Oregon State bumps off Buffs with massive comeback

When Travon McMillian ran 75 yards for a touchdown against Oregon State on the first play of the second half, the Colorado Buffaloes admittedly let up, as did their fans.

Why not?

It was 31-3, in Boulder. The Buffs are about to go bowling. The Beavers are getting bowled over again.

Fans figured they might want to enjoy a beautiful autumn afternoon, streaming to the gates for an early exit from this blowout rather than watching any more of the Beavers’ 23rd consecutive road loss.

“I guess you’d call this a gut-wrencher,” Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said after his Buffaloes matched their biggest blown lead in program history in a 41-34 overtime loss Saturday.

“We were rolling,” MacIntyre said, “and the wheels just rolled right off.”

Jack Colletto’s 1-yard sneak in the extra period gave Oregon State its first lead, and the Beavers’ defense held on four downs inside the 7 to give first-year head coach Jonathan Smith his first league victory.

It was Jake Luton who rallied the Beavers (2-6, 1-5 Pac-12) from a 28-point second-half deficit but they wouldn’t have their first road win since 2014 without Colletto, who returned from an awful first half in his first career start to score twice on keepers to keep the comeback alive.

“The guys never down,” Luton insisted.

Even when they trailed by four touchdowns.

The Buffaloes (5-3, 2-3) were seemingly safe when McMillian, who was held to 25 yards on 10 first-half carries, took the first snap of the second half, burst up the middle and raced untouched for a 75-yard score and a 28-point lead. One play. Seventy-five yards. Twelve seconds.

“We weren’t supposed to lose this game,” McMillian said.

Then ...

“I think we might have (coasted) a little bit,” Buffs QB Steven Montez said. HARRY DOES IT ALL FOR ASU got IN WIN OVER USC >> N’Keal Harry scored on a 92-yard punt return and Arizona State defeated USC 38-35 at the Coliseum. Harry also caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Manny Wilkins as the Sun Devils (4-4, 2-3 Pac-12) ended the Trojans’ 19-game home winning streak.

Redshirt freshman Jack Sears threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start for USC (44, 3-3), which had not lost at home since Clay Helton took over as interim coach midway through 2015.

Harry put Arizona State up 31-28 with 2:54 left in the third quarter, reversing field back to his own 2-yard line before cutting right and finding a lane down USC’s sideline. KENTUCKY NEEDS EVERY

PLAY, AND THEN SOME >> Terry Wilson threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Conrad on the final play to give No. 12 Kentucky a 15-14 road victory over Missouri. Kentucky took over on its own 19 with 1:24 left. With 4 seconds left, Wilson threw toward Ahmad Wagner in the back left corner of the end zone. Wagner caught the ball out of bounds, but Missouri (4-4, 1-4 SEC) cornerback DeMarkus Acy was called for pass interference, giving Kentucky (7-1, 5-1) an untimed down that it turned into the winning score.

CORNELIUS LEADS OKLAHOMA

STATE PAST NO. 6 TEXAS >> Taylor Cornelius threw three touchdown passes and ran for two scores, the last with 5:44 remaining to help Oklahoma State beat No. 6 Texas 3835 at home. Cornelius completed 23 of 34 passes for 321 yards, and his scoring run on third-and-10 gave Oklahoma State (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) a 38-28 lead after its 31-14 halftime advantage had been whittled down to just three points.

For Texas (6-2, 4-1), Sam Ehlinger returned from a shoulder injury suffered in the previous game. After struggling a bit in the first half, Ehlinger completed 17 of 27 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. SECOND-RANKED CLEMSON BURIES FLORIDA STATE >> Trevor Lawrence threw four touchdown passes, and No. 2 Clemson handed Florida State (4-4, 2-4 ACC) its worst home loss in program history with a 59-10 victory. The Tigers (8-0, 5-0) moved to 8-0 for the seventh time in school history, including the third time in the last four seasons.

GEORGIA’S FROMM HOLDS OFF FIELDS, FOR NOW >> Jake Fromm threw three touchdown passes, ending speculation about freshman Justin Fields supplanting him, and seventh-ranked Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC) beat ninthranked Florida (6-2, 4-2) 3617 in Jacksonville, Florida. Fromm completed 17 of 24 passes for 240 yards. There had been talk that Georgia coach Kirby Smart would get highly touted freshman Fields more snaps following a 20-point loss to LSU. Fromm smashed those rumors.

MURRAY, DEFENSE CARRY SOONERS >> A’s draft pick Kyler Murray passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score to help No. 8 Oklahoma beat Kansas State 5114. The Sooners (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) rolled up a season-high 702 total yards.

The Sooners put together their second consecutive solid defensive performance under interim defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill. The Sooners held TCU to three points in the second half of a 5227 win last Saturday, then held Kansas State to seven points through three quarters.

BIG RALLY KEEPS DAVIS UNBEATEN

IN CONFERENCE >> Junior quarterback Jake Maier threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, leading a second-half rally that carried the UC Davis Aggies past Montana 49-21 in Missoula. Maier’s final touchdown pass, covering 2 yards to Carson Crawford, capped a string of 46 straight points by the Aggies, who trailed 21-3 at halftime. UC Davis (71, 5-0 Big Sky) scored five touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Montana (4-4, 2-3) led 21-6 late in the third quarter.