Freshman Kenny Wheaton intercepted Damon Huard's pass at the sideline and returned it 97 yards for a score with 49 seconds to play, clinching Oregon's stunning 31-20 upset over No. 9 Washington.
The play climaxed a wild finish that saw Washington rally to take the lead with 7:44 to play, only to have Oregon (5-3, 3-1 Pac-10) come back with two late scores.After the Ducks had driven 98 yards to go ahead 24-20 on Dwayne Jones' 12-yard run up the middle with 2:40 remaining, Huard directed the Huskies 67 yards to the Oregon 8 and Washington (5-2, 2-2) seemed on the verge of a last-minute comeback victory.
But on first-and-goal, Huard threw to the left sideline, where Wheaton stepped in front of Dave Janoski to make the interception and raced down the field for the touchdown.
No. 2 Colorado 35,
No. 19 Kansas St. 21
At Boulder, Colo., Rashaan Salaam ran for 202 yards and two scores and Kordell Stewart had 127 yards and three TDs.
No. 3 Nebraska 42, Missouri 7
At Columbia, Mo., Brook Berringer threw three touchdown passes in the second half to help the Cornhuskers overcome a slow start.
No. 6 Texas A&M 7, Rice 0
At College Station, Texas, Corey Pullig passed for one touchdown and saved another with a tackle on a fumble return as the Aggies fought off upstart Rice.
No. 7 Miami 38, West Virginia 6
At Morgantown, W.Va., Frank Costa threw for 266 yards and two TDs as the Hurricanes (5-1, 2-0 Big East) avenged last year's loss to the Mountaineers (3-5, 1-3).
No. 8 Alabama 21, Mississippi 10
Jay Barker became the winningest quarterback in Alabama history, scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 2-yard run midway through the fourth quarter.
No. 10 Florida State 17, Clemson 0
At Tallahassee, Fla., Warrick Dunn ran for 133 yards and two touchdowns as the Seminoles (5-1, 5-0) matched an ACC record with 21 straight wins.
No. 11 Michigan 19, Illinois 14
At Champaign, Ill., Amani Toomer returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown, and Remy Hamilton kicked four field goals for the Wolverines (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten).
No. 13 Texas 42, SMU 20
At Austin, Texas, Rodrick Walker ran for two touchdowns and backup quarterback James Brown revived the Longhorns' sluggish offense.
No. 14 Arizona 34, UCLA 24
At Tucson, Ariz., Dan White passed for two touchdowns and Ontiwaun Carter rushed for 164 yards and a score.
No. 25 Virginia 34,
No. 15 North Carolina 10
At Charlottesville, Va., Mike Groh passed for 256 yards and two touchdowns.
No. 17 Virginia Tech 45, Pitt 7
At Blacksburg, Va., Antonio Freeman returned a punt 80 yards for one score, caught a touchdown pass for another and set up two more TDs with long returns.
No. 20 Duke 51, Wake Forest 26
At Winston-Salem, N.C., Duke turned three fumbles into 21 points in the first six minutes to remain undefeated.
No. 22 Boston College 7, Rutgers 7
At Boston, the Eagles' David Green fumbled at the Rutgers 9 with 22 seconds left, forcing BC (3-2-1, 2-1-1 Big East) to settle for a tie.
No. 24 Ohio State 48, Purdue 14
At Columbus, Ohio, Bob Hoying threw for four touchdowns and had a career-high 290 yards in the first half, finishing with five TDs and 304 yards for the Buckeyes (6-2, 3-1 Big Ten).
*****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Heisman watch
Napoleon Kaufman, RB, Washington: Rushed 23 times for 102 yards, no TDs in loss to Oregon.
Steve McNair, QB, Alcorn State: Completed 32 of 58 passes for 587 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT in win over Southern.
Rashaan Salaam, RB, Colorado: Rushed 28 times for 202 yards, 2 TDs in win over Kansas State.
Tyrone Wheatley, RB, Michigan: Rushed 21 times for 73 yards, no TDs in win over Illinois.