Penn State escapes Iowa with late stands
STATE COLLEGE, PA. >> Nick Scott intercepted a pass to thwart Iowa at the Penn State 2 with 3:18 left and the No. 17 Nittany Lions held on to avoid a third straight home loss with a 30-24 victory Saturday over the No. 18 Hawkeyes.
Penn State (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) needed one last defensive stand to hold off Iowa (6-2, 3-2), which got to the Nittany Lions 44 with less than a minute left.
On fourth-and-10 with 7 seconds left, Penn State’s pass rush swarmed Nate Stanley, who flipped backward to offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs. The 300-pounder rumbled 15 yards before being dragged down with no time left.
It was a fitting end to an odd game with little sustained offense. Iowa scored on two safeties and a touchdown pass by punter Colten Rastetter to defensive tackle Sam Brincks on a fake field goal in the first half. Penn State played three series in the second quarter without starting quarterback Trace McSorley.
McSorley was sandwiched by two Hawkeyes defenders as he tried to scramble and stayed down, grabbing his right leg. The Beaver Stadium crowd fell silent as athletic trainers attended to the senior. He got up with assistance and had help to take a few steps before walking off on his own with a limp. The 6-foot, 202-pound McSorley has started 35 straight games for Penn State since the start of the 2016 season.
Tommy Stevens played the next two series at quarterback for Penn State, scoring on a 3-yard run that was set up by John Reid’s 41-yard interception return. Stevens led a short drive late in the first half to set up Jake Pinegar’s career-best 45-yard field goal to make it 17-all at the break. Pinegar bested that with a 49-yarder in the third quarter and made a 44-yard in the fourth after being 0 for 3 from 40 and beyond coming into the game.
McSorley began the second half and broke free for a 51-yard touchdown run to give Penn State its first lead, 24-17, with 12:10 left in the third quarter.
Penn State turnovers in the fourth quarter kept Iowa in the game, despite a poor day from Stanley, who was 18 for 49 for 205 yards and two interceptions.
Geno Stone intercepted McSorley’s pass and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown to make it 27-24 with 10 minutes left in the fourth. (2) CLEMSON 59, FLORIDA STATE 10 >> Trevor Lawrence threw four touchdown passes, and Clemson (8-0, 5-0 ACC) handed Florida State (44, 2-4) its worst home loss in program history.
Lawrence completed 20 of 37 passes for 314 yards before leaving late in the third quarter. Tee Higgins and Amari Rodgers each had two touchdown receptions.
The Tigers moved to 8-0 for the seventh time in school history, including the third time in the last four seasons. They were dominant in the second quarter, scoring four touchdowns on consecutive drives en route to their fourth straight victory over the Seminoles.
Florida State suffered its mostlopsided defeat at home — surpassing a 58-14 loss to Southern Miss in 1981. It also was the most points allowed by the Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium.
(7) GEORGIA 36, (9) FLORIDA 17 >> Jake Fromm threw three touchdown passes, ending speculation about freshman Justin Fields supplanting him, and Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC) beat Florida (6-2, 4-2).
The Bulldogs took advantage of Florida’s three turnovers and an injury to cornerback C.J. Henderson to win the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” for the second straight year.
Fromm completed 17 of 24 passes for 240 yards, none bigger than the three for scores — all on third down. The first two went to Jeremiah Holloman, who beat C.J. McWilliams both times.
The Bulldogs clearly were picking on McWilliams after he replaced Henderson (back) on the first series. Florida took a one-point lead early in the third quarter — Feleipe Franks threw a perfect, 36-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Swain — but Georgia answered with another Fromm-to-Holloman connection and then pulled away late.
(8) OKLAHOMA 51, KANSAS STATE 14 >> Kyler Murray passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score to help Oklahoma (71, 4-1 Big 12) beat Kansas State (34, 1-4).
The Sooners rolled up a season-high 702 total yards and only punted once, and that was in the fourth quarter after Murray was done for the day.
CeeDee Lamb caught four passes for a career-high 160 yards and two touchdowns, and Kennedy Brooks ran for 94 yards and two scores. The Sooners won their second straight since losing to Texas.
(12) KENTUCKY 15, MISSOURI 14 >> Terry Wilson threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Conrad on the final play to lift Kentucky (7-1, 5-1 SEC) past Missouri (4-4, 1-4).
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 cornerback DeMarkus Acy was called for pass interference, giving Kentucky an untimed down that it turned into the winning score.
Lynn Bowden Jr. returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown with 5:18 left to pull the Wildcats to 14-9. Kentucky held Missouri without a first down on eight second-half possessions.
NORTHWESTERN 31, (20) WISCONSIN 17>> Clayton Thorson ran for two touchdowns and threw a scoring pass to help Northwestern (5-3, 5-1 Big Ten) beat Wisconsin (5-3, 3-2).
The first-place Wildcats solidified themselves as contenders for the Big Ten West championship while gaining some revenge for a loss at Camp Randall Stadium early last season.
With quarterback Alex Hornibrook sidelined by a concussion and the defense without several injured starters, it was a rough afternoon for Wisconsin. Northwestern turned two fumbles by Jonathan Taylor and another by quarterback Jack Coan into 17 points on the way to its fourth straight victory. HOUSTON 57, (21) USF 36 >> D’Eriq King had a hand in a career-high seven TDs, throwing for 419 yards and five scores and running for 134 yards and two more touchdowns for Houston (7-1, 4-0 American) in beating South Florida (7-1, 3-1).
King threw touchdown passes of 15, 38, 30, 52 and 27 yards and had scoring runs of 47 and 36 yards. He finished 28 of 41 passing. The seven total touchdowns set a career high.