College Football Spothlight : OPPONENTS WISH THEY COULD SAY ‘NO MOSS’

Coach Barry Alvarez directed the Wisconsin sports information staff not to bother producing a slick campaign pushing tailback Brent Moss for the Heisman Trophy this season.

“When Brent skipped the NFL draft (after last season), I told him our No. 1 goal is not to win him the Heisman this year,” Alvarez said. “If he has a year like last year and so do we, then he’ll be in the hunt.”

So might the Badgers. Moss ran 18 times for 129 yards and three touchdowns and the Badgers rolled over Eastern Michigan, 56-0.

Said Eagle Coach Ron Cooper: “There’s no doubt that that team is not just Big Ten champion caliber, they have a chance to do some things nationally, no doubt about it. Don’t be surprised if they go 11-0.”

MAYBE NEXT WEEK THEY’LL WANT TO GIVE HIM THE BOOT

After kicking his fourth field goal Saturday, a 42-yard game-winner with two seconds remaining to give Michigan a 26-24 victory over Notre Dame, Remy Hamilton was happy, but he was careful not to get too carried away.

“Every kicker thinks about making a winning field goal,” said Hamilton, who had attempted only one field goal in his career before Saturday. “I’m a hero now. I could be a goat next week.”

If he wants to know how that feels he should ask Stanford kicker Eric Abrams, who missed a 23-yard field goal with three seconds left that would have won the game for the Cardinal, which tied Northwestern, 41-41.

AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, HE’S STILL ALL THUMBS

Nobody was more surprised than former USC quarterback Troy Winslow when Trojan radio announcer Pete Arbogast informed listeners last week, during the Trojans’ opener against Washington, that Winslow was “resting comfortably after having his thumb bitten off by a mountain lion.”

According to Tim Tessalone, USC sports information director, Winslow called him after the game to make a correction. “He called and said, ‘Tell your radio guy that I still have both my thumbs. I’m looking at them right now,’ ” Tessalone said.

Seems it was another Troy Winslow who, along with another man, helped wrestle a cougar off a woman attacked last month near the Northern California town of Dos Rios. The cougar was eventually stabbed to death.

HE GOT A THUMB UP ON FIELD AS A PLAYER

Winslow, the quarterback, guided the Trojan offense in 1965 and ’66. He ranks 12th on the team’s career passing list, having completed 163 of 276 passes for 2,075 yards. He was at the helm when tailback Mike Garrett won the Heisman Trophy in 1965.

IT WAS FAR TOO LATE TO START SOMETHING BIG

After USC’s Quincy Harrison intercepted a pass by Penn State quarterback Kerry Collins and ran it back for a touchdown in the third quarter to cut the Trojans’ deficit to 35-7, Arbogast said, “The comeback is on!” Final score: Penn State 38, USC 14.

SMITH’S TIGERS NO MATCH FOR LIONS, TROJANS WERE

In his first year as coach of Missouri, Larry Smith isn’t faring too well. His team hasn’t won a road game in nearly four years and it didn’t come close Saturday against Illinois, managing only one first down during a 42-0 loss.

It probably won’t make him feel any better, but Smith, fired by the Trojans after the 1992 season, accomplished something USC Coach John Robinson has yet to accomplish--he beat Penn State.

Under Robinson, the Trojans were beaten by Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl, 26-10, on Jan. 1, 1981. Last year, during Robinson’s first year back as coach, the Trojans fell to the Nittany Lions, 21-10.

Smith’s teams beat Penn State in 1990 and ’91.

HARD FOR THE TOUGH TO GET GOING ON ARMY’S TURF

The artificial turf at Army’s Michie Stadium is again taking its toll.

The latest victim is quarterback Rick Roper, who was to split time with Mike Makovec. On Army’s sixth play from scrimmage against Holy Cross, Roper tore a ligament in his left knee on a run up the middle. Roper, who appeared to catch his cleats as he made his cut, is expected to miss the remainder of his senior season.

In the third quarter, fullback Akili King, the Cadets’ leading rusher last season, left the game because of a twisted right ankle.

In 1991, Army lost eight players, including Makovec, to non-contact, season-ending knee injuries on the artificial turf.

AN ENCORE PERFORMANCE FEW COULD HAVE EXPECTED

Alcorn State quarterback Steve McNair, who passed for 534 yards and five touchdowns last week against Grambling, followed that with an eight-touchdown day Saturday in a 54-28 victory over Tennessee Chattanooga.

McNair threw for 491 yards and rushed for 156 and his 647 total yards set a Division I-AA record, topping the 643 yards Weber State quarterback Jamie Martin gained against Idaho State on Nov. 23, 1991. Martin threw for 624 yards and ran for 19.

Against Grambling, McNair amassed 633 total yards.

Against Tennessee Chattanooga he had touchdown passes, in order, of 62, 12, 81, 12, 15, 14, 19 and 60 yards.

HE MUST HAVE BEEN TALKING TONGUE IN CHEEK

Reggie Tongue intercepted three passes to play a key role in Oregon’s 44-31 victory over Wyoming.

But Tongue kept his in check after the game.

“I don’t think I played that well,” he said. “I made a couple of bad plays.”

Even his 36-yard interception return for a touchdown that clinched the victory with 1:24 to play didn’t impress Tongue.

“I was beat on that last play, actually,” he said. “He just underthrew it.”

Tongue’s two interception returns for touchdowns tied a school record set by Paul Snider against Gonzaga in 1926. Tongue’s 103 interception return yards broke the record of 101 set by Snider in the same game.

SMALL SCHOOLS, BUT NO SMALL FEATS

Chris George of West Virginia’s Glenville State had 12 receptions in a 53-28 victory over California University of Pennsylvania, giving him 315 receptions in four seasons, five more than the San Francisco 49ers’ Jerry Rice had while attending Mississippi Valley State.

George becomes the leading receiver in college football history.

Glenville State has an enrollment of 2,500. Mississippi Valley State’s enrollment is 1,794.

NOTEWORTHY

Napoleon Kaufman rushed for a career-high 211 yards on 32 carries to lead Washington past Ohio State, 25-16. Kaufman became the first running back to gain 200 yards against the Buckeyes since Jamie Morris of Michigan gained 210 yards against them in 1986. . . . Wisconsin’s Moss extended his streak of 100-yard rushing games to 12 during the Badgers’ 56-0 victory over Eastern Michigan. It was also Wisconsin’s first shutout in 114 games. . . . Notre Dame had only 10 turnovers in 12 games last year. Saturday against Michigan the Irish had three. . . . Auburn defeated Northeast Louisiana, 44-12, extending the nation’s longest winning streak to 13.

Florida State amassed 731 yards in its 52-20 victory over Maryland. . . . Seminole quarterback Danny Kanell completed 28 of 44 passes for 417 yards and a touchdown. Despite the victory, it was the second consecutive week the Seminoles allowed an opponent to score on the first possession. It didn’t happen last season. . . . Stanford hasn’t won its opening game since beating Texas Tech, 31-20, in 1986. . . . Andre Davis ran for 325 yards, including a school-record 87-yard touchdown, to lead Texas Christian to a 44-29 victory over New Mexico. . . . Former Servite High and Fullerton College quarterback Josh Nelson passed for two touchdowns and ran for one as Mississippi rolled up 539 yards to overwhelm Division I-AA Southern Illinois, 59-3. . . . Georgia Tech quarterback Tommy Luginbill, son of former San Diego State coach Al Luginbill, threw four second-half touchdowns to lead the Yellow Jackets to a 45-26 victory over Division I-AA Western Carolina.

QUOTEWORTHY

“Revenge is a bad emotion, but respect is a much more positive emotion and we had respect for Oklahoma because they beat us convincingly last year. I think we have just scratched the surface with this team on how good we can be.”

--Texas A&M; Coach R.C. Slocum, after the Aggies avenged last year’s 30-point loss to Oklahoma with a 36-14 victory over the 15th-ranked Sooners.

“I was hoping they would line up and run at us and they did. But they ran right through us.”

--Missouri’s Smith, after the Tigers lost to Illinois, 42-0.

“When I saw the Duke game (a 49-16 rout over Maryland last Saturday), I thought this game might get ugly. The only ugly thing was us.”

--Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden, referring to the Seminoles’ play in the first half against the Terrapins. They trailed, 20-17, before pulling away in the second half.

“It’s not exactly a record you want to set.”

--Roger Fleenor of Pacific, who punted 14 times in the Tigers’ 33-7 loss to Minnesota, breaking by two a 25-year-old school record.

HOW THE TOP 25 FARED

RANK: 1

TEAM: Nebraska (2-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Texas Tech, 42-16, Thursday; Red Raiders couldn’t break Cornhusker offensive line, allowing 524 yards rushing, 175 to running back Lawrence Phillips.

NEXT: UCLA

*

RANK: 2

TEAM: Florida (2-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Kentucky, 73-7; Gators dropped to No. 2 in polls after defeating New Mexico State, 70-21, last week, but was it necessary to throw a 15-yard touchdown pass leading, 59-7?

NEXT: at Tennessee

*

RANK: 3

TEAM: Notre Dame (1-1)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to Michigan, 26-24; Young quarterback Ron Powlus leads Irish on game-winning drive.... echoes of Montana.... another Irish legend is born.... Maybe next week.

NEXT: at Michigan St.

*

RANK: 4

TEAM: Florida State (2-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Maryland, 52-20; ACC teams gain a moral victory as Terrapins become first conference squad to lead Seminoles at half since they joined league. They are 18-0 in ACC.

NEXT: at Wake Forest

*

RANK: 5

TEAM: Miami (2-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Arizona State, 47-10; One good play does not a trouncing make, but Hurricanes threw middle screen to wide receiver Jammi German twice for touchdowns of 56 and 49 yards.

NEXT: Washington, Sept. 24

*

RANK: 6

TEAM: Michigan (2-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Notre Dame, 26-24; Kicker Remy Hamilton’s game-winning 42-yard field goal with two seconds to play makes him the toast of Ann Arbor. With brandy, of course.

NEXT: Colorado, Sept. 24

*

RANK: 7

TEAM: Colorado (1-0)

SYNOPSIS: Idle.

NEXT: Wisconsin

*

RANK: 8

TEAM: Penn State (2-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated USC, 38-14; A Rose Bowl preview? The Pac-10 hopes not. The Nittany Lions,led by Kerry Collins, racked up 363 yards total offense in first half in building 35-0 lead.

NEXT: Iowa

*

RANK: 9

TEAM: Arizona (2-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated New Mexico State, 44-0; Good news for the Aggies is that after blowout losses to Florida and the Wildcats, they play Texas El Paso next.

NEXT: at Stanford, Sept. 24

*

RANK: 10

TEAM: Wisconsin (1-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Eastern Michigan, 56-0; The Eagles learned how it feels to play a team that returns 14 starters from a 10-1-1 squad that defeated UCLA in the Rose Bowl.

NEXT: at Colorado

*

RANK: 11

TEAM: Alabama (2-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Vanderbilt, 17-7; The Crimson Tide struggled, but four Commodore turnovers led to their 24th loss in the last 25 meetings, including 10 in a row, with Alabama.

NEXT: at Arkansas

*

RANK: 12

TEAM: Auburn (2-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Northeast Louisiana, 44-12. Such is life for an independent: Indians get trounced by Tigers one week, then play 23rd-ranked Georgia the following week.

NEXT: LSU

*

RANK: 13

TEAM: UCLA (2-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Southern Methodist, 17-10; OK, Bruins probably were looking ahead to playing No. 1 Cornhuskers, but it took a goal-line stand to beat Mustangs?

NEXT: at Nebraska

*

RANK: 14

TEAM: USC (1-1)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to Penn State, 38-14; Happy Valley more like Death Valley for the Trojan defensive line, which was blown off the ball in first half.

NEXT: Baylor, Sept. 24

*

RANK: 15

TEAM: Oklahoma (1-1)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to Texas A&M;, 36-14; Maybe Sooners should have kept the score down last season. Aggies used 44-14 loss as motivation in blowing game open late.

NEXT: Texas Tech

*

RANK: 16

TEAM: Texas A&M; (2-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Oklahoma, 36-14; Three Sooner turnovers in the final seven minutes enabled Aggies to build upon a five-point fourth-quarter lead.

NEXT: So. Miss. Sept. 24

*

RANK: 17

TEAM: North Carolina (1-0)

SYNOPSIS: Idle.

NEXT: Tulane

*

RANK: 18

TEAM: Ohio State (1-1)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to Washington, 25-16; Buckeyes learn what Pac-10 knew: Huskies are tough at home, taking a 22-0 lead in winning 18th in row at Husky Stadium.

NEXT: Pittsburgh

*

RANK: 19

TEAM: Tennessee (1-1)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Georgia, 41-23; Yes, James Stewart rushed for 211 yards. But against the Gators next week, quarterback Todd Helton’s 110 yards passing unlikely to be enough.

NEXT: Florida

*

RANK: 20

TEAM: Texas (2-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Louisville, 30-16; Another ugly victory for Longhorns, who had three first-half turnovers and trailed, 16-9, before defense took over.

NEXT: TCU, Sept. 24

*

RANK: 21

TEAM: Virginia Tech (2-0)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Southern Mississippi, 24-14; Hokies committed six turnovers and fell behind, 14-0, before rallying to avoid the upset in Hattiesburg, Miss.

NEXT: at Boston College

*

RANK: 22

TEAM: Clemson (1-1)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to North Carolina State, 29-12; Wolfpack scored on three of its first four possessions and Tiger quarterback Patrick Sapp completed 19 of 37 passes for 159 yards.

NEXT: at Virginia

*

RANK: 23

TEAM: Georgia (1-1)

SYNOPSIS: Lost to Tennessee, 41-23; The Bulldogs fell behind early and not even quarterback Eric Zeier’s 401 passing yards could get them a victory against the Volunteers.

NEXT: NE Louisiana

*

RANK: 24

TEAM: Stanford (0-0-1)

SYNOPSIS: Tied Northwestern, 41-41; Stanford’s Eric Abrams missed a 23-yard field goal with three seconds left; his brother, Adam, is Cole Ford’s heir apparent at USC.

NEXT: San Jose St.

*

RANK: 25

TEAM: Washington (1-1)

SYNOPSIS: Defeated Ohio State, 25-16; Do Buckeyes wish Napoleon Kaufman had gone to NFL early? He rushed for career-best 211 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries.

NEXT: at Miami, Sept. 24

Top Performers

PASSING:

Player Comp. Att. Yds. TD KANELL, Florida St. 28 44 417 1 CASE, New Mexico 37 62 403 2 ZEIER, Georgia 30 45 401 1 STENSTROM, Stanford 25 38 374 1 WALSH, Brigham Young 23 35 315 3 GUTIERREZ, San Diego St. 25 43 314 2 BROWN, Nevada Las Vegas 22 49 306 0 FLANIGAN, So. Methodist 22 34 301 1 LUGINBILL, Georgia Tech 19 37 280 4

RUSHING:

Player Carries Yards TD DAVIS, Texas Christian 31 325 2 PRUITT, C. Michigan 24 274 3 WEST, Pittsburgh 26 226 1 STEWART, Tennessee 24 211 4 KAUFMAN, Washington 32 211 1 L.BROWN, Colorado St. 17 191 1 SMITH, Indiana 33 191 1 MINOR, Nevada 34 171 2 SHAH, UCLA 24 158 1

RECEIVING:

Player No. Yards TD DAVIS, Virginia 9 119 3 TILLMAN, Ohio St. 9 106 1 GATEWOOD, Nevada Las Vegas 8 108 0 ARMOUR, Stanford 7 143 1 LADD, Cincinnati 7 115 0 MAYES, Notre Dame 7 106 1 PEARSALL, Florida St. 7 90 1 ROSKELLY, Memphis 6 174 1 SCOTT, Penn St. 6 133 1