STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley cut through Michigan’s stingy defense, each scoring three touchdowns, and No. 2 Penn State emphatically avenged its last regular-season loss with a 42-13 victory against the 19th-ranked Wolverines on Saturday night.
Barkley set the tone the first time he touched the ball. He took a direct snap on the second play of the game and blazed 69 yards for a touchdown on his way to 161 yards from scrimmage that are a nice addition to his Heisman Trophy bid.
McSorley ran for three scores for Penn State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten), including a darting 13-yarder in the third quarter that made it 28-13 and led the record-breaking, white-out crowd of 110,823 at Beaver Stadium to sing along to “Sweet Caroline.” McSorley and Barkley combined for the knock-out blow, a 42-yard TD pass with Barkley easily burning linebacker Mike McCray and then making a juggling catch to increase the lead to 35-13 early in the fourth quarter.
Michigan came in allowing 223 yards per game and 3.68 yards per play. Nittany Lions went for 506 yards and 8.3 per play.
Penn State has not lost a regular-season game since getting trounced 49-10 by Michigan (5-2, 2-2) last season. That seems like a lifetime ago in Happy Valley, where the defending Big Ten champions look even better than last year.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 45,
TENNESSEE 7
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Bo Scarbrough had two fourth-down touchdown runs and Alabama continued its domination of rival Tennessee.
The Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) improved to 11-0 in the traditional Third Saturday in October game under coach Nick Saban while dealing another blow to the slumping Volunteers (3-4, 0-4) and embattled coach Butch Jones.
Alabama outgained Tennessee 604-108 in total yards even with reserves manning the offensive backfield most of the second half.
Scarbrough’s two 1-yard scores came with defensive linemen Da’Ron Payne and Quinnen Williams as lead blockers. Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts capped the opening second half drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Irv Smith and then watched from the sidelines the rest of the way.
The Vols did snap a streak of 12-plus quarters without a touchdown after that move. Linebacker Daniel Bituli intercepted Tua Tagovailoa’s pass and raced 97 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown.
Tagovailoa added big plays after his mistake. He scored on a 23-yard run and then hit fellow freshman Henry Ruggs III for a 60-yard touchdown pass with 4:49 left. Ruggs has five catches this season, all going for scores.
NO. 5 WISCONSIN 38,
MARYLAND 13
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Jonathan Taylor ran for a touchdown and broke the 1,000-yard mark for the season, Alex Hornibrook passed for two scores and Wisconsin stayed unbeaten.
Taylor finished with 126 yards on 22 carries.
Playing in his seventh game at Wisconsin (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten), Taylor tied a major college football record shared by five other backs for fewest games by a freshman to get to 1,000 yards.
Hornibrook shook off an interception on his second attempt of the day, finishing 16 of 24 for 225 yards to balance the offense. Maryland is 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten.
NO. 8 MIAMI 27, SYRACUSE 19
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Malik Rosier threw for 344 yards and two touchdowns, and Travis Homer’s 33-yard touchdown run with 2:48 left helped Miami beat Syracuse fir its 11 straight victory.
It was the third consecutive down-to-the-end game for Miami (6-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which is off to its best league start since joining the ACC in 2004.
The Hurricanes needed last-second plays to beat Florida State two weeks ago and Georgia Tech last week. This one was nearly as dramatic.
Miami intercepted Syracuse’s Eric Dungey four times, all in the first half.
Christopher Herndon had a career-best 10 catches for 96 yards and a touchdown for Miami. Jeff Thomas caught a 48-yard touchdown pass for the Hurricanes, who haven’t had a winning streak this long since winning 34 straight from 2000 to 2002.
Cole Murphy kicked four field goals for Syracuse (4-4, 2-2), including a career-best 53-yarder with 5:23 left to get the Orange to 20-19. But Miami answered with a nine-play, 85-yard drive capped by Homer’s TD run that helped the Hurricanes escape.
NO. 14 VIRGINIA TECH 59,
NORTH CAROLINA 7
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Josh Jackson threw three touchdown passes and Virginia Tech scored on fumble, interception and punt returns.
Jackson passed for 132 yards and the Hokies (6-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) dominated in sending the Tar Heels (1-7, 0-5) to their fifth straight loss.
Off last week, Virginia Tech looked rested and focused and played that way, scoring in all three phases in the first half and bolting to a 35-0 halftime lead. Virginia Tech scored twice on defense, getting the first score of the game on defensive tackle Ricky Walker’s 12-yard fumble return.
The Hokies added Greg Stroman’s 91-yard punt return for a touchdown — his second punt return for a score this season — and defensive back Reggie Floyd’s 69-yard interception return for a score.
NO. 18 MICHIGAN STATE 17, INDIANA 9
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Brian Lewerke threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Felton Davis with 5:59 remaining for Michigan State.
Lewerke struggled for much of the game, but he was able to connect with an open Davis to the left side of the end zone. The extra point by Matt Coghlin put Michigan State (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) ahead 10-9.
On the next possession, the Spartans forced an Indiana punt — one of 17 the teams combined for. Then LJ Scott ran 18 yards for a touchdown for Michigan State, which may have actually helped the Hoosiers because it gave them the ball back with 1:49 remaining and a chance to tie it.
But Indiana (3-4, 0-4) wasn’t able to cross midfield before turning the ball over on downs.
NO. 20 CENTRAL FLORIDA 31, NAVY 21
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Adrian Killins ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns, McKenzie Milton passed for 233 yards and Central Florida beat Navy for the first 6-0 start in school history.
It was tied in the third quarter before Killins bolted down the right sideline for a 79-yard touchdown run to put the Knights ahead for good.
Central Florida (6-0, 4-0 American Athletic Conference) became bowl eligible, matched its win total of last year and improved to 6-0 for the first time in the 39-year history of the program.
The Midshipmen (5-2, 3-2) kept it close, but their chances of pulling off an upset dwindled after quarterback Zach Abey was forced from the game in the third quarter. Abey was dazed from a hit to the helmet at the end of a run and had to be helped off the field.
Abey, the key figure in Navy’s triple option, carried 25 times for 126 yards and a touchdown — his school-record eighth straight 100-yard game. He also threw a touchdown pass.
NO. 24 LSU 40, MISSISSIPPI 24
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Derrius Guice ran for a season-high 276 yards and a touchdown to lead LSU.
LSU (6-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) has won three straight games. Danny Etling threw for 200 yards and two touchdowns and coach Ed Orgeron won in his return as a head coach to Oxford. Orgeron was the Ole Miss coach for three years from 2005-07.
The 5-foot-11, 218-pound Guice ran for 126 yards in the first half, which was already good enough for his season high. It was the biggest reason the Tigers had a 13-6 by halftime and the junior was far from finished.
Ole Miss (3-4, 1-3) came into the game with the SEC’s most prolific passing offense, but struggled for pretty much the entire night against LSU’s defense.
