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Smith, Florida Atlantic Shock Minnesota 42-39

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The Associated Press

Published: September 16, 2007

MIAMI - Rusty Smith threw for 463 yards and five touchdowns, and Florida Atlantic forced seven turnovers to beat Minnesota 42-39 Saturday.

It was the first victory for Florida Atlantic against a Big Ten Conference team. Minnesota fell to 10-1 against Sun Belt Conference teams.

Willie Rose caught two touchdown passes for the Owls (2-1), who gained 580 yards. Smith went 27-for-44.
Adam Weber threw four touchdown passes for Minnesota (1-2), but also was intercepted four times. He finished 31-for-47 for 335 yards.

Smith's final touchdown pass, a 16-yarder to Conshario Johnson, extended the Owls' lead to 42-24 in the fourth quarter before the Golden Gophers rallied. They scored twice on passes to Ernie Wheelwright, but an interception by Tavious Polo at the Florida Atlantic 35-yard line with three seconds left sealed the win.

The score was 14-all before the Owls took advantage of two Minnesota turnovers to score three touchdowns in the second quarter and lead 35-14.
Jay Thomas returned a kickoff 91 yards for Minnesota's first score.

BETHUNE-COOKMAN 45, SAVANNAH STATE 13: Jimmie Russell scored touchdowns on runs of 12, 2 and 10 yards to lead Bethune-Cookman (2-1) past host Savannah State (1-2).

Russell, who had 65 yards on 12 attempts, also completed 10 of 15 passes for 112 yards. His backup, McKinson Souverain, completed one of two passes, but it went to Paul Neufville for 39 yards and a touchdown.

The Wildcats also got an 85-yard interception return from Corey Council and Brian Sumlar got the other score on a 1-yard run.

JaCorey Kilcrease supplied most of the offense for the Tigers, hitting on 14 of 26 passes for 112 yards, including a 39-yard scoring pass to A.J. Benson. Greg McCrary scored the other Savannah State touchdown on a 1-yard run.

FLORIDA A&M 30, HOWARD 17: Albert Chester threw two touchdown passes and Philip Sylvester ran for 222 yards to lead host Florida A&M past Howard.

Sylvester gained 196 yards on nine carries in the first half, including a 94-yard touchdown run. Chester also scored a touchdown on a 2-yard run.

Brian Johnson threw two touchdown passes to Jarahn Williams for Howard (0-2, 0-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference).

Florida A&M (1-2, 1-1) dominated the game after falling behind 7-0 in the first quarter.

The Rattlers finished with 481 yards, while Howard had 221.

Chester's touchdown run tied the game at 7 with 10 seconds left in the first quarter. Florida A&M took the lead for good in the second quarter when Chester scrambled and threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Demarius Folsom.

Sylvester's 94-yard touchdown came with 32 seconds left in the second quarter. He took a handoff up the middle, broke to the sideline and outran the Howard defenders.

Florida A&M scored its final touchdown in the third quarter when Chester threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Adrian Smith.

Wesley Taylor also kicked a 42-yard field goal for Florida A&M, which has beaten Howard three years in a row. John Mendoza kicked a 44-yarder for Howard.

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