This time, five turnovers weren't enough to doom the Gators. Doug Johnson threw for 343 yards and two scores - barely enough to overcome his three interceptions - and Alex Brown had five sacks Saturday night to lift No. 4 Florida to a 23-21 victory over the defending national champions.
A sloppy game the whole way through, it had eerie similarities to last year's meeting.
''We can't act like we're much better than anyone after that,'' Florida coach Steve Spurrier said. ''We know we were very fortunate with all the bad things that happened to win this game.''
After the victory, the Gators gathered at the middle of their field, got in a huge huddle, jumped around and waved towels as hundreds of flash bulbs went off in The Swamp.
''We're going to treat it just like all the other wins,'' Spurrier said, asked if this was one of his biggest. ''We have a lot of room for improvement.''
No. 1 Florida St 42, No. 20 North Carolina State 11: It wasn't revenge, but getting even was a kick. Actually, lots of kicks.
Sebastian Janikowski booted five field goals and Florida State forced six turnovers as the top-ranked Seminoles defeated No. 20 North Carolina State Saturday.
''We came out strong and they got paid back,'' Janikowski said. ''That's the best feeling ever.''
Two turnovers by Barnette resulted in Florida State touchdowns.
Abdual Howard returned one interception 47 yards for the game's final score and Jamal Reynolds recovered a Barnette fumble in the end zone for a third quarter TD that gave Florida State a 32-11 lead. The ball was stripped by David Warren.
No. 5 Nebraska 20, Southern Mississippi 13: Linebacker Julius Jackson who scored two touchdowns as No. 4 Nebraska overcame its worst offensive game the season and got past Southern Mississippi
'This was a dream game for anybody on defense, to be able to intercept the ball and run it back for two touchdowns," Jackson said.
The Huskers (3-0) gave up 209 passing yards, and Southern Miss stayed in the game until a Keyo Craver interception sealed the win for Nebraska It was the second interception of the game for Craver, who tipped the pass that Jackson returned for a TD.
No. 7 Texas A&M 62, Tulsa 13
Randy McCown accounted for three touchdowns, one running and two passing, including a school-record 96-yarder to Chris Taylor, as the Aggies capitalized on six turnovers for a 62-13 victory over Tulsa on Saturday night.
Texas A&M converted the turnovers into 34 points.
''I thought we started off rough but then got into a good tempo,'' A&M coach R.C. Slocum said. "I was pleased that a lot of players got into the game with their families in the stands.''
No. 12 Georgia Tech 41, Central Florida 10
Joe Hamilton rushed for a career-best 100 yards and two touchdowns, passed for 161 yards and a score and guided the No. 12 Yellow Jackets to a 41-10 rout of Central Florida.
''I don't think Central Florida knew what they were getting into,'' Hamilton said. ''We needed a win. We needed the taste of victory in our mouths again. Unfortunately for them, they were the next team in the way.''
No. 17 Southern Cal 24, San Diego State 21:
The 17th-ranked Trojans, favored by 23 points, were taken to the wire in edging San Diego State 24-21 Saturday.
''We thought it would be an easy one; it wasn't,'' said Carson Palmer, who threw two touchdown passes to help USC avoid being upset.
Jermaine Watkins returned an interception off Palmer 62 yards for a touchdown with 4:24 remaining to put the Aztecs within three points.
No. 15 Arkansas 44, Louisiana-Monroe 6: Arkansas outgained Louisiana-Monroe by 129 yards in the first half, and cruised to a 44-6 victory.
Quarterback Clint Stoerner left the game with a right shoulder injury in the fourth quarter after being sacked for a 13-yard loss. Stoerner, who set a record with 2,629 yards passing last year, will probably play against Alabama next week.
No. 16 Kansas State 40, Texas-El Paso 16: Senior taiback Frank Murphy, led all rushers with 156 yards on 24 carries. Murphy also returned the opening kickoff 76 yards, setting up Kansas State's first touchdown.
Louisiana Tech 29, No. 18 Alabama 28:Trailing by six with only two seconds to play, its star quarterback out of the game and facing fourth down, Tech went to backup Brian Stallworth. He promptly threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Sean Cangelosi to give the Bulldogs the upset.
''If you wrote this script for a movie, no one would go watch it because they would think it so unbelievable,'' said first-year Louisiana Tech coach Jack Bicknell. ''Oh my gosh, I can't even put it into words.''
Tech (2-2) trailed 28-22 and was facing fourth-and-26 without Tim Rattay, who was being taken to the lockerroom on a stretcher with a sprained right ankle. Rattay made the trainers stop so he could watch the final seconds.
''There was no time to get nervous because if I did it would mean I wasn't ready,'' Stallworth said. ''I knew a few plays before that I had to get ready because I saw Tim limping. But I also felt like Tim being the person he is, he wasn't going to give up a game like this. So I just tried to stay calm.''
Stanford 50, No. 19 Arizona 22:
Stanford, despite a 52-point loss to Texas, is looking like a Pac-10 contender, and Arizona looks nothing like the overwhelming favorite it was supposed to be.
Todd Husak threw for 364 yards and freshman Kerry Carter rushed for three touchdowns in his first start Saturday night as Stanford routed the 19th-ranked Wildcats 50-22.
''It is hard to say anything,'' Arizona coach Dick Tomey said. ''This was an awful performance. It's a poorly coached football team. It's not a good football team. ... If anybody in this room can sleep tonight, they're not the men I thought they were.''
No. 21 UCLA 35, Fresno St. 21
Following an injury to Cory Paus, the recently benched Drew Bennett made the big plays to spark the 21st-ranked Bruins to a 35-21 victory over upset-minded Fresno State on Saturday night.
''Coach Borges kept telling me to hang in there,'' Bennett said, referring to Al Borges, UCLA's offensive coordinator. ''It happened in the first game.''
Bennett, a junior, threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brad Melsby and a 2-point conversion pass to Freddie Mitchell to give the Bruins a 28-21 lead with 1:51 left in the third quarter.
New Mexico St. 35, No. 22 Arizona St. 7
Nobody believed in New Mexico State but coach Tony Samuel and his players. It was a terrible mistake for Arizona State.
It may only happen every four decades, but this season the Aggies look close to the level of their golden era teams of 1959-60. ''I want to say right now my offensive line is one of the best in the nation,'' said K.C. Enzminger, who threw for a career-high 205 yards and two touchdowns. ''They blew the No. 22 team in the country off the ball all game.''
09-20-99
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