Quick Kicks

Heisman watch

Tennessee’s Peyton Manning remains the top contender for the trophy, but still can’t figure out Florida. He was on the run all day, finishing 29 of 51 for 353 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in a 33-20 defeat. One of his picks was returned 89 yards for a touchdown.

Iowa’s Tavian Banks took an early breather in the Hawkeyes’ 63-20 rout of Iowa State. Banks, the nation’s leading rusher at 258.5 yards per game, retired for the day early in the fourth quarter with 127 yards on 20 carries. He bolted 82 yards for a touchdown on the game’s second play.

Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf continued to put up big numbers. Despite three interceptions in a 35-22 win over Illinois, Leaf - the country’s top-rated passer coming in - connected on 21 of 36 attempts for 302 yards and four touchdowns.

Strictly speaking

“We’re not real good in special teams, we’re not real good on offense, we’re not real good on defense. We’re in the middle of a hurricane right now. We’ve got tough games coming up. None of us wanted to be 1-2. None of us expected to be 1-2. But if what you’re asking is if we’re rebuilding, the answer is no. I’m going to try and win every game.” - Notre Dame coach Bob Davie after the Irish lost 23-7 to Michigan State.

Stars and stats

Peter Warrick of Florida State had eight catches for 249 yards and scored three long touchdowns against Clemson.

Astron Whatley rushed for 373 yards, the fifth-highest total in I-A history, to power Kent to a 41-38 victory over Eastern Michigan.

Louisiana Tech’s Tim Rattay put up career-high numbers with 510 yards and six touchdowns on 31-of-42 passing in a rout of Central Michigan.

Iowa’s Tim Dwight, overshadowed early in the season by halfback Tavian Banks, caught three touchdown passes against Iowa State. Cyclones quarterback Todd Bandhauer was all the offense the Cyclones had. He threw a school-record 51 passes, completing 26 for 375 yards and three TDs.

Kentucky’s Tim Couch, whose seven touchdown passes against Indiana set a school record, put up his numbers in three quarters.

Southwest Louisiana’s Brandon Stokley caught five passes for 60 yards and became the school’s all-time leading receiver with 176 catches.

Michigan State’s Marc Renuad (112 yards rushing) and Sedrick Irvin (106) combined for 381 all-purpose yards against Notre Dame.

Oregon State’s defense sacked Stanford QB Chad Hutchinson seven times. But Hutchinson had the last laugh, completing four consecutive passes on the game’s final possession as Stanford won 27-24.

Oscar Davenport passed for 281 yards and two TDs in his first start of the season for North Carolina.

Villanova’s Chris Boden threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns - becoming the first Wildcats quarterback to surpass 300 passing yards in two consecutive games - in a 34-14 win over Maine.

Brown quarterback James Perry threw for four touchdowns to hand Yale its worst season-opening loss in school history, 52-14 at the Yale Bowl. Brown had a school-record 629 yards.

Duquesne quarterback Dave Loya threw for 373 yards and three scores in a 38-14 victory over Siena.

Looking ahead

Eight Top 25 teams take next week off, leaving few good matchups. Some interesting li’l brother vs. big brother games are Southern Mississippi at Alabama, West Virginia at Miami and Wyoming at Colorado. In two weeks: Florida State at Miami.

, DataTimes