Clemson, Florida State rout ACC foes
Associated Press
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No. 3 Clemson and No. 8 Florida State took turns routing divisional foes, and sending messages that they are the superpowers of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
After Clemson won at Syracuse 49-14 and Florida State stomped No. 25 Maryland at home 63-0, the Tigers and Seminoles are two weeks away from a huge showdown in Death Valley on Oct. 19.
Florida State (5-0, 2-0) and star redshirt freshman quarterback Jameis Winston have next week off. Clemson (5-0, 3-0) and Heisman Trophy contender Tajh Boyd play Boston College at home.
No. 1 ALABAMA 45
GEORGIA STATE 3
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — AJ McCarron completed 15 of 16 passes for 166 yards and four touchdowns in the first half and Alabama rolled.
The Crimson Tide (5-0) jumped ahead 38-0 by halftime against the Panthers (0-5), a first-year Football Bowl Subdivision team.
McCarron led Alabama to touchdowns on each of his five possessions before leaving the game. He completed his first 12 passes, putting him in a three-way tie for the Tide’s third-longest streak.
The four touchdown passes tied his career high and was the seventh time McCarron has reached that number. Alabama outgained the Panthers 477-175 and held them to 15 yards rushing.
The Tide hasn’t allowed a touchdown in the past three games, giving up only three field goals.
Georgia State ended Alabama’s shutout bid with Wil Lutz’s school-record 53-yard field goal to cap the second half’s opening drive.
No. 2 OREGON 57
COLORADO 16
BOULDER, Colo. — Marcus Mariota threw five touchdown passes and ran for two scores as Oregon brushed off some early trickery to rout Colorado.
The Ducks’ sophomore connected for two touchdowns each with Josh Huff and Bralon Addison, and played only 2½ quarters.
The Buffaloes had Folsom Field in a frenzy when they kept things tight early on, but the crowd didn’t like it when Colorado kept going for field goals while the Ducks were piling up the points.
Oregon (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) has scored at least 55 points in all of its games under first-year coach Mark Helfrich, a former offensive coordinator at Colorado, who took over when Chip Kelly left to coach the Philadelphia Eagles.
No. 3 CLEMSON 49
SYRACUSE 14
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Tajh Boyd kept his Heisman Trophy aspirations intact, throwing for 455 yards and five touchdowns in three quarters of work, and Clemson spoiled the Orange’s Atlantic Coast Conference debut.
Boyd, who matched his school record in TD passes, hit Adam Humphries with scoring passes of 60 and 42 yards in the first quarter to help stake the Tigers to a big early lead, and they held the Orange at bay.
Clemson (5-0, 3-0 ACC) entered the game as one of just 20 undefeated teams remaining in the Bowl Subdivision, and the Tigers made sure they wouldn’t slip up against the Orange (2-3, 0-1) and their raucous Homecoming crowd of 48,961 by taking a 21-0 first-quarter lead.
The Tigers entered the game with 12 straight wins by double digits against unranked teams.
No. 4 OHIO STATE 40
No. 16 Northwestern 30
EVANSTON, Ill. — Carlos Hyde ran for a career-high 168 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 4 Ohio State rallied to and extend the nation’s longest win streak to 18 games.
The Buckeyes (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) remained undefeated since Urban Meyer took over as coach last year.
On a rain-soaked field and with a prime-time audience watching, they rallied from 10 down in the third quarter to take out a team aiming to show it could beat the best in the conference.
Hyde scored on a 4-yard run late in the third and added two more touchdowns in the final quarter to lift the Buckeyes.
He was credited with a 2-yard touchdown after a replay review early in the fourth to put Ohio State ahead 26-23.
Then, after Northwestern’s Trevor Siemian connected with Cameron Dickerson on a 12-yard score, Hyde ran it in from the 7 with 5:22 left in the game. That made it 34-30.
The Wildcats’ Kain Colter then got stopped on fourth-and-1 at the Ohio State 34 with 2:43 left after he picked up his own fumble, wiping out a late threat. The game ended with Northwestern (4-1, 1-1) lateralling and the Buckeyes recovering the loose ball in the end zone.
No. 7 LOUISVILLE 30
TEMPLE 7
PHILADELPHIA — Teddy Bridgewater threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns to keep Louisville undefeated.
Bridgewater made it look easy against the overwhelmed Owls (0-5, 0-2 American Athletic Conference). He threw for 228 yards in the first half to help the Cardinals roll to a 24-0 lead.
The Cardinals (5-0, 1-0) lost a bid for their second straight shutout when Temple scored with 38 seconds left.
Under first-year coach Matt Rhule, the Owls remained winless in program history against top-10 teams.
No. 8 FLORIDA STATE 63
No. 25 MARYLAND 0
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Jameis Winston completed 23-of-32 passes for 393 yards and five touchdowns and Florida State matched a record with the most-lopsided victory against ranked team in the history of the AP Top 25.
Winston, a redshirt freshman, has 1,441 yards passing, 17 touchdowns with two interceptions and a 73.3 completion percentage this season.
Nick O’Leary caught to two touchdowns and Kelvin Benjamin had two. The Seminoles (5-0, 3-0 ACC) put up 614 yards of total offense.
Maryland (4-1, 0-1) lost quarterback C.J. Brown to an injury in the second quarter. The Terps were held to 234 yards.
No. 10 LSU 59
MISSISSIPPI STATE 26
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Zach Mettenberger threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns, Odell Beckham Jr. had 179 yards receiving and two TDs, and No. 10 LSU pushed past Mississippi State.
Mettenberger completed 25 of 29 passes in another impressive performance during the senior’s breakout season. Beckham was his favorite target — the two hooked up for nine completions.
LSU’s Jeremy Hill added 157 yards rushing and two touchdowns. The Tigers (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) have won 14 straight over Mississippi State (2-3, 0-2) dating back to 1999.
It was a tight game until the first play of the fourth quarter, when Mettenberger found Beckham for a 33-yard touchdown pass to give the Tigers a 38-26 lead.
Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott threw for 106 yards and rushed for 103 more. Jameon Lewis caught seven passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.
No. 11 OKLA. 20, TCU 17
NORMAN, Okla. — Brennan Clay broke a 76-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter and Oklahoma held off TCU.
Trey Millard had a touchdown run for the Sooners (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) and Michael Hunnicutt hit field goals of 39 and 32 yards. Oklahoma and Texas will meet next Saturday in the annual Red River Rivalry in Dallas with first place in the conference on the line.
Oklahoma opened with seven straight defensive 3-and-outs, after finishing a 35-21 win at Notre Dame last Saturday with three. The 10 straight 3-and-outs was the longest such streak recorded by the Sooners since at least the 2003 season.
Oklahoma has won 10 straight Big 12 games, its third-longest streak in conference play since the league formed in 1996. The Sooners have won their last three against TCU (2-3, 0-2) since the Horned Frogs won in Norman in 2005.
No. 13 SO. CAROLINA 35
KENTUCKY 28
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Connor Shaw passed for a touchdown and ran for another as No. 13 South Carolina, playing without injured defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, held off a Kentucky comeback.
The Gamecocks (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) again let a large lead slip away and once more were able to come away with a victory. The Wildcats (1-4, 0-2) rallied from 21-0 to pull to 27-21 on Jalen Whitlow’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Timmons with 11:50 remaining.
No. 14 MIAMI 45
GEORGIA TECH 30
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Stephen Morris threw for three touchdowns, Duke Johnson rushed for 184 yards and Miami remained unbeaten after shaking off a problematic opening quarter.
Phillip Dorsett, Clive Walford and Allen Hurns caught scoring passes for Miami (5-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which scored 21 points in the final 7:15. Dallas Crawford ran for two scores in the fourth quarter, and Ladarius Gunter added a 30-yard interception return for another touchdown with 1:08 left.
No. 18 FLORIDA 30
ARKANSAS 10
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Solomon Patton turned two short receptions into touchdowns, helping Florida beat Arkansas.
Patton finished with six catches for a career-high 124 yards. He also ran for a first down. But his longest gains went the distance and were key to Florida (4-1, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) winning its ninth consecutive game in the series and 10th in a row at home.
Tyler Murphy, making his first start at Florida Field, completed 16 of 22 passes for 240 yards and three scores — another efficient and effective outing from a fourth-year junior who somehow couldn’t get on the field the last three years.
The Razorbacks (3-3, 0-2) ran the ball well early — against the league’s best defense — but fell behind on Loucheiz Purifoy’s interception return in the second quarter for a touchdown and faded from there.
No. 19 MICHIGAN 42
MINNESOTA 13
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Devin Gardner threw a 24-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass to Devin Funchess late in the first half and Michigan pulled away.
The Wolverines (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) relied on their running game to take pressure off the turnover-prone Gardner. He didn’t throw an interception for the first time since making his first start as a quarterback last year at Minnesota.
The Golden Gophers (4-2, 0-2) were without coach Jerry Kill for an entire game for the first time because of his epilepsy. He had a seizure Saturday morning, when he planned to travel to Michigan to coach in the game, and remained home to rest in Minnesota.
No. 20 TEXAS TECH 54
KANSAS 16
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Freshman sensation Baker Mayfield passed for 368 yards but was helped off the field with an apparent leg injury in the third quarter of Texas Tech’s victory.
Mayfield, a true freshman walk-on who has started every game, was hurt at the end of the third quarter when tackled while passing. There was no penalty. He hobbled very slowly off the field with someone helping him under each arm.
He was 33 of 51 with one interception.
It’s the 22nd straight Big 12 loss by Kansas (2-2, 0-1).
No. 21 OKLA. STATE 33
KANSAS STATE 29
STILLWATER, Okla. — J.W. Walsh found Charlie Moore for a 6-yard touchdown pass with 4:16 left in the fourth quarter to help Oklahoma State rally.
Walsh finished 24-of-38 passing for 245 yards for the Cowboys, who narrowly avoided their second straight loss after a defeat at West Virginia last week.
After falling behind 29-23 in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma State (4-1, 1-1 Big 12 Conference) drove 75 yards in six plays. Walsh was 4-of-5 passing on the drive, including the go-ahead touchdown pass to Moore.
No. 23 FRESNO STATE 61
IDAHO 14
MOSCOW, Idaho — Derek Carr threw five touchdown passes as No. 23 Fresno State pounded Idaho, scoring at least 40 points for the fifth time this season.
Davante Adams caught three touchdown passes for Fresno State (5-0), which is off to its best start since 2001, when the Bulldogs won their first six games.
Idaho (1-5), coming off a win over Temple in coach Paul Petrino’s first season, didn’t score until the fourth quarter against the first ranked opponent to play in the Kibbie Dome since Boise State in 2010.
Fresno State, playing its final nonconference game, scored touchdowns on its first five possessions and never was threatened. It was the best defensive performance of the season for a team that has been surrendering 38 points per game.
