Injured Oregon Cornerback Is Released From Hospital

Oregon cornerback A.K. Keyes was released from a Eugene, Ore., hospital Sunday, but a back injury has put his playing future in question.

Keyes, who was diagnosed with a narrow spinal column during summer camp, was taken off the field on a stretcher during the first quarter of Oregon’s 24-22 victory over USC on Saturday night.

An MRI conducted at Sacred Heart Medical Center revealed no fractures, but Keyes was kept overnight as a precaution.

Keyes lay motionless on the field for about 10 minutes after trying to tackle USC’s Charlie Landrigan near the sideline.

Keyes was able to move his left arm, then held his right arm up as his head was strapped to the stretcher and loaded onto a golf cart.

At the hospital, Keyes was able to move his arms and legs, the school said.

Keyes, a sophomore who entered the game when starting right cornerback Rashad Bauman injured his left ankle, was held out of practice for nearly a week this summer after he complained of “tingling” in his hands and feet following a hit.

Team doctors informed Keyes of his medical condition and wouldn’t clear him to play.

But Keyes came back after seeking opinions from several specialists, including some in Seattle and Portland, Ore.

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Michigan State offensive lineman Paul Harker was released from a hospital in South Bend, Ind., a day after he collapsed during the Spartans’ victory over Notre Dame.

The 6-foot-3, 303-pound junior returned to the Michigan State campus with his parents, the university said.

Harker was kept overnight for observation and released from St. Joseph Regional Medical Center after test results were normal, said Michigan State head trainer Jeff Monroe.

He will be indefinitely sidelined until more tests are done, Monroe said.

Harker had sat out two series with a pinched nerve in his shoulder when he vomited, coaches said. He then collapsed face first on the sideline.

Harker’s heart and other vital signs were fine after he collapsed, but he had trouble breathing, said John Lewandowski, Michigan State’s assistant athletic director.

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Florida State stumbled, then tumbled in the Associated Press media poll.

The Seminoles, who lost to North Carolina, 41-9, Saturday, dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in three years. They are ranked No. 18.

With its worst regular-season defeat since a 53-14 loss to Florida in 1983, Florida State dropped 12 spots.

The top five of Miami, Florida, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas did not change.

The Seminoles are out of the top 10 for the first time in 53 polls. Their 32-point loss was the worst by a top 10 team to an unranked team since No. 4 Penn State lost to Michigan State, 49-14, on Nov. 29, 1997.

In the first AP poll since Sept. 9, idle Miami received 39 first-place votes and 1,749 points from the 72 sports writers and broadcasters on the panel.

Florida, a 44-10 winner over Kentucky, had 15 first-place votes and 1,717 points.

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Brian Allen scored last, sprinting 47 yards past several Arizona State defenders.

His touchdown in the final minute of the third quarter gave Stanford its 51-28 margin of victory at Stanford Saturday night.

The Cardinal and the Sun Devils opened Pacific 10 Conference schedules with a game that recalled every offense-rich, defense-poor game in the conference’s history.

The teams combined for 1,052 yards from scrimmage and 379 yards on kick and punt returns.

They scored all the points during a 35-minute stretch beginning late in the first quarter.

Eleven players scored touchdowns.

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The quality of the opposition may not have been impressive, but it’s still three up and three down for new Arizona Coach John Mackovic.

Jason Johnson threw for three touchdown passes, two to Bobby Wade, and Tremaine Cox scored on an 80-yard run Saturday night at Tucson as the Wildcats beat winless Nevada Las Vegas, 38-21.