College football roundup: Washington holds off Oregon 36-33 to remain unbeaten
SEATTLE (AP) — Michael Penix Jr. threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Rome Odunze with 1:38 remaining after another debatable fourth-down decision by Oregon, and Camden Lewis missed a 43-yard field goal attempt on the final play as No. 7 Washington held off No. 8 Oregon 36-33 on Saturday in another wild chapter to their heated rivalry.
Penix needed just two plays to go 53 yards in 33 seconds after Oregon was stopped on foruth-and-3 at the Washington 47 with 2:11 remaining.
Penix threw a 35-yard strike to Ja’Lynn Polk between two defenders, then hit Odunze on a back-shoulder throw at the goal line to give Washington (6-0, 3-0 Pac-12) the lead.
It was Penix’s fourth touchdown pass of the game and his second time connecting with Odunze, who had eight catches for 128 yards.
Oregon quarterback Bo Nix had one last chance to get the Ducks (5-1, 2-1) into field goal range and reached the Washington 25 with 17 seconds left. Nix missed with his next two passes and on the final play of the game Lewis push the kick to the right setting off a wild celebration of purpled-clad fans pouring onto the field.
No. 1 GEORGIA 37, VANDERBILT 20
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Carson Beck threw for 261 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score as top-ranked Georgia shook off both an early kickoff and losing star tight end Brock Bowers to a left foot injury before halftime in beating Vanderbilt.
Georgia (7-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) extended its school record and longest active FBS winning streak to 24 consecutive games, and tied the school record for consecutive SEC wins at 23, first set between 1980 and 1983.
Bowers hurt his left foot midway through the second quarter, not that it mattered as Georgia scored 27 straight points to take control.
Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-4) lost its sixth straight overall and sixth consecutive to Georgia.
No. 2 MICHIGAN 52, INDIANA 7
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — J.J. McCarthy threw a tiebreaking, 2-yard touchdown pass to Roman Wilson late in the first half and Michigan pulled away to pummel Indiana.
The Wolverines (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) started slow, punting after losing 8 yards on their first two possessions and giving up the game’s first touchdown. They closed strong, scoring 52 straight points to win another lopsided game against an overmatched opponent.
The Hoosiers (2-4, 0-3) took a 7-0 late late in the first quarter when Brendan Sorsby threw a lateral out wide to Donaven McCulley and the receiver heaved a 44-yard pass to Jaylin Lucas, who was wide open against a defense that was fooled by the trick play.
Indiana didn’t do much offensively the rest of the cold, wet and windy afternoon and simply couldn’t slow down McCarthy and Co.
No. 3 OHIO STATE 41, PURDUE 7
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Kyle McCord threw three touchdown passes and Dallan Hayden rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown in relief of an injury depleted running backs room, helping Ohio State rout Purdue.
The Buckeyes (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) won their first road game in the series since 2013 and earned their second victory at Ross-Ade Stadium since 2007.
Purdue (2-4, 1-3) has lost two straight and four of five, this one against a severely short-handed Ohio State offense.
Running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Henderson and receiver Emeka Egbuka all sat out with injuries. The Buckeyes then lost running back Chip Trayanum in the first quarter after taking a big hit and stumbling as he walked across the field
No. 4 FLA. STATE 41, SYRACUSE 3
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Travis ran for two touchdowns and tossed a 56-yard scoring pass to Keon Coleman as Florida State routed Syracuse, the Seminoles’ 12th consecutive win.
Travis completed 23 of 37 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown, shaking off an apparent injury to his non-throwing (left) hand in the second quarter.
Lawrance Toafili had a 50-yard touchdown and finished with seven carries for 93 yards. Trey Benson added 14 carries for 74 yards as Florida State (6-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) surpassed the 30-point mark for a 12th straight game.
Syracuse’s Garrett Shrader completed 9 of 21 passes for 99 yards but was ineffective on the ground and netted minus-10 yards when factoring in sacks on seven carries.
LeQuint Allen had 19 carries for 110 yards for Syracuse (4-3, 0-3 ACC).
No. 6 PENN STATE 63, UMASS 0
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Drew Allar threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to lead Penn State past UMass.
Theo Johnson caught two touchdowns, Tyler Warren, Kaytron Allen, Trey Potts and Beau Pribula scored and Daequan Hardy returned two punts for touchdowns to lead the Nittany Lions to their 11th-straight win dating to last season.
Coming off a bye week, and with next week’s trip to No. 3 Ohio State looming, Penn State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) recovered from a sloppy start in a cold downpour at Beaver Stadium.
No. 21 NOTRE DAME 48, No. 10 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 20
SOUTH BEND (AP) — Xavier Watts intercepted two off Caleb Williams’ passes and returned a fumble for a touchdown as Notre Dame harassed the Heisman Trophy winner and handed Southern California its first loss.
Having lost twice in the three games, the Fighting Irish (6-2) bounced back against their longtime rivals. Watts had two of Notre Dame’s three first-half picks against Williams and then a 15-yard scoop-and-score with 3:27 left.
Benjamin Morrison had Notre Dame’s other interception of the half, leading to Audric Estime’s 1-yard plunge that put Notre Dame ahead 24-3. A week after wiping out a 17-point deficit to beat Arizona in overtime, the Trojans (6-1) had no such comeback in them.
Williams was sacked four times and finished with 199 yards passing and a TD.
No. 11 ALA. 24, ARKANSAS 21
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Jalen Milroe passed for two touchdowns and rushed for a third, and Alabama survived a second-half Arkansas rally in a victory over the Razorbacks.
The Crimson Tide (6-1, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) blew most of an 18-point third-quarter lead before summoning a big final drive to keep KJ Jefferson and the Razorbacks offense off the field at the end,
The Tide remained the only SEC West team without a league loss, but they’re not coming in dominant fashion. Alabama had to recover a late onside kick to hold on for a 26-20 win over Texas A&M a week ago. This time the offense recovered from three straight three-and-out possessions to milk the final 5:19 off the clock.
The Razorbacks (2-5, 0-4) dropped their fifth straight game but not before putting a scare into the Tide.
No. 12 NORTH CAROLINA 41, No. 25 MIAMI 31
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Devontez “Tez” Walker snagged three of Drake Maye’s four touchdown passes and North Carolina beat Miami.
Walker had 132 yards on his six catches in his first start for the Tar Heels (6-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), with that start having been delayed after a long eligibility fight with the NCAA that cost the Kent State transfer the first four games. Omarion Hampton scored two short TDs — one on the ground, one through the air — to go with 197 yards rushing, including a 60-yarder with UNC working on the clock in the fourth quarter with a two-touchdown lead.
Maye threw for 273 yards and overcame early pressure. Tyler Van Dyke threw for 391 yards and four touchdowns for Miami (4-2, 0-2).
PITTSBURGH 38, No. 14 LOUISVILLE 21
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Christian Veilleux threw for 200 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start and M.J. Devonshire returned an interception 86 yards for a game-tilting score late in the third quarter as Pittsburgh upset Louisville.
The Cardinals (6-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) stumbled a week after an impressive victory over Notre Dame. Louisville turned it over three times while playing most of the game without star running back Jawhar Jordan, who missed all but a handful of plays with an injury.
C’Bo Flemister ran for two scores for Pitt (2-4, 1-2), which snapped a four-game losing streak by returning to a formula that has worked so well for the program during head coach Pat Narduzzi’s nine seasons. The Panthers pressured Jack Plummer relentlessly, sacking him three times and forcing him into mistakes.
