SPOTLIGHT / SATURDAY’S GAMES AT A GLANCE : WHAT GOES AROUND . . .

Houston Coach John Jenkins drew a lot of criticism last week when he defended quarterback Donald Douglas, who threw a bomb for a touchdown on the last play of a 31-13 victory over Illinois. Jenkins said there was nothing wrong with Douglas’ decision to call an audible on the play, considering that Douglas and Jimmy Klingler were vying for the starting quarterback job. Jenkins doesn’t consider scoring points running up the score; it’s simply a matter of playing good football. Consider Houston’s 84-21 victory over Eastern Washington in 1990 and the 95-21 victory over Southern Methodist in 1989, when Jenkins was the Cougars’ offensive coordinator.

Saturday, Houston was on the short end of a 61-7 loss to Michigan. It matched the record yield by Houston, which was beaten, 61-14, by Texas Tech in 1954.

Jenkins didn’t complain about the Wolverines’ piling it on.

OFF THE POLICE BLOTTER

David Palmer, at Alabama, and Garrick McGee, at Arizona State, finally got to play Saturday and had mixed results. Palmer, suspended for the first three games because of two drunk-driving arrests, returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to help the Crimson Tide defeat Louisiana Tech, 13-0. The Alabama defense, ranked among the best in the country, was the real story, though. Louisiana Tech managed only 117 yards of offense, minus eight on the ground.

McGee, a redshirt freshman quarterback suspended for two games because of his involvement with three counts of felony burglary, had his first pass intercepted, setting up Nebraska’s first touchdown in a 45-24 defeat. McGee completed eight of 14 passes for 124 yards with two interceptions. He had one touchdown pass.

GLUG, GLUG, GLUG

The days of Joe Bellino and Roger Staubach are so far removed from what’s going on at the Naval Academy these days that it stretches the imagination. Navy, coming off a 1-10 season in which the only bright note was a victory over Army, suffered its third consecutive shutout defeat Saturday, losing to Rutgers, 40-0. That follows a 53-0 loss to Virginia and 28-0 loss to Boston College. Here are two possible solutions: Drop to Division I-AA, where victories might not be as rare, or simply play Army 11 times each season.

A NEW ENTRY

Homer Smith, UCLA’s offensive coordinator, lost a spot in the Princeton record book Saturday when Keith Elias rushed for a school-record 299 yards and four touchdowns in the Tigers’ 38-35 victory over Lafayette. Elias, who had 25 carries, broke the record of 273 yards set by Smith against Harvard in 1952.

A MAJORS VICTORY

Sidelined shortly before the season because of emergency heart bypass surgery, Tennessee Coach Johnny Majors made his return Saturday for the game against Cincinnati. He coached from the press box, and the Volunteers had no difficulty improving to 4-0 with a 40-0 victory. Cincinnati did all it could to make Majors’ return successful. The Bearcats missed one field-goal try, had another blocked, gave up a long punt return for a touchdown, fumbled a punt that led to another score and sent a center snap flying 40 yards through the end zone for a safety.

STREAKS

Southern Methodist ended a 25-game losing streak in the Southwest Conference with its 21-9 victory over Texas Christian. The Mustangs hadn’t won a conference game since 1986, a stretch that included a two-year suspension of the football program by the NCAA.

Miami’s surprisingly difficult 8-7 victory over Arizona was the Hurricanes’ 21st in a row. . . . South Carolina lost to Kentucky, 13-9, for a school-record eighth defeat in a row. . . . Maryland lost to Penn State, 49-13, for the 34th time in 36 games. The last victory for the Terrapins over the Nittany Lions came in 1961. Miami and Minnesota have lost nine consecutive games each, tied for longest in Division I-A. . . . Holy Cross, which began the season with a 20-game winning streak, fell to 0-3 with a 7-3 defeat by Yale.

RELIEF ACE

Freshman Koy Detmer, the younger brother of 1990 Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, replaced the starting quarterback for the second consecutive game in the second half and led Colorado to another victory. Detmer filled in for struggling Duke Tobin last week and threw two touchdown passes in a 21-20 victory over Minnesota. Saturday, he replaced Kordell Stewart, who had four turnovers in the first half, and threw for three touchdowns in a 28-12 victory over Iowa.

LOW BLOW FOR LOBOS

New Mexico seemed to have won its Western Athletic Conference opener at Air Force when freshman Winslow Oliver ran 80 yards for a touchdown to give the Lobos a 32-12 lead early in the fourth quarter. But once Air Force cut the lead to 32-19 on a short run by Obasi Onuoha with 11 minutes left, the Lobos fell apart. They fumbled after getting the ball back on the kickoff and gave up a touchdown four plays later. On the next series, Sonny Case forced a pass under pressure that was intercepted, leading to Air Force’s winning touchdown.

Said New Mexico Coach Dennis Franchione: “This was a classic example of a program that has won and knows how to win and a program that hasn’t won and doesn’t yet know how to win. We have to get better in every area.”

VICTORY, AT LAST

Arkansas State, playing its first season in Division I-A, finally got a taste of how the other half lives. Shut out in its three games by a combined score of 141-0, the Indians beat Southern Illinois, 42-38. Arkansas State had lost to Toledo, Oklahoma and Northern Illinois before Saturday. “Today is the first day we have deserved to be called a football team,” Arkansas State Coach Ray Perkins said.

NOTEWORTHY

Pacific’s Aaron Turner set an NCAA record with his 19th 100-yard reception game in a 48-14 victory over Southwest Missouri State. He caught 10 passes for 169 yards. . . . Jaime Mendez intercepted a school-record four passes in Kansas State’s 35-14 victory over Temple. . . . Terry Jordan of North Carolina State completed 12 consecutive passes in the first half of a 27-20 victory over North Carolina. He finished with 23 completions in 25 attempts for 361 yards. North Carolina’s Jason Stanicek completed 14 in a row in the second half and finished with 26 completions in 35 attempts for 237 yards.

Steve Thompson of Rocky Mountain rushed for 405 yards and six touchdowns during a 42-36 victory over Carroll College in an NAIA game involving two Montana schools. The rushing total was the second highest in NAIA history behind the 409 yards gained in 1976 by Eastern Montana’s Derrick Williams against Montana Tech.

The Citadel beat Army, 15-14, and has beaten six of its last seven Division I-A foes, though there are many who would argue that Army is playing Division I-A football in name only.

Ron Woolfork tied a Colorado record with five sacks in the Buffaloes’ 28-12 victory over Iowa. . . . Texas’ Peter Gardere threw three touchdown passes to break Bobby Layne’s 45-year-old school record in a 33-15 victory over North Texas. He has 26 scoring passes.

IN QUOTES

Alabama running back Derrick Lassic, commenting on the Crimson Tide’s defense before a 13-0 victory over Louisiana Tech: “Thank God I’m not playing against them. Every player on that defense would hit their mother if she had the ball. That’s their mentality.”

Louisiana Tech quarterback Sam Hughes, after his team failed to score a touchdown with first down on the Alabama four: “We thought we were going to push it in . We didn’t do too much on the first two plays, and on third down I just got mauled. They’re the best D I’ve seen since I’ve been playing football. They’re awesome.”

San Diego State Coach Al Luginbill, after the Aztecs lost to UCLA, 35-7: “We were atrocious. That’s not just players, that’s coaches, the training room, the equipment room, you name it -- we did it wrong.”

North Carolina State quarterback Terry Jordan, assessing his 23-of-25 passing performance in a 27-20 victory over North Carolina: “Fair. A good day would have been 25 of 25.”

Purdue Coach Jim Colletto, after a 48-0 loss to Notre Dame: “Some of our guys are really competitive players, and others are just along for the ride . “