Top 25 roundup
Notre Dame knocks off Willingham’s Huskies SEATTLE (AP) – Charlie Weis led Notre Dame to the same kind of lopsided romp over Washington on Saturday that Tyrone Willingham did a year ago when he was coaching Fighting Irish.
The 16th-ranked Irish, clicking in the air and on the ground after a sluggish start, beat the Huskies 36-17 Saturday in a game that had little to do with coaches matching wits and everything to do with slick execution by Notre Dame and huge blunders by Washington.
A year after Notre Dame won 38-3 in South Bend, Ind., against Washington, they took their show on the road to do virtually the same thing against their former coach on a brilliant fall afternoon before 71,473 fans in Husky Stadium.
Quarterback Brady Quinn, who threw four touchdown passes last year, threw only one this time but compiled 327 yards passing in a more balanced attack that saw sophomore halfback Darius Walker rush for a career-high 128 yards on 21 carries.
No. 4 Virginia Tech 51
No. 15 Georgia Tech 7
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Jeff King caught a touchdown pass from Marcus Vick and blocked a field goal that turned into a 78-yard scoring run by D.J. Parker and Virginia Tech routed Georgia Tech.
The Hokies (4-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) shut down the vaunted passing game of the Yellow Jackets (3-1, 1-1), turned Georgia Tech’s only sustained offensive drive into a special teams touchdown and scored 17 points in a span of 44 seconds.
Parker scooped up a field goal blocked by King and ran 78 yards for a touchdown, giving the Hokies a 14-0 first-quarter lead. And Xavier Adibi and Chris Ellis returned third-quarter interceptions for TDs just 26 seconds apart.
No. 5 Florida 49
Kentucky 28
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Chris Leak threw four touchdown passes, all in the first half, and DeShawn Wynn scored four touchdowns as Florida got its offense rolling.
No. 8 Ohio St. 31
No. 21 Iowa 6
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Troy Smith threw two touchdown passes to Anthony Gonzalez and ran for two scores and Ohio State’s defense shut down Iowa.
Iowa (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) finished with 18 rushes for minus 9 yards as A.J. Hawk and Mike Kudla each were credited with 11/2 sacks for 15 yards in losses. The Buckeyes (3-1, 1-0) harassed Iowa quarterback Drew Tate all day, sacking him five times for minus 43 yards.
Minnesota 42
No. 11 Purdue 35, 2OT
MINNEAPOLIS – Gary Russell scored three touchdowns, the last a 3-yard run in the second overtime to lift Minnesota.
Laurence Maroney rushed for a career-high 217 yards on 46 carries for the Gophers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten), who held on in another thrilling back-and-forth game between these rivals.
No. 12 Miami 23
Colorado 3
MIAMI – Kyle Wright threw for 264 yards and a touchdown, plus ran for another, and Miami’s defense frustrated Colorado all afternoon.
Only Mason Crosby’s 58-yard field goal – the second longest of his career – with 11:57 left kept the Buffaloes (2-1) from being shut out for the first time in nearly two decades.
Wisconsin 23
No. 14 Michigan 20
MADISON, Wis. – John Stocco scored on a 4-yard quarterback draw with 24 seconds left as Wisconsin snapped Michigan’s 23-game winning streak in Big Ten openers.
Wisconsin (4-0, 1-0) sealed the win when Michigan’s Chad Henne was flushed from the pocket and slipped on the turf, the ball popping loose as time expired and the Badgers stormed the field with their first win over the Wolverines (2-2, 0-1) since 1994.
No. 17 Michigan State 61
Illinois 14
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Drew Stanton set a school record with five TD passes and Michigan State scored on six of eight first-half possessions in its romp.
No. 20 Alabama 24
Arkansas 13
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – D.J. Hall caught two touchdown passes from Brodie Croyle, including a 5-yarder in the final minutes, to lead Alabama.
Juwan Simpson’s interception at the Arkansas 40 set up the late scoring drive for the Crimson Tide (4-0, 2-0 SEC).
No. 23 Virginia 38
Duke 7
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Marques Hagans threw for four touchdown passes and Virginia’s defense forced four turnovers in a victory over Duke.
Hagan’s first three TD passes came on third and long, including a 46-yarder to tight end Tom Santi on third-and-24 that gave Virginia (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) a 17-0 third quarter lead.
Deyon Williams caught two touchdowns, and backup tight end J.M. Phillips scored on a 12-yard pass, carrying two Duke defenders on his back the final 3 yards.
Duke (1-3, 0-2) did not score until the fourth quarter, and managed only 11 first downs and 215 yards from scrimmage, much of which came after the game was out of reach.