NEW YORK, 20 October 2003 — The top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners rode a 24-point second quarter to complete a 34-13 rout of the Missouri Tigers in college football on Saturday.
Antonio Perkins tied an NCAA Division I-A record when he returned a punt 69 yards for a score just before the half, giving the Sooners (7-0) a commanding 31-10 lead.
It was Perkins’ seventh career punt return for a touchdown and his fourth this season.
Jason White tossed for 278 yards and two more Oklahoma scores. A record 83,327 fans took in the homecoming contest.
In Miami, Jarrett Payton, son of former running back Walter Payton, had his first 100-yard game and scored twice as the number two Hurricanes thumped the Temple Owls 52-14.
Payton, a fifth-year senior, racked up 115 yards on 16 carries as the Hurricanes (7-0) extended their home winning streak to 26 games. It was also their 39th successive regular-season victory. The Owls were first on the board before Payton went eight yards up the middle for his first TD.
In Nashville, the fourth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (6-1) trailed 2-0 at the half before going on to thump the Vanderbilt Commodores 27-8.
Michael Cooper, who rushed for a game-high 85 yards, got the Dogs going with a six-yard scamper for a TD.
Tyson Browning and Ronnie Powell also scored for Georgia, who appeared a little uninterested coming off a 41-14 rout of Tennessee last Saturday.
In South Bend, Indiana, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish made a game of it for a quarter before falling 45-14 to the fifth-ranked USC Trojans (6-1). The contest was knotted at 14-14 before the high-powered Trojans took it up a notch.
The Trojans thumped the Irish by almost the same score (44-13) in 2002, ending Notre Dame’s Bowl Championship Series dreams.
In Stanford, Cal., Matt Kegel threw for three touchdowns, twice hooking up with Chris Jordan, as the number six Washington State Cougars (6-1) outlasted the Stanford Cardinal 24-14. Kegel, who sat out two series in the final period after taking a hard hit, finished 26-for-47 for 331 yards.
In Charlottesville, Virginia, Xavier Beitia booted four field goals, the longest from 47 yards, as the seventh-ranked Florida State Seminoles (6-1) downed the Virginia Cavaliers 19-14.
Chris Rix hooked up with Craphonso Thorpe for Florida State’s only TD. Matt Schaub threw for 325 yards and both Virginia scores.
In Columbus, Ohio, the eighth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1) used a blocked punt and a punt return touchdown to edge the number nine Iowa Hawkeyes 19-10.
Michael Jenkins raced 54 yards for the one TD and Donte Whitner claimed the other when he pounced on the ball in the Iowa end zone.
The Buckeyes, coming off their first defeat in 20 games last weekend, had just 185 yards of total offense.
