Kansas State gave Kansas and the critics a whipping.
The 14th-ranked Wildcats, angrily rebounding from an embarrassing 49-25 loss to defending national champion Nebraska, took all its frustration out in a 41-7 rout of No. 6 Kansas on Saturday, dominating almost totally the most meaningful game in the rivalry's 93-year history."We definitely had something to prove," offensive tackle Scott Heun said. "People wrote us off. They bashed us. They said we were a fluke. We just felt like we had to come out and show people what kind of team we are."
Against a Kansas team that was averaging 232 yards rushing, the Wildcats (7-1 overall, 3-1 Big Eight) gave up only 19 yards on the ground while rolling up 335 rushing yards themselves.
Matt Miller's two touchdown passes gave Kansas State a quick lead and the Wildcats went on to post their first victory over a Top Ten team since 1970 and their biggest margin of victory over Kansas (7-1, 3-1) since 1955.
Never before in a series in which last place in the Big Eight was the traditional stake had both teams been ranked so high, or had so much to play for.
Fittingly, the crowd of 44,284 was a KSU Stadium record.
"I didn't think anybody could shut our offense down like that," said coach Glen Mason, whose Jayhawks came in as one of five unbeaten major-college teams. "I don't care if we ran or passed or whatever. But we didn't do it very well today. I hope this is inconsistent. I'd hate to have to stand on the sidelines through three more games like this this year."
Eric Hickson ran for 121 yards and Mike Lawrence for 118, giving the Wildcats two 100-yard rushers for the first time since 1979.
No. 3 Florida 52, Georgia 17
The Gators, playing in Sanford Stadium for the first time in 63 years, routed the Bulldogs (5-4, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) with Danny Wuerffel passing for 242 yards and five touchdowns in less than three quarters. The Gators improved to 8-0, 7-0.
No. 4 Ohio St. 56, No. 25 Iowa 35
Led by Eddie George's four touchdowns, Ohio State (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten), scored a school record 56 first-half points and remained a half-game behind Northwestern in the conference.
Iowa (5-2, 2-2) hadn't trailed by 56 points in a game since losing to Nebraska 57-0 in 1980.
No. 5 Tennessee 56, S. Carolina 21
Peyton Manning threw for four scores and the Volunteers got two touchdowns off field goal attempts to beat South Carolina.
Joey Kent caught two TD passes to lead host Tennessee (7-1, 5-1 SEC) to a 35-7 halftime lead over the Gamecocks (4-4-1, 2-4-1).
No. 8 Northwestern 17, Illinois 14
Eric Collier's interception of a desperation pass stopped Illinois' final drive with seven seconds left as Northwestern (7-1, 5-0) overcame a 14-0 deficit against Illinois (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten).
Darnell Autry gained 100 yards for a ninth straight game and scored on a 1-yard, fourth-down run with just over six minutes left.
No. 9 Michigan 52, Minnesota 17
Brian Griese matched a school record with four touchdown passes and Tshimanga Biakabutuka ran for two scores and 196 yards.
Griese was 14-of-19 for 271 yards for Michigan (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten) and became only the sixth quarterback in school history to throw four TD passes.
Arizona St. 35, No. 10 Oregon 24
Jake Plummer directed two touchdown drives in the final five minutes as the Sun Devils dealt a near-fatal blow to the host Ducks' (6-2, 3-2 Pac-10) chances for a return to the Rose Bowl.
The Sun Devils (4-4, 3-4) went ahead 28-24 when tight end Steve Bush made a diving, fingertip catch of a 3-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-1 with 4:12 to play.
Arkansas 30, No. 11 Auburn 28
The host Razorbacks (6-2, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) led 27-0 at halftime, but Auburn made it 30-28 with 18 seconds left and recovered an onside kick at its 47.
Pat Nix completed an 18-yard pass to Willie Gosha, but the Tigers (5-3, 3-3) were out of timeouts and Matt Hawkins' 52-yard field goal attempt missed.
No. 12 Notre Dame 20, B.C. 10
Marc Edwards rushed for a career-high 167 yards and scored two touchdowns for Notre Dame (7-2) at South Bend, Ind.
Boston College (2-6) had a chance to tie the game at 17 with 12:30 left, but Mark Hartsell was intercepted by Lyron Cobbins at the Notre Dame 2.
No. 13 USC 21, No. 17 Wash. 21, tie
Southern California scored in the final minute to tie Washington (5-2-1, 4-0-1 Pac-10), overcoming a 21-0 fourth-quarter deficit.
The visiting Trojans (6-1-1, 4-0-1 Pac-10) didn't attempt a 2-point conversion after Brad Otton's 2-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Williams with 33 seconds left.
No. 16 Penn St. 45, Indiana 21
Aaron Collins and Terry Killens converted turnovers into touchdowns against Indiana, the team with the worst turnover margin in the Big Ten.
The host Nittany Lions (6-2, 3-2) converted turnovers on four straight Indiana possessions into 17 first-half points. Indiana (2-6, 0-5) had five turnovers and also had a punt blocked.
No. 18 Alabama 38, North Texas 19
Brian Steger rushed for 97 yards against visiting North Texas, but the Crimson Tide (6-2) did not secure the victory until Freddie Kitchens hit Chad Key for a 7-yard touchdown pass that made it 31-13 with 9:02 remaining. North Texas (1-7) added a late touchdown on Jason Mills' 63-yard pass to Troy Redwine.
No. 19 Texas A&M 31, Houston 7
Andre Williams returned an interception 5 yards for a late third-quarter touchdown as Texas A&M won its 30th straight at home.
Corey Pullig completed two touchdown passes to Hayward Clay in the second quarter for the Aggies (5-2, 3-1 Southwest Conference).
No. 22 Texas Tech 34, N. Mexico 7
Marcus Coleman returned a fumble 92 yards for a touchdown as Texas Tech used its defense to defeat host New Mexico (4-4).
Texas Tech (5-2) kept up the defensive pressure in the second half.
No. 23 Oklahoma 13, Missouri 9
Jerald Moore caught a 72-yard touchdown pass from Eric Moore with 6:20 to play, and finished with 117 yards on 26 carries, his fourth 100-yard day of the year and third in a row.
Visiting Oklahoma (5-2-1, 2-2 Big Eight) has a 12-game winning streak against Missouri and has won 24 of 26.
Former walk-on Mark Norris kicked three field goals for Missouri (2-6, 0-4).
No. 24 UCLA 33, California 16
Karim Abdul-Jabbar gained 217 yards on 33 carries and Tommy Bennett returned a fumble 22 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second half as the host Bruins snapped a five-game losing streak to Cal (2-6, 1-4 Pac-10).
Cade McNown ran for one touchdown and passed for one as UCLA (6-2, 3-2) won its fourth straight game.