Southwest Roundup : Baylor Uses Old Script to Beat Houston, 27-13

Reserve defensive end Keith Rose grabbed a fumble out of the air and ran 45 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown Saturday night as 13th-ranked Baylor came from behind to beat Houston, 27-13, in a Southwest Conference game at Waco, Tex.

The play was similar to one on which USC’s Tim McDonald grabbed a mid-air fumble and ran 99 yards for a touchdown in the Trojans’ 17-14 victory over Baylor two weeks ago.

The Bears, behind 13-3 at halftime, trailed 13-10 when Houston quarterback Gerald Landry tried to feed the ball to fullback Sloan Hood. The ball bounced off Hood’s back and into the arms of Rose, who ran untouched for the score with 10:58 to go.

The Bears, 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the SWC, struck for 10 more points after Rose’s run on Terry Syler’s 31-yard field goal and Jeff Murray’s 7-yard scoring run.

The Cougars (1-3, 0-1) managed only six first downs.

Arkansas 34, TCU 17--The passing and running of quarterback Greg Thomas carried eighth-ranked Arkansas to victory over SWC rival Texas Christian at Fayetteville, Ark., and Razorbacks’ Coach Ken Hatfield was quick to acknowledge his star’s performance.

“When everyone else was tired in the fourth quarter, even though he had played the entire game, he still had that wiggle in him that it takes to make big plays,” Hatfield said.

Thomas raced 42 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown that secured the victory for Arkansas (4-0, 1-0). Then Thomas, who completed 14 of 20 passes for 198 yards, added a 25-yard scoring run with 2:45 remaining.

Thomas’ first touchdown, which put Arkansas ahead 27-17, capped a 95-yard drive.

The Arkansas defense, riddled for 192 yards in the first half and 54 yards by Tony Darthard on TCU’s first play of the second half, took control during the final 29 minutes.

Darthard was stopped at the Arkansas eight, giving TCU (2-2, 0-2) a chance to increase its 17-13 lead. But, on second down, Odis Lloyd stripped Tony Jeffery of the ball, and Tony Cherico recovered at the Arkansas four. Then Thomas passed 34 yards to J.R. Brown to get the Razorbacks out of the hole.

Texas A&M; 45, Texas Tech 8--Roger Vick rushed for 104 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Kevin Murray threw 2 touchdown passes for the No. 15-ranked Aggies in a Southwest Conference game at College Station, Tex.

The SWC champion improved its overall record to 3-1 in its conference opener, and narrowly missed posting its first shutout since a 58-0 win over Memphis State in 1978. Quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver scored for the Red Raiders (2-3, 0-2) from a yard out with 48 seconds left.

Texas A&M; has won 11 straight home games but has defeated Texas Tech only twice in the last five years. Texas A&M; rolled up 522 yards and 28 first downs.

SMU 31, Boston College 29--Jeff Atkins rushed for 129 yards and scored 3 touchdowns as the Mustangs went ahead, 31-14, and held on to beat the Eagles at Irving, Tex., in the first meeting between the schools.

The Eagles (1-3) rallied behind Kelvin Martin, who caught a 32-yard scoring pass from Shawn Halloran, returned a punt 85 yards for another score and then caught a pass for a two-point conversion. But Southern Methodist (3-1) engineered a time-consuming drive that ran out the clock.

Texas 17, Rice 14--Jeff Ward kicked a 34-yard field goal in the third quarter as the Longhorns edged the Owls at Houston in both teams’ SWC opener.

Rice (1-3) was coming off a 31-6 loss to Division I-AA Southwest Texas. The Owls stayed with the Longhorns until Ward kicked his field goal with 10 seconds left in the third period. Texas is 2-1.

Rice tied the score, 14-14, early in the third quarter when tight end Ken Majors, who had 9 receptions for 109 yards, caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from Mark Comalander, who completed 11 of 18 passes for 154 yards.