Buckeyes rally to beat No. 2 Penn State
COLUMBUS, Ohio — J.T. Barrett hit Marcus Baugh with a 16-yard touchdown pass with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter and No. 6 Ohio State rallied from 11 down in the final five minutes to hand No. 2 Penn State its first loss,
39-38 on Saturday.
Barrett played one of the best games of his decorated career, going 33 for
39 for 328 yards and four touchdown passes, three in the fourth quarter after the Buckeyes (7-1, 5-0 Big Ten) were down 35-20.
Penn State led 38-27 with 5:42 left and it looked as if the Nittany Lions
(7-1, 4-1) were going to knock the Buckeyes out of the College Football Playoff race and put a firm grip on the Big Ten East. Saquon Barkley scored two long touchdowns for Penn State, but it was Barrett who surged into the Heisman Trophy race in what was billed as the Big Ten game of the year and lived up to the hype.
Barrett hooked up with Johnnie Dixon for two touchdowns in the fourth and then got the ball back down five with 3:20 left. The Buckeyes quickly marched down the field and then Barrett found his big tight end Baugh open for the lead.
The blackout crowd at the Horseshoe poured onto the field to celebrate with the Buckeyes after Barrett took a final knee. He calmly wandered through the mayhem, receiving pats on the back. The fifth-year senior, who some fans wanted bench after the Buckeyes’ offense struggled in a September loss to Oklahoma, had just delivered a performance to quiet any remaining doubters.
No. 3 Georgia 42, Florida 7
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Sony Michel put third-ranked Georgia up big early and put Florida away late, scoring on two long runs in a 42-7 drubbing Saturday that might have been the final game for Gators coach Jim McElwain.
Michel finished with 137 yards rushing on just six carries and helped the Bulldogs remain unbeaten and in control in the Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division.
Nick Chubb also scored for the Bulldogs (8-0, 5-0 SEC), who ended a threegame losing streak in “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” and started 8-0 for the first time since 2002.
Florida (3-4, 3-3) started the day by responding to a tweet from a sports lawyer who said Florida and McElwain’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, have engaged in buyout negotiations and are “miles apart.”
Athletic director Scott Stricklin released a statement several hours before the game saying the buyout report was inaccurate.
Florida’s performance against Georgia surely doesn’t bode well for McElwain’s job security.
The Bulldogs scored on their first three possessions and led 21-0 before the Gators picked up a first down. Georgia used three huge plays to build a three-touchdown lead.
Jake Fromm — the guy one Florida player openly questioned early in the week — found D’Andre Swift in the flat for a 39-yard gain that set up Chubbs’
6-yard touchdown run. Dominick Sanders intercepted Feleipe Franks’ pass on the ensuing possession, and Fromm threw a perfect, 17-yard pass to Javon Wims in the corner of the end zone. Michel added his first of two scores, a
74-yarder midway through the second quarter.
Michel added 45-yarder in the third, and the rout was on.
Iowa State 14, No. 4 TCU 7
AMES, Iowa — Kyle Kempt threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns and 25th-ranked Iowa State upset fourthranked TCU 14-7, handing the Horned Frogs their first defeat and leaving the Big 12 without an unbeaten team.
Marcel Spears intercepted a Kenny Hill pass with 1:16 left to seal it for the Cyclones (6-2, 4-1 Big 12), who forced a pair of turnovers in the red zone in the second half in winning their fourth straight game.
Kempt put Iowa State ahead 14-0 at the break with touchdown passes to Matt Eaton (17 yards) and Hakeem Butler (4 yards).
TCU (7-1, 4-1) answered to open the second half on a 94-yard kickoff return by KaVontae Turpin. But Brian Peavy intercepted Hill in the end zone in the
third quarter and brought it back 70 yards, and Willie Harvey caused Hill to fumble a ball recovered by Iowa State at its own 15-yard line with 7:11 to go.
Hill had his worst game of the season, finishing 12 of 25 passing for 135 yards and those two very costly interceptions. The Horned Frogs also committed 11 penalties.
No. 5 Wisconsin 24 Illinois 10
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Alec Ingold and Garrett Groshek scored on short runs in the first half, offensive lineman Michael Deiter added another touchdown on a trick play late in the game, and No. 5 Wisconsin beat Illinois to remain unbeaten.
Star running back Jonathan Taylor rushed for just 73 yards but didn’t appear in the second half for Wisconsin because of a left leg injury. The freshman entered the game averaging 158.6 yards rushing.
Despite Taylor’s absence, Alex Hornibrook made enough throws to get the team’s eighth win. None was better than on the trick play that freed Deiter for his first career touchdown.
Hornibrook dropped back on third-and-goal from the 4 and rushed right before throwing a backward pass to Deiter on the other side. Deiter caught it and hustled his 328-pound frame in for the score.
Wisconsin (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) gained 306 yards, well below its season average of 462.7 yards, but was able to overcome a sluggish performance for its 11th consecutive conference victory.
No. 8 Miami 24 North Carolina 19
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Malik Rosier threw for a career-high 356 yards with three touchdowns to help eighthranked Miami hold off North Carolina.
Rosier had a 51-yard touchdown throw to Christopher Herndon IV late in the first half and a 78-yarder to Jeff Thomas to open the third quarter. His 5-yarder to Braxton Berrios gave the Hurricanes (7-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) a
24-13 fourth-quarter lead. Still, Miami had to come up with a couple late plays after UNC made it a one-score game.
First the Hurricanes recovered a fumble by Jordon Brown after the Tar Heels had pushed near the Miami 35 with
2:11 left. Then Rosier ran for a chains-moving keeper near the
2-minute mark, allowing Miami to run out the clock.
Nathan Elliott threw for one touchdown and three interceptions for the Tar Heels (1-8, 0-6) after starter Chazz Surratt was knocked from the game in the opening quarter.
No. 9 Notre Dame 35 No. 14 N.C. State 14
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Julian Love returned his second interception of the season for a touchdown and running back Josh Adams had another big day, rushing for 202 yards, to help No.
9 Notre Dame beat 14th-ranked North Carolina State.
The sixth straight victory by Brian Kelly’s Irish, now 7-1, avenged a 10-3 loss at N.C. State last year in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. N.C. State (6-2) saw its six-game winning streak come to an end.
Love’s 69-yard return behind a convey of his defensive mates with 12:05 left in the third quarter ended N.C. State quarterback Ryan Finley’s streak of consecutive passes without throwing an interception at 339. Love, who also broke up three other Finley attempts, had a 50-yard interception return for a TD in Notre Dame’s 38-18 victory at Michigan State.
A little less than eight minutes after Love’s theft, the 6-foot2, 225-pound Adams, who earlier in the game became the quickest back in school history to go over
1,000 yards in a season on his
110th attempt, broke up the middle for a 77-yard touchdown run that provided further breathing room. Adams had his second
200-yard rushing game of the season and his sixth game over
100 yards this year. Brandon Wimbush added three first-half touchdowns, his
11th rushing TD of the season and two scoring passes of 25 yards to Durham Smythe and 11 yards to Kevin Stepherson.
The Irish, averaging just under 318 rushing yards a game, sixth best in the nation, finished right at 318 yards against N.C. State that had surrendered a paltry 91.3 yards a game coming in.
Finley ended with 213 yards and one touchdown on 17-of-37 passing. The Wolfpack played most of the game without all-purpose back Nyheim Hines, who injured an ankle in the first quarter on a kickoff return and did not return.
No. 11 Oklahoma State 50 No. 22 West Virginia 39
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Mason Rudolph threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score to lead No. 11 Oklahoma State over No. 22 West Virginia.
Freshman J.D. King ran for a season-high 142 yards and scored twice in place of Big 12 leading rusher Justice Hill for the Cowboys (7-1, 4-1 Big 12).
In winning its fourth straight, Oklahoma State scored four touchdowns following West Virginia turnovers and the Mountaineers couldn’t come back from their biggest deficit of the season.
Rudolph, the national passing yards leader, stood out in a steady light rain in a matchup against West Virginia’s Will Grier, who entered the game first in the FBS with 26 touchdown passes.
Rudolph finished 20 of 34 for
216 yards. He earned his 29th win as a starter, breaking the school record set by current coach Mike Gundy from 1986 to 1989.
Grier threw four interceptions and his streak of seven straight 300-yard passing games ended. Grier finished 20 of 42 for
285 yards and two TDs. West Virginia (5-3, 3-2) entered the game fifth in total offense in the nation and was limited to 347 yards, 192 under its average.
No. 12 Washington 44 UCLA 23
SEATTLE — Myles Gaskin led Washington’s running onslaught with 169 yards and one touchdown, Lavon Coleman added 94 yards and three touchdown runs and the 12th-ranked Huskies routed UCLA.
The Huskies (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) bounced back from their first loss of the season two weeks ago at Arizona State by running through the worst run defense in the country. Quarterback Jake Browning was mostly a nonfactor because he didn’t need to throw; Gaskin and his friends had more than enough success on the ground.
Washington finished with 333 yards rushing as a team, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Gaskin finally found the end zone late in the third quarter on a 6-yard run. Coleman scored on runs of
1, 33 and 13 yards, and Browning added a 1-yard quarterback sneak early in the second quarter after it appeared Gaskin had scored on the previous play.
UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen was 12 of 21 passing for
93 yards and was sacked four times. Rosen was pulled midway through the third quarter and later was on the sideline in sweats. He had been limping after being sacked in the second quarter by Washington’s Austin Joyner. Rosen threw a 7-yard TD pass to Jordan Wilson in the second quarter, but Washington scored the next 27 points.
The Bruins (4-4, 2-3) entered the day with the worst run defense in the country, and Washington did its part in making those numbers even worse. Washington was the fourth team this season to rush for at least
300 yards against the Bruins. It was the first time since beating Oregon last season the Huskies topped 300 yards rushing.
Browning finished just 8 of 11 passing for 98 yards, a career low in passing yards and attempts.