BIG EIGHT ROUNDUP : Salaam Fuels Victory Before Bombshell

Rashaan Salaam became the fourth 2,000-yard rusher in major-college history, running for 259 yards and two touchdowns in 29 carries as No. 7 Colorado closed the season with a 41-20 victory over winless Iowa State on Saturday in a Big Eight game at Boulder, Colo.

Salaam, the nation’s leading rusher and scorer, joined Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders, USC’s Marcus Allen and Nebraska’s Mike Rozier in surpassing 2,000 yards. Each won the Heisman Trophy.

The bowl-bound Buffaloes, 10-1 overall and 6-1 in the Big Eight, generated 576 yards in total offense, and afterward came Coach Bill McCartney’s stunning resignation.

Iowa State (0-10-1, 0-6-1), which drew within 20-13 on Troy Davis’ 99-yard kickoff return late in the third quarter--the longest in school history--had its first winless season since the 1930 team went 0-9.

With Colorado leading only, 20-13, after three quarters, quarterback Kordell Stewart ran 23 yards for a touchdown with 13:20 left and Salaam dashed 67 yards for another with 10:27 remaining.

Salaam, a junior, broke the 2,000-yard barrier on that run, giving him 2,055 yards for the season. He was mobbed by teammates and hoisted on their shoulders in the corner of the end zone.

“I was out of breath,” Salaam said of his 67-yarder. “The guys were saying, ‘Strike the (Heisman) pose, strike the pose.’ But that’s not my style.”

Stewart set a Big Eight record for career total offense. He had 196 yards passing and 89 rushing for a total of 285 on Saturday, giving him 7,770, bettering the 7,749 of Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy from 1987-89.

Salaam and Stewart became only the second set of teammates to have 2,000 yards rushing and 2,000 passing in the same season; Oklahoma State’s Sanders and Gundy did it in 1988. Stewart joined Gundy as the only three-time 2,000-yard passers in Big Eight history.

This game also marked the end for Coach Jim Walden at Iowa State. Walden earlier announced his resignation. Walden spent the game in the radio booth, having been suspended by the Big Eight for criticizing officials.

No. 11 Kansas State 23, Oklahoma State 6--The Wildcats (8-2, 5-2) can do no worse than third in the Big Eight following this victory in a driving rainstorm at Manhattan, Kan.

The 5-2 conference record is the best for Kansas State in 24 years. The Wildcats are probably headed to the Aloha Bowl.

Oklahoma State (3-7-1, 0-6-1) took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter but failed to win a Big Eight game for the second consecutive year, a span of 17 games that includes two ties.

Kansas 31, Missouri 14--L.T. Levine ran for a career-high 221 yards and two touchdowns in 25 carries as the Jayhawks (6-5, 3-4) handed the Tigers (3-8, 2-5) their seventh consecutive loss at home.

It was Missouri’s sixth winless home season in school history.

Kansas, which gained 365 yards on the ground, pulled away from a 14-14 tie in the second half.

The Rundown

Colorado’s Rashaan Salaam became the first player since Barry Sanders in 1988 to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season. A look at the single-season leaders:

Player School Year Car Yds Avg Barry Sanders Oklahoma St. 1988 344 2,628 7.64 Marcus Allen USC 1981 402 2,342 5.81 Mike Rozier Nebraska 1983 275 2,148 7.81 Rashaan Salaam Colorado 1994 298 2,055 6.90 LeShon Johnson Northern Illinois 1993 327 1,976 6.04 Tony Dorsett Pittsburgh 1976 338 1,948 5.76 Lorenzo White Michigan St. 1985 386 1,908 4.94 Herschel Walker Georgia 1981 385 1,891 4.91 Ed Marinaro Cornell 1971 356 1,881 5.28 Ernest Anderson Oklahoma St. 1982 353 1,877 5.32

* Totals do not include statistics from bowl games.