College Football Top 25 Roundup
No. 1 ALABAMA 45, TENNESSEE 10
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — T.J. Yeldon scored on three 1-yard runs and AJ McCarron passed for 275 yards and two touchdowns to help Alabama continue to roll.
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 straight in the rivalry game, tying the most consecutive wins 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 OREGON 42, No. 12 UCLA 14
EUGENE, Ore. — Byron Marshall ran for 133 yards and three touchdowns and Oregon wore down UCLA’s stout defense.
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.
No. 3 FLORIDA STATE 49,
NORTH CAROLINA STATE 17
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Jameis Winston threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns and Florida State scored 35 points in the first quarter.
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 OHIO STATE 63, PENN STATE 14
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Braxton Miller passed for three touchdowns and ran for two and Carlos Hyde rushed for 147 yards and two more scores to lead Ohio State.
It was the most points surrendered by Penn State (4-3, 1-2 Big Ten) and its worst beating in 114 years.
The Ohio State (8-0, 4-0) victory stretched its nation’s best winning streak to 20 in a row, two behind the school mark which included the 1968 national championship season. That team was recognized during the opening half as the Buckeyes streaked to a 42-7 lead.
Nittany Lions freshman QB Christian Hackenberg bobbled the second snap of the night and it never got much better. He ended up throwing two interceptions.
No. 6 BAYLOR 59, KANSAS 14
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 Baylor won its school-record 11th straight.
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 24, WAKE FOREST 21
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.
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 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 straight in the series.
No. 8 Stanford 20, Oregon State 12
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.
No. 9 CLEMSON 40, MARYLAND 27
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 Clemson wore down injury-riddled Maryland.
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.
No. 17 OKLAHOMA 38,
No. 10 TEXAS TECH 30
NORMAN, Okla. — Blake Bell threw for 249 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Damien Williams added two more scores as Oklahoma handed Texas Tech its first loss.
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 45, FAU 10
AUBURN, Ala. — Jeremy Johnson threw two long touchdown passes to Sammie Coates after replacing injured starter Nick Marshall and Auburn overwhelmed Florida Atlantic.
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 48, FURMAN 16
BATON ROUGE, La. — Odell Beckham Jr. caught six passes for 204 yards and two scores, Terrance Magee added two second-half touchdowns, and No. 13 LSU turned a tenuous halftime lead into a romp.
Jeremy Hill rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns for LSU (7-2), which led 20-16 at halftime before outscoring the Paladins (3-5) 28-0 in the second half.
Hill’s first touchdown went for 55 yards. Beckham’s TDs went for 63 and 37 yards, and Magee broke off a 39-yard run for his second score.
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.
Furman’s Ray Early kicked three field goals.
No. 14 TEXAS A&M 56, VANDERBILT 24
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Johnny Manziel threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns in less than three quarters, and Texas A&M bounced back from a loss last week.
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 35,
San Diego State 28
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 over 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 13, No. 16 VIRGINIA TECH 10
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.
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 34, USF 3
TAMPA, Fla. — Teddy Bridgewater threw for 344 yards and three touchdowns and Louisville rebounded from its first loss of the season.
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.
USF failed to score an offensive touchdown for the third straight game, all in conference play. The Bulls used three quarterbacks and were outgained 485 yards to 133.
No. 19 OKLAHOMA STATE 58,
IOWA STATE 27
AMES, Iowa — Desmond Roland ran for a career-high 219 yards and four touchdowns and Oklahoma State won its third straight.
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 2-½ 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.
No. 21 UCF 62, CONNECTICUT 17
ORLANDO, Fla. — Blake Bortles threw for four touchdowns and ran for another as No. 21 UCF routed winless Connecticut.
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 straight games dating to last season.
No. 23 NORTHERN ILLINOIS 59,
EASTERN MICHIGAN 20
DE KALB, Ill. — Jordan Lynch threw four touchdown passes and caught another as Northern Illinois reached its best start as a major college football program.
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 straight.
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 34, No. 25 NEBRASKA 23
MINNEAPOLIS — Philip Nelson rushed for two touchdowns and passed for another, guiding Minnesota to its first win against the Cornhuskers since 1960.
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.
By Wire Sources
