LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -Kentucky became the latest team to shake up the national title race.
Andre Woodson threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Steve Johnson in the third overtime and the No. 17 Wildcats stunned No. 1 LSU 43-37 Saturday.
Johnson was all alone in the end zone because defender Jonathan Zenon tripped and fell. Woodson double-pumped before firing a strike. The required 2-point conversion failed, but it didn’t matter.
LSU had a chance to win, but couldn’t get a first down on four straight running plays. Charles Scott was stopped a yard short on fourth-and-2 run and Kentucky had it’s first victory over a No. 1 team since 1964, when it beat Mississippi.
No highly ranked team seems safe in this season of surprises. It started with Appalachian State knocking off then-No. 5 Michigan in Week 1. In the last two weeks, nine teams ranked in the top 10 have lost, including No. 2 USC falling 24-23 to Stanford last week.
It was the first time in nearly four years the No. 1 team was beaten during the regular season. On Dec. 6, 2003, Kansas State beat top-ranked Oklahoma 35-7 for the Big 12 title.
No. 2 Ohio State 48, Kent State 3
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Brian Hartline returned a punt a school-record 90 yards and Donald Washington brought back an interception 70 yards to lead the Buckeyes.
It was the second meeting between the teams. The Buckeyes rolled 51-17 in 2002 on the way to a 14-0 record and their first national title since the 1968 season.
The game was little more than a tuneup for the Buckeyes (7-0) for the Big Ten stretch drive. They play Michigan State, at Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois and at Michigan in the final five games – all teams with winning records.
Kent State dropped to 3-4.
No. 4 Boston College 27, Notre Dame 14
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) – Matt Ryan threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns, Andre Callender scored three times and Boston College remained undefeated.
The Eagles (7-0) appeared ready to blow the game open when Ryan threw a 9-yard scoring pass to Callender to make it 20-0 with 11:42 left in the third quarter. The score was set up when Tyronne Pruitt intercepted a pass by Jimmy Clausen and returned it 30 yards to the Notre Dame 11.
However, the Irish (1-6) scored a pair of touchdowns 95 seconds apart to cut it to 20-14. Evan Sharpley, who replaced the ineffective Clausen, threw a 19-yard TD pass to Robby Parris and linebacker Brian Smith returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown.
The Eagles quickly regained control after the Irish were called for excessive celebration and penalized 15 yards on the kickoff. Brad Newman returned the kick 18 yards to the Notre Dame 44 and the Eagles needed only five plays to score. Ryan, throwing quickly to beat the blitz, hit Kevin Challenger for a 13-yard TD to make it 27-14.
No. 5 South Florida 64, UCF 12
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Playing at home for the first time since climbing into the Top 10, the Bulls dominated Central Florida for their school record-tying eighth straight victory dating to last season.
George Selvie, the nation’s sack leader, led a swarming defense that corralled the nation’s leading rusher, and Matt Grothe threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more to help the Bulls (6-0) extend the best start in the school’s relatively brief football history.
Kevin Smith, who began the day averaging 172 yards per game rushing for Central Florida (3-3), was limited to 55 on 18 carries. Grothe completed 15 of 28 passes for 212 yards, including TD throws of 9 yards to Taurus Johnson and 7 yards to Cedric Hill.
Selvie continued his torrid start with three more tackles for losses, giving him a school single-season record 20 1-2 in six games. He had one sack, boosting his nation-best total to 11 1-2, and also forced a fumble that led to Grothe’s first TD.
No. 7 South Carolina 21, North Carolina 15
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) – Chris Smelley threw a career-high three touchdown passes in the first half and South Carolina withstood a late rally.
The redshirt freshman improved to 4-0 as a starter, helping South Carolina (6-1) build a 21-3 lead through three quarters and successfully defend its first top 10 ranking since 2001.
But the Tar Heels (2-5) made things interesting late. T.J. Yates threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Greg Little on the first play of the fourth quarter, then ran 3 yards for another score to make it a six-point game with 3:03 remaining.
Yates finished 22-of-42 for 285 yards against the nation’s best pass defense, but the Tar Heels couldn’t overcome three interceptions – one thrown on a trick play in the fourth by quarterback-turned-receiver Joe Dailey in the red zone.
No. 9 Oregon 53, Washington St. 7
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Dennis Dixon threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns and Oregon handed Washington State its fourth straight loss.
Dixon also ran for a touchdown for the Ducks (5-1, 2-1 Pacific-10), who had 551 yards in total offense.
Oregon’s victory came at a cost. Wide receiver Cameron Colvin was lost with a broken ankle early in the game, and running back Jeremiah Johnson went down with a right knee injury after he had scored two touchdowns.
The Cougars fell to 2-5, 0-4.
No. 10 USC 20, Arizona 13
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Southern California got back to winning, but it was a struggle all the way.
Highly touted freshman Joe McKnight gave the Trojans the big plays they desperately needed, Mark Sanchez threw his first career touchdown pass, and USC (5-1, 3-1 Pac-10) rallied for the win.
Sanchez, a third-year sophomore making his first start, threw a 25-yard scoring pass to Fred Davis with 10:47 remaining on the first play after McKnight electrified the Los Angeles Coliseum crowd of 84,671 with a 45-yard punt return.
Suddenly, the Trojans led 17-13, and their defense held the Wildcats (2-5, 1-3) without a first down after that. David Buehler kicked a 23-yard field goal with 57 seconds left to complete the scoring.
The game was USC’s first since a shocking 24-23 loss to 41-point underdog Stanford, snapping the Trojans’ 35-game homefield winning streak.
No. 12 Virginia Tech 43, Duke 14
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) – Sean Glennon threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns in relief of injured Tyrod Taylor and Virginia Tech’s defense shut down Duke.
Eddie Royal and Branden Ore also scored touchdowns for the Hokies (6-1, 3-0 ACC) during a 21-point second quarter, which gave them a 34-7 lead at the break en route to their seventh straight win in the series.
Virginia Tech finally allowed Duke (1-6, 0-4) to score for the first time in three meetings on a short touchdown keeper from Thaddeus Lewis in the first quarter.
Iowa 10, No. 18 Illinois 6
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s Brett Greenwood intercepted an Eddie McGee pass at the goal line with 1:12 left and the Hawkeyes snapped the Illini’s five-game winning streak.
Jake Christensen threw for 182 yards and a touchdown and Albert Young added 99 yards rushing for the Hawkeyes (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten), who broke an eight-game losing streak in Big Ten play and knocked off a ranked opponent for the first time since 2005.
The Hawkeyes held the Illini (5-2, 3-1) to a season-low for points, holding Rashard Mendenhall to 67 yards on 15 carries. Mike Humpal had 18 total tackles and a fumble recovery for Iowa.
Penn St. 38, No. 19 Wisconsin 7
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – Rodney Kinlaw for 115 yards and a touchdown, Anthony Morelli threw for 216 yards and another score and Penn State capitalized on mistake-prone Wisconsin.
Penn State (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) moved the ball with ease in claiming its second straight conference win and scored on two of three Wisconsin first-half turnovers.
The Badgers (5-2, 2-2) lost their second straight after having won 14 in a row.
Just last week the Badgers were ranked No. 5 and had aspirations for a national title. Now, they’ve lost two straight and are struggling. Wisconsin’s season-long woes on defense continued Saturday, and their offense was held to a season-low point total.
No 20 Kansas 58, Baylor 10
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Todd Reesing threw two touchdown passes and Jake Sharp rushed for 110 yards and another score in a game delayed more than two hours by lightning and heavy rain.
The victory gave Kansas (6-0, 2-0 Big 12) its first 6-0 record since the 1995 team started 7-0 and avenged one of its most embarrassing losses of 2006.
The Bears (3-4, 0-3), who shocked Kansas last year by coming back from an 18-point deficit for a one-point win, managed only 202 total yards while Kansas rolled up 447.
No. 23 Texas 56, Iowa St 3
AMES, Iowa (AP) – Colt McCoy threw four touchdown passes and ran for another as Texas ended its longest conference losing streak in 51 years.
McCoy followed up a strong performance in last week’s loss to Oklahoma with an even sharper game, setting the tone for the Longhorns (5-2, 1-2 Big 12) by tossing a 58-yard touchdown pass on their first play.
Iowa State (1-6, 0-3) couldn’t pressure McCoy or cover his receivers and suffered its worst loss since a 77-14 pounding by Nebraska in 1997.
McCoy, calling most of his plays without huddling, directed the Longhorns to touchdowns on his first five series and finished 23 of 30 for 298 yards and no interceptions.
No. 25 Tennessee 33, Miss. St. 21
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) – Erik Ainge threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns and Lucas Taylor had career highs of 11 catches for 186 yards for Tennessee.
The Volunteers (4-2, 2-1 SEC) fell behind the Bulldogs (4-3, 1-3) 14-7 early, but Ainge hit Taylor for a 51-yard touchdown in the second quarter that started the rally and Arian Foster scored on a 1-yard run after a personal foul penalty in the third quarter to help Tennessee pull away.
Daniel Lincoln also made four field goals to nail down Tennessee’s third straight win.
Add A Comment