No. 1 Alabama blanks No. 21 Mississippi 25-0
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- T.J. Yeldon rushed for 121 yards, Kenyan Drake gained 99 and a dominating defense powered No. 1 Alabama to a 25-0 victory against No. 21 Mississippi on Saturday night.
Yeldon scored on a 68-yard run and Drake added a 50-yard scamper to revive a struggling running game for the Crimson Tide (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference), which outgained the Rebels 434-205.
Ole Miss (3-1, 1-1) was seeking its first 4-0 start in 43 years but instead was shut out for the first time since Arkansas did it in November 1998.
AJ McCarron completed 25 of 32 passes for 180 yards with an interception for Alabama, which came in ranked last in the league in rushing. Alabama was held to 36 rushing yards in building a 9-0 halftime lead but gained another 218 on the ground in the second half.
Bo Wallace was 17 of 30 passing for 159 yards for the Rebels.
No. 2 Ducks defeat Cal 55-16 in driving rain
EUGENE, Ore. -- Marcus Mariota threw for two touchdowns and ran for another and No. 2 Oregon defeated California 55-16 on Saturday night in a drenched Pac-12 opener for both teams.
Bralon Addison returned two punts for touchdowns and Byron Marshall ran for 130 yards and two more scores for the Ducks (4-0, 1-0).
The game was played as a strong storm swept across the Pacific Northwest, cutting power to more than 26,500 customers in Oregon. It was a sloppy mess on the field, with eight fumbles -- four for each team -- in the first half alone. The Ducks handled the soggy conditions better, building a 41-3 halftime lead.
The wind and rain all but shut down the "Bear Raid'' offense that new head coach Sonny Dykes has installed at Cal (1-3, 0-1).
Cal freshman quarterback Jared Goff went into the game as the national leader with an average of 435.3 yards passing a game. He completed just 3 of 6 passes for 11 yards in the first quarter before he was replaced with backup Zach Kline.
Boyd leads Clemson to 56-7 win against Wake Forest
CLEMSON, S.C. -- Tajh Boyd became the second Atlantic Coast Conference quarterback to account for 100 career touchdowns and got No. 3 Clemson's offense back on track in a 56-7 victory against Wake Forest on Saturday.
Boyd threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another score. He stands at 102 TDs, joining former North Carolina State quarterback Phillip Rivers in the ACC's century club. Boyd passed for 311 yards and ran for 69 to surpass Charlie Whitehurst as Clemson's total offense leader.
The Tigers (4-0, 2-0) have won their first four games for the second time in Boyd's three seasons as starter. He had been out of sync the past two games, but found his rhythm quickly against Wake Forest (2-3, 0-2).
Boyd had touchdown throws of 64 yards to Sammy Watkins, 75 yards to D.J. Howard and 14 yards to Mike Williams as Clemson took a 35-7 halftime lead.
No. 4 Ohio State beats No. 23 Wisconsin 31-24
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Braxton Miller threw a career-high four touchdown passes in his first game in three weeks and No. 4 Ohio State ran the nation's longest winning streak to 17 games with a 31-24 victory against No. 23 Wisconsin on Saturday night.
Miller was back after missing the past two games with a sprained left knee and didn't show the slightest bit of rust. He threw three touchdown passes in the first half, including a 40-yarder to Corey Brown with 1 second left that put Ohio State (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) up 24-14.
Joel Stave and Jared Abbrederis kept the Badgers (3-2, 1-1) in it. Stave threw for 295 yards and two TDs. Abbrederis caught 10 passes for a career-best 207 yards and a score. James White ran 17 yards for a touchdown with 13:47 left in the fourth quarter to cut Ohio State's lead to 31-21.
Hogan's three TDs lead No. 5 Stanford past Washington State
SEATTLE -- Kevin Hogan threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 5 Stanford won its 12th in a row with a 55-17 rout of the Cougars on Saturday night.
Hogan connected with Devon Cajuste on touchdowns of 57 and 33 yards in the first half then found Michael Rector on a 45-yard TD during a third-quarter blitz where the Cardinal scored 21 points as part of a stretch where they ran just two offensive plays.
Jordan Richards and Trent Murphy both returned interceptions 30 yards for touchdowns 2:04 apart in the third quarter as the Cardinal (4-0, 2-0 Pac-12) quickly turned a 17-3 halftime advantage into a 38-3 lead. Richards stepped in front of a pass that floated toward the sideline, while Murphy jumped and stole a screen pass at the line of scrimmage.
Hogan finished 16 of 25 passing with his only mistake being a second-quarter pass into the end zone that floated and was intercepted. Hogan was replaced early in the fourth quarter, but Stanford kept scoring. Remound Wright added a 53-yard TD run and Barry Saunders scored on a 22-yard run, the first touchdown of his career.
Stanford finished with 560 total yards.
Hail Mary helps No 8 Florida State beat Boston College 48-34
BOSTON -- Jameis Winston threw for four touchdowns, including a 55-yard Hail Mary as time expired in the first half, to help No. 8 Florida State rally from a slow start and beat Boston College 48-34 on Saturday.
Winston had first-half touchdown passes of 56 and 10 yards to tie the game after Boston College, coming off a 28-point loss to Southern California, opened a 17-3 lead. The desperation heave to Kenny Shaw made it 24-17, then Winston added a fourth TD pass in the second half as the Seminoles (4-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) pulled away.
In all, Winston completed 17 of 28 passes for 330 yards and ran 14 times for 67 more.
Chase Rettig completed 19 of 29 passes for 197 yards and a career-high four touchdowns for Boston College (2-2, 1-1), including a 52-yard score to Myles Willis that cut a three-score lead to 38-27. But he also threw an interception early in the fourth quarter that T.J. Williams returned 20 yards for a touchdown to make it 48-27.
Murray leads No. 9 Georgia past No. 6 LSU 44-41
ATHENS, Ga. -- Aaron Murray threw four touchdown passes, including a 25-yarder to Justin Scott-Wesley with 1:47 remaining, and No. 9 Georgia rallied to beat No. 6 LSU 44-41 in a thrilling game between Southeastern Conference powerhouses.
The Bulldogs (3-1, 2-0 SEC) completed their opening-month run through a gauntlet of top-10 teams with a victory that propelled them back into the thick of the national championship race.
LSU (4-1, 1-1) got a career-best 372 yards passing from former Georgia quarterback Zach Mettenberger in his return to Athens, and the Tigers went ahead 41-37 on Jeremy Hill's 8-yard touchdown run with 4:14 to go.
But that was plenty of time for Murray and the high-powered Bulldogs on a day when neither defense had much success.
Murray ran for Georgia's other touchdown and finished with 298 yards passing in Georgia's second victory against a top-10 team.
Manziel leads No. 10 Texas A&M past Arkansas 45-33
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Johnny Manziel accounted for 320 total yards of offense and threw two touchdown passes to Mike Evans as No. 10 Texas A&M pulled away for a 45-33 win against Arkansas on Saturday night.
Manziel, who totaled 557 yards of offense in a win against the Razorbacks last season, was 23 of 30 passing for 261 yards and he rushed for 59 yards for the Aggies (4-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference).
Trey Williams had 83 yards rushing to lead Texas A&M, which finished with 262 yards rushing on 44 carries. Deshazor Everett had a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown.
The win is the Aggies' ninth consecutive on the road.
Quarterback Brandon Allen returned from a shoulder injury for Arkansas (3-2, 0-1), finishing 17 of 36 passing for 282 yards and two touchdowns.
West Virginia shocks No. 11 Oklahoma State 30-21
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Clint Trickett threw a touchdown pass in his first start at West Virginia, Ishmael Banks returned an interception for a touchdown and the Mountaineers shocked No. 11 Oklahoma State 30-21 on Saturday.
Josh Lambert kicked three field goals for West Virginia (3-2, 1-1 Big 12), which rebounded from its first shutout loss in 11 years to outlast the mistake-prone Cowboys.
Trickett became West Virginia's third starting quarterback this season after Ford Childress was injured last week. Trickett finished 24 of 50 for 309 yards.
But after taking a 24-14 halftime lead, West Virginia was held out of the end zone in the second half and relied on its defense to slow down J.W. Walsh.
Walsh threw three touchdown passes but was intercepted twice.
The Cowboys (3-1, 0-1) were penalized 10 times for 96 yards and had four turnovers -- more than their first three games combined.
No. 12 Gamecocks rally in second half, beat UCF
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Mike Davis rushed 26 times for 167 yards and three touchdowns, as No. 12 South Carolina overcame an injury to its starting quarterback, four turnovers and a 10-0 halftime deficit to beat UCF 28-25 on Saturday.
Davis picked up the slack for a Gamecocks' offense that played the final three quarters without starting QB Connor Shaw. He left the game with a sprained right shoulder following a hard tackle during South Carolina's first offensive series.
The Knights were sharp early, but failed to convert all but one of the Gamecocks' miscues into points.
UCF rallied late, but had four turnovers of its own, two of which set up South Carolina scores.
Knights' quarterback Blake Bortles threw for 358 yards and two touchdown passes, but had two interceptions and a fumble.
No. 14 Oklahoma defeats No. 22 Notre Dame 35-21
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Blake Bell threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard in the fourth quarter and No. 14 Oklahoma beat No. 22 Notre Dame 35-21 on Saturday.
It was the Sooners' second win against the Fighting Irish in 11 tries.
The Sooners had three interceptions that led to TDs, including a 24-yard score by linebacker Corey Nelson.
Damien Williams added an 11-yard TD run after an interception by linebacker Frank Shannon and Bell threw a 26-yard TD pass to Lacoltan Bester to cap an 88-yard drive after an interception by cornerback Julian Wilson.
The Irish cut the lead to 27-21 in the fourth quarter, but the Sooners answered with Shepard's TD.
The only other victory for Oklahoma (4-0) in the series was a 40-0 win in 1956 that remains the worst home loss for the Irish (3-2).
No. 15 Miami (Fla.) routs winless South Florida
TAMPA, Fla. -- Stephen Morris threw for two touchdowns before limping off with an ankle injury and Duke Johnson scored a TD in his eighth consecutive game, helping No. 15 Miami (Fla.) roll past winless South Florida 49-21 on Saturday.
Miami (4-0) is off to its best start in nine years heading into next weekend's Atlantic Coast Conference opener at home against Georgia Tech. At 0-4 under first-year head coach Willie Taggart, USF is off to the worst start in school history and has dropped 13 of 14 dating to last season.
Morris threw for 222 yards, moving ahead of Steve Walsh and into ninth place on Miami's career passing list. He tossed TD passes of 19 yards to Herb Waters and 34 yards to Stacy Coley as the Hurricanes scored on their first three possessions and amassed 251 yards of offense in the first quarter alone.
Johnson had a 4-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and finished with 84 yards on 14 carries. Miami's defense also scored, with Shayon Green sacking Steven Bench and forcing a fumble that Jimmy Gaines recovered for the sixth defensive TD scored against USF.
Sankey sets school record in Washington's win against Arizona
SEATTLE -- Bishop Sankey carried a school-record 40 times for 161 yards and a touchdown. Keith Price threw for two touchdowns to help No. 16 Washington beat Arizona 31-13 on Saturday night.
Sankey outperformed Arizona's Ka'Deem Carey, the NCAA's leading rusher in 2012. Sankey surpassed the school record of 38 carries set by Corey Dillon in 1996 against Washington State as stormy conditions forced both teams to limit their passing games.
Meanwhile, Sankey, who entered as the country's No. 2 leading rusher at 148.7 yards per game, continued to be brilliant for the Huskies. He carried for 101 yards on 23 carries in the first half alone as Washington built a 11-6 lead.
No. 20 Florida tops Kentucky 24-7
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Matt Jones rushed for 176 yards and a touchdown and Tyler Murphy threw for 156 yards and a score as No. 20 Florida beat Kentucky 24-7 on Saturday night, its 27th consecutive win against the Wildcats.
Murphy also rushed for a 3-yard TD in his first career start for the Gators (3-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference), who closed a difficult week on a high note after losing starting quarterback Jeff Driskel and defensive tackle Dominique Easley to season-ending injuries.
Jones, who had 28 carries, outgained Kentucky by himself while he and Murphy provided all of the Gators' touchdowns in the first half to extend the longest active winning streak against a major opponent. Florida gave Gators wide receivers coach Joker Phillips a happy return after his firing last fall as Wildcats head coach.
Joe Mansour's 25-yard run on a fake field goal was the only TD for Kentucky (1-3, 0-1), which was outgained 402-173.
No. 25 Fresno State holds off Hawaii 42-37
HONOLULU -- Fresno State had its way with Hawaii for 2 1/2 quarters, then had to hold off the Rainbow Warriors' bid for a big comeback.
Derek Carr passed for 324 yards and two touchdowns -- both to Josh Harper -- and Marteze Waller added two rushing scores to help the 25th-ranked Bulldogs build a 39-point lead before pulling out 42-37 win Saturday night.
Trailing 42-3 with 6:15 left in the third quarter, Hawaii scored 34 unanswered points and had a chance to get the improbable win before L.J. Jones picked off Sean Schroeder's Hail Mary pass short of the end zone for his second interception of the game.
Jones returned the first pick -- off Hawaii starter Ikaika Woolsey -- 56 yards to give the Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0 Mountain West) the 39-point lead in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs appeared well on their way to an easy road win with leads of 14-0 after the first quarter and 21-3 at halftime, but the Rainbow Warriors (0-4, 0-2) mounted a furious comeback try.
