Michigan State Gets Message

A few choice words from Coach Bobby Williams at halftime seemed to spark Michigan State on Saturday.

After a lackluster first half, the 15th-ranked Spartans scored 17 points off four second-half turnovers in a 27-10 victory over Rice at East Lansing, Mich.

“He really got after us, and we deserved it,” quarterback Jeff Smoker said of Williams’ angry halftime talk. “I can’t tell you exactly what he said, but in a roundabout way, he told us that we were losing to a team that wasn’t better than us.”

Smoker and wide receiver Charles Rogers again had big games for the Spartans (2-0).

Rogers caught nine passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns, and Smoker completed 16 of 26 passes for 213 yards and three scores.

No. 7 Michigan 35, Western Michigan 12--John Navarre threw two of his career-high four touchdown passes to Braylon Edwards as the Wolverines (2-0) defeated the Broncos (1-1) at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Chris Perry ran for 118 yards despite not playing after the first drive of the second half.

Navarre was 14 for 23 for 174 yards with one interception and Edwards caught four passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns and has emerged as the go-to target the Wolverines were looking for to replace Marquise Walker, who set Michigan single-season and career receiving records last season, and is now playing in the NFL for Tampa Bay.

No. 8 Ohio State 51, Kent State 17--Maurice Clarett scored twice and Craig Krenzel completed his first 11 passes as the Buckeyes (2-0) defeated the Golden Flashes (1-1) at Columbus, Ohio, in the first meeting between the schools.

Clarett recorded one of the biggest rushing debuts ever for an Ohio State freshman two weeks ago, totaling 175 yards and three touchdowns in the Buckeyes’ 45-21 victory over Texas Tech in the Pigskin Classic. Against Kent State, he had only 64 yards in 12 carries and lost one fumble.

Because he completed his last pass against Texas Tech, Krenzel tied the school record of 12 consecutive completions over more than one game, shared by three players. He fell one shy of tying Jim Karsatos’ single-game mark of 12. Krenzel finished 12 for 14 for 190 yards.

No. 25 Wisconsin 34, West Virginia 17--Brooks Bollinger passed for 218 yards and two touchdowns to freshman Jonathan Orr as the Badgers (3-0) used a 27-point second quarter to defeat the Mountaineers (1-1) at Madison, Wis.

Behind great protection, Bollinger found his receivers wide open on short and long patterns, completing 12 of 15 passes for 203 yards in the first half as Wisconsin built a 34-3 lead.

Wisconsin freshman Brandon Williams had six catches for 125 yards, including five for 114 in the first half.

Orr had five receptions for 94 yards.

Southern Mississippi 23, Illinois 20--Derrick Nix ran for 201 yards and two touchdowns, despite not playing the second quarter after he became ill, as the Golden Eagles (2-0) defeated the Illini (0-2) at Hattiesburg, Miss.

Antoineo Harris ran for a career-high 162 yards in 31 carries for Illinois, which is 0-2 for the first time since its winless 1997 season.

Iowa 29, Miami (Ohio) 24--Brad Banks threw a 38-yard pass to set up a touchdown, then hooked up with C.J. Jones on a 48-yard score as the Hawkeyes (2-0) rallied in the second half to defeat the RedHawks (1-1) at Oxford, Ohio.

Ben Roethlisberger, who passed for more yards and touchdowns than any other freshman last season, kept Miami close. He was 33 for 51 for 343 yards and two touchdowns, and had two touchdown passes to Michael Larkin negated by penalties.

Texas Christian 48, Northwestern 24--Corey Connally rushed for 88 yards and a score and had another 33 yards receiving as the Horned Frogs (1-1) defeated the Wildcats (0-2) at Evanston, Ill.

Jason Wright, a former Diamond Bar High standout, was the lone bright spot for Northwestern, returning the opening kickoff for a school-record 100 yards. He set another mark with 191 yards on kick returns.

Utah 40, Indiana 13--Marty Johnson ran for 229 yards in three quarters, the fourth-best total in Utah history, and J.R. Peroulis had 118 more as the Utes (2-0) defeated the Hoosiers (1-1) at Salt Lake City.

Johnson, who missed the fourth quarter after spraining a ligament in his right knee, scored on a two-yard run in the second quarter and had a 16-yard touchdown run in the third. He will be out four to six weeks.

Minnesota 35, Louisiana Lafayette 11--Asad Abdul-Khaliq threw a career-high four touchdown passes--three to tight end Ben Utecht--as the Golden Gophers (2-0) defeated the Ragin’ Cajuns (0-2) at Lafayette, La.