Replay Kick Drops Michigan

Across the nation

Brian Gowins thought he’d won the game, completing one of Northwestern’s greatest comebacks Saturday. The crowd was in a frenzy as his kick sailed through the uprights.

Then he was told he had to kick it again.

And he did, hitting a 39-yarder with 13 seconds left as No. 22 Northwestern rallied from a 16-0 fourth-quarter hole to stun No. 6 Michigan 17-16 at Evanston, Ill.

“The first one was really perfect, the second one was probably 3 or 4 feet off-center,” Gowins said. “There was a lot of pressure on me to kick it and also a lot on the holder and the snapper.”

Gowins’ initial kick was good, but officials ruled the play had not been whistled to start. Gowins said he understood that one of the officials was not in proper position when the ball was initially snapped.

So he simply kicked it through a second time - his third field goal of the final period that capped an amazing comeback victory for the defending Big Ten champions.

Michigan (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) was outgained 172 yards to 28 in the fourth quarter after leading 16-0.

Trailing 16-14, Northwestern (4-1, 2-0) started at its 20 with 1:53 left and moved to the Michigan 22 behind the passing of Steve Schnur.

East

(19) W. Virginia 34, Boston College 17: At Morgantown, W.V., Chad Johnston threw for 354 yards and two touchdowns, and West Virginia scored four times in less than 3 minutes spanning the second quarter to the third.

The Mountaineers (6-0, 2-0 Big East) beat the Eagles (2-3, 0-2) for the 14th time in their last 17 meetings.

Syracuse 42, Rutgers 0: Donovan McNabb ran for one touchdown and threw for another, and Malcolm Thomas scored twice as the Orangemen (2-2, 2-0 Big East) stunned the Scarlet Knights (1-4, 0-3) with big plays.

Navy 64, Duke 27: Chris McCoy accounted for three touchdowns and Tim Cannada two touchdowns and Navy special teams scored three times to lead the Midshipmen (3-1) over the Blue Devils (0-4).

Army 39, Yale 13: J. Parker kicked three field goals in the first half and the unbeaten Cadets (4-0) scored four touchdowns in the second half to beat the Elis (1-2) at West Point, N.Y.

South

(1) Florida 42, Arkansas 7: At Fayetteville, Ark., Danny Wuerffel threw for a school-record 462 yards and four TDs, including three to Reidel Anthony to lead the Gators (5-0, 3-0 SEC) over the Razorbacks (1-3, 0-2).

Wuerffel completed 23 of 39 passes and broke the mark of 458 passing yards set last year by backup Eric Kresser.

(2) Florida St. 34, Clemson 3: At Tallahassee, Fla., Thad Busby, who had struggled in two of his three starts this season, passed for 304 yards and four touchdowns as the Seminoles (4-0, 4-0 ACC) defeated the Tigers (2-3, 1-2).

Georgia Tech 13, (12) Virginia 7: At Atlanta, C.J. Williams scored on a 3-yard run and set up a field goal with a 50-yard dash as the Yellow Jackets (4-1, 4-1 ACC) snapped the five-game winning streak of the Cavaliers (4-1, 2-1).

(13) Alabama 35, Kentucky 7: At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Dennis Riddle tied an Alabama record with four touchdowns.

Riddle scored on runs of 1, 2 and 6 yards and caught a 35-yard scoring pass from Freddie Kitchens - all in the third quarter - to help the Crimson Tide (5-0, 3-0 SEC) pull away following a 7-7 halftime tie.

The Wildcats (1-4, 0-2) gained only 124 yards.

(14) LSU 35, Vanderbilt 0: At Baton Rouge, La., Kevin Faulk and Rondell Mealey each scored twice as the Tigers (4-0, 2-0 SEC) beat the Commodores (0-4, 0-3) for their seventh win in a row, LSU’s best streak since 1973.

(15) North Carolina 45, Wake Forest 6: At Winston-Salem, N.C., Leon Johnson became North Carolina’s career scoring leader, getting touchdowns on a 5-yard run and a 94-yard kickoff return to propel the Tar Heels (4-1, 3-1 ACC) over the Demon Deacons (2-4, 0-4).

(20) Auburn 28, S. Carolina 24: At Auburn, Ala., Mark Smith forced a fourth-quarter fumble and quarterback Dameyune Craig turned it into the winning touchdown as the Tigers (4-1, 2-1 SEC) held off the Gamecocks (2-3, 1-2).

North Carolina St. 34, Maryland 8: At College Park, Md., quarterback Jose Laureano threw for a pair of touchdowns, and the Wolfpack (1-3, 1-2 ACC) scored the first 24 points against the Terrapins (2-3, 0-2).

Georgia 38, Mississippi St. 19: At Starkville, Miss., Mike Bobo threw two of his career-high three touchdown passes in Georgia’s first five snaps and the Bulldogs (2-2, 1-1 SEC) went on to rout Mississippi State (2-2, 1-1).

Tulane 35, TCU 7: At New Orleans, the Green Wave (2-2) scored on its first three possessions, twice on touchdowns by Jamaican Dartez, and beat the Horned Frogs (1-3).

Midwest

(7) Nebraska 39, (16) Kansas St. 3: At Manhattan, Kan., freshman DeAngelo Evans rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns as the Cornhuskers (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) beat the Wildcats (4-1, 1-1) for the 28th consecutive time.

Iowa 37, Michigan State 30: Matt Sherman threw two touchdown passes to Chris Knipper and another to Sedrick Shaw as the Hawkeyes (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) scored on their first four possessions of the second half to rally past the Spartans (2-3, 1-1) at Iowa City, Iowa.

Illinois 46, Indiana 43 (2OT): At Champaign, Ill., Scott Weaver threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jason Dulick in the second overtime series and the Illini (2-3, 1-1 Big Ten) beat the Hoosiers (2-3, 0-2) after blowing a 28-17 lead.

Purdue 30, Minnesota 27: Kendall Matthews rushed for a career-high 131 yards and scored twice as the Boilermakers (2-3, 1-1 Big Ten) rallied from a 16-7 first-half deficit to defeat the Golden Gophers (3-1, 0-1) at West Lafayette, Ind.

Southwest

(23) Texas 71, Oklahoma St. 14: At Austin, Texas, Ricky Williams ran for 156 yards and three scores as the Longhorns (3-2, 2-0 Big 12) broke a two-game losing streak with the victory over the Cowboys (3-2, 0-2).

Kansas 52, Oklahoma 24: At Norman, Okla., the Jayhawks (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) used a 100-yard kickoff return by Eric Vann and a school-record 94-yard punt return by Isaac Byrd to score most points ever against the Sooners (0-4, 0-1) at home.

Texas Tech 45, Baylor 24: At Lubbock, Texas, Byron Hanspard rushed for 287 yards, the most ever by a Texas Tech back and a Baylor opponent, as the Red Raiders (3-2, 2-1 Big 12) outscored the Bears (3-1, 0-1 Big 12).

Missouri 27, Southern Methodist 26: At Dallas, after previously missing a 37-yard field goal attempt and having two extra point tries blocked, SMU kicker Daniel Hernandez hit the right upright with his 35-yard try as time expired, allowing the Tigers (2-3) to defeat the Mustangs (2-4).

Texas A&M 63, Louisiana Tech 13: D’Andre Hardeman ran for three TDs and Albert Connell had two long scores as the Aggies (2-3) beat the Bulldogs (3-3) at College Station, Texas.

Rice 38, New Mexico 21: At Houston, QB Chad Nelson ran for 101 yards and two touchdowns and the Owls (2-3, 1-1 WAC) ran for 481 yards in beating the Lobos (4-2, 1-2).

West

(24) Utah 34, Texas-El Paso 27: At El Paso, Texas, Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala rushed 236 yards and three touchdowns, including two in a fourth-quarter rally as the Utes (5-1, 3-0 WAC) came back from a 27-24 deficit to defeat the Miners (2-3, 0-2).

(25) Wyoming 45, San Jose St. 22: At San Jose, Calif., Len Sexton rushed for 184 yards and scored three touchdowns, and Marcus Harris caught six passes for 148 yards as the Cowboys (6-0, 4-0 WAC) beat the Spartans (1-5, 1-2).