Sooners blast Bears; Trojans blank Wildcats

Published 12:00 am Saturday, November 15, 2003

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Jason White threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns, and Oklahoma's defense didn't allow a touchdown for the third straight week, lifting the No. 1 Sooners to a 41-3 win over Baylor on Saturday.

The Sooners (11-0, 7-0 Big 12) clinched the Big 12 South Division title, earning a spot in the Dec. 6 conference championship game.

Oklahoma cruised after jumping out to a 24-0 lead in the first quarter.

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White had all of his touchdown passes in the first half as the Sooners rolled up 260 yards of offense and took a 34-3 lead.

From there, however, Baylor (3-8, 1-6) slowed down Oklahoma's vaunted offense with a steady diet of blitzes that appeared to confuse the Sooners.

The Bears sacked White five times, knocked him down several more times and held the Sooners to just seven first downs and 104 yards in the second half.

No. 2 USC 45, Arizona 0

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Mike Williams caught three touchdown passes to break Southern California's career record for scoring receptions and the second-ranked Trojans routed Arizona 45-0 on Saturday night.

Williams caught 11 passes for 157 yards, including scoring plays of 15, 22 and 26 yards, and didn't play the last 1 1/2 quarters.

His three TD catches tied a school record, and gave him 26 in his 23-game college career.

Arizona (2-9, 1-6) was shut out for the first time in 146 games, dating to a 54-0 loss at Washington on Oct. 5, 1991.

Matt Leinart completed 22 of 30 passes for 296 yards and four touchdowns for the Trojans (9-1, 5-1 Pac-10).

No. 3 LSU 27, Alabama 3

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Matt Mauck, Chad Lavalais and LSU did just about everything right in a dominating win over Alabama.

Mauck threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 3 LSU held the Crimson Tide scoreless until the fourth quarter in a 27-3 victory Saturday night.

With representatives from the Sugar Bowl watching, the Tigers (9-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) moved within a game of Mississippi in the SEC West heading into next week's showdown in Oxford.

Mauck took advantage of soft coverage by Alabama (4-7, 2-5) to connect 12 times with Michael Clayton for 130 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Mauck finished 24-for-36.

The loss assured Alabama of its third losing season in the past seven years after having just one in the previous 40 years.

No. 6 Texas 43, Texas Tech 40

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Chance Mock hit B.J. Johnson with a 9-yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left, sending No. 6 Texas to a wild 43-40 win over Texas Tech and keeping the Longhorns in the hunt for a BCS bowl.

Mock relieved Vince Young after Texas Tech (7-4, 4-3) took a 40-35 lead on Taurean Henderson's third touchdown run of the night.

Faced with 86 yards to cover with 1:57 on the clock and no timeouts, Mock ran Texas' two-minute offense to perfection.

His 54-yard pass to Roy Williams got Texas (9-2, 6-1 Big 12) out from deep in its own territory, and he scrambled for a first down. The touchdown came when Mock floated a pass into the corner of the end zone and Johnson made a sliding, over-the-shoulder catch.

B.J. Symons passed for 365 yards and three touchdowns, two to Mickey Peters. Symons was 32-of-56 with no interceptions.

No. 7 Georgia 26, Auburn 7

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Georgia stayed on track to repeat as Southeastern Conference champion by doing something unusual - beating Auburn between the hedges.

Michael Johnson caught a 19-yard touchdown pass and Odell Thurman finished off Auburn with a 99-yard interception return, leading the No. 7 Bulldogs to a 26-7 victory Saturday.

The Bulldogs (8-2, 5-2 SEC) defeated Auburn (6-5, 4-3) at Sanford Stadium for the first time since 1991.

Johnson re-created one of the most memorable plays in Georgia history - a 19-yard touchdown catch that beat Auburn a year ago, clinching the SEC East for the Bulldogs.

Only this time, Johnson didn't wait till a fourth-down play with 1:25 remaining. He hauled in this 19-yarder from David Greene midway through the second quarter, giving Georgia a 13-0 lead.

No. 8 Washington St. 34, Arizona St. 19

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) - Freshman Josh Swogger threw his first collegiate touchdown to help No. 8 Washington State beat Arizona State 34-19 on Saturday.

Swogger replaced starter Matt Kegel in the second quarter with the game tied at 10 and led two long scoring drives, keeping the Cougars (9-2, 6-1 Pac-10) ahead of No. 2 Southern California atop the conference.

Washington State rolled up 402 yards of offense, while the Sun Devils (4-7, 1-6) compiled 322.

Swogger hit Devard Darling in the end zone on a 22-yard pass to make it 24-10 just before halftime. Swogger completed 14 of 20 passes for 207 yards and a TD.

Kegel was 5-of-11 for 77 yards and an interception. He returned for the game's final two downs.

Arizona State's Andrew Walter 19-of-35 for 262 yards and an interception.

No. 9 Tennessee 59, Mississippi St. 21

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Casey Clausen threw five touchdown passes, three to Chris Hannon, and Jabari Davis ran for two scores in No. 9 Tennessee's 59-21 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday.

The Volunteers (8-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) remained in contention for a trip to the SEC championship game in their most productive offensive showing this season.

Clausen was 20-of-33 for 330 yards before he was pulled from the game with 46 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs (2-9, 1-5) lost their fourth straight game since coach Jackie Sherrill announced he will retire at the end of the season. The Vols rolled up a season-high 535 yards of total offense to Mississippi State's 288.

No. 10

TCU 43, Cincinnati 10

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - TCU just keeps prolonging the BCS debate.

Kenny Boyd returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, linebacker Marvin Patterson pounced on a fumble in the end zone and the No. 10 Horned Frogs remained undefeated with a 43-10 win over Cincinnati on Saturday.

TCU (10-0, 7-0 Conference USA) quarterback Brandon Hassell had a 22-yard TD run and Nick Browne tied a school record with five field goals.

While TCU's offense sputtered for most of the game (298 total yards), defense and special teams did more than enough against the Bearcats (5-5, 2-4).

After starting its opening drive of the second half at the 4 following a punt, Cincinnati lost a yard on the first two plays. Bo Schobel then sacked Gino Guidugli in the end zone and stripped the ball. Patterson jumped on it for a 27-10 lead.

No. 12 Virginia Tech 24, Temple 23, OT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Virginia Tech quarterback Bryan Randall ran 23 yards for a touchdown in overtime, and Temple missed an extra point on its matching TD.

Walter Washington helped Temple (1-9, 0-5 Big East) overcome a 17-0 deficit in the fourth quarter, with the Owls tying it on Jared Davis’ 37-yard field goal with 40 seconds left in regulation.

Two plays in, Randall, who appears to have won the Hokies’ quarterback duel with Marcus Vick, ran 23 yards for a score.

Temple came right back when Washington found Zamir Cobb in the flat, with Cobb using a big block to go 22 yards for the touchdown.

Davis, who went 18-for-20 on extra points this season, was wide left, setting off a wild celebration for the Hokies (8-2, 4-2).

No. 13 Florida St. 50, North Carolina St. 44, 2OT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Leon Washington’s 12-yard touchdown run gave lifted Florida State past North Carolina State, wrapping up the Seminoles’ 11th Atlantic Coast Conference title in 12 years.

Florida State (9-2, 7-1) also locked up its fourth BCS game in five years after surviving a brilliant performance by North Carolina State’s Philip Rivers.

The ACC’s career passing leader, Rivers completed 28 of 38 passes for 422 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another score.

But North Carolina State (7-4, 4-3) gambled and lost in the second overtime. Instead of trying a field goal, the Wolfpack went on fourth-and-1 at the Florida State 16 and Rivers’ pass for Jerricho Cotchery was broken up by Allen Augustin at the 5.

Then Washington reeled off successive runs of 13 and 12 yards to give the Seminoles the win. Washington finished with 121 yards.

Regulation play ended when North Carolina State’s Derek Morris blocked a 32-yard field goal try by Florida State’s Xavier Beitia.

No. 14 Miami 17, Syracuse 10

MIAMI (AP) — Tyrone Moss ran for 91 yards in the second half, and No. 14 Miami rebounded from its first two-game losing streak in more than four years to beat Syracuse.

Moss, a freshman, was one of several players coach Larry Coker inserted into the game to spark the Hurricanes after losses to Virginia Tech and Tennessee.

Miami (8-2, 4-1 Big East) trailed 10-7 in the fourth quarter before scoring 10 straight points to stay in the hunt for the conference title and a berth in a Bowl Championship Series game.

Derrick Crudup, starting in place of Brock Berlin, was 5-of-13 for 80 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a fumble.

Berlin played one series Saturday, receiving a spattering of boos when he entered early in the second quarter. He misfired on his only pass, was sacked once and never returned.

Coker also benched tight end Kellen Winslow and center Joel Rodriguez for excessive penalties. Neither started the game, but both were on the field in the first quarter.

Syracuse dropped to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the Big East.

No. 15 Florida 24, South Carolina 22

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Ciatrick Fason ran for a career-high 190 yards, and Florida beat South Carolina for a share of the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title.

Chris Leak scored on a 9-yard run and threw a 7-yard TD pass to Ben Troupe to help the Gators (8-3, 6-2) rally from a 16-7 halftime deficit for their 13th straight win over the Gamecocks (5-6, 2-6).

While they’ll do no worse than a tie with Tennessee and Georgia for first, the Gators will need a lot of help to advance to the SEC title game for the first time under coach Ron Zook.

West Virginia 52, No. 16 Pittsburgh 31

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Rasheed Marshall threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score for West Virginia.

Quincy Wilson became the latest running back to put up big numbers against the Panthers’ leaky defense, rolling for 208 yards and four touchdowns to help the Mountaineers to their fifth straight victory and a tie atop the Big East standings.

Pittsburgh (7-3, 4-1), Miami (8-2, 4-1) and West Virginia (6-4, 4-1) are even in the Big East, though the conference is Miami’s to win if it finishes by beating Rutgers and Pittsburgh.

Pitt’s Larry Fitzgerald caught nine passes for 185 yards two touchdowns.

Kansas St. 38, No. 18 Nebraska 9

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Ell Roberson passed for 313 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 90 yards and a touchdown for Kansas State.

It was the Wildcats’ first victory in Lincoln since 1968, and the Cornhuskers’ worst loss at Memorial Stadium since a 31-0 setback against Missouri in 1958.

The victory clinched a share of the Big 12 North title and gave the Wildcats the inside track to a meeting with South champion Oklahoma in the Dec. 6 conference championship game.

Darren Sproles ran for 140 yards and a touchdown for the Wildcats (9-3, 5-2 Big 12), the sixth team to beat the Huskers (8-3, 4-3) in the last 107 games in Lincoln.

No. 20 Iowa 40, No. 19 Minnesota 22

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa forced five turnovers and Nate Kaeding tied his own school record with four field goals.

Thanks to the turnovers, Iowa (8-3, 4-3 Big Ten) won easily despite giving up 563 yards. Minnesota (9-3, 5-3), playing its regular-season finale, lost three fumbles after driving deep into Iowa territory — one when Laurence Maroney was about to score.

Nathan Chandler threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Ramon Ochoa and scored on a 2-yard run for Iowa, while Jermelle Lewis ran 34 yards for a touchdown with the help of a block from Ochoa.

Kaeding kicked a 55-yard field goal with 2 seconds left in the first half, tying the longest of his career, and added kicks of 27, 33 and 38 yards.

Wisconsin 56, No. 21 Michigan St. 21

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Lee Evans tied the Big Ten record with five touchdown catches in Wisconsin blowout victory.

Evans, who missed all of last season following two knee surgeries, caught 10 passes for a school-record 258 yards. He teamed with Jim Sorgi on TD plays of 9, 75, 18, 70 and 18 yards to match the Big Ten mark set in 1993 by Minnesota’s Omar Douglas,

Sorgi, 16-of-24 for 380 yards, became the first Wisconsin quarterback to throw for four or more TDs in consecutive weeks.

Dwayne Smith, who replaced Booker Stanley (knee) on the first series, ran 21 times for 207 yards and three touchdowns.

Both teams are 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten.

Toledo 49, No. 21 N. Illinois 30

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - Bruce Gradkowski threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns Saturday, leading Toledo over No. 21 Northern Illinois 49-30 and damaging the Huskies hopes for a bowl bid.

Gradkowski flawlessly directed Toledo's spread offense, completing 24 of 27 passes. His biggest throw came after three penalties gave the Rockets a third-and-33 play late in the third quarter.

Gradkowski found tight end Andrew Clarke all alone over the middle and he rumbled 60 yards to put Toledo ahead 35-24.

The Huskies (9-2, 5-2 Mid-American Conference) grabbed the nation's attention just a few weeks ago while rising to No. 12 in the rankings, but they are in danger of not even getting a bowl bid.

No. 24 Boise St. 51, UTEP 21

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Ryan Dinwiddie threw two TD passes and ran for another score, leading Boise State to its seventh straight win.

Dinwiddie completed 13 of 22 passes for 198 yards and ran three times for 40 yards to help Boise State (9-1, 5-0 WAC) win for the 31st time in 32 games and for the 17th straight time at home. Boise State also extended its WAC winning streak to 15 games.

No. 25 Bowling Green 42, Kent St 33

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) — Josh Harris threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns for Bowling Green.

The Falcons (8-2, 5-1 Mid-American Conference) have a chance to play in their first conference title game since the MAC split into two divisions in 1997. But they still must win at Ball State next week and against Toledo. Bowling Green then would host the MAC championship game and get another shot at No. 23 Miami of Ohio, which already has secured its spot.