– Kansas St. 10, Oklahoma St. 0-C.J. Masters and Jaime Mendez each broke interception records in Manhattan, Kan., and an offensive lineman scored the only touchdown as Kansas State notched its first unbeaten home season in 58 years.
The Wildcats (5-5, 2-4 in the Big Eight) went ahead 3-0 in the first quarter on Tate Wright`s 30-yard field goal and then made it 10-0 in the second when Toby Lawrence, a 295-pound senior guard, sneaked eight yards almost unnoticed on a ”fumblerooski” play.
Oklahoma State, 0-10-1 last season, ended the year 4-6-1 overall and 2-4-1 in the Big Eight, one of the best turnarounds in the Big Eight in recent years. The Cowboys failed to win a road game for the second straight year.
– Akron 24, Cincinnati 22-Ted Draper`s 42-yard interception return set up Petu Ieli`s clinching 1-yard touchdown run as Akron won in Gerry Faust`s homecoming in Cincinnati.
Akron finished 7-3-1, its best record in seven years under Faust, who hadn`t coached in the city since leaving Moeller High School for Notre Dame after the 1980 season. Cincinnati (3-8) completed its 10th straight losing season. The Bearcats haven`t won their final game since 1980.
– Youngstown St. 21, Ga. Southern 10-Tamron Smith scored two touchdowns to lead the winners in Youngstown, Ohio. He had 28 carries for 101 yards.
The Penguins (8-2-1) ran out a 14-0 lead over Georgia Southern in the first quarter. Youngstown State put the game away with 13:41 remaining in the fourth quarter when Herb Williams caught a 15-yard option pass from Don Zwisler.
EAST
– West Virginia 23, Louisiana Tech 3-Redshirt freshman Robert Walker gained 113 yards rushing in Morgantown, W.Va., in his first college action at tailback, and West Virginia salvaged a winning season. West Virginia (5-4-2)
held Louisiana Tech (5-6) to only 253 yards total offense while the Mountaineers rolled up 481 yards themselves.
Mountaineer senior Adrian Murrell, who left with a hip injury in the fourth quarter, finished with 63 yards for the game and 1,147 for his career. Bob Gresham holds the record, gaining 1,155 yards in 1969.
– Villanova 28, Maine 8-Tom Colombo threw for four touchdowns and 372 yards to lead host Villanova to a Yankee Conference victory, virtually assuring the Wildcats of their third playoff berth in four years. Colombo was 31 of 39 for Villanova (9-2, 6-2), ranked seventh in NCAA Division I-AA.
Maine (6-5, 4-4) put itself in a hole on its first play of the second half, quarterback Emilio Colon fumbling on his own 5 after being hit by a swarm of defenders. Two plays later, Villanova moved to 14-0 on Colombo`s 3-yard pass to Tom Friend.
– Rutgers 35, Temple 10-Craig Mitter ran for two touchdowns in Philadelphia and Rutgers kept its bowl hopes alive by beating Temple, which lost for the 10th straight time in coach Jerry Berndt`s final game.
Rutgers (7-4, 4-2 Big East) took control with two second-quarter touchdowns.
– New Hampshire 20, Massachusetts 13-Quarterback Jim Stayer threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns in Durham, N.H., as New Hampshire ended the Minutemen`s hopes of a Division I-AA playoff bid.
Stayer threw a 16-yard TD pass to Barry Bourassa late in the game to lift UNH (5-5-1, 3-5 Yankee Conference) out of a 13-13 tie with Massachusetts (7-3, 5-3). Stayer finished 20 of 37 for 308 yards and two interceptions.
– Lafayette 32, Lehigh 29-Tom Kirchhoff threw three touchdown passes in Easton, Pa., as Lafayette wrapped up the Patriot League title in the 128th meeting of college football`s longest rivalry.
Trailing 21-17 going into the fourth, Lafayette (8-3, 5-0) scored two touchdowns in six minutes.
– Holy Cross 21, Fordham 13-Andy Fitzpatrick completed 17 of 33 passes for 183 yards in Worcester, Mass., to lead Holy Cross to a Patriot League win despite an 87-yard kickoff return by the Rams` Randy McKee.
The Crusaders ended the season 4-1 in the league and 6-5 overall. Holy Cross needed the win to attain a possible tie for the conference title. However, first-place Lafayette`s win over Lehigh gave the Leopards the championship. Fordham fell to 1-4 in the league and 1-9 overall.
– Columbia 34, Brown 28-Des Werthman, Columbia`s senior linebacker, also rushed for 114 yards and scored three touchdowns in New York as the Lions earned their first two-game winning streak since 1978.
Werthman scored on a 21-yard run in the third quarter and twice in the fourth on runs of 1 and 11 yards as the Lions erased a 7-6 halftime deficit. Columbia (3-7, 2-5 Ivy) finished with its best record since 1978, when it was 3-5-1.
– Harvard 14, Yale 0-Quarterback Mike Giardi ran for his 20th and 21st career touchdowns in Cambridge, Mass., to tie a Harvard record, and the Crimson defense held Yale scoreless in the 109th version of ”The Game.”
Giardi`s pair of rushing touchdowns equaled the mark set by Charlie Brickley, Class of 1915. Brickley holds the school record with 23 career touchdowns.
Harvard finished the season 3-7 overall and with a 2-5 Ivy League mark. Yale, which lost its fourth straight, dropped to 4-6, 2-5.
– Dartmouth 34, Princeton 20-Jay Fiedler passed for two touchdowns and ran for another as Dartmouth gained a share of the Ivy League title with host Princeton.
The victory gave Dartmouth (8-2, 6-1 Ivy) its third straight title and 16th overall and deprived Princeton (8-2, 6-1) of its first outright title since 1964. The Tigers shared the title in 1989 with Yale.
– Penn 14, Cornell 7-Terrance Stokes ran for 110 yards and caught a key pass on a fake punt that led to the winning touchdown in Ithaca, N.Y., in the season finale for both Ivy League schools.
Penn finished the season at 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the Ivy after going 2-8 and 2-5 last season. Cornell finished at 7-3 and 4-3.
– Delaware 55, Towson St. 27-Delaware quarterback Bill Vergantino completed all 11 pass attempts for 191 yards and two touchdowns in Newark, Del., to lead the Blue Hens.
Delaware improved to 9-2 overall with the victory. Towson State had a three-game winning streak snapped and ended the season at 5-5.
SOUTH
– Alcorn St. 42, Jackson St. 35-Steve McNair threw for 493 yards and five touchdowns in Lorman, Miss., as Alcorn State captured the Southwestern Athletic Conference title outright.
McNair, who accounted for 595 yards total offense, hit Tony Price for a 3-yard touchdown pass with just 1:09 remaining. McNair, who completed 25 of 55 passes, threw three touchdowns after Alcorn fell behind 35-21 in the third quarter.
Alcorn (7-3, 7-0 in the SWAC) earned its first SWAC title since 1984 and ended any hopes Grambling State (5-1 in the SWAC) had of sharing the crown. Jackson State (7-4, 4-3) completed its first season under head coach James Carson.
– William & Mary 34, Richmond 19-Shawn Knight threw for one touchdown and ran for another and William & Mary overcame turnover problems in Richmond, Va., to pull away.
William & Mary (9-2) lost two fumbles deep in Richmond territory and Knight was intercepted once at the Spiders` 3-yard line.
– Middle Tenn. 21, Tenn. Tech 0-Walter Dunson rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown in Murfreesboro, Tenn., as Middle Tennessee State captured the Ohio Valley Conference title outright.
Middle Tennessee, ranked fourth in Division I-AA, clinched at least a share of the league crown a week ago. But the Blue Raiders (9-2, 8-0) managed its first unshared OVC title since 1989 and a berth in the I-AA playoffs with the victory over Tennessee Tech (7-4, 6-2).
– N. Carolina A&T 24, S. Carolina St. 21-Quarterback Adrian Starks ran in from the 1-yard line with 2:34 left to lift North Carolina A&T in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in Greensboro, N.C.
The victory gave the Aggies (9-2 overall, 5-1 MEAC) a half-game lead for first place for the regular season conference title. But a Florida A&M victory next week over Bethune Cookman would force a tie for first place.
South Carolina State fell to 7-4 overall and 4-2 in the league.
– App. St. 14, W. Carolina 12-D.J. Campbell ran for a fourth-quarter touchdown and the Mountaineer defense held on a two-point conversion attempt for Appalachian State in Boone, N.C.
The Mountaineers (7-4) are anticipating a bid to the 16-team I-AA playoffs that begin next Saturday. Western Carolina also is 7-4.
– Marshall 49, E. Tenn. St. 10-Michael Payton threw for three touchdowns and Troy Brown rushed for two more as No. 6 Marshall pounded East Tennessee State in Johnson City, Tenn.
Marshall (8-3, 5-2 Southern Conference), ranked No. 6 in Division I-AA, took the opening kickoff and scored the first of three first-quarter touchdowns on Payton`s 9-yard toss to Mike Bartrum with 11:35 to go. The Thundering Herd never trailed, rolling up 540 yards on offense.
East Tennessee State is 5-6, 2-5.
– The Citadel 20, Furman 14-Fullback Everette Sands rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown in Greenville, S.C. as The Citadel, ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division I- AA, clinched the Southern Conference title.
It is the first time the Bulldogs, 10-1 overall and 6-1 in the league, won the conference championship since 1961. Sands` 20-yard touchdown run, with 1:45 remaining in the third quarter, gave the Bulldogs a 20-7 lead.
– South Carolina 24, Clemson 13-Steve Taneyhill threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns in Clemson, S.C. The victory capped an amazing second-half turnaround by the Gamecocks (5-6), who won five of their last six after voting to ask coach Spark Woods to resign.
Clemson, which lost four of its last five, also wound up 5-6-its first losing season since 1976.
Taneyhill was the difference in his first appearance in this bitter rivarly. The 6-5, 200-pound freshman hit 19 of 29 passes and threw one interception.
– Memphis State 42, E. Carolina 7-Steve Matthews threw for three touchdowns and 335 yards in Memphis to give the Tigers their first winning season since 1988. The victory helped Memphis State (6-5) soften the memory of a brief player boycott in September. East Carolina, also an independent, ended its season at 5-6.
– Virginia 41, Virginia Tech 38-Terry Kirby ran for 185 yards to became Virginia`s career rushing leader and linebacker Randy Neal returned two interceptions for touchdowns for the Cavaliers in Blacksburg, Va.
Virginia (7-4) was outgained on offense by more than 200 yards-573-344-but had five interceptions and converted a blocked punt into a touchdown. The victory keeps alive the Cavaliers` slim hopes for a bowl invitation.
– E. Kentucky 37, Morehead St. 9-Markus Thomas rushed for 153 yards and three touchdowns and became the NCAA Division I-AA all-time leading rusher as Eastern Kentucky won the Ohio Valley Conference game in Morehead, Ky.
Thomas, who scored on runs of 5, 19 and 23 yards, has 5,556 career rushing yards, including playoff and regular season games. Previous record-holder Frank Hawkins of Nevada had 5,538 yards in regular season and postseason games. Eastern Kentucky is 9-2, 7-1.
– LSU 24, Tulane 12-Quarterback Chad Loup, demoted to third-string 10 weeks ago, returned to the field in his final home game in Baton Rouge, La., and led Louisiana State (2-8).
Loup was named the starter over freshmen Jamie Howard, who was benched for disciplinary reasons, and second-stringer Ryan Huffman. He completed nine of 18 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown.
SOUTHWEST
– SMU 24, Arkansas 19-Drew Randall picked up a fumbled punt return and ran it in 20 yards for a touchdown late in the game in Little Rock, Ark., as Southern Methodist defeated Arkansas 24-19.
Arkansas was trailing 17-13 when it held SMU (5-6) deep in its territory with 2:45 left to play, forcing a punt. Arkansas return man Orlando Watters had to backpedal to catch the 56-yard boomer by Larry Israel, then lost his handle on it as the coverage bore down on him. Randall went into the end zone untouched to make it 23-13.
Arkansas (2-7-1) scored late on a 15-yard pass from Barry Lunney Jr. to Tracy Caldwell, but failed on a two-point conversion attempt. Arkansas also was unable to convert an onsides kick and SMU ran out the clock.
– Baylor 21, Texas 20-Baylor quarterback J.J. Joe ran for two touchdowns and passed for a third score in Waco, Texas, as the Bears gave coach Grant Teaff a victory in his final regular-season game.
Baylor increased its overall record to 6-5 and is 4-3 in the Southwest Conference. The Bears are still alive for a bowl berth, depending on how Rice and Texas fare in their final games.
Texas dropped to 6-4 and 4-2 with a game still remaining against Texas A& M on Thanksgiving Day. The Longhorns have only five wins against Division I competition.
Teaff, who was 127-105-6 in 21 years at Baylor, finished with 10 victories against the Longhorns. He will become full-time athletic director and his successor-expected to be either offensive coordinator Chuck Reedy or Texas A&M defensive coordinator Bob Davie-could be named next week.
– Texas Tech 44, Houston 35-Robert Hall returned from a three-game absence to throw three touchdowns and run for a fourth score in Lubbock, Texas, as Texas Tech outlasted Houston in slush and blowing snow.
Tech finished 5-6 overall and 4-3 in the Southwest Conference. Turnovers hurt Houston (3-7, 1-5), which lost two fumbles and an interception deep in Red Raider territory.
Tech`s Byron Morris barreled his way for 222 yards and two scores on 37 carries.
– Rice 27, Navy 22-Jimmy Lee`s two fourth-quarter touchdowns broke open a tight game in Houston, guaranteeing the Owls a winning season for the first time in 29 years.
Rice (6-4) came to life in the final period, scoring 17 points after a torrential storm with fierce winds and lightning forced a 63-minute suspension of the game.
– NE Louisiana 47, North Texas 25-Roosevelt Potts ran for 156 yards and three touchdowns in Denton, Texas, helping Northeast Louisiana finish a perfect Southland Conference season.
The Indians, ranked No. 1 nationally in Division I-AA, finished their regular season at 9-2 overall and 7-0 in league play.
FAR WEST
– Brigham Young 31, Utah 22-Tight end Byron Rex threw a touchdown pass and caught one on in Salt Lake City as Brigham Young claimed at least a share of the Western Athletic Conference title. It is the fourth straight year the Cougars (8-4, 6-2 WAC) have at least shared the league title.
Rex became a passer in the second quarter when he threw 19 yards to Eric Drage on an option, then reverted to receiver to catch a 6-yard throw from Ryan Hancock with 1:25 left in the half that gave BYU a 24-0 lead.
Jamal Willis` 4-yard run and David Lauder`s 42-yard field goal accounted for BYU`s other points in the opening 30 minutes.
The loss ruined an outstanding passing day for Frank Dolce, who hit 31 of 56 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns for the Utes (6-5, 4-4).
– New Mexico St. 34, San Jose St. 24-Charles Pulari threw two touchdowns passes in the fourth quarter to rally New Mexico State in San Jose, Calif., giving the Aggies their first winning record in 14 years and denying the Spartans a berth in the Las Vegas Bowl.
A victory would have given San Jose (7-4, 4-2 Big West) a share of the league title with Nevada, with the Spartans going to the bowl by virtue of a 39-35 victory over the Wolf Pack two weeks ago. Instead, Nevada (6-4), in its first year in the league, will meet Mid-American Conference champion Bowling Green on Dec. 18.
New Mexico State (6-5, 3-3) matched the 6-5 record achieved in 1978 by beating San Jose for the first time in the nine meetings between the teams.
– Oregon 7, Oregon St. 0-Willy Tate made a leaping catch of a 3-yard touchdown pass from Danny O`Neil with :35 left in the second quarter to lead Oregon in a constant, driving rain in Corvallis, Ore.
The Ducks (6-5 overall, 5-4 Pac-10) remained in consideration for the Independence Bowl with their victory in the ”Civil War” rivalry.
Oregon State (1-9-1, 0-7-1) managed just 110 total yards, 88 rushing, against an Oregon defense led by linebackers Earnest Jones and Joe Farwell.
– Idaho 62, Boise St. 16-Sophomore Sherriden May scored three touchdowns and rushed for 104 yards in Boise as Idaho clinched the Big Sky Conference`s automatic NCAA Division I-AA playoff berth.
The Vandals (9-2 overall, 7-1 Big Sky) led only 21-13 at the half but scored six second-half touchdowns as Boise State (5-6, 3-4) suffered their fourth straight loss and first losing season since 1986.
– McNeese St. 23, Weber St. 22-Jose Larios kicked a 25-yard field goal with nine seconds left in Ogden, Utah, giving McNeese State a victory and a berth in the Division I-AA playoffs.
It was the fifth time this season that McNeese State (8-3) had won in the final three minutes. The loss ended the playoff hopes of Weber State (6-5).
– Nevada 38, Texas Southern 14-Fred Gatlin completed 15 of 31 passes, three for touchdowns to lead the Wolf Pack in Reno, Nev. San Jose State`s 34-24 loss to New Mexico State on Saturday gave Nevada (7-4 overall) the Big West title with a 5-1 mark in its first season in the conference.
