A night of upsets and Irish, Tide rise in football

Associated Press

Coming into Saturday, Oregon and Kansas State had the inside track to college football’s national championship and the Southeastern Conference’s run of six straight BCS titles was in jeopardy.

Then No. 2 K-State got thumped 52-24 by unranked Baylor and top-ranked Oregon fell in overtime to No. 14 Stanford, 17-14.

Now the SEC is alive and well.

And how’s this for a possible national title game: Alabama vs. Notre Dame.

A week after Alabama lost to Texas A&M, more upsets re-opened door for the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide, which shut out lower-division Western Carolina 49-0 on Saturday.

Georgia has a title shot, too. And so does Florida.

But the happiest of all about the Ducks and Wildcats going down had to be Notre Dame and its fans.

The Fighting Irish were third in the BCS standings and the AP Top 25, behind K-State and Oregon entering the weekend. Notre Dame was staring at what must have felt unthinkable for the storied program: Finishing unbeaten and not even getting a chance to play for the BCS championship.

The Irish took care of running their record to 11-0 with a 38-0 shutout at home against Wake Forest.

Then everything fell into place.

Oregon (10-1), the highest scoring team in the country at 55 points per games, couldn’t shake free of Stanford’s tough defense. The Cardinal tied it late on a juggling TD catch that was called incomplete on the field and overturned to a catch by replay.

In OT, Oregon missed a field goal and Stanford made one. The Ducks were done.

“It hurts and as I told them, you’d like to have some words that would take the pain out of it, but there aren’t,” Ducks coach Chip Kelly said. “We’ll feel bad for a little bit of time and we’ll bounce back from it.”

Kansas State’s first loss of the season was far more decisive. Collin Klein and the Wildcats (10-1) lost 52-24 at Baylor, and there went Kansas State’s BCS title hopes and Klein’s status as Heisman Trophy front-runner. He was picked off three times.

It was the first time since Dec. 1, 2007, that the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the AP Top 25 lost on the same day. That year, Missouri and West Virginia were the upset victims, giving Ohio State and LSU a chance to play for the national title. The Tigers won the second of the SEC’s six straight.

When the latest BCS standings and AP rankings come out Sunday Notre Dame almost certainly will be No. 1.

Alabama, fourth in the BCS last week, will most likely be in second place this week, followed by SEC rivals Georgia and Florida.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly won’t need to go on television with Oprah Winfrey, as he said he would earlier this week, to plead his team’s case for playing in the BCS title game. Just beat rival Southern California next week at the Los Angeles Coliseum and book the plane tickets to Miami, where the BCS national title game will be played Jan. 7.

USC, the preseason No. 1 team, lost again on Saturday, 38-28 to UCLA, to fall to 7-4. And Trojans star quarterback Matt Barkley was knocked out of Saturday’s game by a hard hit. No word yet on whether he’ll play next week, but if he doesn’t Notre Dame’s path gets even smoother.

As for the SEC, it’s pretty simple.

Alabama (10-1) and Georgia (10-1) have already sealed up spots in the conference title game on Dec. 1, but both have games still to play.

The Tide plays hapless rival Auburn next week. The Bulldogs face Georgia Tech. If they both win, the SEC title game again becomes a de facto national semifinal, with the winner likely advancing to Miami, trying to extend win the league’s seventh straight national crown.

Sprinkle in a Georgia Tech win and the Bulldogs beating Alabama in the SEC title game, and No. 7 Florida (10-1) could be the SEC’s representative, though the Gators have to play at No. 10 Florida State (10-1).

The Seminoles aren’t out of the race yet either, especially if USC shocks Notre Dame. Though if that happens, just about any team with only one loss will be making claim to be in the big game, even Oregon and Kansas State if they can win their conferences.

Or consider this.

USC beats Notre Dame, Florida beats Florida State, and either Georgia or Alabama finishes 12-1. Add it up and it could be an all-SEC championship game for the second straight year.

Or there could be split national championship. Undefeated Ohio State is No. 6 in the AP Top 25 but ineligible to win the BCS title because it is NCAA-banned from playing in a bowl game.

If all the other contenders falter, Ohio State could be the lone unbeaten left standing and lay claim to the AP title.

Sounds crazy, but after Saturday night, nothing seems far-fetched.

No. 3 NOTRE DAME 38, WAKE FOREST 0

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Everett Golson threw touchdown passes of 50, 34 and 2 yards, Cierre Wood scored on a 68-yard run and Notre Dame finished the season undefeated at home for the first time since 1998.

The Fighting Irish improved to 11-0 for the first time since 1989 and need to beat Southern California to finish a regular season undefeated for the first time since 1988, the last time they won a national championship. The Demon Deacons (5-6) fell to 1-33 all-time against top 5 teams, their lone win coming against No. 4 Tennessee in 1946.

The victory virtually assures the Irish of a berth in a BCS game. The Irish need to beat USC and likely need either No. 1 Oregon or No. 2 Kansas State to lose to reach the BCS title game.

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No. 4 ALABAMA 49, WESTERN CAROLINA 0

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Eddie Lacy rushed for three first-half touchdowns and AJ McCarron set Alabama’s single-season record for passing TDs.

The Crimson Tide (10-1) rebounded from a loss to No. 9 Texas A&M by building a 42-0 halftime lead against the Catamounts (1-10), a Football Championship Subdivision team with two wins in as many seasons. It was Alabama’s third shutout of the season.

McCarron completed all six of his attempts for 133 yards and his 21st touchdown before exiting midway through the second quarter. Lacy ran for 99 yards on 10 carries with two 7-yard touchdowns and a 3-yarder. Neither played after halftime.

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No. 5 GEORGIA 45, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 14

ATHENS, Ga. — Aaron Murray threw four touchdown passes and Todd Gurley became only the second true freshman in Georgia history to rush for 1,000 yards.

Georgia (10-1) reached 10 wins for the eighth time in Mark Richt’s dozen seasons as coach. Georgia Southern (8-3) had a shot at the halftime lead, only to get scuttled by a penalty, and Murray took control from there.

He completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Mitchell with just 4 seconds left in the half, sending Georgia to the locker room with a 17-7 lead. In the third quarter, Murray hooked up with Chris Conley on a pair of scoring passes, sandwiched around a 43-yarder to Tavarres King.

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No. 6 OHIO STATE 21, WISCONSIN 14

MADISON, Wis. — Carlos Hyde scored on a 2-yard run in overtime and the Buckeyes stayed perfect.

The Buckeyes (11-0, 7-0) clinched the Leaders Division title outright with the win. But they are ineligible for the postseason as part of their punishment for NCAA violations under former coach Jim Tressel, and the best they can hope for is to end the year unbeaten and to maybe capture the AP Top 25 title.

Montee Ball scored his 78th touchdown, tying Travis Prentice’s major-college record for career scores. But he fumbled on what would have been the record-breaker with 2:46 left in regulation.

The Badgers forced overtime anyway, on Jacob Pedersen’s 5-yard catch, but Curt Phillips couldn’t find him again in overtime.

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No. 7 FLORIDA 23, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — No. 7 Florida used a strong defensive effort to overcome a sluggish offensive performance.

The Gators scored a touchdown on their first possession when Mike Gillislee plowed into the end zone from 7 yards out. But that was the only offensive touchdown all day from Florida.

The Gators (10-1) also scored on a 7-yard interception return by Jonathan Bostic early in the third quarter. Caleb Sturgis added three field goals from 21, 44 and 47 yards out to complete the scoring.

Florida’s defense allowed a 76-yard pass completion on the first play of the game, but held the Gamecocks to 176 total yards the rest of the game. Jacksonville State, an FCS program that plays in the Ohio Valley Conference, completed its season with a 6-5 record.

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No. 8 LSU 41, MISSISSIPPI 35

BATON ROUGE, La. — Jeremy Hill scored his third touchdown with 15 seconds left to lift LSU to a victory.

The game included seven turnovers, numerous momentum swings and long touchdowns, perhaps none better than Odell Beckham Jr.’s 89-yard punt return for a score that evoked memories of Billy Cannon’s famous return against the same team, along the same sideline, for the same yardage back in 1959.

Beckham’s return tied the game at 35, but LSU (9-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) still needed a pair of clutch sacks by Anthony Johnson and Lavar Edwards to drive Ole Miss (5-6, 2-5) out of routine field goal range later in the fourth quarter, setting up the winning drive.

Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace passed for 310 yards and two TDs and ran for two scores, but also was intercepted three times.

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No. 9 TEXAS A&M 47, SAM HOUSTON STATE 28

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Johnny Manziel threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for 100 yards and two more scores in a bit more than a half for Texas A&M.

The redshirt freshman threw an 89-yard touchdown pass to Uzoma Nwachukwu on A&M’s first offensive play of the second half. The dual-threat quarterback then attempted the extra point, but it sailed wide right, ending the Heisman hopeful’s day with A&M (9-2) leading 40-0.

He broke the NCAA freshman quarterback rushing record of 1,029 set by Missouri’s Brad Smith in 2002, and the freshman record for total offense of 3,827 set in 2000 by Jared Lorenzen on A&M’s first drive. He also became the fifth player and first freshman in FBS history to pass for at least 3,000 yards with at least 1,000 yards rushing in a season.

His 4,161 yards are a school record for total offense in a season.

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No. 10 FLORIDA STATE 41, MARYLAND 14

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Devonta Freeman ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns as Florida State earned a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

Florida State (10-1, 7-1) led 27-0 at halftime and cruised to its fifth straight victory. The Seminoles clinched the league’s Atlantic Division title for the second time in three years and will play for its 13th ACC crown on Dec. 1.

EJ Manuel completed 17 of 23 passes for 144 yards and two scores to supplement a running game that gained 237 yards.

Operating against an injury-plagued Maryland team using a linebacker at quarterback, Florida State allowed 170 yards.

The defeat formally ended any chance Maryland had of becoming bowl eligible. The Terrapins (4-7, 2-5) have dropped five straight.

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No. 11 CLEMSON 62, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 48

CLEMSON, S.C. — Tajh Boyd threw for five touchdowns and ran for three more scores to lead Clemson to a record-shattering win.

The Tigers (10-1, 7-1 Atlantic Coast) gained 754 yards, two off the school record. The 110 combined points were just seven off the ACC record set by Georgia Tech and North Carolina last week.

The Wolfpack (6-5, 3-4) led 24-13 early in the second quarter before Clemson scored 42 straight. Boyd was responsible for every Clemson touchdown. The junior was 30-for-44 for 426 yards and ran for 105 yards — the combined 531 yards set another school record.

The Tigers won a share of the ACC’s Atlantic Division title, but the loss to Florida State keeps them out of the title game.

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No. 12 SOUTH CAROLINA 24, WOFFORD 7

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kenny Miles rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown and South Carolina pulled out a closer-than-expected 24-7 win over an FCS opponent.

The victory gave Steve Spurrier his 64th win in eight seasons with the Gamecocks (9-2), tying him with Rex Enright for most ever in program history. But it wasn’t until a 17-point fourth quarter that Spurrier and South Carolina could rest easy in this one.

Adam Yates’ 23-yard field goal broke a 7-all tie with 11:57 to go. After the Terriers (8-3) failed on a 4th-and-1 at their 34, Connor Shaw threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Ace Sanders to widen the lead.

Moments later, Wofford’s Eric Breitenstein fumbled and Akeem Auguste returned it 31 yards for a touchdown, making it 24-7.

It was the Gamecocks 11th straight win at Williams-Brice Stadium and completed their first perfect run at home (7-0) since 1987.

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No. 13 OKLAHOMA 50, WEST VIRGINIA 49

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Landry Jones threw six touchdown passes, including a 5-yarder to Kenny Stills with 24 seconds left, to lift Oklahoma to a wild win.

Jones finished with 554 passing yards to break his own school record. He needed a terrific game to offset the performances of West Virginia’s tandem of Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey.

It marked the first time in 16 tries that Oklahoma (8-2, 6-1 Big 12) overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to win dating to 2007.

Oklahoma saw its conference title chances revived with No. 2 Kansas State’s 52-24 loss to Baylor. The Wildcats (10-1, 7-1) beat the Sooners earlier this season and can still clinch the league’s automatic Bowl Championship Series berth with a win on Dec. 1 against No. 18 Texas or with another Oklahoma loss.

Oklahoma has games left against Oklahoma State next Saturday and at TCU on Dec. 1. Any loss also would eliminate the Sooners from consideration for an at-large BCS bowl berth.

Austin rushed for a school-record 344 yards and set a Big 12 record with 572 all-purpose yards. Bailey had 13 catches for 205 yards and four touchdowns for West Virginia, (5-5, 2-5) which lost its fifth straight game.

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No. 15 OREGON STATE 62, CALIFORNIA 14

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Sean Mannion passed for 325 yards and four touchdowns, and No. 15 Oregon State routed California in what could be Jeff Tedford’s final game as the Golden Bears’ coach.

Markus Wheaton had seven catches for 99 yards for the Beavers (8-2, 6-2 Pac-12), who improved to 5-0 at Reser Stadium and will face Oregon in the Civil War next weekend. Terron Ward ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns, helping the Beavers rack up 559 yards of offense.

Isi Sofele had 104 yards rushing for the Bears (3-9, 2-7), who were hampered all season long by turnovers, penalties, missed assignments and sloppy tackling.

Tedford, two-time conference coach of the year, has been at California since 2002, but the program has been in decline. The Bears are 15-22 in the past three seasons.

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No. 16 NEBRASKA 38, MINNESOTA 14

LINCOLN, Neb. — Taylor Martinez threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns to Kenny Bell while becoming Nebraska’s career passing leader.

The Cornhuskers (9-2, 6-1), who had to come from behind in the second half in four of its first five Big Ten wins, scored on four of their first six possessions against the Gophers (6-5, 2-5).

Nebraska can clinch the Legends Division title — and a berth in the conference championship game against Wisconsin on Dec. 1 — with a win at Iowa on Friday or a Michigan loss at Ohio State Saturday.

Martinez passed 36 yards to a wide-open Bell for the Huskers’ first touchdown, and they later connected for a 30-yarder along the sideline.

Minnesota had 98 total yards entering the fourth quarter. Nebraska pulled its starters, and the Gophers scored on MarQueis Gray’s 1- and 6-yard runs.

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No. 17 UCLA 38, No. 21 USC 28

PASADENA, Calif. — Brett Hundley passed for 234 yards and a touchdown and rushed for two more scores as UCLA clinched the Pac-12 South title and snapped a five-game losing streak in the crosstown rivalry.

Eric Kendricks blocked a punt and made a fourth-quarter interception for the Bruins (9-2, 6-2 Pac-12), who overcame intermittent second-half rain and USC’s star-studded lineup for a gutsy victory that puts them atop Los Angeles football.

A year after USC obliterated the Bruins 50-0 in a game that led to a coaching change in Westwood, UCLA punctuated its one-year revitalization under Jim Mora with its first win over the Trojans (7-4, 5-4) since 2006 — just their second in 14 years.

Matt Barkley passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns, but threw two interceptions in the Trojans’ third loss in four games.

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UTAH STATE 48, No. 19 LOUISIANA TECH 41, OT

RUSTON, La. — Kerwynn Williams scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to give Utah State a lead in overtime and the Aggies stopped Louisiana Tech on four plays to win and clinch at least a share of the Western Athletic Conference championship.

Chuckie Keeton threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns for Utah State (9-2, 5-0), which let a 24-point, third-quarter lead slip away against one of the nation’s highest scoring teams.

The Aggies scored on their first offensive play — an 86-yard touchdown after a screen pass from Keeton to Williams — and racked up 646 yards of total offense.

Utah State jumped out to a 27-3 lead by early in the third quarter, but Louisiana Tech (9-2, 4-1) rallied to tie the game at 41 on Matt Nelson’s 32-yard field goal as time expired in regulation.

Louisiana Tech’s Colby Cameron threw an interception late in the second quarter, snapping his NCAA-record streak of 445 pass attempts without an interception. Cameron completed 35 of 60 passes for 396 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

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No. 22 RUTGERS 10, CINCINNATI 3

CINCINNATI — Savon Huggins ran for a career-high 179 yards, and Rutgers’ defense had another shut-down showing and the Scarlet Knights stayed in control of the Big East.

Rutgers (9-1, 5-0) remained the only unbeaten team in conference play. The Scarlet Knights finish with games at Pittsburgh and home against No. 20 Louisville, which has one Big East loss.

Huggins filled in for the injured Jawan Jamison and had a career day all around, leading an offense that did just enough. Gary Nova threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Mark Harrison in the second quarter, and Nick Borgese made a 42-yard field goal in the fourth.

The league’s top defense took it from there, shutting out Cincinnati (7-3, 3-2) until Tony Miliano kicked a 36-yard field goal with 11 seconds left.

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No. 23 MICHIGAN 42, IOWA 17

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Devin Gardner accounted for six touchdowns to help Michigan rout Iowa.

The Wolverines (8-3, 6-1 Big Ten) weren’t stopped on offense by the hapless Hawkeyes (4-7, 2-5) until Gardner threw an interception early in the fourth quarter.

Gardner threw three touchdowns and ran for three scores. He became the first Michigan quarterback to account for six TDs since 1983 when Steve Smith had as many passing and rushing scores in a game at Minnesota.

Denard Robinson started at running back and took snaps at quarterback and ran 13 times for 98 yards in his last home game.

Iowa has lost five straight.

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OKLAHOMA STATE 59, No. 23 TEXAS TECH 21

STILLWATER, Okla. — Isaiah Anderson had a career-best 174 yards receiving and caught three long touchdown passes from Clint Chelf in his final home game for Oklahoma State.

Zack Craig blocked a pair of punts, returning one for a touchdown, as the Cowboys (7-3, 5-2 Big 12) won their fourth straight in the series and the second in a row in decisive fashion. The Red Raiders’ 66-6 loss in last season’s game was the most lopsided defeat in the program’s history.

Chelf passed for 229 yards in his second career start. J.W. Walsh, who had what coach Mike Gundy called a season-ending injury four weeks ago, ran for one touchdown and threw for another out of a short-yardage package.

Seth Doege threw for 230 yards with two interceptions and a single touchdown pass for Texas Tech (7-4, 4-4).

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No. 25 KENT STATE 31, BOWLING GREEN 24

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Dri Archer had two long touchdown runs and finished with 241 yards rushing, leading Kent State to its first Mid-American Conference title game.

The Golden Flashes’ defense stopped Bowling Green twice within the last five minutes inside Kent State territory.

Luke Wollet’s interception in the end zone with 21 seconds left sealed the victory.

Bowling Green (7-4, 5-2) had driven to the Kent State 14 before coming up empty on four consecutive throws.

Archer scored on runs of 79 and 74 yards for Kent State (10-1, 7-0 MAC).