High-powered start for college football

The Associated Press

STARS

Terry Dean of Florida threw an NCAA record-tying seven TD passes in the first half of the Gators' 70-21 victory over New Mexico State.

Robert Baldwin set a Duke rushing record with 238 yards and tied a record with four touchdown runs in a 49-16 victory over Maryland.

Curtis Martin of Pittsburgh rushed for 251 yards on 28 carries in the Panthers' 30-28 loss to No. 20 Texas. The 251 yards were the most ever allowed by the Longhorns.

Ryan Christopherson ran for 244 yards, second-best in Wyoming history, as the Cowboys defeated Texas-El Paso 36-13.

Penn State's Ki-Jana Carter rushed for 210 yards with touchdown runs of 80, 62 and 2 yards in the Nittany Lions' 56-3 win at Minnesota.

Eric Zeier passed for 485 yards and three touchdowns as Georgia beat South Carolina 24-21.

STREAKS

Fifth-ranked Miami defeated Georgia Southern 56-0, breaking an NCAA record with its 58th consecutive home victory. The Hurricanes surpassed Alabama's record of 57 wins in a row at home set from 1962-82.

Auburn defeated Mississippi 22-17, extending Division I-A's longest winning streak to 12 games.

Prairie View A&M extended the nation's longest losing streak to 36 games with a 20-13 loss to Texas Southern.

Clemson defeated Furman 27-6 and now has won 25 straight over the Paladins since 1937. Furman hasn't scored a touchdown against Clemson in 24 quarters.

Division I-AA Northern Iowa defeated Iowa State for the second year in row, 28-14.

Kent lost to Rutgers 28-6, extending its losing streak to 17 games, the longest in Division I-A, and spoiling the debut of coach Jim Corrigall.

STATS

Colorado had 649 yards Ä the fifth-highest figure in school history Ä including 407 rushing, in a 48-13 win over Northeast Louisiana. The Buffaloes' 9.41 per play average was a school record.

Pittsburgh's Johnny Majors became the fifth active coach to coach in 300 games.

Florida had 462 yards in the first half of its 70-21 win over New Mexico State. The Gators finished with 618 yards in the game.

SEASONS

Penn State's 56-3 win over Minnesota was its most decisive victory since an 81-0 win over Cincinnati in 1991. It was the Gophers' worst defeat since Colorado beat them 58-0 three years ago.

STARTING A RIVALRY

Kentucky defeated Louisville 20-14 in the first game between the intrastate rivals in 70 years.

STARTS

Robert Morris won its inaugural football game, 24-19 over Waynesburg. The game marked a return to the sidelines for Robert Morris coach Joe Walton, former New York Jets head coach and, most recently, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator.

Redshirt freshman Alex Smith, the first Indiana freshman to start at running back since 1945, rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns as the Hoosiers defeated Cincinnati 28-3.

STELLAR DEBUT

Ron Powlus, Notre Dame's highly touted sophomore, tied a school record with four touchdowns passes in his first game as the Irish defeated Northwestern 42-15. Powlus finished 18-of-24 for 291 yards.

Coach Ted Tollner and his no-huddle offense had a successful debut as San Diego State beat Navy 56-14.

STEPPING IN

Danny Kanell, who replaced Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward, threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns as fourth-ranked Florida State defeated Virginia 41-17.

Stephen Davis, replacing James Bostic, who left school early for the NFL, rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown as 12th-ranked Auburn beat Mississippi 22-17.

SUB

Michigan's Tim Biakabutuka gained 128 yards on 12 carries and scored a touchdown filling in for injured Tyrone Wheatley as the Wolverines beat Boston College 34-26.

SAD BEGINNING

Nicholls State defeated Connecticut 16-7, spoiling the head coaching debut of Skip Holtz, son of Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz.

Northeast Louisiana lost its first Division I-A game, to eighth-ranked Colorado 48-13.

SECONDS

Freshman Bryan Baumann's first collegiate field goal, a 33-yarder with eight seconds left Saturday, gave West Virginia a 16-14 victory over Ball State.

Scott Blanton kicked a 48-yard field goal with 11 seconds to play, giving No. 15 Oklahoma, which blew a 24-point lead, a 30-29 victory over Syracuse.

STANDARDS

Pittsburgh placekicker David Merrick tied a school record with a 54-yard field goal Saturday in the Panthers' 30-28 loss to No. 19 Texas.

Florida's Jack Jackson caught a school record four touchdown passes as the Gators defeated New Mexico State 70-21.

STRONG IN DEFEAT

Virginia Military Institute's Thomas Haskins rushed for a school record 251 yards on 29 carries and scored three touchdowns, but VMI lost to Richmond 34-31.

Washington's Napoleon Kaufman carried the ball 26 times for 152 yards as the Huskies lost 24-17 to Southern Cal.

SWINGS

Iowa, which averaged only 108 yards rushing in 1993, scored seven rushing touchdowns and rushed for 347 yards in a 52-21 victory over Central Michigan.

SWITCHING SCHOOLS

Marquette Smith, a transfer from Florida State, rushed for 119 yards on 21 carries, leading Division I-AA Central Florida over Maine 28-6.

STADIUM

Rutgers opened its new $26 million stadium with a 28-6 victory over Kent.

SEND OFF

Marshall beat Morehead State 71-7 in the final game of a contract between the two schools that started in 1928.

SIDELINED

Tennessee lost starting quarterback Jerry Colquitt on the seventh play of a 25-23 loss to No. 13 UCLA. The preliminary diagnosis was a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which probably will end his season.

SNAPPED

Temple broke a 10-game losing streak with a 32-7 victory over Akron.

Vanderbilt, the only Division I-A team not to throw a TD pass in 1993, threw its first since 1992 as the Commodores beat Wake Forest 35-14. Vandy's last touchdown pass was in the final game of the 1992 season against Tennessee.

SPEAKING

"The Holtz name is one of the biggest in college football. I don't know how well you all know your geography, but 20 miles south of us is water. We don't get much recognition. We knew this would be national exposure and we have a real hungry young team." Ä Nicholls State coach Rick Rhoades, after the Colonels ruined the head coaching debut of Skip Holtz, Lou's son, beating Connecticut 16-7.

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"I don't go out there thinking, 'Tony Dorsett is here, I'm going to do this or that. But he's my idol and he's a big influence. No other running back to me was like Tony Dorsett." Ä Curtis Martin of Pittsburgh, who rushed for 251 yards in the Panthers' 30-28 loss to Texas.

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"We don't get any wins in practice. A win is a win is a win. And if you don't believe me, just see what it's like to lose one of these games." Ä Gene Stallings, coach of 11th-ranked Alabama, after a 42-13 win over Division I-AA Tennessee-Chattanooga.

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