Buckeyes hold off Hoosiers
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Master Teague ran for a career-high 169 yards and two touchdowns, Justin Fields accounted for three scores and No. 3 Ohio State held off a comeback bid by Michael Penix Jr., Ty Fryfogle and No. 9 Indiana for a 42-35 victory Saturday.
The Hoosiers (4-1) rallied from a four-touchdown deficit in the second half and made it a one-score game with 10:26 left, when Penix and Fryfogle connected on a 56-yard touchdown strike.
Penix was 27 for 51 for a career-high 491 yards and five touchdown passes.
The Buckeyes (4-0) put up 607 yards and led 35-7 early in the second half, but struggled to contain Penix and Fryfogle, who caught seven passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns.
Fields was 18 for 30 for 300 yards and two touchdown passes, but he also threw his first three interceptions of the season and was sacked five times.
Garrett Wilson had seven catches for 169 yards — his fourth straight game of 100-plus yards — and two scores for the Buckeyes.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 63, KENTUCKY 3
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — DeVonta Smith caught nine passes for 144 yards and set the Southeastern Conference career record with two more touchdowns in Alabama’s victory over short-handed Kentucky.
Mac Jones passed for 230 yards and two touchdowns and Najee Harris ran for a pair of scores for the Crimson Tide (7-0 SEC), both in less than three quarters. A slow start turned into a breezy return from a three-week layoff after LSU was forced to call off last week’s scheduled game because of COVID-19 troubles.
The outmanned Wildcats (3-5) were missing a number of key players because of injuries or coronavirus protocol. They were competitive early on the stat sheet, but it didn’t hold up particularly long on the scoreboard.
Smith broke Amari Cooper’s SEC and Alabama record with his 32nd touchdown catch, a 10-yarder from Jones in the second quarter. He added an 18-yarder from freshman backup Bryce Young.
Jones completed 16 of 24 passes but also had a pass intercepted at the goal line.
NO. 6 FLORIDA 38, VANDERBILT 17
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Kyle Trask passed for 383 yards and three touchdowns and Florida overcame an early deficit to beat Vanderbilt.
The Gators (6-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) pulled into Vanderbilt Stadium an hour before kickoff already in uniform, hoping to avoid the visitors locker room as a coronavirus precaution. The Commodores (0-7, 0-7) opened the game by driving for a touchdown, but Trask helped get Florida on track for its seventh consecutive win in the series.
Trask completed 26 of 35 passes to nine receivers. He’s the first quarterback in SEC history with 30 touchdown passes in seven games.
NO. 7 CINCINNATI 36, C. FLORIDA 33
ORLANDO, Fla. — Desmond Ridder threw two touchdown passes and ran for two scores and Cincinnati beat Central Florida to head into the release of the first College Football Playoff rankings unbeaten.
The Bearcats (8-0, 6-0 American) fell behind 14-3 in the first quarter against their toughest opponent yet, but grabbed the lead by halftime. Rider passed for 338 yards and ran for 57.
Dillon Gabriel threw for 243 yards, three touchdowns and one interception as the Knights (5-3, 4-3) lost at home for the second time this season.
The first CFP rankings come out Tuesday night and the Bearcats are hoping to become the first team from outside the Power Five conferences to crack the Top 10 in the selection committee’s first Top 25 of the season.
NO. 8 BYU 66, NORTH ALABAMA 14
PROVO, Utah — Tyler Allgeier ran for a career-high 141 yards and two touchdowns and BYU routed overmatched North Alabama to improve to 9-0.
Allgeier had his fourth 100-yard game of the season. Zach Wilson threw for 212 yards and four touchdowns before halftime and added 33 yards rushing. He had a season-high 256.3 QB rating.
BYU scored touchdowns on all six firsthalf drives. The Cougars rolled up 394 total yards and averaged 11.3 yards per play before halftime.
Rett Files threw for 198 yards and a touchdown for the Lions (0-4). Files played during the second and fourth quarters while starting quarterback Blake Dever took snaps in the first and third quarters. Dever threw for 107 yards.
NO. 19 NORTHWESTERN 17, NO. 10 WISCONSIN 7
EVANSTON, Ill. — Peyton Ramsey threw two touchdown passes and Northwestern shut down Graham Mertz and Wisconsin to take control of the Big Ten
West.
Northwestern forced five turnovers — four in the first half — and sacked Mertz three times in its first win over a Top 10 team since a 28-25 victory over No. 9 Nebraska on Nov. 5, 2011. Ramsey, a graduate transfer from Indiana, was 23 for 44 for 203 yards, and Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman had four receptions for 95 yards.
The Wildcats improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2015. They also moved to 5-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since 1996.
Wisconsin (2-1,) had committed just one turnover this year, a fumble during a 45-7 victory over Illinois on Oct. 23. The Badgers then had back-to-back games canceled because of a COVID-19 outbreak within the program before rolling to a 49-11 win at Michigan last weekend.
NO. 11 OREGON 38, UCLA 35
EUGENE, Ore. — Tyler Shough threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns and Oregon held off short-handed UCLA to remain undefeated.
At 3-0, Oregon solidified its spot atop the Pac-12 North.
Devon Williams had six catches for 123 yards, including a 19-yarder for a score and a 49-yard reception that helped set up a third-quarter score.
UCLA (1-2) had several players out because of COVID-19 protocols and contact tracing, including starting quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Redshirt freshman Chase Griffin started.
Griffin threw for 195 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions. Demetric Felton rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns, including an 11-yard scoring run that got the Bruins within three with 3:43 left.
CONWAY, S.C. — Reese White scored on a 3-yard run with 2:24 to play and Coastal Carolina improved to 8-0 with its first victory over Appalachian State.
The Chants (6-0 Sun Belt Conference) had lost all six previous games to the four-time defending Sun Belt champion Mountaineers. But they held Appalachian State (6-2, 4-1) to just two field goals in the second half after falling behind 17-9 at halftime.
The Mountaineers tried to rally after White’s score. But D’Jordan Strong intercepted Zac Thomas’ fourfth-and-22 pass and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown.
Picked last in the Sun Belt in the preseason, Coastal Carolina is a victory away from winning the East Division and playing West winner Louisiana-Lafayette for the conference title next month.
NO. 17 IOWA ST. 45, KANSAS ST. 9
AMES, Iowa — Brock Purdy passed for 236 yards and three touchdowns and Iowa State beat Kansas State for its most lopsided win over the Wildcats in 77 years.
Iowa State (6-2) improved to 6-1 in the Big 12, matching the school record for conference wins.
The Cyclones hadn’t had such a wide winning margin against the Wildcats since they beat them 48-0 in 1943. It was their biggest win over a Big 12 opponent since beating Kansas 45-0 three years ago.
Kansas State (4-4, 4-3), which won 11 of the previous 12 meetings, started to unravel after failing to score on an early first-and-goal from the 3.
Purdy completed 10 of his first 12 passes for 156 yards to six receivers and all three of his touchdowns. Breece Hall ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.
CLEMSON-FSU POSTPONED
The game between No. 4 Clemson and Florida State was postponed hours before kickoff Saturday when medical personnel from both schools could not agree it was safe to play.
The Tigers learned a day earlier one of their players tested positive for COVID-19, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the postponement, although it did not detail whether the game at Florida State was called off because of coronavirus issues.
The person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity said the postponement stemmed from a positive test Clemson received Friday after traveling to Tallahassee. That unidentified player had tested negative on campus this week despite displaying symptoms.
The person did not wish to be identified because Clemson had not disclosed the reason for the postponement.
Another person with knowledge of the decision told AP that Florida State officials were informed late Friday night that Clemson had an offensive lineman return a positive test earlier in the day. T he person said Clemson officials told Florida State that the Tigers player had taken part in practice and meetings throughout the week while showing symptoms.
The second person also spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because the schools were not publicly revealing details about why the game was off.