Notre Dame Is No Match for Michigan State

Bill Burke threw three first-half touchdown passes as previously winless Michigan State rocked No. 10 Notre Dame, 45-23, Saturday night at East Lansing, Mich.

Burke, whose job had been in question after Michigan State lost its the first two games, notched scores on pass plays of 16, 86 and 17 yards. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 209 yards.

Michigan State (1-2) supported his aerial show with a gritty ground game that kept the Irish (1-1) off balance. Tailback Sedrick Irvin ran for 119 yards in 24 carries.

Notre Dame had problems developing any consistent offensive threat, falling behind, 42-3, by halftime. It was the second year in a row Michigan State defeated the Fighting Irish.

ROCKIES

John Fitzgerald directed Tulsa’s spread offense almost flawlessly, completed 23 of 36 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns and scoring once on the ground in a 35-20 upset of Oklahoma State (1-1) at Tulsa, Okla. The Golden Hurricane, 2-0 for the first time since 1991, had a 35-0 lead in the third quarter. Tulsa relied on quick passes in the first half and a strong ground game in the second. Tulsa’s Reggie Williams had 11 yards at halftime but finished with 142 in 19 carries.

Oklahoma scored a touchdown and field goal in the final 2:20 to slip past Texas Christian, 10-9, at Fort Worth, Texas, and put a stunning damper on what appeared to be a rousing upset for new Horned Frog Coach Dennis Franchione. Sooner quarterback Patrick Fletcher threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Chris Blocker with 2:20 left and, after the Sooners (2-0) recovered an onside kick, Jeff Ferguson kicked the winning 40-yard field goal with five seconds left. TCU (1-1) had the game in hand until Horned Frog linebacker Joseph Phipps intercepted his third pass of the night but fumbled it away at the TCU 23 to set up the Oklahoma touchdown.

Joel Thomas rushed 23 times for 104 yards and Idaho (2-0) rallied from a nine-point, second-half deficit for a 17-12 victory over San Jose State (1-1) at San Jose. . . . Shaun King completed 19 of 28 passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score as Tulane started 2-0 for the first time since 1975 with a 31-21 victory over Southern Methodist (0-2) at Dallas. . . . Marques Brigham ran for a career-high 151 yards and Wyoming held off Montana State en route to a 17-9 victory at Laramie, Wyo., but the Cowboys (1-0) looked sloppy against the Division I-AA Bobcats (1-1). . . . Frank Rice scored two touchdowns as Colorado State (2-1) handed Nevada (0-2) a 26-14 defeat at Reno. Rice, a receiver, ran 19 yards on a reverse for the Rams’ first score, and later caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Eslinger. . . . Germany Thompson pulled in a 25-yard scoring pass from Graham Leigh in the third overtime as New Mexico (2-0) recorded a 39-36 victory over Utah State (0-2) at Albuquerque. Thompson celebrated his 22nd birthday with 10 catches for 175 yards. His biggest catch came after Utah State kicker Brad Bohn booted his fifth field goal of the night--from 33 yards out--to give the Aggies a 36-33 lead. . . . Andre Dyson picked off two passes and recovered a fumble and Utah capitalized on five Louisville turnovers, as the Utes beat the Cardinals, 45-22, in the debut of the newly expanded Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. . . . Blane Morgan ran for three touchdowns to lead Air Force to a 52-10 victory over host Nevada Las Vegas.

EAST

Mike Cloud and quarterback Scott Mutryn each ran for two touchdowns and Boston College (2-0, 1-0) rolled to a 41-14 victory over Rutgers (1-1, 0-1) in the Big East opener for the schools at Boston. The Eagles, coming off a 41-31 upset of Georgia Tech last week, have won their first two games for the first time since 1992. Cloud, who gained 200 yards and scored twice in the opener, carried 27 times for 156 yards. . . . Travis Prentice’s 45-yard touchdown run in the third quarter put Miami of Ohio ahead for good in a 14-13 victory over Army at West Point, N.Y. Prentice, who ran for 164 yards, gave Miami (2-0) a 14-10 lead with a burst through a huge hole up the middle to score untouched. The drive came after Miami stopped Army halfback Bobby Williams on fourth and one at the Miami 29.

SOUTH

Aaron Brooks threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns and Thomas Jones had a 21-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter as No. 12 Virginia defeated surprisingly tough Maryland, 31-19, at Charlottesville, Va. Virginia, 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, opened with a shutout at Auburn, earned its highest ranking ever going into the second game, and was supposed to stroll to its seventh straight victory over Maryland. But the outcome was in doubt until Brooks directed an 80-yard touchdown drive capped by Jones’ run with 7:37 remaining and the Cavaliers stopped the Terrapins (1-1, 0-1) on their final two possessions.

Al Clark hooked up with wide receiver Ricky Hall on a 56-yard touchdown pass play and also ran for two scores to lead Virginia Tech (2-0) to 37-0 rout of Clemson (0-1) at Clemson, S.C. Clemson gave up 31 points in the second quarter, the most the Tigers allowed in a quarter in their 102-year history. . . . David Garrard came off the bench to lead East Carolina (1-1) to three second-quarter touchdowns in a 31-0 victory over Division I-AA Chattanooga (1-1) at Greenville, N.C.

MIDWEST

Scott Covington threw three touchdown passes and Miami’s defense dominated Cincinnati (0-2) once again as the Hurricanes rolled to a 38-12 victory at Cincinnati. Miami (2-0) resumed its series against the Bearcats after an eight-year break and tacked on another lopsided victory. The Hurricanes have won their last nine games against the Bearcats since 1982, outscoring them 387-83. . . . Eric Flowers rushed for 190 yards and three touchdowns, two of them in the fourth quarter, as Central Michigan (1-1, 1-0) recorded a 35-14 victory over Western Illinois (1-1, 0-1) in a Mid-American Conference game at Mount Pleasant, Mich., to end a nine-game losing streak. . . . Eric Powell ran for 113 yards and a touchdown and Justin Ventura kicked two field goals as Eastern Michigan (1-1) recorded a 13-7 MAC victory over Ball State (0-2, 0-1) at Muncie, Ind.