No. 1 Alabama routs Kentucky, 48-7
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- T.J. Yeldon and Kenyan Drake each ran for two touchdowns to help top-ranked Alabama blow out Kentucky 48-7 on Saturday night.
After a scoreless first quarter thanks to fumbles by the running backs and dropped passes in Kentucky territory, the Crimson Tide (6-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) scored on their last eight possessions and outgained the Wildcats (1-5, 0-3) 668-170.
AJ McCarron shook off the handful of drops to throw for a career-high 359 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown to Kevin Norwood.
Yeldon scored from 24 and 3 yards and finished with 124 on 16 carries; Drake added 106 yards and a pair of 1-yard TDs on 14 attempts. Altee Tenpenny added a late 7-yard TD run and Cade Foster kicked field goals of 25 and 20 yards.
Alabama's defense rang up four sacks, though it did allow its first TD in four games.
Mariota leads No. 2 Oregon past Huskies 45-24
SEATTLE -- Marcus Mariota threw for 366 yards and three touchdowns, added another 88 yards and a TD rushing, and No. 2 Oregon won its 10th in a row against their rivals to the north with a 45-24 victory versus No. 16 Washington on Saturday.
Mariota's passing was nearly spotless, he used his legs to make the Huskies pay when throwing options were covered and was easily the best player on the field. Mariota completed 24 of 31 passes, and ran another 13 times. He threw touchdowns of 4 yards to Bralon Addison and a 65-yarder to Josh Huff on the first possession of the second half for the Ducks (6-0, 3-0 Pac-12). Huff had to be carted to the locker room with an apparent right leg injury in the first half, only to come back after halftime and burn the Huskies secondary.
Bishop Sankey ran for 167 yards and touchdowns of 60 and 25 yards for Washington (4-2, 1-2), but had a costly first-half fumble.
Boyd with go-ahead TD in No. 3 Clemson's 24-14 win
CLEMSON, S.C. -- Tajh Boyd ran for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter and defensive end Vic Beasley followed with a 13-yard fumble recovery score to keep No. 3 Clemson undefeated and on track for next week's Atlantic Coast Conference showdown with Florida State with a 24-14 against Boston College.
The Tigers (6-0, 4-0 ACC) were out of sync offensively most of the game and trailed 14-10 entering the final period. That's when Boyd led the 48-yard drive that ended with his 6-yard rush into the end zone to put Clemson on top.
When Boston College got the ball back, Chase Rettig fumbled when sacked by linebacker Tony Steward and Beasley was there to scoop up the ball and put the Tigers up 24-14 over the Eagles (3-3, 1-2).
Boyd also had a touchdown pass and finished with 334 yards passing to become the school's all-time leader in passing yards.
Utah holds off No. 5 Stanford 27-21
SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah's defense made a goal-line stand in the final minute and Dres Anderson scored twice, helping the Utes to their biggest upset at home as they held off No. 5 Stanford 27-21 on Saturday.
This marked the first time in school history the Utes (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) have knocked off a top-five program at Rice-Eccles Stadium. They beat No. 4 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl following the 2008 season. The fans rushed the field after the final whistle.
Kevin Hogan marched the Cardinal down to the 6, but on fourth down, amid heavy pressure, he overthrew his intended target. The Utes took a knee to end the game and the 13-game winning streak of Stanford (5-1, 3-1).
No. 25 Missouri improves to 6-0 with upset of No. 7 Georgia
ATHENS, Ga. -- Receiver Bud Sasser threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to L'Damian Washington in the fourth quarter after quarterback James Franklin left with a shoulder injury and No. 25 Missouri held off No. 7 Georgia's comeback attempt to upset the Bulldogs 41-26 on Saturday.
Missouri (6-0, 2-0 SEC) led by 18 points in the first half before Georgia (4-2, 3-1) cut the lead to 28-26 in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers answered the challenge with two late touchdowns despite losing Franklin to a shoulder injury.
After Franklin was taken to the locker room, freshman backup Maty Mauk threw a lateral to Sasser, who stopped and tossed a deep to the end zone for Washington. Washington, who outfought cornerback Damian Swann for the catch, had 115 yards and two touchdowns.
James Ponder's interception of Aaron Murray's pass with 4:25 remaining set up Henry Josey's 7-yard touchdown run to end Georgia's hopes.
No. 8 Louisville leans on defense to survive scrappy Rutgers
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Louisville free safety Calvin Pryor and cornerback Terell Floyd prepare hard to make big plays in key moments. They had a couple of huge ones against stubborn Rutgers.
The defensive backs intercepted passes on back-to-back drives in the fourth quarter, the second by Floyd to set up Teddy Bridgewater's 6-yard touchdown pass that clinched the Cardinals' 24-10 victory against Rutgers on Thursday night.
Defense was the story for the eighth-ranked Cardinals (6-0, 2-0 American Athletic Conference), who had four interceptions, sacked Gary Nova eight times and held Rutgers to 12 yards rushing. Pryor led Louisville's stifling effort with 14 tackles and the first late-game interception in holding the Scarlet Knights to 240 yards.
The Cardinals needed that performance to offset Bridgewater's off night. The junior completed 21 of 31 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw an interception and fumbled early in the fourth quarter on the last of two sacks.
Rutgers (4-2, 1-1) couldn't take advantage of those miscues in seeing its four-game winning streak end and losing a fourth straight time to the Cardinals, who temporarily took control of first place in the AAC.
Nova completed 19 of 36 passes for 202 yards.
Damian Copeland had career highs of eight receptions and 115 yards, and Senorise Perry ran for 104 yards and a TD on 13 carries in Louisville's 461-yard effort.
No. 9 Texas A&M beats Mississippi 41-38
OXFORD, Miss. -- Johnny Manziel threw for 346 yards, ran for two touchdowns and No. 9 Texas A&M rallied to beat Mississippi 41-38 on Saturday night.
Texas A&M's Josh Lambo made a 33-yard field goal as time expired to give the Aggies (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) the win. They trailed 38-31 midway through the fourth quarter, but Manziel engineered a 75-yard drive, ending with his 6-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 38 with 3:07 left.
Ole Miss (3-3, 1-3) was down 21-10 in the third quarter, but rallied thanks to two unlikely touchdown passes by backup quarterback Barry Brunetti.
Johnny Football made his usual array of spectacular plays, but also a few costly mistakes, including an interception in the end zone during the third quarter and a fumble early in the fourth. In the end, he was victorious.
Ole Miss' Bo Wallace threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns.
No. 10 LSU grinds out 17-6 win over No. 17 Florida
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Jeremy Hill rushed for 121 yards, Zach Mettenberger passed for 152, and LSU's defense did the rest to give the 10th-ranked Tigers a 17-6 victory against No. 17 Florida on Saturday.
LSU, which came in averaging 45.5 points, had a much harder time finding the end zone against a Florida defense rated among the nation's best, but 1-yard touchdown runs by fullback J.C. Copeland and freshman reserve quarterback Anthony Jennings were enough for the Tigers (6-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference).
After yielding 44 points in its only loss of the season at Georgia two weeks ago, the LSU defense kept an opponent out of the end zone for the first time this season.
Tyler Murphy passed for 115 yards for the Gators (4-2, 3-1), who led 3-0 early, but managed only another field goal after that.
QB Hundley passes No. 11 UCLA past Cal 37-10
PASADENA, Calif. -- Brett Hundley passed for a career-high 410 yards and three touchdowns, Paul Perkins rushed for an early score, and UCLA cruised past California.
Devin Fuller, Thomas Duarte and Shaq Evans caught touchdown passes as the Bruins (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) got ready for back-to-back road games at Stanford and Oregon by grinding out a win against their upstate UC rivals.
UCLA struggled with nine penalties and an unimpressive running game in the absence of injured tailback Jordon James, but Hundley went 31 for 41 while picking apart the Bears' injury-depleted defense.
Jared Goff passed for 215 yards in the freshman's first game since his school-record 504-yard performance for Cal (1-5, 0-3).
Texas seniors finally beat No. 12 Oklahoma
DALLAS -- Case McCoy threw two touchdowns, defensive tackle Chris Whaley returned an interception 31 yards for a score and Texas beat 12th-ranked Oklahoma 36-20 Saturday.
It was the first win for McCoy and these Texas seniors against the Sooners. And it provides a reprieve, if only temporarily, for Longhorns coach Mack Brown from all the speculation about his future.
It was Brown's 154th victory in his 16 seasons at Texas. That matches coach Bob Stoops' win total in 15 seasons with the Sooners.
Texas (4-2, 3-0 Big 12) never trailed after Whaley's impressive touchdown play in the first quarter.
Oklahoma (5-1, 2-1) had won three in a row in the series, the last two by at least 38 points.
Daje Johnson had an 85-yard punt return for a TD for Texas. Jonathan Gray had 123 yards rushing and Malcolm Brown had 120.
Shaw, No. 14 South Carolina dominate Arkansas 52-7
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Connor Shaw threw for 219 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, and No. 14 South Carolina dominated Arkansas in a 52-7 win.
Mike Davis added 128 yards rushing on 19 carries for the Gamecocks (5-1, 3-1 SEC), who won their fourth straight game after a loss to Georgia on Sept. 7.
All-American defensive end Jadeveon Clowney returned after missing last week's game against Kentucky and had one tackle for South Carolina, which outgained the Razorbacks 537-248.
The loss is the fourth consecutive for Arkansas (3-4, 0-3), matching first-year coach Bret Bielema's longest losing streak of his career.
It was also his most lopsided loss as a coach. The Razorbacks are 0-3 in the SEC for the first time since 2007.
No. 15 Baylor escapes with 35-25 win over K-State
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Bryce Petty threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns, Ahmad Dixon made a critical interception late in the fourth quarter and No. 15 Baylor held on to beat Kansas State 35-25 on Saturday.
Tevin Reese had five catches for 184 yards and two scores, and Antwan Goodley had five catches for 139 yards and another touchdown for the Bears (5-0, 2-0 Big 12), who ran their winning streak to nine games dating to their win over Kansas State last season.
The Wildcats (2-4, 0-3), behind 199 yards and three rushing TDs by quarterback Daniel Sams, took a 25-21 lead in the third quarter. But they missed a tying field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter and then Sams threw an interception on their ensuing possession that allowed the Bears to escape.
Penn State beats No. 18 Michigan 43-40 in 4OT
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Bill Belton ran for a 2-yard touchdown in the fourth overtime to lift Penn State past No. 18 Michigan 43-40 in maybe the biggest win in coach Bill O'Brien's two seasons with the Nittany Lions.
Penn State's Christian Hackenberg was sensational in regulation on the tying drive, completing passes of 29 yards to Brandon Felder and 33 yards to Allen Robinson to bring the ball to the 1 with 29 seconds left.
The freshman quarterback sneaked in for the first rushing TD against Michigan this season, tying the game at 34-all.
Brendan Gibbons kicked two field goals and missed two - one was blocked - in OT for the Wolverines (5-1, 1-1). Sam Ficken kicked two, and didn't need to attempt a fourth, thanks to fourth-down conversion by Penn State
The Nittany Lions (4-2, 1-1 Big Ten) stormed the field in wild celebration, sending more than 100,000 fans into a frenzy.
Wisconsin stuffs No. 19 Northwestern 35-6
MADISON, Wis. -- Melvin Gordon ran for a 71-yard touchdown and Chris Borland led a fierce defense that figured out No. 19 Northwestern's high-octane offense in a 35-6 win Saturday.
The Badgers (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) had seven sacks before a raucous homecoming weekend crowd. Jared Abbrederis burned the secondary for a 63-yard touchdown reception before leaving with a head injury.
Northwestern (4-2, 0-2) the league's peskiest defense, forced three more turnovers to increase its season total to 17. The Wildcats just couldn't turn those mistakes into points. And they were doomed by the big plays by Gordon and Abbrederis.
Gordon had 22 carries for 172 yards and the long run that gave Wisconsin a three-possession lead before halftime.
Do-everything quarterback Kain Colter was held to 10 yards rushing for Northwestern.
No. 20 Texas Tech beats Iowa State 42-35
LUBBOCK, Texas -- Backup quarterback Davis Webb threw for three touchdowns and 415 yards in place of the injured Baker Mayfield to lead No. 20 Texas Tech against Iowa State 42-35 on Saturday.
Webb was 35 for 56 with an interception and Kenny Williams, DeAndre Washington and Sadale Foster each ran for a score for Texas Tech (6-0, 3-0 Big 12). The Red Raiders are bowl eligible at the earliest date since 2008 in their first season under coach Kliff Kingsbury.
The Cyclones (1-4, 0-2) got a 95-yard kickoff return and 38-yard punt return from Jarvis West, and 12 points off three turnovers by the Red Raiders.
The Cyclones pulled within 42-35 on a touchdown pass from Sam Richardson to E. J. Bibbs with less than 2 minutes left. Richardson was 15 for 38 for 168 yards and a touchdown.
Lynch leads No. 23 NIU past Akron 27-20
DE KALB, Ill. -- Jordan Lynch threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as No. 23 Northern Illinois extended its home winning streak to 23 games with a 27-20 Mid-American victory against Akron on Saturday night.
Lynch was 16 of 35 for 220 yards passing and ran for 83 more. Cameron Stingily rushed 21 times for 80 yards and a touchdown and Tyler Wedel added field goals of 42 and 21 yards for the Huskies (6-0, 2-0 MAC East).
Jawan Chisholm scored on a pair of 1-yard first half runs for Akron (1-6, 0-3) and ran 20 times for 70 yards. Kyle Pohl was 24 of 56 for 262 yards.
The home winning streak is the nation's current longest. A 34-31 loss to Idaho on Sept 26, 2009 was Northern Illinois' more recent defeat at Huskie Stadium.
Akron's road loss was its 30th in a row, also the nation's longest current streak. The Zips' beat Central Michigan 42-35 on Oct. 18, 2008 for its last road win.
No. 24 Virginia Tech sacks Pittsburgh 19-9
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Logan Thomas threw an early touchdown pass, Cody Journell kicked four field goals and No. 24 Virginia Tech sacked Pittsburgh's Tom Savage eight times in a 19-9 victory on Saturday.
The Hokies (6-1, 3-0 ACC) won their sixth consecutive game and ended a four-game losing streak against the Panthers, avenging a 35-17 loss a year ago that sent Virginia Tech into a long skid.
This time, they proved just as inhospitable hosts to the ACC newcomer Panthers (3-2, 2-2).
Savage, who tied an ACC record with six touchdown passes three weeks ago in a 58-55 victory against Duke, never had much of a chance to get wide receivers Devin Street and Tyler Boyd into the game.
Savage's sacks totaled minus-49 yards, and he has now been sacked 15 times in his past two appearances.
