Web posted December 30, 1997

By Dan Sewell
Associated Press

ATLANTA -- Even though snow was falling over Atlanta on Monday, 13th-ranked Auburn's team was thinking about the heat.

The ``heat factor'' took a toll in Auburn's loss to Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference championship game in the Georgia Dome earlier this month, linebacker Takeo Spikes said after the Tigers practiced for Friday's Peach Bowl game. In the SEC game, five Auburn players went down with cramps as the temperature rose inside the loud, packed dome.

``We're preparing for it this time, and hopefully, we can adjust to it this time,'' Spikes said.

Both Auburn and Clemson practiced on local high school fields amid snowflakes and chilly weather.

Auburn coach Terry Bowden said his team has discussed the heat and will be better prepared this time, treating it like a game played in early September instead of early January. There will be plenty of ice, water and circular fans on the sidelines.

While the loss to Tennessee knocked 9-3 Auburn out of an Alliance Bowl slot, Bowden said the Peach Bowl is a nice reward because it offers good exposure, convenience for fans, an exciting city for players -- and a chance to get further accustomed to the Georgia Dome.

``This is the place where you come for the SEC championship,'' he said. ``It's a facility where we need to learn to play well.''

He said there's no shortage of incentives for his team, which has a chance to achieve a 10-victory season and also to finish in the Top 10.

Noting that his father's Florida State team had a hard-fought 35-28 victory over Clemson this year, Bowden said he's been warned they are a tough, talented team.

``That didn't make me feel better,'' he said of his father Bobby's assessment of Clemson.

For coach Tommy West's team, the Peach Bowl offers another chance to knock off a nationally ranked team and to finish at 8-4.

``That would be another step for our program right now,'' he said. Besides the 7-point loss to No. 4 FSU, Clemson lost 17-10 to seventh-ranked North Carolina.

``We really had an opportunity,'' he said of those two games. ``We couldn't quite close the deal near the end.''

Most of his players have also been through the Georgia Dome experience. Clemson lost last year's Peach Bowl to Louisiana State, 10-7. It's Clemson's third trip in five years.

Asked about the Atlantic Coast Conference vs. SEC match-up, West said that wasn't a big factor, but noted the ACC has won four of the last five Peach Bowls.

``It's important for us to win every game we play,'' he said.

Clemson prepares for the game with its healthiest team this year, in which injuries to offensive linemen, to quarterback Nealon Greene and to tailback Raymond Priester have hurt at key times.

Auburn is favored by a touchdown or less, and by traditional Peach Bowl results, that's a big point spread. The last time a team won a Peach Bowl by more than 7 points was in 1983.