Third-quarter blitz delivers for Orange
Sean Tucker and Garrett Shrader scored on long runs and Courtney Jackson ran back a punt 66 yards for another score as Syracuse scored three touchdowns in a five-minute span in the third quarter to defeat Boston College 21-6 on Saturday at Syracuse, New York.
The Orange (5-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed 3-0 at halftime and were held in check until midway through the third quarter when they broke through to take control and hand the Eagles (4-4, 0-4 ACC) their fourth straight loss. Tucker, the nation’s leading rusher, rushed for a career high 207 yards and a school-record seventh straight 100-yard game. He scored on a 51-yard run to give the Orange a 7-6 lead midway through the third.
Just a little more than three minutes later, Shrader registered his 13th rushing touchdown of the season with a 48-run scamper down the right sideline.
Less than two minutes later, Jackson snagged a line-drive punt and took it down the left sideline for 66 yards.
Syracuse’s defense sacked BC quarterbacks Dennis Grosel and Emmett Morehead five times and held the Eagles to 251 yards.
Shrader, who rushed for 174 yards against Virginia Tech a week ago, had 78 yards rushing and was 5 of 14 passing for 65 yards.
Michigan 37, Michigan State 33: At East Lansing, Michigan, Kenneth Walker earned the right to stump for Heisman Trophy votes and humbly refused, shaking off questions about the coveted award as if they were linebackers trying to tackle him.
Walker ran for 197 yards and five touchdowns, helping No. 8 Michigan State top No. 6 Michigan.
The Spartans (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) trailed by nine at halftime and 30-14 with 6:47 left in the third quarter before rallying as Walker boosted his chances of being selected college football’s most outstanding player.
Georgia 34, Florida 7: At Jacksonville, Florida, No. 1 Georgia and its top-ranked defense dominated Florida, scoring three touchdowns off turnovers in a 12-play sequence that turned “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” into another lopsided affair.
Georgia (8-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) won its 12th consecutive game since getting steamrolled in Jacksonville a year ago. The Bulldogs’ injury-riddled defense allowed 571 yards in that one, the most in coach Kirby Smart’s six seasons.
Georgia vowed to not let it happen again and responded with another demoralizing effort that might be their most impressive all season.
Florida (4-4, 2-4) managed no points, 11 first downs and 214 yards through three quarters and looked like its decades-old, NCAA-record scoring streak might be in jeopardy down the stretch.
But the Gators finally got on the scoreboard with 2:49 remaining, extending the streak to 418 games. They have scored in every outing since getting shut out by Auburn in 1988.