Texas gave Nebraska a send-off all right – knocking the wind out of the Cornhuskers’ national championship hopes.
Meanwhile, Auburn’s national championship hopes are still on the rise.
In Licoln, Neb., Garrett Gilbert ran for two touchdowns and Texas’ defense shut down Taylor Martinez to lead the Longhorns to a 20-13 upset of No. 5 Nebraska.
This was the most anticipated game in Lincoln of the season, fans and players looking to avenge last year’s loss in the Big 12 championship game and say goodbye to the Longhorns before heading to the Big Ten next season.
Texas (4-2, 2-1 Big 12), which came in as a 9 1/2-point underdog, surprised Nebraska (5-1, 1-1) by turning Gilbert loose in the run game for the first time this season. The quarterback ran for a 71 yards on 11 carries, scoring from 3 yards and 1 yard, and Cody Johnson had 58 of his 73 yards in the second half.
The Longhorns stymied a Nebraska offense that had been averaging 494 yards a game, holding the Huskers to just 202 yards. But the Huskers were still within a touchdown late in the game thanks to Eric Hagg’s school-record 95-yard punt return.
Martinez, who came in averaging 147 yards a game and almost 11 yards a carry, was held to a season-low 21 yards on 13 carries before being pulled for Zac Lee in the third quarter.
Texas certainly wasn’t prolific offensively, gaining 271 yards. But the defense held the Huskers’ ground game in a check, and Nebraska receivers dropped what would have been three touchdown passes.
When the first BCS standings come out Sunday, Nebraska will be in the pack of the pack.
Unbeaten Auburn, however, should be right in the mix thanks to another brilliant performance by Cam Newton.
The quarterback Cam Newton ran for 188 yards, passed for 140 and accounted for four touchdowns as No. 7 Auburn beat No. 12 Arkansas 65-43.
The teams set a Southeastern Conference record for most points in a non-overtime game. The previous mark was South Carolina’s 65-39 victory over Mississippi State in 1995.
Newton, leaving little doubt that he’s a serious Heisman contender, ran for three touchdowns and passed for another in a game that went back and forth until Auburn (7-0, 4-0 SEC) pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Arkansas (4-2, 1-2) hung on, even after losing star quarterback Ryan Mallett to a head injury in the first half. Backup Tyler Wilson threw for 332 yards and four touchdowns, but also had two crucial interceptions late in the game.
No. 4 TCU 31, BYU 3
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – Andy Dalton threw four touchdown passes, including two barely a minute apart late in the first half, and TCU narrowly missed a third consecutive shutout.
The Frogs led just 3-0 with two minutes left before halftime when a sack forced the Cougars to punt from their 4-yard line. Given good field position, Dalton found Josh Boyce on a 35-yard score two plays later.
TCU (7-0, 3-0 Mountain West) got the ball right back on an interception, and Dalton hit a wide-open Jimmy Young in the end zone for a 14-yard score that made it 17-0 with 26 seconds left in the half.
BYU (2-5, 1-2) had just 14 total yards in the first half but ended TCU’s shutout streak at 10 quarters with a 70-yard drive to a short field goal late in the third.
No. 13 Michigan State 26, Illinois 6
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Kirk Cousins threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to B.J. Cunningham in the third quarter, helping Michigan State to its best start in more than four decades.
The Spartans (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) started slowly a week after beating Michigan, but they outscored the Illini 23-0 in the second half. They are 7-0 for the first time since 1966, when they won their first nine games before famously tying Notre Dame 10-10.
After Michigan State had trouble running the ball the first two quarters, Cousins came out sharp in the third. His touchdown pass over the middle gave the Spartans a 13-6 lead, and Illinois (3-3, 1-2) couldn’t overcome its four turnovers.
Cousins finished 13 of 24 for 201 yards.
No. 15 Iowa 38, Michigan 28
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) – Ricky Stanzi threw his third touchdown pass to Derrell Johnson-Koulianos early in the fourth quarter and Michael Meyer kicked a 30-yard field goal with 2:53 left, helping Iowa hold off Michigan.
The Hawkeyes (5-1, 2-0 Big Ten) led the Wolverines (5-2, 1-2) by three TDs early in the fourth quarter.
Tate Forcier came in for injured Denard Robinson and threw a 45-yard pass to Junior Hemingway and his 3-yard run made it 28-21 with 6:55 to play.
Iowa’s Adam Robinson, who scored twice, converted a third-and-8 at the Michigan 40 by breaking a tackle on a 26-yard reception to set up the victory-sealing kick.
Denard Robinson left during the third quarter after he was hit hard on a run.
No. 16 Florida State 24, Boston College 19
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Bert Reed’s 42-yard touchdown run on a reverse lifted Florida State to its fifth straight victory.
The Seminoles (6-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) overcame four turnovers by quarterback Christian Ponder to win their fifth straight.
Boston College (2-4, 0-3) took a 19-17 lead early in the fourth quarter on Nate Freese’s fourth field goal of the game. That followed Ponder’s fumble at the Eagles’ 44.
Ponder, who had one of his poorest performances, completed 19 of 31 passes for 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns – 3 yards to Lonnie Pryor and 10 yards to Beau Reliford.
Montel Harris rushed for 191 yards and safety Jim Noel had two of three BC interceptions, including one he returned 43 yards for a third quarter touchdown that pulled the Eagles to within 17-16.
No. 20 Oklahoma State 34, Texas Tech 17
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) – Justin Blackmon had a career-high 207 yards receiving with a touchdown to lead Oklahoma State to its first win in Lubbock since 1944.
Blackmon’s 62-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter was the longest play of the game and put the contest out of reach for the Cowboys (6-0, 2-0 Big 12). Brandon Weeden completed 24 of 35 passes for 356 yards, the touchdown and two interceptions.
The Cowboys went ahead 21-0 in the first quarter after three rushing touchdowns – 15 yards by Kendall Hunter, and 4 yards each by Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith – and Texas Tech couldn’t put together enough offense in the second half to make it a contest.
Taylor Potts, who had 462 yards in last week’s 45-38 win over Baylor, went 28 of 43 for 226 yards and a touchdown for Texas Tech (3-3, 1-6).
No. 21 Missouri 30, Texas A&M 9
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) – Blaine Gabbert threw for a 361 yards and three touchdowns and Missouri remained undefeated.
Gabbert connected with Wes Kemp for touchdowns in the first and third quarters to help the Tigers (6-0, 2-0 Big 12) improve to 6-0 for the fifth time in school history.
Missouri’s defense held quarterback Jerrod Johnson and Texas A&M’s spread offense in check for most of the game, harassing him into a 7 for 21 first half. Texas A&M (3-3, 0-2) finally got going in the fourth quarter, with Johnson throwing a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Fuller, but it was too little, too late to avoid a third straight loss.
Gabbert’s third touchdown pass was a 20-yard strike to T.J. Moe that made it 30-3 in the third quarter. Moe finished with six receptions for 110 yards.
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