Associated Press
The Top 25 roundup …
NORMAN, Okla. ó Game by game, Landry Jones is mastering his role as a stand-in for Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford.
In just his second career start, Jones threw for 336 yards and set a school record with six touchdown passes, and No. 12 Oklahoma recorded its second straight shutout in a 45-0 win against Tulsa on Saturday.
“It’s just kind of wild right now, kind of like you’re living a dream,” said Jones, who also matched the NCAA record for touchdown passes by a freshman in a single game.
With Bradford watching from the sidelines in a red polo shirt and a white ballcap, Jones knocked him, 2003 Heisman winner Jason White and 2000 Heisman runner-up Josh Heupel out of the top spot in the school record book.
Ryan Broyles caught a career-high 11 passes for 128 yards and three touchdowns, and Brandon Caleb emerged as a potential second viable target with 104 yards on five catches and two scores.
No. 4 Alabama 53, North Texas 7TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ó Greg McElroy passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another before sitting out most of the second half for Alabama.
It was the highest-scoring game for Alabama since a 56-7 win over UTEP in 2001.
No. 5 Penn State 31, Temple 6STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ó Evan Royster ran for 134 yards and Penn State revived its rushing attack against Temple.
Royster had 119 yards by halftime, including the 7-yard scoring run that gave the Nittany Lions a 14-3 lead late in the second quarter. Daryll Clark threw for 167 yards and two scores as Penn State (3-0) won its 27th straight against its in-state rival.
No. 5 Mississippi 52, SE Louisiana 6OXFORD, Miss. ó Jevan Snead threw three touchdowns, Brandon Bolden rushed for 105 yards and freshman linebacker D.T. Shackleford returned in interception for a touchdown for Ole Miss.
The Rebels (2-0) won their eighth straight game ó their longest winning streak since they won 10 in 1971-72.
No. 8 California 35, Minnesota 21MINNEAPOLIS ó Jahvid Best rushed for 131 yards and a school-record five touchdowns to lift the Golden Bears. Kevin Riley overcame a shaky start to finish with 252 yards for Cal (3-0), which had lost eight of its last nine on the road, including four in a row to end last season.
No. 9 LSU 31, La-Lafayette 3BATON ROUGE, La. ó Chad Jones two interceptions, leading a dominant defensive performance by LSU.
Jones also was a relief pitcher on LSU’s 2009 national champion baseball team, but if he’s to play for his second national title in football, LSU’s offense may need improvement.
No. 11 Ohio State 38, Toledo 0CLEVELAND ó Terrelle Pryor hooked up with Dane Sanzenbacher on two early touchdown passes and Ohio State defused Toledo’s high-scoring spread attack at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Pryor feasted on a Toledo defense giving up 45 points and almost 500 yards a game. He passed for three scores, completing 17 of 28 passes for a career-high 262 yards, including a 76-yard strike to Sanzenbacher on the Buckeyes’ third offensive play.
Pryor also ran for 110 yards on 12 carries, including a touchdown.
Oregon 31, No. 14 Utah 24EUGENE, Ore. ó LaMichael James rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown, and John Boyett made a crucial interception to help Oregon snap the nation’s longest winning streak.
Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli also ran for two touchdowns, but had two fumbles and an interception in the second half to help Utah rally from a 21-7 deficit to within 28-24 by the end of the third quarter.
The Utes had won 16 straight games, including their Sugar Bowl upset of Alabama.
No. 15 TCU 56, Texas State 21FORT WORTH, Texas ó Joseph Turner ran for 129 yards and three touchdowns, Jerry Hughes had three sacks and TCU won its eighth consecutive home opener.
No. 16 Oklahoma State 41, Rice 24STILLWATER, Okla. ó Zac Robinson rushed for one touchdown and threw for two to Dez Bryant as Oklahoma State rebounded from its first loss.
While Oklahoma State (2-1) didn’t exactly get its offense rolling, the Cowboys did enough to beat Rice (0-3), which has opened the season with three straight road games, two against Big 12 Conference foes.
No. 17 Cincinnati 28, Oregon State 18CORVALLIS, Ore. ó Tony Pike threw for 332 yards and hit Mardy Gilyard with an 18-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter as Cincinnati stopped a second-half Oregon State comeback bid.
The Bearcats (3-0) snapped Oregon State’s streak of 26 straight nonconference victories at Reser Stadium, dating back to a 67-28 win over Northern Illinois on Nov. 16, 1996.
No. 23 Georgia 52, Arkansas 41FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. ó Joe Cox threw for 375 yards and five touchdowns, and No. 23 Georgia pulled away for a wild 52-41 win over Arkansas on Saturday night.
The Razorbacks (1-1) led 35-34 in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs’ struggling defense held Arkansas to two short field goals the rest of the way. It was the second straight high-scoring win for Georgia, which edged South Carolina 41-37 last weekend.
Ryan Mallett set two school records for Arkansas, throwing for 408 yards and five touchdowns.
No. 25 Michigan 45, E. Michigan 17ANN ARBOR, Mich. ó Carlos Brown had a 90-yard touchdown run and a career-high 187 yards rushing for the Wolverines.
Freshman Tate Forcier had a lackluster day after two spectacular games for Michigan (3-0). He was 7 of 13 for 68 yards and left the game briefly in the second half after getting hit by two Eagles.