SPOTLIGHT : SATURDAY’S GAMES AT A GLANCE : TAKING A BREATHER

The three top-ranked teams in the nation used Saturday as their version of semester break, beating up on the kind of patsies some teams like to open their seasons against. Washington and Miami, tied for No. 1, and No. 3 Michigan each played an opponent that had beaten only one Division I-A team this season. Washington tackled Pacific in Seattle, Miami traveled to play Virginia Tech for its first Big East game and Michigan played host to Minnesota for the Little Brown Jug.

The final score: Top 3 137, Also-Rans 43.

Washington, though playing a lackluster first half, won, 31-7, leading only 14-0 after two quarters.

Miami built a 31-0 halftime lead on the way to a 43-23 victory. Miami Coach Dennis Erickson had the temerity to say beforehand of the Hokies: “They’re a team that’s very capable of beating Miami. They’ve got talent, and they play very well at home.”

The Wolverines, playing the 1,000th game in school history, ran their record in the series against the Gophers to 57-23-3 with a 63-13 rout. Minnesota has beaten Michigan once since 1977.

For you statistical freaks, since their first game on May 30, 1879, a 1-0 victory against Racine, the Wolverines have outscored opponents 23,936-9,316 while compiling a 728-238-34 record.

NO TIME TO BREATHE

Texas and Houston engaged in the day’s most breathtaking game. The Longhorns jumped to a 28-0 lead only to fall behind, 38-31, before storming back to take a 45-38 victory. The two teams, relying on the passing of the Longhorns’ Peter Gardere and Houston’s Jimmy Klingler, combined for 1,216 yards of offense. Klingler replaced starter Chris Gilbert in the second quarter and inherited the 28-0 deficit. He passed for five touchdowns to give the Cougars their 38-31 lead with 7:55 left in the game. Gardere’s third touchdown pass, a 37-yarder to Mike Adams with 4:41 remaining, tied the score before defensive end Norman Watkins intercepted a pass and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown and the final score.

NO CHANGE OF LUCK

Since he left UCLA after the 1989 season, quarterback Bret Johnson hasn’t had a lot of success at Michigan State, performing primarily as Jim Miller’s backup. Saturday, it appeared things were looking up. In the first half against Ohio State, Johnson, starting for the injured Miller, threw two touchdown passes, one after a wild scramble under pressure, to give the Spartans a 14-3 lead. But in the third quarter, Johnson suffered an ankle injury. The Buckeyes came back to win, 27-17.

STREAKS

UCLA had scored in 245 consecutive games until losing to Arizona State, 20-0. . . . Miami has won 25 in a row, Washington 21 in a row. . . . Alabama beat Mississippi, 31-10, for its 18th consecutive victory. . . . Michigan won its 17th Big Ten game in a row, tying a conference record set and tied twice by Ohio State. . . . Florida, which beat Louisville, 31-17, has won 16 in a row at home.

SMALL WONDER

Chris Bisaillon of Division III Illinois Wesleyan set the NCAA record for touchdown receptions Saturday in a 63-8 victory over Carthage at Bloomington, Ill. Bisaillon, a senior, caught four Saturday and has 52 for his career. Who held the record? Jerry Rice had 50, at Mississippi Valley State from 1981-84.

“I feel sorry for the next guy who has to break Chris Bisaillon’s record,” said Bisallion, who keeps a poster of Rice in his dorm room. “Chris Bisaillon will always be a nobody, but Jerry Rice is the man to beat.”

A FOOTRACE

He has rushed for more than 200 yards three times this season and early on got an appendage affixed before his name in media circles. He was no longer San Diego State’s Marshall Faulk; he was Heisman favorite Marshall Faulk. But after a 246-yard performance against Vanderbilt last week, Georgia’s Garrison Hearst is turning some heads from the West to the South. A look at their game-by-game rushing totals.

THE FAULK LINE

Opponent No. Yds. TD USC 27 220 3 Brigham Young 35 299 3 UCLA 23 118 1 New Mexico 25 200 2 Texas El Paso 30 156 1 Air Force 29 129 0 Totals 169 1,122 10

HEARST’S NUMBERS

Opponent No. Yds. TD South Carolina 17 134 1 Tennessee 20 161 3 CS Fullerton 19 164 4 Mississippi 14 40 0 Arkansas 19 143 2 Georgia Southern 20 173 2 Vanderbilt 21 246 2 Kentucky 22 171 1 Totals 152 1,232 15

CHANGING OF THE GUARD

The Kansas-Oklahoma game offered a glance at the changing look of the Big Eight. Contrary to form in this series, the Jayhawks were the ranked team (No. 22) and the Sooners were the underdogs. Kansas, relying on a strong running game, defeated Oklahoma, 27-10.

The Sooners have based their attack this season on quarterback Cale Gundy’s passing, their once-vaunted wishbone a thing of the past. Gundy did become Oklahoma’s career passing leader in the game, breaking Bob Warmack’s school records for attempts, completions and yards in a career. Gundy is 250 of 460 for 3,712 yards.

But Kansas, riding atop the conference at 3-0 and 6-1 overall, knocked Gundy from the game in the third quarter. Said Kansas tackle Dana Stubblefield, who sacked Gundy to drive him from the game: “When I saw him go down, I knew he wouldn’t be getting back. We never go out to hurt somebody, but whatever happens, happens. Last year when we played them down there (a 41-3 loss), we didn’t touch him. We never even tapped him on the shoulder. Our motto this year was ‘Get to Gundy.’ ”

Oklahoma, which had beaten Kansas 26 of the last 28 times they met, fell to 3-3-1 overall, 0-1-1 in the conference. At a pep rally Friday, Kansas Coach Glen Mason told fans they could tear down the goal posts at Memorial Stadium after the Jayhawks won; jubilant fans did just that.

NOTEWORTHY

Miami’s Gino Torretta broke Bernie Kosar’s school mark for career completions by connecting on 17 of 28 passes against Virginia Tech. He has 464 completions, one more than Kosar. . . . Michigan’s Elvis Grbac increased his total to 5,614 passing yards, breaking the school record of 5,449 set by Jim Harbaugh. Derrick Alexander became the first Michigan player to catch four touchdown passes in a game. . . . Shane Matthews became Florida’s career passing leader in the 31-17 victory over Louisville. He moved ahead of Kerwin Bell with 7,605 yards. Bell had 7,585 yards in 1984-87. . . . Clemson, which lost to North Carolina State, 20-6, failed to score a touchdown in a game for the first time since losing to N.C. State, 10-3, in 1988.

Alabama, the nation’s top-rated defense, had not given up a touchdown in the first half this season until Saturday, but the Crimson Tide easily beat Mississippi, 31-10. . . . Princeton’s Keith Elias, the leading rusher in Division I-AA, ran for 155 yards in a 21-6 victory over Harvard. He has 982 yards in six games, fifth best for a season in Princeton history. . . . Northwestern’s Len Williams passed for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter in a 27-26 victory over Illinois. . . . John Kaleo completed a 38-yard scoring pass to Marcus Badgett with no time left to give Maryland a 27-25 victory over Duke. The Terrapins covered 89 yards in the final 24 seconds.

IN QUOTES

Minnesota Coach Jim Wacker, after a 63-13 loss to Michigan: “They’re the best football team I’ve ever played against. They whipped us every way they possibly could. We couldn’t have tackled them if we were playing in a phone booth.”

Temple quarterback Luke Linhart, a freshman who was intercepted four times in his first start, a 38-7 loss to Syracuse: “Whenever I was on, I was on. But when I was off, I was too far off.”

Virginia Coach George Welsh, a not-so-gracious winner after a 33-7 victory over Division I-AA William & Mary: “It doesn’t matter who we played today. I think we could have beaten some good teams, not just William & Mary.”

Prince Wimbley, one of Alabama’s receivers who call themselves the Poison Clan, after a 31-10 victory over Mississippi in which the Crimson Tide passing game came to life: “No ( defensive backs ) can cover the Poison Clan one on one. It’s probably impossible.”

Pacific cornerback Duane Thomas, after a 31-7 loss to Washington: “We controlled their receivers, and that opened up the run for them . If it wasn’t for their defense, a lot of teams could beat them. This game showed people that they’re not a super team like everyone thinks they are.”