Notre Dame wins third straight over USC
Tony Jones Jr. rushed for a career-high 176 yards and Jonathan Doerer kicked three long field goals as No. 9 Notre Dame held off longtime rival USC 30-27 Saturday night.
The Fighting Irish (5-1), who rushed for a seasonhigh 308 yards, clinched their third straight victory over the Trojans (3-3) on Ian Book’s 8-yard run with 3:33 left.
Book’s touchdown ended a 14-play, 75-yard drive that took 6:54 off the clock after USC had drawn within 23-20.
The Trojans’ Markese Stepp scored from the 2 with 1:04 left to make it 30-27. But Notre Dame’s Brock Wright recovered the onside kick, and the Irish ran out the clock.
The Irish led 17-3 at half and saw the teams engaging in some pushing and shoving before they headed to their locker rooms.
USC freshman Kedon Slovis completed 24 of 35 passes for 255 yards in his first game back from a concussion three weeks ago.
UTES RUN OVER OSU >> Zack Moss rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns, including a 91-yard scoring run in the opening quarter, and No. 15 Utah routed Oregon State 52-7 in Corvallis.
The Utes (5-1, 2-1 Pac12), who were coming off a bye after downing Washington State to rebound from their lone loss the week before to USC.
Quarterback Jake Luton after accounting for six touchdowns (five pass, one run) a week earlier in a 4831 win over UCLA, was intercepted for the first time this season.
ARIZONA STATE HOLDS OFF WSU >> Jayden Daniels scored on a 17-yard scramble with 34 seconds left and threw three touchdown passes to ailing Brandon Aiyuk, leading No. 18 Arizona State to a 38-34 comeback victory over Washington State.
ASU (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) trailed by three with 2 1/2 minutes left. Taking over at their own 25-yard line, the Sun Devils moved quickly down the field. The freshman capped the drive with his scramble, helicoptering off a defender into the end zone.
Anthony Gordon threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns, but Washington State (3-3, 0-3) lost its third straight.
PENN STATE NIXES PREGAME T-SHIRTS >> Penn State players were asked by team staff to remove T-shirts reading “Chains, Tattoos, Dreads, & WE ARE” before their game Saturday at No. 17 Iowa. The handful of Nittany Lions who displayed the shirts in pregame warmups was responding to a letter that safety Jonathan Sutherland received last week from a fan criticizing his dreadlocks.
“While we are supportive of our students expressing themselves in a thoughtful manner, they are expected to wear team-issued apparel on game day. We asked our students to remove the shirts out of an abundance of caution for NCAA compliance,” Penn State athletic said in a statement. AIR FORCE ROLLS OVER FRESNO STATE >> Air Force churned out 340 rushing yards in a 43-24 Mountain West Conference victory over Fresno State and had to throw the football just three times. The Falcons had success with those plays, too, with quarterback Donald Hammond III hitting two for 81 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown.
Air Force (4-2, 2-1 Mountain West) has won its last three meetings against the Bulldogs. Fresno State (23, 0-1) was shut out after an explosive first half, when neither team punted.