College Football

Last Saturday's game proved to be both for Mills, who muted the Camp Randall rowdies by completing 21 of 37 passes for 287 yards in a crucial 34-31 win for the No. 15 Nittany Lions (4-1, 1-1 in the Big Ten). "[Zack's] a tough kid and has a lot of poise," said Penn State coach Joe Paterno, noting that Mills bruised his left (throwing) shoulder in the first quarter but didn't miss a snap. Then the 75-year-old coach, who had previously been sparing in his praise of Mills, turned effusive. "Zack—he's a big timer."

Mills does not have the cannon arm of Florida's Rex Grossman or the imposing size of Marshall's Byron Leftwich. The 6'2", 220-pound Mills compensates for his lack of velocity and experience with a deft touch, wise decision-making and a knack for opportunism. Late in the first quarter, when the ball squirted out of fullback Paul Jefferson's hands at the Wisconsin one-yard line, Mills pounced on the ball in the end zone to give Perm State a 10-0 lead. Then, in the second quarter, after throwing an interception that Badgers senior cornerback B.J. Tucker returned for a touchdown to give Wisconsin a 14-13 lead, Mills responded on the next series with a 37-yard strike to senior wideout Bryant Johnson that set up a go-ahead scoring run by senior tailback Larry Johnson.

"I call him Zack Attack," said senior tackle Gus Felder after the victory. "The team could have gotten jumpy after that interception, but you see the intensity in that kid's eyes and realize he will make the next play."

Mills, who leads the Big Ten in passing (260.4 yards per game), needs to continue making big-time plays if Penn State has any chance of winning its first conference title in eight years. (The Nittany lions are a game behind Ohio State and Iowa, both 2-0 in the conference.) Mills, striding out of Camp Randall in a conservative suit appropriate to his businesslike performance, seemed unflustered by that burden. "It's the only way to play, isn't it?" he said.
—Kelley King

Extra Points...

UCLA won at Oregon State 43-35 with old-fashioned muscle and newfound speed. Despite All- Pac-10 tackle Mike Saffer's playing with a broken rib, the Bruins called 53 running plays, made 26 first downs and held the ball for 40:36. Fleet freshman tailback Tyler Ebell, generously listed at 5'9" and 170 pounds, came off the bench to rush for 203 yards and a touchdown....

Faced with zones that are dropping seven and eight players into pass coverage, No. 9 Florida State is pounding defenses with 6'1", 248-pound junior tailback Greg Jones. He leads the ACC in rushing with 105-5 yards per game, yet Seminoles fans, who like it even less than opponents do, are booing coach Bobby Bowden's sudden conservatism. "Our fans are about throwing the ball," Bowden says. "Our fans resent winning by the run. If I had been a coach known for running, they never would have hired me at Florida State."...

Arkansas coach Houston Nutt, an expert on overtime now that his teams have played in the two longest games in I-A history—a seven-overtime defeat of Ole Miss last year and a six-OT loss to Tennessee last Saturday—would like to see the rules changed to allow more special teams play in the extra periods. For example, instead of starting each possession in overtime on the opponent's 25-yard line, Nutt would prefer that a possession begin with a kick-off. "When you take out the kicking game, you take out a little part of football," Nutt said on Sunday. "That's basically saying, 'O.K., kicking game, you sit on the sideline. Now it's offense and defense.' "...

San Jose State, which is playing 13 games in 13 weeks (including nine on the road), raised its record to 4-2 by coming back from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat SMU 34-23 in Dallas. The Spartans lead the nation with 15 interceptions, thanks mostly to junior safety Gerald Jones, who has six and is tied for the lead in Division I-A.