College football: Ohio State rallies past Penn State
COLUMBUS, Ohio — J.T. Barrett hit Marcus Baugh with a 16-yard touchdown pass with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter and No. 6 Ohio State rallied from 11 points down in the final five minutes to hand No. 2 Penn State its first loss, 39-38 on Saturday.
Barrett played one of the best games of his decorated career, going 33 for 39 for 328 yards and four touchdown passes, three in the fourth quarter after the Buckeyes (7-1, 5-0 Big Ten) were down 35-20.
Penn State led 38-27 with 5:42 left and it looked as if the Nittany Lions (7-1, 4-1) were going to knock the Buckeyes out of the College Football Playoff race and put a firm grip on the Big Ten East. Barrett wouldn’t let that happen.
NO. 3 GEORGIA 42, FLORIDA 7
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Sony Michel put third-ranked Georgia up big early and put Florida away late, scoring on two long runs in a drubbing that might have been the final game for Gators coach Jim McElwain.
Michel finished with 137 yards rushing on just six carries and helped the Bulldogs remain unbeaten and in control in the Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division.
Nick Chubb also scored for the Bulldogs (8-0, 5-0 SEC), who ended a three-game losing streak in “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” and started 8-0 for the first time since 2002.
Lift a glass to Georgia.
Pour one out for McElwain?
Florida (3-4, 3-3) started the day by responding to a tweet from a sports lawyer who said Florida and McElwain’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, have engaged in buyout negotiations and are “miles apart.”
No. 25 IOWA STATE 14, No. 4 TCU 7
AMES, Iowa — Kyle Kempt threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns and Iowa State upset TCU, handing the Horned Frogs their first defeat and leaving the Big 12 without an unbeaten team.
Marcel Spears intercepted a Kenny Hill pass with 1:16 left to seal it for the Cyclones (6-2, 4-1 Big 12), who forced a pair of turnovers in the red zone in the second half in winning their fourth straight game.
Kempt put Iowa State ahead 14-0 at the break with touchdown passes to Matt Eaton (17 yards) and Hakeem Butler (4 yards).
TCU (7-1, 4-1) answered to open the second half on a 94-yard kickoff return by KaVontae Turpin. But Brian Peavy intercepted Hill in the end zone in the third quarter and brought it back 70 yards, and Willie Harvey caused Hill to fumble a ball recovered by Iowa State at its own 15-yard line with 7:11 to go.
No. 5 WISCONSIN 24, ILLINOIS 10
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Alec Ingold and Garrett Groshek scored on short runs in the first half, offensive lineman Michael Deiter added another touchdown on a trick play late in the game, and Wisconsin beat Illinois to remain unbeaten.
Star running back Jonathan Taylor rushed for just 73 yards but didn’t appear in the second half for Wisconsin because of a left leg injury. The freshman entered the game averaging 158.6 yards rushing.
Despite Taylor’s absence, Alex Hornibrook made enough throws to get the team’s eighth win. None was better than on the trick play that freed Deiter for his first career touchdown.
Hornibrook dropped back on third-and-goal from the 4 and rushed right before throwing a backward pass to Deiter on the other side. Deiter caught it and hustled his 328-pound frame in for the score.
Wisconsin (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) gained 306 yards, well below its season average of 462.7 yards, but was able to overcome a sluggish performance for its 11th consecutive conference victory.
No. 7 CLEMSON 24, GEORGIA TECH 10
CLEMSON, S.C. — Kelly Bryant threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns and Clemson bounced back from its first loss of the season with a dominating win.
Bryant showed few negative effects from injuries that knocked him out early of the Tigers’ past two games — a sprained left ankle in the third quarter of a win over Wake Forest on Oct. 7 and a concussion in the second quarter of a loss at Syracuse on Oct. 13. It was an unsettling two weeks — Clemson was off last Saturday — with plenty of questions, introspection and worries about Bryant’s health.
The Clemson junior put all the worrying to rest early on. He connected on a 38-yard TD pass to Deon Cain less than three minutes into the game. Bryant zipped a 20-yard pass to tight end Milan Richard to put the Tigers (7-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) ahead 14-3 and cruise to their third straight win over Georgia Tech.
The Tigers’ defense made sure that was more than enough to hold off the Yellow Jackets (4-3, 3-2). Clemson had 11 tackles for loss and held Georgia Tech’s league-leading — and often confounding — triple-option run game to 198 yards, 175 fewer than their average. TaQuon Marshall, the ACC’s leading rusher with 117 yard average, managed just 23 yards that included his 22-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
No. 8 MIAMI 24, NORTH CAROLINA 19
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Malik Rosier threw for a career-high 356 yards with three touchdowns to help Miami hold off North Carolina.
Rosier had a 51-yard touchdown throw to Christopher Herndon IV late in the first half and a 78-yarder to Jeff Thomas to open the third quarter. His 5-yarder to Braxton Berrios gave the Hurricanes (7-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) a 24-13 fourth-quarter lead.
Still, Miami had to come up with a couple late plays after UNC made it a one-score game.
No. 9 NOTRE DAME 35, No. 14 NC STATE 14
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Julian Love returned his second interception of the season for a touchdown and running back Josh Adams had another big day, rushing for 202 yards, to help Notre Dame beat North Carolina State.
The sixth straight victory by Brian Kelly’s Irish, now 7-1, avenged a 10-3 loss at N.C. State last year in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. N.C. State (6-2) saw its six-game winning streak come to an end.
Love’s 69-yard return behind a convey of his defensive mates with 12:05 left in the third quarter ended N.C. State quarterback Ryan Finley’s streak of consecutive passes without throwing an interception at 339. Love, who also broke up three other Finley attempts, had a 50-yard interception return for a TD in Notre Dame’s 38-18 victory at Michigan State.
No. 10 OKLAHOMA 49, TEXAS TECH 27
NORMAN, Okla. — Baker Mayfield completed 22 of 34 passes for 281 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for another score to lead Oklahoma.
Rodney Anderson had 181 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Abdul Adams returned from a two-game absence due to an ankle injury to add 95 yards rushing on 10 carries for the Sooners (7-1, 4-1 Big 12).
CeeDee Lamb totaled nine receptions for 147 yards and two touchdowns, while Mark Andrews added six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown for Oklahoma, which amassed 617 yards of total offense.
Nic Shimonek passed for 322 yards and four touchdowns on 22 of 36 passing for Texas Tech (4-4, 1-4). Tre King had 113 yards rushing on 24 carries, while T.J. Vasher added five receptions for 98 yards, and Keke Coutee had four catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. Cameron Batson added two receiving touchdowns.
No. 11 OKLAHOMA STATE 50, NO. 22 WEST VIRGINIA 39
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Mason Rudolph threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score to lead Oklahoma State to a victory over West Virginia.
Freshman J.D. King ran for a season-high 142 yards and scored twice in place of Big 12 leading rusher Justice Hill for the Cowboys (7-1, 4-1 Big 12).
In winning its fourth straight, Oklahoma State scored four touchdowns following West Virginia turnovers and the Mountaineers couldn’t come back from their biggest deficit of the season.
Rudolph, the national passing yards leader, stood out in a steady light rain in a matchup against West Virginia’s Will Grier, who entered the game first in the FBS with 26 touchdown passes.
No. 12 WASHINGTON 44, UCLA 23
SEATTLE — Myles Gaskin led Washington’s running onslaught with 169 yards and one touchdown, Lavon Coleman added 94 yards and three touchdown runs and the Huskies routed UCLA.
The Huskies (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) bounced back from their first loss of the season two weeks ago at Arizona State by running through the worst run defense in the country. Quarterback Jake Browning was mostly a nonfactor because he didn’t need to throw; Gaskin and his friends had more than enough success on the ground.
Washington finished with 333 yards rushing as a team, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Gaskin finally found the end zone late in the third quarter on a 6-yard run. Coleman scored on runs of 1, 33 and 13 yards, and Browning added a 1-yard quarterback sneak early in the second quarter after it appeared Gaskin had scored on the previous play.
UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen was 12 of 21 passing for 93 yards and was sacked four times. Rosen was pulled midway through the third quarter and later was on the sideline in sweats. He had been limping after being sacked in the second quarter by Washington’s Austin Joyner. Rosen threw a 7-yard TD pass to Jordan Wilson in the second quarter, but Washington scored the next 27 points.
No. 13 VIRGINIA TECH 24, DUKE 3
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Josh Jackson threw for a touchdown and ran for another to lead Virginia Tech to a win over Duke.
Jackson hit Sean Savoy with a 26-yard pass just before halftime to give the Hokies (7-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) a 17-3 lead. He scored on a 6-yard run in the third quarter, all but cementing Virginia Tech’s third victory in a row on a night when it rained for most of the second half and footing became increasingly uncertain.
The Blue Devils (4-5, 1-5) lost their fifth in a row.
ARIZONA 58, NO. 15 WASHINGTON 35
TUCSON, Ariz. — Khalil Tate, in his fourth straight spectacular performance, rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown and passed for 275 more and two scores, leading surprising Arizona to its fourth consecutive Pac-12 victory, 58-37 over No. 15 Washington State on Saturday night.
J.J. Taylor gained 157 yards on 13 carries for Arizona (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12), including touchdown runs of 79 and 3 yards after Washington State (7-2, 4-2) had rallied to take the lead in the third quarter behind backup quarterback Tyler Hilinski.
The loss knocked Washington State out of a tie with Stanford for first place in the Pac-12 North. The Wildcats, with just one conference loss, remain in the thick of things in the Pac-12 South.
Hilinski replaced Luke Falk late in the first half and ignited what had been a sputtering offense. The redshirt sophomore completed 45 of 61 passes for 509 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for two scores but was intercepted four times, the last one returned 66 yards by Colin Schooler for a touchdown.
NORTHWESTERN 39, NO. 16 MICHIGAN STATE 31
EVANSTON, Ill. — Clayton Thorson threw a 22-yard touchdown to Flynn Nagel in the third overtime, Nate Hall intercepted Brian Lewerke and Northwestern beat Michigan State.
The Wildcats had a third down at the 22 when Thorson hit Nagel on a slant for the go-ahead TD.
Cameron Green caught the two-point conversion to make it an eight-point game, and two big plays by the defense preserved the victory.
Lineman Joe Gaziano stripped Brian Lewerke as he dropped back. Lewerke picked up the loose ball and fired toward the goal line, where Hall intercepted a pass intended for Matt Sokol.
That set off a wild celebration, with the sideline emptying and fans pouring out of the stands.
HOUSTON 28, NO. 17 SOUTH FLORIDA 24
TAMPA, Fla. — D’Eriq King kept Houston’s hopes alive with a 30-yard completion on fourth-and-24, then finished a game-winning drive with a 20-yard touchdown run with 11 seconds remaining, lifting the Cougars over South Florida.
The sophomore who has split time between receiver and quarterback replaced starter Kyle Postma in the first half. He began slowly before leading Houston (5-3, 3-2) on three long scoring drives to position themselves for an upset.
King threw a 39-yard TD pass Courtney Lark early in the third quarter. Mulbah Car scored on a 4-yard run to make it 14-14, and King finished a 75-yard march with a 3-yard TD that made it 21-all with 6:20 remaining.
Quinton Flowers, who threw for 325 yards and scored on runs of 1 and 3 yards for USF (7-1, 4-1), did all he could to give the Bulls a chance to remain unbeaten.
NO. 18 UCF 73, AUSTIN PEAY 33
ORLANDO, Fla. — McKenzie Milton threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns and scored another on the ground and No. 18 UCF reinforced its reputation for having one of the most explosive offenses in the country with a win over Austin Peay.
The 73 points scored was a school record for the Knights, who lead the nation in scoring. UCF scored on 11 of 12 possessions. It’s the first time in program history that the Knights have started the season 7-0.
Milton completed his first 14 passes and finished the game 24 of 26. He scored on a 3-yard run before going to the bench in the middle of the third quarter.
Dredrick Snelson caught five of Milton’s passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns. Mike Hughes had a 91-yard kickoff return for a score and Shaquem Griffin returned a fumble 20 yards for a touchdown.
NO. 21 USC 48, ARIZONA STATE 17
TEMPE, Ariz. — Ronald Jones II ran for 216 yards and two touchdowns, Sam Darnold revved up Southern California’s offense with three scoring passes and the Trojans rolled over Arizona State.
USC (7-2, 5-1 Pac-12) rebounded from a 49-19 thumping by No. 9 Notre Dame last week by racking up 607 total yards to remain atop the Pac-12 South.
Darnold completed 19 of 35 passes for 266 yards, and Tyler Vaughns had six catches for 126 yards with a pair of scores. Jones helped the Trojans pick up 341 yards rushing after they were limited to 76 against the Fighting Irish.
Arizona State (4-4, 3-2) relapsed on defense after consecutive strong showings, missing tackles and assignments while giving up multiple big plays.
