The battle was on. Finally, with just 1:49 left in the game, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence connected with running back Travis Etienne on a 34-yard touchdown pass. The Tigers were back on top, 29-23.

However, in the closing 1:49, Ohio State was driving. The Buckeyes were deep into Clemson territory on the Tigers’ 23. But it all came to an end for Ohio State when Clemson’s Nolan Turner intercepted a Justin Fields pass in the end zone.

When the game was over, you had to feel that Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence should have come in second to LSU’s Joe Burrow for the Heisman Trophy. After a slow start, Lawrence ended up with 259 yards passing (no interceptions) and perhaps more impressively with 107 yards rushing. Lawrence had a hand in three of Clemson’s four touchdowns – two touchdown passes and an impressive 67-yard touchdown run.

Trevor Lawrence is now 26-0 as a starting quarterback at Clemson.

Clemson running back Travis Etienne only had 36 yards rushing, but he starred as a receiver. Etienne scored three of Clemson’s four touchdowns – one on an 8-yard run and two on pass receptions of 53 and 34 yards. In all, Etienne had three receptions for 98 yards.

So it will be Clemson vs. LSU for the national championship on January 13. The Tigers vs. the Tigers. With the title contest in New Orleans, it will be like a home game for LSU.

Twenty-one bowl games down and 18 to go, I’m 10-11 with my picks.

It was a bad weekend to be a Buckeye. Sunday, in basketball, No. 22 West Virginia (11-1) beat No. 2 Ohio State (11-2), 67-59, in the Cleveland Classic.

Texas coach Tom Herman hired Ohio State passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Yurcich to be the Longhorns’ new offensive coordinator.

After a day of rest on Sunday, we needed it following that Clemson-Ohio State game, the bowls will resume, with four games on Monday, December 30, including the Orange Bowl with Virginia against Florida. Tell me again how Virginia got selected for the Orange Bowl. And I wonder, still I wonder. 

Happy New Year!

Touchdown Tom
December 30, 2019
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com

(Note: College Football Week 20 will be posted on Tuesday morning, January 7.)



Review of the Bowls 

The rain’s been comin’ down (in the Gasparilla Bowl) – UCF 48, Marshall 25 (Touchdown Tom said: UCF 36, Marshall 24). UCF racked up 587 total yards, with a balanced passing and running attack. Marshall was plagued with five turnovers. Marshall suffered its first bowl loss under 10-year coach Doc Holliday, who entered the game with a 6-0 bowl record at MU. Attendance in Tampa: 28,987 

Mele Kalikimaka (in the Hawaii Bowl) – Hawaii 38, BYU 34 (Touchdown Tom said: BYU 35, Hawaii 34). Hawaii scored 31 of its 38 points in the first half. And BYU scored 24 of its 34 points in the first half. The Rainbow Warriors led the Cougars 31-24 at halftime. Hawaii took an early 7-0 lead and held onto it until early in the third quarter. That’s when BYU tied the score at 31-31. One minute into the fourth quarter, the Cougars took their first and only lead of the game, 34-31. Hawaii scored a touchdown with 1:17 to go and held on to win. Hawaii quarterback Cole McDonald was 28-for-46, passing for 493 yards and four touchdowns. The teams combined for 1,000 yards of offense. Ironically, Hawaii only had two yards rushing. BYU was evenly balanced between rushing and passing, but the Cougars had three turnovers. Hawaii had none.  Attendance in Honolulu: 21,582 

Windless (in the Independence Bowl) – Louisiana Tech 14, Miami (Florida) 0 (Touchdown Tom said: Miami 30, Louisiana Tech 15). In the defensive battle, Louisiana Tech got seven points in the second quarter and seven more in the fourth quarter. Miami got nothing. Neither team played all that well on offense, but least of all Miami. The Canes only had 74 yards rushing and only completed 44% of their passes. Attendance in Shreveport: 33,129 

It was Punchy (in the Quick Lane Bowl) – Pitt 34, Eastern Michigan 30 (Touchdown Tom said: Pitt 29, Eastern Michigan 24). Although the game was tied four times, Pitt never led until 0:47 to go in the fourth quarter. That’s when the Panthers went up 34-30 on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Kenny Pickett to Taysir Mack. Pitt quarterback Pickett was 27-for-39, passing for 361 yards and three touchdowns. But the Panthers only had 96 yards rushing. EMU controlled time of possession for more than 34 minutes. In the closing seconds of the game EMU quarterback Mike Glass threw two punches one of which caught a referee on the chin. In the Attendance in Detroit: 34,765 

The Mack is back (in the Military Bowl) – North Carolina 55, Temple 13 (Touchdown Tom said: North Carolina 30, Temple 25). Temple was basically a no show. North Carolina outscored the Owls in all four quarters. The Tar Heels had 574 total yards to 272 for Temple. UNC quarterback Sam Howell was 25-for-34, passing for 294 yards and three touchdowns. Temple only had 78 yards rushing. Attendance in Annapolis: 24,242 

The Spartans purged the Demons (in the Pinstripe Bowl) – Michigan State 27, Wake Forest 21 (Touchdown Tom said: Wake Forest 17, Michigan State 14). All but seven of the points were scored in the first half. Wake Forest led 21-20 at the break. The second half was like a typical Michigan State game – all defense. The Spartans totally dominated the stats. Michigan State also dominated time of possession for more than 35 minutes. MSU quarterback Brain Lewerke was 26-for-37, passing for 320 yards and one touchdown. Attendance in The Bronx: 36,895 

Kellen was killin’ the Cowboys (in the Texas Bowl) – Texas A&M 24, Oklahoma State 21 (Touchdown Tom said: Texas A&M 31, Oklahoma State 30). Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond only passed for 95 yards, but he rushed for 117 yards, averaging 9.8 yards per carry. Mond passed for one touchdown and rushed for another. Trailing Oklahoma State 14-0, Texas A&M scored 24 unanswered points to take a 10-point lead with 2:52 left in the game. The Aggies maintained ball possession for more than 34 minutes. Okie State’s Chuba Hubbard rushed for 158 yards. Attendance in Houston: 68,415 

Troy sacked (in the Holiday Bowl) – Iowa 49, USC 24 (Touchdown Tom said: USC 23, Iowa 17). Iowa controlled ball possession for more than 33 minutes, had zero turnovers comparted to three for USC and held the Trojans to 22 yards rushing. USC quarterback Kedon Slovis left the game in the third quarter due to an arm injury. At that point, Slovis was 22-for-30, passing for 260 yards and two touchdowns. Attendance in San Diego: 50,123 

Ball control! (in the Cheez-It Bowl) – Air Force 31, Washington State 21 (Touchdown Tom said: Washington State 32, Air Force 30). Air Force scored in the first minute of the game and never trailed after that – although the score was briefly tied at 7-7. In spite of the Falcons’ dominance, Air Force never led by more than 10 points. With 9:59 to go in the fourth quarter, the Air Force lead was just 24-21. The Falcons iced it with a touchdown with 3:50 on the clock. As expected, Air Force only passed for 30 yards but rushed for 371 yards, while Washington State only rushed for 15 yards but passed for 351 yards. Two Air Force running backs each had more than 100 yards rushing. Kadin Remsberg rushed for 178 yards and Taven Birdow rushed for 108 yards. Washington State quarterback Anthony Gordon was 28-for-42, passing for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Air Force held onto the ball for more than 43 minutes. Attendance in Phoenix: 34,105 

Leaping Leprechauns (in the Camping world Bowl) – Notre Dame 33, Iowa State 9 (Touchdown Tom said: Notre Dame 30, Iowa State 27). Notre Dame had 455 total yards. Iowa State had 272 total yards and only 45 yards rushing. Irish quarterback Ian Book was 20-for-28, passing for 247 yards and one touchdown. ND running back Tony Jones rushed for 135 yards. Attendance in Orlando: 46,948 

Jump ball (in the Cotton Bowl) – Penn State 53, Memphis 39 (Touchdown Tom said: Penn State 34, Memphis 26). The two teams combined for 1,071 total yards. Penn State was the rushing team – 396 yards. Memphis was the passing team – 479 yards. The Lions’ defense held Memphis to 63 rushing yards. Late in the third quarter, Penn State only led by two points – 38-36. Memphis’ last three scores in the game were all field goals. Penn State running back Journey Brown rushed for 202 yards and two touchdowns. Memphis quarterback Brady White passed for 454 yards. Attendance in Arlington: 54,828 

Burrow Bowl (in the Peach Bowl) – LSU 63, Oklahoma 28 (Touchdown Tom said: LSU 33, Oklahoma 25). LSU built up a 49-14 halftime lead over Oklahoma. The teams played tit-for-tat in the second half. The game was over at the break. The Tigers had 693 total yards to 322 for the Sooners, and 31 first downs to 16 for OU. The LSU defense held OU to 97 yards rushing. Attendance in Atlanta: 78,347 

The Trevor and Travis Show (in the Fiesta Bowl) – Clemson 29, Ohio State 23 (Touchdown Tom said: Ohio State 28, Clemson 24). Clemson never led in the game until 7:54 to go in the third quarter. Ohio State dominated the stats – total yards, passing yards, rushing yards, first downs and time of possession. The Buckeyes even had more penalties. Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields was 30-for-46, passing for 320 yards and one touchdown. But he also threw two interceptions. Buckeyes running back J.K. Dobbins rushed for 174 yards and one touchdown. In the game, Dobbins broke Eddie George’s Ohio State school record for most rushing yards in a season. But in the end, Ohio State couldn’t stop Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne. Attendance in Glendale: 71,330 

Last Week’s Bowl Game Picks:    7 winners, 6 fumbles (53.8 percent)
Total Bowl Game Picks To Date: 10 winners, 11 fumbles (47.6 percent)



Superlatives

Impressive Passers:

LSU’s Joe Burrow – 29-39-0 for 493 yards (7TDs); Hawaii’s Cole McDonald – 28-46-0-493 (4TDs); Memphis’ Brady White – 32-51-2-454; Pitt’s Kenny Pickett – 27-39-0-361 (3TDs); Washington State’s Anthony Gordon – 28-42-0-351 (3TDs); Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke – 26-37-1-320 (1TD), and Ohio State’s Justin Fields – 30-46-2-320 (1TD).

Impressive Rushers:

Penn State’s Journey Brown – 202 yards (2TDs); Air Force’s Kadin Remsberg – 178 yards; Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins – 174 yards, and Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard – 158 yards.



Quotes of the Week 

“I’ve really enjoyed working alongside Bush and Jordan and appreciate their contributions to Husky football. These decisions are extremely difficult, but I believe it’s in the best interest of our program to make these changes to align with the vision we have for our team moving forward. I wish them both nothing but the best,” new Washington coach Jimmy Lake, on the firing of offensive coordinator Bush Hamden and tight ends coach Jordan Paopao. 

“It’s obviously designed for a football team. The spacing was awesome. I was kind of sad when they said it was only a two-hour flight. You know, usually you want a quick flight, but this time I was a little sad,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo, on flying to Memphis for the Liberty Bowl on the New England Patriot’s plane. 

“We played hard, we played bold, but certainly there were a lot of plays in that game that didn’t go our way and are very hard to swallow right now. Gonna have to really take a look at the film and figure out what really happened on some of those plays. Because in a game like this, where the margin of error is so tiny, one play can alter the game, and it didn’t seem like we got any of those plays,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day, after the Clemson game. 

“When the outcome of the game is determined by reversals by the refs, there is something wrong with that picture,” CFW reader Sally Kirk Adkins. 

“I really thought it would be LSU/OSU. No matter, LSU will knock the snot out of either team,” CFW reader Kris Hansen. 

Touchdown Tom
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com



P.S.

Not exactly college football related, but there were two passings of note last week – Don Imus and Sue Lyon.

Don Imus, who tested the limits of shock radio with his irreverent attacks on celebrities, politicians, racial and ethnic groups, women, gay people and practically everyone else, died last week in College Station, Texas. He was 79. For nearly a half a century – from his start on local stations in the West, through a succession of New York regional and national radio stations and cable networks until his retirement in 2018 – Imus entertained and offended countless millions. The outpouring of sympathy after his disclosure about his prostate cancer reflected not only his wide following as a radio personality but also his admiration for his private charity work, raising millions for the rehabilitation of wounded veterans of the Iraq war and for children with cancer, who had spent summers since 1999 on his ranch near Ribera, New Mexico. To Imus, Dick Cheney was “a war criminal,” Hillary Rodham Clinton was “Satan,” Oprah Winfrey “a fat phony,” Newt Gingrich “a man who would eat roadkill,” Ted Kennedy “a fat slob,” Steve Forbes “a meanspirited creep,” Dan Rather “a loony,” Rush Limbaugh “a drug-addled gas bag,” among others. John Donald Imus Jr. was born on July 23, 1940, in Riverside, California, and raised on ranches near Kingman and Prescott, Arizona. He quit high school and joined the Marine Corps. He got his first radio job in 1968 at KUTY in Palmdale, California, but switched to KJOY in Stockton. He then went to KXOA in Sacramento. Billboard Magazine named him disc jockey of the year for medium-sized markets. By 1970, he was with WGAR in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1971, Imus moved to WNBC in New York and launched “Imus in the Morning.” It was an overnight sensation. In 1994, he had a best seller – “God’s Other Son.” Imus was fired by WNBC in a format change in 1977. He returned to Cleveland, but by 1979 he was back with WNBC. “Imus in the Morning” became nationally syndicated in 1993 and in 1996 MSNBC began simulcasting it. His contract with MSNBC was cancelled in 2007 after his outrageous comment on the hair of the Rutgers women’s basketball team. Imus was picked up by RFD-TV for two years. In 2009 “Imus in the Morning” was simulcast on the Fox Business Network. The Fox relationship ended in 2015 and Imus relocated his radio program to Brenham, Texas. On March 29, 1918, “Imus in the Morning” ended its long run.

Sue Lyon, who was cast in Stanley Kubrick’s “Lolita” at the age of 14, died last week in Los Angeles. She was 73. Lyon’s acting career lasted from 1959 to 1980, with her most significant role as the title character in the 1962 Kubrick film. Lyon earned the part over 800 girls who auditioned. Sue Lyon was born in Davenport, Iowa. Her mother moved the family to Dallas before relocating them to Los Angeles. Lyon landed the role of Laurie in “The Loretta Young Show” and a small part in the 1960 series “Dennis the Menace” before she obtained the defining role of her career. She won the 1963 Golden Globe for most promising female newcomer for “Lolita.” After “Lolita,” Lyon went on again to play a seductive teenager in John Huston’s “The Night of the Iguana,” and in John Ford’s “7 Women” and Gordon Douglas’ “Tony Rome,” staring Frank Sinatra. She appeared on several TV series, including “Love American Style,” “Fantasy Island,” “Police Story” and “Night Gallery.” Her final role was in the 1980 horror film “Alligator.”