Other College Top 25 Football Capsules: Clark leads No. 13 Penn St. past Mich. St., 42-14
EAST LANSING, Mich. — It didn't take long for Penn State to start lobbying for a BCS bid.
Daryll Clark passed for 310 yards and four touchdowns Saturday as the No. 13 Nittany Lions wrapped up their regular season with a 42-14 victory against Michigan State on Saturday.
Clark set a school record with his 23rd TD passes this season and set the career record with 42. He also moved to the front of a line of folks in Nittany Lion Nation hoping for an at-large slot in the lucrative Bowl Championship Series.
"Yes we do," Clark said when asked if Penn State (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) deserved a BCS slot.
Penn State may be a long shot. Clark noted the Nittany Lions have lost twice — to BCS automatic qualifier Ohio State and fellow at-large hopeful Iowa — but says his team deserves credit for bouncing back to finish the season strong.
Coach Joe Paterno also made his team's case, in good-natured fashion.
"What do you want me to say?," Paterno asked reporters outside Spartan Stadium. "Pick us. Maybe I could get on the phone and call somebody and say, 'you owe me one,' or 'you might find a horse's head in your bed'."
Michigan State (6-6, 4-4) also is bowl-bound and may have a long wait to figure out the exact bid. But the Spartans were stinging after getting routed by Penn State in Saturday's second half. The game was tied 7-7 at halftime.
"Obviously, we're disappointed," said Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins, who threw for 155 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. "We worked very hard and expected to come out and play well. In the second half, we didn't do that."
The Spartans took a step back with their record this season after winning nine games in 2008.
"Right now what we have to do is regroup and understand that we are going to have the opportunity to go play in a bowl game, which is a positive," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said.
Evan Royster gained 114 yards on 13 carries for Penn State. Graham Zug and Andrew Quarless each caught two TD passes.
The Land Grant Trophy — a 4-foot-tall, 50-pound hunk of wood adorned with a Nittany Lion, Spartan and other images — stays with Penn State.
Penn State also has back-to-back seasons of at least 10 wins for the first time since the early 1990s, but the Nittany Lions lost any chance to share the Big Ten championship before kickoff. Ohio State claimed the crown outright by beating Michigan earlier in the day.
The Nittany Lions have a shot at an at-large BCS bid, but Iowa — which beat Penn State earlier this season — finished with an identical 10-2 record. Only two teams from any conference can play in the BCS.
Orange Bowl representatives were at Saturday's game. Penn State could be a prime candidate for the Capital One Bowl or the Outback Bowl if it gets left out of the BCS.
Penn State grabbed a 14-7 lead just over a minute into the half with the help of a trick play. Wide receiver Curtis Drake took a handoff and rolled right, throwing a 14-yard touchdown pass to Quarless in the back of the end zone.
It capped a 55-yard, three-play drive aided by a roughing the passer penalty.
Penn State increased its lead to 21-7 midway through the third quarter. Clark rolled to his right, planted and threw back across the field to the left sideline — finding Joe Suhey all alone for a 30-yard TD pass.
Penn State's Nick Sukay intercepted Cousins' pass on the next series, setting up the Nittany Lions at the Michigan State 32. Clark fired a TD pass to Zug on the very next play, giving Penn State a 28-7 lead with 5:22 left in the third.
Cal beats No. 14 Stanford 34-28 in Big Game
STANFORD, Calif. — The California players listened quietly all week to the pregame talk about how powerful Stanford had a chance to go to the Rose Bowl.
The Golden Bears provided their emphatic answer in one of the most exciting and important Big Games in recent memory.
Shane Vereen ran for a career-high 193 yards and three touchdowns on 42 carries and Mike Mohamed intercepted a pass from Andrew Luck at the 3 with less than 2 minutes left as Cal beat No. 14 Stanford 34-28 Saturday.
"We've heard a lot of talk about, 'Oh, they're going to go to the Rose Bowl,'" Mohamed said. "We felt like they were overlooking us a little bit. For us to come out and to prove all these guys wrong, it feels good. And we're keeping the Axe in Berkeley another year. You can't get much better than that."
And it's tough to imagine a better Big Game than one that had Rose Bowl implications, memorable performances by Vereen and Stanford's Heisman contender Toby Gerhart, curious coaching decisions and a most dramatic finish.
Gerhart ran for 136 yards, four touchdowns and carried defenders on a 29-yard reception that set up Stanford (7-4, 6-3) at the Cal 13 with less than 2 minutes left.
Luck then threw an incompletion on first down and was intercepted by Mohamed with 1:36 to go, setting off a wild celebration on the Cal sideline.
"It wasn't a good enough throw," Luck said. "I wish I had that one back. I could have done a lot of different things."
After Kevin Riley took three knees, the Cal students rushed the field and Stanford Stadium as the Golden Bears (8-3, 5-3 Pac-10) won the coveted Axe for the seventh time in eight years under coach Jeff Tedford.
"It was mayhem," Riley said. "People were jumping up on you. I was struggling to find my teammates. I think it's the first time since Coach Tedford has been here that we were the underdogs. It was great."
Stanford came into the game off two of its biggest wins, scoring 106 points in the back-to-back victories over nationally ranked Oregon and Southern California that put the Cardinal in position to win the conference title.
Stanford looked poised for another big win after jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. But the Golden Bears responded.
"All week long the talk was about how physical they are, how they were going to run the ball on us, things like that," Tedford said. "Our motto all week was, 'We're going to find out on the field.'"
The victory puts a bright spot on a mostly disappointing season for the Bears, who entered the season with hopes of a Rose Bowl bid or possible national title. That was dashed with blowout losses to Oregon and USC and the season looked lost when star tailback Jahvid Best was sidelined by a scary concussion in a loss two weeks ago against Oregon State.
Vereen has responded with the two best games of his career the past two weeks in wins over Arizona and Stanford. Running effectively off direct snaps in Cal's form of the wildcat, Vereen overpowered the Cardinal. The Bears drove more than 70 yards on four consecutive TD drives starting late in the second quarter, three ending with short runs by Vereen.
"I never carried that many times and never thought I'd carry that many times," Vereen said. "I just had so much emotion, I didn't think about any tiredness or pain."
Riley added a 12-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Jones early in the fourth quarter to give the Bears a 31-21 lead, silencing honorary captain Tiger Woods and the rest of the red-clad portion in the largest crowd in the fourth year at the remodeled Stanford Stadium.
Trailing 31-28 with 3½ minutes to go, Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh decided to go for it on fourth-and-8 despite having all three timeouts remaining. Luck badly missed his receiver on the fourth-down throw, giving Cal the ball back.
The Bears settled for a field goal to go up 34-28 with 2:42 to go, with Tedford calling for Riley to take a knee to center the ball on third down.
"I didn't want to risk anything," Tedford said.
Stanford drove down the field and was in position to win until Luck's interception. Harbaugh put his arm around his quarterback as they walked off the field following the key turnover.
"I should have given him a better play," Harbaugh said.
Luck entered the game as the top-rated passer in the Pac-10 but finally looked like the redshirt freshman he is against a Cal defense that has played its best two games the past two weeks. Luck finished 10 for 30 for 157 yards.
This marked the third time this season that the Cardinal lost a game in which they led by at least 14 points. This one was especially painful because it came against Cal and ended the team's Rose Bowl hopes. Stanford would have been eliminated anyway when Oregon beat Arizona 44-41 in double overtime, but now the Cardinal can't even share the conference title.
"This one hurts," Gerhart said. "Everybody takes pride in winning this game. The season has been decent and getting to a bowl game is nice but we had greater goals than that. When all is said and done we'll have an empty pit in our stomach that we didn't get the Axe back."
-- Josh Dubow
No. 15 Iowa blanks Minnesota 12-0
IOWA CITY, Iowa — With a bronze pig on the line, No. 15 Iowa put a new twist on winning ugly — this time by taking a game that featured more punts than points.
James Vandenberg threw for 117 yards, fellow freshman Brandon Wegher ran for a touchdown and Iowa kept alive its hopes for a BCS bowl bid by beating Minnesota 12-0 on Saturday.
The victory gave the Hawkeyes (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) double-digit victories for the first time since 2004, along with Floyd of Rosedale — the pig trophy awarded to the winner of the border rivalry — for the eighth time in nine tries.
A hog was the perfect prize for this one. Iowa and Minnesota combined for 17 punts and were only 5 of 33 on third-down conversions. But the Hawkeyes, who notched four wins this season by a total of eight points, won the battle to see which offense would be least ineffective.
"We try to keep our trophies here," Iowa receiver Marvin McNutt said. "We don't like our trophies going anywhere else. It's great to have the pig with us."
Iowa got field goals of 30 and 45 yards from Daniel Murray and a 1-yard TD run by Wegher, and its defense did the rest. The Hawkeyes stuffed the Gophers on four straight plays from the 2-yard line early in the fourth quarter to blank Minnesota for the second straight season.
"They've played well all season long, so hats off to them. And we certainly needed a great effort out of them," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of his defense.
Adam Weber was 14 of 40 for 153 yards for the Gophers (6-6, 3-5), who scored just seven points in road games against Penn State, Ohio State and the Hawkeyes.
The Gophers offense finally caught a break when Vandenberg fumbled a snap that was recovered at Iowa's 29-yard line with 13:40 left. They got as far as the 2 after a pass interference call in the end zone on Iowa's Shaun Prater, but the Hawkeyes stopped a pair of runs and a pass before sacking Weber on fourth down.
Minnesota's final shot came on fourth-and-10 at the Iowa 22 with 6:30 left, but Adrian Clayborn forced Weber out of the pocket and his pass into heavy coverage fell incomplete.
Though the Gophers outgained Iowa 201-171, they went 4 of 20 on third down, 2 of 6 on fourth down and failed to convert on two trips inside Iowa's red zone.
"We had opportunities we didn't take advantage of," Minnesota coach Tim Brewster said. "In a big game like this, taking advantage of opportunities you get is the key to the game."
Murray's 45-yard field goal early in the third quarter put the Hawkeyes ahead 12-0. They kept a Minnesota drive alive after being called for roughing Blake Haudan, but Iowa stuffed Jon Hoese on fourth-and-1 at the Iowa 34 late in the third quarter.
"This year has been more of an up-and-down rollercoaster," Weber said. "It takes all 11 guys to score. We tried running it, we tried throwing it. They were just better than us."
Minnesota committed three turnovers in the first half. Iowa wasn't much better, gaining just 129 yards, but Wegher's leaping touchdown run with 52 seconds left made it 9-0.
Minnesota's first solid drive ended on a muffed snap, which Iowa's Bruce Davis recovered at his own 17 early in the second quarter. Weber followed an intentional grounding penalty with another fumble, this time at the Hawkeyes 48.
The Gophers got the ball back when Vandenberg's long third-down toss was picked off in the end zone by Marcus Sherels, but MarQueis Gray threw a pick after taking a handoff from Weber with 3:44 left in the first half, and Iowa capitalized with Wegher's plunge.
Minnesota called its final timeout of the half before Murray's extra-point try, a move that appeared curious until the Gophers blocked the kick.
Murray's 30-yard field goal gave Iowa a 3-0 lead on the game's first series. It turned out to be the Hawkeyes longest scoring drive of the day.
Robinson, who missed two games with an ankle injury, left after taking a big hit midway through the second quarter and did not return. Robinson said after the game that he simply "tweaked" his ankle and sat out as a precaution.
Iowa struggled to run the ball without him, with Wegher gaining just 26 yards on 15 carries. But after drubbing Minnesota 55-0 in the Metrodome last season, the Hawkeyes leaned on a stellar defensive effort to give Ferentz his fourth 10-win season.
Iowa must wait for everyone else to wrap things up. Though the Hawkeyes bowed out of the national title race with a 17-10 defeat to Northwestern and lost the Big Ten's automatic BCS bid by falling at Ohio State, they're still very much in the mix for a BCS bid.
For now, Ferentz and his players will kick back and take a break.
"To win 10 games in any conference is significant," Ferentz said. "I'm going to enjoy this one, I promise you."
-- Luke Meredith
Williams lifts No. 16 Hokies past Wolfpack, 38-10
BLACKSBURG, Va. — All week long, the Virginia Tech seniors reminded Ryan Williams how important their final game at Lane Stadium was to them.
The redshirt freshman running back clearly got the message, rushing for 120 yards and four touchdowns Saturday to help send those 21 teammates home happy as the No. 16 Hokies beat North Carolina State 38-10.
Williams, who carried 32 times, had already scored three times when he came up with the play of the day in the third quarter.
On a second-and-6 from the NC State 19, he went around the left side and was grabbed from behind by safety Earl Wolff at about the 12. Wolff seemed to maintain a grip on Williams' jersey the rest of the way, but the tailback dragged him all the way into the end zone.
"It was ridiculous," Williams said. "I wanted him off of me as soon as I felt him on me. But it was cool. I guess it shows what I do in the weight room a little bit."
he Hokies (8-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) also got a career-best day from wide receiver Jarrett Boykin, who caught six passes for 164 yards and a touchdown, and from linebacker Cody Grimm, who tied an NCAA record by forcing three fumbles in his final home game.
Grimm also had eight tackles and two sacks, and said the forced fumbles were lucky.
"The last two, my hands just got on the ball," he said. "Realistically, if I didn't have those three (forced) fumbles, it wasn't any better day than usual."
The first two fumbles came on the Wolfpack's first and third plays, and set the tone.
"I can't tell you how bad it is," Wolfpack coach Tom O'Brien said of the turnovers, which the Hokies turned into 10 points before the midpoint of the first quarter. "Just really bad football."
N.C. State (4-7, 1-6) lost its second straight and for the sixth time in seven games. The Wolfpack allowed at least 30 points for the eighth game in a row, and struggled on offense, turning the ball over four times and allowing six sacks for minus 60 yards. Five were on starter Russell Wilson.
The victory was Virginia Tech's third in a row, keeping them on pace for a sixth consecutive 10-win season provided they also win at Virginia next Saturday and then in a bowl game.
Getting the emotional last home game out of the way was key, safety Kam Chancellor said.
"I was really jacked up. At some point, I was trying to control it because I know if you get overanxious, you mess up," safety Kam Chancellor said. He got the interception he was hoping for in his last home game, too, but never got the big hit he also wanted.
"There wasn't much action," he said.
Most of that came with the Hokies' offense on the field.
After Williams' dazzling last TD run, they drove 97 yards in just six plays, with Tyrod Taylor hitting Boykin for 26 yards early in the drive, and then again for 38 yards and the touchdown.
Before the day was over, the Wolfpack replaced Wilson with Mike Glennon, the younger brother of former Hokies quarterback Sean Glennon. On his first snap, Glennon dropped back and was promptly drilled by reserve linebacker Mark Muncey for an 8-yard sack.
The Hokies started fast, even winning the coin flip for the first time in 11 games. They elected to kick, and on the first play, Grimm sacked Wilson, forced him to fumble and recovered it at the Wolfpack 34. Seven plays later, Matt Waldron kicked a 26-yard field goal.
Grimm forced another fumble on N.C. State's third play, a pass completion to Darrell Davis, and Stephan Virgil recovered, setting the Hokies up at the Wolfpack 25. This time it set up Williams' 4-yard TD run to make it 10-0 after just 7:05.
Grimm matched a record, according to Virginia Tech, when he forced Toney Baker to fumble on N.C. State's fourth play, but the Wolfpack got the ball back this time. Wilson, a native of Richmond, then led them on an 81-yard drive, capped by his 20-yard TD throw to a wide open Owen Spencer.
It was all downhill for the visitors after that.
Williams had a pair of 1-yard scoring runs before halftime, and the Wolfpack threatened only one other time.
Wilson hit Spencer for 48 yards to the Hokies 16, but Chris Drager sacked him for a 15-yard loss on third down-and-7 from the 13, and N.C. State had to settle for a 45-yard field goal by Josh Czajkowski that pulled the Wolfpack within 17-10.
Kafka leads Northwestern over Wisconsin 33-31
EVANSTON, Ill. — A purple mob rushed to the middle of Ryan Field, a home crowd celebrating Northwestern's 33-31 victory over No. 17 Wisconsin on Saturday.
"I was right in the middle in the thick of things; it got a little rowdy in there. It's definitely a great feeling having fans rush the field," Northwestern's Jordan Mabin said Saturday after his interception in the closing seconds clinched the win.
The Wildcats built a 27-14 halftime lead behind the passing of Mike Kafka to Andrew Brewer and then used late defensive plays from Brian Peters and Mabin to hold off the Badgers.
"It was definitely an emotional day, having your parents walk out on the field with you. But we were here to win the game," said Brewer, a senior and converted quarterback who finished with six catches for 102 yards.
Northwestern (8-4, 5-3 Big Ten) improved its postseason positioning with its third straight victory and will get a chance to win the school's first bowl game since the 1949 Rose Bowl.
Wisconsin (8-3, 5-3) still has one more game to play at Hawaii. The Badgers couldn't get in position Saturday for a game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter, even though they had ample opportunities.
"When we took the ball with about four minutes left, I felt pretty comfortable about being able to drive the ball down and if not score (a touchdown), put ourselves in field goal range," coach Bret Bielema said.
"Even taking the field the last time with 42 seconds left, the way these guys have battled through and finished ballgames, I felt pretty good."
Wisconsin's David Gilreath returned a punt 68 yards for a third-quarter TD to get the Badgers (8-3, 5-3) back in the game.
Scott Tolzien found Garrett Graham wide open in the back of the end zone for a 13-yard pass with 10:45 to go, pulling the Badgers within 33-31 and setting the stage for a wild finish.
Wisconsin then got the ball back three more times, but had turnovers on two of the possessions.
The Badgers got the ball with eight minutes to go but had to punt. They stopped the Wildcats and, after a holding penalty, had possession again at their 34 with 3:43 to go. But Wisconsin's John Clay fumbled and Peters recovered at the 41 with 1:44 left.
"I was trying to fight and get the first down. I let loose of the ball. I bumped into one of my guys and I dropped it," said Clay, the Big Ten's leading rusher who finished with 100 yards on 23 carries.
Northwestern had to punt again, and the Badgers got the ball back at their 21 with 42 seconds to go, before Mabin sealed the victory with his interception of a long pass from Tolzien intended for Isaac Anderson.
"I looked up and saw the ball coming and I'm like, 'Oh, wow, it's here.' I had to go up and get it. It's hard to explain that feeling," Mabin said.
"If I were to do it again, I probably would have thrown it underneath," Tolzien said. "Come crunch time we didn't get it done."
Tolzien completed 19 of 30 passes for 235 yards and two TD passes to Graham. Kafka had his fifth 300-yard passing game of the season, going 26 of 40 for 326 yards.
Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald — who said he didn't like fans rushing the field because of the injury risk — made a pitch for Kafka, his senior quarterback, to be the offensive MVP of the Big Ten.
The Wildcats are playing their best football at the end of the season and had beaten Iowa and Illinois the previous two weeks.
"I would say so," Fitzgerald said. "3-0 in November is a statement of where our program is now."
The Wildcats used trickery to build the halftime lead. Kafka lateraled to leading receiver Zeke Markshausen, who then passed to a wide open Sidney Stewart. Stewart caught the ball at the 6 and then went to the end zone to complete the 38-yard play and cap a three-play, 80-yard drive — Northwestern's second TD in a span of 2:21.
Northwestern added a 38-yard field goal by Stefan Demos with 34 seconds to go after Wisconsin stopped the Wildcats on third-and-1 at the 20. Demos finished with four field goals.
Northwestern had gone up 17-14 when Brewer fully extended to catch Kafka's third-down pass in the end zone. His highlight reel reception was upheld by video review and set up by Stephen Simmons' 64-yard kickoff return.
-- Rick Gano
No. 18 Clemson wins ACC Atlantic, beats UVa 34-21
CLEMSON, S.C. — This was why C.J. Spiller came back to Clemson.
The Tigers' star senior awaited a Virginia punt in the fourth quarter with Clemson's 34-21 victory all but secure when the 77,000 at Death Valley broke into chants of his name over and over.
"One of the referees came over and told me he got chills," a smiling Spiller said Saturday.
There may be more special moments ahead for Spiller and the 18th-ranked Tigers, who advanced to their first Atlantic Coast Conference title game.
The drama was over before kickoff when Boston College lost 31-13 to North Carolina. Coach Dabo Swinney reversed course and congratulated his team for winning the Atlantic Division before taking the field.
"But there's no celebrating," he ordered. "You're division champs, but champions take care of business and you've got business out on that field."
The Tigers (8-3, 6-2 ACC) won their sixth straight since starting the season 2-3. Now, after facing state rival South Carolina next Saturday, they'll head to Tampa, Fla., to take on Coastal division winner Georgia Tech in two weeks.
Spiller had a 4-yard touchdown run and set the ACC's single-season all-purpose yardage mark, surpassing the 2,059 of Virginia's Thomas Jones in 1999.
Virginia (3-8, 2-5) kept things close in the first half, its 21 points more than it had put up in any of its previous five games. But the Cavaliers were shut out the final 30 minutes and lost their fifth straight.
"Unfortunately, we had some mistakes against a team that can now be called championship-caliber, having won their division," Cavaliers coach Al Groh said.
It's Clemson first visit to the title game after years of near misses. In 2006, Clemson lost four of its last five after starting 7-1 to fall from contention. A year after that, the Tigers were beaten by Boston College 20-17 in a division showdown.
This time, Spiller got to hold his hand up in triumph as he jogged off the field to the adoring calls of the Death Valley crowd.
Earlier, fans sang "Happy Birthday" to Swinney, who turned 40 on Friday. When the game ended, spectators filled the field to join in a celebration not seen around here since Clemson's last ACC title in 1991.
"This is just an extremely special day," Swinney said.
And a profitable one for Clemson's coach. Reaching the ACC title game kicked in a contractual bonus that will raise Swinney's salary from the league bottom at $800,000 to the median of all ACC coaches — around $1.8 million annually.
"We're happy, very happy," said Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips, given a game ball by Swinney.
Spiller had been on a Heisman-type tear in Clemson's win streak, posting record-setting performances of 310 and 312 all-purpose yards in victories over Miami and Florida State.
But Virginia had Spiller's number — again. After holding him to just 18 yards rushing a season ago, the Cavaliers never let Spiller break free for one of his highlight reel romps. He finished with 58 yards rushing and 114 all-purpose.
Still, it was a day of memories for a player who one day will likely have his name enshrined in Death Valley's Ring of Honor.
Spiller shocked many, including his mother, when he returned to Clemson last January instead of entering the NFL draft. From his first play — a 96-yard kickoff return in the opener against Middle Tennessee — Spiller put together a season that'll be hard for Clemson fans to forget.
Spiller was the last Tigers senior to take the solo run down Death Valley's famed hill in his last home game. Spiller kissed Howard's Rock and skipped down holding a U.S. flag in honor of Military Appreciation Day as the large, orange-clad crowd roared in celebration.
"Clemson's been so good to me," he said. "To step into Death Valley one last time ... I'll definitely miss it."
The game that followed was supposed to be just as raucous for the Tigers, whose second-ranked ACC defense was facing the league's worst offense.
Perhaps it was clinching on Boston College's loss, Virginia's poor record or Tigers fans pointing to bigger games down the road, but Clemson played early with little of the fire.
Quarterback Kyle Parker was stopped short on fourth-and-goal at the Virginia 5 after Clemson recovered a fumble on the Cavaliers' first play.
Each time the Tigers moved in front, Virginia was there with an answer.
The embattled Groh even used a couple of offensive tricks to keep the Cavs in it.
Receiver Vic Hall threw a 30-yard pass to quarterback Jameel Sewell after taking a lateral. Hall then took a reverse flip from Sewell and passed to a wide open Joe Torchia to tie things at 14-all.
But in the second half, Clemson's defense forcing four straight three-and-outs, and the Cavaliers were done.
"We just wanted to win this thing the real way and not depend on somebody else losing," Clemson receiver Jacoby Ford said.
-- Pete Iacobelli
Hall has 5 TDs in BYU's 38-21 win over Air Force
PROVO, Utah — Max Hall had a full day: five touchdowns, a school record for wins and even a penalty for a tussle with a defensive player after an interception.
BYU's feisty quarterback solidified himself as one of the best the school has had, leading the 19th-ranked Cougars to a 38-21 win over Air Force on Saturday for Hall's 30th victory as the starter.
"I feel really grateful that I've played on really good teams and I've had some really good players around me," said Hall, who set the record in style by going 33 for 45 for 377 yards and a season-high five touchdowns. "It's special. I'll always remember my career here and everything I've done. That's one of the things that will stand out."
The victory put Hall ahead of 1990 Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer's 29 wins with two games to go. The Cougars (9-2, 6-1 Mountain West) host rival Utah next week, then will play in a bowl.
Hall also passed John Beck for No. 2 in career yards passing with 11,039, 18 more than Beck, his predecessor. He has no chance at catching Detmer's school record (15,031), but will settle for whatever else he can add to his accomplishments in the next two games.
"He has almost every single record you can have here," Hall said of Detmer. "To surpass him in one of them is pretty special."
Harvey Unga became BYU's all-time rushing leader with 67 yards, giving him 3,268 in his career and breaking Curtis Brown's school record of 3,221.
After barely holding off winless New Mexico the week before, the Cougars rebounded.
"They were really pulling for each other," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "Any good play was really being celebrated. There was a passion to play the game today that was evident to me."
The Falcons turned the ball over four times and BYU converted three of them into touchdowns while taking a big lead, then hanging on for the win. The only time the Cougars didn't capitalize on a turnover, they couldn't — Andrew Rich's interception on Ben Cochran's pass at the end of the second quarter.
"They came out as a greased up, physical team and their execution was exceptional," Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. "For us to win a game like this we have got to be at top-notch level."
The Falcons weren't even close to top-notch Saturday. After committing just seven turnovers in the first 11 games, the Falcons had two interceptions and lost two fumbles.
Cochran relieved starter Tim Jefferson in the first half and threw for 88 yards and his first career touchdown for Air Force (7-5, 5-3), which gained just 300 yards in its regular-season finale.
Jared Tew ran for 88 yards for the Falcons, who are hoping seven wins is enough for a bowl invitation.
Unga needed just 21 yards to surpass Brown's record, and he got that on a 4-yard run in the first half.
But at BYU, the biggest records are for throwing the ball — and the day belonged to Hall. He had two interceptions, including one that cost him an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for a scrum at the whistle, but had his biggest game since throwing for five touchdowns last Nov. 1 against Colorado State.
Two of Hall's TD passes went to brother-in-law Dennis Pitta, who had nine catches for 111 yards.
"I think it's something that he certainly deserves. It's just awesome to be able to play with a guy like that," Pitta said. "He's been an unbelievable quarterback for us for three years now. I hope people recognize that."
The game plans were predictable. BYU was going to throw the ball and Air Force was going to concentrate on running it. The Cougars threw 15 passes in the first quarter to Air Force's two — and when the Falcons tried pass No. 3, it was a wreck.
Rich intercepted it and ran it back 44 yards to set up Hall's 12-yard pass to Pitta that put BYU up 17-0. Hall and Pitta had just put BYU ahead 10-0 on an 8-yard touchdown pass about two minutes earlier.
-- Doug Alden
Jacquizz Rodgers, Canfield lead OSU win
PULLMAN, Wash. — Oregon State needed a win at Washington State to keep its Rose Bowl hopes alive, and made sure that would happen right from the start.
The No. 20 Beavers scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and rolled to a 42-10 win on Saturday, setting up the possibility that their rivalry game against Oregon on Dec. 3 will decide the Pac-10 representative for the bowl game.
"Obviously everyone knows what's out there," said quarterback Sean Canfield, who threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns, and directed the Beavers to 567 yards of offense.
Oregon State has already beaten Stanford, so if Arizona loses and Oregon State beats first-place Oregon next weekend, the Beavers would be packing for Pasadena.
"One hundred guys have banded together for one purpose, winning the upcoming ballgame," said Oregon State linebacker Keaton Kristick. "We have the possibility of going to the Rose Bowl or a big game like that."
Jacquizz Rodgers rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns as Oregon State (8-3, 6-2) won its fourth straight game and sixth of the past seven. Coach Mike Riley praised the team for recovering from a 2-2 start to put themselves in line for a big-money bowl game.
"They never quit," Riley said, predicting the game against Oregon going down as "one of the great matchups ever in the Civil War."
The Cougars (1-10, 0-8) lost their eighth straight. Kevin Lopina, making his first start at quarterback since being benched after the second game, completed 15 of 32 for 133 yards. But the Cougars were held to 192 yards, including 59 on the ground.
Still, they trailed just 21-10 at halftime.
"We felt we were in the game," Lopina said. "We had the ball for long periods of time. One play here or there and it would have been a whole different game."
It was the fifth consecutive game in which the Cougars have given up at least 40 points. They rank last in the nation, allowing 511 yards per game.
The contest was played before just 16,167 fans with Washington State students already on fall break and cold, windy weather blowing through Pullman.
Oregon State opened with a crisp 80-yard drive, and Canfield hit Damola Adeniji for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Canfield completed 22 of 29 passes and was intercepted once.
Washington State replied with its own drive that stalled on the 11, and Pat Rooney kicked a 29-yard field goal. It was only the second time this season the Cougars have scored in the first quarter, and they've been outscored 173-6 in the opening quarter this year.
"It's no use driving the ball if you don't finish and punch it in," said Washington State offensive lineman Reed Lesuma.
Rodgers ran in from 10 yards out on Oregon State's next possession, and Canfield hit Joe Halahuni on a 10-yard scoring pass for a 21-3 lead midway through the second quarter.
Washington State drove 80 yards in the final 3 minutes of the half, with Dwight Tardy scoring from the 1 on fourth down to cut the halftime deficit to 21-10.
Oregon State's Markus Wheaton scored on a 10-yard run after a 13-play drive that was kept alive by a 12-yard reception by Colby Prince on fourth-and-5. Rodgers added a 39-yard run early in the fourth, his 19th touchdown of the season tying the school record held by Steven Jackson and Ken Simonton.
Riley picked up the 64th win at Oregon State, breaking a tie with Tommy Prothro for second on the career list. Lon Stiner leads with 74 wins.
Washington State has not led a game in regulation this year, its only win coming on a field goal by Nico Grasu in overtime to beat Southern Methodist 30-27 on Sept. 19. The Cougars trailed that game until a tying touchdown pass with 28 seconds left.
Washington State finishes its season next week with its rivalry game against Washington.
"It will be my last Apple Cup and I'm going to enjoy every moment of it," said the Cougars' Xavier Hicks, who intercepted Canfield on Saturday.
-- Nicholas K. Geranios
No. 21 Miami rallies late to beat Duke 34-16
MIAMI — Jacory Harris had his aching right thumb heavily taped for the game, and his arm was in a sling afterward.
Turns out, the sound of Duke players singing was the best medicine.
Harris threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns, Darryl Sharpton capped his final home game with a 73-yard interception return for a score, and No. 21 Miami staved off a Duke challenge for the fourth straight year in a 34-16 win Saturday.
"What really turned everything around was something that happened in the tunnel," Harris said. "We were coming out and Duke was just cheering, singing songs, basically like they've got this game won. Right there, that kind of lit a flame inside my soul. I was like, 'I can't let this happen.'"
Damien Berry's 2-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter opened the floodgates for Miami (8-3, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Leonard Hankerson had career bests of eight catches and 143 yards — including a 44-yard score — for the Hurricanes, who scored the final 24 points to keep hope alive for their first 10-win season since 2003.
The Blue Devils led 16-10 early in the third quarter. After that, it was all Miami, which outgained Duke 252-118 over the last 26 minutes.
"We needed somebody to step up and make a play," Hankerson said. "We were looking kind of sluggish, not playing to our tempo, playing to our speed, playing to our level."
Thaddeus Lewis — playing in his hometown — finished 20 of 37 for 303 yards for Duke (5-6, 3-4), taking over the school's all-time lead in passing yardage with 9,678. Donovan Varner caught eight passes for a career-high 165 yards and a touchdown for the Blue Devils, who have now lost 55 straight away from home against ranked opponents, dating to October 1971.
"It's frustrating, but it's just another ACC game. I can't make this personal just because I'm from Miami," said Lewis, who — like his good friend Harris — was also hampered, his injury being a bad ankle. "It's frustrating because we had an opportunity to keep bowl eligibility alive. We were right there and we let it get away."
The Blue Devils were seeking their first postseason appearance since the 1994 season.
"Their bowl dreams slipped away, but certainly not anything they've built in a two-year period will slip away," Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. "Every game, whether we won or loss, is building. We're growing."
Duke took a 16-10 lead on Will Snyderwine's third field goal of the game, a 26-yarder early in the third quarter.
Everything went Miami's way after that.
"We were supposed to be winning by 30 or so points," Sharpton said. "That's how we feel."
Berry — with the sparse crowd announced at 38,200 chanting his name throughout the drive — scored with 13:41 left to cap a 15-play, 90-yard march and put Miami ahead to stay. Hankerson's TD grab, stretching over the goal line while being tackled, made it a two-score game. Then Sharpton made his first career interception count 90 seconds later, picking Lewis off and streaking to the end zone.
Harris completed 25 of 43 passes and now has 3,003 yards this season, making him the seventh Miami quarterback with a 3,000-yard season and the first since Ken Dorsey in 2002.
Miami converted 14 of 21 chances on third down, compared with Duke going 3 for 12.
"Third down was unbelievable," said Miami coach Randy Shannon, who hadn't won more than seven games in either of his first two seasons.
Miami was a three-touchdown favorite, which only goes to show that oddsmakers paid little attention to series history.
It's hardly been a one-sided set of recent meetings.
— In 2006, one week after Miami's infamous brawl with FIU, the suspension-depleted Hurricanes went to Durham and needed a last-second interception of a pass by Lewis at the goal line to seal a 20-15 win.
— In 2007, Lewis was sacked by Eric Moncur to stop a drive with 3 minutes left, and Miami got a late touchdown to win 24-14.
— Last year, Duke led 24-14 in the third quarter before Harris put on a show, getting four of his five TDs in the second half and leading Miami to a 49-31 win, a game in which Cutcliffe acknowledged this week his team "just really shut down."
It was more of a wearing down in this one.
"Our team is growing; their team is growing," Shannon said.
-- Tim Reynolds
Wide, Utes rout San Diego St 38-7
SALT LAKE CITY — No. 23 Utah showed no hangover from its humbling and disappointing loss to TCU, quickly taking advantage of an overmatched opponent.
Eddie Wide rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns and the Utes scored all their points in the first half and coasted to a 38-7 win over San Diego State Saturday.
"We responded really well after last week. Our energy and passion was great in the first half and we executed well on offense, defense and special teams," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.
The Utes (9-2, 6-1 MWC) bounced back after losing 55-28 on the road to No. 4 TCU a week before to earn their 17th consecutive home win, the third-longest in the nation behind Oklahoma (28) and Boise State (24).
"That's exactly what we needed. We wanted to come out early and pass. It was a lot of fun," said Jereme Brooks, who caught seven passes for 100 yards.
Freshman Jordan Wynn completed 14 of 28 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown. David Reed, who grabbed five receptions for 83 yards, became the sixth player in Utah history to compile more than 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
"We wanted to get out and throw it down the field," Reed said. "We got on top of them quick and rolled from there."
Ryan Lindley was 17 of 37 for 207 yards and connected with Dominique Sandifer for a 17-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter for San Diego State (4-7, 2-5).
Utah's first touchdown drive took two plays and 23 seconds. Wynn connected with Reed for a 44-yard reception on the first play and then Wide ran it to the end zone from 8 yards out on the next snap. The Utes didn't find much more resistance the rest of a dominating first half.
Wide added another touchdown run before the end of the first quarter. Shaky Smithson scored out of the wildcat formation and then Wynn found Brooks for a 24-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone — a play that was reversed in the replay booth after the officials had ruled him out of bounds on the field.
Lindley, who completed just 4-of-18 passes in the first half, was intercepted by Joe Dale and he returned it 30 yards for another score, making it 35-0 with 5:48 until halftime. Joe Phillips kicked a 47-yard field goal on the last play of the second quarter.
"They made some big plays and made them quick. On the other side, they kept us off-balance so we couldn't get any continuity or rhythm offensively," SDSU coach Brady Hoke said.
The Aztecs have lost three in a row and has dropped nine of the last 11 meetings with the Utes.
Utah played without starting defensive linemen Derrick Shelby (knee) and Kenape Eliapo (tackle) but shut down the Aztecs' rushing offense early and consistently pressured Lindley. The Aztecs rushed for 55 yards.
The Aztecs, who squandered a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter to lose a week ago to Wyoming, continued their freefall and are now eliminated from any bowl possibilities.
"Sometimes you have to really hurt before you get better," Hoke said. "Our guys were ready to play but we faced a tremendous football team. Utah is an awfully good team."
Syracuse topples No. 25 Rutgers 31-13
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Greg Paulus' second senior day turned out to be maybe the most memorable of his brief college football career.
Paulus had 142 yards passing and Syracuse earned its first conference victory of the season with a 31-13 upset of No. 25 Rutgers on Saturday.
"To go out and win like this is something that we are all going to remember and be very proud of the effort we put forth," said Paulus, who played four years of basketball for Duke before returning home to play a season of football for Syracuse.
The Orange (4-7, 1-5 Big East) jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Antwon Bailey scored on a 14-yard run and Delone Carter added a 5-yard run.
Syracuse outgained Rutgers 259 to 82 in the first half. Syracuse sacked freshman Tom Savage five times in the half, two of which came in the final drive for the Scarlet Knights (7-3, 2-3), which had won four straight against the Orange and five of six meetings.
Rutgers moved into the Top 25 last week after its best performance of the season, a 31-0 victory against South Florida. The Scarlet Knights followed it up with their worst game of the season.
"We didn't coach very well, we didn't play very well," Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. "We didn't play like a team that was ready to play a Big East football game."
Savage was 7 for 17 for 66 yards and was sacked nine times in the game, which ties the school record for Syracuse.
"They blitzed all over the place," Savage said. "We thought we had it adjusted and they blitzed to the other side."
That was the gameplan for Syracuse.
"We just wanted to keep the pressure on him. We didn't want to let up," Orange linebacker Doug Hogue said. "Going into the game, we wanted to make sure the quarterback knew we were going to bring it."
Syracuse added another touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a 60-yard run by Averin Collier.
The Scarlet Knights were outgained 424-130 for the game and had the ball for only 19:59.
Paulus was 13 of 16 for 142 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Carl Cutler in the second quarter for the Orange's third touchdown to make it 21-2.
"The game plan was great. We did a great job converting third downs, not making any penalties," Paulus said. "We had a great mix of runs and passes."
Syracuse's defense started strong with an interception by safety Mike Holmes on Rutgers' first drive. The Orange took advantage of the turnover and used Carter's TD run to make to 14-0. Carter finished with 67 yards rushing.
"We were ready in our scheme to use all of our backs," Carter said. "They really didn't know where we were going."
Late in the second quarter, Rutgers was driving and had a first-and-10 at the Syracuse 14. Linebacker E.J. Carter sacked Savage for a 12-yard loss. Syracuse added two sacks and two penalties on Rutgers and the Scarlet Knights faced third-and-45. The drive led to a missed 46-yard field-goal attempt by San San Te.
"That was fun, being able to push them back. It was a testament to the guys up front," Holmes said. "He (Savage) was not able to sit back in the pocket comfortably and throw the ball downfield without it being contested."
Tim Brown caught a 38-yard TD pass from Mohamed Sanu in the second quarter for Rutgers to make it 21-10 after a 2-point conversion. Te added a 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter for Rutgers.
Ryan Lichtenstein kicked a 44-yard field goal in the second quarter to give the Orange a 24-10 lead at the half.
Syracuse coach Doug Marrone was pleased with the win over a ranked team and a conference opponent.
"(It's) a very good win for our team and our program, beating a Top 25 team," Marrone said. "Rutgers is a good football team and we did a nice job today."
