Around The Country

WEST

Wisconsin 56, San Jose St. 10: At San Jose, Calif., tailback Ron Dayne returned to the lineup after a week’s absence, opened with an 80-yard touchdown run and finished with 254 yards and three TDs as the Badgers (2-1) ran over the Spartans (0-2).

Dayne, out with a pinched nerve in his neck and shoulder, took a handoff on the first play from scrimmage and scored 24 seconds into the game.

The 262-pounder, who also had TD runs of 5 and 23 yards, carried 20 times. He had 217 yards by halftime.

Quarterback Mike Samuel also ran for three touchdowns and added a pair of scoring passes for the Badgers.

Samuel had two 1-yard scoring runs and another of 3 yards. He threw a 51-yard TD pass to Tony Simmons in the second quarter, then added a 35-yard scoring pass to John Sigmund in the third.

Samuel completed 6 of 9 passes for 176 yards, in addition to his seven carries for 22 yards. He joins five other Wisconsin quarterbacks who have had five TDs in a game.

Air Force 25, UNLV 24: At Air Force Academy, Colo., Tim Curry blocked two kicks and Spanky Gilliam scored on a 1-yard plunge with 2:35 left, helping the Falcons (3-0, 2-0 WAC) rally past the Rebels (0-2, 0-1).

UNLV, which held a 14-0 first-quarter lead, withstood a third-quarter Air Force comeback and moved to a 24-18 lead with two scores early in the fourth quarter.

MIDWEST

Northwestern 24, Duke 20: At Evanston, Ill, Brian Musso caught a 74-yard touchdown pass and later set up the winning score with a clutch fourth-down reception as the Wildcats (2-1) rallied twice to defeat the Blue Devils (0-2).

After Musso’s 32-yard catch on a pass from Tim Hughes went to the Duke 1, Adrian Autry carried for the touchdown with 3:43 left, putting Northwestern ahead and sending the Blue Devils to their 15th consecutive loss - the longest skid in Division I-A.

Kansas 15, Missouri 7: At Lawrence, Kan., Brett McGraw recovered Corby Jones’ fumble on the Kansas 17 with 44 seconds left, and the unbeaten Jayhawks (3-0, 1-0 Big 12) overcame 135 yards in penalties to defeat the Tigers (1-1, 0-1) in college football’s second-oldest rivalry.

Eric Vann rushed for a career-high 137 yards and one touchdown for the Jayhawks.

Miami, Ohio 49, Akron 20: At Oxford, Ohio, Sam Ricketts threw for 296 yards and four touchdowns as the RedHawks (2-1, 2-1 MAC) defeated the Zips (0-2, 0-1).

W. Michigan 21, N. Illinois 13: At De Kalb, Ill., Tim Lester passed for three touchdowns to lead the Broncos (2-1, 1-0 MAC) past the Huskies (0-3, 0-2) after trailing 7-0 and 13-7.

Minnesota 53, Iowa St. 29: At Minneapolis, Glen Mason got his first win at Minnesota in his first home game, and for that he can thank Tutu Atwell.

Atwell set a school record with two kickoff returns for touchdowns, set up another TD with a long punt return and added an 8-yard TD catch as the Golden Gophers (1-1) rallied to defeat the Cyclones (0-3).

Despite Atwell’s electrifying night, Minnesota still needed Thomas Hamner’s 34-yard TD run, his second score of the game, with 12:48 remaining to take the lead for good.

The Gophers then added 17 points in the final 10:41, sending the Cyclones to their 10th consecutive defeat, a losing streak surpassed in school history only by a 16-game skid during the 1929-30 seasons.

Indiana 33, Ball State 6: At Bloomington, Ind., Jay Rodgers passed for five touchdowns and a school-record 408 yards to lead Indiana past the Cardinals (1-2) in the first football game between the two Hoosier-state schools.

Rodgers, who completed 27 of 39, topped the record of 390 yards set by Babe Laufenberg in 1990, and the Hoosiers (1-1) set a school record with 441 passing yards.

Toledo 38, E. Michigan 35: At Toledo, Ohio, Chris Merrick’s 24-yard field goal with no time remaining gave the Rockets (2-0, 1-0 MAC) their victory over the Eagles (0-2, 0-1).

Merrick’s kick ended a 71-yard, 17-play drive over the final 4 minutes of a game in which the teams combined for more than 1,000 yards.

Marshall 42, Kent 17: At Kent, Ohio, Randy Moss caught three of Chad Pennington’s five touchdown passes as the Thundering Herd (2-1, 1-0 MAC) made a successful return to the MidAmerican Conference by defeating the Golden Flashes (0-3, 0-2).

SOUTHWEST

Oklahoma St. 35, Fresno St. 0: At Stillwater, Okla., Oklahoma State’s two-quarterback system worked to perfection, with Chris Chaloupka and Tony Lindsay throwing a school-record five scoring passes as the Cowboys (3-0) defeated the Bulldogs (1-2).

The Oklahoma State defense also played superbly, coming up with five sacks and limiting tailback Mike Pittman to 12 yards on 16 carries as Oklahoma State improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1988.

Pittsburgh 35, Houston 24: At Houston, Pete Gonzalez threw three touchdown passes and Chiffon Allen returned an interception 97 yards with 22 seconds to play as the Panthers (2-1) defeated the Cougars (0-3).

New Mexico 38, Texas-El Paso 20: At El Paso, Texas, the Lobos (3-0, 1-0 WAC) fell behind early, then cranked up their ground game behind Dion Marion and Reginal Johnson, who combined for three touchdowns to defeat the Miners (0-2, 0-1).

Utah 32, Texas Christian 18: At Fort Worth, Texas, Jonathan Crosswhite tossed two of his three touchdown passes to wide receiver Daniel Jones as the Utes (2-1, 1-0 WAC) defeated the Horned Frogs (0-2, 0-1).

Texas Tech 59, SW Louisiana 14: At Lubbock, Texas, Zebbie Lethridge threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more, all in the first half, as the Red Raiders (1-1) gained 453 yards in routing the Cajuns (0-3).

Arkansas St. 36, Cent. Arkansas 35: At Jonesboro, Ark., Lennie Johnson caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jeremie Watkins with 29 seconds to play, capping a last-minute drive that gave the Indians (1-1) their victory.

Arkansas State (1-1) trailed 35-30 when it took over at its 21 with 53 seconds left.

SOUTH

Georgia 31, South Carolina 15: At Athens, Ga., Mike Bobo threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns during a brilliant first half and Olandis Gary filled in ably for Robert Edwards as the Bulldogs (2-0, 1-0) defeated the Gamecocks (1-1, 0-1).

Georgia, which led 31-6 at halftime, is 2-0 for the first time since 1991.

Virginia 26, Richmond 7: At Charlottesville, Va., Virginia’s defense scored one touchdown and set up another, overcoming a mistake-ridden performance by its offense in a lackluster victory for the Cavaliers (1-1) over the Division I-AA Spiders (2-1).

East Carolina 25, Wake Forest 24: At Greenville, N.C., Dan Gonzalez threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns as the Pirates (1-1) rallied from 21 points down to defeat the Demon Deacons (1-1).

East Carolina trailed 24-19 when Gonzalez found Scott Harley in the corner of the end zone on a 6-yard touchdown pass with 3:44 left in the game, capping a 76-yard drive.

Southern Methodist 31, Arkansas 9: At Shreveport, La., Donte Womack ran for 212 yards as the Mustangs (1-1) defeated the Razorbacks (1-1).

Arkansas set a school record with minus-22 yards rushing.

Rice 30, Tulane 24: At New Orleans, Benji Wood ran for 190 yards and four touchdowns as the Owls (1-1) defeated the Green Wave (1-1).

Louisiana Tech 17, NE Louisiana 16: At Ruston, La., Troy Edwards’ second touchdown reception from Tim Rattay came with 3:57 remaining, lifting the Bulldogs (2-0) over the Indians (1-2).

EAST

Boston College 31, West Virginia 24: At Newton, Mass., backup tailback Mike Cloud ran for two touchdowns and Matt Hasselbeck threw for two in a 12-minute span as the Eagles (1-1, 1-1 Big East) erased a 14-point halftime deficit with 28 consecutive points against the Mountaineers (2-1, 0-1).

Cloud rushed for 211 yards and BC’s last two scores of 11 and 66 yards.

Army 41, Lafayette 14: At West Point, N.Y., Ty Amey ran for two touchdowns and gained 129 of Army’s 545 rushing yards as the Black Knights (1-1) defeated the Leopards (0-2).

Navy 36, Rutgers 7: At Annapolis, Md., Chris McCoy accounted for 201 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Midshipmen (1-1) past the Scarlet Knights (0-3).