The Week

SOUTHWEST

"They were so close to the goal line you could barely place a half-burnt cigarette between the nose of the ball and the end zone," said SMU Defensive Tackle Mitch Willis after the Mustangs had held Texas A&M on three successive plays inside the one late in the fourth quarter to preserve a 10-7 victory. Twice Aggie Tailback Jimmie Hawkins tried to go up and over the line, and both times SMU stopped him six inches short. After a time-out, Quarterback Kevin Murray failed on a sneak. "It was just a matter of who wanted it more," said Mustang Defensive Tackle Doug Hollie.

"We talked all week about the danger of being flat today," said Texas Quarterback Todd Dodge. "Maybe we talked too much and somehow let it happen." After facing Oklahoma, Arkansas and SMU on the road, the Longhorns came home and found themselves trailing 30-point underdog Texas Tech 3-0 at halftime. Dodge, who came off the bench to relieve starter Rob Moerschell with two minutes left in the second quarter, engineered a 72-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter and bootlegged 12 yards in the fourth quarter for another score to lead the Longhorns to a 20-3 triumph.

MIDWEST

The high point of Ohio State's 45-27 victory over Wisconsin was the Buckeye band's script rendition of Ohio, which traditionally culminates with a tuba player dotting the "i." This time, though, former Ohio State Coach Woody Hayes, who was being saluted in the halftime festivities, did the honors. Quipped Hayes, "Did you hear about the Ohio State tuba player who quit school because he wasn't getting enough work? He transferred to Mississippi."

Even Heisman Trophy candidates make mistakes. On the opening kickoff of Nebraska's 51-25 romp over Kansas State, the Huskers' star runner, Mike Rozier, caught the ball in the end zone, ran it out to the two-yard line and was waved back by a teammate. Uncertain about what to do, Rozier returned to the end zone and knelt on one knee, giving K-State a safety. "I wasn't sure about the rule," said Rozier, who ran for 227 yards and three touchdowns, "but I am now."

As the clock wound down on Iowa's 49-3 rout of Indiana, Hoosier Coach Sam Wyche had his players kneel on the sidelines and stare at the scoreboard. After the final gun he marched them onto the field, telling them to remember the scene. "Nobody is going to kick sand on Indiana anymore," he said. "I won't forget this one." What Iowa did was showcase backup quarterbacks Tom Grogan and Cornelius Robertson at the Hoosiers' expense. They were being scouted by the pros, said Coach Hayden Fry. "I wanted them to have some good film clips." He added that if he'd truly wanted to run up the score, he could have left his first offensive unit in the game. Grogan completed six of eight passes for 117 yards, and Robertson hit three of six for 59. Both threw TD passes.

EAST

Pit and Syracuse were dead-HMO I locked 10-10 when he trotted onto the field to attempt the winning field goal with 11 seconds remaining to play. Some of his teammates didn't even know his name. Moreover, not until he was lining up for the boot did his holder. Quarterback John Congemi, realize that he was left-footed. But Pat Viancourt kept his cool. The Panthers' regular kicker had been injured in the first half, and his backup had missed from 25 and 29 yards. So Pitt Assistant Coach Andy Urbanic suggested to his boss, Foge Fazio, that they call on Viancourt, a freshman walk-on who wasn't even listed on the Panthers' roster. Viancourt converted the kick from 43 yards to win the game 13-10. "Of course I was nervous," said Viancourt. "It's only natural." Said Panther Cornerback Troy Hill, "Our guy, No. 2—uh, Pat, what's his name?—he came in and did the job."

Boston College stuck to two major plans in its 27-17 victory over Penn State. On defense the Eagles blitzed on nearly every play. "We got burned badly once [on a 42-yard touchdown run by freshman D.J. Dozier]," said BC Coach Jack Bicknell, "but we thought this would help us stay loose." On offense the Eagles used Tailback Troy Stradford as a decoy on pass routes to clear out acreage for Split End Brian Brennan. The strategy worked perfectly as Brennan ended up with 12 catches for 172 yards—and one assist. That came on a 25-yard pass from Quarterback Doug Flutie that skipped off Brennan's hands eight yards downfield to Stradford, who scampered 42 yards down the left sideline for the Eagles' second TD. "Troy and I were rehearsing that thing all week," said Brennan. Flutie finished the afternoon with 24 completions in 43 attempts for 380 yards to lead Boston College to its first win over Penn State.