College football Top 25: Florida State rallies, foils Irish’s upset bid
The Associated Press
| Sunday, October 19, 2014, 11 a.m.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — With Florida State’s perfect record still intact and a second-half rally against Notre Dame complete, Jameis Winston and coach Jimbo Fisher shared a hug as the crowd exploded in celebration.
Winston had done it again.
“He has a drive to win,” Fisher said. “He has a drive for greatness.”
No. 2 Florida State bounced back from a 17-10 halftime deficit and won its 23rd consecutive game by holding off No. 5 Notre Dame 31-27 on Saturday night.
The win came after another week of controversy for Winston, who has been the subject of a sexual assault allegation and a student conduct code inquiry over the past two years. This week, the school said it was investigating whether Winston received benefits for autographs being sold online.
But on Saturday night, Winston’s mission was to dig the Seminoles out of trouble.
And he did.
Florida State had protection issues in the first half and Winston never seemed completely comfortable. Fisher said those were cleaned up at halftime and suddenly Winston had room to operate.
The reigning Heisman winner drove the Seminoles to touchdowns on three of their first four drives, each taking a minimum of seven plays. He spread the ball around and hit big plays to receivers Rashad Greene, Travis Rudolph and Jesus Wilson. Even running back Karlos Williams caught a 21-yarder.
Williams called Winston’s work “poetry in motion.”
This wasn’t the first time Winston had to shine in the second half. Oklahoma State pushed the Seminoles in the season opener, but lost by six. He outplayed an on-fire Jacoby Brissett to hang 56 points on N.C. State. Winston missed just six passes and threw for 317 yards against Syracuse last week.
“One thing that people need to realize about this Seminoles team is when we have our backs against the wall, we always rise and we start playing harder,” Winston said. “This was a big game. We’re playing Notre Dame. We’re not playing a high school team.”
The Irish nearly pulled off the upset, moving to the 2-yard line in the game’s final moments. Everett Golson threw a touchdown pass to Corey Robinson with 13 seconds remaining.
But Notre Dame was called for pass interference when a receiver blocked the defender responsible for Robinson, and the touchdown was erased.
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly was not happy with the call.
“We execute that play every day,” Kelly said. “And we do it legally and that’s the way we coach it. We don’t coach illegal plays.”
The Irish moved back to fourth and goal from the 18-yard line. Linebacker Jacob Pugh picked off the desperation pass in the back of the end zone.
Ballgame.
“We fight for each other, it’s a brotherhood,” FSU linebacker Terrance Smith said.
Golson threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns, but Winston won the duel in the second half as he completed his first 13 passes against a defense that had Florida State flustered for the first 30 minutes. Notre Dame running back Tarean Folston ran for 120 yards on 21 carries.
The Seminoles (7-0) had their season on the line. Notre Dame (6-1) is the last ranked team on FSU’s schedule and the win may be its last chance to make a decisive impression on the College Football Playoff selection committee.
NO. 3 MISSISSIPPI 34, TENNESSEE 3
OXFORD, Miss. — Bo Wallace threw two touchdown passes and No. 3 Mississippi had another dominating defensive performance in a victory over Tennessee,
Ole Miss (7-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) fell behind 3-0 early in the second quarter, but scored the next 34 points to continue their best start since 1962.
Wallace completed 13 of 28 passes for 199 yards, throwing touchdown passes to Vince Sanders and Evan Engram. Sanders had 108 yards receiving.
WEST VIRGINIA 41, NO. 4 BAYLOR 27
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Clint Trickett threw three touchdown passes and West Virginia surprised sloppy Baylor.
The Mountaineers (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) earned their first win over a top-five opponent since beating No. 3 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl after the 2007 season.
West Virginia sacked Bryce Petty four times and limited the Bears to one touchdown in the second half.
Baylor (6-1, 3-1) was penalized 18 times for a Big 12-record 215 yards. The old mark of 183 yards was set by Texas Tech against Rice in 2007.
NO. 7 ALABAMA 59, NO. 21 TEXAS A&M 0
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Blake Sims passed for 268 yards and three touchdowns and scored on a 43-yard run while leading Alabama to 35 second-quarter points.
The Crimson Tide (6-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) shut down the nation’s No. 4 offense and dominated a game that had produced two straight thrillers.
Led by Sims, T.J. Yeldon and Amari Cooper, Alabama outgained the Aggies 602-172. Texas A&M (5-3, 2-3) has lost its past three games, all to teams now ranked in the top 10.
NO. 8 MICHIGAN ST. 56, INDIANA 17
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Connor Cook threw three touchdown passes, Jeremy Langford ran for three more scores and Michigan State scored the final 35 points.
Cook finished with 332 yards, Langford and Nick Hill each topped 100 yards on the ground and Tony Lippett had 123 yards receiving as coach Mark Dantonio moved into a tie for second on the school’s victory list at 70.
The Spartans (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten) have won five straight overall, 13 consecutive games over conference foes and tied the school record with an eighth straight road win in league play.
NO. 9 OREGON 45, WASHINGTON 20
EUGENE, Ore. — Freshman Royce Freeman ran for 169 yards and four touchdowns and Oregon extended its winning streak over Washington to 11 games.
Marcus Mariota threw for 336 yards and two touchdowns for the Ducks (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12), who won their second straight game as they distance themselves from a loss at home to Arizona on Oct. 2.
Freeman’s four touchdowns were the most rushing touchdowns in a game for a Duck since Kenjon Barner had five against USC in 2012. Cameron Van Winkle hit a pair of field goals for Washington (5-2, 1-2), which hasn’t beaten Oregon since the 2003 season.
NO. 10 GEORGIA 45, ARKANSAS 32
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Nick Chubb ran for 202 yards and two touchdowns and Georgia dominated on the road for the second straight week.
The Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC), playing their second straight game without suspended running back Toddy Gurley, led 38-6 at halftime. They were sparked by a defense that followed up its shutout of Missouri by forcing three first-half turnovers.
Chubb had a pair of first-half touchdowns, including a 43-yard sprint, and Hutson Mason added 179 yards on 10-of-17 passing. Georgia has won five straight following a loss at South Carolina on Sept. 13.
NO. 14 KANSAS STATE 31, NO. 11 OKLAHOMA 30
NORMAN, Okla. — Michael Hunnicutt missed a 19-yard field goal with 3:53 left after Oklahoma drove to the 1, and Kansas State held off the Sooners.
Kansas State (5-1, 3-0 Big 12) took possession and ran out the clock.
Hunnicutt missed two short field goals and had an extra point blocked.
Jake Waters passed for 225 yards and two touchdowns for the Wildcats.
Sterling Shepard tied an Oklahoma record with 15 catches for 197 yards, and Trevor Knight passed for 318 yards and three touchdowns for the Sooners (5-2, 2-2).
NO. 12 TCU 42, NO. 15 OKLAHOMA STATE 9
FORT WORTH, Texas — Trevone Boykin threw for a career-high 410 yards with three touchdowns, two on long plays to Josh Doctson in the first quarter, and TCU bounced back after a loss to Baylor.
Doctson had seven catches for 225 yards, a yard short of the school record even with the scores of 77 and 84 yards. B.J. Catalon ran for 102 yards and two scores for the Horned Frogs (5-1, 2-1 Big 12).
Oklahoma State (5-2, 3-1), which had won five in a row, was outgained 676 to 258 and held without a touchdown for the first time since a 27-0 loss to Oklahoma in the 2009 regular-season finale.
NO. 13 OHIO ST. 56, RUTGERS 17
COLUMBUS, Ohio — J.T. Barrett completed his first nine passes, ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns and threw for three more scores for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes (5-1, 2-0 Big Ten) have averaged 56 points in a four-game winning streak since losing at home to Virginia Tech.
It was the worst loss in 12 years for Rutgers (5-2, 1-2), which had a three-game winning streak end. The Scarlet Knights played before their largest crowd ever at 106,795.
NO. 17 ARIZONA STATE 26, NO. 23 STANFORD 10
TEMPE, Ariz. — Mike Bercovici threw for 242 yards and a touchdown, Zane Gonzalez kicked four second-half field goals and Arizona State cleared a big hurdle by running past Stanford.
The Cardinal had become a nemesis of sorts for Arizona State, powering past the Sun Devils in two games last season, including a dominating win in the Pac-12 Championship game. Arizona State (5-1, 3-1 Pac-12) turned the tables against Stanford with an efficient performance on both sides of the ball.
Stanford (4-3, 2-2) labored offensively again and nearly tripled its nation-leading average of 10 points allowed per game on defense.
NO. 19 NEBRASKA 38, NORTHWESTERN 17
EVANSTON, Ill. — Ameer Abdullah had four 1-yard touchdown runs and quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. scored on a 16-yard reception, leading Nebraska past Northwestern.
Abdullah finished with 146 yards on 23 carries to help the Cornhuskers (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) bounce back from a 27-22 loss at Michigan State. Abdullah had only 45 yards in the loss to the Spartans on Oct. 4.
Northwestern (3-4, 2-2) wasted another big game for freshman Justin Jackson in its second consecutive loss. Jackson had 128 yards and two touchdowns in his third straight 100-yard game.
NO. 22 USC 56, COLORADO 28
LOS ANGELES — Cody Kessler set a school game record with seven touchdown passes, throwing five in the first half in Southern California’s victory over Colorado.
Nelson Agholor caught three TD passes from Kessler, who broke the mark previously held by Matt Barkley. Kessler passed the record on a 24-yard pass to Steven Mitchell, who made a diving catch in the third quarter of a blowout victory for the Trojans (5-2, 4-1 Pac-12).
Kessler became the first Pac-12 quarterback to throw seven TD passes in the first three quarters, and the junior tied the conference record for TD passes in a nonovertime game. He finished 17 of 24 for 318 yards.
NO. 24 CLEMSON 17, BOSTON COLLEGE 13
BOSTON — C.J. Davidson ran 32 yards for a touchdown with 9:35 to play and Clemson stopped a Boston College drive in the final minutes to beat the Eagles.
Cole Stoudt completed 29 of 45 passes for 285 yards, and the Tigers (5-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) got help from a missed BC extra point. The Eagles (4-3, 1-2) moved to the Clemson 29, converted a fourth-and-1 and then Tyler Murphy found an open receiver streaking for the end zone.
But Tyler Rouse couldn’t hold onto the ball, and Clemson took over on downs and ran out the clock.
NO. 25 MARSHALL 45, FIU 13
MIAMI — Rakeem Cato set an NCAA record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass with 39, finishing with four scoring tosses to help Marshall remain unbeaten.
From Miami, Cato broke a tie with Russell Wilson for the Football Bowl Subdivision mark, connecting with Ryan Yurachek for the record-breaking score with 5 seconds left in the first quarter for Marshall (7-0, 3-0 Conference USA).
