Thundering Heard at Marshall

With a virtual who’s-that? lineup of opponents left to play, 17th-ranked Marshall set itself up for an unbeaten season Saturday with a 32-14 victory over Miami of Ohio at Oxford, Ohio.

It was a game billed as a showdown between the two best teams in the Mid-American Conference, but Marshall Coach Bob Pruett was not surprised by the result.

“I told [former Marshall coach] Sonny Randle before the game that if we don’t turn the ball over, we’ll blow them out,” Pruett said.

His prophecy was fulfilled as the Thundering Herd running backs didn’t lose a fumble and quarterback Chad Pennington passed for 294 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.

Marshall (5-0) rolled to a 32-0 lead before giving up two late touchdowns.

Pennington completed 18 of 35 passes.

Miami’s Travis Prentice, meanwhile, was held in check most of the game by an aggressive Marshall defense. He finished with 131 yards in 27 carries, but 83 yards came in the fourth quarter. Prentice, considered the MAC’s top running back, had only 18 yards in 13 carries in the first half.

“I was embarrassed today,” he said. “Marshall is a really good team.”

And a team with nothing but cupcakes ahead.

The Thundering Herd, which opened its season with a 13-10 victory over Clemson, plays its final six games against Toledo, Buffalo, Northern Illinois, Kent, Western Michigan and Ohio.

BOLLINGER BOWLS HIM OVER

Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez surprised Ohio State by going with redshirt freshman Brooks Bollinger as his starting quarterback, instead of senior Scott Kavanagh, who has a sore elbow.

Bollinger, making his first start, completed 15 of 27 passes for 167 yards and ran 17 times for 78 yards as the Badgers rallied from a 17-0 deficit to upset the 12th-ranked Buckeyes, 42-17, at Columbus, Ohio.

“To make play after play and manage the team,” Alvarez said, “that’s as good a job as I’ve seen a freshman do.”

NO LETDOWN FOR PIRATES

East Carolina played one of those “prove-’em-wrong” games against Army at West Point, N.Y., and the Pirates came away feeling pretty good about themselves.

“We heard people say it was inevitable we’d lose because of the big win last week, but we came out ready to play,” said David Garrard, who passed for 300 yards and a touchdown in the 19th-ranked Pirates’ 33-14 victory. “The guys responded and we just proved everybody wrong. We had a lot of fun out there.”

The big win last week was a 27-23 come-from-behind upset of Miami, which took place at Raleigh, N.C., because Hurricane Floyd prevented the Pirates from returning to their campus in Greenville, N.C., after a victory over South Carolina on Sept. 18.

“They said we’d have a letdown after the deal last week,” Coach Steve Logan said of the Pirates, who are off to their best start since 1976, when they opened 5-0 and finished 9-2 under Pat Dye. “The story was already written. But they came here on a business trip. No monkeying around. They had a good look in their eye before the game, and the kids fought through it all.”

East Carolina finally plays a real home game Saturday against Southern Mississippi.

BRUIN ALUMNI TAKE NOTE

Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti doesn’t want any rival school colors to clash with his Ducks’ green and gold at team practices. Even if the color happens to be worn by an NFL scout.

Bellotti, who zealously protects secrets in practice, even though they are open to the public, noticed a man he did not know at Wednesday’s workout. He was wearing a purple and gold jacket--the same colors as Washington, which played Oregon late Saturday at Seattle.

Bellotti asked his head of security who it was. The guard came back and said it was a Minnesota Viking scout. “Ask him to take that jacket off,” Bellotti responded. If he doesn’t, Bellotti said, “ask him to leave.”

The unidentified man, one of three NFL scouts at the practice, took umbrage and left.

This week’s offensive colors: blue and gold. The Ducks play UCLA on Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

HAMILTON HANDLES HEISMAN HYPE

The very idea that Georgia Tech’s Joe Hamilton has a shot at the Heisman Trophy this season would have seemed preposterous in 1995 when the undersized quarterback from tiny Alvin, S.C., signed with a team that went 1-10 the previous season. It doesn’t seem so farfetched anymore.

“From what I’ve seen of the other Heisman candidates, Joe is right up there with the best,” said his favorite receiver, Dez White. “He has as good a chance as any to win the Heisman.”

Hamilton had the spotlight to himself Thursday night, leading the ninth-ranked Yellow Jackets to a 49-31 victory over previously unbeaten Maryland in a nationally televised game at Atlanta. He passed for 387 yards and three touchdowns and also had a 41-yard scoring run, setting a school record with 474 total yards.

“I can’t imagine a better college football player than Joe Hamilton,” Maryland Coach Ron Vanderlinden said of the 5-foot-10 senior. “I can’t imagine a more complete player.”

Hamilton also knows a thing or two about timing. His 387 yards passing matched his career high, set last month in a nationally televised game against top-ranked Florida State.

“I don’t think about that,” he said. “I want to do my best every time, no matter who’s watching. I don’t care if I’m playing in the backyard.”

WILDCATS 1, HILL 0

Kentucky, which capitalized on three turnovers and limited 20th-ranked Arkansas to 97 yards rushing in a 31-20 upset at Lexington, Ky., was inspired by a Friday night meeting in which defensive coordinator Mike Major distributed an article from Friday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette headlined “UK defense may be cure for UA’s ills.”

“I read that to them, read them a couple of other articles that had said some not very attractive things about our defensive players, and told them this is the game that we have to step up and be accounted for,” Major said. “Every now and then, you’ve just got to go and take the hill.”

SPEEDSTER PULLED OVER IN FLORIDA

Alabama receiver Shamari Buchanan was held out of Saturday’s 40-39 overtime victory over third-ranked Florida at Gainesville, Fla., while the NCAA investigated reports that he may have received help in getting a speeding charge dropped in April.

“We are holding Shamari out of today’s game while we investigate allegations of potential violation of team rules,” Marie Robbins, associate athletic director for compliance at Alabama, said in a statement.

Buchanan, a backup receiver from Atlanta, received a ticket in Calhoun County for traveling 87 mph in a 70-mph zone Jan. 6. The charge was dropped April 19, according to a review of records by the Associated Press.

“Until we get the situation figured out,” an Alabama spokesman said, “he’ll be out.”

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CLUE, NICK?

After Iowa was thrashed by Michigan State, 49-3, at East Lansing, Mich., the Hawkeyes were trashed by Spartan Coach Nick Saban.

“They probably feel that their players are playing hard for them,” he said. “But they definitely need more talented guys, especially skill players, if they’re going to be more competitive in the league.”

MOUNT UNION STREAK BARELY SURVIVES

Mount Union won its 46th consecutive game, one shy of Oklahoma’s NCAA record, on Gary Smeck’s six-yard touchdown pass to Adam Irgang in overtime of a 57-51 victory over John Carroll at University Heights, Ohio.

Mount Union, a Division III school in Alliance, Ohio, will try to match Oklahoma’s record--set from 1953-57--Saturday against Heidelberg at Tiffin, Ohio.

--Compiled by Jerry Crowe