Sunday, September 19, 2004
No. 4 Miami had no trouble shutting out Louisiana Tech.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUBURN, Ala. -- No missed extra point was going to save LSU this time.
Jason Campbell hit Courtney Taylor for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 1:14 to play and No. 14 Auburn got two chances to kick the winning extra point in a 10-9 victory over No. 5 LSU Saturday.
John Vaughn's first PAT attempt went wide left after a low snap, but Early Doucet was called for a personal foul, giving Auburn (3-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) another shot.
Vaughn drilled his next try through the uprights with holder Sam Rives saving another bad snap, preventing a repeat of LSU's season opener when Oregon State's Alexis Serna missed his third extra point of the game in overtime for a 22-21 LSU victory.
LSU's Ryan Gaudet instead missed his point after kick following LSU's touchdown on a brilliant opening drive that was definitely not a sign of things to come.
Auburn's final drive, in fact, provided just about the only offensive dramatics. Campbell led a 12-play, 59-yard march that milked most of the remaining 6:38 off the clock.
Ronnie Brown had a 20-yard run and Campbell and Taylor did the rest. Taylor also caught a 14-yard pass on fourth-and-12 from the 28.
The score came on third-and-12, with Campbell finding Taylor in the back of the end zone for his first career touchdown catch. Taylor knelt on his right knee in quiet celebration after the score and many Auburn fans hung around after the game, far less quietly.
LSU (2-1, 0-1), which had its 10-game winning streak snapped, moved into Auburn territory behind redshirt freshman quarterback JaMarcus Russell. But his final pass deflected off Doucet into the hands of Auburn's Junior Rosegreen with 8 seconds left.
LSU's shaky offense -- with Russell and Marcus Randall rotating -- finally caught up with the defending co-national champions.
Campbell was 16-of-27 for 170 yards and no interceptions. Carnell Williams had success running early but finished with 75 yards on 18 carries. Brown gained 67 yards on nine runs.
Russell was 8-of-19 for 123 yards. Randall was 4-of-9 for 45 yards, all on the opening drive, and lost a fumble.
No. 4 Miami 48, Louisiana Tech 0
MIAMI -- Frank Gore and Tyrone Moss combined to run for three touchdowns. The Hurricanes showed no sign of a letdown after last weekend's huge win against in-state and conference rival Florida State.
Gore ran 12 times for 61 yards and scored a touchdown early in the third quarter before sitting out much of the second half. Moss had 69 yards on seven carries and scored twice in the first quarter. Devin Hester, the Hurricanes' most electrifying player, returned two punts for scores.
No. 8 Florida St 34, UAB 7
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Leon Washington ran for 104 yards and a touchdown and Florida State sacked Darrell Hackney eight times.
B.J. Dean, James Coleman and Chris Rix scored on 1-yard runs and Xavier Beitia kicked two field goals for Florida State.
Florida State (1-1) had 489 offense and didn't punt until late in the fourth quarter.
No. 15 Utah 48, Utah State 6
LOGAN, Utah -- Alex Smith threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and Utah converted three Utah State turnovers into touchdowns.
Utah scored on five of its six first-half possessions in building a 41-0 lead at the break, including a 76-yard interception return for a TD by 6-3, 290-pound defensive lineman Jonathan Fanene.
Smith was 9-for-12 for 163 yards in limited duty for the Utes (3-0). He was spelled in the second half. The Utes had 441 total yards, 237 rushing and 204 passing.