Trojans stunned by Boston College
Boston College quarterback Tyler Murphy rushed for 191 yards, breaking free for a 66yard touchdown with 3:30 to play Saturday night as Boston College stunned No. 9USC 37-31 — the host Eagles’ first victory over a top-10 team in a decade.
The Trojans (2-1) were coming off an emotional victory at Stanford that moved them up five spots in the Associated Press Top 25. Cody Kessler completed 31 of 41 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns, but he also was sacked five times.
“The goal, obviously, of being Pac-12 champs is very alive for us,” USC head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I thought we came out playing well, and forwhatever reason, I thought we lost it. I’ve got to figure that out.”
The Eagles (2-1) had not beaten a top-10 team since a victory over 10th ranked West Virginia in 2004. The last time an unranked BC team beat a top-10 teamwas a 2002 victory over No. 4Notre Dame in South Bend that cost the Irish a chance at the national championship.
Wearing uniforms decorated with red bandannas to honor Welles Crowther, a BC graduate who died in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 after helping usher others to safety, the Eagles delivered an emotional followup to a lackluster loss to Pittsburgh. Fans wearing red bandannas in tribute stormed the field after Murphy’s final kneeldown, celebrating the biggest win in head coach Steve Addazio’s tenure and BC’s first-ever over USC.
The Eagles trailed 17-6 in the second quarter before scoring 24 straight points. Jon Hilliman ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns, and Myles Willis and receiver Sherman Alston each broke off runs of 50-plus yards to help BC amass 464 rushing yards. #12UCLA20, Texas 17: Backup quarterback Jerry Neuheisel threw two touchdownpasses, including a 33-yarder to Jordan Payton with three minutes left, and the Bruins (3-0) avoided an upset in Arlington, Texas. ... Neuheisel completed 23 of 30 passes for 178 yards after Brett Hundley injured his left elbow in the first quarter. ... The goahead score for the Bruins cameon the first play after Ishmael Adams’ 58-yard punt return when hewas helped by a crushing open-field block by Cameron Judge. ... Texas (1-2), which started the gamewith a big blunder, had gone ahead when Tyrone Swoopes hit John Harris for an8-yard TD with 5:13 left. The Longhorns then forced a fumble, but went three-and-out before punting the ball to Adams. #16ASU38, Colorado 24: Taylor Kelly threw for three touchdowns and ran 50yards for another score before leaving with a right foot injury, and the Sun Devils (3-0, 1-0Pac-12) withstood a late challenge fromthe Buffaloes (1-2, 0-1). ... D.J Foster also had a big night for Arizona State, running 20 times for 147 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown. He had a 5-yard scoring catch among his four receptions for 59yards. #2Oregon48, Wyoming 14: Quarterback Marcus Mariota passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores as the host Ducks (3-0) survived a slow start. ... Wyoming stopped Oregon on a 4th-and-goal, then drove down the field to take a 7-0lead, but the Ducks scored four secondquarter touchdowns to take command. ... Mariota became the fourth Oregon quarterback to pass for more than 7,000 yards. The Ducks’ junior completed 19of 23 passes, two for touchdowns. Mariota also rushed five times for 71 yards, including touchdowns of 15 and 19yards. ... Mariota has thrown a school-record 71 touchdownpasses, with at least one TD thrown in all 29 games in which he has played. Washington44, Illinois 19: Linebacker Shaq Thompson returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown, picked up a fumble and rumbled 52 yards for another score, and the Huskies improved to 3-0 under Chris Petersen. ... Thompson became the first Washington player to score via fumble and interception in the same game since at least 1978. ... Wes Lunt threw for 230 yards for the Fighting Illini (2-1), but was unable to take advantage of Washington’s depleted secondary. WSU59, Portland State 21: Connor Halliday, the nation’s leading passer, threw for 544 yards and six touchdowns for the host Cougars (1-2). ... Isiah Myers caught 11 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns for Washington State (1-2), which had opened the season with losses to Rutgers and Nevada but proved toomuch for FCS Portland State. Arizona 35, Nevada 28: In Tucson, Anu Solomon connected with Cayleb Jones on two second-half touchdownpasses for the Wildcats (3-0), who downed the Wolf Pack (2-1). Cal plays at Arizona next Saturday night.
OTHER TOP 25
#3Alabama52, Southern Miss 12: Blake Sims passed for two touchdowns and rushed for a third in three quarters and might have staked his claim as the host Crimson Tide’s undisputed starting quarterback. ... Sims was 12-for-17 passing for 168 yards for Alabama(3-0) ahead of the team’s SEC opener against Florida. Jake Coker didn’t comeinto the game until late in the third quarter against the Golden Eagles (1-2), whohave lost 25 of their past 27 games. ... Most of Sims’ completions went to the nation’s leading receiver, Amari Cooper, whohad eight catches for 135 yards and a touchdown. #4Oklahoma34, Tennessee 10: Trevor Knight passed for 308 yards, threwa touchdownpass and ran for another score for the host Sooners (3-0), whowon their seventh straight game. ... Sterling Shepard caught five passes for 109yards and Keith Ford caught a touchdownpass and ran for a score for Oklahoma. ... Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops got the best of the SEC again; the Sooners beat Alaba main the Sugar Bowl. ... Jalen Hurd ran for97 yards on 14 carries and Josh Smith caught five passes for 58yards and a touch down for the Volunteers (2-1). #24S. Carolina 38,#6Georgia 35: Dylan Thompson threw for three touchdowns and the Gamecocks (2-1, 1-1SEC) stood strong on a fourth-quarter goal line stand to topple the visiting Bulldogs. Georgia (1-1, 0-1) had a 1st-and-goal on the Gamecocks’ 4 down three points with 5:24 remaining. Hutson Mason thenwas called for intentional grounding to set back Georgia and the usually reliable Marshall Morgan missed a 28-yard field-goal try. ... The victory was South Carolina headcoach Steve Spurrier’s 201st as a SEC coach, tying him for second all-time with Georgia’s Vince Dooley. #7TexasA&M38, Rice 10: Kenny Hill threw for 300yards and four touchdowns and the host Aggies are 3-0 record for the first time since 2010. ... Texas A&M led by 14 points at halftime, but struggled to sustain drives and committed several costly penalties, including one that resulted in a touchdown being called back, in the first half. ... Hill also had TD passes of 20, 14, 13 and 48 yards and has 1,094yards passing this season to become the first player in school history to throw for 1,000yards in the first three games of a season. #10 LSU31, La.-Monroe 0: Darrel Williams ran for two touchdowns, fellow freshman Leonard Fournette added another, and the host Tigers (3-0) posted their second straight shutout. #11NotreDame30, Purdue 14: Everett Golson threw two touchdownpasses and ran for another score as the Fighting Irish (3-0) scored the final 20 points in Indianapolis. ... The Boilermakers (1-2) have lost seven straight in this series, which has been played every year since 1946. The two teams will not meet again until 2020. ... Golson’s 15-yard TD run with 13 seconds left in the first half erased Notre Dame’s only deficit of the season. ... Golson closed it by throwing a 15-yard TD pass to Corey Robinson late in the third and leading the Irish to two fourth-quarter field goals. ... Golson was 25-for-40 for 259 yards, and rushed 18 times for a season-best 56 yards. #14 Mississippi56, La.Lafayette 15: Bo Wallace threw for 316 yards and four touchdowns, two to Vince Sanders, to lead the host Bulldogs (3-0). ... I’Tavius Mathers rushed for a 56-yard touchdown on the first drive and the Rebels rolled to a 28-0 lead by midway through the second quarter. ... Wallace completed 23 of 28 passes for an offense that gained 554 total yards. ... Sanders finished with a career-high eight receptions for 125 yards. ... Senquez Golson intercepted two passes, including one thatwas returned 59yards for a touchdown. E. Carolina 28,#17Virginia Tech 21: East Carolina quarterback Shane Carden threw three touchdownpasses and scored a rushing touchdown with 16 seconds left to lead the visiting Pirates (2-1). ... Carden completed 23 of 47 passes for 427 yards in carrying the Pirates to their first victory over a ranked team since 2009 when they beat then-No. 18Houston 38-32. ... The Hokies (2-1), coming off a road win over then-No. 8OhioState, tied the gameon an 18-yard touchdownpass from Michael Brewer to Cam Phillips with 1:20 left. ... The Pirates then needed just three plays to go 65 yards and scored the winner on a 1-yard run by Carden. #20Missouri 38, C. Florida 10: Maty Mauk threw four touchdownpasses, two each to Jimmie Hunt and Bud Sasser, and passed for 144 yards to lead the host Tigers (3-0). ... Mauk entered the day tied for first nationally with eight passing touchdowns. Virginia 23, #21 Louisville 21: Greyson Lambert threw for one touch down and ran for another, and Ian Frye kicked a 42yard field goal with 3:41 remaining for the host Cavaliers. ... The winning points came after Louisville’s James Quick fumbled a punt and Kelvin Rainey recovered for Virginia (2-1, 1-0ACC) at the Cardinals’ 25. Four plays later, Frye’s third field goal of the game allowed the Cavaliers to end an 11-gameslide against FBS-level competition. ... Louisville (2-1, 1-1) had tied the game mid way through the quarter, but the Cardinals’ fourth turn over was too much for them to overcome. #22 OhioState66, Kent State0: J.T. Barrett matched a school record with six touchdownpasses— five in the first half— to lead the host Buckeyes (2-1). ... Nick Holley had six receptions for Kent State (0-3), which got $850,000to get pounded before a crowd of 104,404 at Ohio Stadium. ... Curti s Samuel ran for two touchdowns and Rod Smith ran for one and also caught a TD pass for the Buckeyes.