COLLEGE FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT

SIT DOWN, BE QUIET

Normally a coach doesn’t want to say anything to incite an opponent, but Iowa’s Hayden Fry let loose Tuesday on Indiana and its fans.

“It’s the worst crowd we go to in the Big Ten,” he said. “The hollering, the four-letter words, throwing stuff.”

The Hawkeyes’ last trip to Bloomington in 1993 ended with a 16-10 loss.

“A couple of my coaches got beaned upside the head the last time we were over there. It’s not a good environment.”

On Wednesday, Coach Bill Mallory said the Hoosiers, who have used the sideline in front of the students in recent years, would instead use the sideline in front of the alumni. Mallory said his decision to swap sidelines had nothing to do with Fry’s complaints.

But Hoosier fans had little to cheer about in a 31-10 loss, and several times they booed their 2-4 team.

HELP WAS ON THE WAY

It was the matchup of the inept offense versus the inept defense.

Oregon was giving up 212.5 yards rushing, 473.5 yards total offense and 38.2 points a game. It ranked ninth in the Pacific 10 Conference in scoring defense and third-down conversions.

Stanford was last in total offense (273.8), scoring (10.3), third-down conversion percentage (25.5) and had managed only one touchdown in 10 quarters.

It added up to a 27-24 victory for the Cardinal, which rallied from a 10-point deficit to force overtime.

THERE’S NO DEFENSE

Maybe Nevada Las Vegas could draw inspiration from a 45-41 upset of Steve Young-led Brigham Young in 1981, the last and only time the Rebels defeated a ranked opponent.

Then again, this is UNLV, possibly the worst team in Division I. Possibly worse than the New York Jets.

The Rebels endured another flogging Saturday, falling to No. 19 Brigham Young, 63-28.

Winless in seven games, the Rebels led, 7-0, before the Cougars came roaring back.

UNLV, which has lost 11 consecutive road games and is ranked 111th nationally in total defense, gave up more than 50 points for the fifth time and 60 points for the third time.

“When you’re not a real good team playing a very good team and you start to struggle, then you’re in trouble,” Coach Jeff Horton said.

The Rebels have given up at least 33 points in every game and have been outscored, 364-119. In its three road games, UNLV has been outscored, 160-47.

WHO GOOFED?

Sept. 13, 1997, could have been a special day for college football fans, then Bowling Green had to screw it up.

Bowling Green was scheduled to play Central Florida, but it got out of that commitment to schedule Ohio State, which had an open date.

Summon Nebraska, which had a Sept. 13 opening and graciously added Central Florida.

And to think that if the Bowling Green-Central Florida matchup had not been scrapped, Ohio State could have scheduled Nebraska.

TROY STATE

Iowa State’s Troy Davis, averaging 229.3 rushing yards a game, was limited to a season-low 130 yards in 39 carries in a 24-21 loss to Texas A&M.;

But Davis became the first major-college back to twice gain more than 1,000 yards in five games. He has 1,047 yards and remains on track to become the first Division I-A player with more than one 2,000-yard season. He ran for 2,010 yards last year.

Darren Davis, Troy’s bother, caught a 28-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

STREAKS AND SKIDS

--Oregon State, which tied a school record for consecutive defeats at 15 in a 24-3 loss to Washington State, is 1-15-1 against the Cougars since 1978.

Washington State had more penalty yards (189) than Oregon State had total yards (187). Despite their efforts, the Cougars fell a yard short of the school record for penalty yards.

--Northwestern running back Darnell Autry, who gained 189 yards in 41 carries in the Wildcats’ 26-24 victory over Minnesota, became the school’s career rushing leader, passing Dennis Lundy (3,062 yards). Autry has gained at least 100 yards in 19 consecutive games.

--Since a 19-0 loss to Arizona State, Nebraska has outscored its past three opponents--Colorado State, Kansas State and Baylor--153-12.

--Missouri, which was humbled by No. 22 Kansas State, 35-10, has lost 15 consecutive games to ranked opponents.

--Purdue, which had its two-game win streak snapped by No. 10 Penn State, 31-10, hasn’t won three consecutive games since 1984.

--Maryland, which was defeated by North Carolina, 38-7, has lost 22 games in a row against ranked opponents.

--Brown defeated Princeton, 27-23, dropping the Tigers to 1-3 and giving them their first 0-2 start in Ivy League play since 1986.

--Columbia edged Penn, 20-19, in overtime and is 4-0 and 2-0 in the Ivy League, marking its best start since 1945. Columbia, which snapped Penn’s 24-game winning streak last season, was winless at Philadelphia since 1976.

A CHART-TOPPER?

Nebraska has a new alma mater, composed by Omaha resident Chip Davis of Manheim Steamroller. It’s safe to say the tune, which does not have a title yet, was met with mixed reviews.

Jack Snider, a former Nebraska band director, said the song is “bad. It sounds like you’re in church. Anybody can make up a tune like that.”

Students were less critical.

“The lyrics are fabulous,” said sophomore Hweejoo Kam of Malaysia.

DEEP IN HEART OF TEXAS

A week ago, Texas drubbed Oklahoma State, 71-14, and quarterback James Brown said, “I wish we had scored more, but that’s not Coach John Mackovic’s style to run up points. We were talking . . . in the locker room, and we think we could have scored 120.”

Then the unthinkable happened, a 30-27 overtime loss to winless rival Oklahoma.

“We just couldn’t move the ball when it counted,” Brown said. “It just didn’t happen.”

--Compiled by JAY CHRISTENSEN