12/01/2008 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gus Frerotte connected with former Bear Bernard Berrian on a franchise-record 99-yard score, and the Vikings posted a pair of touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first half to beat Chicago, 34-14, and take over first place in the NFC North.
Frerotte completed 16-of-25 passes for 210 yards and also ran for a score for the Vikings (7-5), who won for the fourth time in five games. Adrian Peterson rushed 28 times for 131 yards and a touchdown, and Berrian had four catches for 122 yards.
Kyle Orton connected on 11-of-29 throws for 153 yards and two scores but was picked off three times for the Bears (6-6), who fell out of a first place tie with the Vikings. Orton threw a 65-yard TD pass to Devin Hester. Chicago, which lost for the third time in four contests, is also a game ahead of Green Bay in the division. Matt Forte ran 22 times for 96 yards and caught a touchdown pass in defeat.
The Bears were threatening to expand their lead to 14-3 late in the second quarter, but the Vikings came up with a huge goal-line stand. Forte's 26-yard run put the ball at the one, but the Vikings denied the Bears on four straight plays from that distance, including stopping Forte on a try up the middle on fourth down with barely under five minutes left.
On the next play, Berrian, who played his first four seasons (2004-07) for the Bears, got behind cornerback Charles Tillman to catch the bomb on the left side of the field and coasted to the end zone for the longest offensive play in Vikings history.
The play tied the longest from scrimmage in NFL history, with this being the 11th time it's been accomplished.
Minnesota then expanded its lead to 17-7 with 48 seconds left in the half on Frerotte's one-yard push across the goal line. Frerotte hit tight end Jim Kleinsasser on a 21-yard pass that was originally ruled a TD but later reversed. Frerotte scored on the following play.
Chicago got within 17-14 on Orton's two-yard TD pass to Forte with 8:53 left in the third quarter. The Bears needed to move just four yards thanks to Kevin Payne's 36-yard interception return.
Orton then fell into trouble and was picked off three times in a seven-pass span. Darren Sharper came up with the first one, rumbling 12 yards to the Chicago 35. That set up Chester Taylor's 21-yard TD run with 4:27 remaining in the third.
Linebacker Ben Leber picked off Orton and fumbled the ball out of bounds at the Chicago 22 three minutes into the fourth quarter. Bears tackle John Tait tried to knock the ball back in play, and Chicago was originally ruled with the recovery, but Minnesota challenged, and replays showed when Tait swiped to hit the ball back in bounds, it hit the sideline.
The Vikings won the challenge, and Peterson scored on a one-yard run with 8:25 left for a 31-14 difference.
Benny Sapp then picked off Orton, leading to a Ryan Longwell 27-yard field goal.
Hester caught a short pass over the middle and raced 65 yards to the end zone nearly seven minutes into the game, but Longwell hit a 23-yard field goal with 12:45 left in the half. On the previous play, Frerotte was hit late from behind from defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, but no penalty was called.
Game Notes
The Bears host Jacksonville on Sunday, while Minnesota plays at winless Detroit...Minnesota has won three of the last four meetings, but the Bears won, 48-41, at home on Oct. 19 this season...Minnesota's previous longest play in NFL history was 89 yards from Fran Tarkenton to Charley Ferguson on Nov. 11, 1962...Home teams went 2-10 on Sunday in the NFL.
<< Harden helps Sun Devils cruise past UTEP
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Harden exploded for a game-high 40 points
to go with eight rebounds, as No. 14 Arizona State cruised by Texas-El Paso,
88-58, in the third place game of the 76 Classic.
Ty Abbott picked up 12 points for
<< No. 1 UConn blasts fourth-ranked Oklahoma
Storrs, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Renee Montgomery scored a career-high 30 points
and equaled the Connecticut record with 13 assists, as the top-ranked Huskies
blasted the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners in a 106-78 rout.
Maya Moore added 27 po
<< 'Melo hurts elbow, but Nuggets beat short-handed Rockets
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups scored 28 points and dished
out 10 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 104-94 victory over the
shorthanded Houston Rockets.
Houston was without Tracy McGrady (knee) and Brent Bar
<< Gray leads Bulldogs over Volunteers
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Gray scored 19 points to pace ninth-
ranked Gonzaga to an 83-74 win over 12th-ranked Tennessee to capture the
Old Spice Classic championship.
Matt Bouldin tallied 17 points and Josh Heytvel
Wake Forest beats Baylor in Anaheim title game >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - L.D. Williams scored 15 points and pulled down
10 rebounds as 19th-ranked Wake Forest ran past Baylor, 87-74, in the title
game of the 76 Classic.
Jeff Teague had 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists
Swinney will continue as Clemson coach >>
Clemson, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dabo Swinney, who served as the interim head
coach for Clemson's final six games of the season, will reportedly get the job
on a full-time basis.
Swinney, who was the assistant head coach and wide recei
Report: Japanese P Tazawa and BoSox agree to contract >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa has reportedly
agreed to a three-year contract with the Boston Red Sox.
The Boston Globe, citing a source in baseball, said the 22-year-old will
arrive in Boston later t
Friedel has no plans on retirement after setting EPL record >>
Birmingham, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aston Villa's veteran goalkeeper Brad
Friedel has no plans to retire just yet, having set a new record of 167
consecutive Premier League appearances at the weekend.
The 37-year-old American sur
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NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
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The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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