Times wires
Saturday, October 20, 2012

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The final touchdown pass drew only a slight first pump from Collin Klein. It was still the third quarter, but Mountaineer Field was half-empty. Most of the West Virginia fans had seen enough of a game that had turned into a Heisman campaign ad for the Kansas State quarterback.

Klein threw for a career-high 323 yards and three touchdowns and ran for four scores as No. 4 Kansas State got little resistance from No. 17 West Virginia in a 55-14 victory Saturday night. Klein completed 19 of 21 passes, and added 41 yards rushing.

"I think we all felt comfortable tonight," he said. "The coaches did a great job of building a game plan and putting us in positions to succeed."

The Wildcats scored on their first eight possessions, including seven straight touchdowns.

"He doesn't do anything wrong," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said of Klein. "He's hard to tackle. He gets them in good plays. He doesn't turn the ball over."

It was no surprise the Mountaineers were awful on defense; they have been all season. For the second straight game, though, quarterback Geno Smith and the offense did nothing to keep it close.

Smith threw his first two interceptions of the season — thought he did set the NCAA single-season record of 272 attempts without one — and was 21 for 32 for 143 yards. The senior has gone from Heisman Trophy front-runner to longshot in two weeks.

"We talked about it all week. Don't get impatient," Holgorsen said. "…"We're trying to score 14 points in one play."

Michigan milestone

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan and Michigan State play for one of the ugliest trophies in sports, a 4-foot high Paul Bunyan.

The Wolverines, though, couldn't have been happier to finally welcome back the battered wooden lumberjack statue.

Brendan Gibbons made a 38-yard field goal with five seconds left, lifting No. 23 Michigan past Michigan State 12-10.

It was the 900th win for Michigan, most of any school.

"That wasn't the focus for the week," coach Brady Hoke said. "It was playing a great rivalry game, a game in our division that was important to win."

Texas is second in Division I-A with 862 wins.

The Wolverines beat their state rival for the first time since 2007 to avoid a school-record, five-game skid in the series.

The Spartans took the lead on Dan Conroy's 19-yard field goal with 5:48 left after a fake punt kept the possession alive.

"It was a tough game, a classic game," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. "I'm proud of our team. I can live with it. I don't like it, but it's all you can ask sometimes."

NO. 5 NOTRE DAME 17, BYU 14: Theo Riddick pounded his way for a career-high 143 yards and Cierre Wood added 114 yards as the host Fighting Irish overpowered a Brigham Young defense that entered the game third in the nation against the run. Riddick had runs of 55 and 27, the two longest rushes of his career, to pace Notre Dame, which at 7-0 is off to its best start in a decade and has a big game ahead this coming week at No. 10 Oklahoma. "As a team, this was special," Riddick said. "We showed that we can run the ball."

NO. 10 OKLA. 52, KANSAS 7: Roy Finch, who has seen his role decrease in the offense, returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, completing the first tandem in Oklahoma history to score on a punt and a kickoff in the same game during a rout of the visiting Jayhawks. "I'm not really in the rotation on offense a lot, but we have a lot of playmakers that can make plays and I feel like I'm one of those playmakers on the team," Finch said. Justin Brown, a transfer from Penn State, provided the first half of the unique double dip by returning a punt 90 yards.

NO. 11 USC 50, COLORADO 6: Matt Barkley and Robert Woods rewrote the school record book (see notebook) and the host Trojans won their fourth straight since their only loss, at Stanford. USC's second home game in seven weeks turned into the preseason No. 1 team's most lopsided of the season.

NO. 18 TEXAS TECH 56, TCU 53, 3 OT: The visiting Red Raiders needed every one of Seth Doege's career-best seven touchdown passes, the last one an 8-yarder to Alex Torres in the third overtime. After the Red Raiders blew a 10-point lead late in regulation, Doege threw for a touchdown in each of the three overtimes. TCU, the Big 12 newcomer, has lost consecutive home games in a season for the first time since 1998. "Welcome to the Big 12," coach Gary Patterson said. "I do believe this: I believe we proved we can play in it. Are we unhappy we lost? Yes, but it was a heck of a game."

NO. 22 STANFORD 21, CAL 3: The visiting Cardinal overwhelmed its biggest rival for a third straight victory in the Big Game. Stanford outgained California 475-217, outrushed the Golden Bears 252-3 and never lost its grip on the coveted Stanford Axe, which players paraded around the turf while Bears fans exited in silence. "This is a blueprint game," said Stanford coach David Shaw, in his second year. "This is what we want to do."

NO. 24 BOISE ST. 32, UNLV 7: Cornerbacks Jamar Taylor and Jerrell Gavins shut down the Rebels' corps of fast, young receivers, accounted for two turnovers and teamed on a second-quarter touchdown as the host Broncos cruised. The Broncos held the Rebels to 210 yards and forced three turnovers.

Around the nation

WISCONSIN 38, MINN. 13: James White ran 15 times for 175 yards and three touchdowns and Montee Ball gained 166 yards on 24 attempts and two fourth-quarter scores as the host Badgers won Paul Bunyan's Axe for the ninth straight time.

NAVY 31, INDIANA 30: Keenan Reynolds completed a 4-yard touchdown to Matt Aiken with 2:02 to play and Nick Sloan added the point after as the host Midshipmen rallied.

OKLA. ST. 31, IOWA ST. 10: J.W. Walsh, who took over at quarterback after fellow freshman Wes Lunt got hurt early in the season, threw for 415 yards for the host Cowboys. He threw for one touchdown and ran for another.

NEBRASKA 29, N'WESTERN 28: Taylor Martinez threw for 342 yards and three TDs as the visiting Cornhuskers rallied from 12 down in the fourth quarter. Nebraska hung on when Northwestern's Jeff Budzien missed a 53-yard field goal with 1:10 left.

TEXAS 56, BAYLOR 50: Joe Bergeron ran for five touchdowns for the host Longhorns, who won another wild one in the Big 12. Bergeron was one TD short of Heisman Trophy-winning running back Ricky Williams's mark. The Bears missed a chance to get a third straight win over Texas for the first time in a rivalry dating to 1901.

PENN STATE 38, IOWA 14: Bill Belton ran for 103 yards and three touchdowns as the Nittany Lions won their fifth straight and beat the Hawkeyes in Iowa City for the first time in 13 years.

By Joey Knight and Joel Anderson, Times Staff Writers
Saturday, October 20, 2012

Super 7

1. Plant (6-1): Panthers' position atop rankings tenuous; Armwood and Robinson still loom.

2. Robinson (7-0): Coach Mike DePue called the 47-0 win against Spoto sloppy. We should all be so unkempt.

3. Hillsborough (6-1): And to think the Terriers blanked Armwood without Gators commitment Jordan Sherit.

4. Armwood (6-2): Defensive shortcomings exposed at Hillsborough.

5. Durant (7-0): Cougars are 7-0 for the first time since 2002.

6. Wharton (5-2): Playoff hopes hinge on Nov. 2 home showdown with Alonso.

7. Jefferson (3-4): Tell us, would you want to play the Dragons right now?

In the conversation: Berkeley Prep (6-1), Gaither (6-1), Sickles (4-3), Tampa Bay Tech (5-2), Tampa Catholic (6-1)

By the numbers

4 Sacks by Jesuit DE Brad Smith, a USF commitment, in a loss to Lakewood

4 Special teams TDs (three kick returns, one punt return) by Strawberry Crest's Karel Hamilton against Leto in the teams' last two meetings

9 sacks by Clearwater Central Catholic on Berkeley Prep QB Brad Mayes in the Bucs' 35-21 loss

19 consecutive regular-season wins for Berkeley Prep until it lost Friday. The Bucs' last pre-postseason loss came against Fort Meade on Oct. 22, 2009

168 penalty yards on 15 infractions for Jefferson, which knocked off Sickles despite all of the yellow flags

A moment on the other side

The Knights collected their 13th defensive touchdown, well, sort of. Robinson senior DL Justin Madison enjoyed a milestone moment late in a 47-0 rout of Spoto when he hauled in an 11-yard touchdown pass. "That was the first offensive play of my career at Robinson," Madison said.

Unsung

A few guys we should've appreciated more:

CB Vernon Hargreaves III, Wharton. Two interceptions, a TD run and a two-point conversion at Bloomingdale. Sometimes, we take greatness for granted.

RB Kevin Newman, Jesuit. Against a quality foe, the sophomore had 14 carries, 115 yards and one touchdown.

WR Bubba Olivera, Berkley Prep. The senior operated in the shadow of 6-foot-4 freshman Jacob Mathis and senior RB Chris Williams, but Olivera played a key role in a second-half rally against CCC. He finished with four catches for a game-high 114 yards.

QB Deiondre Porter, Jefferson. He threw for 153 yards and a touchdown and added 83 yards rushing, including a 51-yard TD run on fourth and inches in the third quarter, in a 21-14 upset of Sickles.

DB Michael Riley, East Bay. The 5-foot-10 senior had a team-best 11 tackles and an interception in a 24-12 win at Plant City.

OLB Michael Rivera, Chamberlain. The junior condensed a season of big plays into 48 minutes against Wiregrass Ranch (two sacks, fumble recovery, two blocked kicks).

Audibles

"I know people thought I was crazy when I said I was starting him, but I had seen the development. I know his dad had spent a lot of time working with him. He had zip on the ball, he had touch and I knew we'd have to go to that." — James Harrell, Jesuit coach, on his decision to start junior Vincent Testaverde at quarterback against Lakewood. Testaverde (4-for-10, 106 yards, one interception) had a TD pass in a fourth-quarter rally that fell short

"It's not easy for a 16-, 17-, 18-year-old young man, in this day and age, to be able to fight through that adversity, to be able to go through what they went through, blowing 21-point leads and being the team has been known to blow it. The kids can see it all coming together now and it's exciting." — Jeremy Earle, Jefferson coach, after the Dragons rallied to defeat Sickles and win their second-straight game after a 1-4 start

"I have no idea how they cut that out. Must be an editing robot with no soul because that is good stuff." — Bob Dare, Cambridge Christian coach, on Carrollwood Day RB Robert Davis' 65-yard TD run on the final play of the first half. Davis blasted through the line, cut outside, then leaped a defender

Sure beats a gold watch

Turns out, William Orr's grandest retirement gift bears a stunning resemblance to his most memorable housewarming gift. Orr's first game as Hillsborough High principal was a 21-20 triumph against Armwood on Aug. 26, 2005. Thursday's 3-0 upset of the Hawks was the last Hillsborough-Armwood regular-season contest before he retires in August. "We gave him the team ball (after the 2005 win)," coach Earl Garcia said. "… We talked (Thursday) at lunchtime; he said, 'I'd love to have one on the way out.' So I'm going to paint that ball up for Dr. Orr."

By David La Vaque, Special to the Times
Saturday, October 20, 2012

BLAINE, Minn. — The Rowdies dropped Game 1 of the NASL final 2-0 to defending champion Minnesota on Saturday night.

The Stars scored twice in the second half, including near the end of three minutes of stoppage time, elating the announced crowd of 4,642 at the National Sports Center.

The final series is a two-game, total-goals format, meaning the Rowdies need to win Game 2 to win the championship. The second game is Saturday at Al Lang Field.

Trailing 1-0 after Minnesota's Amani Walker scored in the 67th minute, the Rowdies seemed headed home with minimal damage. But a late Stars corner kick resulted in a scrum and a Martin Nunez goal.

"We just got sloppy," Rowdies goalkeeper Jeff Attinella said. "A bad giveaway leads to a corner, and now we've dug ourselves a big hole. It would have been a lot better if that last goal didn't go in, but we're going home, and we're a team that will fight to the end."

Tampa Bay lost only once at home in league play (7-1-7) this season. They started Saturday's game on the road with urgency, peppering Stars goalkeeper Matt VanOekel with strong shots.

Mike Ambersley blasted a near-post shot. Keith Savage got most of a ball to VanOekel's left and followed up with a heavier shot a few minutes later.

Fighting back against a depleted Rowdies defense, Minnesota buried its second-half chances.

Rowdies defender Takuya Yamada, the only player in the league apart from goalies to play every minute in the regular season, didn't play because of a strained knee ligament sustained in Game 2 of the semifinal against Carolina on Oct. 13. His status is day to day, the team said.

Fellow defender Draymond Washington will miss the final with a torn meniscus.

Tampa Bay returns home in search of its second NASL title. The original Rowdies won the 1975 NASL Soccer Bowl championship in its inaugural season.

Rowdies coach Ricky Hill said coming back to win the title starts with reminding his stunned players that the first game, however frustrating, is only halftime.

"It's tough to take," Hill said. "I don't think we deserved to be 2-nil down, but it is what it is, and we've got 90 minutes to try and rectify it next week. We're down, but we're not out, and we'll come back fighting."

The Rowdies can win the title in one of two ways in Game 2: winning by at least three goals in regulation or winning by two goals in regulation and then prevailing in extra time or penalty kicks to break the total-goals tie.

The Rowdies had fan support at the game.

Greg Legas grew up in Bloomington, Minn., and moved to Florida 16 years ago. The St. Pete Beach area resident returned north for the game, donning a Rowdies sweatshirt and scarf, and flying a Rowdies flag from his rental car.

By Matt Baker, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, October 20, 2012

MIAMI — The Hurricanes got a boost with the return of starting QB Stephen Morris. But the junior struggled against Florida State.

Morris was listed as doubtful leading up to the game after spraining his ankle during the fourth quarter of last week's 18-14 loss to North Carolina.

He entered Saturday as the ACC's leader in passing yards (1,991), but he couldn't do much against the Seminoles.

He finished 25-of-43 for 223 yards, 61 below his season average, and an interception. His only touchdown came in the closing minutes — with the game already out of reach.

INJURY UPDATE: Seminoles RB back Chris Thompson snagged a 32-yard catch for a first down early in the second quarter but injured his left knee on the play. He did not return and wore a walking boot on the sideline. His status was unknown.

Thompson entered Saturday with five rushing touchdowns, and his 675 yards were first on the team and second in the ACC. He broke his back against Wake Forest last season and missed the last eight games.

Seminoles LT Cameron Erving left the game with an undisclosed injury in the second quarter. His status also was unknown.

LOCAL TIES: Former Jefferson High standout Tyriq McCord fared well for Miami. After QB EJ Manuel fumbled a handoff in Hurricanes territory, McCord, a freshman defensive end, pounced on it. It was his first fumble recovery. He added a sack in the second half.

Former Alonso High DL Anthony Chickillo had a quarterback hurry and a tackle at the line of scrimmage for Miami.

And James Wilder Jr., a Plant High product, scored on a 17-yard run for FSU in the second quarter to tie it at 10. He finished with 49 yards on eight carries.

LOOKING BACK: Miami recognized its 1987 undefeated national title team at halftime as part of homecoming festivities. Miami had won four consecutive games on homecoming.

LOOKING AHEAD: FSU announced the regular-season finale against Florida on Nov. 24 is sold out. FSU also sold out last month's 49-37 win over Clemson.

CONFUSION: FSU nearly squandered a chance for a field goal to end the first half. Officials flagged it for a false start with seven seconds left and announced a 10-second runoff would end the half. Many Hurricanes ran off the field.

But FSU called its remaining timeout to avoid the runoff, so Miami had to return to the field. Dustin Hopkins then booted a 46-yard field goal to give his team a 13-10 lead.

THIS AND THAT: The announced crowd of 73,328 was the largest for a Miami home game since FSU visited in 2010 and drew 75,115. … Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were among the game's spectators and watched pregame festivities from the Hurricanes' sideline. … The fierce rivals shook hands before the game as part of the ACC's sportsmanship week. … The game was halted briefly in the first quarter after a fan ran onto the field during a play while twirling an orange T-shirt. He was tackled by security officials and escorted off the field.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Late game: Get the result at sports.tampabay.com.

Who: Miami

Where: Sun Life Stadium, Miami

score: Game not over at press time

Who: Duke

Where: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee

When: TBA

TV: TBA

Radio: 820/1040-AM

Who: Va. Tech

Where: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Va.

When: 8 p.m.

TV: ESPN

Radio: 820/1040-AM

Who: Maryland

Where: Byrd Stadium, College Park, Md.

When: TBA

TV: TBA

Radio: 820/1040-AM

Who: Florida

Where: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee

When: TBA

TV: TBA

Radio: 820/1040-AM

Who: Boston College

SCOre: FSU 51-7

RECORDS: FSU 6-1, 3-1 ACC Boston College 1-5, 0-3 ACC

Who: N.C. St.

SCOre: N.C. State 17-16

records: FSU 5-1, 2-1 ACC N.C. State 4-2, 1-1 ACC

Who: Murray State

Score: FSU 69-3

Records: FSU, 1-0, 0-0 ACC Murray State, 0-1, 0-0 Ohio Valley

Who: Savannah State

Score: FSU 55-0

Records: FSU, 2-0, 0-0 ACC Savannah State, 0-2, 0-0 MEAC

Who: Wake Forest

Score: FSU 52-0

Records: FSU, 3-0, 1-0 ACC Wake Forest 2-1, 1-1 ACC

Who: Clemson

Score: FSU 49-37

Records: FSU 4-0, 2-0 ACC Clemson 3-1, 0-1 ACC

Who: USF

score: FSU 30-17

records: FSU 5-0, 2-0 ACC USF 2-3, 0-1 Big East

More online: seminoles.tampabay.com

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Sunday, October 21, 2012 , Section X | 

By Matt Baker, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, October 21, 2012

MIAMI — No. 12 Florida State suffered an injury to its leading rusher.

It suffered from a flood of fumbles and its most penalized performance of the year to fuel Miami's upset hopes.

But with its trademark stalwart defense, it withstood the rival Hurricanes and emerged from a raucous Sun Life Stadium with a 33-20 victory on Saturday night.

The win extends FSU's winning streak over instate rivals Florida and Miami to a program-best five games. It also keeps the Seminoles (7-1, 4-1 ACC) perfect against the Hurricanes under coach Jimbo Fisher.

It didn't come easily against Miami (4-4, 3-2) and a divided crowd of 73,328.

The Seminoles fumbled almost as many times Saturday (five) as they had in the first seven games combined (six). FSU had lost only four fumbles all season — second in the ACC — but lost two Saturday.

The costliest one came early. Tight end Nick O'Leary tried to hurdle defensive back Brandon McGee on FSU's first play from scrimmage.

But a hard hit by linebacker Denzel Perryman jarred the ball loose. The Hurricanes' Jimmy Gaines recovered, setting up a 9-yard touchdown run by Mike James that gave Miami a 7-0 lead.

FSU shanked a 17-yard punt on its next possession, giving the 'Canes the ball at the Seminoles 35.

Miami capitalized again with a 19-yard field goal by Jake Wieclaw.

The Seminoles finally came back by buckling down on defense and forcing some turnovers of its own. Linebacker Christian Jones recovered a fumble by quarterback Stephen Morris in Hurricanes territory, which led to a 33-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins.

FSU started to click after that despite a left knee injury to leading rusher Chris Thompson. Plant High product James Wilder tied the score at 10 with a bruising 17-yard touchdown rush with 4:56 left in the second quarter.

The Seminoles stole the lead, in spite of more mistakes.

A false start penalty with seven seconds left in the second quarter nearly wiped out a shot at Hopkins' 46-yard field goal, which gave FSU a 13-10 halftime lead.

Hopkins missed a 44-yarder wide left on the Seminoles' first drive of the second half, and FSU appeared to score again with a 2-yard pass from EJ Manuel to Kelvin Benjamin. But Benjamin was flagged for one of FSU's three offensive pass interference penalties. So the Seminoles had to settle for another of Hopkins' four field goals and a 16-10 lead.

FSU's defense made sure that was enough cushion. After allowing 71 yards and two scores in the first quarter, the it allowed only 93 in the next two periods. They harassed Morris with four sacks — one more than Miami had allowed over its past five games combined — while holding him to 150 yards heading into the game's closing minutes.

Miami second score with the outcome in doubt, a 27-yard field goal late in the third quarter on a drive aided by a personal foul on FSU freshman Mario Edwards.

The Seminoles answered immediately. Devonta Freeman's 3-yard touchdown rush capped a 74-yard drive, and he added another touchdown rush in the closing minutes to seal FSU's sixth win in its last eight matchups against the 'Canes.

Times staff writer Matt Baker can be reached at mbaker@tampabay.com.

Times wires
Sunday, October 21, 2012

MEMPHIS — Latavius Murray rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns, and Blake Bortles threw for two more scores as UCF pulled away from mistake-prone Memphis 35-17 Saturday night.

The Knights (5-2, 3-0 Conference USA) forced three Memphis turnovers, including a fumble on the UCF 1-yard line in the first quarter. The Knights also held the Tigers to 4-for-16 on third-down conversion chances.

"I think (turnovers were) the difference in the game," UCF coach George O'Leary said, according to the team's website. "Defensively, we made some plays. We got some quick three-and-outs that kept us in good field position."

Murray, starting for the first time since the season opener, had 149 yards and two scores on nine carries in the first quarter. He followed a 1-yard run with an 83-yard score that was the second-longest run from scrimmage in school history. His final output on 23 carries was the 12th-best single-game rushing total in school history.

Memphis scored early in the second quarter when Tyler Spurlock hit a 34-yard field goal, and the Tigers narrowed the gap to 14-10 when Robert Steeples returned a UCF fumble 27 yards for a touchdown.

But in the third quarter, the Knights' J.J. Worton created breathing room. He caught a pass from Bortles over the middle and raced away from the defense to put UCF up 21-10 with a 29-yard TD. The play capped a 61-yard drive set up by a Bouye interception.

Bouye did more damage against the Tigers early in the fourth quarter. Memphis hit a pass inside the UCF 25-yard line, but Clayton Geathers stripped the ball from Keiwone Malone. Bouye picked up the loose ball at the 21-yard line and raced 79 yards for a 28-10 Knights lead.

Bortles later hit tight end Justin Tukes for a 6-yard touchdown with 4:18 left.

Bortles finished 15-for-26 for 122 yards and the two scores. Worton led UCF receivers with five catches for 56 yards and a score.

Geathers matched his career high with 13 total tackles. Kemal Ishmael added 10 stops for UCF.

The Tigers rushed for a season-high 240 yards behind a career-best 88 yards by Jan Steib.

The Knights return to the field Saturday night at Marshall.

By Matt Baker, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, October 21, 2012

MIAMI — No. 12 Florida State suffered an injury to its leading rusher.

It suffered from a flood of fumbles and its most penalized performance of the season to fuel Miami's upset hopes.

But with stalwart defense, it withstood its rival and emerged from a raucous Sun Life Stadium with a 33-20 victory on Saturday night.

The win extends FSU's winning streak over instate rivals Florida and Miami to a program-best five games. It also keeps the Seminoles (7-1, 4-1 ACC) perfect against the Hurricanes under coach Jimbo Fisher.

"Any time you can go to Miami and beat Miami, that's a great day," Fisher said.

It didn't start out that way against Miami (4-4, 3-2) and a divided crowd of 73,328.

The Seminoles fumbled almost as many times Saturday (five) as they had in the first seven games combined (six). FSU had lost only four fumbles all season — second in the ACC — but lost two.

The costliest one came early. Jimmy Gaines recovered a fumble by Nick O'Leary on FSU's first play from scrimmage, setting up a 9-yard touchdown run by Mike James that made it 7-0.

FSU shanked a 17-yard punt on its next possession, giving the 'Canes the ball at the Seminoles 35. Miami capitalized again with a 19-yard field goal by Jake Wieclaw.

The Seminoles came back by buckling down on defense and forcing some turnovers of its own. Linebacker Christian Jones recovered a fumble by quarterback Stephen Morris in Hurricanes territory, which led to a 33-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins.

FSU started to click after that despite a left knee injury to leading rusher Chris Thompson. Plant High product James Wilder Jr. tied it at 10 with a bruising 17-yard touchdown run with 4:56 left in the second quarter.

The Seminoles stole the lead in spite of more mistakes.

A false start penalty with seven seconds left in the first half nearly wiped out a shot at Hopkins' 46-yard field goal, which made it 13-10.

"We did a lot of good things," Fisher said. "But we did some poor things."

FSU appeared to score again with a 2-yard pass from EJ Manuel to Kelvin Benjamin. But Benjamin was flagged for one of FSU's three offensive pass interference penalties. So the Semi­noles had to settle another of Hopkins' four field goals and a 16-10 lead.

"It was a slower start," said Manuel, who finished 21-of-31 for 229 yards. "But we picked it up in the second half and got through it."

FSU's defense made sure that was enough cushion. After allowing 71 yards and two scores in the first quarter, it allowed only 93 over the next two quarters. They harassed Morris with four sacks — one more than Miami had allowed over its past five games combined. He finished 25-of-43 for 223 yards — 61 below his season average.

Miami's second score came with the outcome in doubt, a 27-yard field goal late in the third quarter on a drive aided by a personal foul against freshman Mario Edwards — one of the Seminoles' 12 penalties for 121 yards.

Both were the worst marks of the season.

"We've got to execute," Fisher said. "We just kept overcoming them."

The Seminoles answered immediately. Devonta Freeman's 3-yard touchdown run capped a 74-yard drive, and he added another touchdown run in the closing minutes to seal FSU's sixth win in its past eight matchups against the 'Canes. He finished with 70 yards on 10 carries.

By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, October 21, 2012

TAMPA — Buccaneers players, coaches and fans were fit to be tied Sunday.

Needing a touchdown to send the game into overtime against the Saints, quarterback Josh Freeman rolled left on the final play of the fourth quarter and fired a pass to receiver Mike Williams near the back of the end zone. The side judge raised his arms, signaling touchdown.

Cannons exploded, fans at Raymond James Stadium leaped into each other's arms, and placekicker Connor Barth headed onto the field to kick the tying extra point.

But then an official's hat was dropped, a flag was flung and the game that looked like it was headed to overtime was done.

Saints 35, Bucs 28.

"I was very excited that we scored," Bucs coach Greg Schiano said. "Obviously … I'm thinking about overtime and who's going to go do the coin toss and how we're going to go and all that. And that quickly left my mind when I saw the one official with his hat off. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what that equals."

What it equaled was referee Jerome Boger ruling correctly that Williams went out of the end zone before catching the pass from Freeman, justifying a penalty for illegal touching. Saints cornerback Patrick Robinson deliberately pushed Williams across the end line, but because Freeman had left the pocket, Robinson was within the rules to make contact with the receiver.

"We practice it all the time, talking about in the red zone, when there's a scramble drill, push your guy out of bounds if you can because you no longer have to cover him and you can go help somebody on the other side," Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins said.

"When I saw (Robinson), he told me, 'I pushed him out of bounds.' I knew the game was over."

The Bucs dropped into a second-place tie with the Saints (2-4) in the NFC South after another missed opportunity.

"I've got to be strong enough to stay inbounds. That's on me," Williams said. "We have the game tied. We see the flag down. I was thinking it was pass interference or something, and they said it was illegal touching. Game over."

Sunday's defeat spoiled a remarkable performance by quarterback Josh Freeman, who passed for a career-high 420 yards, including three touchdowns and no interceptions. The team's 513 total yards was the most in a home game and the second-most in team history.

Freeman was nearly the equal to Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who passed for four touchdowns and led scoring drives on four consecutive possessions to turn a 14-0 deficit into a 28-21 halftime lead.

A goal line stand by the Saints' maligned defense — and an unsportsmanlike penalty on the Bucs during a 51-yard field goal by Garrett Hartley — contributed to the loss in the second half.

On the Bucs' second possession in the third quarter, receiver Vincent Jackson, who was limited in practice last week due to a calf strain, caught a tipped pass from Freeman and raced 95 yards down the sideline, getting caught at the 1-yard line by a hustling Jenkins.

Enter running back LeGarrette Blount, who had two previous carries in the game for 1 yard.

Though rookie Doug Martin was having one of his best games and finished with 85 yards on 16 carries (5.3 average), including a 36-yard touchdown run to give the Bucs a 14-0 lead, Schiano said he believed Blount to be the team's best goal line back.

But Blount lost a yard on first and goal, got it back on second down and was stuffed for no gain on third down. On fourth and goal from the 1, Freeman ran a bootleg right seeking to hit tight end Luke Stocker in the back of the end zone. But Stocker was covered and Freeman was pushed out of bounds for a 4-yard loss.

Schiano defended his belief that Blount is the best goal line back.

"Whether he is or he isn't, certainly we think he is, that's why he's in there at the time," he said.

The Bucs defense, which blew assignments all day, appeared to have held on the Saints' ensuing possession, forcing a 51-yard field goal by Hartley. But prior to the snap, the Bucs shifted and were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct for "attempting to disconcert.''

Four plays later, running back Pierre Thomas scored on a 5-yard run to make it 35-21.

Freeman rallied the Bucs with a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Clark with 4:10 to play, and the quarterback thought he had tied it with his pass in the end zone to Williams.

"The bottom line is they made more plays," Freeman said.

Jackson finished with seven catches for a career-high and single-game team record 216 yards, and a touchdown.

"Again, we're sitting here, what are we, 2-4 now?" Schiano said. "And we're saying this old song and dance. That's the way it is.

"Until we get it changed, until we find a way to change it, close but no cigar."

By Tom Jones, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, October 21, 2012

Reality check

The Bucs are 2-4 but easily could be 5-1 or even 6-0 with a few plays here or there. Don't get excited. That's not a compliment. Most NFL games come down to a couple of plays.

Good teams find ways to win. Not-so-good teams? Well, they are 2-4 after six games.

"We are sitting here at 2-4, and we're saying this old song and dance," Bucs coach Greg Schiano said. "That's the way it is until we get it changed: close but no cigar."

Worst penalty

Some would suggest Schiano doesn't know the NFL's unwritten rules. You could argue he doesn't know some of the written ones, too. The Bucs were a little too cute for their own good and lost partly because of a rare penalty during the fourth quarter.

As the Saints lined up for a 51-yard field goal, middle linebacker Mason Foster yelled something and the defensive line shifted simultaneously.

The Bucs were called for unsportsmanlike conduct for attempting to "disconcert" the opponent at the snap. The 15-yard penalty gave the Saints a first down, and they eventually scored a touchdown — the difference in the game.

"I'm never going to get into the officiating other than I believe I know that rule and I'll leave it at that," Schiano said.

For the record, Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1 states the Bucs' move was illegal.

Numbers of the day

Five carries. Minus-2 yards. That was the day for the Bucs' LeGarrette Blount. And he's your goal-line guy?

Biggest missing piece

The biggest goat for the Bucs on Sunday? How about cornerback Aqib Talib. Think the team's best cover man might have been able to lend a helping hand against Saints quarterback Drew Brees?

The guy is unreliable, and he let his teammates down Sunday. If he really is brought back after his four-game suspension, he will let them down again someday.

Three things that popped into my head

1. The game drew nearly 59,000 as the Bucs avoided a blackout for the first time this season. Some were Bucs fans, and some were Saints fans. Apparently, some also were Cowboys fans because the stadium was half-empty on the last play. Explain that one.

2. Reasons to keep on believing: Josh Freeman's 420 passing yards, Doug Martin's 85 rushing yards and Vincent Jackson's 216 receiving yards.

3. Three days seems like hardly enough time for the Bucs to wash the bitter taste of this one out of their mouths. This thing could be 2-5 before the weekend.

Final thought

The really depressing part? The Saints don't have their coach, they don't have a defense and they don't have their mojo. Man, they were ripe to be beaten.

By Gary Shelton, Times Sports Columnist
Sunday, October 21, 2012

TAMPA

The Bucs had tied the score with one of their most memorable comebacks. Then they had not.

The officials' hands were in the air. Then they were not.

Overtime was about two commercials away. Then it was not.

This is the failure you will remember, that final thrust of a knife to the heart. One minute, Mike Williams was falling to the turf with a tying touchdown catch in his hands, and the next, you were wondering why it did not count. One minute, the Bucs were going places, and the next, they had stepped out of bounds along the way.

Yeah, the Bucs lost on the final play of the game. On the other hand, they did not.

This game the Bucs lost about a dozen times in about a dozen ways.

When a team loses a game on the final play on a rarely called rules violation, as the Bucs did in Sunday's 35-28 loss to New Orleans, it can overshadow all the other shortcomings of the afternoon. You can get lost in the language of the rule, and the illogic of it, and it can make you forget about lost opportunities and blown coverages and an invisible pass rush and silly penalties and the rest of it.

At the core of it, however, this defeat wasn't simply about Williams getting shoved out of bounds behind the end zone on the final play. Things are a little more complicated, and a little more vexing, than that.

How did the Bucs lose this game? Start with a first-and-goal situation from one side of your coffee table to the other.

It was halfway through the third quarter, and the Bucs should have been elated. Vincent Jackson had just been tackled after a 95-yard pass reception — and wouldn't 96 have been nice? — and the Bucs had a wonderful opportunity to tie the score at 28. All they needed was 3 feet in four downs. Is that too much to ask?

Turns out, it was. For some reason, the Bucs lined up with LeGarrette Blount as their tailback. In a goal-to-go situation, that has rarely been a good idea. Blount is listed at 247 pounds, but in short yardage situations, he has never run like it.

Some backs attack the line of scrimmage; Blount seems to feel his way. Granted, Blount is a runaway truck when he breaks into the secondary, but in short yardage, he isn't exactly Larry Csonka. Or, for that matter, Mike Alstott. The pile does not move.

On first down, Blount lost a yard.

On second down, he gained that yard back, but no more.

On third down, he didn't gain an inch.

On fourth down, Josh Freeman bootlegged to his right, which would have been a lovely call on second down. By fourth down, however, the Saints had figured out what was coming.

Blount? Really? Is he the Bucs' best goal-line option?

"Whether he is or he isn't, certainly we think he is," said Bucs coach Greg Schiano. "That's why he's in there at the time. We're doing everything we can to score. You have to constantly evaluate that stuff. Through our evaluations, that's what we believed."

Why?

Doesn't anyone in the front office remember Blount running softly toward the wrong hole in Atlanta in 2010? Frankly, can you ever remember Blount crashing through bodies into the end zone? Blount has a lot of skills on the field, but that isn't one of them.

Just a thought, but perhaps some extra evaluation is required.

How did the Bucs lose this game? Maybe they lost it with their pass coverage. There were plays when Saints players were open to the point of embarrassment. Put it this way: Every time the Saints ran the ball, Schiano should have sent over a fruit basket, because New Orleans was doing his team a favor.

How did the Bucs lose this game? Because they couldn't muster enough of a pass rush. If every Bucs rusher had shouted Drew Brees' name as he threw the ball, Brees wouldn't have heard a sound. They weren't close enough.

"We've got to do our jobs better," said safety Ronde Barber. "A lot of those plays weren't (Brees); they were us."

How did the Bucs lose the game? How about all the silly penalties? Twice, the Bucs were penalized for lining up wrong (once on a punt and once on a field goal). Isn't that the kind of I'm-smarter-than-you stuff that can backfire on a team?

For Schiano, that's the challenge here. It's easy enough to teach a receiver not to get knocked out of bounds. The rest of the stuff is harder.

So go ahead. Talk about the final play. Shout. Swear. Kick the couch.

The other stuff? Remember that, too.

It'll get a team beaten long before the final play comes around.

Listen to Gary Shelton weekdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on 98.7-FM the Fan.

By Brent Gaskill, Times Correspondent
Sunday, October 21, 2012

What's hot: Grouper fishing in nearshore waters of the gulf has been good recently. With the attention of most offshore anglers focused on kingfish, bottom fishing has received less pressure. Limestone ledge formations in 30-60 feet hold good numbers of gag and red grouper. These bottom dwellers have followed the same bait stacks that attract kingfish.

Tip: Kingfish season is the perfect time to locate new grouper holes. Make use of time spent slow-trolling live baits for kings by paying attention to the bottom sonar. The same hard-bottom areas that hold kingfish also contain scattered rocky ledges. Mark spots on the GPS when they are seen, then return, anchor and bottom fish.

For the kids: Alternate species found on these same rock structures can keep kids busy with seemingly nonstop action. Mangrove snapper, white grunts, flounder, sea bass, trigger fish, porgies and more are always cooperative and eager to eat a piece of frozen squid. Scale tackle down with lighter leads and smaller hooks for the best results.

Brent Gaskill runs Summer Vacation Charters out of the St. Petersburg area and can be reached at captbrent@summervacationcharters.com and (727)510-1009.

Times wires
Sunday, October 21, 2012

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Tommy Gainey narrowly missed golf's magic number. He happily settled for a course-record 60 at Sea Island on Sunday and his first PGA Tour win in the McGladrey Classic.

Gainey became the fourth PGA player this year to rally from at least seven shots behind in the final round to win. He made seven straight 3s on his way to 29 on the back nine, finished at 16-under 264, then had to wait more than two hours to see if Jim Furyk or anyone else could catch him.

No one came particularly close in tour's fall series event.

Tournament host and Ryder Cup captain Davis Love drove into the water on the 16th and made double bogey. Furyk made a 12-foot par save on the 17th hole to stay one shot behind, but he pushed his approach well right on the 18th and made his first bogey in 56 holes.

"It's been a hard year for me and finally, we got it right," said Gainey of Darlington, S.C.

Gainey, 37, wound up with a one-shot victory over David Toms, who closed with 63. Furyk shot 69 to finish alone in third, a sour end to a season filled with bitter memories.

This one won't sting as much as his bogey on No. 16 at Olympic Club that cost him a shot at the U.S. Open, or the double bogey on the final hole at Firestone to lose the Bridgestone Invitational, or losing a 1-up lead against Sergio Garcia with two holes to play in the Ryder Cup.

This time, someone went out and beat him, and Furyk simply couldn't catch up.

"I think what I'm most disappointed about is when it came down the stretch, hitting the ball pretty much as good as I can, I made really, really poor swings at 17 and 18 with a 7-iron and 8-iron," Furyk said. "So to play those two holes and not get one good look at it for birdie was disappointing."

LPGA: Suzann Pettersen won the HanaBank Championship in Incheon, South Korea, for her ninth tour title, beating Catriona Matthew with a 5-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole after blowing a big lead. Seven strokes ahead of Matthew to start the round, Pettersen shot 2-over 74 to finish at 11-under 205. Matthew shot 67. Seminole's Brittany Lincicome (67) finished tied for seventh at 7-under 209. Tampa's Cindy LaCrosse (76) finished at 9-over 225.

OBITUARY: Scott Steele, a popular PGA Tour caddie who worked for Larry Mize when he won the 1987 Masters, died Friday night in Hickory, N.C., from a heart attack suffered Oct. 14. He was 55.

By Matt Baker, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, October 21, 2012

MIAMI — For all the frills of college football's pass-happy spread offenses, the outcome of one of the sport's biggest rivalries still depends on the old-fashioned philosophy of running the ball and stopping the run.

Florida State rallied from an early 10-point deficit Saturday night because it controlled the ground game, outgaining Miami 218-29 to run away with a 33-20 victory.

"That's always the key," said FSU coach Jimbo Fisher, whose team rose one spot, to No. 11, in the latest Associated Press poll, released Sunday, and remained 10th in the coaches poll. "You go back in the history of this series, that's been the biggest thing, who can run it and who can't run it."

Since 1996, the Seminoles (7-1, 4-1 ACC) are 8-4 against UM when they outrush the Hurricanes (4-4, 3-2). The rival with the most rushing yards has won 12 of the past 18 meetings.

Four of Saturday's five touchdowns came on the ground, and the exception was a garbage-time pass with the outcome decided.

"They put out in the media that they were going to come out and establish the run on us," FSU linebacker Telvin Smith said. "We knew what we had to do."

Miami gashed FSU's defensive line early. The Hurricanes churned out 33 rushing yards in their first two drives to take a 10-0 lead. Each of their seven carries gained yards, and six covered at least 3 yards, including Mike James' 9-yard touchdown run.

But the Seminoles' run defense, ranked second in the country, recovered. UM totaled minus-4 rushing yards the rest of the game, and only three of its 14 carries gained at least 3 yards.

"Ain't never let us down," FSU defensive back Xavier Rhodes said of his team's front seven.

UM freshman Duke Johnson entered the game seventh in the ACC in rushing, averaging 61.1 yards per game, but he finished with 27 yards, leaving with an undisclosed injury late in the third quarter. The Hurricanes' 29 rushing yards marked their lowest output since 2009.

As UM's run game stalled, FSU's soared, even after leading rusher Chris Thompson went down with a left knee injury early in the second quarter. Fisher expected to have an update on Thompson's status today after an MRI exam.

Before Thompson went down, FSU rushed for 50 yards (5.0 per carry) and trailed 10-3. After the injury, the Seminoles boosted their average to 5.4 yards per attempt, racking up 168 yards and 30 of the game's next 33 points.

Miami native Devonta Freeman ran for 65 of his 70 yards in the second half. All three of FSU's touchdowns came on the ground — two by Freeman and one by former Plant High star James Wilder Jr. — to help the Seminoles become bowl eligible for the 31st consecutive season.

"We just kept pounding the ball," said Wilder, who rushed eight times for 49 yards, "and the run was successful."

Times staff writer Matt Baker can be reached at mbaker@tampabay.com.

Times wires
Sunday, October 21, 2012

Tennis

Venus wins first title since 2010

LUXEMBOURG — Venus Williams won her first WTA tournament in more than two years, beating Monica Niculescu 6-2, 6-3 to take the Luxembourg Open title Sunday.

"My main goal coming here was to make the top 32 and be seeded going into the Australian Open (in January)," said Williams, slowed by injuries and illness for two seasons. "Wherever I end up, it's just very rewarding to win here after facing a lot of challenges."

Williams, ranked 41st, rarely was in trouble against No. 70 Niculescu.

Kremlin Cup: Former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki won her 20th career title and second of 2012, beating Tampa resident Sam Stosur 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in Moscow.

Soccer

Antiracism act snubbed again

English Premier League player Anton Ferdinand joined brother Rio in refusing to wear a T-shirt to support an antidiscrimination campaign, a protest of what the brothers, who are black, believe has been lack of action in recent racism cases.

Anton was at the center of the most high-profile case of the past year. Chelsea defender John Terry yelled a racial slur at him during an October 2011 match. Terry was banned for four matches and fined about $350,000. Many players believe the punishment was too lenient, as have been others related to recent cases.

Anton Ferdinand was one of several players who declined to wear a shirt promoting the campaign during warmups for a match between his Queens Park Rangers and Everton. Rio Ferdinand, of Manchester United, did the same before Saturday's match with Stoke. Manager Alex Ferguson said Rio could be disciplined.

et cetera

horses: Chantal Sutherland, the first female jockey to win the Santa Anita Handicap and the Hollywood Gold Cup, announced her retirement. Sutherland, 36, won 931 races from 7,350 mounts and had purse earnings of more than $47 million. She got married this year and said she wants to enjoy her husband.

figure skating: Americans Ashley Wagner and Christina Gao finished 1-2 in the Skate America women's event at Kent, Wash. Wagner led after the short program; Gao moved up from third with her free skate. U.S. dance champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White won. U.S. pairs champions Caydee Denney of Wesley Chapel and John Coughlin were third.

speed skating: American J.R. Celski became the first short-track skater to break 40 seconds in the 500 meters, setting a world record of 39.973 in a World Cup final at Calgary.

Times wires

By Tom Jones, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, October 21, 2012

tom jones' two cents

Tampa Bay Times staff writer Tom Jones looks back at the best and worst from a weekend of televised sports.

Biggest shakeup

ESPN's NBA Countdown announced a major shakeup last week. Former NBA star Jalen Rose and ESPN columnist Bill Simmons will join the show, replacing Jon Barry and Chris Broussard. Rose and Simmons will join Countdown regulars Magic Johnson and Michael Wilbon.

Simmons is an interesting addition. His Internet column for ESPN was wildly popular, and he has since started the sports-features website Grantland. He also wrote a bestselling book about basketball, The Book of Basketball.

He's not a typical sports writer, but he has a strong following. He comes off as smart and cool, but the knock is he is not really an NBA "insider" type, and he is an admitted Celtics fan.

Overall, however, it's good move by ESPN. Heck, it's a studio show. Why not think out of the box a little? Plus, Rose is superb.

The only downside is Barry moving off the show. Barry was the best part of that show. I'd rather have seen Magic pushed out. Barry will move to a new gig as a game analyst, and Broussard will become a sideline reporter at games.

Best announcer

NBC's Al Michaels remains the best play-by-play announcer in the country, but Fox's Joe Buck is the most prominent. Michaels mostly does one thing: Sunday Night Football. But Buck, left, has become not only the second-best NFL announcer, behind Michaels, but the best national play-by-play voice for baseball.

Here's how you know an announcer is at the top of his game: When you hear him, you immediately know you're watching a big event. When you hear Buck, you know that game is key, whether it's baseball or football.

Fox took criticism last week by giving Buck double duty on the same day. He called the Giants-49ers football game Sunday afternoon, then rushed across San Francisco to call the Cardinals-Giants National League Championship Series game that night. Sure, it was partly a publicity stunt, but that's fine. I wanted to hear Buck calling both games.

The cool thing is Buck was humble about it. "It's not like I was in the pentathlon," he told Sports Illustrated. "I just sat there and talked. It's cute for Fox, but beyond that, people just want to watch the game."

Well said — just like everything he says.

Best news

If you think this country has become too obsessed with sports, here are numbers that can restore your faith a little bit. Last Monday, the Tigers-Yankees American League Championship Series game on TBS had a 4.6 rating from 8 to 9 p.m., meaning 4.9 percent of U.S. households with TVs were tuned in. But from 9 to 10:30, when President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were engaged in the second presidential debate, ratings for the baseball game dipped to a 4.2. When the debate ended, ratings for the game jumped back up, to 5.8.

Best analyst

CBS's Gary Danielson called Saturday's SEC showdown between the Gators and South Carolina, and I'm more convinced than ever that he is the second-best college football analyst, behind ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit. Danielson was in top form Saturday, mixing hard-core football talk with humor.

He also has a great feel and sense of history when it comes to the SEC and proved so when he said, "This Gators team reminds of the 2006 (national championship team). Everyone kind of poo-pooed their schedule, and they went out and won a bunch of close games."

Best line

New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica had a good line about who should be the No. 1 college football team in the country right now.

"Do I think Florida could beat Alabama? No," Lupica said. Then he joked: "I actually think Alabama could win the AFC East. … But if you're being fair, I think the Gators should be No. 1."

Lupica is right. The Gators went on the road and beat Texas A&M, then had huge home wins against LSU and South Carolina, teams ranked in the Top 10 when they played Florida.

Who has Alabama beaten? No one, really. The Tide's best victory, on paper, was its opener against then-No. 8 Michigan, but it turns out Michigan isn't that good.

I'm like Lupica. Alabama is the best team in the country, but the Gators — and maybe even Kansas State, which has beaten Oklahoma and West Virginia on the road — deserve to be ranked No. 1.

Three things that popped into my head

1. This is for all the local fans who think the Rays should fire hitting coach Derek Shelton because the team struggled at the plate this year: Do you also think the Yankees should fire their hitting coach, Kevin Long, because the Yankees couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat in the postseason?

2. Let's see if cycling great Lance Armstrong is now treated with the same disdain that sports fans have for Barry Bonds.

3. USF alumni and fans might be just like those at Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky. The football season is half over and you're already looking forward to basketball season. I was going to add Duke to that list, but the Blue Devils' football team is 6-2.

Biggest distraction

TBS's baseball coverage is over for the season, and that's good and bad. The announcing crew of Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling and John Smoltz are really good, as is the studio show featuring Cal Ripken and Dennis Eckersley. But the strike zone graphic in the bottom right corner for every pitch remains a major distraction. The graphic never covered up action, but you couldn't help but look at it after every pitch. Give TBS credit for trying something different, and ultimately, a better viewer than I can train himself not to look at the graphic all the time.

Biggest change

ESPN SportsCenter anchor Steve Berthiaume is leaving the network after 12 years to become the play-by-play announcer for the Diamondbacks. That means ESPN also is losing another anchor. Cindy Brunson is off to Arizona, too, because she is married to Berthiaume.

Speaking of SportsCenter, the website The Big Lead wrote there could be a major shakeup to SportsCenter in the near future.

Worst pick

Each week, ESPN's College GameDay brings in a celebrity to help make the game predictions. The segment, and show, concludes with Lee Corso putting on a mascot head from the game of the day.

This past weekend GameDay was in Gainesville for Gators-South Carolina, and the celebrity picker was former Gators swimmer and Olympian Ryan Lochte.

Now, I'm not saying Lochte, left, is the dullest knife in the drawer, but when asked to pick the winner of LSU-Texas A&M, Lochte picked … uh, Auburn. No kidding.

Come to think of it, even if Lochte was on the right game, who the heck is picking Auburn to beat anybody? Corso, by the way, was priceless when picking the Gators to win: "I know I went to Florida State, and I'm stupid, but I'm not that stupid. Give me that Gator head!"

Times wires
Sunday, October 21, 2012

HOUSTON — The Texans look like the new bullies in the AFC, for now.

Matt Schaub threw two touchdown passes, Arian Foster ran for two scores and the Texans dominated a showdown of the conference's top two teams, routing the Ravens 43-13 on Sunday.

Johnathan Joseph returned an interception 52 yards for a touchdown and the Texans finally beat Baltimore, which won all six previous meetings and eliminated them from last year's playoffs.

Houston heads into its open date with a much better outlook after getting embarrassed by Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay last week. Schaub was 23-of-37 for 256 yards as Houston set a franchise record for points in a game and gained 420 yards.

"We were really into what we were doing," coach Gary Kubiak said, "and we were there all day long, so it was a good team effort."

The Ravens missed star linebacker Ray Lewis, who was placed on injured reserve last week with a torn triceps. Terrell Suggs, last year's defensive player of the year, saw his first action since having surgery on his right Achilles tendon in May. Suggs, a linebacker, sacked Schaub in the first quarter and finished with three solo tackles.

Otherwise, Baltimore's defense seemed overmatched without Lewis and cornerback Lardarius Webb, also on injured reserve. Safety Ed Reed, who acknowledged last week that he has been playing with a torn labrum in his right shoulder, left in the fourth quarter with a chest injury. Reed said he felt fine after the game.

The Ravens gave up their most points since a 44-20 loss to Indianapolis in 2007.

"It's not the end of the world," Suggs said, "but it's not something we're going to take lightly, either."

Baltimore's offense didn't look any better. Quarterback Joe Flacco was off-target and under pressure most of the game, and running back Ray Rice was held to 42 yards.

The Ravens led 3-0, then started unraveling after Donnie Jones' punt pinned them at their 3-yard line late in the first quarter. Houston linebacker Connor Barwin charged in from Flacco's blind side and tackled him in the end zone for a sack and a safety.

Schaub found Andre Johnson for a 12-yard gain, then hit Kevin Walter for a 25-yard touchdown.

J.J. Watt really got Houston rolling in the second quarter when he swatted a Flacco pass, his ninth deflection this season. Joseph, who missed practice time last week with a groin injury, caught the ball and sprinted to the end zone as part of a 29-0 run.

By Greg Auman, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, October 21, 2012

TAMPA — USF coach Skip Holtz said his team's string of close losses gets harder to take as the five-game slide continues, but the best remedy is returning to practice, as the Bulls did Sunday night, hoping to right things at home Saturday against Syracuse.

"It's hard to come out here when you just lost a game like we did," Holtz said of Saturday's 27-25 loss at Louisville. "You see a huge difference between the beginning of practice and the end, with their attitude. I think it's kind of medication to get out there, get around each other and get moving again.

"It's hard to go through what we're going through right now, but we talked about perseverance and what we need to do to continue to improve and get better."

Holtz said the game was close enough in so many areas — a two-point margin, 2 yards separating the offenses, matching turnovers until the final play — that everyone can recognize that a single change on one play could have produced a different result.

"This is a 'we' effort. Nobody's finger-pointing or blaming him," Holtz said. "Everybody has to take some responsibility and blame. Every position, every coordinator, every position coach and me as a head coach can all take some responsibility, that if we would have changed a couple of things in this game, the outcome would have been different."

INJURY UPDATE: Senior LG Mark Popek is wearing a cast on his sprained left ankle and is "very doubtful" for Syracuse, Holtz said, with redshirt freshman Brynjar Gudmundsson likely to step in as he did Saturday. It's not yet known how long Popek will be sidelined. "He had a bust on the final drive that created some pressure on (QB) B.J. (Daniels)," Holtz said, "but outside of that, I thought for a freshman who has played very little to step in and do what he did, I really thought he did a nice job."

Holtz said RB Demetris Murray (ankle) and DE Tevin Mims (groin) have minor injuries but should be fine for Syracuse.

Times wires
Sunday, October 21, 2012

Vikings take air out of this victory

MINNEAPOLIS — The Vikings likely will have to surpass 58 yards passing to stay in the playoff chase. For now, Adrian Peterson and a relentless pass rush suffice.

Peterson ran 23 times for a season-high 153 yards and a first-quarter touchdown, and the Vikings survived a dreadful second half to beat the Cardinals.

"The way we've tried to structure our team, the philosophy lends itself to winning games like this when you are not completing a lot of balls down the field in a league where so many say that's the way you have to win," coach Leslie Frazier said, adding: "That's a formula for success."

Christian Ponder, a former FSU star, threw a second-quarter TD to former Florida standout Percy Harvin, but he had only one completion for 4 yards in the second half as the Vikings punted five straight times. Ponder threw for 58 yards total and had two picks.

Vikings rookie safety Harrison Smith returned an interception 31 yards for a score in the third quarter, and Minnesota sacked John Skelton seven times. Arizona has allowed a league-high 35 sacks.