College football top 25: Troy upsets No. 25 LSU 24-21
BATON ROUGE, La. — Jordan Chunn ran for 191 yards and a touchdown, Troy’s defense forced four turnovers and the surging Trojans upset No. 25 LSU 24-21 on Saturday night.
Troy, which celebrated wildly with traveling fans in largely empty Tiger Stadium as time ran out, became the first team from outside the Southeastern Conference to win in LSU’s Death Valley since UAB in 2000. They snapped the Tigers’ streak of 49 straight home victories over non-league opponents.
Although the Tigers (3-2) were three-touchdown favorites, the result wasn’t entirely unfathomable. LSU had looked vulnerable in a tense victory over Syracuse a week earlier, while Troy came in on a three-game winning streak and is among the favorites to win the Sun Belt Conference after a 10-victory 2016 campaign.
Troy (4-1) raced to leads of 17-0 and 24-7 before Danny Etling’s fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Russell Gage and Foster Moreau got LSU as close as a field goal with 1:59 left. But after failing to recover an onside kick, LSU had only 23 seconds to get into field goal range, and any hope of that ended when Blace Brown intercepted Etling’s pass on the Troy 42 with 11 seconds to go.
Entering the third quarter up 10-0, Troy continued to widen the gap. Chunn slipped a tackle near the line of scrimmage and broke loose for 74 yards, setting up his touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 1.
LSU appeared to squander a scoring chance when Derrick Dillon fumbled on the Troy 7. But LSU got the ball right back inside the Troy 10 on Chunn’s fumble, and backup quarterback Myles Brennan found tight end Foster Moreau for a 7-yard TD pass, making it 17-7.
Brennan marched LSU into Troy territory again, but his pass was intercepted by Marcus Jones at the Troy 26. The Trojans then drove for Josh Anderson’s 7-yard TD run.
Etling, who’d left the game after being shaken up late in the first half, returned to pull LSU to 24-14 on a 34-yard scoring pass to Russell Gage with 7:41 left.
After Chunn’s second fumble of the game on the LSU 11, Etling drove LSU 92 yards for another touchdown on a 20-yard pass to Moreau. But with one timeout left, LSU was unable to recover an onside kick, allowing Troy to run the clock down to 23 seconds before punting.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 66, MISSISSIPPI 3
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Jalen Hurts threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score and Alabama let loose on Mississippi, emphatically putting down a problematic foe in recent years with the highest-scoring performance by the Crimson Tide in 11 years under Nick Saban.
Ole Miss (2-2, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) had won two of last three meetings with Alabama (5-0, 2-0), scoring 109 points — more than any other Tide opponent over the last three years. The Rebels are the only SEC team to beat the Tide since 2014, and they handed Alabama its only home loss in the past 30 games at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The Tide made it look easy. Hurts hooked up with a wide-open Josh Jacobs down the middle for an 18-yard score early in the second quarter, and then mimicked holstering his finger guns after tossing the TD pass. Hurts tumbled over tacklers on a 10-yard keeper that made it 35-3 at the half.
In the last two weeks, Alabama has outscored Vanderbilt and Ole Miss by a combined 125-3. The 63-point margin was the Tide’s largest since beating Vandy 66-3 in 1979.
NO. 2 CLEMSON 31, NO. 12 VIRGINIA TECH 17
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Kelly Bryant ran around and away from Virginia Tech to lead Clemson to its third victory in three games against teams in the Top 25.
Making just his fifth start, the junior ran for 94 yards, hit Tavien Feaster with a pass the speedy running back took 60 yards for a score and avoided mistakes. He also kept alive a late scoring drive after scrambling right on a play that started at the 5, dodging three Hokies, shaking free from an ankle tackle and eventually turning back upfield at the 23. He zig-zagged all the way back to the 4.
The defending national champion Tigers (5-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) have also beaten No. 13 Auburn 14-6 and No. 17 Louisville 47-21. This triumph was their 12th in a row on the road, and fifth in a row against Virginia Tech, including the 2016 ACC championship.
Virginia Tech (4-1, 0-1) never mustered much offense and got its only touchdown after Isaiah Simmons made an ankle tackle on Greg Stroman’s 43-yard punt return to the Tigers 2. Sean Savoy ran it on the next play, but the Hokies had just 234 yards through three quarters.
NO. 4 PENN STATE 45, INDIANA 14
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — DaeSean Hamilton caught nine passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns and became Penn State’s career receptions leader.
Hamilton teamed with quarterback Trace McSorley on the first two scoring passes and caught the third from running back Saquon Barkley to cap the scoring in the fourth quarter. Hamilton hauled in his 180th career catch midway through the fourth quarter to break the record set by Deon Butler in 2008.
Barkley returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and finished with 221 yards.. Penn State (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) turned two first-quarter turnovers into touchdowns to spark the rout. McSorley added a rushing touchdown, and Nick Scott scored on a fumble return.
The Hoosiers (2-2, 0-2) turned the ball over on their second play of the game when Morgan Ellison coughed it up to linebacker Jason Cabinda after an 18-yard gain. McSorley capped an ensuing six-play, 39-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Indiana fumbled it away again when Irvin Charles ripped the ball out of punt returner J-Shun Harris’ hands. Scott scooped it up and returned it 13 yards to put Penn State up 21-0 less than 10 minutes in.
NO. 6 WASHINGTON 42, OREGON STATE 7
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Jake Browning threw three touchdown passes, Myles Gaskin ran for 113 yards and a score and Washington broke open a close game with a 21-point third quarter.
Browning completed 26 of 34 passes for 293 yards and had touchdown passes of 5, 15 and 34 yards to Dante Pettis, who had 12 catches for 105 yards. Browning has accounted for 12 touchdowns, 10 passing, in three career games against Oregon State.
Gaskin ran for a third-quarter touchdown of 32 yards, and had 15 carries in posting his second consecutive 100-plus-yard game for Washington (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12). The Huskies finished with 509 yards after struggling to get going initially.
Washington’s defense was smothering, holding Oregon State (1-4, 0-2) to 184 yards and eight first downs. The Beavers didn’t cross Washington’s 45 until the final six minutes.
NO. 7 GEORGIA 41, TENNESSEE 0
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jake Fromm threw a touchdown pass and ran for two more scores Saturday and Georgia handed Tennessee its first shutout in nearly a quarter-century.
Nick Chubb added 109 yards rushing to help Georgia race to its first 5-0 start since 2012, the last year the Bulldogs reached the Southeastern Conference championship game. They are 2-0 in conference play.
Tennessee (3-2, 0-2) was shut out for the first time since a 31-0 loss to Florida in 1994.
The Bulldogs got more good news in the fourth quarter when quarterback Jacob Eason made his first appearance since spraining his left knee in the season opener. Fromm was 7 of 15 for 84 yards and also rushed for 20 yards before giving way to Eason with the game well in hand.
NO. 10 WISCONSIN 33, NORTHWESTERN 24
MADISON, Wis. — Jonathan Taylor had two touchdowns runs to help the offense overcome a sluggish start and Wisconsin held off Northwestern.
Alex Hornibrook threw for 197 yards and a touchdown, settling down after two interceptions in the first half. Garrett Dooley had four of Wisconsin’s 10 sacks.
Northwestern’s last drive was thwarted when Clayton Thorson couldn’t find a receiver out of his own end zone and was sacked by D’Cota Dixon for a safety.
Thorson was having a good quarter until then, throwing two touchdown passes in less than 2 minutes. The second to Garrett Dickerson with 2:53 left got the Wildcats within a touchdown.
But Wisconsin (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) stood up the Wildcats (2-2, 0-1) again late to seal the win in each team’s conference opener.
NO. 11 OHIO STATE 56, RUTGERS 0
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — J.T. Barrett threw three touchdown passes and became Ohio State’s career passing yardage leader.
Mike Weber ran for a career-high three touchdowns and Ohio State (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) blanked Rutgers (1-4, 0-2) for the second straight year. The Buckeyes have won three straight after being upset by Oklahoma.
This marked the second meeting between Ohio Stata coach Urban Meyer and former defensive coordinator and now Scarlet Knights coach Chris Ash. It also marked the first time former Rutgers coach and current Buckeyes defensive coordinator Greg Schiano returned to High Point Solutions Stadium for a game.
This one wasn’t much of a contest with Ohio State outgaining Rutgers 628-209.
Barrett threw touchdown passes of 70 and 39 yards to Johnnie Dixon in the first half in building a 35-0 lead. The fifth-year senior added a 22-yard strike to Binjimen Victor in the third quarter for his eighth touchdown in the last two games and 13th of the season.
Barrett finished 14 of 22 for 275 yards. He has 7,622 yards passing, surpassing Art Schlichter (7,547) for the top spot in Buckeyes history.
NO. 13 AUBURN 49, NO. 24 Miss. STATE 10
AUBURN, Ala. — Jarrett Stidham passed for 264 yards and two touchdowns, and Kerryon Johnson ran for three scores for Auburn.
The Tigers (4-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) established themselves as the most likely challenger to No. 1 Alabama in the Western Division with an explosive offensive performance. The Bulldogs (3-2, 1-2) have lost two straight lopsided games since blowing out LSU.
Stidham launched a handful of deep balls for Auburn, including a 47-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Will Hastings and a 57-yarder to Eli Stove from his own end zone. He wound up 13-of-16 passing.
Johnson gained 116 yards, including an early 59-yarder, in a strong follow-up to his five-touchdown effort in a 51-14 romp over Missouri. Backup quarterback Malik Willis got into the act with a 67-yard run in the final minutes, thrilling the smattering of fans still remaining.
NO. 15 Okla. STATE 41, TEXAS TECH 34
LUBBOCK, Texas — Quarterback Mason Rudolph ran 16 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in the final two minutes and Oklahoma State beat Texas Tech.
Rudolph’s second rushing score came after three TD tosses as the Cowboys (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) bounced back from a home loss to ninth-ranked TCU and avoided a second early conference loss in their pursuit of the revived Big 12 championship game.
Oklahoma State held the Red Raiders (3-1, 0-1) to 384 yards, about 200 yards below the third-best average in the county coming in, and stopped Texas Tech after Matt Ammendola missed an 18-yard field goal that would have given the Cowboys the lead with 5:30 remaining.
Rudolph led Oklahoma State’s 79-yard drive to the decisive score. Marcell Ateman made a jump-ball catch over Octavious Morgan for 26 yards on third down. Two plays later, Rudolph faked a handoff and ran untouched to the right corner of the end zone with 1:12 remaining.
NO. 17 LOUISVILLE 55, MURRAY STATE 10
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Lamar Jackson had a short but productive day, throwing for 249 yards and three touchdowns in just over a half for Louisville.
The reigning Heisman Trophy winner, who had just one play after halftime, added 100 yards rushing and a TD on seven carries. He’s 13 yards short of becoming the seventh player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to reach 10,000 total career yards.
Jawon Pass stepped in after Jackson’s day ended, throwing for 115 yards and one touchdown and added another TD on the ground with 29 seconds left. The two completed passes to 14 players as the Cardinals totaled 364 yards through the air. Louisville (4-1) rolled up 312 yards on the ground.
Murray State dropped to 1-4.
NO. 18 S. FLORIDA 61, EAST CAROLINA 31
GREENVILLE, N.C. — Quinton Flowers threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, and South Florida extended its school-record winning streak to 10.
D’Ernest Johnson rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns, receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling took an end-around 75 yards for a touchdown and caught a 4-yard scoring pass from Flowers, and Auggie Sanchez returned an interception 43 yards for a TD.
The Bulls (5-0, 2-0 American) overcame some rare struggles on defense and remained perfect under first-year coach Charlie Strong by scoring on 10 of the 12 possessions with the starting offense. USF outscored the Pirates (1-4, 1-1) 30-7 in the second half.
No. 19 San Diego St. 34, N. Illinois 28
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The No. 19 San Diego State Aztecs didn’t take too kindly to seeing star running back Rashaad Penny coming off the field in pain after having his right eye gouged by a Northern Illinois player in the second quarter Saturday night.
The Aztecs got some big plays early and then held off NIU to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1975. Juwan Washington brought back the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and freshman Tariq Thompson had two interceptions — including an 83-yard TD return.
NO. 21 FLORIDA 38, VANDERBILT 24
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Lamical Perine scored three touchdowns, Malik Davis added two and Florida beat Vanderbilt despite losing quarterback Luke Del Rio for the season with a broken left collarbone.
Coach Jim McElwain says Del Rio will have season-ending surgery Monday. It’s the second straight year Del Rio failed to make it through the season uninjured.
Perine bookended two 1-yard plunges around a 13-yard scamper to help the Gators (3-1, 3-0) beat the Commodores (3-2, 0-2) for the 26th time in the last 27 meetings.
Perine, a cousin of former Oklahoma and current Washington Redskins running back Samaje Perine, finished with 58 yards on 15 carries. Davis, a freshman, ran 17 times for 124 yards.
NO. 22 NOTRE DAME 52, MIAMI (OHIO) 17
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Brandon Wimbush threw for three touchdowns and ran for another and Notre Dame beat Miami (Ohio) for the 900th victory in school history.
Josh Adams added touchdown runs of 72 and 59 yards in the first half before leaving with an injury to his left leg. Adams, who entered the game as the No. 9 rusher in the country, still led the Irish (4-1) with 159 yards on the ground despite the short night.
Wimbush, who had his eighth rushing touchdown of the season in the first quarter, finished with 119 passing yards in three quarters and had 36 yards on 11 carries.
The Irish led the RedHawks (2-3) 45-14 at the half, the most first-half points scored by an Irish team under coach Brian Kelly. It was only the second meeting between the Irish and the RedHawks (2-3), two teams that were coached by late Hall of Famer Ara Parseghian.
