Cougars stun No. 5 Trojans
Luke Falk threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns and Erik Powell kicked a 32-yard field goal with 1:40 left as No. 16 Washington State beat No. 5 USC 30-27 on Friday night in Pullman, Wash.
With the national stage to themselves, the Cougars proved they are ready to contend for the Pac-12 title, pulling off their first regular-season win over a top-five opponent in 25 years. Washington State (5-0, 2-0) had lost 15 consecutive home games against ranked opponents.
Falk was excellent most of the night against USC’s pressure, but it was a key 35-yard run from Jamal Morrow that set up Powell’s winning field goal.
USC star Sam Darnold struggled through a miserable night. Darnold was 15-of-29 passing for 164 yards and an interception. Darnold has thrown eight interceptions in five games after throwing nine interceptions all of last season.
MIAMI 31, DUKE 6 >> Malik Rosier threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score as No. 14 Miami’s defense shut down Duke.
Rosier threw for 270 yards, including a 49yard catch-and-run score by Ahmmon Richards early in the fourth quarter in Durham, North Carolina.
Richards’ score broke it open, giving the Hurricanes (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) a 24-6 lead with 11:02 left. FROST HAS WORDS OF WARNING >> Amid the groundbreaking, earthshaking FBI investigation that has rocked the college basketball world and brought down Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino, Central Florida football coach Scott Frost, the former Stanford quarterback, has words of caution for his sport.
When asked if similar shenanigans go on in college football, Frost didn’t hesitate.
“I don’t think it’s as transparent in football as it is in basketball, but it happens. And it’s been happening as long as college football has existed. It’s going to keep happening as long as college football is the pressure-cooker and money generator that it is.” UTAH STATE 40, BYU 24 >> Jalen Davis had three interceptions, returning two for touchdowns, as the Aggies (3-2) forced seven turnovers in win over the Cougars (1-4). Kent Myers threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third for the Aggies, but the defense took over after BYU opened a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter. The next 13 BYU possessions produced four interceptions, three lost fumbles, two punts, three turnovers on downs and a field goal. HOKIES HAVE SCORE TO SETTLE WITH CLEMSON >> No. 12 Virginia Tech can make a strong case that it is an Atlantic Coast Conference title contender when the Hokies face No. 2 Clemson on Saturday night. The game is a rematch of last year’s ACC title game, won by the Tigers 4235, and while Clemson went on to win the national championship, the Hokies (4-0) were left to stew over coming up just short. MACINTYRE HAS WAY TO
SLOW DOWN ROSEN >> Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre might have found a way to stop UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, who leads the FBS in yards passing and touchdown passes.
“Twist his ankle in warmups,” MacIntyre joked. The Buffaloes will have to contain Rosen and the Bruins’ prolific offense at the Rose Bowl. UCLA (2-2, 0-1 Pac-12) is averaging 45 points per game this season. Rosen is throwing for 440.8 yards per game, with at least three touchdown passes in every game to give Rosen a total of 16.
Pressuring Rosen will be all the more critical after Colorado (31, 0-1) failed to record a sack in its 37-10 loss to Washington last week. Rosen threw for 480 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions against Stanford last week, but the Bruins say they want better balance.