Ridder leads No. 7 Cincinnati past No. 9 Notre Dame
SOUTH BEND, IND. » Desmond Ridder threw two touchdown passes and ran for score late in the fourth quarter as No. 7 Cincinnati capitalized on its big opportunity and beat No. 9 Notre Dame 24-13 on Saturday in a game the Bearcats hope can be the centerpiece of College Football Playoff resume.
Cincinnati (4-0) wanted to use its first Top 10, regular-season matchup as a statement game, heading into its American Athletic Conference schedule. No team from outside the Power Five conferences has ever reached the playoff. Never even came close.
To break that barrier Bearcats almost certainly needs to go undefeated and this trip to Notre Dame (4-1) stood as the toughest test on the schedule. Not to mention the biggest stage they’ll appear on this season. The Bearcats were not quite dominant, but they were plenty good enough in their first trip to South Bend since 1900 to snap Notre Dame’s 26-game home winning streak.
Ridder was 19 for 32 for 297 yards. He hooked up with Alec Pierce six times for 144 yards, and was at his best after Notre Dame cut the lead to 17-13 with 8:20 left in the fourth quarter. Ridder went 3 for 3, with a bullet down the middle for 36 yards to Leonard Taylor, on the ensuing drive. He capped it off with a 6-yard TD run around left end that made it 24-13.
Cincinnati took advantage of three turnovers by Notre Dame in the first half to jump out to 17-0 lead.
STANFORD 31, NO. 3 OREGON 24, OT » Tanner McKee threw a TD pass on an untimed down at the end of regulation to tie the game and another on the opening possession of overtime to lead Stanford past Oregon.
McKee came back after leaving for a play on the final drive of regulation with an injury to tie it on a 2-yard pass to Elijah Higgins after a holding penalty by Oregon (4-1, 1-1Pac-12) in the end zone extended the game one play.
McKee then gave the Cardinal (3-2, 2-1)
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the lead with a 14-yarder to John Humphreys in overtime. Stanford then forced Anthony Brown to throw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-8to seal its fourth win against an Oregon team ranked in the top 10since 2009. The Ducks appeared poised for their first 5-0start in eight years when they rallied from 10points down at halftime to take a 24-17 lead early in the fourth quarter on Brown’s second TD run of the game.
But then McKee delivered the big plays late and the Cardinal capitalized on three Oregon penalties on the game-tying 87-yard drive in the final 1:59of regulation.
NO. 1ALABAMA 42, NO. 12 MISSISSIPPI 21 »
Brian Robinson Jr. rushed for career highs of 171 yards and four touchdowns and No. 1Alabama beat Mississippi. Bryce Young threw two touchdown passes for the Crimson Tide (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference).
Alabama turned to Robinson to play keep away from Matt Corral and the offense of the Rebels (3-1, 0-1), who had breezed through three nonconference games before an open date. The Tide’s fifth-year senior carried 36times and picked up the first 100-yard game of his career.
Young completed 21of 27passes for 241yards and had a pass intercepted.
NO. 2 GEORGIA 37, NO. 8 ARKANSAS 0»
Zamir White ran for two touchdowns and recovered a blocked punt for another score, and Georgia pounded Arkansas in the Bulldogs’ second consecutive shutout.
Georgia (5-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) raced to a 21-0lead in the first quarter despite playing without quarterback JT Daniels, who was held out with a right lat injury.
Stetson Bennett filled in for Daniels and passed for only 72yards as the Bulldogs relied on their running game and top-rated defense to beat Arkansas (4-1, 1-1). Georgia, leading the nation in total defense and scoring defense
following last week’s 62-0win at Vanderbilt, held Arkansas to 10 first downs and 156yards. The last time Georgia recorded backto-back shutouts in SEC games was in 1980, its last national championship season.
NO. 6OKLAHOMA 37, KANSAS STATE 31 »
Spencer Rattler threw for 243yards and two touchdowns, Oklahoma had two crucial calls overturned in its favor after video reviews, and the Sooners recovered an onside kick with just over a minute left to hold off Kansas State.
Kennedy Brooks added 91yards rushing and a touchdown, and Jeremiah Hall reached the end zone twice, as the Sooners (5-0, 2-0Big 12) overcame a slew of penalties on their offensive line to beat the Wildcats for the first time in three tries.
Skylar Thompson returned from a knee injury to throw for 320yards and three scores for the Wildcats (3-2, 0-2). Deuce Vaughn had 51yards rushing to go with 10 catches for 104yards and a score, and Malik Knowles returned a kick 93yards for a touchdown with 1:20remaining for the final margin.
NO. 11 OHIO STATE 52, RUTGERS 13 »
C.J. Stroud threw for 330yards and a career-high five touchdowns after sitting out a game to rest his shoulder and Ohio State won its 20th straight Big Ten game, routing Rutgers. Stroud connected with Chris Olave on touchdown passes of 56and 11yards, found Garrett Wilson on
a 32-yard catch and run and hit tight ends Jeremy Ruckert and Mitch Rossi on scoring passes. The freshman finished 17of 23 and did not throw an interception. Olave had five catches for 119 yards.
Ohio State (4-1, 2-0) has beaten Rutgers (3-2, 0-2) eight times in as many games. The Buckeyes outgained the Scarlet Knights 541-346, flowed through a defense that had give up 54 points in its first four games and intercepted three of Noah Vedral’s passes.
NO. 14MICHIGAN 38, WISCONSIN 17 »
Cornelius Johnson caught both of Cade McNamara’s touchdown passes and Michigan remained unbeaten with a victory over Wisconsin, which lost quarterback Graham Mertz to a chest injury.
Wisconsin (1-3, 0-2Big Ten) trailed 13-10and had the ball to start the third quarter when Mertz was sacked by Daxton Hill on a third-and-9play. Mertz and tight end Jake Ferguson both went to the locker room with chest injuries after that play, and neither returned to the game. Once Mertz and Ferguson departed, Michigan scored 25straight points to put the game out of reach.
The Wolverines (5-0, 2-0) won at Madison for the first time since 2001by shutting down Wisconsin’s rushing attack, something Michigan had failed to do the last couple of seasons. Michigan had lost in each of its last five trips to
Camp Randall Stadium. McNamara went 17of 28for 197 yards. Highly touted freshman quarterback J.J. McCarthy also played and had a 1-yard touchdown run plus a 56-yard touchdown pass to Daylen Baldwin.
NO. 16 COASTAL CAROLINA 59, LOUISIANA-MONROE 6 »
Grayson McCall threw for 212 yards on 13-of-13passing with two touchdowns to Isaiah Likely and Coastal Carolina rolled past Louisiana-Monroe to start Sun Belt Conference play.
The Chanticleers started 5-0for a second straight season and have won 16of their past 17the last two seasons.
McCall was already the FBS leader in completion percentage and had little trouble keeping that going against the Warhawks (2-2, 1-1). He led Coastal Carolina to scores on all five first-half possessions for a 38-3lead at the break, then watched the rest of the game from the sidelines.
Likely had five receptions for 95 yards, including scoring catches of 5and 30yards from McCall.
NO. 24 WAKE FOREST 37, LOUISVILLE 34 »
Nick Sciba kicked a 29-yard field goal with 22seconds left to lift Wake Forest past Louisville,
Sam Hartman threw for 324yards and two touchdowns to lead the offense for the Demon Deacons (5-0, 3-0Atlantic Coast Conference), who got a huge boost late from Justice Ellison with several patient and chain-moving runs on the go-ahead drive. Louisville (3-2, 1-1) got a final drive with a chance to tie and no timeouts, but the Cardinals’ desperate, lateral-filled play never got across midfield before Wake Forest’s Rondell Bothroyd recovered the loose ball to end this one after time had expired.
Malik Cunningham had a big day for the Cardinals, throwing for 332 yards and two scores while running for two additional TDs.