Northwestern Slams Duke, 38-13

Steve Schnur passed for two touchdowns and Darnell Autry ran his streak of 100-yard games to 15 as Northwestern rebounded from an season-opening loss by defeating Duke, 38-13, at Durham, N.C. on Saturday.

The Wildcats (1-1), who wasted several scoring chances and botched three extra points, expanded an 18-10 halftime lead with third-quarter scores 58 seconds apart.

The touchdowns came after the Blue Devils (0-2) blocked a Northwestern field-goal attempt after fumbling the second-half kickoff at the 25.

But Autry, who gained 157 yards, broke off a 33-yard run on the first play of an 80-yard march that helped set up Schnur’s seven-yard scoring pass to D’Wayne Bates. Then, after holding Duke on three plays, Brian Musso returned a punt 51 yards for a touchdown that gave the Wildcats a 32-10 lead.

Minnesota 26, Ball State 23--Cory Sauter’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Tutu Atwell with 15 seconds left gave the Golden Gophers a come-from-behind victory at Minneapolis, rescuing Coach Jim Wacker from a devastating loss.

Mandated to win five games or resign, Wacker watched Mid-American Conference Ball State dominate both lines of scrimmage. But Sauter hit Ryan Thelwell for a 57-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Then, after Brent Lockilear kicked his third field goal to give the Cardinals (0-3) a 23-18 lead with 1:38 remaining, Sauter drove Minnesota (2-0) to the winning touchdown.

Thelwell finished with eight catches for a school-record 228 yards.

No. 6 Penn State 49, Northern Illinois 0--Although tailback Curtis Enis was sidelined because of strep throat, the Nittany Lions had plenty of firepower against the Huskies at State College, Pa.

Joe Jurevicius led Penn State (3-0) with three receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

Northern Illinois (0-3) didn’t cross the Penn State 20 and was shut out for the second consecutive week. The Huskies have scored only six points this season.

Penn State, which has given up only 14 points, held the Huskies to 218 yards.

Northern Illinois missed a chance to avoid the shutout when Brian Clark’s 43-yard field-goal attempt fell short in the fourth quarter.

Indiana 21, Miami (Ohio) 14--Alex Smith rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown at Bloomington, Ind., as the Hoosiers ended the Redskins’ unbeaten streak at eight games. Indiana (2-0) also won its 12th consecutive home opener.

Miami (2-1) had a chance to tie or take the lead late in the game after a fumble by Smith was recovered at the Hoosier 17 with 2:09 to play. But defensive back Joey Eloms broke up Sam Ricketts’ pass in the back of the end zone on fourth and eight.

Smith, a 6-foot, 205-pound junior who missed much of last season because of injuries, was the focal point of Indiana’s offense with 40 carries.

Wisconsin 52, Nevada Las Vegas 17--The Badgers (2-0), who were defeated by the Rebels (0-3) the last time the teams met in 1986, stormed to a 38-14 third-quarter lead at Las Vegas.