O’Connell, Bell carry Purdue past No. 2 Iowa, 24-7

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Aidan O’Connell threw for 375 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, David Bell had a career-best 240 yards receiving and Purdue continued its recent mastery over No. 2 Iowa with a 24-7 victory Saturday.

The Boilermakers (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) have won four of their last five games against the Hawkeyes (6-1, 3-1). The loss ended Iowa’s 12-game winning streak.

Purdue beat its highest-ranked opponent on the road since 1974 at No. 2 Notre Dame. It was the second time in four seasons Purdue has knocked off a No. 2-ranked team. The Boilermakers won at home over a second-ranked Ohio State in 2018.

O’Connell was 30-of-40 passing with two touchdowns and ran for a score. He got the most work on a day when Purdue used backup quarterbacks Jack Plummer and Austin Burton in select situations. All three were in on different plays during the Boilermakers’ first-quarter drive that ended with O’Connell’s 6-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.

O’Connell threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to TJ Sheffield in the final minute of the first half to give Purdue a 14-7 halftime lead. He threw a 21-yard TD pass to Bell in the fourth quarter. Bell had 11 receptions. He has a combined 37 catches for 558 yards and five touchdowns against Iowa in three seasons.

The Hawkeyes’ only score was a 3-yard touchdown run by Ivory Kelly-Martin in the second quarter, and Iowa had just 271 yards of offense. Iowa scored its fewest points at home since a 13-7 loss to Nebraska in 2012.

NO. 1 GEORGIA 30, NO. 11 KENTUCKY 13

ATHENS, GA. — With Georgia playing its first game as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team since 2008, Stetson Bennett threw three touchdown passes and the Bulldogs got another stifling defensive effort to beat Kentucky.

Bennett, starting his third straight game in place of injured JT Daniels, hooked up with freshman tight end Brock Bowers on a pair of scores.

The senior quarterback was 14 of 20 for 250 yards in another solid performance with Daniels watching from the sideline for the Bulldogs (7-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference),

Bowers, who has emerged as one of Georgia’s most dynamic offensive weapons in his first college season, had five receptions for 101 yards.

Georgia’s defense allowed two touchdown in a game for the first time all season — the second with 4 seconds remaining after Kentucky (6-1, 4-1) called a timeout to take one last shot at punching it in from the 1.

Otherwise, Georgia’s top-ranked defense lived up to the billing, limiting Kentucky to 249 total yards and blocking a pair of kicks.

NO. 4 OKLAHOMA 52, TCU 31

NORMAN, Okla. — Caleb Williams had a big starting debut for Oklahoma, throwing for 295 yards and four touchdowns and running for another score in the Sooners’ victory over TCU.

The freshman from Washington, D.C., unseated Spencer Rattler as the starter after leading a comeback victory over Texas last week in Dallas. He started fast against TCU with an opening 75-yard touchdown drive that took just under three minutes.

Williams was 18 of 23 and ran for 66 yards on nine carries. He had a 41-yard scoring run, juking a defender at the line of scrimmage and taking off.

Oklahoma (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) had three consecutive touchdown drives to open the third quarter, including two touchdown connections between Williams and receiver Jadon Haselwood.

Max Duggan had career bests with 336 yards passing and four touchdowns for the Horned Frogs (3-3, 1-2).

NO. 5 ALABAMA 49, MISSISSIPPI STATE 9

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Bryce Young threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns and Alabama rebounded from a loss to rout Mississippi State.

A week after falling at Texas A&M, Alabama (6-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) had 543 yards of total offense and the Crimson Tide had seven sacks. Alabama converted 12 of 16 third-down opportunities.

Mississippi State (3-3, 1-2) had 24 first downs but managed only 299 total yards and had three turnovers. Mike Leach’s team finished with minus-1 yards rushing.

Alabama scored first against the Bulldogs and never trailed, leading 21-6 at the half. On the opening play of the third quarter, Young shaved the baby to hit Jameson Williams for a 75-yard touchdown strike and the rout was on.

Roydell Williams ran for 78 yards. Brian Robinson Jr. rushed for 73 yards and two touchdowns and caught five passes for 68 yards and another touchdown. John Metchie had seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. Traseshon Holden also caught a touchdown pass.

NO. 12 OKLAHOMA STATE 32, NO. 25 TEXAS 24

AUSTIN, Texas — Tanner Brown’s fourth field goal gave No. 12 Oklahoma State its first lead and Spencer Sanders’ scrambling 10-yard touchdown run with 2:18 to play capped a victory over Texas to keep the Cowboys undefeated.

Texas built leads of 17-3 and 24-13 behind three touchdowns from Bijan Robinson before Oklahoma State’s defense and punishing run game behind Jaylen Warren took over for the Cowboys (6-0, 3-0 Big 12).

Texas (4-3, 2-2) surrendered a big lead in a tough loss for the second straight week. The Longhorns led Oklahoma 28-7 before losing 55-48 last week.

Brown’s kicking and Jason Taylor II’s 85-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter kept the Cowboys’ in it while Sanders and the offense were struggling early.

The Cowboys allowed Texas just 317 total yards. Warren finished with 193 yards rushing on 33 carries, pounding out 154 yards in the second half rally.

Sanders pulled Oklahoma State to 24-22 with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Brennan Presley. Brown’s 29-yard field goal put the Cowboys ahead.

Texas still had time to possibly retake the lead, but the Cowboys defense stuffed the Longhorns on fourth down at the Texas 42. Sanders scored two plays later and Oklahoma State then sealed the victory with Tanner McAlister’s interception with 1:57 to play.

Robinson led Texas with 135 yards on 21 carries.

NO. 13 MISSISSIPPI 31, TENNESSEE 26

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Mississippi held off Tennessee on Saturday night after Rebels coach Lane Kiffin avoided being by hit by golf balls as Volunteers fans pelted the field with objects in the chaotic final minutes.

Ole Miss stopped Tennessee a yard shy of a first down on a fourth-and-24 pass with just over a minute left. After that play, and the review that confirmed the spot of the ball, Tennessee fans pelted the field with objects. Tennessee’s cheerleaders, dance team and band were ordered out of the stadium and police cleared the student section.

“I don’t know if I’m more excited that we found a way to win or that I didn’t get hit with the golf balls that they were throwing at me,” former Vols coach Kiffin told ESPN, holding up a yellow golf ball.

Play resumed after about a 20-minute delay.

Matt Corral threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 195 yards for Mississippi (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference). Hendon Hooker threw for 233 yards and a touchdown and for Tennessee (4-3, 2-2) and ran for 108 yards and a score.

After play resumed, Tennessee’s Velus Jones returned a punt 40 yards to the Ole Miss 47. Hooker ran 14 yards, but was injured with 18 seconds to play. Joe Milton came off the bench to hit Walker Merrill for 12 yards to the 21. Milton spiked the ball, then misfired into the end zone, setting up the final play. Milton ran 13 yards on the final play and was pushed out of bounds at the 8 as time expired.

NO. 3 CINCINNATI 56, UCF 21

CINCINNATI — Jerome Ford rushed for a career-high 189 yards and four touchdowns, helping Cincinnati roll past UCF.

Desmond Ridder passed for 140 yards and a touchdown to help the Bearcats (6-0, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) extend the nation’s second-longest home winning streak to 24 games.

Cincinnati’s special teams made the first big play when Josh Whyle partially blocked a punt to give the Bearcats the ball at the UCF 38. That led to a 1-yard TD run by Ford to put them ahead 7-0.

Ridder, who completed just six of his first 12 passes, hooked up with Alec Pierce in the back corner of the end zone for a 19-yard TD that put the Bearcats ahead 21-0 in the second quarter. Ford sprinted 79 yards untouched for his third TD run to make it 28-0.

Bearcats senior cornerback Coby Bryant ran back an interception 74 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.

Cincinnati led 35-0 at halftime, outgaining UCF (3-3, 1-2) 314-99.

NO. 10 MICHIGAN STATE 20, INDIANA 15

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Matt Coghlin’s 51-yard field goal to open the second half gave Michigan State the lead and Payton Thorne’s 12-yard touchdown pass provided the margin the Spartans needed to hold off Indiana.

The Spartans (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) will remain atop the conference’s East Division at least two more weeks after reclaiming the Old Brass Spittoon.

And while this one certainly didn’t follow the usual script — Kenneth Walker III, the nation’s top rusher, carried 23 times for 84 yards and Michigan State punted its first six possessions — the Spartans still managed to hand the Hoosiers (2-4, 0-3) their third loss in four games.

AUBURN 38, NO. 17 ARKANSAS 23

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Bo Nix threw for 292 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, Auburn’s defense contributed a touchdown and a key fourth down stop in the third quarter and the Tigers beat Arkansas.

Auburn (5-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) won its sixth straight in the series and handed Arkansas (4-3, 1-3) its third straight loss.

The Tigers took a third-quarter lead when Derick Hall sacked and stripped Arkansas’ KJ Jefferson in the end zone and Marcus Harris pounced on it for the touchdown. On the next series, Harris stuffed Jefferson on an attempted fourth-down conversion at the Auburn 29. One play later, Nix found Demetris Robertson for a 71-yard score.

Auburn flipped a three-point deficit into an 11-point lead in just over three minutes.

Jefferson went 21 of 35 for 228 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 66 yards on 18 carries, but was sacked three times. Both scoring passes went to Treylon Burks, who finished with nine catches for 109 yards. Nix completed passes to 10 receivers, going 21 for 26 with an interception.

UTAH 35, NO. 18 ARIZONA STATE 21

SALT LAKE CITY — Cameron Rising threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns, rallying the Utes past the Sun Devils.

Rising added 59 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Tavion Thomas ran for 84 yards and a score. The Utes (4-2, 3-0 Pac-12) took over sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 South, and are the last unbeaten team in Pac-12 play.

Jayden Daniels threw for 237 yards and two TDs to lead Arizona State. Daniels rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown. The Sun Devils (5-2, 3-1 Pac-12) surrendered 28 unanswered points after halftime.

Utah scored on four straight drives in the second half to erase a 14-point halftime deficit.

BAYLOR 38, NO. 19 BYU 24

WACO, Texas — Abram Smith ran for 188 yards with three touchdowns, Baylor linebacker and part-time fullback Dillon Doyle scored on both of his offensive touches and the Bears beat future Big 12 foe BYU.

Baylor (6-1) led by only three points midway through the third quarter before Doyle caught a 2-yard TD pass from Gerry Bohanon. Smith ran for a 7-yard score about 3 1/2 minutes later to make it 31-14, after TJ Franklin’s sack that forced a fumble by Cougars quarterback Jaren Hall.

BYU (5-2) last month accepted an invitation to join the Big 12 starting in the 2023 season. The Cougars have lost back-to-back games after a 5-0 start that included three wins over Pac-12 teams and peaking at No. 10 in the AP Top 25.

LSU 49, NO. 20 FLORIDA 42

BATON ROUGE, La. — Tyrion Davis-Price ran for an LSU-record 287 yards and had three touchdowns and the Tigers’ banged-up defense came up with four interceptions against Florida.

The stirring performance produced thunderous roars from a Death Valley crowd that came in with low expectations after unranked LSU (4-3, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) dropped its previous two games against Auburn and Kentucky, fueling speculation coach Ed Orgeron’s hold on his job was tenuous at best.

After Damone Clark’s interception of Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson’s pass, Davis-Price literally and fittingly ran out the final 1:59 on Florida (4-3, 2-3). Price ran for two more first downs and broke the previous LSU single-game rushing record of 285 yards by Derrius Guice.

Max Johnson passed for 133 yards and three touchdowns — all to Jaray Jenkins. The last one came on fourth and goal with 3:30 left.

NO. 21 TEXAS A&M 35, MISSOURI 14

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Texas A&M’s running back duo of Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane combined for 292 rushing yards and three touchdowns to power the Aggies past Missouri.

Spiller rushed 20 times for 168 yards and one touchdown, and Achane added 16 carries for 124 yards and two scores to help Texas A&M (5-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) avoid a letdown after last week’s upset of Alabama.

Missouri (3-4, 0-3) has the nation’s worst run defense — allowing 287 rushing yards per game — and it offered little resistance as Spiller ripped off a 48-yard touchdown run and Achane followed with a 20-yard scoring run in the first quarter. The home crowd booed Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz when he ran out the clock in the first half rather than aggressively trying to cut into the Aggies’ 28-7 lead.

Zach Calzada completed 13 of 25 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Both scoring passes went to Ainias Smith.

NO. 22 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 33, BOSTON COLLEGE 7

BOSTON — Devin Leary scrambled free and threw a jump pass to Thayer Thomas, who took it 79 yards for a touchdown to help North Carolina State run away from Boston College.

Leary threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns, also completing a 40-yard scoring pass on the opening drive on a throw that bounced off the back of the defender before Devin Carter gathered it in.

The Wolfpack (5-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) also scored when BC punter Grant Carlson muffed the snap, and Devan Boykin picked up the ball and ran in from 34 yards out.

Thomas caught four passes for 122 yards, and Dylan Parham caught a 4-yard touchdown pass. The Wolfpack tackled BC running back Peter Stehr in the end zone with 3:39 left for a safety, clinching their third straight victory.

Dennis Grosel completed 21 of 39 passes for 194 yards for the Eagles (4-2, 0-2).