BIG TEN ROUNDUP : Collins Keeps No. 6 Michigan Near Top of Charts

The reports of an Elvis impersonator at Michigan Stadium proved to be false. Todd Collins was the real thing.

Collins, filling in for injured Elvis Grbac, threw two touchdown passes Saturday and set a school record for completions as sixth-ranked Michigan defeated Oklahoma State, 35-3, at Ann Arbor, Mich.

“I was a little bit nervous,” Collins said of his first college start. “And I threw a couple of high balls. But as I get more experience, I’ll calm down and get those throws down. But, for the most part, I was pretty confident.”

Collins, a sophomore, completed 29 of 42 passes for 285 yards with one interception. His only previous action was mop-up duty in parts of six games last season, when he completed 16 of 26 passes for 138 yards.

Bob Ptacek set the Michigan record of 24 completions in 1958 against Ohio State.

“He had a couple of breakdowns, but overall I think everyone would agree he played a very fine football game,” Coach Gary Moeller. “I think he ran the team very well. He threw high a couple of times, and he scrambled up when he didn’t have to. But he had good accuracy for the most part.”

Grbac got his first start in much the same way. He was a freshman in 1989 when he started four games after Michael Taylor was injured. He went 4-0 in those starts and became the regular the following year.

Collins threw touchdown passes of four and 44 yards to Derrick Alexander, who finished with seven catches for 103 yards. Ricky Powers scored on runs of 23 and five yards, and Ed Davis had a one-yard scoring run for Michigan (1-0-1).

Oklahoma State (1-1) could manage only a 34-yard field goal by Lawson Vaughn.

Wisconsin 39, Bowling Green 18--Darrell Bevell passed for three touchdowns and Rich Thompson kicked four field goals as the Badgers downed the Falcons at Madison, Wis.

Bevell, a 22-year-old freshman transfer from Northern Arizona making his first start, completed 11 of 17 passes for 142 yards.

His 51-yard touchdown pass play to Terrell Fletcher opened the scoring and he closed it for the Badgers (1-1) with a 16-yard scoring pass to Mark Montgomery.

Fletcher, a sophomore running back, ran for 148 yards.

Wisconsin led, 10-0, on Thompson’s 26-yard field goal before Bowling Green (1-2) scored on a four-yard pass from Erik White to Mark Szlachcic.

It was 16-10 at halftime on Bevell’s two-yard touchdown pass to Lee DeRamus and a 33-yard field goal by Bowling Green’s Brian Leaver.

Thompson kicked field goals of 33, 32 and 39 yards in the third quarter, making it 25-10.

Wisconsin’s Scott Nelson intercepted White’s pass in the third quarter and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown and a 32-10 lead.

Kentucky 37, Indiana 25--Marty Moore returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown with 1:20 to play to lock up a Kentucky victory.

Kentucky (2-1) appeared to have the game safely tucked away when Donnie Redd raced around left end and broke two tackles on a 24-yard touchdown run for a 31-10 lead with 7:53 to play.

But quarterback Trent Green passed for two quick touchdowns to put Indiana (1-1) in position to win the game in the final minutes.

Green threw a three-yard touchdown pass to a diving Ross Hales and an 11-yarder to Scott McGowan, which, with a two-point conversion, made it 31-25 with 5:10 to play.

Green completed 28 of 41 passes for 294 yards, but was the victim of seven sacks, including a Kentucky-record five by defensive end Dean Wells.