Marshall, Toledo and Northern Illinois knock off three college football powers.
By The Associated Press

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Graham Gochneaur threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jason Rader with just over 3 minutes left as Marshall upset No. 6 Kansas State 27-20 on Saturday.

Marshall (2-2) won NCAA Division I-AA titles in 1992 and 1996 but had never beaten a ranked major-college opponent. Kansas State (4-1) had a 41-game home nonconference winning streak broken.

Gochneaur, making his second start in relief of the injured Stan Hill, was 16-for-24 for 106 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.

Toledo 35,

No. 9 Pittsburgh 31

TOLEDO, Ohio – Bruce Gradkowski threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Lance Moore with 43 seconds left as Toledo stunned No. 9 Pittsburgh 35-31 on Saturday night.

Gradkowski lofted the ball into right corner of the end zone and Moore made a diving catch, just dragging his feet in bounds. The pass capped a 15-play, 83 yard drive that began with 4:36 left.

Gradkowski calmly directed the Rockets down the field – the key play coming on fourth-and-1. He found tight end Andrew Clarke along the sideline for a 13-yard pickup that keep the drive alive.

N. Illinois 19,

No. 21 Alabama 16

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Josh Haldi threw two second-half touchdown passes and Michael Turner ran for 156 yards as Northern Illinois beat No. 21 Alabama 19-16 on Saturday night.

The Huskies (3-0), 14-point underdogs, toppled their second ranked team of the season, pounding away at one of the nation’s top run defenses.

No. 1 Oklahoma 59, UCLA 24

NORMAN, Okla. – Antonio Perkins brought back three punts for touchdowns and finished with 277 yards on seven returns to break two NCAA records as No. 1 Oklahoma routed UCLA 59-24 on Saturday.

Perkins, who came into the game with only 80 yards on 13 punt returns, scored on returns of 74, 84 and 65 yards to become the first Division I-A player to score on three returns in a game.

No. 2 Miami 33, BC 14

BOSTON – Miami once again proved it’s in a different league than Boston College.

Roscoe Parrish set a school record with a 92-yard punt return and Sean Taylor returned an interception for another score as the second-ranked Hurricanes won their final Big East meeting against the Eagles, 33-14 Saturday night.

Miami (4-0) is departing the conference for the ACC after the season, leaving Boston College (2-2) still looking for a Big East win against the Hurricanes.

No. 5 Ohio St. 24,

Bowling Green 17

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State survived another scare.

For the 10th time in the last 15 games, the No. 5 Buckeyes won a game decided by a touchdown or less, holding off a late Bowling Green charge in a 24-17 victory Saturday.

No. 11 LSU 17,

No. 7 Georgia 10

BATON ROUGE, La. – Matt Mauck shook off the Georgia defense to fire a 34-yard pass to Skyler Green with 1:22 left, giving No. 11 LSU a 17-10 victory over the No. 7 Bulldogs.

LSU’s win snapped the Bulldog’s nine-game road winning streak. Georgia (3-1, 1-1) had not lost on an opponent’s field since Mark Richt became coach in 2001.

No. 10 Florida St 47, Colorado 7

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Chris Rix threw two long touchdown passes to Craphonso Thorpe, and Xavier Beitia kicked four field goals as No. 10 Florida State routed Colorado 47-7 on Saturday.

Although the Seminoles (4-0) couldn’t get their running game untracked for the second straight week, Rix passed for a career-high 394 yards in three quarters.

No. 12 Tennessee 24,

No. 17 Florida 10

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Casey Clausen stepped up in the pocket and let the ball fly – a what-the-heck shot into the end zone on the last play of the first half.

The result was a touchdown, and it was the turning point of No. 12 Tennessee’s 24-10 victory over No. 17 Florida, which tried but failed to beat the Vols at their own game Saturday.

No. 14 Arkansas 31,

North Texas 7

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Cedric Cobbs ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns in No. 14 Arkansas’ 31-7 victory over North Texas on Saturday night.

Cobbs is the first Arkansas back since Jerry Eckwood in 1975 to open the season with three 100-yard games.

No. 18 Iowa 21,

No. 16 Arizona St. 2

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Nathan Chandler threw three touchdown passes and No. 18 Iowa frustrated 16th-ranked Arizona State with outstanding defense in a 21-2 victory Saturday night.

Fred Russell added 154 yards rushing in 27 carries for the Hawkeyes (4-0).

No. 19 Washington 45, Idaho 14

SEATTLE – Rich Alexis ran for 116 yards and two touchdowns and defensive lineman Terry Johnson recovered a fumble for an early score as No. 19 Washington beat winless Idaho 45-14 on Saturday.

No. 20 TCU 30,

Vanderbilt 14

FORT WORTH, Texas – Freshman Robert Merrill ran for 119 yards and the go-ahead touchdown as No. 20 TCU beat Vanderbilt 30-14 Saturday night without its starting quarterback and top two running backs.

No. 23 Missouri 41, Middle Tennessee 40, OT

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Brad Smith scrambled for a 4-yard touchdown run in overtime and Mike Matheny converted the extra point to give No. 23 Missouri a 41-40 win over Middle Tennessee on Saturday.

No. 24 Washington St. 23, New Mexico 13

PULLMAN, Wash. – Drew Dunning kicked a school-record five field goals as No. 24 Washington State beat New Mexico 23-13 Saturday.

No. 25 Purdue 59,

Arizona 7

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Kyle Orton threw three touchdown passes and Jerod Void and Jerome Brooks each ran for two TDs as No. 25 Purdue coasted to a 59-7 victory over Arizona on Saturday.

The Boilermakers (2-1) won at home for only the second time in five games, making it look easy against the Wildcats (1-3).

Void carried 12 times for 60 yards and two scores.

before leaving. Brooks finished with 21 carries for 122 yards in backup duty, and Orton completed 16 of 28 passes for 261 yards, including a career-long 81-yard TD pass to John Standeford, before being pulled late in the third quarter.

Standeford caught four passes for 111 yards, finishing one reception short of Tim Stratton’s school record (204).

The Boilermakers tied for the most points scored in one game since coach Joe Tiller took over in 1997. Purdue defeated Minnesota 59-43 on Oct. 11, 1997.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats were plagued by dropped passes, errant throws, turnovers, poor decisions and costly penalties. The result was predictable.

Arizona managed 174 yards in total offense and just 66 yards rushing against a dominant defense.

The Wildcats’ quarterback battle between Ryan O’Hara and Nic Costa also got a new entrant – freshman Kris Heavner, who led Arizona on its only scoring drive Saturday, long after the outcome had been decided.

It didn’t make much difference. Arizona’s quarterbacks completed just 13 of 31 passes for 108 yards and had two interceptions.

Purdue converted four turnovers into 24 points.

Purdue went 72 yards on its opening series, scoring on a 35-yard TD pass from Orton to Ray Williams.

Void scored on a 2-yard run early in the second quarter, Purdue’s first rushing TD of the season, and the Boilermakers took control late in the first half.

Landon Johnson sacked O’Hara and recovered the fumble, setting up Ben Jones for a 27-yard field goal.

Five plays later, Standeford beat the Wildcats secondary, slowing to get underneath Orton’s pass before sprinting to the end zone for an 81-yard TD and a 24-0 lead with 40 seconds left in the half.

The Boilermakers sealed the outcome early in the second half when Void broke free up the middle for a 13-yard touchdown run and Orton threw a 43-yard TD pass to backup running back Brandon Jones. That made it 38-0.

Arizona scored after picking off Orton’s pass, ending his interception-free streak at 171 passes. Heavner hooked up with Biren Ealy across the middle, and Ealy made a nifty move to slip a tackle before racing 36 yards to make it 38-7.

Purdue’s backups scored three times in the fourth quarter to complete the rout.

AP-ES-09-20-03 1631EDT