The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 12, 1998 - 58 Nebraska husked; stunned players 'don't understand' The Asocited Press On a streaky day in college football, UCLA, Tennessee and Kansas State came up winners, Nebraska was a rare loser and top-ranked Ohio State kept sail- ing along toward a trip to the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 4 for a shot at its first national title in 30 years. Nebraska (5-1) was outplayed for the second week in a row, but this time No. 10 Texas A&M came away with the 28- 21 upset Saturday at College Station, Texas. The loss ended the Cornhuskers' 19- game winning streak, 40-game confer- ence winning streak and probably their chances for a fourth national title in five years. Nebraska fell from No. 2 to No. 8 in this week's AP poll. "We're struggling and that doesn't happen to Nebraska," wide receiver Matt Davison said. "I really don't understand what we're doing." The Aggies built a 28-7 lead but need- ed Sedrick Curry's interception with 59 seconds left to secure the school's first win over a top five team since 1975. The loss was just the fourth in 69 games and the first since a 37-27 setback against Texas in the Big 12 title game in 1996. "We're down and hurt right now," Huskers coach Frank Solich said after his first loss since replacing Tom Osborne. "We're not accustomed to taking a loss." No.2 UCLA, No. 3 Tennessee and No. 4 Kansas State, meanwhile, were happy to take advantage of the Huskers' misfor- tune as the trio came out on the winning side in games matching unbeaten teams. No.2 UCLA 52, No. 16 ARIZONA 28 Cade McNown passed for two touch- downs and ran for another as UCLA (2-0 Pac-10, 4-0) pulled away from No. 16 AP PHOTO Arizona (2-1, 5-1) for its 14th consecu- tive victory - the longest winning streak among major colleges now that Nebraska's has ended. "They were guessing all night. and for most of the first half, they were guessing right," McNown said after the Bruins scored 28 consecutive points in a 6:10 span of the second half. "But you can't guess nght the whole game. Eventually we knew our offense would turn on.~ McNown did plenty nght against the Wildcats. Tailbacks DeShaun Foster and Keith Brown, who took turns subbing for the suspended Jermaine Lewis, ran for two touchdowns each and combined for 209 yards, Arnzona's nine-game winning streak ended. No. 3 TENNESSEE 22, No. 13 GEORGIA 3 Tee Martin threw two three-yard touchdown passes in the third quarter as the Volunteers (3-0 SEC, 5-0) beat No. 13 Georgia and extended their winning streak over the Bulldogs (2-1, 4-1) to eight games. Georgia has now lost nine straight at Sanford Stadium against top- 25 opponents. The Vols, playing their first game without injured tailback Jamal Lewis, relied on a stingy defense against the 'Dawgs, holding them to 59 yards rush- ing. "I think we were favored before Jamal was hurt, then all of a sudden we were a three-point underdog," said Al Wilson, who led the swarming Vols defense. "That really motivated us. It was like people look at us as a one-man team." No. 4 KANSAS STATE 16, No. 19 COLORADO 9 Kansas State won its 13th straight game - tying the school record - but was less than impressive in a win over No. 19 Colorado (2-1 Big 12, 5-1). The Wildcats (2-0, 5-0) entered the game averaging more than 60 points, but 137 yards rushing from Eric Hickson and three field goals from Martin Grammatica were enough for the win. "If there really is such a thing as an ugly win, then you've just witnessed one," Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said even though his team won in Boulder for the first time since 1973. "This is not a joyous locker room." Next week, there's one major matchup of unbeatens when No. I1 Oregon (5-0) plays at UCLA. No.5 FLORIDA 22, No.21 LoUISIANA STATE 10 At Gainesville, Fla., receiver Travis McGriff took a lateral from Doug Johnson and threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Travis Taylor for the clinching score. The Gators (3-1 SEC, 5-1) suffered several key injuries. Jesse Palmer, who started the game, may be out for the sea- son with a broken right clavicle; defen- sive lineman Ed Chester has a dislocated knee; running back Terry Jackson has an ankle injury; and linebacker Johnny Rutledge has a concussion. No.6 FLORIDA ST. 26, MIAMI 14 Peter Warrick caught a 62-yard scor- ing pass and set up another touchdown with a 50-yard catch as the Seminoles (5- 1) beat the Hurricanes (3-2) for the fourth consecutive year. Chris Weinke passed for 316 yards and two touchdowns; Warrick finished with 190 yards on seven catches. No. 11 OREGON 51,WASHINGTON ST. 29 The Ducks (2-0 Pac-10, 5-0) kept their 50-point average intact as Reuben Droughns ran for 217 yards and scored four touchdowns to get ready for next week's game at UCLA. Akili Smith, the nation's leading pass- er, was 15-of-22 for 280 yards and three touchdowns. The Cougars (0-3, 3-3) had an eight-game home winning streak bro- ken, Looking remarkably like Michigan's players did when their hopes of repeating as national champions were dashed, the Nebraska bench is downcast in the final moments of the Cornhuskers' 28-21 loss to Texas A&M Saturday. State Sparties on after OT victory; Ohio State whips Ilhini EAST LANSING (AP) - For most of four quarters, Antwaan Randle El was putting on a brilliant display of football at Spartan Stadium. Then he stepped into a hit by Michigan State's Robert Newkirk. The redshirt freshman tried to play on, but his Indiana teammates saw it was a mistake. Their quarterback couldn't remember the plays. Indiana coach Cam Cameron had to take Randle El out of the game and Michigan State pulled out a 38-31 win over the Hoosiers in double overtime Saturday. "Tyrone Browning came off the field and told me that basically Tyrone had to call the plays in the huddle," Cameron said. Still, it was clear that Indiana will be a force to be reckoned with as long as Randle El is around. As he has been in every game this season, Randle El was a man of many talents. He was the Hoosiers' leading rusher with 134 yards on 21 carries. Randle El also completed 10 of 16 passes for 147 yards, including a 43-yarder to Levron Williams that got Indiana untracked late in the second quarter. "Did he play as good as I thought he did?" Cameron asked rhetorically. "Antwaan goes down, a play here, a play there .. "Everybody around the country is going to say, 'Look, Indiana got beat again.' But we're not going to measure ourselves like that. We're a young team and as long as we stick together, we'll be fine." Bill Burke and Sedrick Irvin pulled the game out for the Spartans, who went from a 16-0 lead to a 24-16 deficit while Randle El was doing his magic. Burke threw for a career-high 324 yards and two touchdowns, including a 25-yard strike to Plaxico Burress in the first overtime. Irvin rushed for 130 yards and won the game with a 25-yard scoring run in the sec- ond overtime. "There was nothing anyone could tell us," Burke said. "We knew what we needed to do, we just had to go out and make the plays. I just told myself not to try to create something out of nothing - I had to just execute the plays that were called, and stay in the system." Jay Rodgers, who lost the starting job to Randle El in the first week of the season, hit tight end Craig Osika for a 15-yard touchdown in the first overtime. "We're this close to being 5-0," Rodgers said, holding his thumb and index finger inches apart. ""We're this close to being a great team." Paul Edinger kicked field goals of 48, 47 and 22 yards for Michigan State (1-1 Big Ten, 3-3). Frankie Franklin, Chris Gall and Randle El ran for Indiana touchdowns and Andy Payne kicked a 32-yarder for the Hoosiers (0-2, 2-3). NO. I OHIO STATE 41, ILLINOIS 0 Joe Germaine threw for 307 yards and three touch- downs as No. 1 Ohio State defeated Illinois Saturday. Ohio State (2-0, 5-0) racked up 24 points and 326 yards in the first half as Germaine spread his passes among Dee Miller, David Boston, Reggie Germany and John Lumpkin - with the latter three scoring touch- downs. Germaine was 17-of-28 for the game, and Miller had 99 receiving yards and Boston 96. The defense scored a touchdown, kept constant pres- sure on Illinois quarterback Kurt Kittner and his receivers, and limited Illinois (1-2, 2-4) to 57 yards rush- ing. Ohio State got the only points it needed on its first pos- session of the game, a 40-yard field goal by Dan Stultz at the end of a nine-play, 59-yard drive. Kittner, who was 19-of-36 for 156 yards, had a number of passes batted down or tipped. Rocky Harvey, third in the Big Ten with 99 rushing yards a game, was limited to 29. NO.9 WISCONSIN 31, PURDUE 24 Mike Echols had an interception in the end zone and Jamar Fletcher had a 52-yard interception return for a touchdown as Wisconsin (3-0, 6-0) overcame a record- setting effort by Drew Brees. Brees tied an NCAA record with 55 completions - 18 to Randall Lane - and set an NCAA record with 83 attempts. He threw for 494 yards but had four passes intercepted. IOWA 26, NORTHWESTERN 24 Randy Reiners, making his first start since the season opener, threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns to lift Iowa to a 26-24 victory over Northwestern. Reiners, a junior who hasn't played since Iowa beat Central Michigan on Sept. 5, started in place of freshman Kyle McCann, who was out with an ankle injury. The Hawkeyes (2-1, 3-3) ended a three-game losing streak against Northwestern (0-3, 2-4), a team they had beaten 21 consecutive times before those losses. Reiners, who started four of Iowa's last five games last season before losing his job to McCann, completed 17- of-30 passes and had an interception. No. 13 PENN ST. 27, MINNESOTA 17 AP PHOTO Wisconsin pointed out that turnovers like the one Donte King recovered for Wisconsin in the first quarter can make the differ. ence in a Big Ten game. Wisconsin won, 31-24. Minnesota made things tough for No. 13 Penn State again this year, just not tough enough. The Nittany Lions, who rallied for a one-point victory at home last season, broke open a close game with Corey Jones' 65-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter of a sloppy victory. Penn State had three lost fumbles, including two on botched snaps by Kevin Thompson, two missed field goals by Travis Forney and a dropped touchdown pass by Bruce Branch. But the Nittany Lions (1-1, 4-1) also got a career-best four field goals from Forney, an awesome performance from their defense and Jones' game-breaking catch after the Golden Gophers (0-2, 3-2) closed to 16-10. Staff Picks - all picks made against the spread. Winning teams in bold. Game (HOME TEAM IN CAPS) Ohio State (-36) vs. ILLINOIS MICHIGAN STATE (40) vs. Indiana« Nebraska (-11) vs. TEXAS A&M IOWA '(40) vs, Northwestem Kansas State (-15.5) vs. COLORADO Penn State (47) vs. MINNESOTA ARIZONA STATE (-3.5) vs. Notre Dame GEORGIA (-3) VS. Tennessee zFiesta para UCLA? SHARAT RAJU Guest Selector JAMES MILLER ROSE SNYDER Ohio State Indiana Texas A&M Ohio State Michigan $tate Nebraska lowa Illinois Nebraska Ohio State Indiana Nebraska Iowa Kansas State Penn State Notre Dame Georgia The Associated Press Nebraska's loss turned into UCLA's gain. And if the season ended today, UCLA and No. 1 Ohio State would face off in the Fiesta Bowl. After Texas A&M ended Nebraska's 19-game winning streak with a 28-21 upset, the Cornhuskers tumbled from No. 2 to No. 8 yesterday in The Associated Press' top 25 college football' poll - their lowest ranking in more than five years. The Bruins (4-0) beat Arizona 52-28 on Saturday night and moved up to No. 2 in balloting by the 70 sportswriters and broadcasters on the AP panel. It marks points, with Florida (5-1) - a 22-10 winner over Louisiana State - moving up to No. 5. Florida State, which defeated Miami 26-14, was No. 6, followed by No. 7 Virginia, No. 8 Nebraska, No. 9 Wisconsin and No. 10 Texas A&M. Nebraska (5-1) was last ranked lower than No. 8 on Sept. 5, 1993. Wisconsin (6-0), a 31-24 winner over Purdue, has its highest ranking since winning the Rose Bowl and finishing No. 6 in the final 1993 poll. The Aggies (5-1) returned to the top 10 for the first time since 1995. 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