No. 3 Oklahoma 68, UTEP 0

<br>NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Third-ranked Oklahoma made Texas-El Paso wish the thunderstorms had never let up. <br><br>The Sooners got several big plays on both sides of the ball, including two interception

Monday, September 16th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Third-ranked Oklahoma made Texas-El Paso wish the thunderstorms had never let up.

The Sooners got several big plays on both sides of the ball, including two interception returns for touchdowns, in a 68-0 victory Saturday night that included a 51-minute weather delay.

Nate Hybl threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns and Quentin Griffin had 108 yards rushing and two TDs as Oklahoma (3-0) won by its widest margin since a 73-3 victory over New Mexico State in 1989.

Play was stopped late in the first quarter with Oklahoma leading 14-0. After the break, which allowed thunderstorms to pass through, the Sooners scored 24 second-quarter points and kept on rolling.

``That's what I said to the team _ I didn't care who we were playing this week, the bottom line is we needed to execute, have better concentration and play to our potential,'' coach Bob Stoops said.

No. 3 Oklahoma: 3-0. UTEP: 1-2.

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No. 2 Texas 52, North Carolina 21

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) _ Texas coach Mack Brown tried not to make a big deal out of returning to North Carolina for the first time as an opposing coach. His players didn't listen.

Chris Simms threw four touchdown passes and Cedric Benson rushed for 208 yards and two scores as the second-ranked Longhorns defeated North Carolina 52-21 Saturday.

``Of course it was something special with him coaching here and doing great things here,'' Benson said. ``We called this one the 'Mack Bowl.' We were determined. ... We owed it to him.''

Roy Williams had five catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns for the Longhorns (2-0), who jumped to a 24-point first-half lead and answered every spurt by the Tar Heels (1-2).

No. 2 Texas: 2-0. North Carolina 1-2.

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Texas Tech 42, Mississippi 28

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) _ On a day when Texas Tech's Kliff Kingsbury became the Big 12's career leading passer, it was fitting that he put the finishing touches on a 42-28 victory over Mississippi on Saturday.

The Rebels (2-1) rallied from a 21-point deficit to cut the score to 35-28 in the fourth quarter.

Then Kingsbury answered with an 84-yard drive for Tech (2-1), capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass to Nehemiah Glover with 3:21 left.

Kingsbury completed 25 of 38 passes for 270 yards to take his career yards to 8,392 yards. He passed Texas' Major Applewhite, who had 8,353, for the conference mark.

``It's a great honor,'' Kingsbury said. ``I passed a guy I've looked up to for a long time, in Major Applewhite. I'm sure someone else will break it, but it's a big honor.''

Tech scored on offense, defense and special teams to hand Mississippi its first loss in 25 nonconference games.

Texas Tech: 2-1. Mississippi: 2-1.

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New Mexico 23, Baylor 0

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) _ New Mexico's best defensive effort in nearly 20 years was tarnished by what may end up being the biggest loss of the season.

New Mexico's blitz-happy defense forced three fumbles and held Baylor to 107 total yards _ 32 in the first half _ and beat the Bears 23-0 Saturday night.

But it was a costly win for New Mexico (2-2), which may have to go the rest of the season without senior running back Quincy Wright. Wright, the nation's third leading rusher with an average of 158.3 yards a game, left late in the first quarter with a possible torn ligament in his left knee and spent the rest of the game on crutches.

Wright was scheduled to have an MRI on Sunday.

``That was the saddest part of the whole game,'' said New Mexico coach Rocky Long. ``It puts a damper on the victory because Quincy is such a class kid. He was having such a great year ... and I know this going to hurt us.''

New Mexico: 2-2. Baylor 1-2.

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No. 11 USC 40, Colorado 3

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) _ Southern California quarterback Carson Palmer believes his team can play a lot better. Colorado hopes not.

Palmer passed for 244 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score as No. 11 Southern California embarrassed Colorado 40-3 Saturday.

Malaefou MacKenzie had a pair of first-quarter touchdowns, and Sultan McCullough ran for 110 yards and a TD as the Trojans (2-0) generated 425 yards. Short-handed Colorado (1-2) had a meager 61 total yards and four first downs.

``So many things worked so well for us,'' Trojans coach Pete Carroll said. ``I think we handled the environment, we handled the altitude. We ran the football like we haven't in a while. Defensively, we didn't let them get into a rhythm. I'm glad we could get some focus and play a complete football game.''

``We were just awful,'' Colorado coach Gary Barnett said. ``I don't know what else to say. We were doubly awful on offense and just awful on defense.

No. 11 Southern California: 2-0. Colorado: 1-2.

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No. 15 Penn St. 40, No. 18 Nebraska 7

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) _ After two years of losing records, Joe Paterno and No. 15 Penn State are back in a big way.

Larry Johnson and Michael Robinson had two touchdown runs apiece and Rich Gardner turned his first career interception into a TD as the Nittany Lions routed No. 18 Nebraska 40-7 Saturday night.

Paterno, who has more major-college wins than any other coach, got No. 329 in front of a record crowd of 110,753. It was the Nittany Lions' first victory over a top-10 team since Sept. 18, 1999, when they beat eighth-ranked Miami 27-23.

Penn State had two lean seasons after that, going 5-6 and then 5-7 _ Paterno's first consecutive losing records in his long career. But with this one victory, the Nittany Lions showed their 75-year-old coach how much they have improved.

``I think this put's us right back on the map and opened a lot of eyes,'' said Bryant Johnson, who had eight receptions for 147 yards.

No. 15 Penn St.: 2-0. No. 18 Nebraska 3-1.

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Iowa St. 36, Iowa 31

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) _ Seneca Wallace passed for 361 yards, threw for a score and ran for another as Iowa State rallied to beat Iowa 36-31 Saturday night.

Iowa State (3-1) scored three touchdowns in the first 10 1/2 minutes of the second half and added a safety to erase Iowa's 24-7 halftime lead and beat the Hawkeyes for the fifth straight time.

Iowa (2-1) lost three fumbles in the second half, all of them leading to Iowa State points, and also lost two key players.

Fred Russell, who had rushed for 133 yards in 15 carries and scored on a 46-yard run, went out early in the second half with a bruised left shoulder. All-Big Ten safety Bob Sanders left later in the half with an undetermined foot injury.

Iowa St.: 3-1. Iowa: 2-1.

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Bowling Green 51, Missouri 28

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) _ Josh Harris passed for 311 yards, caught a touchdown pass and had two short scoring runs to lead Bowling Green to a 51-28 victory over Missouri on Saturday night.

Wide receiver Cole Magner threw two scoring passes for the Falcons (2-0), who put up 577 yards of offense. Robert Redd caught 10 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown for Bowling Green, and James Hawkins had five catches for 112 yards.

Brad Smith was 28-of-50 for 334 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for the Tigers (2-1). Justin Gage caught a Missouri-record 16 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown.

The Falcons, playing just their second home game against a Big 12 team, beat the Tigers for the second straight season. Bowling Green won 20-13 in last season's opener in Columbia.

Harris, who completed 16-of-31 passes and rushed for 66 yards on 22 carries, caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Magner on the game's first possession.

Bowling Green: 2-1. Missouri: 2-0.

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Kansas 44, Southwest Missouri St. 24

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) _ Greg Heaggans returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and broke a 43-year-old school record with 195 yards on four returns to lead Kansas past Southwest Missouri State 44-24 Saturday night.

Leo Etienne scored on a 1-yard fumble return and Clark Green rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns as the Jayhawks (1-2) got coach Mark Mangino's first victory in their home opener.

Heaggans gave the Jayhawks a 7-0 lead 16 seconds into the game when he juggled the ball at the goal line and started to kneel down. But he changed his mind, slipped a tackle at the 15 and went almost untouched down the sideline for Kansas' first kickoff return for a TD in six years.

Late in the third period, after the Division I-AA Bears (2-1) scored twice off back-to-back turnovers to get to 27-24, Heaggans uncorked a 52-yard return to the 39.

A moment later, Green barreled through the middle of the defense for a 9-yard run that gave the Jayhawks a 34-24 lead. Green, who also caught four passes for 54 yards, made it 41-24 seven minutes into the fourth quarter with a 13-yard TD run.

Heaggans' 195 yards in kickoff returns broke the school record of 153 set by John Hadl against Syracuse in 1959.

Kansas: 1-2. SW Missouri St. 2-1.

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Kansas St. 63, E. Illinois 13

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) _ Marc Dunn threw for two touchdowns _ both on one-play drives _ and ran for another score as Kansas State beat Eastern Illinois 63-13 on Saturday.

Rashad Washington returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown and set up another score with a blocked punt for Kansas State. The Wildcats (3-0) scored twice before taking their first snap _ on Danny Morris' 3-yard return of Washington's blocked kick and Terence Newman's 95-yard kickoff return.

Quarterback Tony Romo was strong early for Eastern Illinois (0-2), completing 13 of 14 passes for 120 yards and a TD in the first quarter. But after that, Romo threw three interceptions _ two leading to touchdowns, including Washington's TD return for a 50-13 lead in the third quarter.

Kansas State didn't take control of the Panthers, who came in ranked No. 8 in Division I-AA, until the second quarter. That's when Dunn broke the game open, running 2 yards for a TD and throwing a 19-yard scoring pass to Thomas Hill less than two minutes later to put Kansas State up 29-13.

Dunn finished 3-for-4 for 67 yards, playing only the first half and one series late in the game. Third-stringer Jeff Schwinn started the second half and threw a 41-yard TD pass to James Terry midway through the third quarter for a 56-13 lead.

Kansas St.: 3-0. E. Illinois: 0-2.

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No. 20 UCLA 38, Oklahoma St. 24

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ Cory Paus beat Oklahoma State with his arm, his legs and a fifth-year senior's savvy.

Paus passed for three touchdowns and ran for another score as No. 20 UCLA beat Oklahoma State 38-24 Saturday night in the first meeting between the two teams.

``He does more than people think out there,'' UCLA Coach Bob Toledo said. ``He just understands what's going on as a five-year veteran.''

Paus threw touchdown passes of 41, 27 and 25 yards, and UCLA (2-0) forced five turnovers by the Cowboys (1-2). It was the Bruins' ninth straight regular-season win over a non-conference opponent.

Spencer Havner intercepted Josh Fields' pass and returned it 23 yards for a second-quarter touchdown and Ben Emanuel had two interceptions, including a game-clinching pick in UCLA territory with 3:41 left.

Rashaun Woods led Oklahoma State with 7 receptions for 143 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown pass from Fields, who was 20-for-40 passing for 291 yards with three interceptions.

``The name of the day was turnovers,'' Oklahoma State coach Les Miles said. ``We have enough talent to play with these guys, but when you turn the ball over five times, you change the outcome of the game.''

No. 20 UCLA: 2-0. Oklahoma St.: 1-2.