- Times Leader
First Posted:
STANFORD, Calif. — Even without Andrew Luck, Stanford still has every answer for Matt Barkley and Southern California.
Josh Nunes threw a go-ahead 37-yard touchdown to Zach Ertz, Stepfan Taylor ran for 153 yards and scored two touchdowns, and No. 21 Stanford upset second-ranked USC 21-14 on Saturday night for its fourth straight win in this series.
Heisman Trophy hopeful Matt Barkley threw for 254 yards and two interceptions while completing only 20 of 41 passes. He was sacked twice on the final drive for the Trojans (2-1, 0-1 Pac-12) and threw out of bounds on a final, desperate heave on fourth-and-39 from USC’s 25-yard line.
The Cardinal (3-0, 1-0) are 3-0 for the third straight season for the first time since 1970-72, and have their longest winning streak ever against the Trojans.
No. 1 Alabama 52, Arkansas 0
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Eddie Lacy ran for three touchdowns and No. 1 Alabama forced five turnovers in a 52-0 win over Arkansas.
Vinnie Sunseri and Haha Clinton-Dix had interceptions against the Razorbacks, who played without quarterback Tyler Wilson because he had a head injury in last week’s loss to Louisiana-Monroe.
The shutout was the second straight for the Crimson Tide (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference). The last time Alabama, which has now forced 11 turnovers this season, had back-to-back shutouts was against Vanderbilt and Kentucky in 1980.
AJ McCarron was 11-of-16 passing for 189 yards and a touchdown.
No. 3 LSU 63, Idaho 14
BATON ROUGE, La. — Ronald Martin and Lavar Edwards each intercepted deflected passes and returned them for scores, and No. 3 LSU rolled to a 63-14 victory over winless Idaho on Saturday night.
LSU intercepted Idaho’s Dominique Balckman four times, with Martin snagging two, en route to an NCAA FBS record 40th-straight non-conference regular season victory.
LSU (3-0) also set a Tiger stadium mark with 20 straight home wins, while extending its nation-long regular-season winning streak to 16 games.
LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger passed for 222 yards and two TDs.
No. 4 Oregon 63, Tennessee Tech 14
EUGENE, Ore. — Marcus Mariota threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns before No. 4 Oregon pulled its starters in a 63-14 victory over Tennessee Tech on Saturday.
Multitalented De’Anthony Thomas had 222 all-purpose yards on 10 touches. He ran for a 59-yard touchdown and caught a 16-yard scoring pass from Mariota.
The Ducks (3-0) were playing their final nonconference game before hosting Arizona next Saturday. They had 652 yards in total offense, compared to 177 yards for Tennessee Tech. Oregon did have its issues, however, with 12 penalties for 105 yards.
The Golden Eagles (2-1) have never defeated an FBS-level team in 28 tries. The game against the Ducks was the Ohio Valley Conference team’s first against a Pac-12 opponent.
No. 5 Florida State 52, Wake Forest 0
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Chris Thompson scored on runs of 74 and 80 yards on successive carries to lead No. 5 Florida State to a 52-0 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday.
Thompson, who suffered a broken back at Wake Forest a year ago that nearly ended his career, already had a career-high 197 yards following his 80-yard touchdown run that put the Seminoles into a 28-0 lead with 9:42 remaining in the first half.
His 74-yard touchdown followed a 60-yard punt return TD by Rashad Greene as the Seminoles (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) led 38-0 at the half.
No. 7 Georgia 56, Florida Atlantic 20
ATHENS, Ga. — Aaron Murray passed for a career-best 342 yards and two touchdowns, also scored twice on short runs, and No. 7 Georgia bounced back from another slow start to rout Florida Atlantic 56-20 on Saturday night.
Playing without Jarvis Jones and two other defensive stalwarts, Georgia (3-0) struggled in the first half to slow a Florida Atlantic team that scored a single touchdown against lower-division Wagner. The 44-point underdog Owls (1-2) kept converting third downs and found themselves tied at 14 early in the second quarter.
No. 8 South Carolina 49, UAB 6
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Connor Shaw went 8 of 14 for 107 yards before reinjuring his throwing shoulder as No. 8 South Carolina beat UAB 49-6 on Saturday night.
Shaw left the game after taking a brutal hit just late in the first half. Team officials said the junior aggravated the bruised right shoulder that kept him out of last week’s game.
Sophomore Dylan Thompson took over again, throwing a 95-yard touchdown pass to Damiere Byrd that put South Carolina (3-0) up 35-6 midway through the third quarter.
No. 9 West Virginia 42, James Madison 12
LANDOVER, Md. — Geno Smith completed 34 of 39 passes for 411 yards and five touchdowns Saturday, and No. 9 West Virginia rolled to a 42-12 win over James Madison.
Smith set the school’s career passing yardage record, topping Marc Bulger.
Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin both had 100 yards receiving before halftime for the Mountaineers, who improved to 2-0 and are 13-0 all time against FCS schools.
Bailey finished with 173 yards on 13 catches and three touchdowns. Austin had 113 yards on 11 receptions and one score.
No. 20 Notre Dame 20, No. 10 Michigan St. 3
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Everett Golson threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score to help No. 20 Notre Dame beat No. 10 Michigan State 20-3 Saturday night.
The Fighting Irish (3-0) snapped a six-game losing streak against ranked teams and beat a top-10 opponent for the first time in seven years to give Brian Kelly a signature win in his third season.
The Spartans (2-1) had won 15 straight at home. The streak included a win over the Irish in 2010 on a fake field goal in overtime that preceded coach Mark Dantonio having a heart attack.
No. 11 Clemson 41, Furman 7
CLEMSON, S.C. — Tajh Boyd threw for 310 yards and three touchdown passes, Sammy Watkins had a 58-yard touchdown run in his season debut and No. 11 Clemson won its 30th straight over Furman, 41-7, on Saturday.
Andre Ellington added a pair of rushing touchdowns for the Tigers (3-0).
Watkins scored in the first quarter after taking an inside handoff from Boyd and rushing past the right side of Furman’s defense. The All-American sophomore receiver spent the past two games on the sideline, suspended for a May drug arrest. He finished with four catches for 52 yards.
Pittsburgh 35, No. 13 Virginia Tech 17
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Ray Graham ran for 94 yards and two scores and added an 18-yard touchdown reception to lead the Panthers to a 35-17 upset of No. 13 Virginia Tech on Saturday.
Tino Sunseri passed for 283 yards and three touchdowns and freshman running back Rushel Shell added 157 yards as Pitt (1-2) gave coach Paul Chryst his first career victory in emphatic fashion.
The Panthers never trailed, forced four turnovers and took advantage of uncharacteristically sloppy play by the Hokies.
Virginia Tech (2-1) had won 13 straight true road games, the longest active streak in the country, but let Pitt race to a quick three-touchdown lead and never really threatened. Logan Thomas completed just 14 of 31 passes for 265 yards and one touchdown against three interceptions.
No. 15 Kansas State 35, North Texas 21
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Collin Klein threw for 230 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, Tyler Lockett returned a kickoff 96 yards for another score and No. 15 Kansas State eased past pesky North Texas 35-21 on Saturday night.
Tramaine Thompson caught five passes for 102 yards and two scores, and John Hubert added a touchdown on the ground for Kansas State (3-0), which struggled to put away the tougher-than-expected Mean Green in its tuneup for next Saturday’s showdown with fifth-ranked Oklahoma.
North Texas (1-2) scratched and clawed its way within 14-13 late in the third quarter before Klein and Thompson hooked up for their second touchdown.
Hubert and Klein added fourth-quarter scoring runs to finally give Kansas State breathing room.
No. 16 TCU 20, Kansas 6
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Casey Pachall threw for 335 yards and two touchdowns, both of them to Brandon Carter, and No. 16 TCU beat Kansas 20-6 on Saturday in its Big 12 debut.
Carter finished with eight catches for 141 yards, and Waymon James added 99 yards rushing for the Horned Frogs (2-0, 1-0), who pushed the nation’s longest winning streak to 10 games by beating up on the team picked to finish last in the conference in preseason polls.
Dayne Crist led the Jayhawks (1-2, 0-1) with 303 yards passing, but he was also intercepted once, fumbled as he was heading into the end zone in the fourth quarter, and missed several third-down throws that prevented Kansas from capitalizing on TCU turnovers.
No. 18 Florida 37, No. 23 Tennessee 20
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jeff Driskel threw two touchdown passes and Trey Burton rushed for a pair of scores Saturday as No. 18 Florida scored the final 24 points to beat No. 23 Tennessee 37-20 and make it eight straight wins against its SEC East rival.
Burton, a fullback who often takes snaps out of the Wildcat formation, raced 80 yards down the right sideline to tie the score 20-20 with 3:15 left in the third quarter.
Florida (3-0, 2-0) went ahead for good on Driskel’s 23-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jordan Reed with 30 seconds remaining in the third. Driskel added a 75-yard touchdown pass to Frankie Hammond in the fourth quarter.
No. 19 Louisville 39, North Carolina 34
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Teddy Bridgewater threw three first-half touchdowns and No. 19 Louisville scored on its first six possessions, and then had to hold North Carolina with a late goal-line stand to come away with a 39-34 victory on Saturday.
Bryn Renner settled down from a rough first half to rally the Tar Heels (1-2) from a 36-7 deficit with four second-half touchdowns, including a screen pass to Romar Morris for a 50-yard touchdown with 4:23 remaining.
North Carolina’s Norkeithus Otis then forced Adrian Bushell to fumble the ensuing kickoff, and the Tar Heels recovered at the Cardinals’ 10.
