Williams powers Utah past pass-happy Bruins
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Joe Williams rushed for a school-record 332 yards and four touchdowns in his second game back from retirement, and No. 19 Utah held off pass-happy UCLA 52-45 on Saturday.
Cory Butler-Byrd returned the opening kickoff for a 99-yard touchdown on a day of stunning superlatives for the Utes (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) in their second straight win at the Rose Bowl.
Williams, who quit football last month before returning last week, broke off TD runs of 3, 43, 64 and 55 yards in the most prolific rushing performance ever by a UCLA opponent.
Mike Fafaul also set UCLA records for pass attempts (70) and completions (40) while throwing for 464 yards, third most in school history. The former walk-on had five touchdown passes and four interceptions for the Bruins (3-5, 1-4). They have lost four of their last five games.
Williams ended his retirement after injuries decimated Utah's backfield depth. The senior has 511 yards rushing in two games since, including the biggest ground game in school history against UCLA's previously above-average defense. Williams broke Mike Anderson's Utah single-game record shortly before shredding Edgerrin James' record for a Bruins opponent on his fourth scoring run with 10:28 to play.
UCLA's Austin Roberts caught a TD pass with 4:38 left to trim Utah's lead to seven points. The Bruins got the ball back with 40 seconds left, but couldn't move.
NO. 3 MICHIGAN 41,
ILLINOIS 8
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Wilton Speight threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters before watching Michigan finish off Illinois.
The Wolverines (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) were leading 34-0 in the fourth quarter when Jim Harbaugh put backup quarterback John O'Korn in the game and rested Speight.
The Fighting Illini (2-5, 1-3) were relegated to starting their third-string quarterback with a familiar name. Jeff George Jr., son of the former Illinois and NFL quarterback, was 4 of 15 for 95 yards with a TD, an interception and a fumble in his first start. The redshirt freshman played because Wes Lunt and Chayce Crouch are injured.
Speight, who completed 16 of 23 passes, threw a 3-yard TD pass to Jake Butt and a 21-yard pass to Tyrone Wheatley Jr. for a score in the first quarter. Khalid Hill's ninth touchdown and De'Veon Smith's 4-yard run gave the Wolverines a 28-0 lead after their first four possessions.
NO. 7 LOUISVILLE 54, NORTH CAROLINA
STATE 13 LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Lamar Jackson broke Louisville's single-season record with a hand in four first-half touchdowns, and the Cardinals had three interceptions.
Jackson threw three touchdown passes and had a 36-yard scoring run, giving him 34 TDs with five games to play. Dave Ragone and Brian Brohm each had 33.
Jackson had 359 of his 431 yards of offense by halftime. He threw TD passes of 74 yards to Jaylen Smith, 3 yards to Cole Hikutini and 16 yards to Jamari Staples.
Jeremy Smith had two 1-yard scoring runs for Louisville (6-1, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) against the overmatched Tar Heels (4-3, 1-2).
Blanton Creque had four field goals and six conversions to set a single-game school scoring record for a kicker with 18 points.
NO. 8 NEBRASKA 27,
PURDUE 14 LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Tommy Armstrong Jr. accounted for 303 yards of offense and two touchdowns, and Nebraska came back from a four-point halftime deficit to beat Purdue.
The Cornhuskers (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) probably didn't convince the skeptics who say they aren't worthy of a Top 10 ranking, but they'll head to No. 10 Wisconsin next week with their best record since 2001.
Armstrong was 17 for 31 for 252 yards and ran 10 times for 51 yards.
Purdue (3-4, 1-3) managed only 94 yards in the second half in interim coach Gerad Parker's first game since taking over for the fired Darrell Hazell.
The Huskers lost 55-45 at Purdue last year, and Memorial Stadium was in a stunned silence as the Boilermakers pulled out to a 14-10 lead on David Blough's two touchdown passes to DeAngelo Yancey, the second one an 88-yard catch-and-run. But the Huskers scored on three straight possessions after going three-and-out on their first series of the second half.
NO. 10 WISCONSIN 17,
IOWA 9
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Corey Clement ran for 134 yards and a touchdown and Wisconsin snapped a two-game skid.
Alex Hornibrook passes for 197 yards to help the Badgers (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) win for the fourth straight time in Iowa City.
Backup Bart Houston threw a touchdown pass, and Clement's 1-yard run put the Badgers ahead 14-6 midway through the third quarter.
The Badgers allowed just 236 yards on 60 plays and held the Hawkeyes (5-3, 3-2) without a touchdown for the first time all season.
C.J. Beathard had 153 yards passing for Iowa. The Hawkeyes have lost three straight at home.
NO. 12 WEST VIRGINIA 34, TCU 10
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Skyler Howard threw four touchdown passes and West Virginia's improving defense held TCU scoreless in the second half.
West Virginia (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) is off to its best start since winning its first seven games in 2006.
Howard had first-half TD tosses of 10, 22 and 11 yards to stake West Virginia to a 21-10 lead. Howard finished 16 of 23 passing for 231 yards.
West Virginia used scoring drives of 11 and 15 plays in the third quarter to eat up most of the clock.
TCU (4-3, 2-2) had only five second-half possessions. Three ended in punts, Deante' Gray fumbled away a kickoff and the final possession ended on downs.
NO. 20 W. MICHIGAN 45, E. MICHIGAN 31 KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Zach Terrell threw for 398 yards and three touchdowns and Western Michigan had 569 yards of total offense.
Carrington Thompson had eight catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns, and Jarvion Franklin ran for 114 yards and a touchdown for the Broncos (8-0, 4-0 Mid-American). The game was the first at home as a nationally ranked team in school history.
Brogan Roback threw for 334 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score for Eastern Michigan (5-3, 2-2).
NO. 22 N. CAROLINA
35, VIRGINIA 14
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Mitch Trubisky threw three touchdown passes and North Carolina limited Virginia to one trick-play touchdown until the fourth quarter.
Trubisky hit Bug Howard for 40 yards on a trick play, Thomas Jackson for 10 yards and Austin Proehl for 46 yards for touchdowns for the Tar Heels (6-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). North Carolina won its seventh straight in the series and ninth true road game in a row.
The Cavaliers (2-5, 1-2) got their first touchdown when they lined up for a field goal, had the entire line split out far to the left. Evan Butts snapped it 30 yards to his left to Matt Johns, the holder now acting as the quarterback, and he hit Butts for an 11-yard touchdown strike.
North Carolina's Elijah Hood ran for 107 yards and a touchdown.
NO. 24 NAVY 42, MEMPHIS 28
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Will Worth rushed for a career-high 201 yards and three touchdowns, and Navy ran over Memphis for its 14th consecutive home victory.
Worth also completed three of four passes for 85 yards and two scores. The last Navy player to rush for 200 yards was Keenan Reynolds in 2014.
The Midshipmen (5-1, 4-0 American Athletic Conference) gained a season-high 447 yards on the ground, averaging 6 yards per carry.
The victory put Navy in sole possession of first place in the AAC West and served as a suitable encore for its 46-40 upset of defending league champion Houston two weeks ago.
Tony Pollard returned a kickoff 100 yards and Riley Ferguson completed 25 of 40 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns for Memphis (5-2, 2-1).