SPOTLIGHT / FACTS, FIGURES, COMMENTS FROM SATURDAY’S GAMES : NOTEWORTHY

Nebraska’s Mickey Joseph ran for four touchdowns in the first half of a 69-21 victory over Missouri, tying a school record for quarterbacks set by Gerry Gdowski last year against Iowa State. The victory ensured Nebraska (6-0) of extending its NCAA record to 29 consecutive winning seasons.

Rob DeBoer set a South Carolina freshman record with 165 yards rushing in a 37-7 victory over East Carolina, breaking the record of 155 yards set by Thomas Dendy in 1982. The Gamecocks, who have beaten East Carolina all eight times they have played, finished with 626 yards of offense, 10 yards short of the school record set in 1985 against The Citadel.

Darren Lewis of Texas A&M; rushed for 124 yards in a 36-31 loss to Houston, moving into third place on the SWC career rushing list with 4,098 yards. Houston has won nine consecutive games.

Texas Christian’s 38-28 victory over Rice gave the Horned Frogs a 5-1 overall record, their best since 1984, and left them 3-0 in the Southwest Conference, their best mark since the 1958 team won its first five conference games on the way to the Cotton Bowl. Sophomore quarterback Leon Clay, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, has figured in 14 TCU touchdowns in the last three games.

SMU quarterback Mike Romo became the second sophomore in Southwest Conference history to surpass 4,000 passing yards. He completed 18 of 37 passes for 224 yards and has a total of 4,172. Mike Ford, also of SMU, was the first in 1977-78.

Oregon State’s 35-21 victory over No. 21 Arizona was its first over the Wildcats since Arizona joined the Pacific 10 in 1979. It was the most points the Beavers had scored in a Pac-10 game since they scored 35 against Oregon in 1974.

BYU’s Ty Detmer set an NCAA record with his 13th consecutive game with at least 300 yards total offense in a 52-9 victory over Colorado State.

BIG PLAYS

Kevin Tisdell, a walk-on who played on the junior varsity last season, returned a fourth-quarter kickoff 87 yards to set up what proved to be the winning touchdown, a five-yard run by T.J. Edwards, in No. 18 Georgia Tech’s 21-19 victory over No. 15 Clemson.

Carl Straw and Chris Patterson figured prominently in Kansas State’s 23-17 victory over Oklahoma State, which had not lost at Manhattan, Kan., since 1978. Straw, who had completed a long third-down pass with defenders pulling him down, scored the go-ahead touchdown on a one-yard run. And Patterson forced a fumble shortly before Oklahoma State quarterback Kenny Ford crossed the goal line late in the fourth quarter. Kansas State’s Danny Needham fell on the ball to preserve the victory. It was Kansas State’s first Big Eight victory in four years.

THEY KEEP WINNING

With No. 1 Michigan losing, No. 2 Virginia is on the verge its first No. 1 ranking. The Cavaliers beat North Carolina State, 31-0, and improved to 6-0, 3-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Cavaliers’ best start in 41 years. Herman Moore’s two touchdown catches in the victory gave him 23 for his career, most in school history. One scoring play covered 83 yards, the longest of Moore’s career and longest for Virginia since John Ford scored on an 89-yard play against Virginia Military in 1984. The Cavalier defense also played a major role, sacking quarterback Terry Jordan eight times. Chris Slade had five of those sacks.

STREAKS

Mississippi’s 28-12 victory over Georgia was the Rebels’ first at Athens, Ga., in 20 years, ending a nine-game losing streak there. Ole Miss last won at Athens in 1970, when Archie Manning led the Rebels to a 31-21 victory. It was also Mississippi’s fourth consecutive victory.

Georgia Tech (5-0) won its 10th consecutive game, 21-19 over Clemson.

San Diego State’s Dan McGwire had thrown 178 consecutive passes without an interception until he had a pass intercepted on the final play of a 45-31 loss to UCLA.

Army’s Mike Mayweather, who had rushed for at least 100 yards four games in a row, was held to 68 yards in a 41-20 loss to Boston College.

Leodis Flowers, with 111 rushing yards, became the first Nebraska back to run for at least 100 yards in four consecutive games since Doug DuBose did it in 1984.

Wisconsin’s 30-10 loss to Iowa was the Badgers’ 17th consecutive loss on the road, dating to Oct. 18, 1986. They haven’t won at Iowa City since 1974.

Washington’s Greg Lewis, who ran for 169 yards in a 38-17 victory over Oregon, had his seventh consecutive 100-yard game.

New Mexico State’s losing streak reached 23 in a 24-20 loss to UNLV.

Fresno State had won 17 consecutive Big West games before being tied by Utah State, 24-24.

IN QUOTES

Wake Forest Coach Bill Dooley, after a 98-yard kickoff return by Anthony Williams went for naught when quarterback Phil Barnhill fumbled: “With the way the day had been going, we wanted to be sure and play it safe, so we opted for the quarterback sneak. Of all things, he fumbled. And that’s supposed to be the safest play in the book.” Mississippi quarterback Tom Luke, after a 28-12 victory over Georgia: “This is a really big win for us considering a lot of people have been doubting us. A win on the road in the SEC is hard to come by. Maybe we can get some respect now.”

North Carolina State Coach Dick Sheridan, after a 31-0 loss to Virginia: “Virginia beat us just about every way you can beat a football team . We have not been manhandled like this in a while. Virginia is probably the best team we’ve faced since I came to State.”

Auburn Coach Pat Dye, who was hospitalized recently because of a stomach ailment, after the Tigers’ 56-6 victory over Vanderbilt: “I needed one like this to help my stomach . This is the best 60 minutes of football we’ve played this year.”

Air Force Coach Fisher DeBerry, after a 57-27 loss to Notre Dame during which Raghib (Rocket) Ismail caught six passes for 172 yards: “They could make their highlight film for the year, or make Ismail’s highlight film anyway, from this game . I think our biggest problem was figuring out where Ismail was . “

A BIG RETURN Pacific quarterback Troy Kopp, a sophomore from Mission Viejo High, returned to Orange County to play Cal State Fullerton and wasted no time setting single-game school records for touchdown passes, passing yardage and total yardage. Kopp completed 31 of 52 passes for 515 yards and seven touchdowns in a 67-37 victory at Santa Ana Stadium. He had 396 yards passing at halftime, but left the game early in the fourth quarter. The NCAA passing record of 631 yards was set by Utah’s Scott Mitchell against Air Force in 1988. Kopp was two touchdowns short of the NCAA record set by San Diego State’s Dennis Shaw against New Mexico State in 1969. Said Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy: “When you can’t stop them over and over again and you’ve tried everything, you feel pretty helpless. I don’t know if there’s anything else we could have done.”

INJURIES Purdue quarterback Eric Hunter suffered an apparent shoulder separation and was replaced by Scott Hoffman in a 34-0 loss to Illinois. Nebraska’s Leodis Flowers left the game against Missouri after the first half with a bruised knee.