Tennessee Was Set to Forfeit Game

Tennessee was ready to forfeit to No. 3 Louisiana State if tonight’s game in Baton Rouge, La., had not been rescheduled for Monday night because of Hurricane Rita.

Tennessee Athletic Director Mike Hamilton said Friday the No. 10 Volunteers were prepared to take such action “if we felt like it would be unfair to our student-athletes and not safe for our student-athletes.”

Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive said Thursday the game would be moved for safety reasons. LSU officials preferred to have the game Saturday or Sunday.

“We will now face significant logistical challenges, but we hope for the continued cooperation of our fans,” LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman said.

Baton Rouge was under an inland tropical storm warning through today, according to the National Weather Service.

LSU officials announced Friday that classes and operations will be canceled on Monday, and they expected it would take two days to clean up any debris such as fallen trees after the storm passes.

Louisiana emergency officials told the university to expect some evacuees.

The Volunteers will travel to Baton Rouge on Monday morning.

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Joe Ayoob ran for three touchdowns and threw for another and sophomore Justin Forsett rushed for a career-high 234 yards as No. 13 California wore down pesky New Mexico State, 41-13, at Las Cruces, N.M.

Cal (4-0) scored on its first two possessions and was never in trouble, but the underdog Aggies (0-4) kept it interesting in the first half.

A 94-yard kickoff return by freshman Chris Williams and a 28-yard field goal by Conor Foley had the Aggies within 20-10 late in the second quarter.

Two second-half touchdowns by Ayoob from five and eight yards broke it open.

The Golden Bears, who entered averaging 264 rushing yards, had 311 rushing yards and 595 total yards.

New Mexico State quarterback Joey Vincent made his first start and was 18 of 39 for 164 yards.

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Ryan Kock scored on two short runs in the fourth quarter at West Point, N.Y., and No. 22 Iowa State (3-0) rallied to defeat Army, 28-21, denying the Black Knights their first victory over a ranked opponent since 1972.

Army (0-3) last defeated a ranked opponent on Nov. 4, 1972, scoring a 17-14 victory over No. 15 Air Force.