Around The Country

WEST

New Mexico 38, Brigham Young 28: At Albuquerque, N.M., quarterback Graham Leigh produced four touchdowns and the Lobos (8-2, 5-2 WAC), seeking their first bowl bid since 1961, ended a 16-game losing streak in the series with the Cougars (6-4, 4-3).

Leigh, a pillar of consistency in New Mexico’s best season since it posted a 10-1 record in 1982 but failed to get a bowl invitation, tossed TD passes of 5 yards to fullback Chris Shelton and 5 and 17 yards to Milton Thomas.

Air Force 14, Wyoming 3: At Air Force Academy, Colo., cornerback Frank Staine-Pyne returned an interception 93 yards for a score with 28 seconds left, preserving the Falcons’ (10-2, 6-2 WAC) victory over the Cowboys (7-5, 4-3).

Utah 31, Rice 14: At Salt Lake City, freshman quarterback Darnell Arceneaux passed for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Utes (5-5, 4-3 WAC) ended the WAC title hopes of the Owls (6-4, 4-3).

San Diego State 20, Fresno State 19: At Fresno, Calif., Jonas Lewis rushed for 253 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Aztecs (5-6, 4-3 WAC) over the Bulldogs (5-6, 4-3).

San Jose St. 38, Hawaii 14: At San Jose, Calif., Dan O’Dell threw four touchdown passes, including three to Oliver Newell, as the Spartans (3-7, 3-4 WAC) defeated the Rainbows (3-7, 1-7).

SOUTHWEST

Southern Methodist 42, Tulsa 41: At Tulsa, Okla, a mishandled snap on Tulsa’s last-minute extra point attempt allowed the Mustangs (6-4, 5-2 WAC) to defeat the Golden Hurricane (2-8, 2-5).

Tulsa was trailing 42-35 when John Fitzgerald hit Damon Savage on a 1-yard TD pass with 18 seconds to go in the game. But kick holder Kirk Myrick ended up throwing an incomplete pass after the snap went awry.

Texas 45, Kansas 31: At Austin, Texas, Ricky Williams, the nation’s leading rusher, ran 26 times for 211 yards and three touchdowns and the Longhorns (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) had their biggest offensive performance of the season in defeating the Jayhawks (5-6, 3-5).

Texas-El Paso 24, Texas Christian 17: At El Paso, Texas, quarterback Rocky Perez rushed for two TDs as the Miners (4-6, 3-4 WAC) defeated the Horned Frogs (0-10, 0-7).

SOUTH

Georgia Tech 41, Duke 38: At Durham, N.C., Joe Hamilton threw two first-half touchdown passes to Harvey Middleton and later ran for another score as the Yellow Jackets (5-4, 4-3 ACC) held on after leading 38-11 through three quarters against the Blue Devils (2-7, 0-6).

NC State 31, Virginia 24: At Raleigh, N.C., Jamie Barnette threw three TD passes in a 12-minute span to help the Wolfpack (5-5, 3-5 ACC) defeat the Cavaliers (6-4, 5-3).

Two of Barnette’s touchdown passes were to Torry Holt, who has eight scoring passes in his past three games.

Kentucky 21, Vanderbilt 10: At Nashville, Tenn., the Wildcats (5-5, 2-5 SEC) intercepted three passes and recovered two fumbles to beat the Commodores (3-6, 0-7).

Mississippi 41, Tulane 24: At New Orleans, Stewart Patridge passed for two touchdowns and ran for one to lead the Rebels (6-3) to victory over the Green Wave (6-4).

Miami 51, Rutgers 23: At Miami, Edgerrin James ran 80 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the game and the Hurricanes (5-5, 3-3 Big East) defeated the Scarlet Knights (0-7, 0-11).

Southern Miss 33, Houston 0: At Hattiesburg, Miss., Eric Booth ran for 119 yards and returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown as the Golden Eagles (7-3, 5-0 C-USA) defeated the Cougars (3-7, 2-3) to clinch at least a tie for the conference championship.

Memphis 21, Louisville 20: At Memphis, Tenn., Jim Cande kicked a 35-yard extra point with 3 minutes to play, giving the Tigers (4-6, 2-3 C-USA) the victory over the Cardinals (1-10, 0-6).

With 3:24 remaining, Memphis safety Don Haselwood blocked a punt attempt by Jeremy Borseth. Jeff Bazemore picked up the ball and ran it 24 yards for a Memphis touchdown. The Tigers were then penalized for excessive celebrating.

Louisiana Tech 63, SW Louisiana 24: At Lafayette, La., quarterback Tim Rattay threw for five touchdowns and 364 yards on 16 completions in guiding the Bulldogs (9-2) past the Cajuns (1-10).

In another game involving a I-A independent, Lee Jolly passed for 214 yards to lead Alabama-Birmingham (4-6) to a 38-14 victory over Tennessee Tech (4-4).

MIDWEST

Minnesota 24, Indiana 12: At Minneapolis, Cory Sauter threw two first-quarter touchdown passes and ran for a clinching score with 2:50 remaining as the Golden Gophers (3-8, 1-6 Big Ten) snapped a seven-game losing streak by defeating the Hoosiers (2-8, 1-6), who have one offensive touchdown in their past five games.

Marshall 27, Ohio U. 0: At Huntington, W.Va., Chad Pennington passed for two touchdowns and ran for another and Randy Moss tied the Division I-A season record for touchdown receptions (22) as the Thundering Herd (9-2, 7-1) defeated the Bobcats (8-3, 6-2) to gain a berth in the MAC championship game.

In other MAC games, Toledo (9-1, 7-1) defeated Akron (2-9, 2-6) 42-10; and Miami of Ohio (8-3, 6-2) defeated Northern Illinois (0-11, 0-8). In non-league games, Central Florida (4-6) defeated Eastern Michigan (4-7) 27-10; and Western Michigan (8-3) defeated NE Louisiana (4-7) 32-19.

EAST

West Virginia 41, Temple 21: At Morgantown, W.Va., Curtis Keaton, subbing for injured Amos Zereoue, ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns as the Mountaineers 7-2, 4-2 Big East) defeated the Owls (3-8, 3-4).

Navy 52, Colgate 24: At Annapolis, Md., Chris McCoy threw three touchdown passes to Pat McGrew and ran for two scores as the Midshipmen (5-4) defeated the Red Raiders (6-4).