No. 1 Alabama beats rival Tennessee for seventh consecutive time
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- T.J. Yeldon scored on three 1-yard runs and AJ McCarron passed for 275 yards and two touchdowns to help No. 1 Alabama continue to roll along with a 45-10 victory against Tennessee on Saturday.
Landon Collins returned an interception 89 yards for another score for the Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference), which raced to a 35-0 halftime lead. Alabama has outscored its last six opponents 246-26.
The Volunteers (4-4, 1-3) dropped their seventh consecutive in the rivalry game, tying the most wins in a row for either team. Coach Butch Jones turned to freshman quarterback Josh Dobbs in the second half in his first college action, replacing Justin Worley.
Worley was 8-of-15 passing for 120 yards and was intercepted twice.
McCarron completed 19 of 27 passes.
Kenyan Drake ran for 89 yards on 14 carries while Yeldon gained 72 yards. Kevin Norwood caught six passes for 112 yards.
No. 2 Ducks overcome No. 12 Bruins 42-14
EUGENE, Ore. -- Byron Marshall ran for 133 yards and three touchdowns and No. 2 Oregon wore down No. 12 UCLA's stout defense for a 42-14 victory on Saturday night.
Marcus Mariota threw for 230 yards and a score and De'Anthony Thomas returned from a three game absence to run in another for the Ducks (8-0, 5-0 Pac-12).
The Bruins (5-2, 2-2) went into halftime with the score knotted at 14 but were shutout by the Ducks in the second half.
Brett Hundley completed 13 of 19 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown but also threw two interceptions, including one early in the fourth quarter that led to an Oregon touchdown. He also ran for 64 yards and a score.
Oregon got off to a poor start, stymied by its own mistakes and UCLA's defense. On the Ducks' second play from scrimmage, Keanon Lowe fumbled a pass from Mariota. The turnover led to Hundley's 4-yard touchdown run to give the Bruins the early lead.
But Rodney Hardrick ran 66 yards on a fake punt and Thomas finished it off with a 1-yard dive for an Oregon touchdown to even the score.
Oregon went ahead 14-7 early in the second quarter with a 40-yard scoring run from Marshall, a sophomore who started in Thomas' absence. The Bruins capitalized on Hundley's 11-yard scoring pass to Thomas Duarte to even the game at 14.
Midway through the third quarter, Mariota fumbled on first-and-goal at the UCLA 5, but the Bruins were forced to punt and the Ducks quickly responded with Marshall's 11-yard touchdown run.
Avery Patterson intercepted Hundley early in the fourth quarter and the Ducks went on to score on Mariota's 8-yard pass to Bralon Addison. Marshall added a 3-yard touchdown dash with 8:47 left and freshman Thomas Tyner ran for a 2-yard TD with 2:25 to go for the final margin.
No. 3 Florida State scores 35 in first quarter en route to 49-17 win against NC State
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Jameis Winston threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns and No. 3 Florida State scored 35 points in the first quarter on the way to a 49-17 victory against North Carolina State on Saturday.
Winston completed 16-of-26 passes with one interception and left the game after the opening series of the second half.
Rashad Greene topped 100 yards receiving for the third consecutive game with eight receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown for the Seminoles (7-0, 5-0).
The Wolfpack upset the Seminoles in Raleigh, N.C., last season, but this year it was no contest as Florida State put on a show for its old coach. Hall of Famer Bobby Bowden was honored at Doak Campbell Stadium.
N.C. State (3-4, 0-4) had quarterback Brandon Mitchell back for the first time since breaking his foot in the season opener. He completed 17-of-33 passes for 129 yards with two interceptions.
No. 4 Buckeyes score early, often in 63-14 win
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State was looking for a lopsided win to impress the voters and boost its BCS numbers. The Buckeyes made Penn State paid the price.
Braxton Miller passed for three touchdowns and ran for two and Carlos Hyde rushed for 147 yards and two more scores to lead the fourth-ranked Buckeyes to a 63-14 victory against Penn State on Saturday night.
Miller, who completed 18 of 24 passes, threw for a career-best 252 yards before leaving in the third quarter. Even his backup - Kenny Guiton - rushed for two touchdowns.
Miller completed all four of his passes for 65 yards after the opening kickoff before Hyde bulled right tackle for a 2-yard TD.
After the teams traded punts, the Buckeyes scored on five consecutive possessions. Miller scrambled right and just tumbled into the end zone behind a block by Devin Smith on a 39-yard scoring run.
Hackenberg finished 12 of 23 for 112 yards passing with a touchdown and two interceptions. He carried four times for 21 yards in losses.
No. 20 South Carolina rallies past No. 5 Missouri in OT
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Connor Shaw came off the bench in the second half to lead a 17-point rally, throwing for 201 yards and three touchdowns, and Elliott Fry kicked the go-ahead field goal in the second overtime to help No. 20 South Carolina stun No. 5 Missouri 27-24 on Saturday night.
After Fry put the Gamecocks ahead from 40 yards out, Missouri's Andrew Baggett missed a 24-yard attempt off the left goal post.
A sprain left knee kept Shaw from starting, but he entered the game in the third quarter and helped the Gamecocks score the final 17 points of regulation. He also threw a 15-yard touchdown pass on fourth down in the Gamecocks' first overtime to match the Tigers' Marcus Murphy's 1-yard scamper.
Shaw engineered fourth-quarter scoring drives of 65, 69 and 63 yards, and the Gamecocks knotted the score at 17 on a two-yard reception by Nick Jones with 42 seconds remaining.
Mike Davis caught three screen passes on South Carolina's final scoring drive in regulation, partly making up for two fumbles in the first half. The Gamecocks turned the ball over three consecutive times in the second quarter, helping Missouri take a 14-0 halftime lead.
Davis' second fumble set the stage for a 96-yard touchdown pass from Mauk to L'Damian Washington on Missouri's ensuing drive. Two yards deep in his own end zone, Mauk found Washington streaking toward the middle of the field for an easy first down, and then the receiver eluded two tackles at his 45-yard line before being untouched the rest of the way.
The Tigers added a 27-yard field goal by Baggett with 6:46 left in the third quarter before he missed a 46-yarder in the fourth quarter wide left.
Petty leads No. 6 Baylor to 59-14 rout of Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Bryce Petty threw for 430 yards and three touchdowns in fewer than three quarters, Lache Seastrunk ran for 109 yards and a score and sixth-ranked Baylor routed Kansas 59-14 on Saturday night for its school-record 11th consecutive win.
The Bears (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) piled up 500 yards of offense in taking a 38-0 lead by halftime, and then relaxed as coach Art Briles pulled many of his starters in the third quarter.
The nation's highest-scoring offense still finished with 743 yards, and eight of its nine scoring drives took fewer than 2 minutes. Four different Baylor players had touchdown runs - Petty among them - while Tevin Reese hauled in two of his three TD tosses.
Jake Heaps was held to just 85 yards passing and a touchdown for Kansas (2-5, 0-4), which has now lost 25 consecutive Big 12 games.
No. 7 Miami (Fla.) rallies behind two fourth-quarter TDs to beat Wake Forest
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Duke Johnson ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, the second a 1-yard plunge with 53 seconds left, as No. 7 Miami rallied twice to beat Wake Forest 24-21 on Saturday and remain unbeaten.
Johnson finished with 168 yards on 30 carries for the Hurricanes (7-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference),
Tanner Price's 44-yard touchdown pass to Dominique Gibson with 4:02 remaining put Wake Forest on top, but the Hurricanes went 73 yards on their next 10 plays, with Johnson scoring to keep Miami unbeaten heading into next week's showdown at No. 3 Florida State.
Wake Forest (4-4, 2-3 fell to 1-53 all-time against Top 10 teams — the lone win coming exactly 67 years ago Saturday. The Demon Deacons trailed for less than 3 minutes against the Hurricanes, and still dropped their fifth consecutive game in the series.
Gaffney runs for three TDs, No. 8 Stanford beats Oregon State
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Tyler Gaffney ran for three touchdowns and No. 8 Stanford held off Oregon State's fourth-quarter comeback bid in a 20-12 win Saturday night.
Gaffney ran 22 times for 145 yards and scored on runs of 4, 9 and 32 yards to highlight a slow offensive night for Stanford (7-1, 5-1 Pac-12). The Cardinal totaled 276 yards on offense, as quarterback Kevin Hogan completed just 8 of 18 passes for 88 yards.
Stanford held Oregon State to 288 yards, well off the Beavers' season average of 515 yards. OSU quarterback Sean Mannion, the national leader in yards passing and touchdown passes, was 41 of 57 for 271 yards and one touchdown.
The Beavers (6-2, 4-1) trailed 20-9 with less than four minutes remaining and nearly forced overtime. Oregon State drove to the Stanford 7 with 30 seconds remaining, but four consecutive incompletions stopped the rally.
Boyd helps No. 9 Clemson wear down injury-riddled Maryland in 40-27 win
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Tajh Boyd threw for a touchdown and ran for a score, Sammy Watkins had a school-record 14 catches for 163 yards and No. 9 Clemson wore down injury-riddled Maryland 40-27 Saturday.
Boyd went 28 for 41 for 304 yards with an interception and Roderick McDowell rushed for 161 yards and two touchdowns to help the Tigers (7-1, 5-1 ACC) rebound from last week's 51-14 defeat against Florida State.
Clemson ran 98 plays compared to 70 for Maryland (5-3, 1-3) and finished with a 551-364 advantage in total yardage. But the Tigers needed four field goals from Chandler Catanzaro to take a 19-13 lead into the fourth quarter.
After that, however, Maryland's defense finally caved.
Bell helps No. 17 Oklahoma hand No. 10 Texas Tech first loss
NORMAN, Okla. -- Blake Bell threw for 249 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Damien Williams added two more scores as No. 17 Oklahoma outlasted No. 10 Texas Tech in a 38-30 win.
Jalen Saunders added six catches for 153 yards receiving and both of Bell's touchdown passes for the Sooners (7-1, 4-1 Big 12 Conference), who rallied after falling behind in the third quarter.
Williams finished with 97 yards rushing for Oklahoma, which forced three turnovers by the Red Raiders.
The loss was the first of the season for Texas Tech (7-1, 4-1) and first-year coach Kliff Kingsbury.
Davis Webb finished 33-of-52 passing for 385 yards for the Red Raiders, who were led by Jace Amaro's 119 yards receiving on eight catches. Eric Ward added nine catches for 106 yards.
No. 11 Auburn rolls past Florida Atlantic 45-10
AUBURN, Ala. -- Jeremy Johnson threw two long touchdown passes to Sammie Coates after replacing injured starter Nick Marshall and No. 11 Auburn overwhelmed Florida Atlantic 45-10 on Saturday night.
Johnson, a freshman, threw a 36-yard scoring pass to Coates on his first snap after replacing Marshall, who was taken to the locker room with a shoulder injury early in the second quarter. Marshall returned to the Auburn sideline, but not the game, as Johnson threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to Coates later in the quarter.
Auburn (7-1) avoided a letdown one week after a 45-41 win over then-No. 7 Texas A&M. The Tigers had 628 total yards, including 440 in a lopsided first half.
Florida Atlantic (2-6) trailed 38-0 before quarterback Jaquez Johnson scored on a 29-yard run with less than 1 minute remaining in the first half.
No. 13 LSU dominates second half, downs Furman 48-16
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Sloppy play by No. 13 LSU had its fans grumbling and feisty Furman believing until Odell Beckham Jr. and Terrence Magee added a few more big plays to their personal highlight collections.
Hill's first touchdown went for 55 yards and he finished with an average of 10.2 yards on 14 carries. Beckham's TDs went for 63 and 37 yards, he also had a 53-yard catch and run to set up Hill's 4-yard score in the first half. Magee finished with 108 yards on only seven carries, a whopping average of 15.4 yards per carry.
LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger passed for 328 yards and three scores, but threw two interceptions, the first of which was returned 76 yards by Reggie Thomas to give Furman a 7-0 lead. Late in the third quarter, he found fullback Melvin Jones for a 7-yard TD.
After Furman took the first lead, the Tigers quickly tied it on Hill's long TD run. Furman, however, marched back into Tigers territory and took a 10-7 lead on Ray Early's 46-yard field goal.
LSU took the lead for good on its next possession on Hill's second TD, but kicker Colby Delahoussaye missed the point-after.
Beckham's 37-yard touchdown catch between two defenders made it 20-10, but Early's second field goal from 31 yards made it 20-13. Then the Paladins were given the ball within striking distance of a tying TD when Beckham muffed a knuckling punt late in the second quarter. A couple plays later, Furman had a first-and-goal on the 1 with 1:19 left in the quarter. But with no timeouts, the Paladins were stuffed on first down and then committed a false start, leaving only enough time for one incomplete pass before Early had to come on to for a field goal on third-and-goal.
That pulled the Paladins to 20-16 before a disgruntled Tiger Stadium crowd at halftime, but that was as close as it got.
Manziel shakes off injury as No. 14 Texas A&M smashes Vanderbilt
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Johnny Manziel threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns in less than three quarters, and No. 14 Texas A&M bounced back with a 56-24 victory against Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Manziel showed no signs that the right shoulder he injured last week was bothering him. He threw three TDs in the first quarter to help A&M (6-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) build a 28-point lead. He tacked on another score before sitting down with 6 minutes left in the third quarter and the Aggies leading 42-17.
The Aggies rebounded from last week's upset loss to Auburn despite playing a messy game where they had five turnovers.
Freshman Patton Robinette had a tough time in his first start filling in for the injured Austyn Carta-Samuels for Vanderbilt (4-4, 1-4). He threw two interceptions -- one was returned for a score -- and was sacked five times.
No. 15 Fresno State survives OT scare at San Diego State
SAN DIEGO -- Marteze Waller’s 1-yard touchdown run on Fresno State’s first possession in overtime lifted the 15th-ranked Bulldogs to a 35-28 victory against San Diego State on Saturday night.
Fresno State held on for the win when Quinn Kaehler’s fourth-down pass to Dylan Denso was knocked away by Derron Smith.
Derek Carr finished 35 of 57 for 298 yards passing and two touchdowns — both in the second half — for the Bulldogs (7-0, 4-0 Mountain West).
The Aztecs (3-4, 2-1) trailed 28-14 in the fourth quarter before Aaron Boesch scored on a 1-yard run with 9:37 to go. Tim Vizzi recovered the ensuing onside kick and Chad Young’s 27-yard scoring run tied it at 28-all with 7 minutes remaining.
San Diego State had a chance to win in the closing seconds but Seamus McMorrow’s 37-yard field-goal attempt was blocked by Frenso State’s Marcel Jensen as time expired in regulation.
Duke beats No. 16 Virginia Tech for first win against ranked team since 1994
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Anthony Boone ran for a touchdown, Ross Martin kicked two long field goals and Duke ended a long history of losing to ranked teams with a 13-10 victory against No. 16 Virginia Tech on Saturday.
The Blue Devils (6-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat a ranked team for the first time since they stopped No. 13 Virginia in 1994, and beat one on the road for the first time since Stanford in 1971. And they did it without a third-down conversion all game, and a 2-to-1 time of possession deficit.
Virginia Tech (6-2, 3-1) had its six-game winning streak end as Logan Thomas threw four interceptions, the last on a deflected pass in the closing minutes that allowed Duke to finally run out the clock. The Hokies held the ball for 39:27 and outgained Duke 387-198, but still lost.
No. 18 Louisville bounces back, rolls past South Florida 34-3
TAMPA, Fla. -- Teddy Bridgewater threw for 344 yards and three touchdowns and No. 18 Louisville rebounded from its first loss of the season with a 34-3 rout of South Florida on Saturday.
Charles Gaines returned a fourth-quarter interception 70 yards for a TD as the Cardinals' defense reverted to the form that helped Louisville (7-1, 3-1 American Athletic Conference) climb into the top 10 before blowing a 21-point, second-half lead at home during a 38-35 loss to Central Florida.
Bridgewater completed 25 of 29 passes with no interceptions, hiking his totals for the season to 23 TDs with two picks. In three career games against USF (2-5, 2-1), the junior from Miami has gone 65 of 82 for 841 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions.
Roland's 219 rushing yards helps No. 19 Oklahoma State beat Iowa State
AMES, Iowa -- Desmond Roland ran for a career-high 219 yards and four touchdowns and 19th-ranked Oklahoma State routed Iowa State 58-27 on Saturday for its third consecutive win.
Quarterback Clint Chelf had 163 total yards in his second start of the season for the Cowboys (6-1, 3-1 Big 12), who ran for a season-high 342 yards.
Oklahoma State scored 14 points in a 2- 1/2 minute stretch late in the third quarter to extend its lead to 45-20. Roland ran 58 yards for his third touchdown of the day, and Tyler Johnson took a fumble 54 yards for a TD with 4:17 left in the third.
Sam Richardson had 95 yards passing and a touchdown for Iowa State (1-6, 0-4) before leaving the game late in the first half after an apparent blow to the head.
Big first half leads No. 21 UCF to blowout win against UConn
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Blake Bortles threw for four touchdowns and ran for another as No. 21 UCF routed winless Connecticut 62-17 on Saturday.
Bortles completed his first eight passes of the game and ended his day early in the third quarter, connecting on 20 of 24 for 286 yards.
The junior ran for a TD as the Knights (6-1, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) scored on their first nine possessions of the game. They remain the favorite to claim the league's BCS berth.
UConn's offense was anemic throughout and helped dig its own hole early, thanks to two first-half interceptions by freshman quarterback Tim Boyle. A Huskies' fumble in the second-half set up another UCF score.
The Huskies (0-7, 0-3) have lost eight consecutive games dating to last season.
QB Lynch helps No. 23 Northern Illinois reach 8-0
DE KALB, Ill. -- Jordan Lynch threw four touchdown passes and caught another as No. 23 Northern Illinois reached its best start as a major program with a 59-20 victory against Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
The Huskies (8-0, 4-0 Mid-American Conference) never trailed on the way to a season-high in points and second-highest total offense (606 yards).
The Eagles (1-7, 0-4) lost their seventh game in a row.
Lynch, the nation's No. 7 rusher entering Saturday, also ran for a touchdown while rushing 18 times for 99 yards. He was 16-of-20 passing for 223 yards while tying a career high with four TD passes in less than three quarters.
Tommylee Lewis had eight catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. Da'Ron Brown caught three passes for 28 yards and two scores.
Minnesota beats No. 25 Nebraska for first time since 1960
MINNEAPOLIS -- Philip Nelson rushed for two touchdowns and passed for another, guiding Minnesota to a 34-23 upset Saturday of 25th-ranked Nebraska, the first win by the Gophers since 1960 against the Cornhuskers.
Nelson made all of his seven completions count, totaling 152 yards, and carried the ball eight times for 55 yards. He spun across the goal line from the 1 with 48 seconds left to seal the victory for the Gophers (6-2, 2-2 Big Ten), who became bowl-game eligible and stopped a 16-game losing streak to the Huskers.
Taylor Martinez returned from a turf-toe injury that kept him of the last three games for the Huskers (5-2, 2-1), but he had only 16 yards rushing on eight attempts and 139 yards on 16-for-30 passing, plus one touchdown and one interception.
David Cobb gained 138 yards on 31 rushes for the Gophers, who outgained the Huskers 271-189 on the ground.
