COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Update expected today on NU's Kafka

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald is expected to update the status of quarterback Mike Kafka today. Kafka left the 34-13 loss to Penn State on Saturday with what is believed to be a hamstring injury.

With Kafka, the Wildcats (5-4, 2-3 Big Ten) led the Nittany Lions 10-3. After he departed with 8:15 left in the first half, NU managed to take a 13-13 tie into the fourth quarter.

Penn State then scored three touchdowns in a span of 3:40, and the Cats, with reserve quarterback Dan Persa, had no response.

After the game, Persa said he believed Kafka could have returned ''in an emergency, if I went down.''

With a separate segment of media, Fitzgerald disagreed, saying, ''If he was healthy, I [would have] put him back in there.''

Kafka completed 14 of 18 passes for 128 yards and ran for 42 yards on eight attempts before leaving.

After the game, almost everyone on the Penn State side was singing Kafka's praises.

''[Kafka] threw a couple of passes when we were in pretty good coverage, but we just couldn't get there,'' coach Joe Paterno said. ''The thing I was impressed with was that when [the Wildcats] caught the ball, they were up the field right away.''

''[Kafka] got us into some situations in the first half where we were on our heels and huffing and puffing,'' linebacker Sean Lee said. ''He is not easy to defend against.''

• The Northwestern athletic community is mourning the loss of Dr. Steve Reid, who died Saturday.

Reid, 94, was captain of the Wildcats' 1936 Big Ten champions for coach Lynn ''Pappy'' Waldorf.

The team won the title with a 6-0 record and finished 7-1 overall after losing at Notre Dame in the finale.

Reid, a native Chicagoan, was a longtime professor of surgery at NU and served as chief team physician from 1950 to '84. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

Jim O'Donnell

The sigh of relief in Champaign will be brief. Encouraged by their win over Michigan, the Illini are determined to keep it going Saturday at Minnesota (11 a.m., BTN).

''Everybody feels better about everything, but it's one game,'' coach Ron Zook said Sunday. ''They also understand that [today] we have to go back to work.''

Zook said he was happiest for the players, who were unaccustomed to the criticism that surrounded their 1-6 start.

''With coaches it's one thing. It's our job,'' Zook said. ''Negative publicity is part of it. But [the players], they don't understand. It's been hard on them. But I'm proud of them because they've hung in there. A lot of people were thinking they'd quit, and I knew they hadn't quit. We just had to keep playing and fight through this.''

Zook also knows things can change quickly. That's why he's intent on getting back to work.

''This game doesn't mean everything's OK. Trust me,'' he said.

• Preliminary indications are that tight ends Michael Hoomanawanui and Hubie Graham will play at Minnesota. Hoomanawanui sat out the Michigan game to let a nagging ankle sprain heal. Graham was sidelined by a congenital back problem, but was feeling better Sunday, Zook said.

Herb Gould

Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder said his bruised ribs were feeling better than even he expected.

Ponder, who ranks third nationally in total offense per game, was injured early in Saturday's 45-42 win over North Carolina State, but played with the pain.

Coach Bobby Bowden said coaches will monitor Ponder closely at practice this week to see if the injury effects his throwing motion.

The Seminoles (4-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) play Clemson (5-3, 3-2) on Saturday.

• Nebraska star nose tackle Ndamukong Suh has been ticketed for negligent driving after his car hit three parked cars on a narrow street in Lincoln, Neb.

Police Capt. David Beggs said Suh had been drinking before the accident, which occurred at 2:20 a.m. Sunday, but his blood-alcohol level of .035 was well below the legal limit of .08.

• Auburn strong safety Zac Etheridge will likely miss the rest of the season with a neck injury sustained against Mississippi.

Etheridge, a junior, was hurt Saturday when he collided headfirst with teammate Antonio Coleman early in the game. Etheridge was strapped to a backboard and taken to a local hospital.

• Georgia coach Mark Richt isn't saying if he plans to bench quarterback Joe Cox, who was yanked from a 41-17 loss to top-ranked Florida after throwing three interceptions. Sophomore Logan Gray also struggled, throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown.

AP