Wildcats upset No. 18 Sun Devils
Redshirt freshman Richard Kovalcheck threw three touchdown passes – two to Mike Jefferson – and Arizona turned five takeaways into 24 points to stun 18th-ranked Arizona State 34-27 on Friday in Tucson, Ariz.
Andrew Walter, the Sun Devils’ record-breaking senior quarterback, left the game with an injury to his right shoulder with 7:30 remaining and his team trailing 34-20.
Mike Bell rushed for 139 yards on 21 carries for the Wildcats (3-8 overall, 2-6 Pac-10), who averaged 13 points per game going into the contest, last among 117 Division I-A teams.
Arizona State (8-3, 5-3) lost four fumbles to help Arizona reach a season-high point total.
The loss probably won’t affect Arizona State’s chances for the Holiday Bowl, bowl representative Larry Baber said. The Sun Devils are expected to receive the Holiday invitation if No. 1 Southern California plays in the Orange Bowl and No. 4 California in the Rose Bowl.
Kovalcheck – 17 of 31 for 239 yards with one interception – had touchdown passes of 54, 2 and 47 yards. The 47-yarder to Jefferson down the right sidelines put the Wildcats up 34-20 with 9:32 to play.
(6) Texas 26, (22) Texas A&M 13
At Austin, Texas, Cedric Benson ran for 165 yards and a touchdown to lead the Longhorns to a 26-13 win over the Aggies, a victory sure to send the Bowl Championship Series arguments into high gear.
Vince Young added a touchdown run and 224 yards total for Texas (10-1, 7-1 Big 12), who earned their fifth straight win over their fiercest in-state rival.
Reggie McNeal passed for 247 yards and a touchdown for Texas A&M (7-4, 5-3), which rebounded from last season’s 4-8 finish to become bowl eligible against the toughest schedule in the nation. Three of the Aggies’ four losses have come against teams ranked in the top six.
(14) LSU 43, Arkansas 14
At Little Rock, Ark., Marcus Randall ran for two touchdowns and threw two more to Joseph Addai, leading the Tigers to a victory over the Razorbacks.
Randall was 10 of 14 for 173 yards and had 79 yards rushing. Alley Broussard added 81 yards rushing for LSU (9-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference), which ended the game with 26 unanswered points.
The loss was Arkansas’ first in 18 games at Little Rock under coach Houston Nutt and keeps Arkansas (5-6, 3-5) from qualifying for a seventh consecutive bowl game.
Matt Jones, hobbled by a hamstring injury, could not muster the flair that has often sparked the Razorbacks offense. The senior quarterback and the team’s leading rusher was sacked three times and had minus-10 yards on the ground. Confined to the pocket, he was intercepted twice on 12 of 29 passing for 152 yards and two TD passes.
Peyton Hillis ran for 66 yards and Steven Harris had five catches for 57 yards and a touchdown for Arkansas.
Colorado 26, Nebraska 20
At Lincoln, Neb., Colorado stayed alive in the Big 12 North race for another day and ended Nebraska’s season in November for the first time since 1968.
The Buffaloes’ win sent the Cornhuskers (5-6, 3-5) to their first losing season in 43 years and snapped their NCAA-record streak of consecutive bowl appearances at 35.
Bobby Purify ran for 130 yards and a touchdown and the Buffaloes (7-4, 4-4) intercepted Nebraska’s Joe Dailey four times. They won their third straight after a 1-4 start in the conference and they did it against an opponent that they love to hate – one former Colorado coach Bill McCartney designated as the Buffs’ chief rival back in the 1980s.