Defense comes through for Oklahoma State
AUSTIN, Texas — During his 13 seasons as Oklahoma State’s football coach, Mike Gundy has built a reputation for producing teams that are dynamic on offense and less than impressive on the other side of the ball.
On Saturday, the Cowboys leaned on their defense.
Ramon Richards intercepted Sam Ehlinger’s pass in the end zone in overtime, after Matt Ammendola kicked a field goal, giving No. 10 Oklahoma State a 13-10 victory over Texas.
Those 13 points were 36 below the Cowboys’ average and their fewest since a 28-7 loss to Texas in 2014. Oklahoma State had averaged a nation-leading 611 yards per game this season before Saturday, but they were limited to 428 against Texas.
The Cowboys (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) scored the winning points on Ammendola’s 34-yard field goal on the first possession of overtime. He had missed a 29-yard attempt in the fourth quarter.
Texas (3-4, 2-2) had a first down on the Oklahoma State 12 after a pass interference penalty against A.J. Green. But on third-and-4 from the 6, Ehlinger, a freshman, scrambled and floated a pass to the only player in the area, Richards.
Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph passed for 282 yards, failing to reach 300 for the first time in eight games. The Cowboys were without two, sometimes three, injured starting offensive linemen, and Texas dared them to run by dropping defenders into pass coverage.
“Forever around here, it’s been the offense saved us,” Gundy said. “For six, eight years defense can’t stop anybody, offense saved them. So today the offense stumbled over their own feet, couldn’t make a play, and the defense did.”
› No. 2 Penn State 42, No. 19 Michigan 13
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley cut through Michigan’s stingy defense, each scoring three touchdowns as the Nittany Lions (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) emphatically avenged their last regular-season loss.
Barkley set the tone the first time he touched the ball. He took a direct snap on the second play of the game and blazed 69 yards for a touchdown on his way to 161 yards from scrimmage. McSorley ran for three scores, including a darting 13-yarder in the third quarter that made it 28-13.
Penn State has not lost a regular-season game since getting trounced 49-10 by Michigan (5-2, 2-2) last year.
› No. 5 Wisconsin 38, Maryland 13
MADISON, Wis. — Freshman running back Jonathan Taylor ran for a touchdown and broke the 1,000-yard mark for the season, and Alex Hornibrook added two touchdown passes for the Badgers
(7-0, 4-0 Big Ten).
Taylor finished with 126 yards on 22 carries, a relatively ho-hum performance after two straight 200-yard outings. He tied a major college football record shared by five other backs for fewest games by a freshman (seven) to get to 1,000 yards.
Hornibrook shook off an interception on his second pass of the day, finishing 16 of 24 for 225 yards to balance the offense.
Maryland (3-4, 1-3) had some success running the ball out of spread formations, with Ty Johnson leading the way with 83 yards on 16 carries.
› No. 9 Oklahoma 42, Kansas State 35 MANHATTAN, Kan. — Rodney Anderson ran 22 yards for the go-ahead score with seven seconds remaining, while Baker Mayfield threw for 410 yards and accounted for four touchdowns as Oklahoma rallied for a wild win.
Anderson finished with 147 rushing yards for the Sooners (6-1, 3-1
Big 12), who trailed 21-10 at halftime but proceeded to shred the overmatched secondary of the Wildcats (3-4, 1-3) in the second half.
Kansas State sophomore Alex Delton’s first career touchdown pass with 2:25 left tied it at 35, but Mayfield and Anderson calmly went to work. The two-time Heisman Trophy finalist hit on a series of throws downfield before Anderson took a carry around the left side for the decisive score.
› No. 13 Notre Dame 49,
No. 11 Southern Cal 14 SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Brandon Wimbush passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more, and Josh Adams added three touchdown runs as the Fighting Irish (6-1) took advantage of three turnovers by the Trojans (6-2), turning all of them into touchdowns.
The turnovers came on a fumble and interception by Sam Darnold and a dropped punt by Jack Jones.
The win is Notre Dame’s first against a ranked USC team since a 38-10 victory in 1995.
Adams had an 84-yard touchdown run and finished with 191 yards on 19 carries. Wimbush ran for 106 yards on 14 carries as the Irish amassed 377 yards on the ground.
› No. 16 South Florida 34,
Tulane 28
NEW ORLEANS — Quinton Flowers passed for two touchdowns and ran for 138 yards and another score as South Florida (7-0, 4-0 American Athletic Conference) extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 12 games.
The Bulls also scored at least 30 points in a game for a modern-era record 24th straight time, but they had to hold on after Tulane nearly clawed back from a 27-point hole.
Jonathan Banks passed for two touchdowns for Tulane, and Dontrell Hilliard’s tackle-slipping, 16-yard touchdown run made it a one-possession game with 2:45 left. But the Green Wave (3-4, 1-2) failed to recover an onside kick and could not stop Darius Tice’s run on third down, allowing the Bulls to run out the clock and drop Tulane to its first home loss this season.
› No. 18 Michigan State 17, Indiana 9
EAST LANSING, Mich. — After struggling much of the game, Brian Lewerke threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Felton Davis with 5:59 remaining as the Spartans (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) edged Indiana (3-4, 0-4).
Davis was wide open in the left side of the end zone, and the extra point by Matt Coghlin put Michigan State ahead 10-9.
On the next possession, the Spartans forced an Indiana punt — one of 17 the teams combined for. Then LJ Scott ran 18 yards for a touchdown for Michigan State, which may have actually helped the Hoosiers because it gave them the ball back with 1:49 remaining and a chance to tie it.
Indiana, though, wasn’t able to cross midfield before turning the ball over on downs.
Michigan State is now bowl eligible, a significant step in the team’s recovery from a 3-9 season in 2016.
› No. 20 Central Florida 31,
Navy 21
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Adrian Killins ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns, and McKenzie Milton added 233 passing yards as Central Florida clinched the best start in program history.
It was tied in the third quarter before Killins bolted down the right sideline for a 79-yard touchdown run to put the Knights ahead for good. With the victory, Central Florida (6-0, 4-0 AAC) became bowl eligible, matched its win total of last season and improved to 6-0 for the first time in the 39-year history of the program.
The Midshipmen (5-2, 3-2) kept it close, but their chances of pulling off an upset dwindled after quarterback Zach Abey was forced from the game in the third quarter. Abey was dazed from a hit to the helmet at the end of a run and had to be helped off the field.
The key figure in Navy’s triple-option offense, Abey carried 25 times for 126 yards and a touchdown — his school-record eighth straight 100-yard game — and also threw a touchdown pass.
› No. 21 Auburn 52, Arkansas 20
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Kamryn Pettway rushed for 90 yards and three touchdowns as Auburn (6-2, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) bounced back from a loss to LSU with a dominant road win over the Razorbacks (2-5, 0-4).
The rushing yards were the most for Pettway since he gained 128 in a win last month over Mercer, and the Tigers rushed for 345 yards overall. They outgained the Razorbacks 629-334 and have outscored their SEC West counterpart 108-23 over the past two seasons.
Jarrett Stidham completed 19 of 28 passes for 218 yards and rushed for a touchdown for Auburn.
› No. 24 LSU 40, Ole Miss 24
OXFORD, Miss. — Derrius Guice ran for a season-high 276 yards and a touchdown to lead LSU (6-2, 3-1 SEC) to its third straight victory.
Danny Etling threw for 200 yards and two touchdowns, and the Tigers’ Ed Orgeron won in his return as a head coach to Oxford. Orgeron coached the Rebels from 2005 to ’07.
Ole Miss (3-4, 1-3) came into the game with the SEC’s most prolific passing offense but struggled most of the night.
Shea Patterson — who came into the game leading the league with 2,143 yards passing — hurt his right knee during the second quarter and didn’t play the final series of the first half. He returned after intermission and finished 10-of23 for 116 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions.