Ducks avoid upset Saturday

EUGENE, Ore. — Marcus Mariota threw for 198 yards and four touchdowns, including two TD strikes to tight end Colt Lyerla, for Oregon as the No. 2 Ducks dominated Washington 52-21.

Mariota rebounded from an interception on the Ducks’ opening series to complete 15-of-24 passes, and Oregon (6-0, 3-0 Pac-12) won its ninth straight overall dating back to last season, as well as its ninth straight in the series against the rival Huskies (3-2, 1-1).

Lyerla caught three passes for 71 yards, including touchdowns of 10 and 13 yards.

Kenjon Barner, who went into the game ranked 10th in the nation with an average of 121 yards rushing per game, ran for 122 yards, and the Ducks built a 35-7 lead at halftime.

Bishop Sankey ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns for Washington.

N.C. State 17, No. 3 Florida State 16

RALEIGH, N.C. — Mike Glennon found Bryan Underwood for a 2-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 16 seconds left, helping North Carolina State rally to upset Florida State.

The Seminoles (5-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) appeared poised to strengthen their grip on their division, leading 16-0 at halftime behind a dominating defensive performance. But the Wolfpack (4-2, 1-1) inched closer after halftime before coming up with a game-turning blocked punt by Mike Rose with 2:27 left, giving the ball back to Glennon at the FSU 43 with a chance to complete a stunning comeback.

Glennon marched the Wolfpack down the field and completed a pair of fourth-down passes inside the 15, the second when he found Underwood alone over the middle to tie the game and take the lead on the ensuing point-after kick.

NO. 10 FLORIDA 14, NO. 4 LSU 6

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Mike Gillislee ran for a career-high 146 yards and two touchdowns, bringing Florida to life in the second half to beat LSU.

Led by Gillislee and a dominant defense, Florida’s grind-it-out victory provided a signature win for coach Will Muschamp in his second season in Gainesville. It was the program’s first win against a ranked team since beating rival Georgia in 2010.

The Gators (5-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) wore down the Tigers (5-1, 1-1) in the second half — no surprise because Florida has been doing that all season. Florida, which trailed 6-0 at halftime, also came from behind to beat Texas A&M and Tennessee on the road last month.

The Gators harassed quarterback Zach Mettenberger, who completed 11-of-25 passes for 161 yards with an interception.

It was Gillislee’s third 100-yard game of the season.

No. 6 SO. CAROLINA 35, No. 5 GEORGIA 7

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Connor Shaw threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, and Ace Sanders had a dazzling 70-yard punt return touchdown.

The Gamecocks (6-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) won their school-record 10th straight game with a performance that marked marked them an Eastern Division front-runner — and maybe showed they’re capable of even more.

Those tests come soon as South Carolina travels to once-beaten LSU next week and then to Florida on Oct. 20. It’d be hard to pick against the Gamecocks after this one.

South Carolina grounded “Gurshall,” holding Georgia’s stellar freshmen Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall to 76 yards combined. The Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) finished with 224 yards, less than half their season’s average coming in.

NO. 7 KANSAS STATE 56, KANSAS 16

MANHATTAN, Kan. — John Hubert ran for 101 yards and four touchdowns on just 10 carries, and Collin Klein had two touchdowns running and throwing as Kansas State routed Kansas.

Klein finished with 129 yards passing and 116 yards rushing to help the Wildcats (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) pile up more than 50 points for the third straight year against their biggest rival. They’ve won four straight against the Jayhawks (1-4, 0-2) since Bill Snyder returned as coach.

The longtime Kansas State coach probably had some choice words for his team at halftime, when a slew of mistakes resulted in a modest 21-14 lead. But the Wildcats scored four touchdowns in the third quarter, three in a span of about 5 minutes, to put the game away.

No. 8 WEST VIRGINIA 48, No. 11 TEXAS 45

AUSTIN, Texas — Geno Smith passed for four touchdowns, leading No. 8 West Virginia to another wild shootout win in the Big 12.

Smith, who has 24 touchdown passes this season without an interception, hit Stedman Bailey with a 6-yard score with 10:50 left to play. Andrew Buie ran for 207 yards and two touchdowns, the second giving the Mountaineers a critical 10-point lead late.

West Virginia (5-0, 2-0) didn’t seal the win until recovering an onside kick with 14 seconds left after Texas scored a touchdown on a pass from David Ash to Marquise Goodwin.

Joe Bergeron scored four touchdowns, all on short runs, for Texas (4-1, 1-1), which is 2-7 at home in conference games since 2010.

Smith was 25-of-35 passing for 268 yards in a game he had to be sharp. Texas’ aggressive defense hit him early and often and forced a second quarter fumble that the Longhorns recovered for a touchdown.

No. 9 NOTRE DAME 41, MIAMI 3

CHICAGO — Cierre Wood and George Atkinson III gave Notre Dame its first 100-yard rushing duo in a decade, and Everett Golson came off the bench in what was a very tame sequel to the famed “Catholics vs. Convicts” rivalry.

Wood rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns, and Atkinson added 123 yards and another score. Golson, who sat the first series as punishment for violating team rules, completed his first six passes and finished 17-of-22 as Notre Dame improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2002.

The loss snapped a three-game win streak for Miami, which was held to just 285 yards after piling up 1,260 yards and 86 points in its previous two games. The Hurricanes (4-2) were hurt by at least a half-dozen drops by their receivers.

No. 12 OHIO STATE 63, NEBRASKA 38

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Braxton Miller rushed for 186 yards, zig-zagging 72 yards for one score and passing for another, to lead Ohio State before the largest crowd ever at Ohio Stadium.

Miller broke his own QB rushing mark at Ohio State (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten). Corey Brown returned a punt 76 yards for a TD, Bradley Roby brought back an interception 41 yards, and Carlos Hyde scored on four runs before a raucous crowd of 106,102 in the Horseshoe’s 90th season.

Taylor Martinez ran for two scores but was intercepted three times for defenseless Nebraska (4-2, 1-1). Leading rusher Rex Burkhead injured his left knee early in the third quarter and did not return.

NO. 15 CLEMSON 47, GEORGIA TECH 31

CLEMSON, S.C. — Tajh Boyd threw for a career high 397 yards, and DeAndre Hopkins had 173 yards receiving to lead Clemson over Georgia Tech.

The Tigers (5-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) gained 601 yards, while the Yellow Jackets (2-4, 1-3) gained 483.

Boyd threw for two touchdowns, including a 35-yard touchdown to Hopkins that put Clemson up 38-31 with 10:29 left in the game.

Georgia Tech bobbled the kickoff and started its next possession at the 2 yard line. Tigers linebacker Spencer Shuey sniffed out an option pitch two plays later for a safety that crushed the Yellow Jackets’ chances. It was the first time either team led by more than a touchdown.

No. 14 OREGON ST. 19, WASHINGTON ST. 6

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Jordan Poyer had three interceptions, Sean Mannion passed for 270 yards, and No. 14 Oregon State survived a shaky start.

Markus Wheaton had 95 yards receiving and a touchdown, but it was the Beavers defense which kept the Cougars at arm’s length on the day when Mannion, who threw three interceptions, was more down than up.

Oregon State (4-0, 3-0 Pac-12) has surpassed its win total from all of 2011, but many in the school-record crowd of 46,579 were left shaking their heads at penalties and turnovers as the offense sputtered. Mannion completed 25 of 42 passes and was sacked three times.

Jeff Tuel was 11-of-17 for 126 yards after replacing Connor Halliday, who threw three interceptions in just over one half of action. However, Tuel’s telegraphed pass that led to Poyer’s interception ended the threat for Washington State. Marquess Wilson had four catches for 54 yards to lead the Cougars (2-4, 0-3). Halliday was 9-for-20 passing.

IOWA ST. 37, NO. 15 TCU 23

FORT WORTH, Texas — Jared Barnett threw three touchdowns to Josh Lenz, who later had a scoring toss of his own on a trick play, as Iowa State ended TCU’s FBS-best 12-game win streak.

It was the first Big 12 home game for conference newcomer TCU (4-1, 1-1), which played without suspended quarterback Casey Pachall.

Barnett was 12-of-21 passing for 183 yards and ran nine times for 30 yards in his first start this season for the Cyclones (4-1, 1-1).

The Frogs had won a nation-best 25 conference games in a row, the first 24 while winning the Mountain West championship each of the last three seasons.

Lenz had TD catches of 51 and 74 yards in the first quarter.

Trevone Boykin started for TCU and was 23-of-40 passing for 270 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions.

NO. 17 OKLAHOMA 41, TEXAS TECH 20

LUBBOCK, Texas — Landry Jones passed for two touchdowns, Blake Bell ran for two more, and Oklahoma beat Texas Tech to avenge a home loss to the Red Raiders last season.

The win was crucial for Oklahoma to remain in the conversation for the Big 12 title.

Both of Jones’ touchdown passes went for 13 yards — one each to Justin Brown and Kenny Stills. Bell, in at quarterback, scored his touchdowns from a yard out.

Javon Harris put the game out of reach midway through the third quarter when he returned an interception 46 yards for a TD to put the Sooners (3-1, 1-1) up 38-13.

The Red Raiders had their worst defensive performance this year, giving up 380 total yards after coming in ranked No. 1 in the nation.

NO. 18 STANFORD 54, ARIZONA 48 (OT)

STANFORD, Calif. — Chase Thomas intercepted a tipped pass by Matt Scott in overtime, Stepfan Taylor ran for a 21-yard score two plays later, and Stanford rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to stun Arizona.

Josh Nunes threw for a career-high 360 yards and two touchdowns and ran for three more scores for Stanford (4-1, 2-1 Pac-12) to offset Scott’s record-setting performance.

Scott completed 45 of 69 passes — both school records — for 491 yards and three touchdowns until Henry Anderson tipped his final pass in overtime that Thomas intercepted. Arizona (3-3, 0-3) amassed 617 total yards but lost for the third straight game and is still winless in conference play.

No. 20 MISSISSIPPI ST. 27, KENTUCKY 14

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Tyler Russell passed for two touchdowns, and Mississippi State held Kentucky to just 228 yards on offense in the victory.

LaDarius Perkins carried 25 times for 110 yards, including a 31-yard score, and Devon Bell kicked field goals of 20 and 37 yards as Mississippi State moved to 5-0 for the first time since 1999. The Bulldogs are 2-0 in Southeastern Conference play.

Russell was 23-of-39 for 269 yards, hitting Adrian Marcus and Chad Bumphis for touchdowns of 10 and 27 yards, respectively.

Freshmen quarterbacks Patrick Towles and Jalen Whitlow both led scoring drives for Kentucky (1-5, 0-3), which lost its fourth straight. Whitlow was 10-of-21 for 73 yards, adding 26 rushing yards on eight carries. Towles was 5-of-6 for 71 yards.

NO. 22 RUTGERS 19, CONNECTICUT 3

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Jawan Jamison ran for 110 yards, and Wayne Warren returned an interception 25 yards for a score as Rutgers suffocated UConn to remain undefeated.

The Scarlet Knights (5-0, 2-0 Big East) are off to their best start since 2007, and they avenged a bitter loss to the Huskies that kept Rutgers from sharing the conference title.

Jamison ran it 28 times and recorded his sixth straight 100-yard game. Gary Nova hooked up with Mark Harrison on a 14-yard TD pass early in the third quarter, and Warren put it away with 3:44 left in the fourth when he pushed across the goal line with some help from his teammates.

PENN ST. 39, NO. 24 NORTHWESTERN 28

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Quarterback Matt McGloin scored on a 5-yard run with 2:37 left, and Penn State rallied from 11 points down in fourth quarter to beat Northwestern.

The Nittany Lions scored three times in the final 9:49, starting with McGloin’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Allen Robinson as the receiver dragged along the back line of the end zone. Michael Zordich had a 2-point conversion run to get Penn State within 28-25 before McGloin’s scramble into the end zone sent the homecoming weekend crowd into a frenzy.

Penn State (4-2, 2-0 Big Ten) stuffed a last-gasp drive after Trevor Siemian’s pass was tipped away on fourth down.

McGloin finished 35-of-51 passing — setting a school record for completions in a game — for 282 yards and two scores. Zack Zwinak ran for 121 yards and a score on 28 carries.

CALIFORNIA 43, No. 25 UCLA 17

BERKELEY, Calif. — Zach Maynard matched his career high with four touchdown passes and added a fifth on the ground, and California took advantage of six turnovers.

Coming off one of the worst games of his career, Maynard threw an interception on the first series of the game and repeatedly picked himself up off the turf at Memorial Stadium after getting drilled by the Bruins (4-2, 1-2) defense to help the Golden Bears (2-4, 1-2 Pac-12) end their three-game losing streak.