An academic cheating scandal could leave Florida State without as many as 25 players for its Music City Bowl game against Kentucky on New Year's Eve, coach Bobby Bowden said yesterday.

It was the latest off-field blow to a once-proud program trying to regain its footing as a national power.

"We have some players not traveling for one reason and some for another, including those who are ineligible for the bowl because of academic issues," Bowden said in a statement released by the university.

"Kentucky would be a tough opponent when we are at full strength so clearly this will make things more difficult. Our staff is in the process of determining what adjustments we must make for the game."

Many of the players who won't be going to Nashville could also be ruled ineligible for some games next season for their connection to a cheating scandal earlier this year.

Federal privacy laws prohibit the school from releasing names.

"We don't know what that number is going to end up being exactly, but we know that's a rough figure," assistant athletic director Rob Wilson said. "It's an issue where we're being extra cautious."

Bowden also said he would not use any players redshirted this season in the bowl game. The Seminoles (7-5) finished the regular season unranked for a third straight year.

The university reported its findings in a letter to the NCAA in September after a six-month investigation by the school revealed at least 23 athletes in various sports were interviewed in regard to cheating on an online music history exam.

ELSEWHERE

Player of Year: Tim Tebow won AP Player of the Year honors yesterday in a vote that was similar to the one that made him the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. The Florida quarterback received 31 of a possible 58 votes from AP poll voters. Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, the Heisman runner-up, received 19 votes, and Hawai'i quarterback Colt Brennan was third with four votes. Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon received three votes and West Virginia quarterback Pat White received one vote.

New Mexico: Running back Rodney Ferguson won't play in the New Mexico Bowl Saturday after being declared academically ineligible. Reserve running back Mike Love also is ineligible and cannot play when the Lobos (8-4) meet Nevada (6-6). Ferguson, a junior, was the team's top rusher the past two seasons. He ran for 1,177 yards and 13 touchdowns this season.

Miami: Defensive coordinator Tim Walton was fired by coach Randy Shannon after the Hurricanes allowed more than 300 points this season for the first time since 1984.

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