Sean Payton came out throwing Saturday in Charleston, Ill. When the smoke cleared, Eastern Illinois` quarterback had two school records and the Panthers a 35-27 victory over Saginaw Valley. Payton set records for completions and passing yardage, hitting 40 of 57 for 509 yards and 4 touchdowns.
The news wasn`t so good for Bowling Green`s Brian McClure, who was knocked out of the Falcons` game against Miami (Ohio) by a sprained knee. Luckily for Bowling Green, Rick Neiman was ready. Neiman, who had thrown only two passes, passed for a TD and scored another during a 21-second span in the fourth quarter to spark a 28-24 victory. McClure is expected to be out at least a week.
Texas Christian and Kansas State forgot about their problems, at least for a day. TCU, which had six players suspended Friday for allegedly taking illegal cash payments from alumni, held on for a 24-22 victory over State, which was playing under interim coach Lee Moon, who took over when Jim Dickey was fired.
State recovered a fumble at the TCU 16 and scored with 49 seconds left. The Wildcats went for a two-point conversion, but failed. KSU regained possession after an onside kick, but three sacks and an incompletion followed. ”I was dying about 10,000 deaths,” said TCU coach Jim Wacker. ”We had our `hands` team in for the kickoff, and they get a perfect onside kick. Then they get in field-goal range, and I say, `Wacker, you must me the worst coach in America to let that happen.` But our young players grew up in a hurry.”
TOP GAMES
Eastern Illinois 35, Saginaw Valley 27–Payton`s TD passes covered 9, 6, 61 and 17 yards. Saginaw (0-3) led 27-14 in the third quarter, but Duane Pitts` 1-yard TD run and Payton`s 61-yarder to Calvin Pierce (12 catches for 186 yards) put the Panthers (2-1) ahead to stay. Charlie Williams caught two TD passes.
Bowling Green 28, Miami 24–The Redskins (1-1, 1-1) led 24-14 in Bowling Green, Ohio. Neiman (11 of 20 for 156 yards) hit Bernard White with a 13-yard TD pass to bring the Falcons (3-0, 2-0) within 24-21 with 1:24 left. Three plays after a successful onside kick, Neiman ran 7 yards for the winning TD with 1:03 left.
Texas Christian 24, Kansas State 22–TCU (2-0) trailed 16-7 at halftime, but went ahead 17-16 in the third quarter on a field goal and a 41-yard pass from Scott Ankrom to Tony Jeffery. Ankrom also ran for a TD. KSU is 0-3.
Drake 31, Southern Illinois 6–Tim Ray (142 yards on 32 carries) scored on two 1-yard runs to lead the Bulldogs (2-2, 1-0) in Des Moines. Drake allowed SIU (1-3, 0-1) only two first downs in the first half as it took a 21-0 lead. It was the first conference game in the Missouri Valley`s final season.
Western Illinois 55, Michigan Tech 20–Rick Fahnestock was 10 of 19 for 178 yards and 2 TDs and Camillo Valle and Brett Grimshaw each ran for two scores in Macomb, Ill. Western (1-1) had five interceptions and recovered two fumbles. Tech is 1-2.
Kansas 37, Indiana State 10–Mike Norseth (20 of 31 for 278 yards) threw for two TDs in Lawrence, Kan. He has thrown 153 consecutive passes without an interception, a Big Eight record. Richard Estell had 7 catches for 187 yards. Kansas is 3-0; State is 1-2.
Iowa State 20, Vanderbilt 17–Rick Frank`s second field goal, a 34-yarder with three seconds left, gave the Cyclones (2-0) the victory in Ames, Ia. Vanderbilt is 1-2.
Illinois State 17, Wayne State 2–Stephon Wilson rushed for 113 yards on 21 carries and a TD in Normal, Ill. Paul Politi added a 30-yard field goal and Henry Waters a 24-yard TD run for ISU (2-0-1). John Romano was sacked 8 times for 67 yards in losses. Wayne State is 0-2-1.
