No. 13 LSU tops No. 2 Georgia at Death Valley
BATON ROUGE, LA. >> Joe Burrow passed for 200 yards and had two short touchdown runs, LSU’s defense staggered Georgia’s normally prolific offense, and the 13th-ranked Tigers beat the No. 2 Bulldogs 36-16 on Saturday to give coach Ed Orgeron a signature victory.
Five fourth-down decisions by Orgeron influenced the result. LSU converted all four times it ran an offensive play on fourth down, sustaining three drives that produced a total of 13 points.
In another instance, Orgeron called timeout and elected to punt on fourthand-2 after the offense initially remained on the field. That decision pinned Georgia at its 4, and Kristian Fulton’s interception of Jake Fromm’s pass shortly afterward set up another of Cole Tracy’s five field goals.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 133 yards for LSU (6-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference), and Justin Jefferson caught six passes for 108 yards, including a 41-yard snag of a pass rifled over the middle and between converging defenders. That catch set up Burrow’s second TD in the fourth quarter.
Nick Brossette added a short touchdown in the final minutes after Burrow’s 59-yard scamper. Fans rushed the field, ignoring pleas not to do so from the public address announcer, as the game ended.
Fromm had by far his worst game of the season for Georgia (6-1, 4-1), completing 16 of 34 passes for 209 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. NO. 17 OREGON 30, NO. 7 WASHINGTON 27, OT >> C.J. Verdell scored on a 6-yard run in overtime and Oregon knocked off Washington.
Verdell finished with 111 yards but none were sweeter for the Ducks than the final 6, when he sprinted nearly untouched on third-andgoal and set off a wild celebration in the east end zone of Autzen Stadium.
The Ducks (5-1, 2-1 Pac12) were fortunate to reach overtime after Washington kicker Peyton Henry missed a 37-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of regulation. Henry’s kick was wide right.
Washington (5-2, 3-1) took possession first in overtime but had to settle for Henry’s 22-yard kick after stalling inside the 10. The Huskies had a chance to force a long field goal as Oregon faced third-and-11 after a holding call. But Justin Herbert threw a strike to Dillon Mitchell for 17 yards and the Ducks had first-and-goal. Three plays later, Verdell sprinted into the end zone.
Herbert didn’t have his best day, playing in front of a large gathering of NFL executives that included Denver Broncos GM John Elway. He was 18 of 32 for 202 yards and two touchdowns. NO. 3 OHIO STATE 30, MINNESOTA 14 >> Dwayne Haskins threw for 412 yards and three touchdowns and Ohio State held off persistent Minnesota.
The Buckeyes (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) needed Blake Haubiel’s two second-half field goals and Haskins’ late touchdown pass from K.J. Hill to put away the Gophers (3-3, 0-3).
Hill made the play of the game with a turn-around, one-hand grab that he turned into a touchdown in the second quarter. He had a career-high nine catches for 187 yards.
For the second straight week, a heavy underdog came into Ohio Stadium and shut down the Buckeyes’ running game. The Gophers held tailbacks J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber to a total of 86 yards, without a single carry longer than 11. Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim ran 23 times for 157 yards and two scores. NO. 9 TEXAS 23, BAYLOR 17 >> Shane Buechele came on for injured quarterback Sam Ehlinger early in the first quarter and Texas beat Baylor when the Bears’ final pass sailed through the back of the end zone.
Charlie Brewer drove the Bears from their own 3 to the Texas 17 before he had to rush his final three throws under intense pressure. The victory made Texas (6-1, 4-0 Big 12 Conference) bowl eligible.
Freshman running back Keaontay Ingram ran for 110 yards, Texas’ first 100yard rushing effort of the season. Defensive end Charles Omenihu had two sacks and was chasing Brewer on the last three plays.
Brewer passed for 245 yards and a touchdown for the Bears (4-3, 2-2). NO. 10 UCF 31, MEMPHIS 30 >> McKenzie Milton threw for 296 yards and ran for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter for Central Florida.
Milton’s 7-yard touchdown with 12:14 left completed a comeback for the Knights (6-0, 3-0 American Athletic Conference), who trailed 30-14 with 2:04 left in the first half. The victory was UCF’s 19th straight — the nation’s longest winning streak — but it was by far the toughest game of the season for the Knights, who defeated their first five opponents by double-digits.
Memphis (4-3, 1-3) seemed on the way to at least have a chance for a winning field goal as the Tigers moved to the UCF 31. Memphis botched clock management in the final 30 seconds, getting hit with a motion penalty that required a clock runoff, and then Brady White completed a 9-yard pass to Tony Pollard and the seconds slipped away. Darrell Henderson, who leads the nation in rushing, had 199 yards and a touchdown on the ground on a career-best NO. 14 FLORIDA 37, VANDERBILT 27 >> Jordan Scarlett ran 48 yards for the goahead touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, and Florida rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Vanderbilt in a game marred by a near brawl, with both head coaches yelling as each team spilled onto the field.
An official held back Florida coach Dan Mullen as he yelled at Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason, who was near the Gators’ sideline after checking on the Commodores defender whose helmet was knocked off by a hit by linebacker James Houston IV. Both teams spilled onto the field, drawing unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. The penalty cost the Gators their leading tackler, with Vosean Joseph ejected for his second such penalty of the first half. Two people escorted an emotional Joseph off the field.
Mullen and Mason hugged each other at midfield after the game.
That overshadowed the Gators (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) scoring 24 straight points after Vanderbilt jumped out to a 21-3 lead midway through the second quarter. The Gators beat Vanderbilt (34, 0-3) for the fifth straight year and 27th time in 28 games in this series. TENNESSEE 30, NO. 21 AUBURN 24 >> Jarrett Guarantano passed for 328 yards and two touchdowns and Tennessee snapped an 11game Southeastern Conference losing streak.
The Volunteers (3-3, 1-2) forced three turnovers from Auburn’s lackluster offense, intercepting two of Jarrett Stidham’s passes and getting a strip sack that resulted in touchdown by Alontae Taylor.
The Tigers (4-3, 1-3) are off to their worst SEC start since also going 1-3 in 2015. NO. 22 TEXAS A&M 26, SOUTH CAROLINA 23 >> Kellen Mond threw for 353 yards and freshman Seth Small had four field goals, including the go-ahead kick in the fourth quarter, for Texas A&M.
The Aggies (5-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) won their third straight this season and moved to 5-0 against the Gamecocks (3-3, 2-3) since joining the league in 2012.