COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Will Howard tossed three touchdown passes, but No. 4 Ohio State needed an interception by cornerback Jordan Hancock with 1:16 left to seal its 21-17 win over Nebraska on Saturday.
The Buckeyes (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) bounced back from their loss to Oregon two weeks ago but sure didn’t look like the well-oiled machine they are supposed to be in grappling with four-touchdown-underdog Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers had kept it close all day with three field goals by John Hohl. Ohio State punted five times, gave up the ball on downs, missed a field goal and survived a Howard interception.
Dante Dowdell gave Nebraska its first lead in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown, and the Huskers converted the 2-point conversion to go up 17-14 with just under 11 minutes left.
Howard wrested the lead back with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Quinshon Judkins with 6:04 left.
No. 1 OREGON 38, No. 20 ILLINOIS 9
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Dillon Gabriel threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, and top-ranked Oregon routed No. 20 Illinois to remain undefeated.
Gabriel finished 18-of-26 for 291 yards and Oregon racked up 527 yards of total offense. Tez Johnson caught six of Gabriel’s passes for 102 yards and a score.
The Ducks (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) haven’t started a season with eight straight wins since 2013. It was Oregon’s third win over a ranked team this season.
The Fighting Illini (6-2, 3-2) hadn’t faced the top-ranked team in the nation since 2007, when they beat Ohio State 28-21 on the road.
Luke Altmyer threw for 161 yards for Illinois, which was coming off a 21-7 victory over No. 24 Michigan last weekend. That win was the third for the Illini over a Top 25 opponent this season — most for the team since 2007.
No. 3 PENN ST. 28, WISCONSIN 13
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Beau Pribula performed in relief of injured quarterback Drew Allar, Jaylen Reed scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 19-yard interception return and No. 3 Penn State rallied to beat Wisconsin.
Allar went into the locker room before his teammates in the final minute of the first half after he landed a little awkwardly while getting sacked on Penn State’s last series of the second quarter. Allar came back onto the field for the second half wearing a brace around his left knee, but he remained on the sideline for the rest of the night.
Penn State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) trailed 10-7 at the time of Allar’s exit. The Nittany Lions also played much of the game without star defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, who got hurt in the first half and briefly returned in the third quarter before leaving for good.
Reed and Pribula helped make sure the Nittany Lions remained unbeaten anyway.
No. 5 TEXAS 27, No. 25 VANDERBILT 24
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Quinn Ewers threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns Saturday as No. 5 Texas beat No. 25 Vanderbilt in its Southeastern Conference road debut.
The Longhorns (7-1, 3-1) bounced back from the loss to Georgia last week that ended their stay at No. 1. They also beat Vanderbilt in Nashville for the first time since 1925 as these new league teammates renewed a rivalry last played in 1928 in Dallas.
Vanderbilt (5-3, 2-2) snapped a three-game winning streak in its first game ranked in the Top 25 since the 2012 Music City Bowl. This was the Commodores’ first regular-season game as a ranked team since Oct. 18, 2008, when they played three games as a Top 25 team.
They had a chance late as Diego Pavia threw for two touchdowns after Texas went up 24-10 in the third. Pavia’s second TD pass, an 8-yarder to Eli Stowers with 46 seconds left, pulled Vanderbilt within 27-24.
Texas easily recovered Vanderbilt’s onside kick attempt to seal the victory.
No. 6 MIAMI 36, FLORIDA ST. 14
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Cam Ward passed for 208 yards and caught a touchdown pass, Damien Martinez ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns and No. 6 Miami remained unbeaten by beating rival Florida State.
Mark Fletcher Jr. rushed for a score and Andres Borregales kicked three field goals to help Miami (8-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) snap a three-game losing streak against the Seminoles (1-7, 1-6).
The Seminoles — who started 13-0 last season and won the ACC — are assured of their fifth losing season in the last seven years, the third in five seasons under coach Mike Norvell. Luke Kromenhoek took over at quarterback off the bench and rushed for 71 yards.
Fletcher opened the scoring for Miami on a 1-yard run to cap a 67-yard drive — an emotional moment for the sophomore, whose father died this week. He crossed the goal line, took a knee and pointed to the sky in tribute.
No. 11 BYU 37, UCF 24
ORLANDO (AP) — No. 11 BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns and added another on the ground to lead the Cougars to a win over UCF.
BYU (8-0, 5-0 Big 12) controlled the clock, holding the ball for nearly 40 minutes. The Cougars capitalized on their opportunities to score, especially in a few pressure moments during the game.
The Cougars got a 62-yard touchdown pass from Retzlaff to Chase Roberts with 27 seconds left to head into the locker room up 14 points. They then came out of the locker room with a 10-play, 72-yard touchdown drive capped with a one-yard throw from Retzlaff to tight end Mata’ava Ta’ase.
BYU outgained the UCF (3-5, 1-4) 483-350.
Running back LJ Martin rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, and Hinckley Ropati rushed for 83 yards on 13 carries to lead BYU’s ground attack. BYU scored the first 17 points of the game, coasting to the victory.
No. 12 NOTRE DAME 51, No. 24 NAVY 34
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Jeremiyah Love ran for 102 yards, two touchdowns and extended his streak of rushing for a TD to eight games in leading No. 12 Notre Dame to a victory over No. 24 Navy, knocking the uncharacteristically mistake-prone Midshipmen from the unbeaten ranks.
Love scored on runs of 64 and 2 yards and quarterback Riley Leonard ran for a touchdown and threw two more as the Fighting Irish (7-1) beat Navy (6-1) for the seventh straight time in this 97th meeting, which was played at MetLife Stadium.
The Midshipmen, who had not lost a fumble all season, lost five and that led to 28 points for the Irish, with Jaylen Sneed recovering a Blake Horvath fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.
Love’s shorter TD run, a 6-yard TD pass from Leonard to Kris Mitchell and a late 4-yard TD run by Kedren Young also followed turnovers, including two on muffed punts.
No. 13 INDIANA 31, WASHINGTON 17
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Quarterback Tayven Jackson threw for one touchdown and ran for another in his first start of the season, and D’Angelo Ponds’ two interceptions both led to scores as No. 13 Indiana pulled away from Washington.
The Hoosiers (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) have tied the 1967 Rose Bowl team for the best start in school history while staying atop the league standings.
Jackson replaced the injured Kurtis Rourke (right thumb) and went 11 of 19 with 124 yards, one TD pass and one interception, and his 2-yard TD run with 8:55 to play gave the Hoosiers a 31-14 lead. Justice Ellison carried 29 times for a season high 123 yards and one score.
The Huskies (4-4, 2-3) have lost three of four and still haven’t won outside their home stadium this season. Will Rogers was 19 of 26 for 202 yards with two interceptions. Jonah Coleman had 19 carries for 104 yards and one TD.
No. 14 TEXAS A&M 38, No. 8 LSU 23
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Quarterback Marcel Reed came off the bench to run for three second-half touchdowns and No. 14 Texas A&M beat eighth-ranked LSU to become the only team undefeated in Southeastern Conference play.
The Aggies (7-1, 5-0) picked off three of Garrett Nussmeier’s passes after halftime to get their seventh straight victory since a loss to Notre Dame in the opener.
Texas A&M, in its first season under coach Mike Elko after Jimbo Fisher’s firing, scored touchdowns on four straight possessions after Conner Weigman was benched for Reed in the third quarter. The Aggies wowed a crowd of 108,852 to improve to 5-0 in SEC play for the first time as they chase their first appearance in the conference championship game.
No. 15 ALABAMA 34, No. 21 MISSOURI 0
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Jamarion Miller rushed for two touchdowns and No. 15 Alabama’s defense had three interceptions in a victory over No. 21 Missouri, which played much of the game without starting quarterback Brady Cook.
The Crimson Tide (6-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) bounced back strongly from their second loss in three weeks. They had already lost multiple games before November for the first time since 2007 but took this one over after the Tigers (6-2, 2-2) lost Cook to an upper body injury late in the first half.
Jalen Milroe was 16-of-26 passing for 215 yards for Alabama. He also ran for 50 yards, including a 9-yard touchdown when he bounced off a blocker and reversed field and a 32-yarder to set it up.
Miller scored on runs of 3 and 11 yards and Justice Haynes had a 35-yard touchdown run.
No. 16 KANSAS ST. 29, KANSAS 17
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Avery Johnson threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, Chris Tennant kicked a 51-yard go-ahead field goal with 1:42 to go and No. 16 Kansas State stopped Kansas on fourth down to preserve a victory.
D.J. Giddens added 102 yards rushing for the Wildcats (7-1, 4-1 Big 12), who kept alive their chances of playing for a conference title and in the College Football Playoff by beating their biggest rival for the 16th consecutive time.
Kansas (2-6, 1-4) got the ball back after Tennant’s field goal and picked up a quick first down. But Jalon Daniels bookended a short completion with a couple of incomplete passes, and he was tracked down on fourth down with less than a minute to go, giving the Wildcats the ball back and the chance to run out the clock.
Daniels threw for 209 yards and accounted for two touchdowns and an interception. Devin Neal ran for 66 yards and a score.
No. 18 MISSISSIPPI 26, OKLAHOMA 14
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Jaxson Dart threw for 306 yards and No 18 Mississippi used a big third quarter to beat Oklahoma.
The Sooners were up 14-10 at the half before scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter behind Dart and tight end Caden Prieskorn, who had five catches for 71 yards.
Oklahoma (4-4, 1-4 SEC), in its first game since last Sunday’s firing of offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, was productive in the run game in the first half but struggled out of the gate on the back end. The Sooners did not cross the 50 in the second half until the middle of the fourth quarter.
That drive reached the Ole Miss 13 but ended with three-straight sacks of quarterback Jackson Arnold and a turnover on downs. The Rebels (6-2, 2-2) sacked Arnold nine times.
No. 22 SMU 28, DUKE 27, OT
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — No. 22 SMU forced an incompletion on a winning two-point conversion attempt to seal a road victory in overtime against Duke.
It’s the fifth consecutive win for the Mustangs (7-1, 4-0 ACC), who got 117 rushing yards and two touchdowns — including the winner in overtime — from Brashard Smith. Mustangs’ quarterback Kevin Jennings had 299 yards of total offense, rushing for a score and throwing for another.
The Blue Devils (6-2, 2-2) lost despite winning the turnover battle 6-0. Maalik Murphy completed 27-of-48 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns, while Star Thomas rushed for 65 yards and a score.
The game started anew with nine minutes left to play in the fourth quarter when Duke capped off a 10-play, 64-yard yard drive with Thomas muscling his way into the end-zone for a touchdown.
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