SOUTHWEST ROUNDUP : Freshman Leads No. 5 Texas A

Freshman quarterback Corey Pullig made a memorable debut as a starter as No. 5 Texas A&M; defeated Louisville, 40-18, Saturday in a nonconference game at College Station, Tex.

Greg Hill rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns in 26 carries for the Aggies (9-0).

Pullig became the first freshman quarterback to start for the Aggies since Jan. 1, 1988, when Bucky Richardson opened against Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl.

Pullig replaced Jeff Granger, who suffered a concussion in last week’s victory over Southern Methodist.

Pullig completed eight of his first 11 passes to ignite the Aggies’ stagnant passing game and help them to a 21-12 halftime lead. Pullig was 14 for 22 for 128 yards and gained 20 yards in eight carries before Granger played in the fourth quarter.

The Aggies have won 18 straight regular-season games since losing to Tulsa on Sept. 21, 1991. They are 18-0-1 at Kyle Field.

The Cardinals (4-6) scored twice in the first half, but the Aggies pulled away in the second.

Rice 34, Texas Tech 3--Defensive back Sean Washington returned interceptions for touchdowns of 56 and 60 yards as the Owls romped to a Southwest Conference victory at Houston.

The 31-point victory margin was the largest for Rice, 4-4 overall and 3-2 in conference, since a 31-0 romp over TCU in 1964.

Washington’s first interception return came with 14:03 left in half when he picked off a Jason Clemmons pass intended for Lloyd Hill and ran untouched down the sideline to boost Rice to a 17-0 advantage.

His second was a nearly identical as he raced 60 yards down the sideline late in the fourth quarter to close out the Owls’ scoring.

The Rice defense kept Texas Tech (3-6, 2-3) bottled up all day, causing three fumbles--two forced by freshman linebacker Larry Izzo--along with three interceptions. Tech converted only three of 17 third-down chances and one of four tries on fourth down.

Rice’s Trevor Cobb carried 33 times for 155 yards and a touchdown, passing SMU’s Eric Dickerson for second place on the Southwest Conference all-time rushing list. Cobb also went over the 1,000-yard mark for the third consecutive year.

Baylor 31, Georgia Tech 27--Melvin Bonner caught two second-half touchdown passes and Bradford Lewis led a punishing ground attack as the Bears overcame four turnovers to win a nonconference game at Waco, Tex.

The Yellowjackets’ try for a last-second victory was dashed when Jeff Papushak fumbled at the Baylor eight with 25 seconds left after catching a pass from Shawn Jones. Baylor recovered and ran out the clock.

Baylor improved to 5-4; Georgia Tech of Atlantic Coast Conference dropped to 4-4.

Baylor’s running game carried the offense for three quarters until J.J. Joe finally started finding his receivers, especially Bonner, who finished with five catches for 174 yards and the two crucial fourth-quarter scores.

Lewis led the way on the ground, carrying nine times for 119 yards, including a touchdown run of 55 yards.