SOUTHWEST ROUNDUP : Klingler (48 for 76) Leads Houston Victory

Houston quarterback David Klingler had a record-setting day as the No. 9 Cougars defeated Southern Methodist, 44-17, in a Southwest Conference game Saturday at Dallas.

Klingler completed 48 of 76 passes for 461 yards and five touchdowns, three going to Manny Hazard, as the Cougars extended their winning streak to 10 games, longest among major-college teams.

Klingler, the nation’s total offense leader, broke NCAA single-game records of 45 completions, set by Sandy Schwab of Northwestern in 1982 against Michigan, and 73 attempts, set in 1989 by North Carolina State’s Shane Montgomery against Duke.

Klingler threw touchdown passes of 17 and eight yards to John Brown in a 20-point first quarter, then connected with Hazard on scoring passes of nine and seven yards in the second quarter and three yards early in the fourth.

It was the fifth time in six games that Klingler passed for more than 400 yards. He had 390 in the first half, which ended with Houston leading 34-7.

Klingler completed 17 of 29 passes for 184 yards, two touchdowns and a 20-0 lead in the first quarter alone. Houston was going into a stiff breeze, but the Cougars benefited from three SMU fumbles and an interception.

Houston Coach John Jenkins said he wasn’t disappointed his team fell short of its 1,000-yard performance of last year, when Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware quarterbacked a 95-21 thumping of an SMU team coming off two years of NCAA-imposed inactivity.

“Whether we win by one point or 200-0 doesn’t really matter to me. All that matters is that we win the game,” Jenkins said. “We played very well today, especially in the first quarter.”

Jenkins’ 6-0 start is the best ever by a first-time, first-year head coach in the Southwest Conference. The Cougars are 5-0 in the SWC. SMU is 1-5 and 0-3.

SMU Coach Forrest Gregg said he was proud of his players’ effort.

“When you consider that Klingler threw more passes today than any other game in history and we gave them six turnovers, it could have been much worse,” Gregg said

Roman Anderson added field goals of 27, 22 and 35 yards.

SMU scored on Kevin Love’s three-yard run in the second quarter, Brian Berry’s seven-yard pass from Mike Romo in the third quarter and Russell Anderson’s 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Houston also set NCAA records with 52 plays, 32 completions and 48 attempts in the first half.

No. 25 Texas A&M; 20, Baylor 20--Michael Moore scored on an 11-yard touchdown run and Jeff Ireland kicked the extra point with 8:23 left to lift Baylor to the tie in a SWC game at College Station, Tex.

Texas A&M;, 4-2-1 overall and 1-1-1 in the SWC, got a gift with 3:33 left when Moore fumbled and Quentin Coryatt of the Aggies recovered at the Baylor 36. But the Bears (3-3-1, 2-1-1) held on three running plays by Darren Lewis, and Layne Talbot hooked a 46-yard field-goal attempt to the left with 1:39 remaining.

Lewis rushed for 179 yards in 34 carries, the 23rd time in his career that he rushed for more than 100 yards.

Texas A&M; led 10-6 at halftime on Talbot’s booming 59-yard field goal as time ran out. The ball rode a 25 m.p.h wind and just made it over the crossbar.

Talbot’s previous longest field goal was 46 yards. It was the third-longest in A&M; history, behind kicks of 65 and 64 yard by Tony Franklin, also against Baylor, in 1976.

Rice 42, Texas Tech 21--Quarterback Donald Hollas ran for four touchdowns and passed for a fifth to lead the Owls (3-4, 1-3) over the Red Raiders (2-5, 1-4) in an SWC game at Houston.

Hollas scored on runs of eight, five, four and five yards and added a five-yard scoring pass. Running back Trevor Cobb added 203 yards in 38 carries and scored a touchdown.

The 42 points by the Owls was the most for them in a SWC game since they defeated Tech, 42-7, in 1961.

Southwestern Louisiana 25, Tulsa 13--James Freeman came off the bench to pass for two touchdowns in the second half to lead the Rajin’ Cajuns in a nonconference game at Tulsa, Okla.

Freeman completed 11 of 20 passes for 186 yards as the Rajin’ Cajuns (3-4) ended a four-game losing streak.

Ron Jackson rushed for 156 yards in 33 carries and a touchdown for the Hurricane (1-7), which lost its sixth consecutive game.