Spiller, Small propel Texas A&M past Florida
Isaiah Spiller rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 21 Texas A&M beat fourth-ranked Florida 41-38 on Seth Small’s 26-yard field goal as time expired Saturday.
Spiller helped get the Aggies get into position for Small’s decisive kick, giving Jimbo Fisher his first win over a top-five team since taking over as Texas A&M coach.
“I think this is a real big confidence-booster,” Spiller said. “I feel like we really gained our identity.”
Fisher brushed off the notion that it was a signature win or it meant more than anything he’s done in three seasons in College Station.
“It’s a good win,” he said. “It’s a big win but they’re all big wins.”
Kellen Mond threw a 51-yard pass to Caleb Chapman for a tying TD with about 4 1⁄ minutes to go.
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The Gators were driving when Buddy Johnson forced a fumble by Malik Davis, and it was recovered by DeMarvin Leal to set up the gameending field goal.
Mond passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns to help the Aggies (2-1, 2-1 SEC) down the previously undefeated Gators (2-1, 2-1)
Florida quarterback Kyle Trask had 312 yards passing and four TDs, but the Gators were done in by the late mistake and another poor performance by their defense.
“We’re playing 10 SEC games in a row,” Florida coach Dan Mullen said. “We have to get over this one quick. It’s more like an NFL schedule.”
Defending champs fall to 1-2: In a game that was dominated by a pair of offenses that seemingly couldn’t be stopped, it was the much-maligned Missouri defense that managed to stand tall against No. 17 LSU when it came time to decide the game.
Connor Bazelak threw for 406 yards and four touchdowns despite missing three of his top receiving targets due to COVID-19 protocols and coach Eli Drinkwitz’s bunch held four times at the the 1-yard line in the final minute to escape with a 45-41 victory in a game moved from Baton Rouge to Columbia, Mo. because of Hurricane Delta.
“Our guys didn’t flinch today,” Drinkwitz said. “They didn’t flinch after terrible turnovers. They didn’t flinch at the goal line. They just kept fighting. And that’s our No. 1 core value, always compete.”
LSU had taken a 41-38 lead when Cade York hit a 51-yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter. But when York tried to extend the lead midway through the fourth, his 45-yarder was blocked, and Missouri (1-2) needed just four plays — the big one a 69-yard pass to Chance Luper — before Bazelak hit Nico Hea with the go-ahead touchdown with 5:18 to go.
Myles Brennan, who threw for 430 yards and four TDs, quickly moved LSU the other direction. Terrace Marshall Jr. had four catches on the drive, the last a completion to the 1-yard line with 44 seconds left. But after Tyrion DavisPrice was stuffed twice up the middle, Missouri batted down two straight passes to preserve the upset.
“The defense did a great job at the end,” Bazelak said. “Just unbelievable.”
The defending national champions, who were 0 for 10 on third down, fell to 1-2 for the first time since 1994.
“We couldn’t stop anybody. Really poor showing on defense,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. “I thought
our offense played an outstanding game except for down there, we’re inside the 1, and we have to score. We have to score to win the game.”
Heels click on ground: Michael Carter ran for a career-high 214 yards and two touchdowns — including a 62-yarder midway through the fourth quarter — to help eighth-ranked North Carolina beat No. 19 Virginia Tech 56-45 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Tar Heels (3-0, 3-0 ACC) leaned on a dominating running game. Javonte Williams also ran for a career-best 169 yards and two scores of his own, with both backs finding gaping lanes and weaving through defenders to keep the chains moving on the way to 399 yards on the ground.
UNC said it was only the second time in program history that the Tar Heels had seen two players crack the 150-yard mark in the same game, the other coming 39 years earlier.
Quick start lifts Wolfpack: Devin Leary got North Carolina State threw two first-quarter touchdown passes and the Wolfpack’s defense forced four turnovers and blocked a punt in a 38-21 victory against Virginia. Zonovan Knight ran for 101 yards and two scores.