Xavier Watts had two interceptions and returned a late fumble for a touchdown to help No. 21 Notre Dame to a 48-20 victory against No. 10 Southern Cal on Saturday night in South Bend, Ind.
Notre Dame turned three first-half interceptions into touchdowns, sacked USC quarterback Caleb Williams six times, and held the reigning Heisman Trophy winner to 191 total yards and a late touchdown pass.
Sam Hartman completed 13 of 20 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Audric Estime rushed for 95 yards on 22 carries and scored two touchdowns for the Fighting Irish (6-2).
After trailing 24-3 late in the first half, the Trojans (6-1) twice cut the deficit to 11 in the second half, but Notre Dame quickly answered each time.
No. 1 Georgia 37, Vanderbilt 20
Quarterback Carson Beck threw for 261 yards and a touchdown while leading the Bulldogs to a victory over host Vanderbilt at Nashville, Tenn.
Beck was 29-of-39 passing with an interception for the Bulldogs (7-0, 4-0 SEC), while connecting with 10 different receivers, including Dominic Lovett, who had nine catches for 72 yards and a TD. Georgia’s Daijun Edwards ran 20 times for 146 yards, while the Bulldogs’ defense held Vandy (2-6, 0-4) to 18 rushing yards on 15 carries.
Georgia gained 542 yards of total offense to Vandy’s 219, ran 78 plays to the Commodores’ 44, converted 11 of 16 third downs compared to Vandy’s 2 of 9 and did not punt. Georgia All-American tight end Brock Bowers left in the second quarter with a sprained left ankle and did not return.
No. 2 Michigan 52, Indiana 7
J.J. McCarthy passed for 222 yards and three touchdowns and the Wolverines pounded the Hoosiers in soggy Ann Arbor, Mich., for their 27th victory in the teams’ last 28 meetings.
McCarthy completed 14 of 17 passes for Michigan (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten), while Blake Corum gained 52 rushing yards on 13 carries and scored twice. Colston Loveland caught three passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Jaylin Lucas caught five passes for 56 yards and a touchdown for Indiana (2-4, 0-3).
No. 3 Ohio State 41, Purdue 7
Kyle McCord passed for 276 yards and three touchdowns and Marvin Harrison Jr. had 105 receiving yards and a score as the Buckeyes downed the Boilermakers in West Lafayette, Ind.
McCord completed 16 of 28 passes, with wide receiver Harrison making six catches while tight end Cade Stover caught TDs of 4 and 14 yards for the Buckeyes (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten).
Hudson Card was 13-for-32 for 126 yards and a TD, and Devin Mockobee ran for 110 yards on 18 carries for the Boilermakers (2-5, 1-3).
No. 4 Florida State 41, Syracuse 3
Jordan Travis ran for two scores and threw for another as the Seminoles smashed the Orange in Tallahassee, Fla.
The dual-threat quarterback was 23-of-37 passing for 284 yards on a day when the Seminoles (6-0, 4-0 ACC) rolled up 535 yards and handed the Orange (4-3, 0-3) their third loss in a row. Travis was shaken up in the final minute of the first half, absorbing a blindside hit from defensive lineman Kevin Jobity Jr. as he dropped back.
Travis was taken to the locker room just before halftime to have his injured non-throwing hand examined. Travis returned to the game, rushing for a 2-yard score to give the Seminoles a 24-3 cushion at the 9:11 mark of the third quarter. Syracuse, playing its second consecutive top-15 opponent and winless (0-8) all-time at FSU’s Doak Campbell Stadium, churned out 261 yards of offense.
No. 6 Penn State 63, Massachusetts 0
Daequan Hardy became the first player in Nittany Lions’ history to score two punt return touchdowns in a single game as they trounced the Minutemen in a nonconference mismatch in University Park, Pa.
Penn State (6-0) took a 28-0 halftime lead and more than doubled it in the second half, outgaining the visitors 408-109 in total thanks in large part to quarterback Drew Allar’s 16-of-23, 162-yard, three-touchdown effort.
Tight end Theo Johnson registered his second career multi-score game, catching a pair of third-quarter passes from Allar while totaling a team-high 66 receiving yards. Hardy finished with 129 all-purpose yards, all on returns.
No. 7 Washington 36, No. 8 Oregon 33
Michael Penix Jr. threw four touchdown passes, including an 18-yarder to Rome Odunze with 1:38 remaining, as the Huskies edged the Ducks in a Pac-12 Conference showdown in Seattle.
Oregon’s Camden Lewis just missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt wide right on the final play that would have forced overtime. The Huskies (6-0, 3-0 Pac-12) stopped Oregon (5-1, 2-1) three times on fourth-and-3. Two of those were in the red zone and the other came with 2:11 left in the game as the Ducks went for it from Washington’s 47-yard line.
Penix was 22-of-37 passing for 302 yards, while his counterpart, Oregon’s Bo Nix, was 33 of 44 for 337 yards and two touchdowns.
No. 11 Alabama 24, Arkansas 21
Jalen Milroe passed for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Crimson Tide to a victory over the Razorbacks in Southeastern Conference at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Kobe Prentice and Amari Niblack caught scoring passes as the Crimson Tide (6-1, 4-0 SEC) won their fifth straight. Alabama’s Will Reichard booted his 26th consecutive field goal and also became the SEC’s all-time leading scorer. The Crimson Tide beat the Razorbacks (2-5, 0-4) for the 17th straight time. The victory was the 200th at Alabama for Nick Saban in his 17 seasons as coach.
KJ Jefferson completed 14 of 24 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns for Arkansas, which lost its fifth straight game. Isaiah Sategna and Rashod Dubinion caught scoring passes for the Razorbacks.
No. 12 North Carolina 41, No. 25 Miami 31
Drake Maye overcame a lackluster first half to spark the Tar Heels over the Hurricanes in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Maye was only 8-of-19 passing for 105 yards and a touchdown in the first two quarters but was 6-of-11 for 137 yards and three scores in the critical third quarter when North Carolina (6-0, 3-0 ACC) broke the game open. Maye finished the game 17-of-33 passing for 273 yards and four touchdowns.
Miami (4-2, 0-2) outgained the Tar Heels 273 yards to 218 in the first half but managed only 32 yards in the third quarter and went into the final period down 35-17.
Pittsburgh 38, No. 14 Louisville 21
C’Bo Flemister rushed for two touchdowns and the host Panthers’ defense shut out the Cardinals in the second half to earn an Atlantic Coast Conference win.
Pitt scored 24 unanswered points in the second half.
Jack Plummer hit 29 of 52 passes for 350 yards and one touchdown but tossed a pair of interceptions for Arizona (6-1, 3-1). Jamari Thrash caught nine passes for 120 yards, but leading rusher Jawhar Jordan carried the ball just twice for 8 yards before leaving the game in the first quarter with an injury and not returning.
No. 15 Oregon State 36, No. 18 UCLA 24
The defense came away with three interceptions and the Beavers held the Bruins at bay en route to a win in Corvallis, Ore.
Among the pickoffs of UCLA quarterback Dante Moore was Ryan Cooper Jr.’s 67-yard return for a touchdown just before halftime, a momentum-swing that turned a possible Bruins lead into Oregon State (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) leading by double digits, as it did for much of the second half. It was also the third time Moore, a freshman, surrendered a pick-six, one in each of UCLA’s Pac-12 Conference games.
UCLA (4-2, 1-2), rushed for 284 yards on 50 carries. Quarterback Collin Schlee gained 80 yards on six carries out of designed-run packages, and running back Carson Steele gained 110 yards on 22 carries, including a 7-yard score in the fourth quarter. Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei went 14-of-24 passing for 266 yards with the two scores and powered the Beavers’ offense against a stout UCLA defense.
No. 16 Utah 34, Cal 14
Sione Vaki rushed for 158 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns while also totaling four tackles on defense to help the Utes to a win against the visiting Bears in a Pac-12 game.
Vaki, a safety who had one carry on the season coming into the game, sealed the win with a 72-yard touchdown with 6:51 remaining. Ja’Quinden Jackson added 94 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown for Utah (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12), which finished with 317 rushing yards. Bryson Barnes completed 15 of 21 passes for 128 yards and rushed for another 50 yards and a touchdown.
Fernando Mendoza completed 10 of 17 passes for 149 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for Cal (3-4, 1-3). Taj Davis had seven catches for 93 yards and a touchdown, while Jaydn Ott also caught a TD.
No. 17 Duke 24, NC State 3
Henry Belin IV completed only four passes in his first career start but two of those went for touchdowns and the Blue Devils’ defense was up to the task in a victory against the visiting Wolfpack in Durham, N.C.
Jordan Waters had an 83-yard touchdown run among his 123 rushing yards for Duke (5-1, 2-0 ACC).
NC State (4-3, 1-2) struggled on offense in quarterback MJ Morris’ second start of the season. Morris went 24-for-40 for 193 yards and an interception.
Arizona 44, No. 19 Washington State 6
Noah Fifita passed for 342 yards and the Wildcats’ defense forced three turnovers in their breakthrough victory over the Cougars in Pullman, Wash.
Washington State (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the game, but Arizona (4-3, 2-2) was in control after that. Fifita finished 34-of-43 passing with no interceptions while the defense clamped down on Cameron Ward, who finished with 192 yards on 22 of 30 passing.
Jonah Coleman rushed for three touchdowns and also had a 69-yard reception to the Washington State 1 that set up Arizona’s first touchdown. The Wildcats, who had close calls against then-No. 7 Washington (31-24) and then-No. 9 Southern California (43-41 in triple overtime) during the past two weeks, outgained the Cougars 516-234.
No. 19 Tennessee 20, Texas A&M 13
Dee Williams posted the go-ahead score on a punt return, and Gabe Jeudy-Lally and Kamal Hadden snatched fourth-quarter interceptions as the Volunteers held off the Aggies in Knoxville, Tenn.
The Volunteers (5-1, 2-1 SEC) saw Joe Milton III go just 11-for-22 for 100 yards with a touchdown pass to Jacob Warren. Jaylen Wright produced 136 yards on 19 carries for the conference’s top rushing team, which had 232 yards on 49 attempts.
Quarterback Max Johnson was 16-for-34 for 223 yards and rushed for a score but was picked off twice as Texas A&M (4-3, 2-2) lost for the second straight week.
No. 22 LSU 48, Auburn 18
Jayden Daniels passed for 325 yards and three touchdowns and LSU blew out Auburn in an SEC game in Baton Rouge, La.
Daniels completed 20 of 27 passes and added 93 rushing yards. He led LSU (5-2, 4-1 SEC) to a 17-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, and Auburn (3-3, 0-3) never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
Robby Ashford replaced Payton Thorne at quarterback for Auburn to start the second half and led a drive that made it to the LSU 18 before stalling. Alex McPherson kicked a 38-yard field goal to pull Auburn within 20-10.
Oklahoma State 39, No. 23 Kansas 32
Brennan Presley’s 6-yard touchdown run with 2:33 left lifted the host Cowboys past the Jayhawks in Stillwater, Okla.
The Cowboys (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) defeated the Jayhawks for the seventh straight time in Stillwater. Ollie Gordon became the first OSU player since 1989 to have 100 yards rushing (168) and receiving (116) in the same game.
Kansas (5-2, 2-2) again played without QB Jalon Daniels. Jason Bean started and threw for career highs in yards (410) and touchdowns (five), but he had two second-half turnovers that changed the momentum.
Missouri 38, No. 24 Kentucky 21
Punter Luke Bauer’s touchdown pass awoke Missouri from an early slumber as the Tigers recovered from a 14-point deficit to post a victory over the Wildcats in Southeastern Conference play at Lexington, Ky.
Brady Cook passed for one touchdown and rushed for another as Missouri (6-1, 2-1 SEC) continued its strong start. Cody Schrader rushed for a touchdown while Marquis Johnson and Theo Wease Jr. had scoring receptions.
Kentucky star Ray Davis gained 128 yards on 20 carries for his third outing of at least 100 rushing yards this season. Devin Leary was 14-of-27 passing for 120 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Wildcats (5-2, 2-2), who lost their second consecutive contest.
–Field Level Media
–Field Level Media
