Pacific 10 Roundup : Oregon State Is Beaten by Fresno State, 33-24

Quarterback Jim Sweeney threw touchdown passes on plays covering 95 and 75 yards in the third quarter as Fresno State defeated Oregon State, 33-24, Saturday night at Corvallis, Ore.

After Oregon State’s Jim Nielsen kicked two first-quarter field goals, Fresno State’s Barry Belli hit three in the second quarter to give the Bulldogs a 9-6 halftime lead.

With a first and 10 at his five, Sweeney, the son of Fresno State Coach Jim Sweeney, hit Stephen Baker in stride at midfield and Baker covered the remainder of the distance for the longest passing touchdown ever at Parker Stadium.

Nielsen kicked his third field goal, a 44-yarder, to boost his career record to 12 for 12 and move the Beavers within 16-9.

But less than two minutes later, Sweeney and Gene Taylor teamed up for a 75-yard touchdown.

James Williams ran from two yards out for the third touchdown of the quarter to pad the Bulldog lead to 30-9.

Fresno State, which defeated Nevada Las Vegas last week, is 2-0. The Beavers are 2-1.

Belli set another Parker Stadium record by kicking a fourth field goal in the fourth quarter.

Bulldog free safety Rod Webster intercepted three passes.

Fresno State punter Mike Mancini took a bad snap and stepped into his own end zone for a safety for the game’s final points.

Oregon 45, Stanford 28--Tony Cherry rushed for 227 yards and three touchdowns to lead Oregon to a Pacific 10 victory at Eugene, Ore.

Cherry, who carried 27 times, had the second-highest single-game rushing performance in Oregon history behind a 249-yard effort by Bobby Moore, also known as Ahmad Rashad, in 1970. Cherry’s touchdown runs were from 21 yards, 80 yards and 22 yards.

His 80-yard run tied Mel Renfro’s mark as the Ducks’ third-longest run from scrimmage for a score.

Chris Miller passed for 266 yards and touchdowns to Kevin Willhite and Lew Barnes. Miller also ran eight yards for a score.

Barnes, who caught five passes for 104 yards, scored on a 36-yard pass, catching the ball while battling two defenders in the end zone.

Willhite scored on an 18-yard pass.

Stanford’s John Paye passed for 408 yards and three touchdowns but was intercepted three times. He completed 31 of 47 attempts.

Fullback Brad Muster accounted for 161 yards on 14 catches. Muster, who had 95 yards rushing and 107 receiving against San Jose State last week, added 129 yards rushing Saturday in 21 carries.

Total offense by both teams in the game was 1,074 yards.

It was the second Pac-10 victory of the season for Oregon (2-1), which handed Stanford (1-1) its first conference loss.

Arizona 23, California 17--Arizona safety Allan Durden, a senior from San Diego, intercepted a pass at his six-yard line with 1 1/2 minutes remaining, killing a California drive and preserving a Pacific 10 victory for the unbeaten Wildcats at Berkeley.

Linebacker Boomer Gibson of Orange and cornerback Gordon Bunch of San Fernando made key defensive plays which helped Arizona, down 10-0 after one quarter, to go ahead in the second quarter. Max Zendejas kicked three field goals for the Wildcats, raising his career total to 65, fifth highest in major college football history.

Zendejas’ final field goal, a 25-yarder, came with 2:43 left and gave Arizona a six-point lead soon after Cal’s Vincent Delgado scored on a 37-yard run off a reverse.

Cal drove to the Arizona 19 in the closing minutes before Durden cut in front of Cal receiver Gayland Houston for the game-clinching interception, his second of the game.

“I think we’ve got the best defensive backs in the conference, maybe the best in the country,” Durden said.

Arizona is 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Pac-10. Cal is now 1-3 and 0-3.

Utah 44, Washington St. 37--Utah’s Eddie Lewis rushed for 172 yards and two touchdowns, and Larry Egger passed 241 yards and another touchdowns as the Utes (3-0) won a nonconference game at Salt Lake City.

The victory marked the first time since 1947 that Utah, of the Western Athletic Conference, has won its first three games of the season.

Washington State, of the Pac 10, fell to 1-3.

Washington State running back Rueben Mayes, who fumbled twice, rushed for 131 yards in 26 carries, and Cougar quarterback Mark Rypien threw three touchdown passes.

Arizona State 27, Pacific 0--Jeff Van Raaphorst threw two touchdown passes to Aaron Cox to help the Sun Devils (1-1) win at Tempe, Ariz.

Arizona State, which played reserves much of the second half, had 541 yards in total offense to 220 yards for the Tigers (1-2).

Van Raaphorst completed 18 of 27 passes for 267 yards, the eighth straight game the junior has passed for more than 200 yards.