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Carroll ousts Marian in NAIA quarterfinals

| November 28, 2010 8:00 PM

HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Gary Wagner completed 22 of 31 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns as Carroll College defeated Marian University of Illinois 38-6 Saturday in an NAIA quarterfinal playoff game.

Chance Demarais ran 24 times for 83 yards and two touchdowns for the No. 2 Saints (12-0).

Nick Bradford ran five time for 37 yards and a touchdown to lead No. 11 Marian (10-3).

The Saints broke open a close game by scoring two touchdowns in quick succession late in the first half to take a 21-6 lead at the break.

Former Lakeland High standout Bubba Bartlett had 10 catches for 115 yards for Carroll.

Carroll hosts Saint Xavier (13-0) next Saturday.

By The Associated Press

Alex Green rushed for a school record 327 yards and three touchdowns, Bryant Moniz threw four touchdown passes and Hawaii beat New Mexico State (2-10, 1-7) 59-24 on Saturday at Las Cruces, N.M.

Greg Salas caught 10 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown for the Warriors (9-3, 7-1 Western Athletic Conference), who secured a share of the conference title. Hawaii is currently tied for first place with Boise State and Nevada.

While Hawaii's conference season is over, Boise State hosts Utah State next weekend and Nevada visits Louisiana Tech. Hawaii has won four conference titles in the past 32 seasons, with only one being an outright championship.

Hawaii hosts UNLV next Saturday to end the regular season.

Louisiana Tech 45, San Jose State 38: At San Jose, Calif., Lennon Creer rushed for a career-high 252 yards and three touchdowns to lead Louisiana Tech (6-6, 4-3 WAC past San Jose State (1-11, 0-7).

Creer rushed for 151 yards in the first quarter.

Quarterback Jake Locker came back to Washington for one last hurrah and the chance to lead a return to the postseason.

After willing the Huskies again, he's one win away.

Chris Polk scored on a 1-yard run as time expired, and Washington denied California bowl eligibility while keeping its own postseason hopes alive with a thrilling 16-13 victory Saturday at Berkeley, Calif.

Locker, who threw an earlier 80-yard touchdown pass, was stopped on consecutive sneak attempts on second and third down from the 1 before Polk came through for the Huskies. The winning touchdown set of a celebratory pileup behind the end zone, and the players danced near their contingent of fans well after the game ended.

Washington (5-6, 4-4 Pac-10) still needs a victory in next weekend's Apple Cup rivalry game at Washington State to reach its first bowl since 2002.

"It's the playoffs for us now. If we lose, we're out," Locker said. "That's the urgency we played with in the second half. To get this win keeps our season alive and allows us to go into Pullman next weekend and compete for something we haven't been able to do in a long time. It's right where we want to be as a football team."

Cal (5-7, 3-6), playing in a downpour for much of the final game at Memorial Stadium before the 87-year-old venue undergoes a $321 million renovation, lost its third straight and couldn't rebound from an embarrassing rout by rival Stanford in last week's Big Game. The Golden Bears' postseason streak is over after a seven-year run.

Locker - still playing with a broken rib - went 17 for 27 for 237 yards and was sacked three times. He set up the winning score with a 46-yard completion to a diving Jermaine Kearse.

"It's disappointing we didn't do more," Cal defensive lineman Cameron Jordan said. "I sort of went numb. I looked at the clock and realized there was no time left ... it was the end of my Cal career."

Giorgio Tavecchio kicked a go-ahead 47-yard field goal with 10:53 left for Cal after Jordan scooped up Locker's fumble and ran it 20 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter for the Bears, who were hurt by seven penalties for 74 yards.

Cal, which shut out an opponent in a first half for the fifth time this season, won't be in the postseason for the first time since 2002 - coach Jeff Tedford's first season.

"We've averaged 8? wins a year, been to a bowl game every year. This is a new thing for us," Tedford said. "You experience something like this, and it doesn't feel good."

No. 7 Stanford 38, Oregon State 0: At Stanford, Calif., Andrew Luck threw four touchdown passes to set a single-season school record and Stanford stated its case for a berth in the Bowl Championship Series by beating Oregon State.

Stepfan Taylor ran for 115 yards and a touchdown and Doug Baldwin caught two TD passes for the Cardinal (11-1, 8-1 Pac-10), who set a school record for wins with an emphatic close to the regular season.

Now Stanford needs to wait a week to learn its bowl fate, hoping for an at-large berth in the BCS with No. 1 Oregon having already wrapped up the Pac-10's automatic berth.

The Beavers (5-6, 4-4) need to beat the Ducks at home next Saturday to make it to a bowl game for a school-record fifth consecutive season. Ryan Katz threw three interceptions and lost a fumble as Oregon State failed in its first attempt to become bowl eligible.

Notre Dame 20, Southern California 16: At Los Angeles, Robert Hughes scored on a 5-yard run with 2:23 to play, and Notre Dame rallied to snap an eight-game losing streak against the Trojans.

Freshman quarterback Tommy Rees overcame four turnovers to lead bowl-bound Notre Dame's 77-yard go-ahead drive, but the teenager and his teammates never breathed easily on a cold, rainy night.

After the tragic death of a student videographer during practice last month, after several tough losses for a program with expectations usually dwarfed by reality for the past two decades, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly and his players reveled in a celebration in the Coliseum locker room after reclaiming the Jeweled Shillelagh.

Notre Dame (7-5) clinched its third straight victory when safety Harrison Smith leaped for an interception on a poor throw at the goal line with 36 seconds left.

"We brought the fight back in the Fighting Irish," Kelly said.

Neither team was ranked heading into the game for just the ninth time, but Kelly became the first Notre Dame coach to beat USC (7-5) in his first try since Lou Holtz in 1986.