SanLuisObispo.com: College Sports

Tebow, Gators rout defending champ LSU 51-21

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:37 PDT

Tim Tebow and No. 11 Florida looked like the juggernaut everyone expected this season. Tebow threw two touchdown passes to Percy Harvin and ran for a score, and the Gators thumped defending national champion LSU 51-21 Saturday night in The Swamp.

The fourth-ranked Tigers (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) had won six consecutive games, 19 in a row at night and 23 straight in regulation. Florida (5-1, 3-1) ended all those streaks with a fast start and some huge plays from Tebow, Harvin, Jeff Demps and Brandon Spikes.

The Gators also may have put to rest all those uneasy feelings about an inconsistent offense and a suspect defense. They enjoyed their best game of the season - maybe their best game since beating Ohio State 41-14 in Arizona for the 2006 national title.

Recap: Hawaii vs. Louisiana Tech

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:07 PDT

Inoke Funaki threw for a career-high 224 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for a score to lead the Hawaii Warriors to a 24-14 victory over the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in Western Athletic Conference action.

Kealoha Pilares finished with 54 rushing yards and 52 receiving yards on five catches for Hawaii (3-3, 2-1 WAC).

Taylor Bennett completed only 11-of-29 passes with two interceptions in the loss for Louisiana Tech (2-3, 0-2).

Recap: Oregon vs. U-C-L-A

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:57 PDT

Jeremiah Masoli ran for 170 yards and a touchdown while also passing for a score to lead the Oregon Ducks to a 31-24 triumph over Pac-10 foe UCLA in Eugene.

LeGarrette Blount finished with 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Oregon (5-2, 3-1 Pac-10).

Kevin Craft threw for 288 yards and one touchdown in defeat for UCLA (2-4, 1-2).

Saturday's College Football

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:57 PDT

EAST

Albany, N.Y. 24, Cent. Connecticut St. 22

Army 17, E. Michigan 13

Recap: Missouri vs. Oklahoma State

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:02 PDT

Zac Robinson threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score as the No. 17 Oklahoma State Cowboys knocked off third-ranked Missouri, 28-23, in a pivotal cross-divisional clash with both Big 12 and national championship implications.

Robinson was 19-of-28 passing for 215 yards with an interception, and Kendall Hunter ran for 154 yards, including a 68-yard TD, on 24 attempts for Oklahoma State (6-0, 2-0 Big 12), who are now one of three unbeatens left in a stacked conference.

Damian Davis caught both of Robinson's TD passes, part of a three-catch, 76- yard performance and an unheralded Cowboys defense produced three turnovers against the vaunted Missouri offense.

Recap: Fresno State vs. Idaho

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:47 PDT

Tom Brandstater threw a pair of touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Fresno State Bulldogs to a 45-32 victory over the Idaho Vandals in Western Athletic Conference action.

Lonyae Miller ran for 181 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries for Fresno State (4-2, 1-1 WAC).

Nathan Enderle passed for 237 yards and three scores in the loss for Idaho (1-6, 0-3).

Air Force beats San Diego State 35-10

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:04 PDT

Freshman tailback Asher Clark ran for 109 yards and a touchdown to help Air Force beat San Diego State 35-10 on Saturday night.

Air Force's triple-option ground attack piled up 401 yards on 77 attempts and the Falcons (4-2, 2-1 Mountain West) scored 28 second-half points.

Freshman Tim Jefferson, making his first start at quarterback, directed three scoring drives. He ran for 55 yards and scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run that capped a game-opening, 78-yard drive.

Texas State holds off McNeese State rally

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:37 PDT

Bradley George threw for 316 yards and four touchdowns to lead Texas State to a 45-42 win over McNeese State on Saturday night.

Three of George's touchdowns went to senior wide receiver Cameron Luke, who had nine catches for 142 yards for the Bobcats (4-2). Sophomore running back Karrington Bush ran for 127 yards and one touchdown. It was Bush's third-straight 100-yard game.

McNeese State (3-2) attempted to rally in the second half when Derrick Fourrou threw two quick touchdowns cut to the lead to 45-34 with 3:14 left.

Recap: Florida vs. L-S-U

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:32 PDT

Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow threw for 210 yards with two touchdown tosses to Percy Harvin, as the 11th- ranked Florida Gators annihilated the No. 4 LSU Tigers, 51-21, in a highly anticipated SEC battle.

The romp in the Swamp featured the past two National Champions, the first such meeting in college football since Notre Dame (1988 champs) defeated Miami-Florida (1989 champs) in 1990.

The Gators rattled off 21 straight second-half points to pull away for the victory. Tebow added a rushing touchdown for Florida (5-1, 3-1 SEC), which has won two straight since its lone loss to Ole Miss. Freshman Jeffrey Demps rushed for 129 yards and a score on just 10 carries for the Gators, who had lost three of the previous four in this rivalry.

Recap: Auburn vs. Arkansas

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:32 PDT

Michael Smith ran for 176 yards on 34 carries, including a 63-yard touchdown run in the fourth that proved to be the game- winning score, as Arkansas upended 20th-ranked Auburn, 25-22, at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Casey Dick threw for 222 yards on 17-of-32 passing and was intercepted twice, but ran for a score as the Razorbacks (3-3, 1-2 SEC) ended a three-game losing streak.

"We needed a win. The good thing is that we've been showing progress. We're going to try to build on that and stay positive," Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino said. "I can't say enough about our players not getting down and still coming to practice and working hard."

No. 7 Texas Tech squeaks by Nebraska 37-31 in OT

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:22 PDT

Eric Morris scooted 1 yard around right end for a touchdown in overtime and Jamar Wall made that score stand up for Texas Tech with an interception, and the seventh-ranked Red Raiders defeated Nebraska 37-31 on Saturday.

Texas Tech (6-0, 2-0 Big 12) left the door open for the Cornhuskers to win it with a touchdown and extra point, when the Red Raiders botched the PAT after Morris' score.

But the mistake didn't cost the Red Raiders. Joe Ganz, who threw for 349 yards for Nebraska (3-3, 0-2), was scrambling and trying to throw the ball away on the Huskers' second play when Jamar Wall intercepted along the Texas Tech sideline to end the game.

Recap: Texas-El Paso vs. Tulane

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:17 PDT

Trevor Vittatoe threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns to lead t he Texas-El Paso Miners to a 24-21 victory over the Tulane Green Wave in Conference USA action.

Donald Buckram ran for 107 yards for Texas-El Paso (3-3, 3-0 C-USA), which remained perfect in league play.

Andre Anderson racked up a career-high 255 rushing yards on 29 carries in the loss for Tulane (2-4, 1-1).

Mississippi State upsets No. 13 Vanderbilt 17-14

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:17 PDT

A late rally fueled by turnovers and defense - sounds like yet another win for No. 13 Vanderbilt. Not so fast.

Mississippi State handed the Commodores their first loss of the season, derailing the feel-good story of the year with a pair of second-half interceptions and smothering defense in a 17-14 victory on Saturday.

"All the things we were doing when we won five games, we didn't do a very good job with today," Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said. "That's just the difference between winning and losing, especially when we take on teams with a lot of talent like Mississippi State."

Recap: Southern Miss vs. Boise State

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:17 PDT

Kellen Moore garnered 170 yards on 21-of-30 passing with three touchdowns and an interception, as No. 15 Boise State crushed Southern Mississippi, 24-7.

Austin Pettis had four catches for 30 yards, but two of them went for scores for the Broncos (6-0), who have won both of the matchups in the all-time series between these two schools. Jeremy Childs had 10 grabs for 92 yards and a score in the win. Jeremy Avery and Ian Johnson both rushed for 56 yards.

Austin Davis had 160 yards with a pick on 15-of-34 passing for the Golden Eagles (2-4), who have dropped three straight games. Damion Fletcher had 14 carries for 69 yards and a score, while Gerald Baptiste had three catches for 53 yards in defeat.

Recap: S-M-U vs. Tulsa

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:57 PDT

Quarterback David Johnson racked up 281 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Tulsa Golden Hurricane to a 37-31 victory over the SMU Mustangs in Conference USA action.

Slick Shelley posted 105 receiving yards and two scores for Tulsa (6-0, 3-0 C- USA), which has won its first six games to open the season for the first time since 1942.

Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns in the loss for SMU (1-6, 0-4), while Emmanuel Sanders finished with six catches for 132 yards.

Recap: Oregon State vs. Washington St

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:32 PDT

Jacquizz Rodgers carried the ball 23 times for 168 yards and a touchdown to lead the Oregon State Beavers to a 66-13 shellacking of the Washington State Cougars in a Pac-10 Conference showdown at Reser Stadium.

Rodgers was one of five OSU (3-3, 2-1 Pac10) players to score rushing touchdowns as James Rodgers, Ryan McCants, Jeremy Francis and quarterback Lyle Moevao each scored on the ground. Moevao struggled through the air connecting on 12-of-24 pass attempts for 186 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions.

Sammie Stroughter was Moevao's favorite target, hauling in six passes for 116- yards and a score.

San Diego beats Morehead State, 41-17

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:17 PDT

Sebastian Trujillo threw three touchdown passes to lead San Diego to their 28th straight home win with a 41-17 victory over Morehead State on Saturday night.

Trujillo had all of his touchdowns in the first half as San Diego built a 35-0 halftime lead with three Morehead State turnovers leading to 21 points.

San Diego (6-0, 4-0 Pioneer Football) has the nation's longest home winning streak among all Football Championship Subdivision and Football Bowl Subdivision teams. The Toreros started the season with six consecutive wins for the third straight year.

Oklahoma St. shuts down Daniel, stuns No. 3 Mizzou

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:12 PDT

Oklahoma State snarled Chase Daniel and a Missouri offense that had been scoring at will, intercepting three passes in the second half and upsetting the third-ranked Tigers 28-23 victory on Saturday night.

Zac Robinson and Damian Davis hooked up on a pair of long scores in the second half, and Patrick Lavine's interception with 1:41 to go was the clincher for the No. 17 Cowboys. Missouri (5-1, 1-1 Big 12) had appeared poised to challenge for No. 1 with a strong effort after top-ranked Oklahoma lost to Texas and No. 2 Alabama had the weekend off.

Instead, it was the coming-out party for the Cowboys (6-0, 2-0 Big 12). Oklahoma State, only 18-19 in coach Mike Gundy's first three seasons, is 6-0 for only the second time since 1945.

Recap: San Jose St vs. Utah State

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:07 PDT

Kyle Reed completed 28-of-40 passes for a career-high 300 yards and three touchdowns to lead the San Jose State Spartans to a 30-7 victory over the Utah State Aggies in Western Athletic Conference action.

David Richmond caught eight passes for 89 yards and one touchdown for San Jose State (4-2, 2-0 WAC), which won for the 15th time in its last 17 home games.

Sean Setzer was effective in relief for the Aggies, as he completed 5-of-9 passes for 53 yards with one touchdown in the loss for Utah State (1-5, 1-1).

No. 6 Penn State dismantles Wisconsin 48-7

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:57 PDT

With coach Joe Paterno perched in the press box for the second straight week because of a sore hip, Daryll Clark threw for a touchdown and ran for two more scores to help No. 6 Penn State dismantle Wisconsin 48-7 on Saturday night.

Cornerback Lydell Sargeant had two interceptions - off of two quarterbacks - and Derrick Williams scored again in the return game as the Nittany Lions (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) made another strong statement asserting their place among the nation's top teams.

It is Penn State's 11th 7-0 start under Paterno and first since 1999. The Nittany Lions also won consecutive Big Ten road games for the first time since '99.