November 03, 2008 10:18 am
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From wire reports
NO. 5 FLORIDA 49, NO. 8 GEORGIA 10 — Florida waited a year to celebrate against Georgia — and boy did the fifth-ranked Gators get to party.
Tim Tebow accounted for five touchdowns, Percy Harvin scored twice and the revenge-minded Gators thumped the Bulldogs 49-10 Saturday in one of the most anticipated matchups in the history of this storied rivalry.
Florida (7-1, 5-1) pretty much shut down Knowshon Moreno, took advantage of Georgia’s numerous mistakes and avenged last year’s 42-30 loss in which the brazen Bulldogs used a full-team, end-zone celebration to energize them.
The Gators won for the 16th time in the last 19 meetings, and this one was one of the most lopsided of all the one-sided affairs. Florida’s largest margin of victory in the series was a 47-7 win in 1996.
Tebow ran for a season-high three touchdowns, including two in the decisive third quarter. Florida outscored Georgia (7-2, 4-2) 21-0 in the third, scoring twice after turnovers.
Tebow was 10-of-13 passing for 154 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 12 times for 39 yards. Harvin ran four times for 37 yards and caught three passes for another 52.
NO. 2 ALABAMA 35, ARKANSAS STATE 0 — Mark Ingram rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries and Rashad Johnson scored on a 32-yard interception return in Alabama’s victory over Arkansas State.
The Crimson Tide (9-0) turned in a dominant all-around performance to set the stage for next week’s showdown at No. 15 LSU in the type of game that had been a stumbling block for recent ’Bama teams.
Alabama, which can clinch the Southeastern Conference Western Division title with a win over LSU, managed its first shutout since a 17-0 win over Mississippi State on Nov. 5, 2005. The Tide allowed only 158 yards on 54 plays against Arkansas State (4-4), which had scored 83 points against Texas Southern and upset Texas A&M earlier this season.
Ingram scored on runs of 5 and 17 yards in the second half for the freshman’s first 100-yard game. Glen Coffee rushed for 56 yards and a 9-yard touchdown to cap that opening drive before sitting out the second half.
John Parker Wilson completed 15 of 28 passes for 158 yards and was intercepted once.
NO. 7 USC 56, WASHINGTON 0 — As expected, the Washington-USC game was a one-sided affair from the start. And now, the hapless Huskies stand alone as the nation’s only winless major team.
Mark Sanchez completed 15 of 19 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns to Patrick Turner before coming out early in the third quarter, and Southern California scored TDs on its first six possessions and routed the Huskies.
C.J. Gable gained 108 yards on 10 carries and scored twice for USC, which led 42-0 at halftime. The Trojans (7-1, 5-1) had 18 first downs and 325 yards of total offense in the first half to two first downs and 35 yards for the Huskies. USC is 24-0 in November games since Pete Carroll was hired as coach in 2001.
The Huskies (0-8, 0-5) are at the other end of the spectrum. They entered the weekend as one of two Division I-A teams without a victory, but North Texas rallied to beat Western Kentucky 51-40 for its first win of the year.
Washington coach Tyrone Willingham was fired last Monday, effective at season’s end.
NO. 11 BOISE ST. 49, NEW MEXICO St. 0 — Kellen Moore threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns, and Boise State’s defense allowed just 150 yards and logged six sacks as the Broncos beat New Mexico.
Boise State (8-0, 4-0 Western Athletic Conference) beat the Aggies 58-0 last season in Idaho and, after generating 495 total yards this time, simply kept things going a year later.
Ian Johnson and Jeremy Avery took turns ripping off long runs, each scoring a TD, as the Broncos kept the chain crew huffing and puffing all night. Kyle Wilson had a 71-yard punt return for a TD.
The Aggies (3-5, 1-3) were overmatched from the start.
NO. 12 TCU 44, UNLV 14 — Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes to lead TCU.
The Horned Frogs (9-1, 6-0) take a five-game winning streak into its game at No. 10 Utah on Thursday night, a potential showdown for first place in Mountain West Conference.
Dalton completed 16-of-29 for 151 yards and rushed for 52 yards on nine carries.
UNLV (3-6, 0-5) lost its fifth consecutive game.
Dalton has nine touchdown passes in the last three games since coming back from a two-game absence because of injury.
The Frogs ran for 259 yards, led by Aaron Brown’s 60.
UNLV managed only 108 against the No. 1 run defense in the country. TCU was allowing 10.4 points per game and 1.2 yards per rush coming into the game.
GEORGIA TECH 31, NO. 16 FLORIDA STATE 28 — Marcus Sims fumbled into the end zone to end No. 16 Florida State’s comeback hopes in the final minute, and Georgia Tech held on to beat the Seminoles.
The Yellow Jackets (7-2 overall, 4-2 ACC) beat Florida State for the first time since 1975, after going 0-12 against Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles in the ACC.
Cooper Taylor’s hit popped the ball loose and Rashaad Reid recovered it with 45 seconds left. Florida State trailed 31-20 before scoring with 6:04 left and then got the ball back with an interception.
Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 145 yards and scored on runs of 36 and 66 yards for Georgia Tech.
Florida State (6-2 overall, 3-2 ACC) ended its four-game winning streak because it couldn’t stop Georgia Tech’s big-play, option attack. Three of Georgia Tech’s four touchdown drives lasted no longer than three plays.
NO. 14 MISSOURI 31, BAYLOR 28 — Chase Daniel passed for 318 yards and three touchdowns and Jeff Wolfert kicked a 34-yard field goal with 2:31 remaining to help Missouri escape with a victory over Baylor in a game the Tigers could have put out of reach early.
Baylor (3-6, 1-4 Big 12), which had twice come back from 14-point deficits but never led, had one last chance late. But Brock Christopher’s interception with 1:40 left — the first thrown by freshman Robert Griffin in 210 attempts this season — finally clinched it for the Tigers (7-2, 3-2).
Daniel threw two interceptions, the first on the first play of the second quarter when Joe Pawelek picked off a pass in the end zone to keep Missouri from adding to a 14-0 lead.
Griffin finished 26-of-35 for 283 yards with two TD passes and established a major college record for most passes at the start of a career without an interception.
NO. 15 LSU 35, TULANE 10 — Charles Scott rushed for 114 yards and LSU scored two touchdowns in 27 seconds late in the second quarter.
Scott had 84 of his yards, including a 56-yard burst, to highlight an eight-play drive that put LSU (6-2) ahead 7-0 on its opening possession. But the Tigers, coming off a disheartening 52-38 loss to Georgia that left them two games behind Alabama in the SEC West standings, went flat until the final two minutes of the half.
Brandon LaFell’s 14-yard scoring catch put LSU ahead 14-3 with 2:14 left. Then defensive end Rahim Alem stripped quarterback Joe Kemp on Tulane’s next series, and LSU’s Chris Hawkins returned the fumble 23 yards for a touchdown at the 1:47 mark.
LSU won its 17th in a row against Tulane (2-6), which has lost 37 consecutive games to ranked teams dating back to 1982, the last time it beat LSU.
GEORGIA TECH 31, NO. 16 FLORIDA STATE 28 — Marcus Sims fumbled into the end zone to end No. 16 Florida State’s comeback hopes in the final minute, and Georgia Tech held on to beat the Seminoles.
The Yellow Jackets (7-2 overall, 4-2 ACC) beat Florida State for the first time since 1975, after going 0-12 against Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles in the ACC.
Cooper Taylor’s hit popped the ball loose and Rashaad Reid recovered it with 45 seconds left. Florida State trailed 31-20 before scoring with 6:04 left and then got the ball back with an interception.
Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 145 yards and scored on runs of 36 and 66 yards for Georgia Tech.
Florida State (6-2 overall, 3-2 ACC) ended its four-game winning streak because it couldn’t stop Georgia Tech’s big-play, option attack. Three of Georgia Tech’s four touchdown drives lasted no longer than three plays.
NO. 17 BYU 45, COLORADO ST. 42 — Dennis Pitta caught two fourth-quarter touchdowns from Max Hall, including a 17-yarder with 22 seconds remaining, lifting Brigham Young over Colorado State.
Once again, the Cougars (8-1, 4-1 Mountain West) relied on a late rally to rescue another win. They also needed a fourth-quarter comeback to squeak by UNLV last week.
Dion Morton caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Billy Farris with 1:44 remaining to give Colorado State (4-5, 2-3) a momentary lead.
The Cougars responded, marching down the field on six plays, with Pitta punctuating the drive as he took a pass from Hall over the middle and rammed his way into the end zone, crunching one of his own players in the process.
Pitta finished with 12 catches for 175 yards and Hall threw a career-high five touchdown passes, three to Austin Collie. Hall finished 28-of-37 for 389 yards.
NORTHWESTERN 24, NO. 20 MINNESOTA 17 — Brendan Smith grabbed a deflected ball and returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown with 12 seconds remaining, sending Northwestern past stunned Minnesota.
Mike Kafka replaced C.J. Bacher at quarterback for the Wildcats (7-2, 3-2) after a hamstring injury ended Bacher’s streak of 25 straight starts. Kafka was unstoppable with the ball in his hands and his head pointed upfield, carrying 27 times for 217 yards — a school record for a quarterback — to make up for two costly interceptions.
With second-and-7 at his own 29-yard line and 26 seconds left, Adam Weber dropped back to pass and looked for the Big Ten’s leading receiver, Eric Decker. He got a hand on it, as did Northwestern’s David Oredugba, and the ball was about to harmlessly hit the turf at midfield until Smith plucked it out of the air and zig-zagged his way to the end zone.
NO. 22 MICHIGAN ST. 25, WISCONSIN 24 — Michigan State avoided a major letdown, keeping its hopes alive to play for the Big Ten title.
Brett Swenson kicked a 44-yard field goal with 7 seconds left, lifting the 22nd-ranked Spartans to a 25-24 comeback win over Wisconsin.
Michigan State (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten) came out flat and seemed to be headed for a 1-5 record in games following its last six wins against Michigan, but took its first lead when the game was on the line.
Wisconsin (4-5, 1-5) hurt its chances of playing in a seventh straight bowl game after leading in the fourth quarter by 11. The Badgers had a chance to seal the victory, but a holding penalty negated a run to the Michigan State 4 and a first down. Instead, its 11th penalty pushed it back to the 40 and led to a punt.
The Spartans had the ball at their 17 with no timeouts and 1:19 left on the game-winning drive.
Brian Hoyer connected with Blair White twice on 20- and 32-yard receptions and his last pass was to B.J. Cunningham over the middle for a short gain with the clock running.
CALIFORNIA 26, NO. 23 OREGON 16 — Marcus Ezeff recovered Oregon’s fumble on a punt return to set up Shane Vereen’s 2-yard touchdown run with 8:57 to play, and California persevered through a steady rain for a victory over the 23rd-ranked Ducks.
Nate Longshore stepped in for injured Kevin Riley and passed for 136 yards for the Golden Bears (6-2, 4-1 Pac-10), who stayed in the thick of the conference race with their fourth victory in their last five meetings with Oregon.
Cal won despite floundering on offense for most of the final three quarters, but two Ducks turnovers allowed the Bears to make two short scoring drives in miserable conditions at Memorial Stadium.
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