COLLEGE FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT

MAYBE THE SAINTS WILL DRAFT HIM TOO

What falls faster than Peyton Manning’s Heisman Trophy chances? Well, nothing, but don’t get down on yourself Peyton.

Dad, Archie, also failed to win the big award. Archie finished fourth in 1969 behind Steve Owens, Mike Phipps and Rex Kern, and third in 1970 behind Jim Plunkett and Joe Theismann.

Peyton’s big numbers Saturday, 37 of 65 passes for 492 yards and four touchdowns cannot make up for his four interceptions or overshadow the spanking Florida gave Tennessee.

“I knew there was a game like this out there for me sometime in my career,” Peyton Manning said.

Dad should know.

In one of Archie’s big games at Mississippi, he completed 33 of 52 passes for 436 yards and a touchdown against Alabama in 1969. But he also threw two interceptions and lost, 33-32.

TEN TIMES BETTER

Saturday’s games included a Big Ten/Big East showdown with five games between the two conferences. It also featured five coaches fighting for their jobs. The breakdown:

Ohio State 72, Pittsburgh 0--Johnny Majors better start looking at homes in Florida.

Penn State 41, Temple 0--Ron Dickerson may ask Joe Pa for that assistant job back.

Michigan 20, Boston College 14--Eagle Coach Dan Henning could have used the victory.

Minnesota 35, Syracuse 33--Jim Wacker’s team is why it is still called the Big Ten, but the Gophers pulled the upset and may have saved his job.

West Virginia 20, Purdue 6--The reason Jim Colletto has a job: no one else wants it.

IS THERE NO END TO THEIR TALENT?

After two games last season Buckeye fans at the Varsity Club in Columbus were raving over Ohio State’s Big Three--running back Eddie George, quarterback Bobby Hoying and wide receiver Terry Glenn. In victories over Boston College and Washington, George rushed for 311 yards, Hoying had 461 yards passing and Glenn had 10 catches for 196 yards.

Well, those names are not forgotten, but they are fading faster as the Buckeyes unveiled a new trio.

In victories over Rice and Pittsburgh, George’s replacement, Pepe Pearson, has accumulated 222 yards. Stanley Jackson has thrown for 245 yards as Hoying’s successor, and freshman Michael Wiley has 130 yards receiving.

The trio also has had a hand in 11 touchdowns thus far, compared to eight for 1995’s trio.

“They keep bringing on great players,” Pittsburgh safety Curtis McGhee said.

STARRING KEVIN SPACEY AT QUARTERBACK

Who is Matt Kavanaugh? Who is Brian Kavanagh? Who is Matt Cavanagh? Actually, they all are the starting quarterback for Kansas State if believe you the Associated Press, which sent the name out three different ways while reporting the Wildcat’s 34-7 rout of Rice.

Brian Kavanagh is actually the name of Kansas State’s quarterback, who threw for four touchdown passes in a 34-7 rout of Rice, a school record. We checked, Kavanagh does not like to be called Matt, does not have a silent ‘C’ before his name as in Ckavanagh, and, is not Keyser Soze.

PASSING ALONG

While Danny Wuerffel was taking a step toward the Heisman Trophy, the man he beat out for the job at Florida was also having a good day. Eric Kresser, who transferred, completed 23 of 36 passes for 221 yards and three scores as Marshall beat Georgia Southern, 29-13.

MAYBE IT WAS SOMETHING HE ATE

Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf on Michael Black, who rushed for 161 yards in the Cougar’s 55-44 upset of Oregon: “I don’t know what was in him. He was running over people. I could have handed off to him all night.”

PRAIRIE VIEW ALERT

We went to church. We said we’d call mom once a week. We promised to give up sweets. All in the hope that Prairie View would end its 60-game losing streak. Well, it is now at 61 after a 63-0 loss to Southern. Keep hope alive.

MAYBE HE DIDN’T WEAR HIS BLACK SHOES

Joe Paterno didn’t show any mercy to Temple Coach Ron Dickerson, a former assistant at Penn State. Not only did Temple lose, 41-0, but Paterno’s squad went for it on fourth and two in the fourth quarter while leading, 34-0. The result: a three-yard touchdown run by Chris Eberly.

Instead of questioning his old boss on the matter, Dickerson called it “part of the game” and then turned into Penn State’s biggest booster.

“They’re legitimate. They’re really good,” Dickerson said. “That’s a heck of a football team.”

Oh, we get it, respect your elders.

NOTEWORTHY

--Notre Dame defensive coordinator Bob Davie has a 10-1 lifetime record against Texas. Davie was 8-1 as an assistant at Texas A&M;, and the Irish defeated the Longhorns, 27-24, at Austin on Saturday and, 55-27, last year.

--Darnell Autry extended his streak of consecutive 100-yard rushing games to 16, gaining 115 yards in Northwestern’s 28-7 victory over Ohio University.

--Illinois, playing its fourth game, finally scored its first touchdown of the season on Jason Dulick’s 11-yard reception in the second quarter of a 38-7 victory over Akron.

--Counting a 41-0 loss to Syracuse in the Gator Bowl, Clemson has lost three of its last four and has been outscored 117-43, after losing to Missouri, 38-24. The lone victory was over Division I-AA Furman.

--Texas Tech’s Byron Hanspard had 214 yards rushing on 37 carries, the ninth consecutive game he has gained more than 100 yards and the fourth time in five games with at least 200.

NO NEED TO GET DEFENSIVE ABOUT IT

In Fort Collins, Colo., Nevada Las Vegas and Colorado State met to determine what team had the worst defense in college football.

Statistically, the two were 110-111 in the rankings coming into the game, with UNLV last thanks to a 62-3 loss to Tennessee, a 65-17 loss to Air Force and a 52-17 performance against Wisconsin last week. The Rebels ranked 111th in both scoring defense (59.7 points per game) and total defense (554.3 yards per game), and Colorado State was only a little better.

But with the stage set for the wackest of all WAC scores, both team’s did something strange . . . they played defense. The first touchdown didn’t come until the final play of the first quarter and the final score was only, 35-16, in favor of Colorado State.

Total yards rushing: 396. Passing: 520. Both a big letdown.

The Running Rebels, however, did give up enough points to stay on pace with the 1973 Texas El Paso team that allowed a Division I-A record for points allowed in a season, 544.

BRING A GOOD BOOK

Thankfully, Ohio State doesn’t play UNLV this season. The Buckeyes, who defeated Pittsburgh, 72-0, Saturday, are averaging more than 70 points a game.

“They made every effort to keep it under 70 points and we wouldn’t let them do it,” Pittsburgh Coach Johnny Majors said.

Boredom is more of a problem than opposing teams in Columbus.

“In the second half, when the game was out of hand, I was looking up in the stands,” Ohio State Coach John Cooper said.

Boredom may be the reason the Buckeyes handicapped themselves late in the game. Ohio State had just eight players on the field when freshman David Boston returned a punt 66 yards for a touchdown for the Buckeyes’ final score.

DAD MIGHT BE BETTER IN THE LONG HAUL

William Webster, the father of Iowa State running back Troy Davis, gets the Dad of the Year award after driving 25 hours to Ames, Iowa from Miami to see Davis rush for 241 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-23 victory over Northern Iowa.

Webster got to see a lot of his son as Davis set a school record with 53 carries, breaking the record of 47 by Dwayne Crutchfield against Colorado in 1981.

Keeping with the family theme, freshman Darren Davis, Troy’s brother, added a 45-yard run to key an Iowa State drive.

Combined the two Davises rushed for 293 yards, about .17 of a mile. Webster out-gained them by approximately 1,360 miles.

--Compiled by GEORGE DOHRMANN