Edwards Moves Into Rice’s Receiving Line

Defensive backs in the NFL aren’t the only ones taking aim at San Francisco 49ers’ wide receiver Jerry Rice this season.

Louisiana Tech wide receiver Troy Edwards caught four of quarterback Tim Rattay’s seven touchdown passes Saturday in a 69-21 victory over Arkansas State, giving Edwards 27 touchdown receptions in 11 games.

The 27 touchdowns ties the all-divisions season record set by Rice at Mississippi Valley State in 1984. It also broke the major college season record of 25 set last year by Marshall’s Randy Moss.

Rice’s touchdown record isn’t the only one that will probably fall.

Scott Hvistendahl of Augsburg (Minn.) College caught 14 passes for 246 yards Saturday against Bethel to break the NCAA Division III career receiving yardage record. Hvistendahl has 4,466 yards, 227 short of the all-divisions record set by Rice from 1981-84.

BAD CALL

Kansas State improved its chances for a shot at a national title with a 49-6 win over Baylor.

Don’t look for the unbeaten Wildcats to win any sportsmanship awards, though.

With Baylor fans booing in Waco, Texas, Kansas State scored on the last play of the game on a one-yard quarterback sneak by Adam Helm.

Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder said he told Baylor Coach Dave Roberts after the game he tried to call timeout.

“It was a bad choice,” Snyder said of the game-ending play.

Kansas State safety Jarrod Cooper was describing the Wildcats’ play in the first half, but he might as well have been talking about the final touchdown when he said: “Our effort today ranks last in the country.”

COUGAR CHARACTER

Brigham Young linebacker Rob Morris made his first career interception and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Cougars’ 46-21 Western Athletic Conference victory over New Mexico.

Morris then drew an illegal celebration penalty for diving into the end zone and making snow angels on the grass.

After the penalty, kicker Owen Pochman, who earlier had broken his brother Ethan’s school record with his 62nd consecutive extra point, missed the ensuing kick from the extra distance.

“He got the record, didn’t he?” Morris said. “He’s just going to have to learn to deal with that kind of adversity over his career.”

NO ORDINARY JOE

Nebraska’s Joe Walker returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown in the Cornhuskers’ 42-7 rout over Iowa State, giving him touchdowns this season on three different returns: interception, punt and kickoff.

Walker is the fifth player in NCAA Division I history to accomplish that feat. Joe Crocker of Virginia (1974), Scott Thomas of Air Force (1985), Mark Haynes of Arizona State (1974) and Dick Harris of South Carolina (1970) are the others.

“Since I don’t get to play offense, I’ve got to take advantage of all opportunities I get,” said Walker, who had a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Louisiana Tech and returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown against Oklahoma State.

“I feel like every time I touch the ball I can score,” Walker said. “You just catch the ball, see daylight and it’s your show.”

EMPTY FEELING

The announced attendance for Kansas’ game against North Texas was 20,000.

That was wishful thinking.

Only a fraction braved the elements to watch Kansas close out its home season with a 23-14 victory on a sloppy, rainy, penalty-filled, miserable afternoon.

“If there was ever a time we were playing for ourselves, it was definitely today,” Kansas safety Michael Allen said. “The only people who were out there were our parents.”

Coach Terry Allen, no relation, was a bit more frank.

“You always have a tendency to remember the last game you played at home,” he said. “And what an awful experience that would have been [for Kansas seniors]--to play in front of 5,000 people in our last home game and lose to North Texas.”

HOMECOMING KINGS

Alabama Birmingham is in only its third year in Division I, but the Blazers have already made a name for themselves.

UAB is the ultimate homecoming opponent.

On Saturday, Tennessee defeated Alabama Birmingham, 37-13.

It was Alabama Birmingham’s fourth homecoming game loss in as many weeks.

The Blazers lost at Louisiana Tech on Oct. 17, dropped their own homecoming game on Oct. 24 against Virginia Tech and lost last week at Northeast Louisiana.

HEISMAN HANDICAP

1. Ricky Williams, Texas: Held to 90 yards--114 below his average--by Oklahoma State defense ranked 47th in the nation, but rushed for a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass in Longhorns’ victory.

2. Ron Dayne, Wisconsin: Gained 133 yards in 35 carries and scored a touchdown in victory over Minnesota, which had the nation’s seventh-ranked rushing defense.

3. Michael Bishop, Kansas State: Passed for 262 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for a touchdown in win over Baylor.

4. Cade McNown, UCLA: Passed for 377 yards and four touchdowns, including game-winning 61-yarder to Brad Melsby with 21 seconds left in victory over Oregon State.

5. Tim Couch, Kentucky: Completed 35 of 45 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns in victory over Mississippi State to make Wildcats bowl-eligible.

6. Daunte Culpepper, Central Florida: Nation’s leading passer threw for only 182 yards, had four passes intercepted and failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time in 23 games.

7. Joe Germaine, Ohio State: Completed only 16 of 34 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown, and had potential game-winning fourth-down pass intercepted in loss to Michigan State.

8. Troy Edwards, Louisiana Tech: Caught four of quarterback Tim Rattay’s seven touchdown passes in 69-21 victory over Arkansas State.

9. Shaun King, Tulane: Completed 27 of 38 passes for 285 yards and four touchdowns and also ran for a touchdown in victory over Memphis.

10. Akili Smith, Oregon: Passed for 442 yards and three touchdowns in the Ducks’ victory over Washington.

NOTABLE

Florida State’s 45-14 victory over Virginia extended the nation’s longest home unbeaten streak to 39 games. The Seminoles have not lost in Tallahassee since 1991 when Miami beat them, 17-16.

Brian Shay of Emporia State (Kan.) scored four touchdowns against Missouri-Rolla to become college football’s career scoring leader. Shay has 532 points, four more than Carey Bender of Division III Coe College scored from 1991-94.

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--Compiled by Gary Klein

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Saturday’s Leaders

PASSING

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Player, Team Att Cmp Yds TD TIM RATTAY, La. Tech 42 33 508 7 DOUG JOHNSON, Florida 39 24 460 4 KEVIN FETERIK, BYU 42 25 422 4 B. KUKLICK, Wake Forest 52 31 421 2 MAJOR APPLEWHITE, Texas 40 29 408 3 DAVID NEILL, Nevada 41 23 380 3 DREW BREES, Purdue 42 24 338 6 JAMIE BARNETTE, N.C. St. 38 24 321 2 S. MUTRYN, Boston College 35 22 318 2 C. PENNINGTON, Marshall 35 18 314 2 SHAUN KING, Tulane 38 27 285 4 ANDREW ZOE, Alabama 27 17 284 3

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RUSHING

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Player, Team No Yds TD KEVIN FAULK, LSU 30 201 1 JACKI CROOKS, Rutgers 31 189 1 TRAVIS PRENTICE, Miami, Ohio 36 179 2 JAMIE TYLER, Rice 18 166 2

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RECEIVING

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Player, Team No Yds TD TORRY HOLT, North Carolina St. 15 179 0 TROY EDWARDS, Louisiana Tech 13 191 4 JAMIE DEESE, Wake Forest 12 167 1 JaJUAN DAWSON, Tulane 10 127 2 TRAVIS McGRIFF, Florida 8 157 1

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