Associated Press
The Top 25 roundup …
BOISE, Idaho ó In the national championship race, TCU made the big news Saturday.
The Horned Frogs upset No. 5 Boise State 36-35, scoring a touchdown and a 2-point conversion with 1:05 remaining to take the lead. Broncos kicker Dan Goodale booted a 39-yard field-goal attempt wide right as time expired.
Consider Boise State’s national championship hopes over, as well as its chances to reach the Bowl Championship Series. It’s the second straight season the Broncos’ unbeaten run ended with missed kicks. Two errant short field goals helped Nevada beat Boise State 34-31 in overtime last November.
Kellen Moore and the Broncos (8-1, 3-1) will again likely be relegated to a second-tier bowl.
Boise State’s 35-game home winning streak was also snapped.
No. 1 LSU 42, WESTERN KENTUCKY 9
BATON ROUGE, La. ó Jordan Jefferson’s first start of the season went well enough for No. 1 LSU to win comfortably, even if it started a little slower than it would have liked.
Alfred Blue and Kenny Hilliard each scored two touchdowns, and the Tigers dominated the second half in 42-9 victory over Western Kentucky
No. 2 OKLAHOMA 66, TEXAS TECH 6
LUBBOCK, Texas ó Brandon Weeden threw for 423 yards and five touchdowns and Joseph Randle ran for three more scores to send the Cowboys to the first 10-0 start in school history.
No. 4 ALABAMA 24, MISSISSIPPI STATE 7
STARKVILLE, Miss. ó Trent Richardson rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown, Alabama’s defense gave up just 131 total yards and the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide beat Mississippi State 24-7 on Saturday night.
It was a typical no-frills win for Alabama (9-1, 6-1 SEC), which has won nine of its last 11 against Mississippi State.
No. 6 Oregon 53, No. 3 Stanford 30
STANFORD, Calif.ó LaMichael James ran for 146 yards and three touchdowns and No. 6 Oregon sprinted past third-ranked Stanford 53-30 on Saturday night, giving Andrew Luck’s Heisman Trophy campaign a blemish and taking a giant step toward hosting the inaugural Pac-12 championship.
James ran for scores from 1, 4 and 58 yards and had Stanford (9-1, 7-1) defenders slipping all over a slick field. The Ducks (9-1, 7-0) ended the nation’s best winning streak at 17 games ó which the Cardinal began after a loss in Eugene more than a year ago ó and can clinch the league’s North Division crown over Stanford with a win in one of their final two games.
Luck threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions and a fumble. Stanford had five total turnovers.
No. 8 ARKANSAS 49, TENNESSEE 7
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. ó Dennis Johnson accounted for 140 total yards and a pair of touchdowns and Arkansas won its sixth straight.
The Razorbacks (9-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) kept alive their hopes for a second-straight BCS bowl game ó and possibly more. They also earned their seventh straight win against an SEC East opponent.
No. 13 MICHIGAN STATE 37, IOWA 21
IOWA CITY, Iowa ó Kirk Cousins threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns and 13th-ranked Michigan State (8-2, 5-1) took control of the Big Ten’s Legends Division.
No. 15 SOUTH CAROLINA 17, FLORIDA 12
COLUMBIA, S.C. ó South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw ran for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
Freshman Brandon Wilds rushed for 120 yards as the No. 15 Gamecocks (8-2, 6-2 Southeastern) edged the Gators (5-5, 3-5) and left themselves a chance to make it to a second straight SEC title game.
The win gives South Carolina six SEC victories for the first time since joining the league in 1992. But the Gamecocks will need Georgia to lose to Kentucky next week to win the SEC East.
No. 16 WISCONSIN 42, MINNESOTA 13
MINNEAPOLIS ó Montee Ball broke the Big Ten’s single-season touchdown record and 16th-ranked Wisconsin trampled Minnesota to keep Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the eighth straight year. Russell Wilson had a season-high four touchdown passes.
No. 17 KANSAS STATE 53, TEXAS A&M 50, 4OT
MANHATTAN, Kan. ó Collin Klein scored on a sneak in the fourth overtime for his sixth touchdown of the game, giving Kansas State a dramatic victory.
Klein threw for a career-high 281 yards and added 103 yards on the ground for the Wildcats (8-2, 5-2 Big 12), who rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 6 minutes of regulation to hand the Aggies (5-5, 3-4) their third consecutive loss.
No. 18 USC 40, WASHINGTON 17
LOS ANGELES ó Southern California’s Marqise Lee caught a touchdown pass and returned the second-half kickoff 88 yards for a score, and Curtis McNeal had a 79-yard TD sprint while accumulating a career-high 148 yards rushing. Matt Barkley passed for 174 yards and a touchdown for USC (8-2, 5-2 Pac-12).
MISSOURI 17, No. 21 TEXAS 5
COLUMBIA, Mo. ó James Franklin completed his first 10 passes and ran for a 2-yard score for the Tigers (5-5, 3-4 Big 12), who beat Texas (6-3, 3-3) for the first time since 1997.
No. 22 MICHIGAN 31, ILLINOIS 14
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ó Fitzgerald Toussaint ran for 192 yards and a touchdown and backup quarterback Devin Gardner threw a key TD pass for Michigan.
Denard Robinson didn’t play after a big third-quarter hit. Gardner came in and hit Martavious Odoms for a fourth quarter touchdown that gave Michigan (8-2, 4-2 Big Ten) a 24-7 lead after Illinois (6-4, 2-4) scored.
WEST VIRGINIA 24, No. 23 CINCINNATI 21
CINCINNATI ó Geno Smith threw for 372 yards and led a fourth-quarter touchdown drive that rallied West Virginia (7-3, 3-2) past No. 23 Cincinnati (7-2, 3-1).
OTHERS
LANDOVER, Md. ó Jonas Gary ran for a career-high 136 yards and two touchdowns, and Notre Dame made itself right at home against skidding Maryland in a 45-21 victory.
Tommy Rees completed 30 of 38 passes for 296 yards and two scores for the Fighting Irish (7-3), who have won three straight and seven of eight. Rees went 14 for 15 for 142 yards after halftime.