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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 8:18 p.m., Saturday, September 20, 2008

College FB: Today's top performances

By ANDREW BAGNATO
AP College Football Writer

The top performances today in college football:

—North Carolina State quarterback Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes, including the tying 5-yarder to George Bryan with 1:12 left in regulation, and the Wolfpack knocked off No. 15 East Carolina 30-24 in overtime.

—Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Prior threw for four touchdowns, and was intercepted once, in a 28-10 victory over Troy. Prior is the first true freshman to start for the Buckeyes since Art Schlichter in 1978.

—Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel set a school record by completing 20 straight passes against Buffalo. That was three completions shy of the NCAA record of 23 in a row shared by Tennessee's Tee Martin (1998) and Cal's Aaron Rodgers (2004).

—Penn State linebacker Navorro Bowman had three sacks and an interception to lead a defense that held Temple to 138 yards and 10 first downs.

—Xavier Martin ran for four touchdowns to help Fordham rally for a 29-22 victory over Columbia, giving the Rams bragging rights in New York City.

GOPHER MADNESS

After finishing 1-11 last year, Minnesota knew exactly where to turn to shore up its defense. Duke? The Golden Gophers hired former Blue Devils coach Ted Roof to be their defensive coordinator, and he has turned them into a turnover-producing machine. Minnesota picked off four passes — including a 50-yard return for a touchdown by Simoni Lawrence — in a 37-3 rout of Florida Atlantic. Minnesota improved to 4-0 in its final season in the Metrodome, and it has a plus-11 turnover margin. "I came to the University of Minnesota because I wanted to play in the Big Ten," Lawrence said. "I can't wait to start playing some conference games." The wait is over. Next up for the Gophers: a trip to No. 13 Ohio State.

SOME FINISH ... AGAIN

Jarrett Lee and Brandon LaFell hooked up on an 18-yard touchdown pass with 1:03 left to lift No. 6 LSU to yet another dramatic comeback win over No. 10 Auburn, 26-21 Saturday in an SEC West showdown that again produced a fantastic finish and wild momentum swings.

The last five meetings have been decided by a total of 19 points in a rivalry that has produced more than drama. The winner has gone to the SEC championship game in six of the last eight seasons.

MISSISSIPPI STATE BULL-OGS (NO D)

Last week, the SEC put out a press release extolling the league's take-no-prisoners defenses, trying to spin public opinion after a weekend that featured Auburn's 3-2 victory over Mississippi State. We're waiting for a press release to explain Georgia Tech 38, Mississippi State 7.

MILESTONES

St. John's (Minn.) coach John Gagliardi coached his 589th game in a 9-6 loss to the Concordia-Moorhead Cobbers, breaking Eddie Robinson's record. Gagliardi is 455-123-11 during his 60-year tenure as a head coach, the last 56 in Collegeville. ... Purdue coach Joe Tiller won his 85th game for the Boilermakers in a 32-25 victory over Central Michigan. Tiller moved past Jack Mollenkopf, who won 84 games from 1956-1969.

ROOM WITH A VIEW

Plagued by a sore right leg, Penn State coach Joe Paterno moved to the Beaver Stadium press box for the second half of the Nittany Lions' 45-3 victory over Temple. "My leg's OK. It's just standing on it too long, it aches," Paterno said. "I'm probably babying myself." No more than Paterno is babying his team by scheduling Temple and Coastal Carolina.

COLOR SCHEMES

Decked out in traditional black helmets, white jerseys and gold pants, the Iowa Hawkeyes looked like the Pittsburgh Steelers in a visit to Heinz Field. But they played like the Hawkeyes in a 21-20 loss to Pitt. Meanwhile, Arizona broke out red pants in a 31-10 victory at UCLA. It's believed to be the first time since the early 1950s that the Wildcats wore red pants, Wildcats spokesman Tom Duddleston said from the Rose Bowl.

GO WEST DOG

No. 3 Georgia made a rare regular-season trip out of the Southeast and beat Arizona State 27-10 on Saturday night.

Knowshon Moreno rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns, A.J. Green caught eight passes for 159 yards and a suffocating defense did the rest on a 99-degree night.

This marked Georgia's first regular-season trip to the West since 1960, when it played USC in Los Angeles. The Bulldogs brought thousands of followers and their revered mascot, Uga VII, who panted on the sidelines. In a crowd of 72,955, red-clad fans dominated Sun Devil Stadium's end zone upper deck.

The Bulldogs (4-0) came to town with an attitude. They had opened the season atop The Associated Press Top 25 but twice slipped a spot after victories.

THRILLING WAY TO WIN

Nico Herron of No. 25 Fresno State knocked down Aaron Opelt's 2-point conversion pass in the second overtime to give the Bulldogs a wild 55-54 win over Toledo on Saturday night.

Toledo coach Tom Amstutz decided to go for the win after the Rockets (1-2) scored on Opelt's 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end John Allen on fourth down to make it a one-point game.

The Bulldogs (2-1) escaped with a win despite having no answer for Toledo's running game.

DaJuane Collins ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns before leaving with an injured left ankle. His backup, freshman Morgan Williams, ran for 143 yards and one score.

BY THE NUMBERS

No. 14 Brigham Young beat Wyoming 44-0, extending the nation's longest winning streak to 14 games. The Cougars, who beat UCLA 59-0 a week ago, have registered back-to-back shutouts for the first time in 23 years. ... UCLA quarterback Kevin Craft went 15-for-31 for 81 yards. That's 2.6 yards per attempt. ... Northwestern set a school single-game record by allowing four net rushing yards in a 16-8 victory over Ohio. ... Ohio State drew an announced crowd of 102,989, the smallest at Ohio Stadium in six years. Web sites were selling tickets for the Troy game at about half the $62 face value. ... Gearing up for its trip to Athens next week, Alabama rushed for 328 yards in a 49-14 victory at Arkansas. It was Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino's worst loss as a college coach, which must have brought a few smiles around the Atlanta Falcons' headquarters in Flowery Branch, Ga.

THEY SAID IT

"Just like I tell them after a win, they have 24 hours to enjoy it and then they have to move on. It hurts, but I told them they have 24 hours to get the hurt and pain out." — East Carolina coach Skip Holtz after the 15th-ranked Pirates' 30-24 overtime loss to N.C. State.