December 5, 2004: East Brunswick Wins the State Football Championship

December 5, 2004: The Night of Nights for the football program at East Brunswick High School in East Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey.

EBHS had opened in 1958, and had begun playing varsity football in 1961. The Bears had won Conference Championships in 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1990 and 1994.

They had won the Central Jersey Group IV Championship in 1966, and again in 1972, under the old system of who had the best record in the section. Both times, E.B. went 7-1-1. Both times, the 1 loss came against neighboring South River, to whom the Township of East Brunswick had sent its high school students from 1891 to 1958.

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association instituted State Playoffs for the 1974 season. At first, only the top 4 teams in each section qualified. Starting in 1998, it became the top 8 teams. Had that been the case from 1974 to 1997, East Brunswick would have qualified in 1977, 1978, 1981, 1986, 1992 and 1996. But it wasn't.

East Brunswick first qualified in 1980, losing in the Semifinal. In 1984, when I arrived at EBHS as a sophomore, they reached the Final, going into it as undefeated Conference Champions. But an undefeated State Championship season vanished on a missed two-point conversion, losing 27-26 to J.P. Stevens of Edison Township.

This was a shocking loss, the kind that used to happen to teams like the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs, the Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles, and the New York Rangers; and still happens to the New York Mets, the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians), the Buffalo Bills and the Philadelphia Flyers.

In 1985, the Bears reached the Final again. But, again, they lost to Stevens. They made the Playoffs again in 1987, but were wiped out in a frigid Semifinal against arch-rival Madison Central, the school now known as Old Bridge. The same thing happened in 1988, but in weather that was considerably less cold. They reached the Semifinal in 1990, losing to Trenton Central; the Semifinal again, losing to Piscataway; and the Quarterfinal in 1998, losing to Manalapan.

Then came a down period. Way down. They went 4-6 in 1999, 1-9 in 2000, and 0-10 in 2001. From November 25, 1999 to September 13, 2002, EB went an atrocious 2-21. They rebounded to 6-4 in 2002, but fell back to 4-6 in 2003. And, for Marcus Borden, who had been head coach since 1983, and had come so close in 1984, and nearly as close a few times since, there seemed to be no indication that 2004 would be any better.

We (yes, I have switched from "they" to "we," I admit it) opened the season with home wins over Perth Amboy and Edison. Then we lost away to Piscataway, and we figured a downward spiral into a typically weak season had begun.

But a funny thing happened on the way to mediocrity: We started winning again. We beat North Brunswick at home. Then we went to Sayreville, a tough trip since the early 1990s, and won. That was a good sign.

Before the next game, the Red Sox completed their improbable American League Championship Series comeback against the Yankees -- steroid-aided, as it turned out, but we didn't know that yet. We then beat Stevens at home. In the middle of the next week, the Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals, to win their 1st World Series in 86 years. If the Red Sox could overcome a long drought that included several shocking defeats, why couldn't E.B. football?

We needed overtime to beat South Brunswick away, but not to then beat Woodbridge at home. We had qualified for the Playoffs. On November 13, at Jay Doyle Field -- named for the man who was our 1st athletic director, football coach and wrestling coach -- we beat Brick Township of Ocean County, 13-12. It was a difficult game, as we expected it would be, but we won it, advancing to the Semifinal for the 1st time in 10 years. On November 20, we won that, beating Hillsborough of Somerset County, 28-21 in overtime. We were now in the Final for the 1st time in 19 years.

Fortunately, the NJSIAA rejiggered its sectional boundaries for this season. Good thing, too, as it moved Piscataway from Central Jersey into North Jersey Section II, meaning that if we both made the Playoffs, we wouldn't have to face each other. Instead, we would have to face Jackson Memorial, of Ocean County. They hadn't lost a game in 2 years, and were going for back-to-back State Championships. But we were confident we could give them a game.

And then we went to Old Bridge for our annual Thanksgiving Day game against the arch-rivals, and laid an absolute egg. We lost 20-0, and we never even looked like scoring. What happened to the team that quarterback Matt Mariano had been leading to victory all year long? We hadn't beaten Old Bridge since 1994, and now, with our best team since then -- maybe our best team since 1984 -- we couldn't do it.

No matter: We had to get our confidence back up, because we still had a title to win. But it would be at Rutgers Stadium (now SHI Stadium), on the Busch Campus in Piscataway. It was the 1st time we'd ever played on artificial turf (most area high schools would soon get it, including us), and against the defending Champions. There were 12,000 people on hand, possibly the biggest crowd in EB history (and bigger than a lot of crowds were for Rutgers games at the old, 1938-92 version of Rutgers Stadium).

Somehow, Mariano kept us in the game. It was tight. But we never trailed. We led 7-0, were tied 7-7, led 10-7, led 17-7, and it was 17-14 us in the final seconds. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. After all, this was East Brunswick football we were talking about. Something bad always happens, and we always lose the big ones.

With time for 1 more play, Jackson tried a field goal. I don't remember the exact distance, but it was around 40 yards. It was cold, but there wasn't much wind, and it was on turf. A good high school kicker could have made it.

And, having been through so much with E.B. -- momentary screwups, all-game-long brain cramps, bogus calls by officials, rotten weather, you name it -- I was sure that the field goal would be good, and that we would lose in overtime.

When the field goal by Jackson was tried, it seemed to hang in the air forever. It didn't, and the other shoe did. The attempt fell a few yards short, and, on December 5, 2004, East Brunswick was the State Champion. Well, the Central Jersey Group IV Champion, anyway.

I'd waited 20 years for that moment, and some EB fans had waited 32 years. The wait was over. Marcus Borden's Green-White Army had conquered. They had beaten the greatest opponent of all: Fear. Deep in my heart, I had ceased to believe that we would overcome one day. But that day finally came. We had overcome.

UPDATE: In 2006, due to rising enrollment at Jackson Memorial, the Township of Jackson opened a 2nd high school, naming it Jackson Liberty. In 2025, due to declining enrollment at both schools, the Township reconsolidated, putting all students at Jackson Liberty, and repurposing Jackson Memorial as a middle school.

So, while Jackson had one high school in the 2004-05 schoolyear, and would again in 2025-26, in a manner of speaking, the school that E.B. beat for that 1st Central Jersey Group IV Championship in the Playoff era no longer exists.

*

December 5, 2004 was a Sunday. These NFL games were played that day:

* The New York Giants lost to the Washington Redskins, 31-7 at FedEx Field (now Northwest Stadium) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The New York Jets beat the Houston Texans, 29-7 at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers, 47-17 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens, 27-26 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, at what's now named EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville.

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Atlanta Falcons, 27-0 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the Miami Dolphins, 42-32 at what's now named Hard Rock Stadium in the Miami suburb of Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Carolina Panthers beat the New Orleans Saints, 32-21 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The New England Patriots beat the Cleveland Browns, 42-15 at Cleveland Browns Stadium (now Huntington Bank Field).

* The Detroit Lions beat the Arizona Cardinals, 26-12 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Tennessee Titans, 51-24 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings, 24-14 at the new Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The St. Louis Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers, 16-6 at what's now named the Dome at America's Center in St. Louis.

* The San Diego Chargers beat the Denver Broncos, 20-17 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Oakland Raiders, 35-27 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* And the next day, on Monday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Seattle Seahawks, 43-39 at what's now named Lumen Field in Seattle.

There were no NHL games scheduled for that day, but 2 NBA games were played:

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 121-99 at the Moda Center in Portland. Quentin Richardson scored 37 points for the Suns.

* And the Sacramento Kings beat the Boston Celtics, 119-105 at what's now named the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento. 

November 29, 2012: Rutgers' Football Team Blows Their Biggest Chance

November 29, 2012: To paraphrase Boromir in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings: One does not simply blow an 11-point 2nd-half lead at home and lose, on national television, and still call oneself Conference Co-Champions. It is folly. With fifty thousand men, you could not do this.

Rutgers University had played the 1st college football game in 1869, and won it -- and they hadn't done a damn thing since. That was an exaggeration, but not much of one. They had undefeated seasons in 1961 and 1976, but both came as independents, not as members of a conference.

And, in so doing, they played what was, before such a classification became official, a schedule full of NCAA Division I-AA (now Football Championship Subdivision, or FCS) teams. It was only in the wake of not getting a bowl big despite going undefeated in 1976 that they decided on what was then called "bigger-time football," scheduling whatever Division I-A (now Football Bowl Subdivision, of FBS) team was willing to take them.

They joined the Big East Conference in 1991, and never came close to winning it until 2006: They beat the University of Louisville, then ranked Number 3 in the country, at home at Rutgers Stadium. They should have won the Conference Championship. But late-season losses to the University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University cost them the title.

In 2012, with their home now renamed High Point Solutions Stadium (since 2019, it's been SHI Stadium), Rutgers began the season 7-0. They won away to Tulane and home to Howard; away to South Florida, a Big East game; away to Arkansas; then home to Connecticut and Syracuse and away to Temple, all Big East games. They were ranked Number 18 in the country.

Then, embarrassingly, they lost at home to FCS team Kent State. Fortunately, it wasn't a Big East game. Nor was their next game, a home win over Army. On November 17, they traveled to Cincinnati, and beat the Bearcats, 10-3. The Scarlet Knights had clinched no worse than a tie for the Big East title.

All they had to do to win the title outright, and possibly gain a berth in a New Year's Day bowl game, was beat either the University of Pittsburgh away or Louisville at home. But they lost to Pitt, 27-6. And so, in a Thursday night game televised nationally on ESPN, they had to defend their home "On the Banks of the Old Raritan" to take the title.

Rutgers wore all-black uniforms for this game, including silver helmets instead of their usual scarlet red, but looked from a distance like they were black. They scored first, when Gary Nova threw an 85-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Coleman. Louisville kicked a field goal to make it 7-3. Early in the 2nd quarter, Mark Harrison caught a pass from Nova, and broke a tackle to make it a 68-yard touchdown reception. 14-3 Rutgers. That lead held into the 3rd quarter.

But in the last minute of the 3rd quarter, Louisville scored a touchdown to make it 14-10. And then, in true RU fashion, the ensuing kickoff was fumbled, and Louisville recovered, leading to 2 touchdowns in 15 seconds of game-clock time. 17-14 Cardinals.

With less than 8 minutes left in regulation, the Knights tied it with a field goal. And, with 4 minutes left, Rutgers were driving for the go-ahead score. But Nova threw an interception, and, with 1:41 to go, John Wallace kicked a 29-yard field goal to give Louisville back the lead. With 1:06 to go, Nova threw one last interception, and Louisville had it won, 20-17.

The season ended with Rutgers, Louisville, Cincinnati and Syracuse all 5-2 in Big East play. The title was shared. Louisville emerged as the highest-ranked team, so they got the Big East's major bowl bid, and upset Number 4 Florida in the Sugar Bowl, 33-23.

Rutgers were invited to the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando -- formerly known as the Tangerine Bowl and the Florida Citrus Bowl -- on December 28, against former Big East team Virginia Tech, now in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and lost in overtime, 13-10. After starting the season 7-0, they ended it 9-4. 

That was RU's last season in the Big East, which was breaking up. Most of its teams ended up in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Rutgers didn't: They spent a stopgap year in The American Conference, and then, in 2014, joined the Big Ten Conference, which made no sense, either geographically (it's a Midwest-based league) or competitively (going into this weekend, their record in Big 10 games is 12-56).

Either way, they are now in a league with national powers Penn State (their arch-rivals), Ohio State, Michigan and Nebraska; and perennial contenders Michigan State, Wisconsin and Iowa. They are not winning the Big Ten title anytime soon.

A few years ago, Greg Schiano said, "It's time." But as Keith Sargent wrote in the local newspaper, the Home News Tribune, after a similarly missed opportunity in 2011, "For Rutgers, the future never seems to come."

That 2012 game against Louisville was supposed to be the night that Rutgers won a Conference Championship outright, without sharing it with another team (and they'd never even done that), and get invited to one of the traditional New Year's Day bowl games. This was supposed to be Rutgers' "We have overcome" night.

Instead, it was their Bill Buckner Game. The one that will have those of us who are Scarlet Knights fans muttering in our beds late at night for the rest of our lives.

Why does Rutgers always have to do this? Why can't they come through and be a true champion? To paraphrase Tevye in the Broadway musical Fiddler On the Roof: Would it spoil some vast eternal plan?

*

November 29, 2012 was a Thursday. This was the only college football game played that night. There was 1 NFL game: The Atlanta Falcons beat their arch-rivals, the New Orleans, Saints, 23-13 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Baseball was out of season. And the NHL team owners had locked the players out, so the season didn't begin until January 19, 2013. But there were 2 NBA games played. The Miami Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs, 105-100 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami. And the Golden State Warriors beat the Denver Nuggets, 106-105 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland.

November 9, 2006: Rutgers Football Grows Up

November 9, 2006: The football team at Rutgers University has what is -- after 1869, anyway -- its signature moment.

Under head coach Greg Schiano, and his aggressive recruiting of New Jersey, New York State, Connecticut, Eastern Pennsylvania, and even Florida, where he'd been an assistant at the University of Miami, collectively calling all of those places "The State of Rutgers," the Scarlet Knights were having their best season since 1976, when they went undefeated against a considerably lesser schedule.

They began the season by beating North Carolina in Chapel Hill, 21-16. They hosted Illinois at Rutgers Stadium -- the 41,500-seat horseshoe in Piscataway, Middlesex County, New Jersey has since been expanded into a 52,454-seat bowl -- and won, 33-0. They hosted Ohio University (not Ohio State), and won, 24-7.

That got them into the Top 25, with a ranking of Number 23. Their next game wasn't going to help them: It was a home game against Howard University, a historically black FCS school, and RU won, 56-7. The next game should have helped them: It was away to South Florida in Tampa, and they won, 22-20. Still, they dropped to Number 24.

After a week off, they went to Annapolis, Maryland, and beat Navy, 34-0. Now, they had risen to Number 19. They played away to the University of Pittsburgh. They never beat Pitt away. This time, they did, 20-10. They rose to Number 16. They hosted Connecticut, and won, 24-13.

Now, the Scarlet Knights were 8-0 -- but still so little respected that they were only ranked Number 15 in the country. On a Thursday night, November 9, they would have a nationally-telecast (ESPN) prime-time game against Number 3 Louisville. The winner of this game would have the inside track to winning the Big East Conference.

A crowd of 44,111 fans crammed into the Piscataway horseshoe. (It's now a 52,000-seat bowl.) At that point, only 7 times had a Rutgers "home game" had more fans, all of them at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands: Against Florida in 1986; and against Penn State in 1977, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1992 and 1995. (The October 3, 1992 game against Penn State remains a record crowd for a Rutgers home game: 72,203. Rutgers lost, 38-24.)

Louisville scored first. At the end of the 1st quarter, Rutgers scored a touchdown to tie it, but Louisville returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. And they scored a 2-point conversion. It was Cardinals 15, Scarlet Knights 7.

In the 2nd quarter, Louisville added a touchdown and a field goal, to make it 25-7. But Ray Rice, later to be a figure of terrible controversy, scored a touchdown to make it 25-14 at the half. He scored another touchdown in the 3rd quarter, to get RU within 25-20. But placekicker Jeremy Ito missed the extra point.

With 10:13 left in regulation, Ito kicked a 46-yard field goal, to tie the game at 25. RU's defense held until the final minute. Quarterback Mike Teel drove them down the field, and with 13 seconds to go, Ito attempted a 28-yard field goal. It was perfect. Rutgers led 28-25.

Fans stormed the field. And, as a Rutgers fan for nearly 30 years at that point, used to seeing them blowing it, I was worried that they wouldn't be able to clear the field, thus rendering the field unplayable, and forfeiting the game. But they did clear the field, and Louisville were unable to do anything on their last 2 plays.

Rutgers had beaten the Number 3 team in the country, and the entire country -- or, at least, all of that part of the country that cared about college football -- saw it. The Scarlet Knights had grown up. It was a truly magical moment for the country's 1st college football program.

Just 9 days later, they blew it. Now ranked Number 7, they went to Cincinnati, and lost to the University of Cincinnati, 30-11. They came home and beat Syracuse on Thanksgiving Saturday, 38-7. But the following week, they went to Morgantown and lost to West Virginia, 41-39 in overtime. Despite having been beaten by Rutgers, Louisville won the Big East Championship anyway.

Rutgers closed its season in Houston, beating Kansas State in the Texas Bowl, 37-10. They finished at 11-2, ranked Number 12 in the country.

Teel was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 2009, and was on the roster for that entire season, but never entered a regular-season game, and was released. In the 2010 preseason, he was signed and released, first by the New England Patriots, then by the Chicago Bears. He has since gone into coaching.

Ito was signed and released by the New Orleans Saints in 2008. In 2009, he played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, and was released. 

*

November 9, 2006 was a Thursday. So there were no other college football games played. There were no NFL games played. The baseball season was over. There were 3 games played in the NBA that night:

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Chicago Bulls, 113-94 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. (It's now named the Rocket Arena.)

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Phoenix Suns, 119-112 at the US Airways Center in Phoenix. (It's now named the Mortgage Matchup Center.) Dirk Nowitzki scored 35.

* And the Golden State Warriors beat the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, 121-116 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named the Oracle Arena). Baron Davis scored 36 points.

There were 8 games played in the NHL:

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1 in a shootout at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands. (Okay, it was officially named the Continental Airlines Arena at that point.) Yes, the Devils won in a shootout. Back then, it wasn't that big a deal. Today, it would be.

* The New York Islanders beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1 at the Wachovia Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins, 6-4 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals, 5-0 at the RBC Center in Raleigh. (It's now the Lenovo Center.)

* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-2 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. (It's now the Enterprise Center.)

* The Dallas Stars beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 1-0 at the Jobing.com Arena in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. (It's now the Desert Diamond Arena.)

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Los Angeles Kings, 7-3 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

* And the Anaheim Ducks beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-0 at General Motors Place in Vancouver. (It's now named the Rogers Arena.) 

September 3, 1994: The New Rutgers Stadium Opens

September 3, 1994: The new Rutgers Stadium opens on the site of the old one, on the Busch Campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in Piscataway, "On the Banks of the Old Raritan" as the school song goes.

From 1938 to 1992, Rutgers University had played football at a 23,000-seat stadium on the same site. But the growth of college football made the facility inadequate for the modern game: Wooden benches with no seat backs, not enough of them, no permanent lights, and press facilities barely good enough to cover a high school football game.

So the old stadium was dug up, and a new one was built in its place. The Scarlet Knights played their 1993 home schedule at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

The new stadium was ready for the 1994 season, seating 41,500. Rutgers hosted Kent State University, based in Kent, northeastern Ohio, and a member of the Mid-American Conference. Rutgers won, 28-6.

The natural grass field was converted to FieldTurf in 2004. A new south end was built in 2009, expanding the stadium to 52,454 seats.

In 2011, the naming rights to the stadium were sold, and it became High Point Solutions Stadium. In 2020, it adopted its current name, SHI Stadium. Both High Point and SHI are headquartered in New Jersey.

*

September 3, 1994 was a Saturday. It was a little too soon for the NFL, and also too soon for the NBA and the NHL. And Major League Baseball was on strike. But there were other college football games played on the day:

* The Big East Conference's Miami, ranked 6th, hosted the Southern Conference's Georgia Southern, and won 56-0. The Big East's Virginia Tech, ranked 21st, hosted the Big West's Arkansas State, and won 34-7. The Big East's Syracuse hosted the Big 8's Oklahoma, ranked 16th, and lost 30-29. The Big East's Pittsburgh hosted the Southwest Conference's Texas, ranked 19th, and lost 30-28. The Big East's West Virginia hosted the MAC's Ball State and won 16-14. The Big East's Temple visited the MAC's Akron and won 32-7.

* In the Atlantic Coast Conference, Florida State, ranked Number 4 in the country, hosted Virginia and won 41-17; North Carolina, ranked 18th, hosted Texas Christian (TCU) and won 27-17; and Duke hosted Maryland and won 49-16. Clemson, ranked 24th, hosted and beat the Southern Conference's Furman 27-6.

* In the Southeastern Conference, Auburn, ranked 12th, visited the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), and won 22-17. Florida, ranked Number 1, hosted the WAC's New Mexico State, and won 70-21. Alabama, ranked 11th, hosted the Southern Conference's Chattanooga, and won 42-13. Vanderbilt hosted and beat the ACC's Wake Forest 35-14. Kentucky hosted and beat independent Louisville 20-14. Georgia visited the ACC's South Carolina and won 24-21. Mississippi State visited independent Memphis and won 17-6.

* In the Big Ten Conference, Penn State, ranked 9th, visited Minnesota and won 56-3. Michigan, ranked 5th, hosted the Big East's Boston College, and won 34-26. Northwestern hosted independent Notre Dame, and won 42-15. Indiana hosted and beat the MAC's Cincinnati 28-3. Iowa hosted and beat the MAC's Central Michigan 52-21.

* In the Mid-American Conference, Western Michigan visited Miami of Ohio and won 28-25; and Toledo hosted Indiana State and won 20-17.

* In the Southwest Conference, Arkansas hosted Southern Methodist (SMU) and won 34-14. Texas A&M, ranked 15th, visited the SEC's Louisiana State (LSU), and won 18-13.

* The Big Eight Conference's Colorado, ranked 8th, hosted the Southland Conference's Louisiana-Monroe, and won 48-13. Iowa State hosted the Missouri Valley Conference's Northern Iowa, and lost, 28-14. Kansas State hosted the Southern Conference's Louisiana-Lafayette and won 34-6. Missouri hosted independent Tulsa and lost 20-17.

* Among Southwest Conference teams, Baylor hosted the Big West's Louisiana Tech and won 44-3. Texas Tech hosted the WAC's New Mexico and won 37-31.

* In the Western Athletic Conference, Colorado State visited the Air Force Academy and won 34-21; Wyoming hosted Texas-El Paso (UTEP) and won 36-13; and Brigham Young visited Hawaii and won 13-12. San Diego State hosted independent Navy and won 56-14. WAC's Utah visited the Big West's Utah State and won 32-17.

* In the Pacific-Ten, USC, ranked 17th, hosted Washington, ranked 23rd, and won 24-17; and Arizona State hosted Oregon State and won 22-16. UCLA, ranked 14th, hosted the SEC's Tennessee, ranked 13th, and won 25-23. Oregon hosted the Big West's Portland State and won 58-16.

* In the Big West Conference, Fresno State hosted San Jose State and won 45-13; Nevada hosted Northern Arizona and won 30-27; and the University of the Pacific hosted and beat California-Davis 24-7. Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) hosted the MAC's Eastern Michigan and won 17-3.

* And in a game between a pair of independents that would soon join Conference USA, Southern Mississippi visited Tulane and won 25-10.