Around The Country

South

West Virginia 28, Miami 17: At Miami, Amos Zereoue rushed for a career-high 206 yards and the Mountaineers (3-1, 1-1 Big East) turned back six Miami scoring threats, giving the Hurricanes (1-3, 0-2) three consecutive losses for the first time since 1984.

Zereoue scored on runs of 54 and 31 yards, and Marc Bulger threw two touchdown passes. West Virginia rallied from a 17-7 deficit and took control with consecutive touchdown drives of 71 and 74 yards midway through the second half.

Mississippi 15, Vanderbilt 3: Stewart Patridge threw for 253 yards and a touchdown as the Rebels (3-1, 1-1 SEC) defeated the Commodores (2-2, 0-2) at Oxford, Miss.

Mississippi St. 37, South Carolina 17: Reserve quarterback Rob Morgan threw a 53-yard touchdown pass and Robert Isaac sprinted 51 yards for another score in the second quarter, leading the quick-striking Bulldogs (3-1, 2-1 SEC) past the Gamecocks (2-2, 0-2) at Starkville, Miss.

Duke 26, Navy 17: Spencer Romine passed for two touchdowns and helped set up another score with his running to lead the Blue Devils (2-2) over the Midshipmen (2-2) at Durham, N.C.

Duke never trailed in winning consecutive games for the first time in two years.

Ala.-Birmingham 42, SW Louisiana 7: At Lafayette, La., quarterback Daniel Dixon rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another score, leading the Blazers (2-3) over the Cajuns (0-5).

West

Air Force 24, San Diego St. 18 OT: Tim Curry’s 80-yard interception return in overtime gave the unbeaten Falcons (5-0, 4-0 WAC) a victory over the Aztecs (1-3, 0-1) at Air Force Academy, Colo.

On a first-and-15 play from the 18, the fourth play of the overtime period, San Diego State’s Kevin McKechnie attempted to throw a pass into the right flat. The ball ended up instead in Curry’s arms and he outran two defenders to the end zone.

Nevada-Las Vegas 41, Illinois State 6: At Las Vegas, sophomore Jon Denton threw three first-half touchdown passes as the Rebels (2-2) doubled their 1996 victory total by defeating the Redbirds (2-3).

East

Miami, Ohio, 38, Army 14: At West Point, N.Y., Sam Ricketts threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns and the RedHawks (3-1) stymied the powerful running attack of the Cadets (1-3).

Cincinnati 24, Boston College 6: Artrell Hawkins forced a fumble and returned an interception 38 yards for a go-ahead touchdown as the Bearcats (3-1) defeated the Eagles (2-2) at Boston.

After Hawkins’ touchdown gave the Bearcats a 10-6 lead with 8:08 left, Cincinnati knocked out BC quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, then intercepted backup Scott Mutryn twice.

Maryland 24, Temple 21: At Philadelphia, Brian Underwood ran for two touchdowns to lead the Terrapins (1-3) past the Owls (1-4) for Maryland’s first victory under coach Ron Vanderlinden.

Midwest

Wisconsin 27, Indiana 26: Matt Davenport made up for all of Wisconsin’s troubles when he kicked a 43-yard field goal with 6 seconds remaining to lift the Badgers (4-1, 1-0) past the Hoosiers (1-3, 0-1) at Madison, Wis.

Freshman Andy Payne had given the Hoosiers a 26-24 lead with a 43-yarder of his own with 53 seconds left.

Purdue 21, Northwestern 9: At West Lafayette, Ind., Billy Dicken threw two touchdown passes and linebacker Mike Rose tied a Ross-Ade Stadium record with three interceptions as the Boilermakers (3-1, 1-0) defeated the Wildcats (2-3, 0-1).

Purdue has three consecutive victories for the first time since 1984.

Marshall 42, Ball St. 16: At Muncie, Ind., Chad Pennington threw a school-record six touchdown passes, including five to Randy Moss, as the Thundering Herd (4-1, routed the Cardinals (1-4).

Ohio 31, W. Michigan 7: Kareem Wilson rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns and Steve Hookfin added 107 yards and a score to lead the Bobcats (4-1, 2-0 MAC) over the Broncos (2-3, 1-2).

Eastern Michigan 31, Central Michigan 24: at Mount Pleasant, Mich., Eastern Michigan’s Charlie Batch threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns, but it was his 1-yard scoring run that provided the winning margin as the Eagles (1-3, 1-2 MAC) defeated the Chippewas (1-1, 2-3).

Houston 45, Minnesota 43: At Minneapolis, Vaughn Inniss rushed for 129 yards and Jason McKinley threw for two touchdowns to lead the Cougars (1-3) to victory over the Golden Gophers (2-2).

Southwest

Texas 38, Rice 31: Ricky Williams ran for 249 yards and a school-record five touchdowns as the Longhorns (2-1) bounced back from a sluggish start to hold off the Owls (2-2) at Houston.

Williams, who carried 28 times, scored on runs of 9, 48, 4, 25 and 15 yards.

Oklahoma 35, Louisville 14: De’Mond Parker and Jermaine Fazande took advantage of Louisville’s leaky defense, each rushing for more than 150 yards, as the Sooners (2-2) defeated the Cardinals (1-4) at Norman, Okla.

Parker had 191 yards on 25 carries and Fazande had a career-best 151 on 18 carries against a defense that ranked 104th nationally. It was only the third time in school history two Oklahoma backs had topped 150 yards in a game.

Arkansas 17, Louisiana Tech 13: At Little Rock, Ark., Todd Latourette kicked a 47-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and Zac Painter intercepted a pass three minutes later as the Razorbacks (3-1) defeated the Bulldogs (3-1) before a crowd that included President Clinton.

Oklahoma St. 38, NE Louisiana 7: Nathan Simmons rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown as the Cowboys defeated the Indians (1-4) at Stillwater, Okla.

Oklahoma State is 4-0 for the first time since 1988, when the Cowboys finished 10-2 and Barry Sanders won the Heisman Trophy.