Cardiac ‘Cats Charmed No More

Across the nation

Northwestern never had a chance.

Even with 30 minutes to formulate another white-knuckle finish, the 11th-ranked Wildcats finally met their match in No. 15 Penn State.

“Once we got things going, we weren’t going to let it go,” Curtis Enis said Saturday after his 39-yard touchdown run and 167 yards helped the Nittany Lions (8-2, 4-2 Big Ten) beat the Wildcats 34-9. “We all had to chip in.”

And Northwestern helped, too, with five turnovers and sloppy tackling. After Enis’ first-quarter TD, the Lions took a 27-3 halftime lead and nothing coach Gary Barnett said to his team could turn the game around.

It was a long game for the Wildcats (7-2, 5-1). In running up a 13-game Big Ten winning streak, they had made a habit of nerve-wracking finishes. Last month, there were frantic finishes in wins over Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois.

This time, their improbable run through the Big Ten ended where it started - at Beaver Stadium. Northwestern’s last Big Ten loss was at Penn State in 1994.

The loss knocked the Wildcats out of the Rose Bowl picture and all but ended their hopes for a top bowl alliance game. Penn State (8-2, 4-2), meanwhile, kept its big bowl hopes alive.

EAST

Syracuse 30, (18) West Virginia 7: Phil Nash blocked two punts and Deon Maddux returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown to lead Syracuse.

The Orangemen (5-2, 5-0 Big East) held the Mountaineers (7-2, 3-2) to minus-10 yards rushing and collected seven sacks.

(22) Miami 57, Temple 26: At Philadelphia, Tremain Mack blocked a field goal attempt that was returned for a touchdown and had 205 kickoff return yards to lead the Hurricanes (6-2, 4-0 Big East) past the Owls (1-8, 0-5).

Army 41, Lafayette 21: At West Point, N.Y., Ronnie McAda threw two touchdown passes and Jeff Brizic scored three times as the Cadets (8-0) stayed undefeated, equaling their best start since 1950.

SOUTH

(1) Florida 47, Georgia 7: At Jacksonville, Fla., Danny Wuerffel broke Florida’s career passing yardage record and had four touchdown passes by halftime.

Despite missing six starters on defense because of injuries, the Gators (8-0, 6-0 SEC) held Georgia (3-5, 2-4) scoreless until Patrick Pass scored on a 9-yard run with 8:45 left.

(3) Florida State 49, Georgia Tech 3: At Atlanta, the Seminoles (7-0, 6-0 ACC) put on another stifling display on defense, keeping the Yellow Jackets (5-3, 4-3) out of the end zone and scoring twice themselves on Lamont Green’s 56-yard interception return and Pete Boulware’s blocked punt.

(6) Tennessee 31, South Carolina 14: At Columbia, S.C., Peyton Manning threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns to stop the upset-minded Gamecocks (5-4, 4-3).

(8) North Carolina 52, N. Carolina St. 20: At Chapel Hill, N.C., Leon Johnson scored four times, Chris Keldorf broke a school record for TD passes in a season and the Tar Heels (7-1, 5-1 ACC) scored their most points ever against the Wolfpack (1-6, 1-4).

(16) Virginia 27, Duke 3: At Raleigh-Durham, N.C., Tiki Barber rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns as the Cavaliers (6-2, 4-2 ACC) beat the Blue Devils (0-8, 0-5) for the seventh time in their last eight meetings.

(23) Southern Miss. 21, Cincinnati 17: At Hattiesburg, Miss., Lee Roberts threw three scoring passes, including the game-winner to Kendrick Lee with 5:12 left, as the Golden Eagles (8-1, 4-0 Conference USA) defeated the Bearcats (4-5, 2-3) for their seventh consecutive victory and second come-from-behind win in two weeks.

(24) Auburn 24, Arkansas 7: At Auburn, Ala., Dameyune Craig threw for 185 yards, ran for 54 as the Tigers (6-2, 4-2 SEC) defeated the Razorbacks (2-5, 0-4).

Clemson 35, Maryland 3: At Clemson, S.C., Emory Smith scored two touchdowns and the Tigers (5-3, 4-2 ACC) piled up eight sacks to continue their dominance of the Terrapins (4-5, 2-4) who had not scored against Clemson since 1993.

Virginia Tech 47, Southwestern Louisiana 16: At Blacksburg, Va., Shayne Graham kicked four field goals and Ken Oxendine rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Hokies (6-1) over the Cajuns (4-5).

Vanderbilt 31, Ala.-Birmingham 15: At Nashville, Tenn., Damian Allen threw for two touchdowns and ran for one as the Commodores (2-6) spoiled former coach Watson Brown’s return by beating the Blazers (4-4).

Mississippi St. 59, NE Louisiana 0: At Starkville, Miss., Tony Buckhalter scored three touchdowns and Nakia Greer had two as the Bulldogs (3-4) won at home for the first time this season.

MIDWEST

(2) Ohio St. 45, Minnesota 0: At Columbus, Ohio, Andy Katzenmoyer returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown as Ohio State rebounded from a horrible first half.

The Buckeyes (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) lost four turnovers in the first half, yet still led 10-0 over the Gophers (3-5, 0-5).

(7) Colorado 41, Missouri 13: At Columbia, Mo., Koy Detmer passed for a school-record 457 yards and three long touchdowns as the Buffaloes (7-1, 5-0 Big 12) defeated the Tigers (3-5, 1-4) for their 10th consecutive road victory.

(9) Michigan 45, Michigan State 29: At Ann Arbor, Mich., Scott Dreisbach threw four TD passes and the Wolverines (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) took advantage of five turnovers by the Spartans (5-4, 4-2).

(25) Iowa 31, Illinois 21: At Champaign, Ill., Vernon Rollins returned an interception for a touchdown and the Hawkeyes (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) converted three turnovers into 17 points against the Illini (2-6, 1-4).

Kansas 34, Iowa St. 31: At Ames, Iowa, June Henley returned from a one-game suspension to run for a season-high 226 yards and three touchdowns as the Jayhawks (4-4, 2-3 Big 12) defeated the Cyclones (2-6, 1-4).

Wisconsin 33, Purdue 25: At Madison, Wis., Ron Dayne set a school freshman record with 244 rushing yards as the Badgers (4-4, 1-4 Big Ten) held on after building a 24-0 lead against the Boilermakers (2-6, 1-4).

SOUTHWEST

Texas A&M 38, Oklahoma St 19: At Stillwater, Okla., D’Andre Hardeman scored three TDs and Keith Mitchell returned an interception 42 yards for a score to help the Aggies (4-5, 2-3 Big 12) to a victory over the Cowboys (4-5, 1-5).

Texas 28, Baylor 23: At Austin, Texas, James Brown threw two touchdown passes to Pat Fitzgerald and Ricky Williams scored twice as the Longhorns (4-4, 3-2 Big 12) raced to a 21-0 lead and then held on to defeat the Bears (4-4, 1-4).

Texas Christian 42, UNLV 34: At Fort Worth, Texas, John Williams’ 69-yard TD run in the fourth quarter gave the Horned Frogs (3-5, 2-3 WAC) a 42-21 lead against the Rebels (0-10, 0-6), who have lost 13 straight on the road.

New Mexico 34, Tulsa 23: At Tulsa, Okla., Reginal Johnson rushed for 232 yards and all five TDs for the Lobos (5-4, 2-4 WAC) who rallied to beat the Golden Hurricane (3-5, 1-4).

WEST

(13) BYU 40, Texas-El Paso 18: At Provo, Utah, James Dye returned a kickoff 100 yards as the Cougars (9-1, 5-0 WAC) defeated the Miners (2-6, 0-5).

(17) Wyoming 59, SMU 17: At Laramie, Wyo., Brian Lee intercepted three passes and the Cowboys (9-0, 6-0) extended the longest winning streak in Division I-A to 12 games by beating the Mustangs (3-6, 2-4).

Rice 51, (20) Utah 10: At Houston, Michael Perry scored two touchdowns and the Owls (5-3, 4-1 WAC) rushed for 496 yards in upsetting the Utes (7-2, 5-1).

San Diego State 49, San Jose State 20: At San Jose, Calif., Billy Blanton passed for 307 yards and four TDs as the Aztecs (5-2, 3-1 WAC) defeated the Spartans (1-8, 1-5).