No. 1 Alabama survives scare at LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. — A.J. McCarron read an LSU blitz and flipped a swing pass to T.J. Yeldon, who did the rest on a 28-yard touchdown with 51 seconds remaining that gave No. 1 Alabama a 21-17 win over No. 5 LSU.

Alabama (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) now has a clear path to the league championship game in Atlanta and remains solidly on course to defend its national title in Miami.

But this one was a struggle. Led by embattled quarterback Zach Mettenberger, LSU (7-2, 3-2) fought back from a 14-3 halftime deficit with an offensive performance that was nothing like their dismal showing against the Tide in last season’s BCS championship game.

Mettenberger hooked up with Jarvis Landry on a 14-yard touchdown that put the Tigers ahead 17-14 with just under 13 minutes remaining.

No. 2 OREGON 62, No. 18 USC 51

LOS ANGELES — Kenjon Barner rushed for a school-record 321 yards and five touchdowns, Marcus Mariota threw four TD passes, and Oregon produced another landmark offensive performance against USC.

Josh Huff caught two touchdowns, and De’Anthony Thomas and Daryl Hawkins also caught scoring passes for the Ducks (9-0, 6-0 Pac-12), who outlasted USC in a back-and-forth second half to extend their winning streak to 12 games.

Oregon’s 730 yards and 62 points were the most ever allowed by USC, which began playing football in 1888.

Barner set a rushing record for a USC opponent by the third quarter, topping Curtis Enis’ 241 yards for Penn State in 1996, and smashed the school record shortly afterward as the Ducks gradually pulled away in their closest game of the year.

Matt Barkley passed for 484 yards and four touchdowns while hitting Marqise Lee with 12 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns for the Trojans (6-3, 3-3), who have lost two straight after a 6-1 start.

No. 3 KANSAS STATE 44,

OKLAHOMA STATE 30

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Collin Klein piled up more than 300 yards of offense before leaving in the third quarter with an undisclosed injury, and Kansas State remained unbeaten.

Klein had thrown for 245 yards and run for 64 more before sneaking in for his 50th career rushing touchdown with 9:47 left in the third quarter. The Heisman Trophy front-runner didn’t return to the field on the Wildcats’ next offensive series.

By that point, the Wildcats (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) simply had to protect a 38-17 lead.

Oklahoma State’s Wes Lunt also left with an injury after throwing his third interception in the third quarter. The freshman quarterback, who missed six weeks with a knee injury earlier this year, threw for 184 yards and a touchdown before giving way to Clint Chelf.

Chelf finished 16-of-27 for 233 yards and a touchdown for the Cowboys (5-3, 3-2).

No. 4 NOTRE DAME 29,

PITTSBURGH 26 (3OT)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Everett Golson scored on a quarterback sneak in the third overtime and threw two touchdown passes during Notre Dame’s fourth-quarter comeback.

Notre Dame (9-0) won despite Ray Graham rushing for 172 yards for Pitt (4-5), which missed a potential game-winning field goal in overtime.

Golson threw an 11-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth. Notre Dame’s chances for a comeback appeared to end when Pitt’s K’Waun Williams intercepted Golson in the end zone.

But the Irish defense held and Golson completed a 45-yard pass to DaVaris Daniels at the Pitt 5. Golson then threw a 5-yard TD pass and ran in the two-point conversion to tie the game.

No. 6 OHIO ST. 52, ILLINOIS 22

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Carlos Hyde rushed for 137 yards and three touchdowns, and Braxton Miller passed for two scores and ran for another to lead Ohio State past Illinois.

The Buckeyes (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten) maintained the upper hand in the Leaders Division heading into a bye week. They have games remaining at Wisconsin on Nov. 17 and against rival Michigan at home a week later.

Miller, considered a Heisman Trophy hopeful, had 18 carries for 73 yards and completed 12 of 20 passes for 226 yards.

It was the sixth straight loss for Illinois (2-7, 0-5) and its 11th Big Ten loss in a row.

No. 7 GEORGIA 37, MISSISSIPPI 10

ATHENS, Ga. — Aaron Murray threw four touchdown passes, and Georgia overcame a slow start to beat Mississippi and move one win away from a spot in the SEC championship game.

Georgia (8-1, 6-1) trailed 10-0 before scoring 37 unanswered points. The Bulldogs can clinch the SEC East title and second straight trip to the conference championship game with a win at Auburn next week.

Ole Miss (5-4, 2-3) used blitzes to record five sacks in the first half. The defensive gambles left opportunities for Murray, who completed 21 of 28 passes for 384 yards with no interceptions and touchdown passes of 66, 40, 42 and 28 yards.

No. 8 FLORIDA 14, MISSOURI 7

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Mike Gillislee took a screen pass and went 45 yards for a touchdown, and Florida survived a scare to beat Southeastern Conference newcomer Missouri.

The Gators kept alive their hopes of winning the SEC’s Eastern Division.

Florida (8-1, 7-1) was shut out in the first half, managing just 111 yards and failing to contain Missouri quarterback James Franklin. The Gators played considerably better in the second half, turning two short fields into touchdowns, with Omarius Hines scoring on a 36-yard jet sweep to tie the game in the third before Gillislee put Florida ahead for good in the fourth.

Franklin finished with four interceptions for the Tigers (4-5, 1-5).

No. 10 CLEMSON 56, DUKE 20

DURHAM, N.C. — Tajh Boyd threw for 344 yards and tied a school record with five touchdown passes for the second straight week for Clemson.

DeAndre Hopkins caught three of those TD tosses in the opening quarter for the Tigers (8-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who scored 42 points by halftime and rolled to their fifth straight win — all by at least 14 points. Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant also had first-half touchdown catches, helping Clemson rack up nearly 500 yards by halftime and 718 for the game.

The win moved Clemson into a tie with No. 9 Florida State atop the ACC’s Atlantic Division, though the Seminoles beat the Tigers in September for the head-to-head tiebreaker in the division race to reach the ACC championship game.

The loss dropped Duke (6-4, 3-3) a game behind Miami for the Coastal Division lead.

No. 12 LOUISVILLE 45, TEMPLE 17

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Teddy Bridgewater threw a career-high five touchdowns, and Louisville rallied again to beat Temple.

The Cardinals (9-0, 4-0 Big East) fell behind for the sixth straight game, but Louisville scored on five of its first six possessions to take a 31-17 halftime lead. The Cardinals, off to their best start in school history, moved into a first-place tie with Rutgers.

Temple (3-5, 2-3) lost its third straight, getting outscored 127-44 during that stretch.

Bridgewater completed 19 of 28 passes for 324 yards, a week after he threw for a career-best 416 yards against Cincinnati.

No. 13 Oregon State 36,

Arizona State 26

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Cody Vaz recovered from a shaky start to throw for 267 yards and three touchdowns and lead Oregon State over Arizona State.

Terron Ward rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown for the Beavers (7-1, 5-1), taking on extra work when starting running back Storm Woods left early in the game with a sore left knee.

Arizona State (5-4, 3-3) scored on the return after Vaz fumbled on Oregon State’s opening drive, but the Beavers pulled away after a 19-all tie at the half to keep the Sun Devils from clinching bowl eligibility.

A fan in the crowd held a sign reading “We’re All BelieVaz” for the junior quarterback who was awarded the start after Sean Mannion struggled the week before with four interceptions in a loss to Washington.

No. 14 OKLAHOMA 35, IOWA ST. 20

AMES, Iowa — Landry Jones threw for 405 yards and a season-best four touchdowns, and Oklahoma beat Iowa State to move coach Bob Stoops into a second-place tie with Bud Wilkinson on the Sooners’ career win list.

Stoops got his 145th win and is 12 shy of tying Barry Switzer for most in school history.

Brennan Clay ran for 157 yards as the Sooners bounced back from a loss to Notre Dame. Oklahoma (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) has won 20 straight following a defeat in the regular season.

Steele Jantz threw for 191 yards for Iowa State (5-4, 2-4). The Cyclones lost their 21st straight home game against the Sooners, a stretch of futility that dates back 52 years.

No. 15 STANFORD 48, COLORADO 0

BOULDER, Colo. — Kevin Hogan ignited Stanford’s sputtering offense and helped the Cardinal hand Colorado its first shutout at home in 26 years.

Hogan picked apart the nation’s worst defense, throwing for 184 yards and running for 48 more in just two quarters of work, and the Buffaloes were powerless to respond, gaining 76 yards of offense behind a trio of overwhelmed quarterbacks.

The Cardinal (7-2, 5-1 Pac-12) handed the Buffs (1-8, 1-5) their first shutout at Folsom Field since a 28-0 loss to Oklahoma on Nov. 15, 1986, snapping a streak of 150 straight games in which the Buffs had scored at home.

No. 16 TEXAS A&M 38,

NO. 17 MISSISSIPPI ST. 13

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Johnny Manziel threw for 311 yards and ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns, leading Texas A&M to a win over Mississippi State.

Manziel, a redshirt freshman, completed 30 of 36 passes. He ran for a 37-yard touchdown in the second quarter that helped the Aggies build a 31-0 lead by early in the second half.

The SEC’s leading rusher added an 8-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Texas A&M (7-2, 4-2 SEC) has won all five of its road games this season. Christine Michael ran for 50 yards and two touchdowns and Ryan Swope caught nine passes for 121 yards.

Tyler Russell completed 19 of 30 passes for 212 yards for Mississippi State (7-2, 3-2).

TEXAS 31, No. 20 TEXAS TECH 22

LUBBOCK, Texas — David Ash threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns to lead Texas past Texas Tech for its third straight win.

Mike Davis had a career-high 165 yards on four catches, one a 75-yarder from Ash in the second quarter for the Longhorns (7-2, 4-2), who remain alive in the Big 12 race. Freshman Johnathan Gray had 106 yards on 20 carries for Texas.

Seth Doege threw for 329 yards and a touchdown for Texas Tech (6-3, 3-3), which was badly hurt by penalties, including a touchdown being called back in the fourth quarter for holding.

The Red Raiders had to settle for field goals on four trips to the red zone.

No. 21 NEBRASKA 28,

MICHIGAN ST. 24

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Taylor Martinez threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Turner with 6 seconds left, and Nebraska remained tied with Michigan atop the Big Ten Legends Division.

The Cornhuskers (7-2, 4-1) scored two touchdowns in the final 7:02 to erase a 24-14 deficit. The winning score was set up by a pass interference call in the end zone on Michigan State’s Darqueze Dennard, which gave Nebraska the ball at the 5.

Le’Veon Bell ran for 188 yards and two touchdowns for the Spartans (5-5, 2-4).

Martinez rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the career leader in total offense for Nebraska, which is unbeaten in seven meetings with Michigan State.

No. 22 LOUISIANA TECH 51, UTSA 27

RUSTON, La. — Kenneth Dixon scored three touchdowns, and Louisiana Tech pulled away from Texas-San Antonio in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs (8-1, 3-0 WAC) converted a fake field goal attempt into a touchdown midway through the fourth. Tech won a record ninth consecutive WAC game on homecoming, and the Bulldogs appear headed for a school-record third consecutive week ranked in the Top 25.

UTSA (5-4, 1-3) dropped its fourth in a row after opening the season with five straight victories. It was the Roadrunners’ first game against a nationally-ranked FCS foe.

The game featured 13 personal foul penalties between the two teams.

TCU 39,

No. 23 WEST VIRGINIA 38 (2OT)

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Corey Fuller caught a 25-yard touchdown pass, and Trevone Boykin threw to Josh Boyce for the 2-point conversion, lifting TCU over West Virginia.

TCU (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) got the victory after West Virginia (5-3, 2-3) went ahead on Geno Smith’s 25-yard TD pass to Stedman Bailey in the second overtime.

On TCU’s possession, Boykin handed off to B.J. Catalon, and he pitched to Brandon Carter, who threw to Fuller in the end zone. Boyce then caught the 2-point conversion.

TCU rallied from 10 points down to force overtime. Boykin and Boyce teamed up on a 96-yard TD pass play with 1:28 left to tie the score at 31-31.

No. 25 UCLA 66, No. 24 Arizona 10

PASADENA, Calif. — Johnathan Franklin had 162 yards while becoming UCLA’s career rushing leader, redshirt freshman Brett Hundley passed for 288 yards and three touchdowns, and the Bruins overwhelmed Arizona.

Franklin, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound senior from Los Angeles, entered needing 21 yards to overtake Gaston Green, who gained 3,731 yards from 1984-87.

Franklin moved into the top spot with a 37-yard touchdown run on his third carry, capping a 75-yard, nine-play drive following the opening kickoff that put the Bruins (7-2, 4-2 Pac-12) ahead for good.

Franklin, who carried 24 times and scored twice, raised his career rushing total to 3,873 yards as the Bruins, off to their best start since 2005 under first-year coach Jim Mora, raced to a 42-3 halftime lead while snapping a five-game losing streak to the Wildcats (5-4, 2-4), who beat them 48-12 in Tucson last year.