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News Nuggets, 10.17.05
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Conference USA Standings, Scores & Schedule

College football headliners: stars & storylines

STARS

   ***   DeAngelo Williams, Memphis, rushed for 198 yards and two TDs, powering Memphis to a 35-20 win over Houston.

   ***   Steve Slaton, West Virginia, scored six TDs after halftime, including all three after regulation, and the Mountaineers came from 17 points down to beat No. 19 Louisville 46-44 in triple overtime.

   ***   Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, Southern California. Leinart scored the go-ahead TD on a 1-yard sneak with 3 seconds remaining, and Bush ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns to help the top-ranked Trojans beat No. 9 Notre Dame 34-31.

   ***   Mario Manningham and Chad Henne, Michigan. Manningham caught a 10-yard TD pass from Henne with no time left to give the Wolverines a 27-25 win over No. 8 Penn State. The duo also connected on a 33-yard scoring play.

   ***   Vince Young, Texas, ran for three touchdowns and passed for two more in the No. 2 Longhorns' 42-17 win over No. 24 Colorado.

   ***   Jonathan Casillas and Ben Strickland, Wisconsin. Casillas blocked a punt and Strickland recovered it in the end zone with 30 seconds left to lift the No. 23 Badgers to a 38-34 victory over No. 22 Minnesota.

   ***   Jamie Christensen, Alabama, kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired to give the No. 6 Crimson Tide a 13-10 victory over Mississippi.

   ***   Kellen Clemens, Oregon, threw for 425 yards and four TDs to lead the 20th-ranked Ducks to a 45-21 win over Washington.

   ***   Brandon Cox, Auburn, threw three second-half touchdowns to lead the No. 21 Tigers over Arkansas 34-17.

   ***   Andre Copeland, Charleston Southern, ran for a school-record 226 yards and scored four TDs in a 63-42 win over Virginia Wesleyan.

WORTH THE WAIT

Virginia beat No. 4 Florida State 26-21 Saturday, 10 years after the Cavaliers handed the then-No. 2 Seminoles their first ACC loss. The Cavaliers, who hadn't beaten Florida State since, honored the 1995 team at halftime.

RED HOT

Texas Tech is 6-0 and off to its best start after beating Kansas State 59-20 Saturday. Cody Hodges threw for a career-best 643 yards and five touchdowns.

STREAKING

Rice lost its 11th straight, falling to Tulsa 41-21. ... Pittsburgh beat South Florida 31-17 to win consecutive games for the first time under coach Dave Wannstedt. ... No. 1 Southern California beat No. 9 Notre Dame 34-31 Saturday for its 28th consecutive win. ... Auburn beat Arkansas 34-17, giving the 21st-ranked Tigers their 13th straight SEC win. ... No. 2 Texas won its 13th game in a row, beating 24th-ranked Colorado 42-17.

OFF AND RUNNING

Miami's Kyle Wright threw four TDs passes in the first 19 minutes of the No. 7 Hurricanes' 34-3 win over Temple on Saturday.

MULTITASKER

Texas Tech's Taurean Henderson became the NCAA leader in receptions by a running back early in the 13th-ranked Red Raiders' 59-20 win over Kansas State on Saturday. He made 10 catches to bring his career total to 272. Two of his catches were for TDs, and he rushed for three more scores. The previous record-holder, Mark Templeton, caught 262 passes for Long Beach State from 1984-87.

DOWN TO THE WIRE

Southern California's Matt Leinart pushed and spun his way into the end zone with 3 seconds left to cap a chaotic finish to the top-ranked Trojans' 28th straight victory, a back-and-forth 34-31 win over No. 9 Notre Dame. ... Michigan gave up a TD to Penn State with 53 seconds left, then marched down the field to score on a TD pass from Chad Henne to Mario Manningham with no time remaining for a 27-25 win over the eighth-ranked Nittany Lions. ... Jamie Christensen kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired to give No. 6 Alabama a 13-10 win over Mississippi. Crimson Tide QB Brodie Croyle converted three third downs on the winning drive. ... No. 23 Wisconsin trailed Minnesota by 10 points with 3:27 to play, but the Badgers drove 71 yards in 1:17 and scored on a 21-yard TD pass to Brandon Williams, then blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone with 30 seconds left to seal their 38-34 win over the 22nd-ranked Gophers.

COMEBACKS

West Virginia rallied from a 24-7 deficit to force overtime, then beat No. 19 Louisville 46-44 in triple OT. ... No. 12 UCLA rallied from a 21-point deficit to force overtime and then beat Washington State 44-41 on Maurice Drew's 1-yard TD run. Drew Olson threw five TD passes. ... Despite not crossing midfield for the first 55 minutes, No. 15 Ohio State rallied from a 17-7 deficit and beat No. 16 Michigan State 35-24 Saturday. The Spartans finished with 27 first downs and 456 total yards, but managed just four first downs and 70 yards in the fourth quarter. ... Boston College fell behind 17-0 early to Wake Forest and trailed 30-21 with 3:24 to play, but scored twice under backup QB Matt Ryan, who made a 26-yard TD throw to Kevin Challenger with 1:18 left for a 35-30 win.

SNAPPED

No. 10 LSU ended a three-game home losing streak to No. 11 Florida with a 21-17 victory Saturday. Joseph Addai ran for a career-high 152 yards and a touchdown and JaMarcus Russell threw two TD passes. ... California's 10-game home winning streak came to an end when Oregon State beat the 18th-ranked Golden Bears 23-20. ... Penn State had won eight in a row before falling to Michigan 27-25.

TOP 'DOGS

Georgia beat Vanderbilt 34-17 Saturday to remain atop the SEC East division by a comfortable, two-game margin. D.J. Shockley threw three touchdown passes and the league's best offense rolled up 446 yards. With Florida's loss to LSU earlier in the day, the Bulldogs have the inside path to a spot in the conference title game.

STRONG IN DEFEAT

Florida State QB Drew Weatherford finished 35-for-59 for 359 yards in the fourth-ranked Seminoles' 26-21 loss to Virginia. ... Washington State's Jerome Harrison ran for a career-high 260 yards in the Cougars' 44-41 OT loss to No. 12 UCLA. ... Michigan State QB Drew Stanton, who leads the nation in pass efficiency, completed 26-of-36 passes for 340 yards and a touchdown in the No. 16 Spartans' 35-24 loss at No. 15 Ohio State. ... Notre Dame's Brady Quinn finished 19-for-35 for 264 yards with a TD and ran for a go-ahead score with 2:02 left in the ninth-ranked Fighting Irish's 34-31 loss to top-ranked USC.

QUIET

Kansas lost to Oklahoma 19-3 Saturday, running its streak of quarters without TDs to nine. The Jayhawks lost 12-3 to Kansas State the week before and haven't found the end zone since the third quarter of a 30-17 loss to Texas Tech.

SPEAKING

``I couldn't hold it back. I just started crying. These are the type of games we live for, we die for, we love to be in. They might be a little nerve-racking for the fans, but it's what we live for. For the first time in my career here, I wasn't sure. I regret that so much because I know the type of teammates we have. They never give up. They keep fighting.'' — USC's Reggie Bush, after the top-ranked Trojans rallied to beat Notre Dame 34-31 on Matt Leinart's sneak with 3 seconds left.

``When you think you've seen it all, you haven't seen it all.'' — Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez, after his team beat Minnesota 38-34 by blocking a punt and recovering it in the end zone with 30 seconds left.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from Associated Press and other sources. Copyright 2005 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007 12:28 PM