Oregon State dominates Oregon in 23-13 win

Saturday, November 18th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

CORVALLIS, Oregon (AP) _ It didn't take long for Oregon State to ruin Oregon's Rose Bowl hopes. Then the Beavers had to wait around to see what would become of their own dreams of Pasadena.

Jonathan Smith threw two first-quarter touchdown passes to Robert Prescott, and Jake Cookus had three of his team's five interceptions as the No. 8 Beavers reached 10 victories for the first time in school history by dominating No. 5 Oregon 23-13 on Saturday in the 104th Civil War.

Oregon State (10-1, 7-1) clinched a share of the conference title with the Ducks (9-2, 7-1), but had to await the outcome between No. 6 Washington and Washington State to see whether to book its first trip to the Rose Bowl since the 1964 season.

The Huskies could wrap up the Rose Bowl berth with a victory, even though they lost to Oregon. Washington holds the tiebreakers in the event of a three-way tie, by virtue of a better non-conference record than the Ducks. Washington has the edge over Oregon State because it beat the Beavers.

Oregon State's Ken Simonton, the top rusher in the Pac-10 at 136.1 yards per game, gained 113, and his 20-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter extended the Beavers' lead to 23-7.

Smith completed 14 of 27 passes for 246 yards, and Prescott had six receptions for 109 yards. Oregon's Joey Harrington completed 24 of 46 passes for 333 yards.

No. 1 Oklahoma 27, Texas Tech 13

In Norman, Oklahoma, Josh Heupel led Oklahoma 71 yards for the clinching touchdown late in the fourth quarter as the Sooners won the Big 12 South Division.

Heupel was intercepted twice on an afternoon when Oklahoma (10-0, 7-0) had 11 penalties and scored its fewest points this season. He was 7-of-8 for 60 yards on the final drive, and finished 24-of-38 for a season-low 248 yards.

Oklahoma ends the regular season next week against Oklahoma State and will play Kansas State for the Big 12 championship on Dec. 2 in Kansas City, Missouri.

No. 9 Kansas St. 28, Missouri 24

In Columbia, Missouri, Josh Scobey scored twice in a 25-point second quarter as Kansas State clinched a berth in the Big 12 championship game.

Kansas State (10-2, 6-2) won the North Division for the second time in three years and will play Oklahoma for the conference title.

Scobey, who has 16 touchdowns, scored on runs of 4 and 1 yards in the second quarter as Kansas State took a 25-21 lead.

No. 11 Notre Dame 45, Rutgers 17

In Piscataway, New Jersey, Matt LoVecchio threw two touchdowns and Terrance Howard ran for two more in their return home to New Jersey as Notre Dame posted its sixth straight win.

The Irish (8-2) also forced five turnovers in moving within a win of potentially qualifying for a Bowl Championship Series bid.

Because it is not in a conference, Notre Dame must win nine games and be ranked in the Top 12 to merit consideration for BCS game. The Irish will finish the regular season at Southern California.

Irish kicker Nick Setta, who last week ran for a touchdown on a fake field goal against Boston College, threw a 25-yard scoring pass to fullback Tom Lopienski on another fake.

Arkansas 17, No. 13 Mississippi St. 10, OT

In Starkville, Mississippi, Brandon Holmes had a 7-yard touchdown run in overtime, and Arkansas stopped Mississippi State on fourth-and-goal at the 1 on the final play.

Holmes carried the ball on all five overtime plays for Arkansas (5-5, 2-5 SEC) and finished with 95 yards on 16 carries.

The Razorbacks blocked a 25-yard field-goal attempt by Scott Westerfield on the final play of regulation.

Mississippi State (7-3, 4-3) had won 16 straight at home.

No. 15 TCU 47, UTEP 14

In Fort Worth, Texas, LaDainian Tomlinson ran for a season-high 305 yards and three TDs, including scores of 68 and 89 yards.

Tomlinson became the Western Athletic Conference's career rushing leader on his 68-yard TD in the first quarter that tied the game at 7. On his career-long 89-yard score in the third that gave the Horned Frogs (9-1, 6-1) a 37-7 lead, he became only the ninth runner in NCAA history to go over 5,000 career yards.

Tomlinson increased his NCAA-leading rushing total to 1,984 yards. He has 5,089 career yards.

Still, the record-setting game wasn't Tomlinson's best against the Miners (8-3, 7-1). He set an NCAA Division I-A record with 406 yards and also scored six TDs against UTEP last season.

UTEP will have to wait to see if it will have to share its first WAC title and to which bowl it will be going. TCU would have to lose Friday at SMU for the Miners to win the title outright.

No. 16 Clemson 16, No. 25 South Carolina 14

Aaron Hunt's third field goal, a 25-yarder with seven seconds left, lifted Clemson past South Carolina.

The Tigers (9-2) looked dead after Thomas Hill fell on Derek Watson's fumble in the end zone with 59 seconds to go for a 14-13 lead. But Clemson's Woody Dantzler found Rod Gardner for a 50-yard reception to South Carolina's 8 with 10 seconds remaining and Hunt struck it through to send Death Valley into a frenzy.

The Gamecocks finished the regular season 7-4 after entering the year with a 21-game losing streak.

No. 17 Purdue 41, Indiana 13

In West Lafayette, Indiana, Purdue earned its first Rose Bowl berth in 34 years, with Montrell Lowe rushing for a career-high 208 yards and four touchdowns.

Drew Brees completed 20 of 29 passes for 216 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for a score.

The Boilermakers (8-3, 6-2) had to win to clinch a share of the Big Ten title _ and a trip to Pasadena.

Indiana quarterback Antwaan Randle El threw a 10-yard TD pass to Versie Gaddis early in the second quarter to join former Michigan star Rick Leach as the only Division I-A players to throw for 200 points and rush for 200 points.

The Hoosiers lost the ``Old Oaken Bucket'' game for the fourth consecutive year.

No. 18 Auburn 9, Alabama 0

In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Rudi Johnson rushed for 130 yards and Damon Duval kicked three field goals as Auburn won the Southeastern Conference West title.

The victory, coupled with Mississippi State's loss to Arkansas, gave Auburn (9-2, 6-2) its second division title. The Tide (3-8, 3-5) lost their fifth straight game in the finale for ousted coach Mike DuBose on a cold, sloppy day.

It was Auburn's first visit to Tuscaloosa since 1901, and the first time neither team scored a touchdown since Alabama's 3-0 win in 1960. The Tide were shut out for the second time this season and finished with more than seven losses for the first time since 1955.

No. 19 Michigan 38, No. 12 Ohio St. 26

In Columbus, Ohio, Drew Henson passed for 303 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score to give Michigan a share of the Big Ten title.

Michigan (8-3, 6-2) took a 31-12 lead into the fourth quarter on a 17-point flurry in the third quarter. David Terrell caught his second TD pass, Hayden Epstein kicked a 25-yard field goal, and Julius Curry had a 50-yard interception return for a TD.

Ohio State (8-3, 5-3) scored the 14 points of the fourth quarter, but Michigan stopped Jonathan Wells at the Buckeyes' 18 on a fourth-and-1 with just over three minutes left.

No. 20 Georgia Tech 35, Maryland 22

In College Park, Maryland, George Godsey threw for 354 yards and two touchdowns in Georgia Tech's sixth straight victory.

The victory, No. 600 in the 108-year history of the football program, enabled Georgia Tech to finish in a second-place tie with Clemson in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Yellow Jackets (8-2, 6-2) close the regular season next week at Georgia.

No. 22 Georgia 32, Mississippi 14

In Athens, Georgia, Freshman Musa Smith ran for 144 yards, becoming the first Georgia back to break 100 this season.

The Bulldogs (7-3, 5-3 SEC) snapped a two-game losing streak and likely ensured a bowl bid no matter what happens in the finale against No. 20 Georgia Tech.

Ole Miss (6-4, 3-4) has lost two in a row, its hopes for a fourth straight postseason invitation still up in the air. The Rebels finish the regular season Thursday against No. 13 Mississippi State.

No. 23 Northwestern 61, Illinois 23

In Evanston, Illinois, Damien Anderson ran for 179 yards on 39 carries to break Northwestern's single-season rushing record.

Anderson, who had scoring runs of 21 and 10 yards in the opening half and a pair of 1-yarders in the second half, finished with 1,914 yards on 293 carries. He broke the record of 1,785 yards set by Darnell Autry in Northwestern's Rose Bowl season of 1995.

Northwestern, which tied for the Big Ten title, missed a Rose Bowl berth when Purdue beat Indiana. The Wildcats (8-3, 6-2) are still contenders for the Citrus, Outback and Alamo bowls.

Cincinnati 27, No. 24 Southern Miss 24

In Cincinnati, Deontey Kenner threw two touchdown passes as Cincinnati rallied from a 17-point deficit.

Southern Miss (7-3, 4-2 Conference USA) fumbled three times to set up the Bearcats' comeback and Jeff Kelly threw an interception that led to the clinching field goal.

Jonathan Ruffin's 41-yard kick with 45 seconds left completed a 20-point quarter for the Bearcats (7-4, 5-2).