VIEW THE MOBILE ALPHA VERSION OF THIS SITE

News Nuggets, 10.06.03
NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...

Previous Day Nuggets...             Next Day Nuggets...

Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

College football weekend: The good, the bad and the ugly

STARS: B.J. Symons, Texas Tech, threw a Big 12-record eight touchdown passes and topped 500 yards passing for the third straight game as the Red Raiders beat Texas A&M 59-28. Symons, who was 34-of-46 for 505 yards, broke the conference mark of seven TDs set by A&M's Dustin Long last year in Tech's 48-47 overtime win in College Station. • P.J. Fleck, Northern Illinois, had 14 catches for a school-record 234 yards, and a touchdown, as the No. 17 Huskies beat Ohio 30-23 in overtime. • J.R. McNair, Wofford, tied a Southern Conference record with five rushing touchdowns in Wofford's 42-14 win over Chattanooga.

SWAMP THINGS: Mississippi beat No. 24 Florida 20-17, the first time the Gators have lost consecutive games at The Swamp since 1988-89. The Gators (3-3, 1-2 SEC) are 7-4 at home under coach Ron Zook and are at .500 at the latest point in the season since they finished 6-6 in 1987.

BAD HALF: No. 11 Georgia scored 37 points by halftime in a 37-23 victory over Alabama — the most Alabama has given up in a half in since at least 1933, the first season of the Southeastern Conference. School records are incomplete prior to that year.

REFORMED RETURN MAN: Rodney Leisle returned from a first-half suspension to score on a fumble recovery and intercept a pass as UCLA rallied to beat No. 18 Washington 46-16. Leisle was suspended for the half for punching a San Diego State player in the stomach last week.

SHUTOUTS: No. 12 Nebraska beat Troy State 30-0 for its first shutout in 39 games. The Huskers beat Baylor 59-0 in October 2000.

STREAKING: No. 4 Virginia Tech beat Rutgers for the 11th straight time, 48-22, in the final Big East meeting between the schools. ... South Florida's 31-28 double-overtime victory over Louisville extended the Bulls' home winning streak to 21 games.

SNAPPED: Tennessee-Martin overcame a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Tennessee Tech 30-23 in overtime, snapping its 43-game Ohio Valley Conference losing streak. ... Navy beat Air Force 28-25 to snap a six-game losing streak against the Falcons.

SLUMPING: Rutgers' 48-22 loss to Virginia Tech was the Scarlet Knights' 23rd straight defeat in the Big East, including 15 under current coach Greg Schiano. ... Virginia beat North Carolina 38-13, extending the Tar Heels' home losing streak to nine. ... Buffalo lost its 16th straight game, 19-10 to Central Florida. ... Army has been shut out in consecutive games for the first time since 1979, after a 27-0 loss to No. 20 Texas Christian. The Black Knights, who lost 28-0 to South Florida last week, haven't beaten a ranked team since 1972.

STRONG IN DEFEAT: Philip Rivers set an ACC record with the 14th 300-yard game of his career, passing for 344 yards and two touchdowns in North Carolina State's 29-21 loss to Georgia Tech.

SPEAKING: "He claimed after Peyton left that he'd never come back to Gainesville or The Swamp. So, he had one last trip and he got to end it on a good one." - Mississippi quarterback Eli Manning on his father, Archie, who attended the Rebels' 20-17 victory at Florida. Eli finished his career 2-0 against the Gators, while brother Peyton went 0-3 against them while at Tennessee.

Fan jailed for zonking UNLV coach on noggin

RENO, NV — The University of Nevada's president apologized to UNLV coach John Robinson after a fan was arrested on charges throwing an object that hit Robinson in the head at halftime. Robinson was not seriously injured and returned after intermission to help coach the Rebels (4-1) to their fourth-straight win over Nevada, 16-12 Saturday night.

A 33-year-old Reno man was booked into the Washoe County jail Saturday night on a charge of battery, campus police said. Robinson told reporters he thought he was hit in the head by a plastic water bottle as the team left the field past the grandstand on the way to the locker room at halftime. But campus police said they had conflicting reports from witnesses.

"We found a plastic beer bottle but other witnesses said it was a beer can. We found both in the immediate area and took them into evidence and will probably take fingerprints," said Adam Garcia, director of University Police Services."

Nevada president John Lilley said he apologized to UNLV president Carol Harter during the second half.

"This is an unfortunate act that mars an otherwise great night of competition on the field," Lilley said in a statement released by the school. We do not tolerate this kind of criminal behavior. ... We offer our sincere apologies to Coach Robinson."

Paddy wagon loads up during drunken post-game melee

MANKATO, MN — Police arrested dozens of students during an alcohol-fueled riot in the streets following a homecoming football game loss at Minnesota State, Mankato. At least 2,000 students had gathered Saturday night in a largely student residential area, some setting fire to trash bins, tearing down fences, smashing car windows and throwing rocks and bricks at police, Public Safety Director Jim Franklin said.

Police in riot gear used eye and skin irritants to disperse the crowd, and arrested about 40 people. Franklin told WCCO radio in Minneapolis that four officers were injured by objects thrown at them. The area became so dangerous that it took an armored vehicle attended by 12 officers to pick up a student who reportedly wasn't breathing, Franklin said. Police also received reports of students being assaulted by fellow students. It was not clear how many students were hurt.

Franklin blamed alcohol for the problems. Witnesses said the riot started when about 400 students at a party after the game became violent and started throwing empty beer bottles at about 11:30 p.m. As the crowd grew, students damaged vehicles and filled the street.

About 160 police officers were called before the crowd was dispersed about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, Franklin said. Mankato lost the homecoming game 20-9 to North Dakota State. The team is winless six games into the season.

Frogs regain momentum in both polls

Texas Christian, forced to rely on backup quarterback Brandon Hassell and reserve running back Robert Merrill because of injuries to starters Tye Gunn and Lonta Hobbs, was convincing enough in its 27-0 Saturday win over Army to regain some of the ground it lost in last week's polls. The 5-0 Horned Frogs, off to their best start since since reeling off seven straight victories to begin the 2000 season, moved up from 20th to a tie for 18th in this week's Associated Press Poll and leaped four spots from No. 21 to No. 17 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.

Other Conference USA and Carolinas teams receiving votes were Louisville (both polls), South Carolina (AP), N.C. State (AP), South Florida (Coaches) and Wake Forest (Coaches).

Following are both sets of rankings, with C-USA and Carolinas teams denoted in bold:

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2003 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007