No Humor In Irish Victory

Around the country

Tom Krug had every reason to be nervous when Notre Dame starting quarterback Ron Powlus broke his arm. Krug had played less than 7 minutes this season and hadn’t thrown a single pass.

But the junior showed the poise of a veteran, throwing for two touchdowns and rallying No. 8 Notre Dame to a 35-17 victory over Navy (4-4) on Saturday at South Bend, Ind.

Powlus, who missed his freshman season with a broken collarbone, is out for the rest of the year after breaking his left humerus, the bone that leads from the elbow to the shoulder. Powlus was taken to a hospital, where doctors set the arm in a cast.

Surgery is still a possibility if the cast cannot immobilize the break. Powlus’ arm will be X-rayed again today and next week.

Krug faced a daunting task when he went in with about 11 minutes left in the third quarter. Besides his limited playing time, the Irish (8-2) were trailing 17-14 and couldn’t seem to do anything right.

But 6 minutes later, Krug connected with Derrick Mayes on a 42-yard touchdown to put the Irish ahead 21-17.

EAST

West Virginia 59, Rutgers 26: At Morgantown, W.Va., Chad Johnston threw for 334 yards and four touchdowns as the Mountaineers (3-2 Big East, 4-5) broke out of a scoring slump in beating the Big East foe Scarlet Knights (1-4, 2-6).

E. Carolina 31, Army 25: At West Point, N.Y., Marcus Crandell became East Carolina’s all-time leading passer, throwing for 283 yards and three touchdowns as the Pirates (6-3) kept their bowl hopes alive with a win over the Black Knights (3-4-1).

Boston College 10, Temple 9: At Philadelphia, Dan McGuire kicked a 47-yard field goal in the third quarter to lift the Eagles (3-1, 3-6) to a win over the Owls (1-4, 1-8) in the Big East.

SOUTH

(3) Florida 58, Northern Illinois 20: At Gainesville, Fla., with Heisman Trophy candidate Danny Wuerffel watching from the sideline, Eric Kresser passed for 458 yards, a Florida record, and six touchdowns as the Gators (8-0) crushed the Huskies (3-6).

Wuerffel was given the day off against the 49-point underdog Huskies.

(5) Tennessee 42, Southern Mississippi 0: At Knoxville, Tenn., Tennessee forced five turnovers, three setting up touchdowns, and Ray Austin blocked a punt for a TD as the Volunteers (8-1) beat the Golden Eagles (4-5).

(21) Auburn 38, NE Louisiana 14: At Auburn, Ala., despite injuring a knee on his fourth carry of the game, Stephen Davis rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers (6-3) beat the Indians (2-9).

Davis left the game with a strained left knee during Auburn’s second possession, limping off the field between two trainers. But doctors determined the knee wasn’t too loose, and he returned midway through the third quarter for touchdown runs of 17 and 21 yards.

Virginia Tech 31, (20) Syracuse 7: At Blacksburg, Va., with the Big East Conference lead and a major bowl bid at stake, Jim Druckenmiller threw for three touchdowns and Ken Oxendine ran for 118 yards to lead the Hokies to a win over the Orangemen (3-1, 6-2). Virginia Tech improved to 5-1, 7-2.

Miami 35, Baylor 14: At Miami, Danyell Ferguson scored three touchdowns to lead the slow-starting Hurricanes (5-3) to a win over the Bears (5-3, Miami’s fourth consecutive victory as it continued its domination of the Southwest Conference.

Vanderbilt 14, Kentucky 10: At Nashville, Tenn., Damian Allen came off the bench and threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass as the Commodores (1-5 SEC, 1-7) beat the Wildcats (2-5, 3-6), ending the Division I-A’s longest losing streak.

Mississippi 34, Memphis 3: At Memphis, Tenn., quarterback Paul Head threw for 207 yards and a touchdown in his first college start to lead the Rebels (5-4) to a win over the Tigers (3-6).

Georgia Tech 24, Wake Forest 23: At Winston-Salem, N.C., Donnie Davis threw a 10-yard scoring pass to Grant Baynham with 9:20 to go, giving the Bulldogs ((4-3, 5-4) a win over the Demon Deacons (0-7, 1-9) and negating another record-setting day for Rusty LaRue in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Clemson 17, North Carolina 10: At Clemson, S.C., Nealon Greene passed for a touchdown and led a Tiger offense that pushed the Tar Heels’ second-ranked defense all around Death Valley in an Atlantic Coast Conference game.

The Tigers (5-2, 6-3) had five interceptions off Mike Thomas, including a 49-yard jaunt by safety Brian Dawkins, to win their third straight and keep alive a slim chance at the league crown. UNC dropped to 2-3, 4-4.

Louisville 34, Tulane 14: At Louisville, Ky., Cardinals quarterback Marty Lowe threw for a career-high 321 yards as the Cardinals kept alive their bowl hopes with a win over the Green Wave (2-7). Louisville improved to 5-4.

MIDWEST

(1) Nebraska 73, Iowa St. 14: At Lincoln, Neb., Ahman Green ran for 176 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead Nebraska (5-0 Big Eight, 9-0) past the Cyclones (1-4, 3-6), stealing the spotlight from once-suspended Husker Lawrence Phillips.

(4) Ohio State 49, Minnesota 21: At Minneapolis, Bobby Hoying threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score, helping the Buckeyes overcome the loss to Terry Glenn,

OSU’s 9-0 start (5-0 Big Ten) is its best since 1979 when it finished at 11-1.

Glenn entered the game with a school-record 14 TD receptions for the season. He caught three passes for 103 yards and a TD before leaving with a slight separation in his right shoulder late in the first quarter.

(6) Northwestern 21, (12) Penn State 10: At Evanston, Ill., Northwestern matched its highest victory total since 1948 in a win over the Nittany Lions.

Darnell Autry gained 100 yards for a 10th straight game, set a school season rushing record and scored three touchdowns as the Wildcats (6-0 Big Ten 8-1) beat the Nittany Lions (6-3, 3-3).

(9) Kansas State 49, (25) Oklahoma 10: At Manhattan, Kan., Matt Miller ran for two touchdowns and passed for three and the Wildcats romped past the Sooners, notching their first three-game winning streak over Oklahoma (2-3 Big Eight, 5-3-1) in almost 70 years. The Wildcats improved to 4-1, 8-1.

(11) Kansas 42, Missouri 23: At Lawrence, Kan., Mark Williams threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Byrd and Chris Jones returned an interception for a touchdown as the Jayhawks (4-1, 8-1) beat the Tigers (0-5, 2-7) in the 104th renewal of the heated Big Eight rivalry.

Purdue 38, Wisconsin 27: At West Lafayette, Ind., Mike Alstott and Edwin Watson both rushed for career-high yardage and scored twice to lead the Boilermakers (1-3-1 Big Ten, 3-4-1) past the Badgers (2-3, 3-4-1).

Illinois 26, Iowa 7: At Iowa City, Iowa, Johnny Johnson came off the bench to spark the Illinois offense, and the defense intercepted five passes - four in the final period - as the Illini beat the Hakweyes.

The Illini (2-2 Big Ten. 4-4), the worst rushing team in the Big Ten with a 94-yard per game average, grounded out 244 yards against the Hawkeyes (2-3, 5-3), who lost their third straight.

Maryland 30, North Carolina St. 13: At Raleigh, N.C., Jermaine Lewis caught a touchdown, returned a punt 66 yards and rushed for two scores as the Terrapins (4-2 ACC, 6-3) overcame first-half fumbles to defeat the Wolfpack (1-4, 2-6) and stay alive in the bowl picture.

SOUTHWEST

(10) Colorado 45, Oklahoma St. 32: At Stillwater, Okla., John Hessler tied his school record by throwing five touchdown passes and the Buffaloes (3-2, 7-2) scored three times in the fourth quarter to beat the Cowboys (1-4, 2-7) in a Big Eight game.

(18) Arkansas 26, Mississippi St. 21: At Little Rock, Ark., Madre Hill’s 1-yard run provided the deciding points and the Razorbacks (6-1, 7-2) withstood a late challenge to beat the Bulldogs (1-5, 3-6) and clinch a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Texas Christian 19, Southern Methodist 16: At Fort Worth, Texas, Rick LaFavers intercepted the Mustangs’ 2-point conversion attempt with 2:17 left and returned it 99 yards to preserving a victory for the Horned Frogs (3-1, 6-2).

(13) Texas 48, (23) Texas Tech 7: At Austin, Texas, Shon Mitchell ran for three touchdowns and James Brown threw for two as the Longhorns (3-0, 6-1-1-) burned the Red Raiders (2-2, 5-3) in the Southwest Conference.

WEST

Nevada 30, Utah State 25: At Logan, Utah, Kim Minor ran for 143 yards and a touchdown as the Wolf Pack (4-0 Big West, 7-2) built a 17-point over the Aggies (2-2, 2-7) in the third quarter and then held on for a win.

Utah 30, Wyoming 24: At Laramie, Wyo., the Utes grabbed a 20-point lead as Mike Fouts passed for 267 yards, then desperately held on to beat the Cowboys (1-4 Western Athletic Conference, 3-5). Utah dropped to 5-2, 6-4.

Brigham Young 45, Tulsa 35: At Provo, Utah, Steve Sarkisian passed for one touchdown and ran for another as the Cougars (5-3) defeated a future Western Athletic Conference foe, the Golden Hurricane (4-5).

Colorado St. 56, Texas-El Paso 10: At Fort Collins, Colo., Moses Moreno came off the bench to spark a four-touchdown second quarter with a 1-yard run and two scoring passes as the Rams beat Texas-El Paso.

The victory hiked the Rams’ Western Athletic Conference record to 4-2 (6-3 overall) and kept them alive in the WAC title chase. UTEP (0-5, 1-8) is the only team in the WAC without a league victory.

San Diego St. 38, New Mexico 29: At San Diego, George Jones rushed for 208 yards and three touchdowns and Billy Blanton threw for 328 yards and three scores as the Aztecs (4-1, 7-2) beat the Lobos (2-4, 4-5) in the Western Athletic Conference.

New Mexico St. 39, Pacific 37: At Stockton, Calif., Cody Ledbetter threw three scoring passes and Denvis Manns ran for 209 yards and two touchdowns as the Aggies (2-2 Big West, 3-6) withstood a late rally to beat the Tigers (2-2, 3-6).