STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Casey Washington caught a 2-point conversion pass from Brandon Peters to end the first nine-overtime game in NCAA history and lift Illinois over No. 7 Penn State 20-18 on Saturday.
The teams were tied at 10 after regulation, exchanged field goals in the first two overtimes, then began to alternate 2-point attempts in the third OT as part of a format tweaked ahead of the season.
Neither team converted until the eighth overtime, when Isaiah Williams ran one in to put Illinois (3-5, 2-3 Big Ten) up 18-16. Noah Cain kept the it alive for Penn State (5-2, 2-2) with a 2-point run of his own.
In the ninth OT, Sean Clifford’s pass to Parker Washington was broken up by linebacker Khalan Tolson. Peters then found Washington near the back of the end zone for the winning completion.
The 2-point conversion shootout started in 2019, the season after LSU and Texas A&M played a seven overtime game that left both teams badly beaten up. The rule was tweaked this year, with the 2-point conversion possessions beginning with the third overtime instead of the fifth.
Chase Brown and Josh McCray combined for 365 rushing yards and a touchdown for Illinois, and James McCourt kicked three field goals.
NO. 3 OKLAHOMA 35, KANSAS 23
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Caleb Williams threw two touchdown passes, ran 40-yards for a score on a pivotal fourth down and Oklahoma rallied to beat Kansas.
The Sooners (8-0, 5-0 Big 12) trailed by double figures on two occasions — including 10-0 at the half —-but outscored the Jayhawks 35-13 in the second half to win their 16th straight game.
Jason Bean passed for 246 yards and a score for Kansas (1-6, 0-4), which led 17-7 late in the third quarter. A 66-yard run by Trevon West sparked the Oklahoma offense after that. and scored two plays later for their first lead, 21-17, early in the fourth quarter.
Kansas was able to stay in the game because of the legs of Devin Neal who ran for 100 and a pair of touchdowns. Kansas didn’t punt for the first time until the fourth quarter and held Oklahoma scoreless in the first half.
In his second start, Williams threw for 178 yards, ran for 70 and converted two key fourth downs, one with the long TD run midway through the fourth quarter to make it 28-17 and another when he pulled the ball away from teammate Kennedy Brooks, who appeared stopped behind the line.
NO. 2 CINCINNATI 28, NAVY 20
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Arquon Bush intercepted a pass with 25 seconds left to help Cincinnati hold off Navy.
The Bearcats (7-0, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) weren’t in significant danger until the final minute, when Navy scored to make it a one-score game and then recovered an onside kick with 48 seconds left.
The Midshipmen (1-6, 1-4) didn’t do much with that final chance, though. Tai Lavatai’s third-down pass was picked off by Bush near the Cincinnati 45.
Desmond Ridder threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns for the Bearcats.
NO. 4 ALABAMA 52, TENNESSEE 24
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Bryce Young passed for 371 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores, carrying Alabama past Tennessee.
Brian Robinson ran for 107 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Crimson Tide (7-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) score 21 points in the first six-plus minutes of the final quarter.
That turned a mostly competitive game against the Volunteers (4-4, 2-3), fueled by Hendon Hooker’s 282-yard passing performance, into another lopsided final score.
The result was Alabama’s 15th consecutive win in the border rivalry, with the previous five having an average margin of 33 points.
Young completed 31 of 43 passes and turned five of his frequent scrambles into first downs or touchdowns. John Metchie caught 11 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Jameson Williams gained 123 yards on six catches.
NO. 5 OHIO STATE 54, INDIANA 6
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — C.J. Stroud threw four touchdown passes and TreVeyon Henderson scored three times in Ohio State’s blowout victory over Indiana.
The Buckeyes (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) have won five straight overall, 25 in a row against conference foes including championship games and 27 straight against the Hoosiers — the longest active streak against a single opponent in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Ohio State also has won an FBS-leading 12 consecutive true road games and extended its conference record with a 15th straight double-digit road win against a league foe.
After Henderson broke a 7-all tie with a 21-yard TD run late in the first quarter, the short-handed Hoosiers (2-5, 0-4) never had a chance. Ohio State scored the final 37 points of the first half and coach Ryan Day pulled his starters after three quarters.
Stroud was 21 of 28 for 266 yards.
NO. 6 MICHIGAN 33, NORTHWESTERN 7
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins combined for 229 yards rushing and four touchdowns, carrying Michigan past Northwestern.
The Wolverines (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) closed strong after a sluggish start. They led by just three points at halftime, looking as if they were peeking ahead to next week’s game against ninth-ranked Michigan State on the road.
Corum finished with 119 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Haskins ran for 110 yards and two scores. Cade McNamara was 20 of 27 for 129 yards for the Wolverines.
Michigan pulled away from the Wildcats (3-4, 1-3) by outscoring them 23-0 in the first 16:40 of the second half.
IOWA STATE 24, NO. 8 OKLAHOMA STATE 21
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Brock Purdy threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns and Iowa State made a late defensive stand to beat Oklahoma State.
Breece Hall scored the go-ahead touchdown with 5:29 left, then the Cyclones forced a three-and-out and stopped the Cowboys on fourth down with 1:09 left.
Purdy kneeled twice in victory formation, and fans stormed the field at Jack Trice Stadium as the clock ran out to celebrate Iowa State’s first victory over a Top 10 opponent since 2018.
Purdy completed 27 of 33 passes, and Xavier Hutchinson had a career-best 12 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns for the Cyclones (5-2, 3-1 Big 12). Spencer Sanders was 15 for 24 for Oklahoma State (6-1, 3-1), finishing with 225 yards and three touchdowns.
NO. 10 OREGON 34, UCLA 31
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Travis Dye became the first player in Football Bowl Subdivision history to score touchdowns on four consecutive carries and Oregon overcame an early 14-point deficit to beat UCLA,
Anthony Brown had 381 yards of total offense for the Ducks (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) against the Bruins (5-3, 3-2).
Dye — who finished with 35 yards on 14 carries — also became the seventh Oregon running back since 2000 with at least four rushing touchdowns in a game.
Before Dye’s record day, six players shared the mark with TDs on three consecutive carries, including Illinois’ Howard Griffith and Virginia’s Tiki Barber. Cal’s Joe Ayoob was the last to accomplish it on Sept. 23, 2005, against New Mexico State.
Oregon fell behind 14-0 during the first quarter before scoring on five of its next six drives.
NO. 12 MISSISSIPPI 31, LSU 18
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Matt Corral threw for a touchdown and ran for another, directing Mississippi to a 31-point outburst that spanned the second and third quarters to beat lame-duck coach Ed Orgeron and LSU.
LSU (4-4, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) lost in its first game since it was announced Orgeron wouldn’t return next season. A former Mississippi coach, he led the Tigers to the national championship less than two years ago.
Mississippi retired the No. 10 jersey of former All-America quarterback Eli Manning at halftime. The capacity crowd of 64,523 enthusiastically cheered Manning and his family members during the tribute.
The Rebels (6-1, 3-1) led 17-7 at halftime and kept pulling away. Corral was 18 of 23 for 185 yards, rushed for 24 yards, including three third-down conversion runs before yielding to reserves in the final period.
NO. 13 NOTRE DAME 31, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 16
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Kyren Williams rushed for two short touchdowns and a season-high 138 yards on 25 carries and Notre Dame withstood Southern California’s fourth-quarter rally.
Williams scored on a 5-yard run in the second quarter to help coach Brian Kelly’s Fighting Irish (6-1) to a 17-3 halftime lead. He then had a 1-yard run late in the third quarter to put the Irish up 24-3 en route to their fourth straight victory in the 92-game series.
But junior quarterback Kedon Slovis and 6-foot-5 junior wide receiver Drake London kept interim coach Donte Williams’ Trojans (3-4) in it. Slovis connected on 27 of 37 passes for 299 yards, 15 of the completions to London for 171 yards. London has 79 receptions for 1,003 yards this season. The Trojans outgained the Irish 424 yards to 383, but Slovis did not throw a touchdown pass and was intercepted once.
NO. 16 WAKE FOREST 70, ARMY 56
WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — Sam Hartman threw for a career-high 458 yards and five touchdowns in a big-play display and ran for another score and Wake Forest beat Army to improve to 7-0.
Army (4-3), which lost its third straight, have not defeated a ranked opponent since a 17-14 victory over Air Force in 1972, but the Black Knights made Wake Forest earn it.
Hartman was unstoppable and rarely pressured, completing 23 of 29 passes and hitting touchdown passes of 41, 54 and two of 75 yards as he matched the Michie Stadium record for scoring passes.
NO. 17 TEXAS A&M 44, SOUTH CAROLINA 14
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Ainias Smith had a 95-yard punt return for a touchdown and Jalen Wydermyer added two TD catches as Texas A&M built a huge first-half lead and coasted past South Carolina.
The star rushing duo of Isaiah Spiller and Devone Achane continued to do damage for the Aggies. They combined for 256 yards and two touchdowns a week after rushing for 292 yards and three touchdowns.
Texas A&M (6-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) raced to a 31-0 lead by halftime, and Achane’s 35-yard touchdown run made it 41-0 late in the third. It was the third straight victory for Texas A&M, which knocked off top-ranked Alabama two weeks ago before beating Missouri last week. Zach Calzada had 187 yards passing with two touchdowns.
South Carolina dropped to 4-4 overall and 1-4 in the SEC.
MIAMI 31, NO. 18 N.C. STATE 30
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tyler Van Dyke passed for 325 yards and four touchdowns, two of them to Charleston Rambo, and Miami knocked off N.C. State to snap a six-game losing streak against Power 5 opponents.
Jaylan Knighton had 166 total yards — 83 rushing, 83 more receiving — and a touchdown catch for Miami (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). Rambo finished with nine catches for 127 yards and Will Mallory had a touchdown grab for the Hurricanes.
Devin Leary threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns, plus ran for another for N.C. State. Thayer Thomas had both touchdown receptions for the Wolfpack (5-2, 2-1).
NO. 22 SAN DIEGO STATE 20, AIR FORCE 14
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) — Matt Araiza kicked two field goals, Kaegun Williams and Chance Bell ran for touchdowns and San Diego State withstood Air Force’s comeback bid.
San Diego State (7-0, 3-0 Mountain West) beat Air Force for the ninth straight time. Air Force (6-2, 3-2) had its four-game winning streak snapped.
Air Force pulled to within six after Dane Kinamon took a fourth-down pitch from Bryan and ran 3 yards for a touchdown with 3:59 left.
The Falcons got the ball back with 2:18 to play and punted after a fourth-down conversion was negated by a penalty. San Diego State ran out the final 1:35.
NO. 23 PITTSBURGH 27, CLEMSON 17
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett made the most of his Heisman Trophy showcase, throwing for 302 yards and two touchdowns against Clemson.
Pickett completed 25 of 39 passes to overtake Alex Van Pelt for the most career completions in school history. The fifth-year senior ran for two drive-extending dives late in the fourth quarter after the Tigers had drawn within 10.
Senior linebacker SirVocea Dennis returned an ill-advised shovel pass by Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei 50 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter that gave the Panthers a 14-point lead they never really threatened to give away.
Pitt (6-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) gained firm control of the ACC’s Coastal Division by winning its fourth straight following a stunning home upset loss to Western Michigan last month. Clemson (4-3, 3-2) saw its chances for another Atlantic Division title take a massive hit.
NO. 24 UTSA 45, LOUISIANA TECH 16
RUSTON, La. (AP) — Frank Harris threw two touchdown passes to Zakhari Franklin and UTSA celebrated its first national ranking with a victory over Louisiana Tech.
Harris was 12 of 20 for 193 yards, with scoring passes of 75 and 10 yards to Franklin, to help the Roadrunners (8-0, 4-0 Conference USA) extend their school-record winning streak to eight games.
Franklin had five catches for 118 yards, and Sincere McCormick ran for 113 yards and three touchdowns. Dadrian Taylor returned an interception 51 yards or a score.
UTSA won for the first time in Ruston in six attempts dating to 2012. Louisiana Tech (2-5, 1-2) hosted a Top 25 opponent for the first time since 2010 when the Bulldogs lost to then-No. 14 Nevada and Colin Kaepernick.
WISCONSIN 30, NO. 25 PURDUE 13
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Chez Mellusi ran for 149 yards and a touchdown and Braelon Allen had 140 yards and two scores to help Wisconsin beat Purdue.
Mellusi and Allen both had career highs for yards, with Mellusi carrying 27 carries and Allen 12 for the Badgers (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) . Wisconsin has won 15 straight against Purdue (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten).
Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell completed 24 of 32 passes for 200 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
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