Top 3 teams remain undefeated - just barely

Exciting? Yes.

Works of art? Not really.

On college football's show-and-tell Saturday, the nation's top three teams - Tennessee, Kansas State and UCLA - demonstrated there's no need to play perfectly to stay perfect.

And because of it, there's still no telling how the national title picture will turn out.

The top-ranked Volunteers (6-0 SEC, 9-0 overall) had three turnovers and dropped several passes, but got a gift fumble recovery near midfield to set up Travis Henry's 1-yard touch run with 28 seconds left for a 28-24 victory over No. 9 Arkansas (5-1

AP PHOTO Tenessee quarterback Tee Martin narrowly pulled a victory out of his bag of tricks on Saturday, when Arkansas turned the ball over late in the game to the Volunteers.

, 8-1).

No. 2 Kansas State (7-0 Big 12, 10-0) beat No. 17 Nebraska (4-3, 8-3) for the first time in 30 years but had to overcome five turnovers, including three fumbles and an interception by Michael Bishop, for its 40-30 win.

And No. 3 UCLA (7-0 Pac-10, 9-0), after four consecutive close calls, stayed ahead of Washington from the start but relied more on Chris Sailer's foot than Cade McNown's arm for a 36-24 victory over the Huskies (3-4, 5-5).

Surely, mistakes are going to be on the road to a national title.

"We got some help from them late, but we gave them some help in the first half," Vols coach Phillip Fulmer said after his team fell behind 24-10 but scored the game's final 18 points. "Those kinds of things tend to even out over the course of a game."

Kansas State agrees after the Cornhuskers turned three miscues by the Wildcats into 17 points and nearly ended the school's title chances.

"When you have adversity and can still score points and come back and win games, that says this team can play in the fourth quarter," Kansas State guard Jeremy Martin said. "This team can play when it's down."

In The Associated Press' Top 25 media poll, the top three teams remained unchanged - No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Kansas State and No. 3 UCLA.

The BCS standings, which determine the teams in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 4 with the national title on the line, are released today. Last week's standings had a 1-2-3 ranking of Tennessee, UCLA and Kansas State third.

Also, No. 4 Florida and No. 5 Florida State kept their title chances alive with easy victories, the Gators (7-1 SEC, 9-1) beating South Carolina 33-14 and the Seminoles (7-1 ACC, 10-1) topping Wake Forest 24-7.

On Saturday, it's Gators vs. Seminoles at Tallahassee, Fla., with the usual high stakes - the loser is out of the title chase.

The state of Florida won't be the only big-game stage on rivalry Saturday.

Tim Couch and Kentucky (4-3, 7-3), fresh from a 55-17 rout of Vanderbilt, visit Tennessee, while Kansas State travels to No. 19 Missouri (5-2, 7-3), a 17-14 loser to No. 6 Texas A&M (7-0, 10-1), and UCLA takes on rival Southern Cal (5-2, 7-3) at the Rose Bowl.

No. 1 Tennessee 28, No. 9 Arkansas 24

At Knoxville, Tenn., the Razorbacks had the ball at the Vols' 49 and a 24-22 lead when disaster struck with 1:43 left.

Quarterback Clint Stoerner, who had three touchdown passes, tripped as he pulled away from the line of scrimmage on a second down play. He left the ball on the ground as he tried to regain his balance and Tennessee recovered at the Hogs' 43.

Henry, who finished with 197 yards, carried five straight times and scored the winning touchdown with 28 seconds left.

"We huddled up and Tee (Martin) and the offensive line told me to take it to the promised land," Henry said.

No. 3 UCLA 36, Washington 24

At Seattle, McNown had no touchdown passes, but a 77-yard punt return for a score by Ryan Roques and five field goals from Chris Sailer were all the Bruins needed against the Huskies, who need a win over Washington State next week to avoid their first losing season in 22 years.

Several conference races became less tangled Saturday:

n UCLA, which owns the nation's longest major college winning streak at 19 games, clinched the Pac-10 title and will play in the Rose Bowl if it doesn't qualify for the Fiesta Bowl.

n The Big 12 title game on Dec. 5 is set - North winner Kansas State vs. South winner Texas A&M. The winner gets an automatic BCS bowl berth. The Wildcats have an 18-game winning streak.

n Florida State, by virtue of an earlier win over Georgia Tech, wrapped up the ACC's automatic BCS bowl bid with its victory at Wake Forest.

n The SEC title game on Dec. 5 is shaping up as a Tennessee-Arkansas rematch.

n With No. 24 Syracuse's last-play, 28-26 win over No. 23 Virginia Tech, the Orangemen (6-2, 4-1) and No. 22 Miami (6-2, 4-1) are tied for the Big East lead. Miami is at Syracuse on Nov. 28 with the title - and BCS bowl berth - most likely at stake.

11-16-98