Jayhawks take down No. 6 Oklahoma College Scores
LAWRENCE, Kan. — University of Kansas football coach Lance Leipold has always been focused on the future: the next game, the renovations that are about to transform Memorial Stadium, the long-term prospects of a Jayhawks program that has long been in the dumps.
“It’s time,” Leipold said after a 38-33 win over No. 6 Oklahoma on Saturday, “for me to start talking about how far we’ve come.”
Devin Neal ran for 112 yards and the go-ahead score with 55 seconds left, Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel threw incomplete to the end zone on the final play of the game, and Kansas fans — finally relishing a bit of success after watching so many downtrodden teams over the years — were left to storm the field and celebrate one of the biggest wins in school history.
The Jayhawks snapped an 18-game losing streak to Oklahoma in their final matchup before the Sooners depart the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference next year, and they beat their highest-ranked opponent since defeating Virginia Tech in the 2008 Orange Bowl.
The fans still remembered how to celebrate a big win: They tore down the goalposts and dumped them into Potter Lake.
“This is a huge moment for this team,” said Jason Bean, starting once again in place of injured quarterback Jalon Daniels.
The Jayhawks (6-2, 3-2 Big 12) looked as if they had squandered their chance to win when, trailing 33-32 with 2:29 remaining, Bean threw an interception. But their vastly improved defense forced Oklahoma (7-1, 4-1) to punt, and after two completions and a fourth-down throw that gained 37 yards, Neal scampered in from 9 yards out against what appeared to be an ambivalent defense to give Kansas the lead back.
But it also gave Oklahoma another shot with the ball.
Gabriel completed a 39-yard pass to Brenan Thompson to reach the Kansas 34 with 24 seconds to go. After a short throw to Jovantae Barnes and an incompletion, the quarterback who had been nearly perfect all season threw high to the end zone on the final play to touch off the field-storming celebration.
“I got caught in a whole bunch of students,” Leipold said. “I hope nobody gives me a breathalyzer just off the fumes out there.”
› No. 3 Ohio State 24, Wisconsin 10
MADISON, Wis. — Marvin Harrison Jr. caught two touchdown passes among his six receptions for 123 yards, TreyVeon Henderson rushed for 162 yards in his first game in more than a month, and the Buckeyes remained unbeaten by defeating Wisconsin.
Wisconsin (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) played the second half without star running back Braelon Allen or wide receiver Chimere Dike due to leg injuries. Allen, who rushed for 50 yards on 10 carries, got hurt while unsuccessfully trying to score on a third-andgoal reception from the 1 on the second-to-last play of the second quarter.
After Ohio State (8-0, 5-0) squandered an early 10-0 lead, Harrison had a tiebreaking 19-yard touchdown reception in the right corner of the end zone with 7:14 left in the third quarter. Harrison also ran a shallow cross and turned it into a 16-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
Henderson sealed the victory by running through a big hole on the left side, breaking a tackle downfield and delivering a 33-yard touchdown run with 5:15 left. He was playing for the first time since a Sept. 23 victory at Notre Dame after missing three games with an unspecified injury.
› No. 4 Florida State 41, Wake Forest 16
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Keon Coleman needed only one arm to snag one of his two touchdown catches, and Trey Benson took a short pass and broke loose for an 80-yard score that helped Florida State overpower Wake Forest, keeping the unbeaten Seminoles in firm control of the Atlantic Coast Conference race.
Jordan Travis threw for 359 yards and three scores to go with a rushing touchdown for Florida State (8-0, 6-0), which ran off 24 unanswered points in the second quarter to build a 34-7 halftime lead.
That included a defensive performance that held Wake Forest (4-4, 1-4) to 75 first-half yards and 210 for the game.
› No. 5 Washington 42, Stanford 33
STANFORD, Calif. — Michael Penix Jr. threw four touchdown passes, and Washington’s winning streak reached 15 games after the Huskies held off a fierce comeback attempt by Stanford.
A week after being held without an offensive touchdown by Arizona State, the Huskies (8-0, 5-0 Pac-12) got their passing game going well enough to hold off the Cardinal (2-6, 1-5) and extend the second-longest active winning streak in the nation.
Washington was stuck in a tight game entering the fourth quarter, facing third-and-8 while leading by only two points. Penix then converted with a 15-yard pass to Germie Bernard and found Devin Culp wide open for a 24-yard score that made it 35-26.
However, Rome Oduzne lost a fumble in the red zone with Washington in position to put it away in the fourth quarter, and Penix threw an interception in the end zone after the Cardinal cut the deficit to two points on Justin Lamson’s 2-yard run.
The Huskies then got a key stop on a trick play when receiver Tiger Bachmeier’s pass on fourth-and-2 from the Stanford 28 was dropped by a Jayson Raines with 3:20 to play. Dillon Johnson then scored on a 13-yard run to put the game away for Washington.
› No. 7 Texas 35, BYU 6
AUSTIN, Texas — Maalik Murphy was 16-of-25 for 170 yards and two touchdowns in his debut as the starting quarterback for the Longhorns in a Big 12 win over BYU.
Murphy, a redshirt freshman, replaced Quinn Ewers, who was sidelined with an injury to his throwing shoulder sustained in last week’s win at Houston. Jonathon Brooks, one of the top rushers in the nation, gained 98 yards on the ground for Texas (7-1, 4-1) and added 40 more receiving.
Kedon Slovis had a rough day for BYU (5-3, 2-3), throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble.
› No. 8 Oregon 35,
No. 13 Utah 6
SALT LAKE CITY — Bo Nix threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns to lead Oregon past Utah, which had won 18 straight home games.
Troy Franklin tallied 99 yards and a touchdown on eight catches for the Ducks (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12), while Bucky Irving added 83 yards and a touchdown on the ground as Oregon won in Salt Lake City for the first time since 2016.
Bryson Barnes threw for 136 yards and had two interceptions for the Utes (6-2, 3-2).
› No. 10 Penn State 33, Indiana 24
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Drew Allar threw three touchdown passes, including a 57-yarder to KeAndre LambertSmith with 1:46 to play, and Penn State’s defense forced a late safety to beat Indiana.
Allar hooked up with Khalil Dinkins and Tyler Warren for touchdowns and Nick Singleton ran for another score for the Nittany Lions (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten), who recovered after blowing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Brendan Sorsby was 13-of-19 passing for 269 yards with three touchdowns and an interception for the Hoosiers (2-6, 0-5).
› No. 12 Ole Miss 33, Vanderbilt 7
OXFORD, Miss. — Jaxson Dart threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and the Rebels scored on five consecutive first-half possessions to roll past the Commodores.
Ole Miss (7-1, 4-1 SEC) eliminated any upset hopes with a 26-0 blitz by going 5-of-5 in the red zone opening a 23-minute stretch that spanned to the 7:40 mark in the second period. The Rebels finished with 431 yards of total offense, including 301 in the first half.
Vanderbilt (2-7, 0-5) managed 229 yards of total offense, including 65 yards on its touchdown drive and 53 on the game’s final series.
› No. 14 Notre Dame 58, Pittsburgh 7
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Xavier Watts had two of Notre Dame’s four interceptions, Audric Estime rushed for 114 yards and three touchdowns, and the Fighting Irish (7-2) overwhelmed the Panthers (2-6).
Watts and the Notre Dame defense made life miserable for Pitt quarterback Christian Veilleux, a redshirt sophomore making his third start. The Irish scored 23 points off five Pitt turnovers — including a fumbled punt that Ramon Henderson recovered in the end zone for a touchdown — and have won seven of their past eight meetings with the ACC’s Panthers.
› No. 18 Louisville 23, No. 20 Duke 0
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jawhar Jordan ran for a career-high 163 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Cardinals (7-1, 4-1 ACC) over Duke (5-3, 2-2).
Jordan surpassed 100 rushing yards for the fifth time this season, racking up 106 yards in the first half. He also scored twice in the first quarter for the Cardinals.
The Louisville defense posted its first shutout against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent since a 72-0 victory over Florida International on Sept. 21, 2013. Duke managed only 202 yards on offense, and the visitors didn’t get past the Louisville 43 until their last drive.
› No. 19 Air Force 30, Colorado State 13
FORT COLLINS, Colorado — Zac Larrier scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run in the third quarter, punctuating a drive aided by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Colorado State bench because of fans pelting the visiting Falcons’ sideline with snowballs, and Air Force remained undefeated.
Larrier also threw for a score and Emmanuel Michel and John Lee Eldridge III ran for touchdowns as Air Force (8-0, 5-0 Mountain West) matched a school record with its 13th straight win, dating to last season.
Michel finished with 130 yards on 20 carries, including a 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Matthew Dapore had a 29-yard field goal late in the third quarter as the Falcons won their seventh in a row in the series with Colorado State (3-5, 1-3).
› No. 22 Tulane 30, Rice 28
HOUSTON — Michael Pratt threw for 263 yards and accounted for three touchdowns as Tulane held on to defeat Rice for its sixth straight win.
Pratt, who was 22-of-30 passing for the game, threw touchdown passes of 26 yards and 1 yard and rushed for a 1-yard score in the first half as the Green Wave (7-1, 4-0 American Athletic Conference) built a 27-7 halftime lead. He also rushed for 40 yards.
For Rice (4-4, 2-2), JT Daniels was 18-of-29 for 189 yards and two touchdowns, Juma Otoviano rushed for two touchdowns and Luke McCaffrey caught five passes for 79 yards and a touchdown.
› No. 24 USC 50, Cal 49
BERKELEY, Calif. — Jaylin Smith deflected Fernando Mendoza’s pass in the end zone on a 2-point conversion try with 58 seconds remaining, and the University of Southern California beat California to avoid a three-game losing streak.
The Trojans (7-2, 5-1 Pac-12), coming off back-to-back losses to Notre Dame and Utah, rallied after trailing by 11 at halftime. USC scored 21 points in the fourth quarter and went ahead 50-43 on Austin Jones’ 7-yard touchdown run with 3:33 remaining.
Caleb Williams passed for 369 yards and two touchdowns, and running back MarShawn Lloyd added 115 yards and two touchdowns for the Trojans.
Mendoza, a redshirt freshman, passed for 292 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and also ran for two touchdowns for Cal (3-5, 1-4).
› Auburn 27, Mississippi State 13
AUBURN, Ala. — Payton Thorne passed for 230 yards and three first-half touchdowns, and Jarquez Hunter ran for a seasonhigh 144 yards to lead Auburn past the Bulldogs.
The Tigers (4-4, 1-4 SEC) snapped a four-game skid and got their first league win under first-year coach Hugh Freeze after racing to a 24-3 halftime lead, their biggest in an SEC game in four years.
Thorne had five touchdown passes in the first seven games since transferring from Michigan State but delivered his best game against an FBS team with the Tigers. He was 20-of-26 passing and ran for 38 yards.
The Bulldogs (4-4, 1-4) started Mike Wright at quarterback for the second straight game with Will Rogers sidelined by a left shoulder injury. Leading rusher Jo’Quavious Marks also sat out the game.
› Texas A&M 30, South Carolina 17
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Max Johnson threw for 249 yards and a touchdown, and Texas A&M (5-3, 3-2) snapped a two-game skid as the Gamecocks (2-6, 1-5) lost for the fourth straight time.
South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler found Joshua Simon in the back of the end zone for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter that cut the Aggies’ lead to 24-17, but the Gamecocks couldn’t get anything done on offense after that.
Rattler entered the game averaging 277 yards passing a game but managed just 176 yards and a touchdown as the Aggies hurried and harassed him from start to finish.