COLLEGE FOOTBALL / WEEK 2 : BIG TEN : First Proves Foremost for Penn State

It was a day of firsts for second-ranked Penn State in a 70-24 victory over Akron on Saturday at State College, Pa.

Senior quarterback Rashard Casey got his first collegiate touchdowns, one rushing and one passing. Reserves John Gilmore, Eddie Drummond and Bryant Johnson each had their first touchdown receptions at Penn State. Third-string running back Mick Blosser ran for his first touchdown, while senior defensive back Askari Adams also got into the act--returning an interception for his first touchdown.

The Nittany Lions (2-0) scored 70 points for the first time since beating Maryland, 70-7, in 1993. Akron, a 45-point underdog, was outgained, 553-281, but didn’t roll over right away. The Zips scored 10 points in the first four minutes of the second quarter to pull within 14-10, but the Nittany Lions scored three touchdowns in the next seven minutes.

“I think we were a little nonchalant today,” said Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington, who had only one tackle.

Penn State was coming off a 41-7 victory over then No. 4-ranked Arizona and its next game is Sept. 18 at No. 8 Miami.

Nittany Lion Coach Joe Paterno continued to rotate quarterbacks, Casey and Kevin Thompson, also a senior.

Thompson threw touchdown passes of 71 yards to Drummond and 65 yards to Johnson early in the third quarter to give Penn State a 49-10 lead.

Thompson was five-of-eight passing for 188 yards, while Casey completed both his passes for 29 yards.

No. 5 Nebraska 42, Iowa 7--The Cornhuskers, leading only, 7-0, at halftime, wore down the Hawkeyes with their superior size and depth in temperatures reaching 92 degrees at Iowa City, Iowa.

Quarterbacks Bobby Newcombe and Eric Crouch accounted for all of Nebraska’s second-half touchdowns to help spoil the Iowa coaching debut of Kirk Ferentz, who took over when Hayden Fry retired after 20 years at the school.

Newcombe atoned for three first-half turnovers by running for touchdowns of one and five yards and connecting with Sean Applegate for a 47-yard scoring play.

Crouch scored on runs of six and 21 yards after accounting for the Cornhuskers’ first-half touchdown with a 28-yard run.

Iowa, which had only 169 total yards, averted a shutout when Doug Miller blocked a punt and Tim Dodge, a sprinter on the track team, scooped up the ball and went 10 yards for a touchdown with 2:30 left.

No. 9 Wisconsin 49, Murray State 10--Ron Dayne rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns despite playing only one half and the Badgers scored on their first six possessions against the Division I-AA Racers at Madison, Wis.

Dayne, a senior tailback, needs 1,582 yards to pass Ricky Williams as the NCAA’s all-time leading rusher. He passed five players--including Marcus Allen, Thurman Thomas, and Marshall Faulk, to move into 14th on the all-time list with 4,698 yards.

Wisconsin led, 42-7, at halftime, and Coach Barry Alvarez elected to hold Dayne out of the second half.

Nick Davis, the Big Ten’s top punt returner as a freshman last year, returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. He was helped when Murray State’s last tackler ran into an official.

Minnesota 33, Ohio 7--Senior quarterback Billy Cockerham threw an 89-yard touchdown pass--the longest of his career--and scored on a 35-yard bootleg at Minneapolis.

Minnesota is coming off a 6-5 season--its first with a record above .500 since 1990--and is seeking its first bowl appearance since 1986.

Ohio, which lost its two career rushing leaders off a team that ranked second nationally in rushing last season, ran for 54 yards in its first drive that resulted in its only touchdown.

Miami of Ohio 28, Northwestern 3--Travis Prentice scored on runs of nine and 23 yards to move into third place on the NCAA career rushing touchdown list at Evanston, Ill., as the RedHawks spoiled the Wildcat debut of their former coach, Randy Walker.

Prentice, with 58 rushing touchdowns, passed Marshall Faulk and trails Ricky Williams (72) and Indiana’s Anthony Thompson (64).

Walker coached at Miami nine seasons and had a 59-35-5 record, with his 1995 team handing Northwestern its only regular-season loss in its surprising Rose Bowl season. He replaced Gary Barnett, who went to Colorado. Terry Hoeppner is the coach at Miami.

Illinois 41, Arkansas State 3--Kurt Kittner passed for 217 yards and two touchdowns at Champaign, Ill., as the Illini won for only the fourth time in 26 games.

Illinois committed no turnovers and had only one penalty in winning its first opener since 1992. Arkansas State has lost its last four opening games.