October 25/26 WAC Recaps

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Hawaii 31, Fresno St 21

FRESNO, CALIFORNIA (TICKER) -- Timmy Chang passed for a career-high 462 yards and two touchdowns while rallying Hawaii to a 31-21 victory over Fresno State in a Western Athletic Conference battle.

Hawaii (6-2, 5-1 WAC) trailed, 21-9, after three quarters, but Chang threw touchdown passes early and late in the fourth to help the Warriors close in on a bowl berth.

Chang hit Justin Colbert with a 58-yard TD pass 77 seconds into the final quarter. He then hooked up with Britton Komine on a 13-yarder and two-point conversion for a 24-21 lead with 2:25 to play.

A sophomore, Chang set career highs in yards and completions, going 36-of-60. The school's all-time leading passer threw for 403 yards and four scores last week in a 37-14 win over Tulsa.

Britton finished with 188 yards on 11 catches for the Warriors, who moved within one win of qualifying for a bowl game. They were snubbed after going 9-3 last year but are a favorite to represent the WAC in the ConAgra Foods Hawaii Bowl.

John West capped the scoring with an 81-yard TD run, sealing Hawaii's first win in six tries at Bulldog Stadium (1-4-1). Fresno State is 18-16-1 in the all-time series, 11-4-1 at home.

It was another disheartening week on national TV for the Bulldogs (4-5, 2-2), who built a 21-9 lead on a blocked punt return. Last week, they suffered a 67-21 blowout loss at Boise State. Both games were televised by ESPN.

Rodney Davis gave Fresno State a 7-0 first-quarter lead with a three-yard TD run.

Justin Ayat then kicked three first-half field goals for a 9-7 Warriors lead. But Paul Pinegar found Marque Davis from eight yards and Dee Meza returned a blocked punt 10 yards, giving Fresno State a 21-9 lead.

Chang then capped a six-play, 88-yard drive with a bomb to Colbert to get Hawaii within 21-16. The Rainbows then went 51 yards in nine plays, capped by Chang's pass to Komine.

The Bulldogs had a chance to take the lead in the final minute, but Pinegar was intercepted in the end zone. Two plays later, West raced 81 yards for a score.

Hawaii held a 546-333 advantage in total yards, only 84 of which came on the ground - 81 on one play.

Pinegar went 18-of-29 for 167 yards with two interceptions for Fresno State, which had won three straight before dropping its last two games.

Davis carried 25 times for 140 yards.

Jermiah Cockheran had 112 yards on four catches for Hawaii.

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Louisiana Tech 50, Nevada 47

October 26, 2002


RUSTON, La. (AP) -- Luke McCown threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns, and Joe Smith ran for three more scores as Louisiana Tech rallied beat Nevada 50-47 Saturday.

Tech (3-5, 2-2 Western Athletic) trailed 27-23 at the half, after Nevada (3-5, 2-2) had three touchdown runs from Matt Milton. McCown hit Ahmad Harris with a 73-yard TD pass, then a 14-yard scoring throw to D.J. Curry to put Tech up 37-34 in the third quarter.

McCown was 20-of-28. Smith had 111 yards on 18 carries with scoring runs of 9, 15 and 3 yards. Curry finished with 98 yards on six catches.

Milton led all rushers with 141 yards on 30 carries and four touchdowns. Zac Threadgill went 31-for-40 passing and 338 yards for Nevada, with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Nate Burleson had 13 catches for 107 yards Nevada, including a 14-yard TD pass from Threadgill in the first.

Tech was up 44-34 late in the third period after Corey Brazil intercepted a pass by Threadgill and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown.

Milton brought Nevada within 44-41 with a 1-yard TD run early in the fourth period. Nevada then had a 19-play, 75-yard drive, but lost the ball on downs at Tech's 1.

Smith's 3-yard TD run put Tech up 50-41.

Threadgill hit Nichir Flowers with a 20-yard TD pass with 1:20 remaining.

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Tulsa 20, UTEP 0

October 26, 2002


TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Eric Richardson ran for 197 yards as Tulsa ended the nation's longest current losing streak at 17 by defeating Texas-El Paso 20-0 Saturday.

Tyler Gooch added two short TD passes for Tulsa (1-7, 1-3 Western Athletic Conference). The Golden Hurricane won for the first time since opening last season with a victory over Division I-AA Indiana State.

The Miners (2-6, 1-3) had just 210 total yards. Quarterback Omar Duarte threw three interceptions, and UTEP lost two of its four fumbles.

Army now has the longest losing streak in major college football, eight games. Army lost to UAB 29-26 Saturday.

After the homecoming victory, Tulsa students streamed onto the field and tore down the goal posts in the north end zone. Pieces were last seen heading out of Skelly Stadium and onto 11th Street.

Tulsa used a time-consuming drive and a UTEP fumble to take a 10-0 halftime lead. On their first possession, the Golden Hurricane needed 12 plays to go 41 yards in a drive that consumed more than seven minutes. Kicker Brad DeVault completed the possession with a 39-yard field goal.

Following a holding penalty on the kickoff, UTEP took over at its own 13. Three plays later, Duarte, UTEP's third starter this season, fumbled while faking a handoff. Josh Walker recovered for Tulsa at the 11.

Gooch passed to fullback Mark Holata over the middle for the touchdown, and the extra point made it 10-0.

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Rice 27, SMU 15

October 26, 2002


HOUSTON (AP) -- Backup quarterback Greg Henderson replaced injured starter Kyle Herm and ran for 90 yards to lead Rice to a 27-15 victory Saturday over Southern Methodist.

Herm left with an injured toe midway through the second quarter, and Henderson led the Owls on a touchdown drive on his first series. He wound up completing four of nine passes for 62 yards and ran 14 times for Rice (3-5, 2-3 WAC).

Freshman Richard Bartel led SMU (1-8, 1-4), completing 30 of 42 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns. Keylon Kincade ran for 122 yards on 34 caries for the Mustangs.

The Owls led 17-3 at halftime after a 14-point second quarter.

Rice's Adam Herrin blocked a punt early in the quarter, and Antwan Shell returned it 26 yards for a touchdown to give the Owls a 10-3 lead.

Henderson replaced Herm on the Owls' next possession, and engineered a 76-yard, 12-play drive that included a 42-yard pass to Marcus Battle. Ed Bailey capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run with 1:34 left in the half.

Rice went up 24-3 in the third quarter when Robbie Beck raced 33 yards for a touchdown on the Owls' first possession of the second half.

SMU responded with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Bartel to Cody Cardwell to cut the deficit to 24-9 with 2:33 left in the third quarter.

After a Rice field goal, SMU scored on an 8-yard pass from Bartel to Cedric Vinson. A 2-point conversion attempt failed.

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RUSTON, LOUISIANA (TICKER) -- Luke McCown tossed three touchdown passes and Joe Smith ran for three more as Lousiana Tech snapped a four-game losing streak with a wild 50-47 triumph over Western Athletic Conference foe Nevada.

In a contest featuring eight lead changes and 1,001 yards of combined offense, Lousiana Tech (3-5, 2-2 WAC) went ahead for good, 37-34, on a 14-yard pass from McCown to D.J. Curry with 3:22 remaining in the third quarter.

After Corey Brazil returned an interception of Zac Threadgill 49 yards for a touchdown to extend the Bulldogs' advantage to 44-34 with 1:28 to go in the period, Nevada (3-5, 2-2) got no closer than three points thereafter. The Play of the Game

McCown completed 20-of-28 passes for 376 yards and no interceptions, and Smith gained 111 yards on 18 carries for Louisiana Tech, the defending WAC champion.

Threadgill was 31-of-40 for 338 yards, three TDs and two interceptions. The Wolf Pack also wasted a stellar performance by Matt Milton, who rushed for 141 yards and four scores.

Nevada outgained Louisiana Tech, 533-468. All three meetings between the teams have been exciting, with the Wolf Pack winning here in 1995, 49-45, and the Bulldogs posting a 45-42 triumph on the last play of the game a year ago.