College Football Report /News and notes
Ball State joins rankings: Ball State, which has remained unbeaten while losing one of its best players to a career-ending spine injury, is ranked in the Top 25 for the first time. Oklahoma remained No. 1 in the poll with Alabama, Missouri, LSU and Texas rounding out the top five. Ball State of the Mid-American Conference, located in Muncie, Ind., is probably best known for being the place David Letterman went to school. The Cardinals (6-0) are off to their best start since going 9-0 to begin the 1965 season. It’s already been an emotional season for coach Brady Hoke’s team. On Sept. 20, star receiver Dante Love was injured when he took a head-on hit during the Cardinals’ 42-20 victory over Indiana. Ball State’s first victory against a BCSconference school was marred by Love’s injury. No. 22 North Carolina and No. 23 Michigan State joined the poll for the first time this season. The complete poll is on Page D13.
Playing dirty?: Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said he would try to contact Missouri coach Gary Pinkel to discuss Chase Daniel’s comments about the Cornhuskers being a dirty team. The Tigers’ star quarterback said a Nebraska player spit on him before Saturday night’s game, which Missouri won, 52-17. Daniel also told reporters after the game that Nebraska players threw footballs at the Tigers as they were warming up.
Miami linebacker done for season: Miami linebacker Colin McCarthy will miss the remainder of the season because of a shoulder injury. McCarthy did not play in Miami’s 41-39 loss to Florida State on Saturday. Pigsty? After opening the Bobby Petrino era with narrow victories over Western Illinois and Louisiana- Monroe, the Arkansas Razorbacks have been outscored, 139-31, in three straight losses to then- No. 9 Alabama, then-No. 7 Texas and No. 12 Florida.
Saturday’s stars
• Demaryius Thomas, Georgia Tech: Caught nine passes for 230 yards, the second-most in school history, to help the Yellow Jackets beat Duke, 27-0. One of the catches was an 88-yard score, the third-longest in Tech history.
• Juice Williams, Illinois: Threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 121 yards and two scores to lead the Fighting Illini to a 45-20 win over Michigan in Ann Arbor.
• Nathan Ford, Cornell, threw a 20-yard touchdown pass on the last play of the game to lead the Big Red to a 25-24 win over Lehigh.
Saturday’s late game
Hawaii 32, Fresno State 29 (OT): Inoke Funaki threw two touchdown passes and Dan Kelly gave Hawaii its first road win ever against a ranked team with his career- high fourth field goal as the Warriors took advantage of six Fresno State turnovers and three missed field goals to beat the Bulldogs, 32-29.
On the Web
• Follow UB and college football on the “Campus Watch” blog at buffalonews.com
Compiled from News and wire service reports.
