Oklahoma handed first loss
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The race for the national collegiate football championship took a dramatic turn Saturday when the secondary of the Oklahoma Sooners was unable to deal with an inexperienced quarterback who began the day on the bench.
Reggie McNeal completed only eight passes Saturday, but four of them went for touchdowns in a 30-26 win for the Texas A&M Aggies over the Sooners.
Oklahoma went into the day ranked No. 1 in the Bowl Championship Series ratings, which are used to determine the two teams that will play for the NCAA title in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Sooners are almost certain to drop to at least third, and perhaps lower, in the BCS -- leaving defending champion Miami and Ohio State in the top two positions.
Miami and Ohio State emerged from Saturday's action as the only two unbeaten teams left in Division I-A and one of them barely kept its season perfect.
Ohio State found itself trailing by three points and facing a fourth-and-one at the Purdue 37 with less than two minutes to play.
Instead of plowing ahead in an attempt to pick up the first down, Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel chose to gamble. With his team's national championship hopes on the line, Tressel called a deep pass.
Quarterback Craig Krenzel made it pay off, hitting Michael Jenkins for the winning touchdown with 1:36 left. Ohio State (11-0, 6-0) has won its first 11 games for the first time since 1995.
Miami, meanwhile, stayed unbeaten with an impressive 26-3 victory at Tennessee. Bowling Green, like Oklahoma, fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 26-17 setback to Northern Illinois.
Prior to Saturday's games, Oklahoma had a 2.04 point total in the BCS rankings while Ohio State was second at 5.57 and Miami third at 6.01.
Texas, which rolled to a 41-0 win over Baylor, was fourth at 10.03. When the ratings come out Monday, Oklahoma will likely drop no further than to third.
The Sooners had emerged as the decided favorite to win the national title and they seemed headed for a victory Saturday when they built a 10-0 lead at Kyle Field.
But Texas A&M Coach R.C. Slocom made a change at quarterback, bringing in McNeal. He promptly threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Murphy and then found Greg Porter with a 40-yrder with just 10 seconds left in the first half that tied the game at 13-13.
In the third quarter, McNeal threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Bethel Johnson and also hit Murphy with a 40-yarder. McNeal also rushed 18 times for 86 yards. He began the season as the third-string quarterback but moved up when Mark Farris was benched early in the year and came on early in the second quarter Saturday for an ineffective Dustin Long.
Elsewhere in the top 10 Saturday, No. 5 Washington State outlasted Oregon, 32-21; No. 6 Iowa crushed Northwestern, 62-10; No. 7 Virginia Tech lost at Syracuse in three overtimes, 50-42; No. 8 Georgia held off Mississippi, 31-17; No 9 USC blasted Stanford, 49-17; and No. 10 Notre Dame staged a comeback to edge Navy, 30-23.
Rockets honor Olajuwon
HOUSTON, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- On a night when the Houston Rockets honored the greatest player in franchise history, they were carried to victory by Steve Francis.
Francis scored 31 points, including a clutch three-pointer and two free throws down the stretch, as the Rockets celebrated a big night for Hakeem Olajuwon by holding on for a 111-104 triumph over the Golden State Warriors.
Olajuwon, voted as one the NBA's 50 Greatest Players and the leader of the Rockets squads that won championships in 1994 and 1995, had his No. 34 retired. It was hoisted to the rafters of the Compaq Centre in an emotional halftime ceremony.
The club's all-time leader in virtually every statistical category, the aging Olajuwon was dealt to Toronto after the 2000-01 season. That gave the reins of the team to Francis, an explosive guard who made the All-Star team for the first time last season and signed an $84 million contract extension this summer.
Francis had a small hand in a 14-0 run late in the second quarter that gave the Rockets the lead for good. He scored 15 straight Houston points in the third quarter, single-handedly stemming a rally by Golden State.
Mavericks score 114 on No. 1 defense
DALLAS, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Michael Finley scored 25 points and Steve Nash added 17 and 10 assists Saturday night as the Dallas Mavericks dominated from start to finish in a 114-75 crushing of the Detroit Pistons.
Detroit entered the contest allowing a league-fewest 76.7 points per game. But Dallas was averaging a league-leading 108.6 points and remained the only unbeaten team in the NBA with its most convincing victory of the season.
Nash scored nine points and Dirk Nowitzki had eight of his 11 in the first quarter as the Mavericks jumped to a 37-20 lead and never looked back. They had their largest lead at 110-58 with a 5:36 remaining.
Eduardo Najera scored 16 points and Shawn Bradley added 14 for Dallas, which shot 52 percent from the floor, including eight of 17 from three-point range, and committed just four turnovers.
Richard Hamilton scored 19 points and Clifford Robinson added 13 off the bench as Detroit had its three-game winning streak snapped.
The Mavericks' 6-0 start is their best ever.
Other NBA results: Indiana 108, Toronto 84; Washington 93, Cleveland 79; Seattle 84, Miami 82; Boston 105, Minnesota 99; Chicago 100, New Jersey 93; Milwaukee 110, Philadelphia 105 in overtime; Portland 95, San Antonio 76; Denver 84, Memphis 73.
St. Louis returns to winning ways
ST. LOUIS, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Dallas Drake had two goals and an assist and Doug Weight also scored twice Saturday night in pacing the St. Louis Blues to a 6-3 triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
After their nine-game winning streak was snapped Thursday night by Columbus, the Blues erased an early deficit with four consecutive goals before thwarting a late comeback attempt.
Drake gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead midway through the first period with his fifth goal of the season and ended the Maple Leafs' hopes with 2:49 remaining to complete his first multi-goal game since Nov. 18, 2000 against the Blues as a member of the Phoenix Coyotes.
Weight continued his torrid pace, tallying twice in the third period to give him seven goals and 19 points in his last 10 games.
Other NHL results: Boston 7, Ottawa 1; Atlanta 6, Buffalo 4; Carolina 3, Pittsburgh 2; Montreal 3, Los Angeles 1; Washington 4, Philadelphia 1; Columbus 6, New York Rangers 3; Florida 3, Calgary 0; Edmonton 6, New Jersey 3; Chicago 3, Tampa Bay 2 in overtime.
Rams host Chargers in key encounter
ST. LOUIS, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Marshall Faulk and St. Louis are back in the hunt and LaDainian Tomlinson would like to run them back into the ground as the San Diego Chargers visit the Rams Sunday in one of six interconference matchups in Week 11 of the NFL schedule.
Priest Holmes, the reigning NFL rushing champion, and the Kansas City Chiefs face the San Francisco 49ers; Tommy Maddox renews acquaintances with Coach Dan Reeves when the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Atlanta Falcons and Dononovan McNabb and Peyton Manning duel when the Philadelphia Eagles meet the Indianapolis Colts.
Steve Spurrier returns to Florida as the Washington Redskins visit the Jacksonville Jaguars and the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots meet the Chicago Bears, a playoff team last year that has fallen on hard times.
With the return of quarterback Kurt Warner drawing closer, the Rams (3-5) look to extend their winning streak to four games on Sunday. Marc Bulger is 3-0 since taking over as the starter, but Faulk is the key to St. Louis' turnaround.
During the winning streak, Faulk has rushed for 519 yards and scored six touchdowns. He rushed for 261 yards in the first five games.
The Chargers (6-2) are tied with the Denver Broncos for the best record in the AFC and Tomlinson is second in NFL tushing with 845 yards.
Holmes leads the NFL's highest scoring offense (32.4 ppg) with 857 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns. He also has 51 catches for 440 yards and two scores, putting him on pace to eclipse Faulk's single-season record of 26 touchdowns in 2000.
Even though they have a high-powered offense, the Chiefs (4-4) still have questions to answer about a defense that allows a league-high 30.0 points per game.
The Niners (6-2) have the weapons to exploit that defense with quarterback Jeff Garcia, star receiver Terrell Owens and the running back duo of Garrison Hearst and Kevan Barlow.
Reeves believed in Maddox, but Bill Cowher and the Steelers are reaping the benefits. Maddox will go against his former coach on Sunday in a matching teams with four-game winning streaks.
Reeves selected Maddox in the first round of the 1992 draft when he coached the Denver Broncos and then signed the quarterback in 1995 as a free agent when he coached the New York Giants. In 1997, Reeves invited Maddox to Falcons' training camp, but released him.
The 31-year-old quarterback did not play football from 1997-99 before signing with the New Jersey Red Dogs of the Arena Football League. Maddox's biggest claim to fame was earning Most Valuable Player honors in the only season of the XFL.
After not playing in the NFL in six years, Maddox signed with the Steelers in 2001 and won the backup spot to Kordell Stewart. But Stewart has struggled this season and was yanked by Cowher in the third game of the season in favor of Maddox.
That decision started to change the fortunes of the Steelers, who rallied with Maddox for a come-from-behind victory over Cleveland for their first win of the season on Sept. 22.
Cris Carter out indefinitely
MIAMI, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Two weeks after he ended his retirement, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Cris Carter is out indefinitely with a kidney abnormality, the team announced Saturday.
Carter missed several practices this week with gastroenteritis symptoms. He was evaluated by team doctors Friday and results indicated some kidney function abnormalities.
According to the team, Carter, 37, will not be cleared to play until the abnormalities are thoroughly investigated. He did not travel with the team for Sunday's night's key AFC East matchup against the New York Jets.
With Miami suffering at wideout, Carter came out of retirement by signing a one-year contract. He had been working as an analyst for HBO.
Carter ranks second to Jerry Rice in career receptions and touchdown catches.
Biffle wins Busch title
AVONDALE, Ariz., Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Scott Wimmer caught Greg Biffle to win the Bashas 200 Saturday, but no one could catch Biffle for the NASCAR Busch Grand National series championship.
Wimmer won the race under caution after overtaking Biffle with 13 laps to go. Biffle cruised home third and clinched the title with a race to spare as he became the first driver to win the Busch and Truck series championships.
Biffle dominated the race, leading the first 185 laps in his Ford Taurus. Wimmer chased him down in his Pontiac Grand Prix, driving side-by-side for two laps before passing and holding on for his third victory of the season.
The race finished under a yellow flag after Jeff Green was tapped by Mike McLaughlin, spun and hit the wall hard with four laps remaining. Green's Chevrolet Monte Carlo caught fire, but he was not injured.
Biffle, who won the Craftsman Truck series championship in 2000, will move to the Winston Cup circuit next year.
Dredge leads Volvo Masters
SOTOGRANDE, Spain, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Bradley Dredge battled through strong winds at Valderrama Golf Club Saturday to move closer to his first career European PGA Tour title at the season-ending Volvo Masters.
The Welshman was one of only seven players in the 65-man field to shoot par or better, carding an even-par 71 on a day when South African Retief Goosen shot a 7-over 78 and Spanish star Sergio Garcia took a nine on one hole.
Angel Cabrera of Argentina had a four-stroke lead entering the day but managed only a 76 and was tied for second with Colin Montgomerie of Scotland at 2-under 211.
Dredge overcame two double-bogeys with four birdies, two of which closed his round and gave him a 54-hole total of 3-under 210. He is the only player in the field to reach par in all three rounds.
