Messenger-Inquirer from Owensboro, Kentucky • 12

4D Sports MESSENGER-INQUIRER, Sunday, October 23. 2005 COLLEGE FOOTBALL No. 1 Toppers on, 42-7 roll the statistics, outgaining Western Illinois by a 491-146 margin. The Hilltoppers amassed 27 first downs and limited the Leathernecks to 12. WKU got a big game from reserve running back Stephen Willis, who rushed for 149 yards on 26 carries.

Willis did the bulk of the work after Moore left the game with a shoulder injury. "Stephen came up big for us," Elson said. "He played very well." Haddix, meanwhile, finished 10-of-17 through the air for 192 yards and three TDs. Western Kentucky returns to action at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, hosting No.

10 Southern Illinois (5-2, 3-1). The game will be broadcast live on ESPN University (Owensboro cable channel 124). WESTERN KENTUCKY 42 WESTERN ILLINOIS 7 Western Kentucky 21 14 0 7 42 Western Illinois 7 0 0 0 7 First Quarter WKU Moore 32 run James kick), 12:45. WIU Glasford 9 run (Rowan kick), 8:59. WKU Moore 2 run (James kick), 6:57.

WKU demons 13 pass trom Haddix (James kick), 3:16. Second Quarter WKU Haddix 1 run James kick). 7:51. WKU Perkins 41 pass Irom Haddix (James kick), 3:48. Fourth Quarter WKU demons 3 pass trom Haddix (James kick), 13:14.

A 13,558. I 1 4 WKU blows open game with three TDs in first quarter at Western Illinois Messenger-Inquirer Western Kentucky, ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division I-AA, proved why on Saturday. Hilltoppers scored three touchdowns in the opening period and rolled to a 42-7 Gateway Football Conference victory over Western Illinois before 13,558 fans in Macomb, 111. WKU improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in league play, while the Leathernecks slipped to 4-6 and remain winless (0-4) in league play.

"We got after it today," Western Kentucky coach David Elson said. "We were ready to play from the start, and it paid off. "We got some quick scores and were able to take their crowd out of the game. It was important for us to assume control early, and we did that" Lerron Moore scored twice in the first period, on runs of 32 and 2 yards. The Hilltoppers' third score in the frame came on a 13-yard TD pass from Justin Haddix to Cory demons.

The Hilltoppers broke it open in the second quarter, as Haddix scored on an option play from a yard out, before completing a 41-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Maurice Perkins. WKU's final score came in the fourth quarter when Haddix again connected with demons, this time for a 3-yard score. Western Illinois' lone touchdown came at 8:55 of the first period, when Travis Glasford scored on a 5-yard run. Western Kentucky dominated Associated Press Louisiana State wide receiver Skyler Green fights for yardage after Kevin Hobbs stops him during the first half Saturday night in Baton catching a pass from JaMarcus Russell as Auburn defensive back Rouge, La. No.

7 LSU defeated No. 16 Auburn 20-17 in overtime. WIU WKU First downs 27 Rushes-yards 53-270 Passing 221 Comp-Att-Int 12-19-1 Return Yards 19 Punts-Avg. 4-45 Fumbles-Lost 4-0 Penalties-Yards 5-30 Time ot Possession 36:23 12 24-19 9-75 II A JF 23:37 mm downs Auburn in OT INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING W. Kentucky, Willis 26-149, Moore 5-43, Woolridge 5-33, Ratterty 7-32, Haddix 7-5, Cassity 1-4, Ladson 2-4.

W. Illinois, Glasford 11-37, Douglas 2-6, Payne 1-0, Ducey t-(minus 4), Anderson 1-(minus 5), LaFalce8-(minus15). PASSING W. Kentucky, Haddix 10-17-1-192, Ladson 2-2-0-29. W.

Illinois, LaFalce 14-19-1-112, Ducey 1-3-0-15. RECEIVING W. Kentucky, Perkins 4-74, Jackson 3-63, Hamilton 1-27, Roberson 1-21. demons 1-16, Cassity 1-12, Link 1-8. W.

Illinois, Glasford 7-48, Gray 3-33, Thomas 3-20, Douglas 1-16, Sims 1-10. Morehead's Yost tosses four TDs in second half of win in the third. Morehead State put the game away in the final period as Eli Parks hauled in a 6-yard pass and Nick Feldmans had a 37-yard touchdown catch. Shockley threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Bryan McClendon on Georgia's first possession, and Joe Tereshinski did just enough in relief to keep the Bulldogs (7-0, 5-0) on course for a spot in the SEC championship game. They can clinch the Eastern Division title as early as next weekend with a win over rival Florida.

No. 5 Alabama 6, No. 17 Tennessee 3 Jamie Christensen's 34-yard field goal with 13 seconds left lifted the Crimson Tide (7-0, 5-0 SEC) to a home victory over the Volunteers (3-3, 2-3). It was Christensen's second straight game-winner, but it was a fumble by Tennessee near the end zone on the Volunteers' previous possession that proved to be the key. Tennessee appeared poised to take the lead when it had the ball first-and-goal at the Alabama 3.

A 1-yard loss by Arian Foster was followed by quarterback Rick Clausen getting penalized for attempting a pass across the line of scrimmage. On third-and-goal from the 15, Foster caught a swing pass. Alabama's Roman Harper jarred the ball loose near the goal line and it bounced out of the end zone with 5:08 left, giving the Tide the ball and stopping Tennessee's hopes of kicking a field goal. No. 8 UCLA 51, Oregon State 28 Drew Olson threw for a school-record six touchdowns, and Maurice Drew accounted for 250 yards and two scores as the Bruins (7-0, 4-0 Pac-10) defeated the visiting Beavers (4-3, 2-2).

Olson had tied the school record of five touchdowns passes held by Cade McNown a week earlier in an overtime win over Washington State. UCLA 7-0 for the first time since 1998 and only the fourth time since 1954. Olson completed scoring throws of 43 and 20 yards to Drew, 2 and 3 yards to Mar-cedes Lewis, 48 yards to Ryan Moya and 46 yards to Brandon Breazell. No. 9 Notre Dame 49, Brigham Young 23 Brady Quinn threw for 467 yards and a school-record six touchdowns, four to Maurice Stovall, to lead the Fighting Irish (5-2) over the Cougars (3-4) to end a four-game home losing streak.

Quinn broke the mark of five TD passes he set in an overtime loss against Michigan State earlier this season. He was 25-of-30 passing in the first half for a school-record 287 yards, and finished 32-of41 passing. No. 11 Florida State 55, Duke 24 Drew Weatherford threw two touchdown passes and backup Xavier Lee added two of his own to help the visiting Seminoles (6-1, 3-1 ACC) defeat the Blue Devils (1-7, 0-5). Greg Carr caught three of the TDs and third-string tailback Antone Smith ran for two scores for Florida State.

No. 12 Penn State 63, Illinois 10 Michael Robinson threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more in the first half as the visiting Nittany lions (7-1, 4-1) routed the Fighting Illini (2-5, 0-4) Penn State gave coach Joe Paterno his 350th victory. The win keeps the Nittany Lions in a tie with Wisconsin at the top of the Big Ten standings and moves Paterno's record to 350-117-3 in 40 seasons, second on the all-time Division I-A coaching victory list No. 14 Ohio State 41, Indiana 10 Troy Smith ran for two touchdowns and threw for another as the Buckeyes (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) routed the host Hoosiers (4-3, 1-3). Antonio Pittman was the setup man, running 26 times for 133 yards, while Smith finished the job.

Smith carried 12 times for 55 yards, scored on runs of 1 and 23 yards and completed 14-of-23 for 226 yards, including a 23-yard TD pass to Santonio Holmes. No. 15 Oregon 28, Arizona 21 Linebacker Brent Haberly returned a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter as the visiting Ducks (7-1, 4-1 Pac-10) defeated the Wildcats (1-6, 04) Blair Phillips, another linebacker, had a sack and recovered another fumble late in the game to stop Arizona's final scoring threat and Oregon won for the fourth straight time since losing to No. 1 Southern California. No.

19 Wisconsin 31, Purdue 20 Safety Roderick Rogers returned an interception 84 yards for a touchdown that sparked the Badgers (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) to a home win over the Boilermakers (2-5, 04). Cornerback Jake Ikegwuonu added two-interceptions, including a game-sealing pick-off that he returned 62 yards for a score with 3:21 left No. 21 TCU 48, Air Force 10 Jeff Ballard threw for 302 yards and two scores, to help the visiting Horned Frogs (7-1, 50 Mountain West Conference) dominate the Falcons (3-5, 24). Ballard went 20-for-28 to lift TCU to its sixth straight victory. Northwestern 49, No.

22 Michigan State 14 Brett Basanez threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores to lead the visiting Wildcats (5-2, 3-1) over the Spartans (4-3, 1-3). The Wildcats went up 28-7 on their first drive of the second half, capped by a 14-yard TD pass from Basanez to Eric Peterman. North Carolina 7, No. 23 Virginia 5 Ronnie McGill ran for 118 yards while Cedrick Holt had a key interception late to cap a stellar defensive effort as the Tar Heels (3-3, 2-1 ACC) won at home over the Cavaliers (4-3, 2-3). Matt Baker connected with RikW Cook for' the game's only touchdown in the first quarter.

No. 24 Fresno State 40, Idaho 10 Joe Fernandez returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown, and Jaron Fairman returned a blocked punt for another score as the Bulldogs (5-1, 3-0 Western Athletic Conference) defeated the host Vandals (1-6, 1-3). Fresno State quarterback Paul Pinegar was 21-of-33 for 228 yards and a touchdown. Wendell Mathis, who scored on a 58-yard TD run in the fourth quarter, finished with 101 yards on 1 1 carries for the Bulldogs. No.

22 Michigan State, No. 23 Virginia lose Associated Press This season, there was no reprieve for Auburn's John Vaughn. Vaughn's 39-yard field-goal attempt in overtime hit the left upright, giving No. 7 LSU a 20-17 win over No. 16 Auburn on Saturday night Last year, Auburn beat LSU 10-9 on Courtney Taylor's touchdown with 1:14 remaining.

Vaughn initially missed the extra point, but a penalty gave him a second chance. In this season's rematch, he missed five field goals, including a 49-yarder in the final seconds of regulation that would have won it Auburn (5-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) had won 13 straight against SEC opponents, one short of a school record. LSU (5-1, 4-1) trailed 17-14 late in the fourth quarter before Chris Jackson's 44-yard kick tied it with 1:40 remaining. LSU had the ball first in overtime, but had to settle for Jackson's 30-yard field goal after Early Doucet dropped a pass in the end zone. The LSU defense then held, setting up Vaughn's last miss.

Auburn's Kenny Irons rushed for a career-high 218 yards, the most allowed by LSU since Alabama's Shaun Alexander had 291 in 1996. Irons' 74-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave Auburn a 10-7 lead, but LSU answered with JaMarcus Russell's 18-yard scoring pass to Dwayne Bowe. Auburn's last SEC loss was at Georgia on Nov. 15, 2003. No.

1 Southern Cal 51, Washington 24 Matt Leinart completed 20-of-26 passes for 201 yards and four touchdowns, and Reggie Bush returned a punt 84 yards for another score to lead the visiting Trojans (7-0, 4-0 Pac-10) to their 29th straight win, a victory over the Huskies (1-6, 04). One week after connecting for 61 yards on the revitalizing, fourth-down pass that led to victory over Notre Dame, Leinart and Dwayne Jarrett combined for three touchdowns for the second time this season. Jarrett caught seven passes for 95 yards and the three No. 2 Texas 52, No. 10 Texas Tech 17 Vince Young threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Longhorns (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) won at home over the Red Raiders (6-1, 3-1).

Cody Hodges, coming off a 643-yard passing day against Kansas State, did his best to keep the Red Raiders from getting blown off the field. The fifth-year senior went 42-for-64 for 369 yards and two touchdown passes. No. 4 Georgia 23, Arkansas 20 Senior quarterback D.J. Shockley went down with a knee injury in the first half, marring the Bulldogs' victory over the visiting Razor-backs (2-5, 04 Southeastern Conference).

MOREHEAD STATE 31, DAVIDSON 13 Davidson 0 7 6 0 13 Morehead State 3 0 14 14 31 First Quarter MSUFG Jones 21, 12:42 Second Quarter DC Hubbard 11 run (Smith kick), 13:47 Third Quarter MSU Cornelius 41 pass from Yost (Jones kick), 13:08 MSU McRae 33 pass from Yost (Jones kick), 7:10 DC Dioguardi 27 pass from Alexander (kick failed), 2:57 Fourth Quarter MSU Parkes 6 pass from Yost (Jones kick), 12:12 MSU Feldman 37 pass from Yost (Jones kick), 3:30 Eagles down Davidson to reach Pioneer title game Associated Press IMOREHEAD Brian Yost threw four second-half touchdowns as Morehead State wrapped up the Pioneer Football League South division with a 31-13 win over Davidson on Saturday afternoon. Yost completed 15-of-20 passes for 243 yards. It is the fourth straight Pioneer South title for Morehead State (7-1, 3-0), which advances to the championship game Nov. 19. Davidson (3-5, 1-2) led 7-3 at the half on the strength of Jona-thon Hubbard's 11-yard second quarter run.

Yost connected with Rick Cornelius and Brandon McRae on 41- and 33-yard scores in the third period as Morehead State took a 17-7 lead. Davidson fought back and got to 17-13 as Brett Dioguardi caught a 27-yard pass from Ryan Alexander with 2:57 left A 10. DC 19 29-77 163 15-38-3 54 5-35 0-0 3-25 MSU 20 50-160 243 15-20-0 70 3-2 12-113 34:02 First downs Rushes-yards Passing Comp-Att-Int Return Yards Punts-Avg. Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yards Time of Possession 25:58 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Davidson, J. Hubbard 12-33, Barnes 6-24, Jones 2-13, Sundheim 2-11, R.

Hubbard 1-0. Alexander 6-minus 4). MSU, Cornelius 7-50, Parkes 9-49, McCoy 8-32, Yost 12-12, McGee 10-9, Stockelman 4-8. PASSING Davidson, Alexander 15-35-2 163. Jones 0-3-1 0.

MSU, Yost 15-20-0 243. RECEIVING Davidson, Dioguardi 6-82, R. Hubbard 3-44, Sundheim 2-11, Schrandt 1-14, Whetsel 1-6, Barnes 1-4, Rice 1-2. MSU, McRae 4-73, Calhoun 4-42, Vagni 2-40, Parkes 2-11, Cornelius 1-41, Feldman 1-37, McGee 1 -(minus 1). Eastern wins at wire over SEMO, 33-32 Saturday, return to action Nov.

5 at Murray State. Greco-to-BuggTDpass with 1.4 seconds left lifts Colonels to victory Turnovers costly as Murray falls to Eastern Illinois, 35-28 EASTERN KENTUCKY 33 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE 32 SE Missouri 16 7 0 9 32 Eastern Kentucky 0 13 14 6 33 First Quarter SE Missouri Holloman 4 pass from Haley (Schermann kick) 11:07 SE Missouri Safety, 10:51 SE Missouri Holloman 16 run (Schermann kick) 7:45 Second Quarter E. Kentucky Dunn 4 run (pass tailed) 3:20 SE Missouri Holloman 64 pass from Haley (Schermann kick) 1:15 E. Kentucky Dunn 3 run (Long kick) 0:19 Third Quarter E. Kentucky Dunn 1 run (Long kick) 6:26 E.

Kentucky Dunn 22 run (Long kick) 00:08 Fourth Quarter SE Missouri FG Schermann 27, 12:02 SE Missouri Holloman 1 run (pass failed) 4:08 E. Kentucky Bugg 23 pass (run failed) 00:01 ft 3.95U. EASTERN ILLINOIS 35, MURRAY STATE 28 Eastern Illinois 21 0 14 0 35 Murray State 7 7 14 0 28 First Quarter E. Illinois Voss 56 pass trom Donato (Yates kick), 11:16 Murray St. Marchman 17 pass trom Topps (Crass kick), 7:53 E.

Illinois Burge 68 fumble return (Yates kick) 5:51 E. Illinois Webb 83 run (Yates kick) 1:55 Second Quarter Murray St. Eiland 7 pass Irom Topps (Crass kick) 00:16 Third Quarter Murray St. Harper 26 pass Irom Salyer (Crass kick) 11:38 Murray St. Turner 65 punt return (Crass kick) 9:45 E.

Illinois Burge 0 tumble return (Yates kick) 7:28 E. Illinois Seymour 43 interception return (Yates kick) 6:26 A 5.305. EIU MSU First downs 12 32 Rushes-yards 39-202 37-202 Passing 80 254 Comp-Att-Int 8-16-3 27-54-3 Return Yards 73 123 Punts-Avg. Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-3 Penalties-Yards 9-94 5-69 Time of Possession 28:24 31:36 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING E. Illinois, Webb 25-164, Bess 4-8, Donato 5-7, Smith 2-4, Campione 1-3.

Murray Topps 16-1 18. Turner 7-39. Cook 1 1-25. Salyer 3-(minus 3). PASSING E.

Illinois, Donato 8-16-3-80. Murray Salyer 16-28-1-158, Topps 11-24-2-96. RECEIVING E. Illinois, Voss 3-69, Kesler 2-1, Webb 2-(minus 8), Smith 1-18. Murray St, Marchman 8-77, Harper 7-94, Eiland 4-21, Turner 4-7, Graham 3-40, Baxter 1-15.

From staff and wire reports Junior wide receiver Patrick Bugg caught a touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Josh Greco with 1.4 seconds remaining to lead Eastern Kentucky to a 33-32 victory over win-less Southeast Missouri State on Saturday night in Richmond. The victory improved the Colonels to 4-4 overall and 4-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference. SEMO fell to 0-7 and 0-5. Sophomore running back Mark Dunn also had a big night for Eastern Kentucky, scoring four touchdowns. Greco finished through the air for 247 yards and in the process established two school records completions (174) and pass attempts (299) in a season.

Coach Danny Hope's Colonels, who have an open date next SEMO 20 43-161 237 18-27-0 62 5-35 1-0 First downs Rushes-yards Passing Comp-Att-Int Return Yards Punts-Avg. Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yards EKU 26 38-152 280 19-34-1 90 3-38 1-1 12-105 28:50 Ohio Valley Conference). Topps rushed for 131 yards and threw for two touchdowns for the Racers (1-6, 0-4), who led 28-21 with 9:45 left in the third quarter after Nick Turner returned a punt 65 yards for a score. Tristan Burge recovered a Murray State fumble on the goal line with 7:28 left in the third to even the score at 28-28. It was Burge's second fumble recovery that he ran in for a touchdown.

The first was a 68-yard return in the first quarter. Murray State ran up 433 yards of offense, but committed six turnovers. The Racers, last in the OVC, return to action next Saturday at Southeast Missouri State (0-6, Racers quarterback Topps has two TD passes in 0VG loss Associated Press MURRAY Lucius Seymour returned an interception 43 yards for a tie-breaking score as Eastern Illinois beat Murray State 35-28 on Saturday. It was the second of two turnovers that Eastern Illinois converted into touchdowns in the third quarter. Seymour's return of a pass by quarterback Ken Topps with 6:26 left in the third quarter put Eastern Illinois up for good.

Vincent Webb had an 83-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and finished with 164 yards for the Panthers (5-2, 4-0 12-96 21:10 Time of Possession INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING SE Missouri, Holloman 31-155, Peterson 3-11, Tuineau 1-4, Andrade 1-1, Haley 5-(mlnus 10). E. Kentucky, Dunn 20-91, Greco 13-44, Patrick 5-17. PASSING SE Missouri, Haley 18-27-0-237. E.

Kentucky. Greco 18-32-1-247, Dunn 1-1-0-33. RECEIVING SE Missouri, Holloman 6-95, Milcic 4-67, Tuineau 4-32, Simpson 1-17, McDowell 1-16, Matthews 1 -8. Goodson 1 -2. E.

Kentucky. Ralston 6-81 Lurry 5-60, Dunn 3-24, Bugg 2-63. Barber 2-19, Greco 1-33..