Simms Leads No. 5 Texas Past Houston, 53-26

Chris Simms got the last word.

Inspired by comments by some Houston players, Simms threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns--including a 92-yarder to B.J. Johnson--in the No. 5 Longhorns’ 53-26 victory over the Cougars on Saturday night at Houston.

“Chris really responded,” Texas Coach Mack Brown said. “He really hasn’t played that much and every time he takes a snap he’s a better football player.”

The Houston players got Simms’ attention during the week, questioning his intelligence and saying they preferred to face Simms over backup Major Applewhite.

“I wanted to go out there and tear them up,” Simms said. “They talked a lot of trash. We talked a lot of trash during the game, but I talked to some of those guys after the game and they didn’t seem to be that bad.”

Houston defensive lineman Adrian Lee, one of Simms’ pregame critics, acknowledged the Texas quarterback winked at him after a sack. “[Simms] did everything right,” Lee said.

Despite showing some second-quarter rust that helped Houston take a brief lead, Simms rebounded to go 20 of 35 with one interception. Ivan Williams ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns for the Longhorns, 3-0 for the first time since 1994.

Texas relied on defense and its running game in its first two victories, but it was Simms who guided the Longhorns to 30 consecutive points, buoyed by a largely sympathetic road crowd of 31,784.

The Cougars (0-2) took a 14-10 lead late in the second quarter on a 3-yard touchdown reception by Grover Thompson, who pulled in a wobbling pass tipped by Texas’ Ahmad Brooks. The drive was set up by Stanford Routt’s interception.

No. 12 Kansas State 64, New Mexico State 0--Josh Scobey ran for four touchdowns, one short of the team record, as the Wildcats seized a 50-0 halftime lead at Manhattan, Kan., and handed the Aggies (0-4) their most lopsided defeat since a 73-3 loss to Oklahoma in 1989.

Aaron Lockett had a 13-yard touchdown reception and returned the second-half kickoff 97 yards for another score against New Mexico State, which has been outscored, 64-6, in the first quarter.

In the lopsided first half, the Wildcats (2-0) scored off a fumbled punt, a fumbled center snap on an attempted punt and two interceptions by DeMarcus Faggins.

Texas A&M; 21, Oklahoma State 7--Eric Crutchfield recovered a blocked punt in the end zone as the Aggies overcame a sluggish offense performance in a conference opener at College Station, Texas.

Oklahoma State (1-2) punter Scott Elder, standing in his end zone with less than two minutes to go in the third quarter, had his kick blocked by defensive back Wes Bautovich and Crutchfield pounced on the ball for the score.

The touchdown broke open a 14-7 game that was taken over in the second half by the defense of Texas A&M; (3-0).

Colorado 27, Kansas 16--Quarterback Craig Ochs shrugged off a concussion and rallied the Buffaloes to two fourth-quarter touchdowns in a conference opener at Boulder, Colo.

Trailing, 16-13, Colorado (3-1) went ahead when Ochs, who sat out the first three series of the second half, drove the Buffaloes 86 yards in 11 plays, capping the drive with a 17-yard scoring pass to tight end Daniel Graham with 11:04 left.

Moments later, Curtis Ansel of Kansas (1-2) shanked a punt that traveled only 14 yards, and Chris Brown bolted 40 yards up the middle on the next play with 9:08 remaining.

Texas Tech 42, North Texas 14--Paul McClendon returned a fumble and an interception for touchdowns, sparking the Red Raiders to victory at Irving, Texas.

Ricky Williams had 94 yards rushing, including touchdown runs of two and nine yards, and caught 13 passes for 101 yards as the Red Raiders (2-0) had 407 total yards to 285 for North Texas (0-2).

Iowa State 31, Ohio 28--Ennis Haywood ran for 219 yards and two touchdowns at Athens, Ohio, as the Cyclones held off the Bobcats.

Haywood scored on a 66-yard run to give the Cyclones (2-0) a 31-14 lead through three quarters. He also had a seven-yard scoring run and finished with 33 carries.

Joe Mohler scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns for Ohio (0-3), on passes covering 31 yards from Dontrell Jackson and 53 yards on a halfback pass from Chad Brinker.

Baylor 16, New Mexico 13--Daniel Andino kicked a 29-yard field goal in overtime at Waco, Texas, as the Bears started 2-0 for the first time since 1996.

New Mexico (1-2) had the ball first in overtime, but Jarrod Baxter fumbled and lost the ball on fourth and goal at the two.

Baylor’s Melvin Barnett ran six yards on a third and three from New Mexico’s 18 to set up the winning field goal.

The victory came in front of 38,396, Baylor’s largest nonconference home crowd in five years.