Marshall Stuns Kansas State

Graham Gochneaur won a matchup of backup quarterbacks to give Marshall its first victory over a ranked major-college opponent.

“Nobody can ever take this away from me -- the No. 6 team in the nation,” Gochneaur said after throwing two touchdown passes Saturday in a 27-20 upset of No. 6 Kansas State (4-1) at Manhattan, Kan.

But Gochneaur, who threw the winning three-yard touchdown pass to Jason Rader and added a two-point conversion with just over 3 1/2 minutes left, had plenty of help from his teammates.

The Thundering Herd (2-2), known more for passing than for running or defense, rushed for 210 yards, forced four turnovers and made two goal-line stands in ending Kansas State’s 41-game home nonconference winning streak.

Gochneaur, making his second start in relief of the injured Stan Hill, was 16 of 24 for 106 yards with one interception.

Kansas State’s Jeff Schwinn, another backup making his second start, was 14 of 26 for 241 yards, but also fumbled twice and threw an interception.

Hill has a sprained left knee, and Kansas State quarterback Ell Roberson has an injured left wrist. Roberson could have played, Coach Bill Snyder said, but the Wildcats did not want to risk him in a nonconference game.

Kansas State had a chance to force overtime, when Schwinn’s 33-yard pass to Darren Sproles gave the Wildcats a first down at the Marshall three with 25 seconds left. The Wildcats were unable to get past the two, though.

No. 13 Texas 48, Rice 7 -- In Houston, Cedric Benson scored three touchdowns and backup Selvin Young had two more in a 41-point first half as the Longhorns found their running game.

Texas (2-1) was coming off a 38-28 loss to Arkansas, when it managed only 62 rushing yards.

The Longhorns had 322 rushing yards in 53 carries against the Owls (0-3), who ranked 104th in rushing defense entering the game.

Rice got inside the Texas 20 only twice and didn’t score until 5:18 was left in the game.

No. 23 Missouri 41, Middle Tennessee 40 -- The Tigers improved to 4-0 for the first time since 1981, but had to go overtime to defeat the Blue Raiders (0-4) in Columbia, Mo.

Middle Tennessee’s Andrico Hines scored on a four-yard touchdown run to start the overtime, but Brian Kelly’s extra-point attempt hit the left post.

Missouri took possession and scored on Brad Smith’s four-yard touchdown scramble, but the Tigers were penalized 15-yards for unsportsmanlike conduct while celebrating the score.

Mike Matheny then made an extra point from 36 yards to give the Tigers the victory.

Kansas 41, Jacksonville State 6 -- Bill Whittemore passed for 319 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores at Lawrence, Kan., as the Jayhawks brushed aside the Division I-AA Gamecocks (1-1).

The Jayhawks (3-1) scored on four consecutive drives in the first quarter to take a 28-0 lead. Kansas has won three in a row for the first time since 1997.

Baylor 27, Sam Houston 6 -- Rashad Armstrong ran for 125 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Bears (2-2) beat the Division I-AA Bearkats (1-2) at Waco, Texas.