The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Purdue stuns No. 2 Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Aidan O’Connell threw for 375 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, David Bell had a careerbest 240 yards receiving, and Purdue continued its recent mastery over No. 2 Iowa with a 24-7 upset Saturday.
The Boilermakers (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) have won four of their last five games against the Hawkeyes (6-1, 3-1). The loss ended Iowa’s 12-game winning streak.
Purdue beat its highest ranked opponent on the road since a victory at No. 2 Notre Dame in 1974. It was the second time in four seasons Purdue has knocked off a No. 2-ranked team. The Boilermakers won at home against a second-ranked Ohio State in 2018.
O’Connell was 30 of 40 passing with two touchdowns, and he also ran for a score. He got the most work on a day when Purdue used backup quarterbacks Jack Plummer and Austin Burton in select situations. All three were in on different plays during the Boilermakers’ first-quarter drive that ended with O’Connell’s 6-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.
O’Connell threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to TJ Sheffield in the final minute of the first half to give Purdue a 14-7 halftime lead. He threw a 21-yard TD pass to Bell in the fourth quarter.
Bell had 11 receptions. He has a combined 37 catches for 558 yards and five touchdowns against Iowa in three seasons.
Iowa’s offense was ineffective against Purdue, which came in third in the Big Ten in total defense and scoring defense. The Hawkeyes’ only score was a 3-yard touchdown run by Ivory Kelly-Martin in the second quarter, and Iowa had just 271 yards of offense.
NO. 1 GEORGIA 30, NO. 11 KENTUCKY 13
ATHENS, Ga. — With Georgia playing its first game as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team since 2008, Stetson Bennett threw three touchdown passes and the Bulldogs got another stifling defensive effort in a victory over Kentucky.
Bennett, starting his third straight game in place of injured JT Daniels, hooked up with freshman tight end Brock Bowers on a pair of scores.
The senior quarterback was 14 of 20 for 250 yards in another solid performance with Daniels watching from the sideline for the Bulldogs (7-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference),
Bowers, who has emerged as one of Georgia’s most dynamic offensive weapons in his first college season, had five receptions for 101 yards.
Georgia’s defense allowed two touchdown in a game for the first time all season — the second with 4 seconds remaining after Kentucky (6-1, 4-1) called a timeout to take one last shot at punching it in from the 1.
NO. 3 CINCINNATI 56, UCF 21
CINCINNATI — Jerome Ford rushed for a career-high 189 yards and four touchdowns, helping Cincinnati roll past UCF.
Desmond Ridder passed for 140 yards and a touchdown to help the Bearcats (6-0, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) extend the nation’s second-longest home winning streak to 24 games.
Cincinnati’s special teams made the first big play when Josh Whyle partially blocked a punt to give the Bearcats the ball at the UCF 38. That led to a 1-yard TD run by Ford to put them ahead 7-0.
Ridder, who completed just six of his first 12 passes, hooked up with Alec Pierce in the back corner of the end zone for a 19-yard TD that put the Bearcats ahead 21-0 in the second quarter. Ford sprinted 79 yards untouched for his third TD run to make it 28-0.
Bearcats senior cornerback Coby Bryant ran back an interception 74 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Cincinnati led 35-0 at halftime, outgaining UCF (3-3, 1-2) 314-99.
NO. 10 MICHIGAN ST. 20, INDIANA 15
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Matt Coghlin’s 51-yard field goal to open the second half gave Michigan State the lead and Payton Thorne’s 12-yard touchdown pass provided the margin the Spartans needed to hold off Indiana.
The Spartans (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) will remain atop the conference’s East Division at least two more weeks after reclaiming the Old Brass Spittoon.
And while this one certainly didn’t follow the usual script — Kenneth Walker III, the nation’s top rusher, carried 23 times for 84 yards, and Michigan State punted its first six possessions — the Spartans still managed to hand the Hoosiers (2-4, 0-3) their third loss in four games.
NO. 12 OKLAHOMA ST. 32, NO. 25 TEXAS 24
AUSTIN, Texas — Tanner Brown’s fourth field goal of the game gave No. 12 Oklahoma State its first lead, and Spencer Sanders’ scrambling 10-yard touchdown run with 2:18 to play capped a 32-24 victory over No. 25 Texas on Saturday to keep the Cowboys undefeated.
Texas built leads of 17-3 and 24-13 behind three touchdowns from Bijan Robinson before Oklahoma State’s defense and punishing run game behind Jaylen Warren took over for the Cowboys (6-0, 3-0 Big 12).
It was the second straight week Texas (4-3, 2-2) surrendered a big lead in a tough loss. The Longhorns led Oklahoma 28-7 before losing 55-48 last week.
Brown’s kicking and Jason Taylor II’s 85-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter kept the Cowboys in the game while Sanders and the offense were struggling early.
The Cowboys allowed Texas just 317 total yards. Warren finished with 193 yards rushing on 33 carries, pounding out 154 yards in the second-half rally.
AUBURN 38, NO. 17 ARKANSAS 23
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Bo Nix threw for 292 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, Auburn’s defense contributed a touchdown and a key fourth-down stop in the third quarter and the Tigers beat Arkansas.
Auburn (5-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) won its sixth straight in the series and handed Arkansas (4-3, 1-3) its third straight loss.
BAYLOR 38, NO. 19 BYU 24
WACO, Texas — Abram Smith ran for 188 yards with three touchdowns, Baylor linebacker and part-time fullback Dillon Doyle scored on both of his offensive touches and the Bears beat future Big 12 foe BYU.
Baylor (6-1) led by only three points midway through the third quarter before Doyle caught a 2-yard TD pass from Gerry Bohanon. Smith ran for a 7-yard score about 31⁄2 minutes later to make it 31-14, after TJ Franklin’s sack that forced a fumble by Cougars quarterback Jaren Hall.
LSU 49, NO. 20 FLORIDA 42
BATON ROUGE, La. — Tyrion DavisPrice ran for an LSU-record 287 yards and had three touchdowns and the Tigers’ banged-up defense came up with four interceptions against Florida.
The stirring performance produced thunderous roars from a Death Valley crowd that came in with low expectations after unranked LSU (4-3, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) dropped its previous two games against Auburn and Kentucky, fueling speculation coach Ed Orgeron’s hold on his job was tenuous at best.
NO. 21 TEXAS A&M 35, MISSOURI 14
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Texas A&M’s running back duo of Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane combined for 292 rushing yards and three touchdowns to power the Aggies past Missouri.
Spiller rushed 20 times for 168 yards and one touchdown, and Achane added 16 carries for 124 yards and two scores to help Texas A&M (5-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) avoid a letdown after last week’s upset of Alabama.