A couple more undefeated seasons got run off the road.
Michigan State and Missouri were both soundly beaten away from home by conference rivals on a Saturday when six teams with perfect records hit the road.
No. 18 Iowa jumped out to a 30-point lead and stomped fifth-ranked Michigan State 37-6, and No. 14 Nebraska went up 24 points early on the way to beating No. 7 Missouri 31-17.
It was no shocker to see the Spartans and Tigers go down. Both were underdogs.
No. 24 Southern California and Mississippi were trying to pull the day’s biggest upsets later.
No. 1 Oregon was at USC and No. 3 Auburn was at Ole Miss.
No. 4 and undefeated TCU was a big favorite at UNLV and No. 8 and unbeaten Utah was at Air Force.
No. 18 Iowa 37, No. 5 Michigan State 6
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Ricky Stanzi threw three touchdown passes and Iowa handed Michigan State its first loss decisively.
Adam Robinson added a pair of touchdowns for the charged-up Hawkeyes, who rolled out to a 30-0 halftime lead and dealt a crushing blow to the Spartans’ national title hopes.
Iowa (6-2, 3-1 Big Ten) jumped ahead 17-0 when Micah Hyde went 66 yards after taking a pitch from safety Tyler Sash, who had picked off a pass.
Stanzi then found Robinson for a 32-yard TD pass, and Robinson’s 2-yard touchdown run put the Hawkeyes ahead by 30 with 1:01 left in the first half.
Kirk Cousins threw three interceptions for the Spartans (8-1, 4-1), who were trying to move to 9-0 for the first time since winning a share of the national title in 1966.
No. 14 Nebraska 31, No. 7 Missouri 17
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Roy Helu Jr. rushed for a school-record 307 yards, and Nebraska knocked Missouri from the unbeatens.
The Cornhuskers (7-1, 3-1 Big 12) held off the Tigers after building a 24-0 lead and moved into a first-place tie with them in the Big 12 North. Nebraska earned the inside track to the division title by winning the head-to-head meeting.
Missouri (7-1, 3-1) has lost 17 straight road games against Top 25 opponents since 1997.
Helu ran for touchdowns of 66, 73 and 53 yards. The Cornhuskers played without quarterback Taylor Martinez in the second half after he came up hobbling following a run late in the second quarter. Zac Lee took over to start the third quarter.
Nebraska put heavy pressure on Blaine Gabbert and held him to 18 of 42 passing for 199 yards. He was sacked six times.
No. 15 Arizona 29, UCLA 21
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) – Backup Matt Scott passed for a career-high 319 yards, and Arizona held off UCLA.
Scott, playing for injured starter Nick Foles (knee), was 24 of 36 with one interception and one touchdown. The junior also carried 12 times for 71 yards.
Keola Antolin rushed for 111 yards on 23 carries for the Wildcats (7-1, 4-1 Pac-10), off to their best start since winning seven of their first eight games en route to a 12-1 finish in 1998.
Richard Brehaut passed for a career-best 228 yards and two touchdowns for the Bruins (3-5, 1-4), who lost their third straight game but performed much better than in their last two, when they were outscored 95-20 at California and Oregon.
No. 17 South Carolina 38, Tennessee 24
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Alshon Jeffery’s 70-yard touchdown catch broke a fourth-quarter tie and kept South Carolina in control of the SEC East.
The Vols (2-6, 0-5 Southeastern Conference) had rallied back from a 14-point deficit on a pair of touchdown passes from backup quarterback Tyler Bray to tie the game at 24.
That’s when Stephen Garcia found Jeffery in the middle of the field and the SEC’s leading receiver outraced three defenders to the end zone with 12:17 to go.
Garcia added two rushing touchdowns, the second from 1 yard out with 3:28 left that sealed the win for South Carolina (6-2, 4-2).
The Gamecocks are the East’s only two-loss team. They can clinch their first berth in the SEC title game with wins over Arkansas and Florida in the next two weeks.
No. 20 Oklahoma State 24, Kansas State 14
MANHATTAN, Kan., (AP) – Brandon Weeden threw two touchdown passes and No. 20 Oklahoma State’s high-powered offense overcame the absence of star wide receiver Justin Blackmon to beat Kansas State 24-14 Saturday afternoon.
Blackmon, suspended for the game after being arrested on a misdemeanor DUI charge, left the Cowboys (7-1 overall, 3-1 Big 12) without the nation’s leader in receiving yards per game, total receiving yards, scoring and touchdown catches.
As a result, the attack that came into the game No. 3 nationally in total offense and No. 2 in scoring sputtered much of the day, particularly in a 7-7 first half. But aided by Dan Bailey’s precise placement punting and Johnny Thomas’ touchdown on an interception return, the Cowboys scored 17 straight points in the second half.
Virginia 24, No. 22 Miami 19
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – Virginia intercepted Miami’s backup quarterbacks four times after Jacory Harris was hurt and pulled off the upset.
Virginia (4-4, 1-3 ACC), which had lost nine straight conference games, knocked Harris from the game on a huge hit by John-Kevin Dolce in the second quarter with the score still 0-0.
The Cavaliers beat a ranked team for the first time since defeating No. 21 Georgia Tech 24-17 on Oct. 25, 2008.
Keith Payne ran for two touchdowns, and Marc Verica added a touchdown pass for Virginia.
The Hurricanes (5-3, 3-2), who seemed to hit their stride in a convincing victory against North Carolina last week, made it inside the Virginia 20 just once in the first three quarters.
Add A Comment