KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Just when it seemed it couldn't get any worse for Phillip Fulmer and Tennessee, Wyoming came to town.

Five days after Fulmer became a lame-duck coach, ousted effective the end of the season, the Volunteers lost, 13-7, yesterday to the Cowboys.

Wyoming came in a nearly four-touchdown underdog, the lowest scoring team in major college football and languishing near the bottom of the Mountain West Conference.

It seemed like a perfect opportunity for a homecoming pick-me-up for Fulmer and the Vols, who still had hopes of qualifying for a bowl.

Instead, the Volunteers (3-7) will be home for the holidays in the 17th and final season under the coach who led Tennessee to its last national title.

"Obviously it's been a really hard week on everybody," Fulmer said. "If anything, I should be apologizing to the fans and everybody for this whole week coming about."

Ward Dobbs returned an interception 24 yards for Wyoming (4-6), which improved to 3-1 against Southeastern Conference teams under coach Joe Glenn.

"They have a legendary coach," Wyoming quarterback Chris Stutzriem said of Tennessee. "They are playing with a lot of emotions, but never count out the boys from Wyoming. We never give up."

Glenn is trying to avoid his fourth straight losing season with the Cowboys and is no sure-thing to be back next season himself.

Auburn 37, Tennessee-Martin 20: Kodi Burns ran for 158 yards and scored on second-half runs of 31 and 58 yards, and also passed for another 130 yards, propelling the Tigers (5-5) over the Football Championship Subdivision Skyhawks (7-3) at Auburn, Ala.

South Carolina 34, Arkansas 21: Stephen Garcia and Chris Smelley, alternating at quarterback on every play in the first half, guided the Gamecocks (7-3, 4-3 SEC) to a 17-7 halftime lead en route to beating the Razorbacks (4-6, 1-5) at Columbia, S.C.

ACC

Wake Forest 28, Virginia 17: Brandon Pendergrass rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown, Kevin Patterson returned an interception for another score and the Demon Deacons (6-3, 4-2) surged to the top of the Atlantic Division in the jumbled Atlantic Coast Conference with a victory over the Cavaliers (5-5, 3-3) at Winston-Salem, S.C.

North Carolina State 27, Duke 17: Redshirt freshman Russell Wilson threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns and J.C. Neal returned a kickoff 89 yards for the go-ahead score to lead the Wolfpack (3-6, 1-4) over the Blue Devils (4-5, 1-4) at Durham, N.C.

Boston College 17, Notre Dame 0: Paul Anderson intercepted Jimmy Clausen twice, running one back 76 yards for a touchdown as the Eagles (6-3) extended their winning streak over the Fighting Irish (5-4) to six in a row with a victory in Boston.

BIG 12

Colorado 28, Iowa State 24: Cody Hawkins threw for 226 yards and four touchdown passes, all in the second half, and the host Buffaloes (5-5, 2-4 Big 12) held the Cyclones (2-8, 0-6) on the 1-yard line as time expired at Boulder, Colo.

Nebraska 45, Kansas 35: Joe Ganz passed for 324 yards and three touchdowns, Roy Helu Jr. ran for 115 yards and two scores as the Cornhuskers (6-4, 3-3 Big 12) became bowl eligible after beating the Jayhawks (6-4, 3-4) in Lincoln, Neb.

BIG EAST

Rutgers 35, Syracuse 17: Mike Teel threw three touchdown passes, Kordell Young rushed for 143 yards, including a 1-yard scoring run to break a 14-all tie early in the third quarter as the host Scarlet Knights (4-5, 3-2 Big East) rallied from an early 14-point deficit to beat the Orange (2-7, 1-4) at Piscataway, N.J.

BIG TEN

Wisconsin 55, Indiana 20: P.J. Hill ran for three touchdowns, David Gilreath added two more, John Clay scored once, and all three players topped 100 yards rushing to power the Badgers (5-5, 2-5 Big Ten) to a rout of the Hoosiers (3-7, 1-5) at Bloomington, Ind.

Michigan 29, Minnesota 6: K.C. Lopata kicked five field goals and Greg Mathews had six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown as the visiting Wolverines (3-7, 2-4 Big Ten) routed the Gophers (7-3, 3-3) at Minneapolis to keep the Little Brown Jug.

CONFERENCE USA

Rice 38, Army 31: Chase Clement was 21 for 28 for 384 yards, including three touchdown passes — increasing his career total to 87 — breaking the Conference USA record of 86 to lead the Owls (7-3, 5-1 CUSA) over the Black Knights (3-7, 1-3) at Houston.

Memphis 31, SMU 26: Curtis Steele ran for 123 yards and a touchdown, and Brandon Ross added 111 more on the ground and another score to lead the visiting Tigers (5-5, 3-3 CUSA) over the Mustangs (1-9, 0-6) in Dallas.

East Carolina 19, Marshall 16: Ben Hartman kicked four field goals, including a 27-yarder in overtime, leading the Pirates (6-3, 4-1 CUSA) over the Thundering Herd (4-5, 3-2) at Greenville, N.C., for their second straight overtime victory.

Southern Mississippi 17, CENTRAL FLORIDA 6: Austin Davis completed 21 of 34 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown, and scored on an 8-yard run midway through the third quarter to lead the Golden Eagles (4-6, 2-4 CUSA) over the Golden Knights (2-7, 1-4) at Orlando, Fla.

Houston 42, Tulane 14: Case Keenum threw for 384 yards and four touchdowns, extending his school record with his 10th straight game passing for more than 300 yards, leading the Cougars (5-4, 4-1 CUSA) over the Green Wave (2-7, 1-4) at Houston.

MID-AMERICAN

Bowling Green 28, Ohio 3: Tyler Sheehan threw two touchdown passes and caught another one as the visiting Falcons (5-5, 3-3 Mid-American) cruised past the Bobcats (2-8, 1-5) at Athens, Ohio.

Western Michigan 23, Illinois 17: Tim Hiller threw two touchdowns passes and John Potter kicked three field goals to help the host Broncos (8-2) beat the Illini (5-5) in Detroit.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Air Force 38, Colorado State 17: Freshman Asher Clark raced for touchdowns of 41 and 45 yards and Tim Jefferson hit Kyle Halderman with a 74-yard touchdown strike as the Falcons (8-2, 5-1 Mountain West) cruised past the Rams (4-6, 2-4) at the Air Force Academy, Colo.

UNLV 27, New Mexico 20: Backup redshirt freshman quarterback Mike Clausen threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns, including a 4-yarder to Frank Summers for a 20-17 lead in the third quarter that the Rebels (4-6, 1-5 Mountain West) would not relinquish in beating the Lobos (4-7, 2-5) in Las Vegas.

PACIFIC-10

Oregon 35, Stanford 28: Jeremiah Masoli, a Saint Louis alum from Hawai'i, passed for 144 yards and a touchdown, and LeGarrette Blount scored on a 3-yard run with six seconds left to lift the Ducks (6-4, 5-2 Pac-10) over the Cardinal (5-5, 4-3) at Eugene, Ore.

Arizona State 39, Washington 19: Rudy Carpenter threw a pair of second-half touchdown passes to Michael Jones as the Sun Devils (3-6, 2-4 Pac-10) beat the Huskies (0-9, 0-6), who remained the only FBS team in the country without a victory and saw their losing streak extended to a school-record 11 games.

SUN BELT

UTEP 37, Louisiana-Lafayette 24: Trevor Vittatoe completed 24 of 33 passes for 294 yards and five touchdown passes to lead the Miners (4-5) over the Ragin' Cajuns (5-4) at Lafayette, La.