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News Nuggets, 10.27.03
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

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

SATURDAY STARS: Brandon Hassell, Texas Christian, finished with 375 yards passing and four touchdowns as the No. 15 Horned Frogs beat Houston 62-55. ----- Josh Harris, Bowling Green, threw for 438 yards and three touchdowns as No. 23 Bowling Green beat 12th-ranked Northern Illinois 34-18.

YARD SALE: TCU and Houston combined for 1,466 total yards of offense in the Horned Frogs' 62-55 win. TCU set a school record with 782 yards, while Houston amassed 684. TCU's output surpassed the 736 the Frogs put up at the Astrodome in 1990 during a 56-35 loss to Houston. That also had been the most yardage Houston had given up until Saturday.

NEW BOSS: Florida State's Bobby Bowden became the winningest coach in major college football history Saturday with his 339th victory as the sixth-ranked Seminoles beat Wake Forest 48-24. Bowden, 339-97-4 in 38 seasons as a head coach, surpassed Joe Paterno, whose Penn State team lost 26-14 at No. 16 Iowa.

RECORD RECEIVER: Larry Fitzgerald tied an NCAA record, catching a touchdown pass for the 13th consecutive game as Pittsburgh beat Syracuse 34-14. Fitzgerald finished with eight catches for 149 yards and two TDs. Charles Rogers of Michigan State set the record last season.

LEADER OF THE PACK: Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes in North Carolina State's 28-21 victory over Duke, setting an ACC career record. Rivers' 82 touchdown passes broke the record of 79 set by Chris Weinke at Florida State from 1997-00.

MIRACLE MINUTE: Quarterback Travis Lulay ran for 56 yards and two touchdowns in the final 1:07 as Montana State rallied to beat Northern Arizona 21-17.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Derek Abney tied the NCAA career record for kick return touchdowns with an 80-yard punt return in Kentucky's 42-17 win over Mississippi State. Abney's eighth career kick return for a score tied the NCAA record held by Cliff Branch of Colorado (1970-71) and Johnny Rodgers of Nebraska (1970-72).

REBEL YELL: Mississippi beat No. 21 Arkansas 19-7 to improve to 4-0 in the SEC, the Rebels' best start in the conference in 33 years. Ole Miss moved into first place in the SEC West, a half-game ahead of Auburn and LSU.

SNAPPED: Buffalo broke the nation's longest losing streak with a 26-17 comeback win over Ohio. The Bulls had lost 18 straight games, 13 straight in the MAC. ... Rutgers snapped a 25-game Big East losing streak with a 30-14 win over Temple. ... Delaware beat Navy 21-17 for its first win against a I-A team since 1992 — also against Navy. ... Oklahoma State won at Kyle Field for the first time since 1983, beating Texas A&M 38-10.

STREAKING: No. 22 Tennessee became the first visitor to win three straight times at Bryant-Denny Stadium, beating Alabama 51-43 in five overtimes. ... Florida State ran its record to 12-0 against Wake Forest with a 48-24 win. ... North Carolina State won its 10th straight against Duke, 28-21. ... Boston College beat Notre Dame for the third consecutive time, 27-25. It's the first time in the rivalry that BC has won three in a row.

SLUMPING: Alabama has lost five of its last six games, including twice in overtime, following a 51-43 five-overtime loss to Tennessee. ... Duke has lost 30 in a row in the Atlantic Coast Conference after a 28-21 loss to North Carolina State. ... Cincinnati handed Army its 10th straight loss, 33-29. ... Savannah State's 29-19 loss to Coastal Carolina was its 11th loss in a row. ... Vanderbilt lost its 22nd SEC game in a row, 35-24 to South Carolina.

STRONG IN DEFEAT: B.J. Symons was 40-for-62 for 408 yards and four touchdowns in Texas Tech's 62-31 loss to Missouri. ... Jay Cutler completed 27 of 35 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns in Vanderbilt's 35-24 loss to South Carolina. ... Kevin Kolb threw for 434 yards and four touchdowns, and rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown in Houston's 62-55 loss to TCU.

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE: No. 23 Bowling Green handed 12th-ranked Northern Illinois its first loss of the season, 34-18. A year ago, Bowling Green was undefeated and ranked in the Top 25 until the Huskies knocked off the Falcons 26-17.

STILL CLIMBING: St. John's coach John Gagliardi got his 407th career win as the Johnnies beat Concordia, Moorhead 24-12. Gagliardi, 407-114-11 at St. John's and Carroll College, is one victory away from tying Eddie Robinson's collegiate win record.

SPEAKING:

— "I told the team that everything was excused right now. They've beaten Notre Dame four times in five years and three years in a row. It's a tremendous accomplishment. If you coach or play at Boston College, you have to beat Notre Dame. That's one thing you have to get done. It's a powerful, powerful win for this team." - Boston College coach Tom O'Brien after the Eagles' 27-25 win over Notre Dame.

— "We lost this game because I'm not a good enough coach to get our defensive players to believe in themselves. We lost this game because I'm not a good enough coach to get our offensive players to play in control when the other team scores a couple of points." - Texas Tech coach Mike Leach after the Red Raiders' 62-31 loss to Missouri.

Conference USA standings, scores and schedule

Unbeaten Texas Christian maintained control of first place in Conference USA on Saturday with its 62-55 victory over Houston. Here are the complete standings along with the weekend's scores and next Saturday's schedule.

TCU holds steady in rankings; Cards crack Coaches Poll

Texas Christian, which barely outgunned Houston 62-55 on Saturday, stayed at No. 15 in this week's Associated Press Poll and No. 13 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.

Louisville, which defeated East Carolina 36-20, slipped into the 25 spot in the Coaches Poll. The Cardinals' also received 71 votes in the AP Poll, but fell a bit short of the Top 25 at No. 28.

Other Conference USA and Carolinas teams receiving ballots were N.C. State with 4 votes and Clemson with 2 votes in the Coaches Poll.

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.

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