COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -Juice Williams provided the big plays on the ground and through the air, spurring Illinois to a stunning 28-21 victory over top-ranked Ohio State on Saturday night and throwing open the national title race.
It was the first time Illinois (8-3, 5-2 Big Ten) had beaten a No. 1 since 1956, and the first time it had done it away from home. The defeat also ended a record streak of 20 Big Ten wins in a row by the Buckeyes (10-1, 6-1).
Williams, criticized all year because of his errant passing, tossed four touchdown passes. Rashard Mendenhall set an Illinois season record while rushing for 88 yards on 26 carries.
The Fighting Illini rushed for 260 yards against an Ohio State defense that came in allowing just 65 yards on the ground per game.
Not since Nov. 14, 1959, had Michigan and Ohio State both lost the week before their annual year-end grudge match. But their game next week again will decide the Big Ten champion.
No. 2 LSU 58, Louisiana Tech 10
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – With No. 1 in its sights, LSU had it easy for a change.
Matt Flynn passed for 237 and three touchdown lead the Tigers to a comfortable victory that could lift them back to the top of the national rankings.
Each of the Tigers’ three previous victories – over Florida, Auburn and Alabama – were marked by late-game heroics.
Flynn’s scoring strikes included a career-long 71-yarder to Terrance Tolliver. That was LSU’s longest play from scrimmage this season until Jacob Hester broke loose for a career-best 87-yard touchdown run.
In 17 previous meetings between LSU (9-1) and Louisiana Tech spanning more than a century, the Bulldogs (4-6) had beaten LSU only once, and that was back in 1904.
No. 4 Oklahoma 52, Baylor 21
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) – DeMarco Murray scored four touchdowns, one on a 91-yard kickoff return, for Oklahoma.
Oklahoma (9-1, 5-1 Big 12 Conference) has not lost to Baylor (3-8, 0-7) in 17 meetings between the teams. Baylor lost its seventh straight game amid reports that its coach, Guy Morriss, would be replaced at the end of the season.
Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford threw three touchdown passes, two to Manuel Johnson, who caught four passes for 126 yards and had the first multiple-TD game of his career.
No. 5 Kansas 43, Oklahoma State 28
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) – Marcus Henry had a career-high 199 yards receiving and three touchdowns, Brandon McAnderson ran for 142 yards and two scores and the Jayhawks stayed unbeaten.
Kansas (6-0 Big 12) moved to 10-0 for the first time since it finished the 1899 season with that record, and is now the only unbeaten team left in the six conferences with an automatic bid to the BCS after top-ranked Ohio State was upset by Illinois earlier in the day.
Todd Reesing completed 27 of 40 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns in another solid effort for the methodical Jayhawks. He went without an interception for the third straight game and has thrown 179 passes since his last pick.
Oklahoma State’s Zac Robinson threw for 271 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, keeping the Cowboys (5-5, 3-3) in the game even as top receiver Adarius Bowman missed the second half with an apparent knee injury.
M 26
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Chase Daniel threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns, and the Tigers pulled away late against the Aggies and embattled coach Dennis Franchione.
Missouri (9-1, 5-1 Big 12) reached nine victories for the first time since 1969 and only the fourth time in school history. The Tigers also finished 5-0 at Faurot Field.
M (6-5, 3-4) has lost three straight to top-10 opponents.
Tony Temple ran for 141 yards, including a 44-yard scoring run in the first quarter. Maclin finished with five catches for 146 yards, and his 82-yard touchdown catch was the school’s longest scoring play since an 86-yard run by Robert Delpino in 1987.
Maryland 42, No. 8 Boston College 35
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) – The Eagles lost their second straight, yielding 472 yards and five touchdowns to a Maryland team that came in on a three-game losing streak.
It’s hopes for a national championship are over, but Boston College can still earn a berth in the ACC championship game with a win over Clemson next week.
Matt Ryan went 33-for-56 for 421 yards and three touchdowns, but was intercepted twice.
The injury-plagued Terrapins (5-5, 2-4) played with a makeshift offensive line and without leading rusher Keon Lattimore (hamstring). But the Terps received a solid performance from Chris Turner, who went 21-for-27 for 337 yards and three touchdowns. No. 9 Arizona State 24, UCLA 20
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) – Keegan Herring rushed for 116 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown, and Rudy Carpenter threw for 200 yards and another score to lead the Sun Devils.
Arizona State (9-1, 6-1 Pac-10) remained in the thick of the conference race and kept their hopes alive for a BCS bowl, while the Bruins (5-5, 4-3) lost for the fourth time in five games.
Carpenter went 16-of-31, including a 9-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams.
Osaar Rasshan went 14-of-27 for 181 yards with one pick for the Bruins.
The Sun Devils fell behind 10-0 early, trailed 13-10 at halftime, then went ahead to stay on Dimitri Nance’s 11-yard touchdown run five minutes into the third quarter.
No. 10 Georgia 45, No. 18 Auburn 20
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) – Donning black jerseys for the first time in the modern era, Matthew Stafford threw a pair of touchdown passes and Knowshon Moreno broke 100 yards rushing for the fourth straight game, leading Georgia past 18th-ranked Auburn 45-20 Saturday.
The Bulldogs (8-2) remained on top of the SEC East with a 5-2 mark, but they need help to reach the title game. Tennessee has only two SEC losses and has the tiebreaker over Georgia.
Stafford threw a 58-yard TD pass to Mohamed Massaquoi and a 13-yarder to Sean Bailey. Moreno, a redshirt freshman, had scoring runs of 24 and 2 yards, finishing with 101 yards.
Thomas Brown finished off the Tigers (7-4, 4-3) with a 53-yard run that set up Brannan Southerland’s touchdown.
No. 11 Virginia Tech 40, Florida St. 21
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) – Tyrod Taylor threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, lifting the Hokies and coach Frank Beamer to his first win in eight tries against the Seminoles.
It was the first time ‘Noles coach Bobby Bowden lost to Virginia Tech in 16 meetings.
The Hokies (8-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) blew a 14-point halftime lead and trailed 21-20 entering the final quarter, but Taylor drove them to his go-ahead 3-yard scoring run, and three late Seminoles turnovers made a close game turn lopsided.
The Seminoles (6-4, 3-4), who seemed to be catching their stride last week when they beat No. 8 Boston College, lost quarterback Drew Weatherford to injury before halftime and failed to get the 78-year-old Bowden his 300th victory at the school.
No. 12 USC 24, No. 24 Cal 17-
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) – Chauncey Washington ran for a career-high 220 yards and a touchdown, and USC beat California 24-17 in a rain-soaked matchup.
John David Booty passed for 129 yards and a score for the Trojans (8-2, 5-2 Pac-10), who stayed in the conference and BCS races by faring slightly better in the steady precipitation that drenched Strawberry Canyon all night.
Washington, who finished with 101 more yards rushing than his previous career high, and Booty led a tiebreaking 96-yard scoring drive through the rain and mist in the fourth quarter, capped by Stafon Johnson’s 3-yard TD run with 7:38 left.
Justin Forsett rushed for a season-high 164 yards and a touchdown in the final home game for Cal (6-4, 3-4), which has lost four of five since being the nation’s No. 2 team in early October.
Wisconsin 37, No. 13 Michigan 21
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Tyler Donovan threw for one touchdown and scrambled for another as Wisconsin held off a fourth-quarter rally to snap the Wolverines’ eight-game winning streak.
The Badgers (8-3, 4-3 Big Ten) didn’t eliminate the Wolverines (8-3, 6-1) from the Big Ten title race, but they have to beat Ohio State next week.
Michigan played without injured running back Mike Hart, and after Chad Henne broke John Navarre’s school record for yards passing, Ryan Mallett relieved ailing starting quarterback in the first quarter.
Donovan was 14-of-27 for 245 yards and a touchdown and ran for 49 yards and another score. Wisconsin built a 20-7 halftime lead despite playing without running back P.J. Hill.
No. 14 Hawaii 37, Fresno State 30
HONOLULU (AP) – Colt Brennan tied the NCAA career mark for touchdown passes, throwing his 121st before he was knocked out of the game, as Hawaii remained undefeated by holding off Fresno State.
Brennan was 28-of-39 for 396 yards and two touchdowns before he left in the fourth quarter. The Warriors (9-0, 6-0 Western Athletic Conference) are off to their best start since 1925 and kept their BCS hopes alive. They have won 10 straight, and 19 of their last 20 games.
Brennan’s 5-yard TD toss to Davone Bess gave Hawaii a 31-7 lead and matched the mark set by Brigham Young’s Ty Detmer in 1991.
No. 15 Texas 59, Texas Tech 43
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Colt McCoy passed for four touchdowns, ran for two more and the Longhorns scored 24 points in the fourth quarter to hold off the Red Raiders.
Texas (9-2, 5-2 Big 12) needed a 24-point fourth-quarter rally a week earlier to beat Oklahoma State. This time, the late scoring kept Texas Tech (7-4, 3-4) from staging a comeback.
Graham Harrell threw for 466 yards and five touchdowns for Tech.
Tech twice cut the lead to 10 in the fourth quarter on Harrell TD passes, before McCoy hit Nate Jones for a 34-yard TD. McCoy finished with 51 yards rushing and 269 passing.
Jamaal Charles had 167 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Longhorns.
Cincinnati 27, No. 16 Connecticut 3
CINCINNATI (AP) – Ben Mauk threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, handing Connecticut its first Big East loss and further scrambling the conference race.
Mauk made the two decisive plays in the second half. He ran 11 yards for a touchdown on a draw play, then connected with Dominick Goodman on a 37-yard touchdown pass, keeping Cincinnati (8-2, 3-2) in a crowd of teams vying for the league title.
Connecticut (8-2, 4-1) was the last unbeaten team in the conference, grinding out wins with a methodical, mistake-free approach. The Huskies had only 10 turnovers coming into the game, a big reason they were off to the best start in their 109-year football history.
No. 17 Florida 51, South Carolina 31
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Tim Tebow accounted for all seven of Florida’s touchdowns, a school record five rushing and two passing, as the Gators kept alive their hopes of making the SEC title game.
Tebow was 22-for-32 for a career-best 304 yards and ran for 120 yards, accounting for more than three-quarters of the offense for the Gators (7-3, 5-3).
With Florida’s dual-threat receiver Percy Harvin out with sinus problems, Tebow took over, running things so efficiently the Gators didn’t have a play lose yards until things were well in hand midway through the third quarter.
It was another terrible defensive outing for the Gamecocks (6-5, 3-5), who allowed 537 yards.
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier drops to 1-2 against Florida, the team he won a Heisman Trophy and coached to a national championship.
No. 19 Boise St. 52, Utah St. 0
LOGAN, Utah (AP) – Taylor Tharp threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters for the Broncos, who won their eighth straight.
The overwhelmed Aggies (0-10, 0-6) have lost 16 in a row and were down by two touchdowns barely six minutes into the game. The Broncos (9-1, 6-0 WAC) blocked a punt for a touchdown, blocked a field goal and forced four turnovers, including three interceptions of Jase McCormick.
Utah State finished with 236 yards. Boise State’s Ian Johnson gained almost half that total by himself with 110 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown.
No. 20 Clemson 44, Wake Forest 10
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) – Cullen Harper continued his record-setting year with three more touchdown passes for the Tigers.
Clemson (8-2, 5-2) won its fourth straight, while Wake Forest (6-4, 4-3) lost its second in a row. And this one felt like old times. The Tigers were 45-6-1 against the Demon Deacons from 1950-2002, with several victories coming by blowout margins.
Harper, who came in with a school record 23 touchdown throws, scored on a 7-yard keeper to finish Clemson’s first possession. It was 27-7 by halftime after David Richardson’s 52-yard field goal, the school’s longest in 10 years.
Mississippi St. 17, No. 21 Alabama 12
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) – Anthony Johnson returned an interception a school-record 100 yards for a touchdown to help Mississippi State become bowl eligible for the first time since 2000.
It was the second straight win over his alma mater for Sylvester Croom, whose resurgent Bulldogs (6-4, 3-3 SEC) have won two straight over ranked opponents. The win gave the Bulldogs a 2-2 record during a streak of four consecutive games against ranked opponents.
The Crimson Tide (6-4, 4-3) has lost two straight. The Bulldogs limited ‘Bama to four Leigh Tiffin field goals and haven’t allowed the Tide offense in the end zone in 12 quarters.
Mississippi State intercepted John Parker Wilson twice and held him to 121 yards passing.
No. 24 Kentucky 27, Vanderbilt 20
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Andre Woodson threw for 222 yards, Rafael Little had 70 yards rushing and the Wildcats kept alive their slim hopes of playing for an SEC title.
Kentucky (7-3, 3-3 SEC) snapped a two-game losing skid and clinched consecutive seven-win seasons for the first time since 1976-77. Kentucky still plays SEC East rivals Tennessee and Georgia, and has a chance to sneak into the league title game in Atlanta by defeating both.
The Commodores (5-5, 2-5) hopes of becoming bowl eligible will have to wait. They haven’t been to a bowl since 1982.
No. 22 Tennessee 34, Arkansas 13
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Erik Ainge threw for two touchdowns and Arian Foster ran for another as the Volunteers kept their drive for an SEC Eastern Division title alive.
Tennessee (7-3, 4-2) held conference rushing leader Darren McFadden to 117 yards, and Casey Dick completed 12 of 22 passes for 140 yards and two interceptions. Last week, McFadden tied the SEC single-game rushing record with 321 yards against South Carolina.
The Razorbacks (6-4, 2-4) struggled all day in the red zone and with penalties.
Arkansas narrowed the lead to 27-13 with 8:27 left in the game on Michael Smith’s 9-yard touchdown run after a handoff from McFadden. It was as close as the Hogs would get.
No. 23 Virginia 48, Miami 0
MIAMI (AP) – Virginia ended Miami’s 70-year stay at the Orange Bowl in stunningly one-sided fashion, dealing the Hurricanes the biggest shutout loss in Orange Bowl history.
Mikell Simpson had a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs and quarterback Jameel Sewell scored twice, as the Cavaliers simply overpowered their way to a 48-0 victory.
Sewell completed 20 of 25 passes and 288 yards for Virginia (9-2, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which led 31-0 at halftime.
Kyle Wright completed 9 of 21 passes for 94 yards for Miami (5-5, 2-4), which ended its Orange Bowl run on a three-game losing streak and needs a win at either Virginia Tech or Boston College over the next two weeks just to become bowl-eligible.
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