SOUTHWEST ROUNDUP : Houston Is Double Trouble for Illinois

Houston sacked Illinois’ Jason Verduzco eight times and quarterbacks Donald Douglas and Jimmy Klingler combined to ignite the Cougars’ offense in a 31-13 victory Saturday at Houston.

Walk-on Trace Craft kicked three field goals for the Cougars.

Houston (1-1) sacked Verduzco once in last year’s game, but dropped him for 97 yards in losses before 25,931 fans in the Astrodome, avenging a 51-10 loss in 1991.

Klingler, younger brother of former Houston quarterback David Klingler, started the game in Coach John Jenkins’ dual-quarterback system. He completed 12 of 18 passes in the first half, moving the Cougars into position for Craft’s kicks of 37, 42 and 38 yards that provided a 9-7 halftime lead.

Douglas came on and dazzled the Illini (2-1) with his running ability, gaining 66 yards in nine carries and scoring a six-yard touchdown for a 16-7 lead.

He finished the game on an electrifying note, with an 70-yard touchdown pass play to Ron Peters, who caught the ball running down the sidelines and circled the field in a victory lap after time expired.

Baylor 45, Utah State 10--J.J. Joe threw three touchdown passes to Melvin Bonner and Keith Caldwell returned an interception 42 yards for a score as Baylor rolled over Utah State, 45-10, at Waco, Tex.

Baylor of the Southwest Conference is 1-2, and the Aggies of the Big West Conference dropped to 0-3.

With the field thermometer registering 104 degrees, the Bears quickly overwhelmed the visitors.

Joe hit Bonner with scoring passes of 20, 37, and 51 yards as the Aggies got caught in man-for-man defensive coverage and couldn’t stay up with Baylor’s speedy wide receiver.

Joe completed six of 10 passes for 175 yards and Bonner caught four passes for 124 yards.

The Aggies avoided the shutout in the fourth quarter on a 44-yard field goal by Sean Jones and Anthony Calvillo’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Mike Lee.