California beat Arizona in the longest game in major college history. It also was a long day for opponents of Top 10 teams.
Cal finally won, 56-55, when Arizona faked an extra point in the fourth overtime and failed to make a two-point conversion. Bears quarterback Pat Barnes threw for 503 yards and eight touchdowns Saturday, including three in overtime.The game surpassed Cal's three-overtime victory over Oregon State earlier this year as the longest in Division I-A, which is using overtime during the regular season for the first time this year.
"I just felt it was time to win the game," Arizona coach Dick Tomey said. "Whatever second-guessing there is to do about this game, blame it on the head coach. I've never been a genius, and nobody's ever accused me of being stupid. I was just trying to find a way to win the game."
No. 1 Florida 47, Georgia 7
Danny Wuerffel broke Florida's career passing record and had four touchdown passes by halftime. Despite missing six starters on defense because of injuries, the Gators (8-0, 6-0 SEC) held Georgia (3-5, 2-4) scoreless until Patrick Pass scored on a 9-yard run with 8:45 left. Wuerffel, who played only one possession in the second half, was 16-of-23 for 279 yards. He now has 9,539 career passing yards, topping the school mark of 9,260 held by Shane Matthews.
No. 2 Ohio St. 45, Minnesota 0
Andy Katzenmoyer returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown as Ohio State rebounded from a horrible first half. The Buckeyes (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) lost four turnovers and two key players in the first half, yet still led 10-0 over the Gophers (3-5, 0-5). Pepe Pearson ran for 123 yards for the Buckeyes.
No. 4 Arizona St. 29, Oregon St. 14
Terry Battle returned the second-half kickoff 100 yards for the go-ahead touchdown and set up another score with a 50-yard run. The Beavers led 14-9 at halftime, and the Sun Devils (9-0, 6-0 Pac-10) didn't clinch the victory until Damien Richardson intercepted a pass and returned it 51 yards to set up another TD by Battle.
No. 5 Nebraska 73, Oklahoma 21
Nebraska (7-1, 5-0 Big 12) handed Oklahoma its worst defeat ever and scored the most points ever against the Sooners. Scott Frost threw three TD passes and the Cornhuskers intercepted four, including one that was returned 83 yards for a touchdown by freshman cornerback Ralph Brown.
No. 6 Tennessee 31, S. Carolina 14
Peyton Manning threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns. He completed 20 of 36 passes for the Volunteers (6-1, 4-1 SEC), including TD tosses of 48 yards to Andy McCullough and 20 yards to Joey Kent.
No. 7 Colorado 41, Missouri 13
Koy Detmer, playing a week after getting a concussion, passed for a school-record 457 yards and three long touchdowns as Colorado won its 10th straight road game. Detmer completed 19 of 33 passes and broke his own yardage record of 426 set in 1995.
No. 8 N. Carolina 52, N.C. St. 20
Leon Johnson scored four times, Chris Keldorf broke a school record for TD passes in a season and the Tar Heels scored their most points ever against the Wolfpack. Keldorf threw for 315 yards and three TDs.
No. 9 Michigan 45, Mich. St. 29
Scott Dreisbach threw four TD passes and Michigan took advantage of five turnovers. The Wolverines (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) scored three touchdowns in a two-minute span of the second quarter with the help of an interception and a muffed kickoff by the Spartans (5-4, 4-2).
No. 16 Virginia 27, Duke 3
Tiki Barber rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Barber helped the Cavaliers (6-2, 4-2 ACC) beat the Blue Devils for the seventh time in their last eight meetings. Duke (0-8, 0-5) avoided its first shutout in three seasons.
Syracuse 30, No. 18 W. Virginia 7
Phil Nash blocked two punts and Deon Maddux returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown. The Orangemen (5-2, 5-0 Big East) held the Mountaineers (7-2, 3-2) to minus-10 yards rushing, lowest in coach Don Nehlen's 17 years at West Virginia.
No. 19 Notre Dame 54, Navy 27
Autry Denson rushed for 125 yards and two TDs, and Marc Edwards scored three times on short runs as Notre Dame won in Dublin. The Irish (5-2) beat Navy (5-2) for an NCAA-record 33rd consecutive time. Notre Dame, held to 67 yards rushing in a loss to Air Force two weeks ago, gained 321 yards on the ground against Navy.
No. 21 Washington 21, USC 10
Corey Dillon carried a school-record 37 times for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Dillon scored on runs of 1 and 3 yards as the Huskies (6-2, 5-1 Pac-10) outscored the Trojans (5-4, 3-3) 18-0 in the second half. The Huskies sacked USC quarterback Brad Otton eight times and held the Trojans to minus-14 yards rushing.
No. 22 Miami 57, Temple 26
Tremain Mack blocked a field goal attempt that was returned for a touchdown and had 205 kickoff return yards. Last week, Mack blocked a punt that was returned for the winning touchdown in the final minute of Miami's 10-7 victory over West Virginia.
No. 23 S. Miss. 21, Cincinnati 17
Lee Roberts threw three scoring passes, including the game-winner to Kendrick Lee with 5:12 left, as Southern Miss won its seventh straight game.
No. 24 Auburn 28, Arkansas 7
Dameyune Craig threw for 185 yards, ran for 54 and accounted for two touchdowns as No. 24 Auburn's no-huddle offense clicked in a victory over Arkansas.
No. 25 Iowa 31, Illinois 21
Vernon Rollins returned an interception for a touchdown and Iowa (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) converted three turnovers into 17 points.