Sunday, November 18, 2001
College Football Today
The Associated Press
STARS — Cody Pickett, Washington, threw for 371 yards and a touchdown as the 16th-ranked Huskies beat No. 9 Washington State 26-14.
— Ken Dorsey, Miami, threw four touchdown passes in the No. 1 Hurricanes' 59-0 victory over Syracuse,
— Josh Harris, Bowling Green, passed for 402 yards and three touchdowns, ran for two TDs and caught a TD pass as the Falcons beat Northwestern 43-42.
— Santonio Beard, Alabama, ran for 199 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-7 upset of No. 17 Auburn.
— Verron Haynes, Georgia, rushed for a career-high 192 yards and two touchdowns as the Bulldogs beat Mississippi 35-15.
— Ennis Haywood, Iowa State, ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Cyclones over Kansas 49-7.
— David Carr, Fresno State, passed for 368 yards and four touchdowns in a 61-14 victory over Nevada.
— Jeff Kelly, Southern Mississippi, threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns in a 59-6 rout of Tulane.
— Danny Wimprine, Memphis, threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Tigers beat Army 42-10.
— Sam Clemons, Western Illinois, passed for 472 yards and five touchdowns in a 52-15 victory over Indiana State.
— Josh Rue, Duquesne, ran for 317 yards and four touchdowns as the Dukes beat Canisius 63-15.
BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE
Top-ranked Miami dominated No. 14 Syracuse in a 59-0 victory a week after the Hurricanes needed a last-minute interception return for a touchdown to ice a win over Boston College. Undefeated Miami has the inside track for a spot in the Rose Bowl, this year's BCS national championship game.
TITLE DEFENSE
Oklahoma held Texas Tech's potent offense in check, limiting quarterback Kliff Kingsbury to a season-low 234 yards and the Red Raiders' ground game to minus-7 yards in the Sooners' 30-13 victory. No. 3 Oklahoma needs to beat Oklahoma State next week to make it to the Big 12 title game and a possible rematch with No. 2 Nebraska, to have a chance to play for their second national title in as many years.
NEAR MISS
No. 6 Tennessee survived a scare when Alex Walls kicked a 44-yard field goal to give the Vols a 38-35 victory over Kentucky. Tennessee overcame a 21-point deficit.
SLOW AND STEADY
No. 10 Maryland trailed for most of the game, took a lead with 8:51 remaining in the third quarter, lost it and finally gained it back when Shaun Hill threw an 8-yard scoring pass to Guilian Gary with 41 seconds left, giving the Terrapins a 23-19 win over N.C. State, their first outright ACC title in 16 years and the league's Bowl Championship Series bid.
SCOREBOARD WATCHING
With Washington's 26-14 victory over Washington State on Saturday, Oregon clinched at least a share of the Pac-10 title and the conference's automatic invitation to the Fiesta Bowl. Yet the Ducks still have an outside chance of rising from No. 4 in the Bowl Championship Series rankings to the top two, which would earn them a spot in the conference's traditional title game, the Rose Bowl, hosting the national championship game this season.
SWOON
No. 20 UCLA, which lost 27-0 to Southern Cal, could be out of The Associated Press Top 25 poll, less than a month after the Bruins were ranked fourth and eyeing a run at a national championship.
REVERSAL
Trailing by two touchdowns with 3:44 left, Bowling Green came back to beat Northwestern 43-42 when Cole Magner took a reverse into the end zone for the winning 2-point conversion. Josh Harris hit Robert Redd with a 5-yard touchdown pass with 36 seconds remaining to set up the gutsy call, which Falcons coach Urban Meyer said he had decided on midway through the fourth quarter. The win gave Bowling Green its first win over a Big Ten school since 1972.
COMEBACK KURT
Kurt Kittner's fourth comeback win — this one a 34-22 victory over No. 25 Ohio State — kept Illinois in the hunt for its first Big Ten title since 1990. Kittner, threw two touchdown passes to lead No. 12 Illinois back from an early 10-7 deficit, had led the Illini back from early deficits in victories over Wisconsin, Purdue and Penn State in their last three games.
KICKING THEMSELVES
Wisconsin appeared on its way to its first victory over Michigan since 1994 until Mark Neuser missed a 36-yard field goal with 1:26 left. The Wolverines, who kicked their own game-winning field goal after a punt bounced off Brett Bell's leg and was recovered by Brandon Williams at the Wisconsin 13 with 14 seconds left. Hayden Epstein kicked a 31-yard field goal to give Michigan a 20-17 victory and a chance at the Big Ten title and the conference's BCS bowl bid in its game against Ohio State next week.
TWO TO GO
No. 8 Brigham Young, which rallied to beat Utah 24-21 and remain undefeated, has two games remaining — at Mississippi State on Dec. 1 and at Hawaii on Dec. 8. If the Cougars win out, their chances of crashing the BCS party are good. The Fiesta and Sugar Bowls sent representatives to watch BYU's game against Utah.
BIGGER GAME
California's 35-28 loss to Stanford in the 104th Big Game means the winless Bears are one more loss away from their first winless season since 1897. The Bears, who are the first team to lose 10 games in school history, need a win Friday at Rutgers to avoid an 0-11 season.
RED-FACED
Rutgers, which finished its conference slate 0-7 after losing to Boston College 38-7, set a Big East record for fewest points scored, with 36. The Scarlet Knights, who have lost 22 of their last 23 conference games, allowed 325 points to conference foes this season, losing by an average score of 46-5.
STREAKING
No. 13 Stanford won its seventh straight Big Game, beating winless California 35-28. ... North Carolina beat Duke 52-17, extending the nation's longest major-college losing streak to 22 games. ... Indiana's 28-14 loss to Penn State eliminated the Hoosiers from bowl consideration and ensured a fifth consecutive sub-.500 season for coach Cam Cameron. ... No. 1 Miami snapped Syracuse's eight-game winning streak with a 59-0 victory. ... Illinois won its sixth Big Ten game in a row, 34-22 over Ohio State for its longest streak since winning 12 consecutive league games during in 1982-84. ... Southern Cal beat UCLA 27-0, the third win in a row against its crosstown rival. ... Oklahoma State beat Baylor 38-22, handing the Bears their 29th straight Big 12 loss. ... Notre Dame beat Navy 34-16, extending its NCAA-record winning streak over the winless Midshipmen to 38 games. ... Stony Brook beat St. Francis of Pennsylvania 34-0, the Red Flash its 23rd straight loss. ... Mississippi's Eli Manning extended his school-record streak of games with a touchdown pass to 10 ... Temple stopped its 10-game losing streak to West Virginia, rallying for a 17-14. ... Towson beat Georgetown 27-9, ending a five-game losing streak.
SPEAKING
“I got very tired of hearing Cadillac, Cadillac all week. I took it personally. If he's Cadillac, then I'm Bentley Beard.” — Alabama's Santonio Beard, referring to Auburn tailback Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, who averaged 172 yards in his past two games. Beard ran for 199 yards and two touchdowns as the Crimson Tide beat No. 17 Auburn 31-7. Williams broke his left shoulder in the first quarter.
———
“We're not happy with the Citrus Bowl. We want a BCS bowl. We're greedy.” — Illinois wide receiver Walter Young, after the Illini beat Ohio State 34-22 to remain in the hunt for their first Big Ten title since 1990. If Illinois beats Northwestern next week, and Ohio State beats Michigan, Illinois would receive the Big Ten's BCS bid, rather than its No. 2, the Citrus.
Sports Stories
St. Xavier survives late Elder charge
Sellout watches St. X win
St. X secondary primary factor
SULLIVAN: Mooney made the difference
Badin playoff run doused by Coldwater
Preps Insider
Titans must get over heartbreak to keep hope
AFC Central view askew
Isolation Booth
Keys to the game
Nov. 1, 1981: Bengals 34, Oilers 21
The Edge
Curnutte's NFL power ratings
Curnutte's picks
NFL picks
NFL previews
Eagles suspend three after arrest
Reds Q&A with John Fay
Reds insider
UC notebook
DAUGHERTY: Little drama, much promise in Matta's debut
West dominant in Matta's debut
XU notebook
Lady Muskies sweep RI
College Football Today