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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Lsu Grabs One From No. 5

Associated Press

Around the country

Troy Twillie capped a big night for LSU’s defense by intercepting a pass in the end zone as time expired as the Tigers upset No. 5 Auburn 12-6 Saturday night at Baton Rouge, La.

LSU (1-0 SEC, 2-1) limited Auburn (0-1 2-1) to 274 yards and two field goals.

But Auburn had one last chance, with QB Patrick Nix moving the Tigers to the LSU 11 in 14 plays. Nix stopped the clock by downing the ball with 4 seconds to play. Then, on fourth-and-3, Twillie intercepted in the end zone. Auburn, second in the SEC in offense and averaging 8.1 yards a play, had scored 17 touchdowns in its first two games. But the Tigers managed only 18 first downs, three in the first half.

LSU had lost four straight and five of six to Auburn. It was the first time since 1988 that Auburn and Alabama were beaten on the same day. Arkansas stunned No. 13 Alabama 20-19 Saturday afternoon.

East

(7) Penn St. 66, Temple 14: At State College, Pa., Wally Richardson, rebounded from a mediocre opener and threw for 198 yards and three touchdowns as the Nittany Lions (2-0) beat the Owls (0-3).

(11) Michigan 23, Boston College 13: At Boston, Michigan’s defense was strong from the start and its offense came alive late in the first half as the Wolverines improved to 4-0 with a win over the Eagles (1-2).

Duke 23, Army 21: At West Point, N.Y., Tom Cochran kicked a 28-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining, giving the Blue Devils (2-1) a win over the Black Knights (1-1).

Rutgers 27, Navy 17: At Piscataway, N.J., Terrell Willis ran for 207 yards and two touchdowns and Marco Battaglia made a spectacular touchdown catch to snap a third-quarter tie as the Scarlet Knights (1-1) ran over the Middies (1-1).

South

(1) Florida St. 77, N.C. St. 17: At Tallahassee, Fla., Danny Kanell passed for four touchdowns by halftime and Warrick Dunn scored three times in the second quarter as the top-ranked Seminoles (3-0 ACC, 3-0) raced to a win over the fumbling Wolfpack (0-2, 1-2).

The Seminoles cruised to their 27th straight league victory. The 77 points by Florida State was a school record. The Seminoles are averaging 64 points a game.

(4) Florida 63, Tennessee 37: At Gainesville, Fla., Danny Wuerffel threw for six touchdowns and 381 yards and also ran for a score as the Gators (2-0 SEC, 3-0) scored 48 straight points to stun the Volunteers (1-1, 2-1).

(16) Virginia 41, Ga. Tech 14: At Charlottesville, Va., the Yellow Jackets (0-1 ACC, 1-2) highly touted run defense proved to be full of holes, and Tiki Barber ran through them for 105 yards and four touchdowns en route to a Cavaliers’ (2-0, 3-1) win.

Cincinnati 16, Virginia Tech 0: At Blacksburg, Va., Brad Jackson returned an interception 71 yards for a touchdown, recovered a fumble that led to another TD and took the ball away twice more for good measure as the Bearcats (1-2) shut out the Hokies (0-2).

(23) Georgia 40, New Mexico St. 13: At Athens, Ga., Phillip Daniels returned an interception 21 yards for a touchdown in the first 14 seconds and Mike Bobo passed for 270 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Bulldogs (2-1) to a win over the Aggies (1-2).

E. Carolina 30, C. Michigan 17: At Greenville, N.C., Jerris McPhail raced 70 yards for a score on the first play of the second half as the Pirates (2-1) overcame a sluggish opening 30 minutes to beat the Chippewas (1-1) on a rainy afternoon.

Michigan St. 30, Louisville 7: At Louisville, Ky., Scott Greene rushed for two touchdowns, Chris Gardner kicked three field goals and an aggressive Spartans’ (1-1) defense smothered the Cardinals (2-1) with five turnovers and a safety.

Maryland 31, W.Virginia 17: At College Park, Md., The Terrapins improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1986 as Brian Cummings threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in a win over the Mountaineers (1-2).

Clemson 29, Wake Forest 14: At Winston-Salem, N.C., Emory Smith became the first Clemson player in nine years to score four touchdowns in a game, leading the Tigers (1-1 ACC, 2-1) to a win over the Demon Deacons (0-1, 0-3).

Memphis 33, SW Louisiana 19: At Memphis, Tenn., twins Kevin and Keith Cobb combined for a touchdown on a blocked punt and fellow defender Keith Spann returned a fumble 29 yards for a score as the Tigers (1-2) took advantage of mistakes to beat the Ragin’ Cajuns (1-2).

Midwest

(24) Notre Dame 41, Vanderbilt 0: At South Bend, Ind., the Irish (2-1) dominated the game from the start, scoring on every possession to take a 27-0 lead at halftime and cruised to an easy win over the Commodores (0-2) in Bob Davies’ debut as interim coach. Lou Holtz returned from the hospital Saturday and is not expected to coach for at least three weeks.

Iowa 27, Iowa St. 10: At Ames, Iowa, the Hawkeyes (2-0) overcame some disorganization to continue their domination of the Cyclones (1-2), getting a career-high 178 yards rushing from Sedrick Shaw.

It was Iowa’s 13th straight win over its state rivals.

Kentucky 17, Indiana 10: At Bloomington, Ind., sophomore quarterback Billy Jack Haskin, sacked seven times in his first collegiate start, ran 42 yards for the go-ahead touchdown as the Wildcats (1-2) snapped the nation’s longest major college losing streak at 12 games with an upset over the Hoosiers (1-1).

Minnesota 31, Ball State 7: At Minneapolis, Cory Sauter shone in his first college start, hitting Ryan Thelwell three times in the end zone as the Gophers (1-0) won their first season-opener since 1991, beating the Cardinals (1-0).

E. Michigan 51, UNLV 6: At Ypsilanti, Mich., Rick Granata and Mike Scott ran for two touchdowns apiece as the Eagles beat the Runnin’ Rebels (1-2). Granata, who ran for 30 yards on seven carries, scored on 1-yard runs in the first two quarters. Justin Ventura added a 42-yard field goal as the Eagles took a 17-0 lead into halftime.

Southwest

(3) Texas A&M 52, Tulsa 9: At College Station, Md., Leeland McElroy scored four touchdowns and Corey Pullig completed his first 11 passes - three for touchdowns - as the Aggies (2-0) rolled to a win over the Golden Hurricane.

Pullig, rebounding from a poor season opener against LSU, found the touch against Tulsa, completing 13 of 18 for 272 yards.

His 11 straight completions tied a school record set in 1989 by Lance Pavlas against Texas Tech.

(14) Oklahoma 24, SMU 10: At Norman, Okla., the 2-0 Sooners, sloppy on offense for the second straight week, got two second-half touchdowns from tailback James Allen to beat the Mustangs (1-2).

(15) Texas 38, Pittsburgh 27: At Austin, Ricky Williams scored on a 1-yard run with 2:14 left and Jason Reeves returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown with 1:25 to play as the Longhorns (2-0) turned a nail-biter into a win over the Panthers (2-1).

Texas Tech 41, Missouri 14: At Lubbock, Texas, Byron Hanspard rushed for two touchdowns and 117 yards as the Red Raiders (1-1) whipped the Tigers (1-2) and managed to avoid fan-inflicted tortilla-tossing penalties.

Tortilla tossing became a focus last week when Tech athletic officials said referees would penalize the home team if fans indulged in that peculiar example of team spirit.

Mississippi St. 30, Baylor 21: At Waco, Texas, Derrick Tate threw a 45-yard scoring pass to Shaston Coleman with 11:12 to play as the Bulldogs (2-1) overcame Baylor’s trickery to beat the Bears (1-1) .

Tulane 17, Rice 15: At Houston, Jamaican Dartez rushed 24 times for 154 yards, including first-half touchdown runs of 32 and 61 yards, as the Green Wave (2-1) built an early lead and held on to edge the Owls (1-1).

UTEP 34, Valdosta St. 24: At El Paso, Toraino Singleton ran for 232 yards and scored two touchdowns, sparking the Miners (1-2) to their first victory of the season over Valdosta State (1-2).

West

(9) Colorado 66, NE Louisiana 14: At Boulder, Colo., Koy Detmer passed for a school-record 426 yards and four touchdowns as the Buffaloes (3-0) dominated the former Division 1-AA powerhouse Indians (1-2).

Colorado 27, (21) Air Force: At Air Force Academy, Colo., E.J. Watson ran for two second-half touchdowns, and safety Greg Myers thwarted a late Falcons’ rally with an interception in the Rams’ win. The Rams (1-0 WAC, 2-1) opened defense of their conference title with their fourth straight win over Air Force (2-1, 2-1).

Utah 36, New Mexico 9: At Albuquerque, Mike Fouts, newphew of NFL Hall of Famer Dan Fouts, threw four touchdown passes and Juan Johnson ran for 119 yards to lead the Utes (1-0, 1-2) over the Lobos (0-1, 1-1) in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

Wyoming 52, Hawaii 6: At Laramie, Wyo., quarterback Josh Wallwork passed for two touchdowns and ran for two to lead the Cowboys (1-1 WAC, 1-1) to a win over the Rainbows (0-1, 0-2).

S. Mississippi 24, Utah St. 21; At Logan, Utah, Rod Thomas’ interception with 1:25 to play scuttled a promising Utah State drive, preserving the 2-1 Golden Eagles victory over the winless Aggies (0-3).

Northern Illinois 18, San Jose 17: At San Jose, Calif., Brandon Willis grabbed a tipped pass from Aaron Gilbert and ran 36 yards for a touchdown to give the Huskies (1-0, 1-2) a win over the Spartains (0-1, 093( in a Big West Conference opener.

BYU 31, San Diego St. 19: At Provo, Utah, Steve Sarkisian passed for 405 yards and a touchdown as the Cougars (1-1 WAC, 1-2) beat the Aztecs (0-1, 1-2).

Fresno State 56, Pacific 24: At Fresno, Calif., Michael Pittman and Charlie Jones each scored two first-half touchdowns, leading the Bulldogs (3-0) past the Tigers (1-2).