College Football Today
September 28, 2003
^STARS
-- B.J. Symons, Texas Tech, threw for 661 yards -- a school and Big 12 record -- and six touchdowns, in the Red Raiders' 49-45 win over Mississippi. Symons, 44-for-64 with one interception, threw for 586 yards in a loss to North Carolina State last week. His sixth TD pass came with 1:04 left.
-- Cedric Cobbs, Arkansas, ran for 198 yards and a touchdown as the No. 9 Razorbacks beat Alabama 34-31 in double overtime.
-- Rod Rutherford, Pittsburgh, threw five touchdown passes in the No. 17 Panthers' 37-26 win over Texas A&M.
-- A.J. Hawk, Ohio State, made 13 tackles as the fourth-ranked Buckeyes blanked Northwestern 20-0.
-- Philip Rivers, N.C. State, threw for 423 yards and a touchdown and added two rushing TDs as the Wolf Pack beat North Carolina 47-34.
-- Mike Hilliard, Duquesne, ran for a school-record 323 yards and five touchdowns in Duquesne's 62-14 win over La Salle.
BITING BACK
No. 25 Florida scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to rally from an 18-point deficit and beat Kentucky 24-21, the biggest road comeback in school history. Florida's largest previous road rally was from 17 points behind in a 1993 win at South Carolina.
SMOKE STACK
Jeff Smoker broke three Michigan State career passing records in the Spartans' 20-10 victory over No. 13 Iowa. Smoker, 28-of-44 for 218 yards and two touchdowns, set school marks for completions (478), attempts (818) and TD passes (48).
PERFECT
No. 20 Northern Illinois is 3-0 against teams from BCS conferences, following a 24-16 win over Iowa State. The Huskies, ranked for the first time ever, beat Maryland in overtime to open the season, and Alabama on the road last Saturday.
GOLDEN
California's 34-31 triple overtime win over No. 3 Southern California was the Golden Bears' first home victory over a Top 5 team since upsetting No. 4 USC 28-14 in 1975.
LAYING EGGS
Oregon quarterbacks combined for seven interceptions, five in the first half alone, in the No. 10 Ducks' 55-16 loss to No. 21 Washington State. Starter Kellen Clemens was 16-of-34 with four interceptions, while Jason Fife was 8-of-24 with three picks. Fife and Clemens went into the game leading the Pac-10 in passing efficiency.
SHUTOUTS
Ohio State's 20-0 win over Northwestern was the Buckeyes' first shutout in 62 games, dating to a 41-0 victory at Illinois in 1998. ... South Florida beat Army 28-0 in the Bulls' first Conference USA game.
STREAKING
Ohio State won its 19th straight game, 20-0 over Northwestern. ... No. 18 Washington improved to 20-2 against Stanford since 1976 with a 28-17 win. Stanford hasn't won in Seattle since 1975, an 11-game streak. ... No. 5 Virginia Tech extended its winning streak in games played before October to 28 with a 47-13 victory over UConn. ... No. 11 Michigan won its 22nd consecutive Big Ten opener with a 31-17 win over Indiana. The Wolverines have beaten the Hoosiers in 12 straight and 27 of 28 meetings. ... Florida beat Kentucky for the 17th straight time, rallying for a 24-21 victory. ... No. 6 Florida State improved to 12-0 against Duke with a 56-7 win. ... Carson-Newman won its 18 straight regular season game, beating Florida International 55-33.
SNAPPED
California snapped Southern California's 11-game winning streak with a 34-31 triple-overtime victory. ... Air Force beat BYU 24-10 for its first win in Provo since 1982. The Falcons were 0-7 at LaVell Edwards Stadium. ... No. 22 Purdue had lost three straight to Notre Dame before a 23-10 win. It was just the Boilermakers' third victory in 18 years against the Irish. ... Auburn ended defending I-AA champion Western Kentucky's 13-game winning streak with a 48-3 victory.
SLUMPING
Iowa State has lost 25 in a row on the road against ranked opponents, a winless stretch that covers 13 years, after a 24-16 loss to Northern Illinois. ... Hofstra (0-5) is off to its worst start since going 0-10 in 1969, after a 24-14 loss to Delaware. ... Duke lost a record 27th straight ACC game, 56-7 to Florida State. ... Buffalo dropped its 15th straight game, 38-21 to Akron, extending the nation's longest losing streak. ... South Carolina fell to 0-12 at Neyland Stadium and has dropped 11 straight to No. 8 Tennessee after a 23-20 overtime loss.
SAFETY DANCE
North Texas tied an NCAA Division I-A record by scoring three safeties in a 44-23 win over Louisiana-Lafayette. In the first quarter, running back Travis Smothers was tackled in the end zone. On consecutive possessions in the second half, Eric Rekieta was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, and the ball was snapped over punter Grant Autrey's head out of the end zone.
DENZEL'S SON
John David Washington, son of actor Denzel Washington, ran for a school-record 242 yards and a touchdown as Morehouse beat Johnson C. Smith 39-21.
SPEAKING
``I knew we had a real good football team. But in my wildest dreams, I didn't think we'd be 4-0 at this point.'' -- Northern Illinois coach Joe Novak, after the No. 20 Huskies beat Iowa State 24-16.
``We felt like it would be more classy if we just let our fans take care of that.'' -- Kansas quarterback Bill Whittemore, on Jayhawks fans tearing down the goalposts after a 35-14 win over No. 23 Missouri. Last year, after the Tigers beat Kansas 36-12 at home, Missouri players helped their fans rip down the goalposts.
