Florida State ekes out narrow upset over Miami; top 25 NCAA football roundup
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - DeMarcus Walker blocked Miami kicker Michael Badgley’s point-after attempt with 1:38 remaining, and No. 23 Florida State escaped with the victory, winning 20-19.
The No. 10 Hurricanes (4-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) were in position to tie it after Brad Kaaya connected with Stacy Coley on an 11-yard touchdown pass. Badgley had made 72 straight extra points, but the 6-foot-3 Walker knocked away what would have been the tying point.
And just like that, in a series decided so many times over the years by Florida State field goals in critical moments sailing wide right and wide left, there’s now a block to add to the lore.
Dalvin Cook and Kermit Whitfield had touchdown catches in the third quarter to help the Seminoles beat Miami for the seventh straight time. Deondre Francois, who left n the first half after being shaken up, came back and ended up with 234 yards passing for Florida State (4-2, 1-2).
Cook finished with 150 yards rushing and had a 59-yard scoring catch to spark the Seminoles’ second-half surge, and Whitfield’s 20-yard catch on his 23rd birthday put Florida State ahead for good.
NAVY 46, NO. 6 HOUSTON 40
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Will Worth and Navy stunned No. 6 Houston, romping to a 46-40 victory Saturday that seriously damaged the Cougars’ playoff hopes.
Worth ran for 115 yards and threw two scoring passes for the Midshipmen (4-1, 3-0 American Athletic). Navy hadn’t beaten a Top 10 team since 1984, when it topped then-No. 2 South Carolina in Annapolis.
Streams of the Navy Brigade stormed the field to surround the players, most of them jumping for joy.
Houston (5-1, 2-1) had won 19 of its last 20 games, including a 52-31 blowout of Navy last year. But the Cougars couldn’t get into the end zone often enough despite compiling a whopping 484 yards in offense.
Houston’s Greg Ward Jr. went 32 for 50 for 359 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 94 yards and a score, but the Cougars never led after going up 20-17 in the second quarter.
Navy won with a precise triple-option attack that shredded the nation’s top-ranked rushing defense. The Midshipmen came in as a 17-point underdog.
Houston’s sloppiest performance of the season came in a driving rain. The Cougars committed three turnovers and gave up more points than in their previous four games combined.
Navy finished with 306 yards rushing, many of them on pitches from Worth as he sprinted laterally along the line. Houston was allowing only 42 yards on the ground per game.
Navy scored three touchdowns in the third quarter - two of them on passes by Worth, the other on Josiah Powell’s 34-yard interceptions return - to take a 41-27 lead.
NO. 20 OKLAHOMA 45, TEXAS 40
DALLAS - Dede Westbrook had three touchdown catches longer than 40 yards and set an Oklahoma record with 232 yards receiving in the Sooners’ victory in the Red River rivalry.
Samaje Perine ran for 214 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries for the Sooners (3-2, 2-0 Big 12), They rolled up 672 total yards against Longhorns coach Charlie Strong’s beleaguered defense.
Texas (2-3, 0-2) led after two long TD passes by freshman Shane Buechele in the first 4 1/2 minutes after halftime. But Oklahoma went ahead for good when Baker Mayfield’s 4-yard TD run, right after his 51-yard completion to Dahu Green, made it 28-27.
Mayfield was 22 of 31 or 390 yards and easily made up for two early interceptions. Westbrook had TDs of 71, 42 and 47 yards.
NO. 8 TEXAS A&M 45, NO. 9 TENNESSEE 38, 2OT
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Trevor Knight had a 1-yard touchdown run in the second overtime and Texas A&M withstood another late Tennessee rally to beat the Volunteers,
After Knight bulled in for the touchdown, Armani Watts intercepted Joshua Dobbs’ pass on the next play for Tennessee’s seventh turnover to end the game. The teams exchanged field goals in the first overtime.
Knight threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 110 yards and three more scores.
The Volunteers (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) had rallied from double-digit deficits to win four of their last five games, including last week’s last-play victory over Georgia. They trailed by 21 points in the third quarter Saturday thanks to six turnovers before tying it on Alvin Kamara’s 18-yard reception with 41 seconds left.
Texas A&M (6-0, 4-0) had a chance to win it in regulation, but Daniel LaCamera’s 38-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 49, NO. 16 ARKANSAS 30
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Jalen Hurts accounted for four touchdowns, Minkah Fitzpatrick had three interceptions and Alabama extended its nation-best winning streak to 18 games.
The win was the 10th straight for the Crimson Tide (6-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) over the Razorbacks, and Fitzpatrick’s 100-yard interception return for a touchdown was Alabama’s 10th non-offensive score of the season.
Hurts finished 13 of 17 for 253 yards with two touchdowns, and ran for two more TDs. Damien Harris added 122 yards rushing on 13 carries for the Crimson Tide. Alabama finished with 517 yards of total offense and averaged 10.1 yards per play.
Austin Allen completed 25 of 48 passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns for Arkansas (4-2, 0-2), also throwing three interceptions as the Razorbacks finished with five turnovers overall. Arkansas finished with 473 yards of total offense, but gained only 73 yards on the ground on 36 carries.
NO. 2 OHIO STATE 38, INDIANA 17
COLUMBUS, Ohio - J.T. Barrett ran for 137 yards and a touchdown and passed for another score for Ohio State.
Ohio State (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) was forced to rely mostly on its ground game, which accounted for 290 yards, and some tough play by its defense - including a critical fourth-quarter stop on its own 4 following Barrett’s inception - to fend off the Hoosiers (3-2, 1-1).
Ohio State’s defense held when it had to, also forcing Indiana to turn the ball over on downs on the Hoosiers’ own 33 with 5:22 left and the Buckeyes leading 31-17. Five plays later, Barrett hit Dontre Wilson with a 37-yard touchdown pass to put the game out of reach.
Safety Malik Hooker sealed the win by picking off Richard Lagow’s pass on Indiana’s next series.
Barrett was 9 of 23 for 93 yards. He carried the ball 26 times.
NO. 4 MICHIGAN 78, RUTGERS 0
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Jabrill Peppers ran for two touchdowns and set up another score with a 63-yard scamper in his return to his native New Jersey and No. 4 Michigan routed Rutgers 78-0 Saturday night in a game in which the Scarlet Knights were limited to 22 yards total yards and two first downs.
Peppers had scoring runs of 7 and 4 yards off direct snaps, and his career-long run midway through the first quarter paved the way to a 4-yard touchdown run by Ty Isaac for the first score of the game.
It could have been a better day for the junior who has played 12 positions for Michigan (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) this season. He had a 44-yard punt return for a first-quarter touchdown nullified by an illegal block. Wolverines are 6-0 for the first time since 2011 That team finished 11-2.
Rutgers (2-4, 0-3) has lost three straight, with the last two being embarrassing for new coach Chris Ash. No. 2 Ohio State beat the Scarlet Knights 58-0 last weekend, holding them to 116 yards in total offense. Rutgers did not get a first down until Trey Sneed had a 12-yard run with 9:06 left in the fourth quarter. The 78-0 loss was Rutgers worst since an 82-0 setback against Princeton in 1888.
NO. 5 WASHINGTON 70, OREGON 21
EUGENE, Ore. - Jake Browning threw for 304 yards and a school-record six touchdowns and ran for two more scores to help Washington snap a 12-game losing streak against Oregon.
Myles Gaskin ran for 197 yards and a touchdown for the undefeated Huskies (6-0, 3-0 Pac-12). They have won nine straight games going back to last season.
Dante Pettis caught eight passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns, and John Ross had nine catches for 94 yards and three scores.
Freshman Justin Herbert made his first college start and threw for 179 yards and two touchdowns for the Ducks (2-4, 0-3). They have lost four straight for the first time since the 2006.
WASHINGTON STATE 42, NO. 15 STANFORD 16
STANFORD, Calif. - Luke Falk threw for 357 yards and four touchdowns to lead Washington State to a second straight win over one of the Pac-12’s recent powers.
Falk connected with Tavares Martin Jr. twice in the first half and added second-half TD passes to Gabe Marks and River Cracraft to help the Cougars (3-2, 1-1) follow up last week’s 51-33 win over Oregon by ending an eight-game losing streak to Stanford (3-2, 2-2). The Ducks and Cardinal have combined to win the past seven conference titles.
That streak is in serious jeopardy this year as the Cardinal got blown out for the second straight game, losing in back-to-back weeks for the first time in six seasons under coach David Shaw. Stanford lost 44-6 at Washington last week.
Making matters worse for the Cardinal was the fact that last year’s Heisman runner-up Christian McCaffrey went to the locker room in the second half with an apparent injury and didn’t return to the game. McCaffrey came back to the sideline and had his helmet on, but didn’t re-enter the game. There was no immediate word on his health.
NO. 25 VIRGINIA TECH 34, NO. 17 NORTH CAROLINA 3
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Jerod Evans threw for two scores and ran for another to help Virginia Tech beat North Carolina in heavy rain and wind from Hurricane Matthew.
Sam Rogers and Chris Cunningham had scoring catches and the Hokies (4-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) dominated the Tar Heels (4-2, 2-1) in a surprising romp.
The Hokies had their share of weather-related troubles, including seven fumbles, multiple bobbled snaps and a season-low 264 yards. But Bud Foster’s defense locked down on the Tar Heels and quarterback Mitch Trubisky. UNC failed to score a touchdown for the first time under fifth-year coach Larry Fedora.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 21, NO. 21 COLORADO 17
LOS ANGELES - Tyler Petite caught his second touchdown pass from Sam Darnold with 8:28 to play, and Southern California overcame four turnovers to beat Colorado.
Daniel Imatorbhebhe also caught a TD pass from Darnold, who passed for 358 yards and three scores along with two fumbles and an interception. USC (3-3, 2-2 Pac-12) shredded one of the nation’s top defenses for 539 yards, but Colorado’s takeaways kept an otherwise one-sided game close.
In the Buffaloes’ first game as a ranked team since Nov. 7, 2005, receiver Bryce Bobo threw a 67-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and caught a tying TD pass with 10:20 to play.
Colorado (4-2, 2-1) kicked a field goal with 4:49 left after Petite’s tiebreaking score, but the Trojans coolly ran out the clock.
NO. 24 UTAH 36, ARIZONA 23
SALT LAKE CITY - Quarterback Troy Williams ran for two touchdowns and threw another, helping Utah rally to beat Arizona.
Utah (5-1, 2-1) trailed 14-12 at halftime after committing 11 first-half penalties, including eight false starts. Arizona (2-4, 0-3) scored on the first snap of the game when Brandon Dawkins connected with Shun Brown for a 75-yard TD pass, taking advantage of blown coverage that left Brown completely uncovered.
The Utes scored 26 straight points after falling behind 14-3. Williams got both of his running TDs in the second half and had 245 yards passing for the game. Armand Shyne also ran for a TD in the third quarter, while the defense tightened up and forced two second-half turnovers and allowed just nine points. Shyne finished with 101 yards on 19 carries.
The Utes moved into a tie atop the Pac-12 South with Colorado. They ended a four-game losing streak to Arizona.