Florida drubs South Carolina
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Jeff Driskel threw four touchdown passes — three of them after turnovers — and No. 3 Florida matched its win total from last season with a 44-11 drubbing of ninth-ranked South Carolina on Saturday.
The Gators avenged consecutive losses to the Gamecocks, including one two years ago that ended with Steve Spurrier and his players celebrating a division title in The Swamp.
Florida’s latest whatever-it-takes win kept coach Will Muschamp’s team undefeated and put it on the cusp of the Southeasten Conference’s Eastern Division title. The Gators (7-0, 6-0 SEC) can clinch a spot in the SEC championship game by beating No. 13 Georgia next week in nearby Jacksonville.
Florida won this one with turnovers, stellar defense and more halftime adjustments — the kind of successful tweaks that are making Muschamp and his staff seem like the right fit in Gainesville.
South Carolina (6-2, 4-2) lost its second straight.
LSU 24, Texas A&M 19
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Jeremy Hill rushed for a career-high 127 yards and a touchdown, and No. 6 LSU rallied from an early deficit to beat No. 20 Texas A&M at Kyle Field.
Michael Ford also had a touchdown run and Zach Mettenberger threw a TD pass to Kadron Boone for the Tigers (7-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference).
A&M (5-2, 2-2) outplayed the Tigers for much of the first half and led 12-0. But the Aggies gave away two costly turnovers just before halftime, and Boone’s diving catch in the end zone with 11 seconds left put LSU up 14-12 at the break. Hill finished off A&M with a 47-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Johnny Manziel, A&M’s dual-threat quarterback, completed 29 of 56 passes for 276 yards, but threw three interceptions.
Clemson 38, Virginia Tech 17
CLEMSON, S.C. — Tajh Boyd ran for two touchdowns and passed for another and Jonathan Meeks had a 74-yard interception return score as No. 14 Clemson won its third straight over Virginia Tech.
Andre Ellington had a 12-yard touchdown run and 96 yards for the Tigers (6-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who relied on their much-maligned defense to bail them out of this one.
Clemson finished with three interceptions and twice stopped fourth downs to end drives by the Hokies (4-4, 2-2). Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas passed for 207 yards and ran for 99, accounting for two touchdowns. Still, he was continually harassed by the Tigers and threw two of the three picks.
Boyd was just 12 of 21 for 160 yards, 131 fewer than he averaged coming in.
Louisville 27, South Florida 25
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Teddy Bridgewater threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Eli Rogers with 1:35 left, and No. 16 Louisville remained perfect by edging South Florida for the Cardinals’ best start since 2006.
Louisville (7-0, 2-0 Big East) rallied after yielding 15 straight points to South Florida and a season-high 197 yards rushing.
B.J. Daniels threw three TD passes in the second half, the last one putting South Florida ahead 25-21 with 3:09 left. The Bulls had one last chance for the win, but Adrian Bushell intercepted Daniels’ last-gasp throw as time ran out, well short of the end zone.
South Florida (2-5, 0-3) has dropped five straight games. It has just one win in its last 12 conference games dating to last season.
Louisville finished with four sacks and a big goal-line stand late in the third quarter.
Texas Tech 56, TCU 53
FORT WORTH, Texas — Seth Doege threw seven touchdowns, three in overtime, and No. 18 Texas Tech won at TCU after blowing a late 10-point lead.
The game-winning pass was an 8-yard throw to Alex Torres, which came four plays after Jaden Oberkrom’s school-record sixth field goal had put TCU ahead. Both teams scored touchdowns in the first two overtime periods.
TCU (5-2, 2-2), the Big 12 newcomer, has lost consecutive home games for the first time since 1999. After losing the final two home games in 1998, they lost the 1999 season opener at home.
Doege completed 30 of 42 passes for 318 yards and Texas Tech (6-1, 3-1) is already bowl eligible a year after its first losing season since 1992.
Rutgers 35, Temple 10
PHILADELPHIA — Gary Nova threw four touchdown passes in the second half to lead No. 19 Rutgers to a comeback victory over Temple.
Jawan Jamison had 114 yards rushing and 81 receiving, Nova threw for 232 yards, and the Scarlet Knights (7-0, 4-0 Big East) rallied from a 10-0 halftime deficit in their first game against Temple (3-3, 2-1) since the Owls were kicked out of the conference in 2004.
Held to just 110 total yards in the first 30 minutes, Rutgers was unstoppable in the second half. The Scarlet Knights scored on their first four possessions and racked up 271 yards.
Stanford 21, California 3
BERKELEY, Calif. — Stepfan Taylor ran for a career-high 189 yards and one touchdown, and No. 22 Stanford overwhelmed rival California for its third straight Big Game victory.
In the 115th meeting between the Bay Area schools and the first at remodeled Memorial Stadium, the sunny and serene Strawberry Canyon setting might have been Cal’s best highlight. The Cardinal outgained the Golden Bears 475 to 217 yards, outrushed Cal 252 to 3 yards and never lost its grip on the coveted Stanford Axe.
Josh Nunes completed 16 of 31 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown. He also fumbled and threw an interception late in the fourth quarter with the game well out of reach.
Cal (3-5, 2-3) had not scored so few points in the Big Game since losing 10-3 in 1998. The Bears fumbled three times — losing two of them — and had another interception of Nunes wiped out by a penalty.
Boise St 32, UNLV 7
BOISE, Idaho — D.J Harper rushed for two touchdowns and No. 24 Boise State’s defense had one as well to help the Broncos rout UNLV.
Harper got Boise State (6-1, 3-0 Mountain West) on the board early with a 10-yard TD run on the second possession of the game. He scored again from 1-yard out to put the Broncos up 32-0 late in the third quarter.
The Broncos rolled up 394 yards on offense, but it was another dominating performance by the defense that made things difficult for UNLV (1-7, 1-2).
Boise State held the Rebels to 210 total yards, had two sacks and three turnovers, including a 16-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Jerrell Gavins that gave the Broncos a 25-0 lead at the half.
UNLV’s only score came in the fourth quarter when Boise State’s backup quarterback Grant Hedrick fumbled and Kenneth Penny picked up the ball and ran 30 yards for a touchdown.
NC State 20, Maryland 18
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Mike Glennon directed a frantic drive to set up a 43-yard field goal by Niklas Sade with 32 seconds left, and North Carolina State overcame a valiant performance by Maryland backup quarterback Devin Burns in a victory.
After Sade’s kick, the Terrapins moved 60 yards in five plays behind third-string quarterback Caleb Rowe before a 33-yard field goal try by Brad Craddock hit the left upright with two seconds remaining.
The Wolfpack (5-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed 18-17 and had no timeouts left upon getting the ball at their own 20 with 2:17 left. Glennon completed a 14-yard pass to Quintin Payton on a third-and-10 and pushed N.C. State into field-goal range with a 14-yard completion to Rashard Smith.
Burns replaced injured Perry Hills and nearly produced a stunning victory for Maryland (4-3, 2-1) against all odds in the first extensive action of his college career.
Georgia Tech 37, Boston College 17
ATLANTA — Tevin Washington ran for two touchdowns and backup quarterback Vad Lee also accounted for two scores, leading Georgia Tech to a victory over Boston College in a matchup of struggling Atlantic Coast Conference teams.
The Yellow Jackets (3-4, 2-3) snapped a three-game losing streak in their first contest since firing defensive coordinator Al Groh. Boston College (1-6, 0-4) lost its fifth in a row and has yet to beat a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent.
Zach Laskey rushed for 101 yards before going out with a shoulder injury.
Georgia Tech built a 31-3 lead by early in the third quarter. Chase Rettig threw two touchdown passes to make the score a bit more respectable — but not enough to lessen the heat on embattled Boston College coach Frank Spaziani.
Vanderbilt 17, Auburn 13
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Zac Stacy ran for 169 yards and a touchdown and Vanderbilt beat Auburn.
The Commodores (3-4, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) overcame a fourth-quarter fumble by Stacy, who became the school’s all-time rushing leader. Clint Moseley overshot an open Sammie Coates on fourth-and-13 with 52 seconds left as Auburn (1-6, 0-5) dropped its fourth straight.
Stacy, a senior who also owns Vanderbilt’s single-season rushing record, carried the ball 27 times. He now has 2,670 career rushing yards. His 27-yard run in the fourth quarter broke Frank Mordica’s previous mark of 2,632 yards from 1976-79.
Wake Forest 16, Virginia 10
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Chad Hedlund kicked three field goals and Wake Forest returned from an open week with a much-improved defense and beat mistake-prone Virginia, the Cavaliers’ sixth consecutive loss.
The Demon Deacons (4-3, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) came in allowing more than 206 rushing yards and 31 points, but limited the Cavaliers to 48 yards on 32 carries. They also stymied a late Virginia drive with a 6-yard loss on second down and an 11-yard sack of Phillips Sims on third down.
The Cavaliers (2-6, 0-4) had driven to the Demon Deacons’ 36 before those two plays.
On its previous drive, Virginia reached the Wake Forest 34 and faced second-and-1 when Sims tried to float a pass to 5-foot-11 wide receiver Darius Jennings near the end zone. Instead, Demon Deacons 6-1 cornerback Kevin Johnson got inside position on the throw and intercepted, ending the possession. Johnson also recovered a fumble earlier.
E. Michigan 48, Army 38
YPSILANTI, Mich. — Tyler Benz threw a career-high five touchdown passes and Eastern Michigan won its first game of the season, beating Army.
Benz, who had four scoring passes this season before Saturday, matched that total before intermission. He finished with a career-high 369 yards on 19-for-31 passing.
Tailback Bronson Hill, a week removed from a 283-yard effort against Toledo, rushed for 185 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries as the Eagles rolled up nearly 600 yards of offense.
The Eagles (1-6) got their first touchdown on the game’s third play when Benz found a wide-open Javonti Greene for a 39-yard strike. The Black Knights muffed a punt snap on the ensuing drive and Benz threw his second touchdown to Garrett Hoskins five plays later. Benz added scoring passes to Hill and Christian Menet in the second quarter to give Eastern Michigan a 28-17 halftime lead.
Pitt snaps 2-game skid
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ray Graham and Rushel Shell each scored a touchdown rushing to help the Pittsburgh Panthers snap a two-game skid with a 20-6 win over the Buffalo Bulls on Saturday.
Graham had 74 yards rushing, while Shell had 35 yards rushing and a 41-yard catch as the Panthers’ run attack regained its stride. Pitt (3-4) finished with 126 yards rushing, after combining for just 120 in its previous two games.
The Panthers, in their final season in the Big East Conference, avoided their first 2-5 start since 2001 and improved to 4-0 all-time against Buffalo, and 29-3 against Mid-American Conference opponents.
Devin Campbell had 104 yards rushing for Buffalo (1-6), which lost its fifth in a row. With the loss, the Bulls will finish no better than .500 for the 15th time in 16 years.