Blocked FG helps Penn St. stun Ohio St.
Grant Haley returned a blocked field goal 60 yards for a touchdown with 4:27 left and host Penn State stunned No. 2 Ohio State 24-21 on Saturday night.
Penn State (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) took its first lead when Marcus Allen leaped high to block Tyler Durbin’s 45-yard field-goal attempt and Haley made the scoop and sprint to the end zone.
“It’s something you dream about as a kid,” Haley said. “Just running to the end zone and falling, it was a huge sigh of relief, like, everything, all the hard work this team’s put in coming into play against the No. 2 team in the country.”
After Penn State’s defense closed out the Nittany Lions’ first victory against Ohio State since 2011 with two sacks of J.T. Barrett, the crowd of 107,280 at Beaver Stadium went nuts.
The last time Penn State beat a team ranked in the top five was 1999. The last victory against a team ranked in the top two came against Notre Dame in 1990.
The Buckeyes (6-1, 4-1 Big Ten) saw their 20game road winning streak snapped, and the Big Ten East race, which had looked like an inevitable march toward an Ohio State-Michigan showdown on Nov. 26 in Columbus, Ohio, took a bit of a detour. Two seasons ago, the Buckeyes bounced back from an early loss and won the national championship. Last season, one loss turned out to be enough to eliminate Ohio State from the College Football Playoff.
“Feel the same as Michigan State last year,” Ohio State defensive end Sam Hubbard said.
The Buckeyes are in much better position to recover.
Penn State is now in the mix in the Big Ten East, but Michigan and Ohio State still have the advantage. If they all finish 8-1 in the conference and the Buckeyes beat Michigan, Penn State — which has lost to Michigan — would be eliminated from a threeway tiebreaker because of a worse overall record.
The Nittany Lions will worry about that later.
“This isn’t a fluke win,” linebacker Jason Cabina said. “This is who we are. This is who we believe we can be and will continue to be.” #16 Oklahoma 66, Texas Tech 59:
Former Freedom High-Oakley standout Joe Mixon rushed for 263 yards and two touchdowns and had four catches for 114 yards and three scores as the Sooners (5-2, 4-0 Big 12) held off the host Red Raiders (3-4, 1-3). In the loss, Texas Tech quarterback Pat Mahomes Jr. tied the NCAA record set by Washington State’s Connor Halliday in a 2014 game against Cal by throwing for 734 yards. Mahomes set the NCAA mark with 817 yards total offense. Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield passed for 545 yards and a school-record seven touchdowns. The teams combined for an NCAA-record 1,708 yards total offense. #1 Alabama 33, #6 Texas A&M 14:
Defensive end Jonathan Allen returned a fumble 30 yards for a touchdown in the final seconds of the third quarter to help the host Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0 SEC) top the Aggies (6-1, 4-1). Alabama led just 20-14 before Allen’s return. “I think that was the real turning point in the game, because it changed the momentum of the game,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “Those plays are always huge in games, but that one was especially huge.” #3 Michigan 41, Illinois 8: Wilton Speight threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters as the host Wolverines (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) defeated the Illini (2-5, 1-3). Michigan was leading 34-0 in the fourth quarter when Jim Harbaugh put backup quarterback John O’Korn in the game to rest Speight. Illinois was relegated to starting its thirdstring 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. #7 Louisville 54, North Carolina State 13:
Lamar Jackson broke Louisville’s single-season record with a hand in four first-half touchdowns, and the host Cardinals (6-1, 4-1 ACC) had three interceptions against the Wolfpack (4-3, 1-2). 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. #8 Nebraska 27, Purdue 14: Tommy Armstrong Jr. accounted for 303 yards of total offense and two touchdowns, and the host Cornhuskers (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) came back from a four-point halftime deficit. Nebraska probably didn’t convince the skeptics who say the Cornhuskers aren’t worthy of a top-10 ranking, but they’ll head to No. 10 Wisconsin next weekend with their best record since 2001. The Boilermakers (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. #10 Wisconsin 17, Iowa 9: Corey Clement ran for 134 yards and a touchdown and Alex Hornibrook passed for 197 yards to help the visiting Badgers (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) snap a two-game losing streak. Wisconsin allowed just 236 yards on 60 plays and held the Hawkeyes (5-3, 3-2) without a touchdown for the first time all season. SMU 38, #11 Houston 16: Ben Hicks passed for 228 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score as the host Mustangs (3-4, 1-2 American Athletic) posted their first win over a ranked team in five years. The Cougars (6-2, 3-2) lost for the second time after a 5-0 start that included a season-opening win over then-No. 3 Oklahoma that vaulted Houston into the top 10. #12 West Virginia 34, TCU 10:
Skyler Howard threw four touchdown passes and the host Mountaineers (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) are off to their best start since winning its first seven games in 2006. The Horned Frogs (4-3, 2-2) had only five second-half possessions. #20 Western Michigan 45, Eastern Michigan 31:
Zach Terrell threw for 398 yards and three touchdowns, Carrington Thompson had eight catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns, and Jarvion Franklin ran for 114 yards and a touchdown for the host Broncos (8-0, 4-0 Mid-American), who racked up 569 yards. Brogan Roback threw for 334 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score for the Eagles (5-3, 2-2). #21 Auburn 56, #17 Arkansas 3:
Eli Stove broke free for a 78-yard touchdown run on Auburn’s first play, giving the host Tigers (5-2, 3-1 SEC) momentum they never lost in a dominant victory. Auburn held out starting running back Kerryon Johnson (ankle) and still ran for 543 yards, a school record for an SEC regularseason game. Kamryn Pettway had 192 yards rushing with two touchdowns. The Razorbacks (5-3, 1-3) were held to 215 total yards. #22 North Carolina 35, Virginia 14:
Mitch Trubisky threw three touchdown passes for the visiting Tar Heels (6-2, 4-1 ACC). Trubisky hit Bug Howard for 40 yards on a trick play, Thomas Jackson for 10 yards and Austin Proehl for 46 yards for touchdowns as North Carolina won its seventh straight in the series against the Cavaliers (2-5, 1-2) and ninth true road game in a row. #25 LSU 38, #23 Mississippi 21:
Leonard Fournette rushed for 284 yards and three touchdowns as the Tigers (5-2, 3-1 SEC) defeated the visiting Rebels (3-4, 1-3). Fournette, who had a 76-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, put LSU ahead for good in the third when he broke free for a 78 TD early in the third. #24 Navy 42, Memphis 28: Will Worth rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns as the Midshipmen (5-1, 4-0 American Athletic) won their 14th straight at home — the longest run at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium since the facility opened in 1959. Tony Pollard returned a kickoff 100 yards and Riley Ferguson completed 25 of 40 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns for the Tigers (5-2, 2-1).
JUNIOR COLLEGES
CCSF 34, Santa Rosa 21: Lavell McCullers threw for 343 yards and two touchdowns — 66 yards to Easop Winston and 59 yards to Jaylend Jones — and rushed for another TD as the host Rams (5-2, 2-0 Bay 6) handed Santa Rosa (6-1, 1-1), the No. 2-ranked team in the state, its first defeat.