No. 6 Ohio State Edges Cincinnati

So close to pulling off an upset that would have rocked the Buckeye state and the national rankings, Cincinnati Coach Rick Minter found little to feel good about.

“There’s no solace in playing them close,” Minter said. “We had a chance to win the ballgame, and we didn’t take it.”

Cincinnati receivers dropped two touchdown passes in the last minute, and Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel ran for a late touchdown as the sixth-ranked Buckeyes slipped past the Bearcats, 23-19, Saturday at Cincinnati in front of 66,319.

Ohio State (4-0) was playing in Cincinnati for the first time in 91 years, against a team that had defeated the Buckeyes only twice in 12 tries--in 1896 and 1897.

Ahead, 19-17, midway through the fourth quarter, the Bearcats (1-2) lost the ball and eventually the lead when Ohio State defensive end Darrion Scott leveled quarterback Gino Guidugli with a blind-side hit at the Ohio State 44.

Ohio State took the lead on Krenzel’s twisting six-yard scramble with 3:44 left.

The Bearcats gamely came back one more time, as Guidugli led a drive from his own 20 to the Buckeye 15 with 1:01 left.

On first down, Guidugli threw a pass to the right corner of the end zone, where Jon Olinger had beaten his defender, but he dropped the ball. On third down, George Murray dived for a pass in the end zone, but it slipped through his hands. Will Allen intercepted Guidugli’s fourth-down pass with 26 seconds left.

No. 14 Michigan 10, Utah 7--With a minute left, Julius Curry got his second interception of the game to preserve the victory for the Wolverines (3-1) at Ann Arbor, Mich. Utah (2-2) pulled to within three on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Lance Rice to Travis LaTendresse with 5:58 left.

No. 15 Penn State 49, Louisiana Tech 17--Larry Johnson ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns in 17 carries and had a third touchdown receiving to lead the Nittany Lions (3-0) at State College, Pa.

San Jose State 38, Illinois 35--Nick Gilliam kicked a 37-yard field goal on the last play as the Spartans won at Champaign, Ill. The Spartans (2-2) got four touchdown runs from tailback Lamar Ferguson and 408 yards passing from Scott Rislov. Illinois (1-3) tied it at 35-35 with 1:21 left when Jon Beutjer, who completed 28 of 38 passes for 426 yards, passed to Aaron Moorehead for a 32-yard touchdown pass, before Rislov started the winning drive.

Wake Forest 24, Purdue 21--Chris Barclay ran for three touchdowns and the Demon Deacons (2-2) capitalized on five Boilermaker turnovers to win at West Lafayette, Ind.

Northwestern 49, Navy 40--Jason Wright ran for 186 yards and three touchdowns and Brett Basenez threw for 260 yards and a touchdown as the Wildcats (2-2) won at Annapolis, Md.

Iowa 48, Utah State 7--Brad Banks ran for one touchdown and passed for another and Jermelle Lewis had a 75-yard touchdown run for the Hawkeyes (3-1) at Iowa City, Iowa.

Indiana 39, Central Michigan 29--Yamar Washington ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns and the Hoosiers (2-2) scored the last 23 points to win at Bloomington, Ind.

Minnesota 41, Buffalo 17--Freshman Jared Ellerson caught two touchdown passes from Asad Abdul-Khaliq for the Gophers (4-0) at Minneapolis.