College Football | Top 25 roundup
Published 11:53 pm Saturday, September 27, 2008
No. 2 Oklahoma 35, No. 24 TCU 10: At Norman, Okla., Sam Bradford threw for a career-best 411 yards and four touchdowns, Manuel Johnson set a school record with 206 yards receiving and the Sooners (4-0) beat the Horned Frogs (3-1) to avenge their last loss at Owen Field. With top-ranked Southern California and three other top 10 teams losing, Oklahoma made as strong a case as anyone to get back to No. 1 for the first time since it lost to Kansas State in the 2003 Big 12 championship game.
No. 5 LSU 34, Mississippi St. 24: At Baton Rouge, La., Charles Scott surpassed 100 yards rushing for the fourth straight game and punched in two short touchdowns as the Tigers (4-0, 2-0 SEC) beat the Bulldogs (1-4, 0-2)
The Bulldogs turned in a feisty performance in a bid to add another surprising result to a week highlighted by several upsets.
But Scott’s 27 carries for 141 yards kept LSU moving and the clock rolling.
No. 7 Texas 52, Arkansas 10: At Austin, Texas, Colt McCoy put up five touchdowns in another near-perfect start, and the Longhorns (4-0) routed the Razorbacks (2-2) to hand Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino an embarrassing debut in a border rivalry famous for close games.
The loss was the most lopsided in the series since a 35-point Texas victory in 1970. In the previous 10 meetings between Texas and Arkansas, the average margin of victory was fewer than nine points.
The Longhorns have outscored opponents 198-36 this season — an average margin of victory of 41 points.
No. 12 Penn St. 38, No. 22 Illinois 24: At State College, Pa., Derrick Williams caught a touchdown pass, ran for a TD and returned a kickoff 94 yards for another score as the Nittany Lions (5-0) beat the Fighting Illini (2-2). Daryll Clark threw for two scores and ran for a touchdown as the Nittany Lions improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2005.
No. 13 South Florida 41, N.C. State 10: At Raleigh, N.C., Matt Grothe threw for 259 yards and a touchdown, completing his first 11 passes during the Bulls’ (5-0) rout fo the Wolfpack (2-3).
No. 14 Ohio St. 34, Minnesota 21: At Columbus, Ohio, tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells rushed for 106 yards in his first game in a month and quarterback Terrelle Pryor ran for two scores and threw for another to lead the Buckeyes (4-1) over the Golden Gophers (4-1).
It was the first time the two had started in the same backfield.
Wells, out after injuring his right foot in the season-opener, carried 14 times and showed his old form by racing for 28 yards on his second attempt. He also vaulted a potential tackler on another big gainer.
No. 15 Auburn 14, Tennessee 12: At Auburn, Ala., Jake Ricks recovered a fumble in the end zone and the Tigers (4-1, 2-1 SEC) sent the Vols (1-3, 0-2) to their worst start in 14 years.
The Vols fell to 1-3 for the first time since 1994, the second full season for embattled coach Phillip Fulmer.
Auburn’s anemic offense, which only produced 226 yards a week after a last-minute loss to LSU, was bailed out when Ricks recovered a fumble in the end zone for the 14-6 lead in the second quarter after a botched handoff to Arian Foster.
Tennessee closed within two, but Auburn backup quarterback Kodi Burns did just enough to preserve the win. His 10-yard pass to Montez Billings late in the game on third-and-5 produced a first down and enabled the Tigers to kneel on consecutive plays with the Volunteers having used up their final two timeouts.
No. 17 Utah 37, Weber St. 21: At Salt Lake City, Louie Sakoda kicked three field goals and four extra points to become the leading scorer in Utah history as the Utes (5-0) beat the Wildcats (3-2).
