Oct 14, 2017; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers wide receiver Russell Gage (83) dives for a touchdown catch past Auburn Tigers defensive back Jamel Dean (12) during the second quarter of a game at Tiger Stadium. Photo Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
DALLAS — A series that has produced so many tight games produced another Saturday as No. 12 Oklahoma built a big lead early and then hung on for a 29-24 win over Texas in the Red River Showdown at the Cotton Bowl.
Oklahoma’s defense, a problem in the loss to Iowa State a week earlier and a liability for much of a win over Baylor before that, came up big when the game tightened up.
The Sooners stopped Texas on four of the Longhorns’ last five possessions, and one huge Baker Mayfield touchdown pass led Oklahoma (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) to its second consecutive win in the series and its fourth in the last five years.
With just less than seven minutes remaining, Mayfield found a wide-open Mark Andrews open along the sidelines for a 59-yard touchdown to put the Sooners back in front. Mayfield finished 17 of 27 with 302 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
No. 6 TCU 26, Kansas State 6
MANHATTAN, Kan. — No. 6 TCU overcame a day of weather interruptions and offensive inconsistencies to defeat Kansas State in a game that was delayed at the start for three hours by severe weather.
TCU (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) scored on its first possession of the second half to open up a 20-3 lead and was never threatened. The Horned Frogs hold sole possession of first place in the Big 12, after Texas’ loss to Oklahoma. Quarterback Kenny Hill was 27 of 37 for 297 yards. He also had a 10-yard touchdown run to open the scoring.
Kansas State (3-3, 1-2) provided little resistance. The Wildcats mustered just 216 yards of total offense and averaged 2.4 yards per carry. There was another delay of one hour in the fourth quarter.
No. 7 Wisconsin 17, Purdue 9
MADISON, Wis. — Freshman running back Jonathan Taylor had 30 carries for 219 yards and a touchdown as No. 7 Wisconsin beat Purdue for the 12th straight time.
Taylor, a true freshman, has accumulated 986 rushing yards in six games for the Badgers. Wisconsin (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) had three turnovers and eight penalties for 65 yards, but its defense kept the Boilermakers (3-3, 1-2) from scoring a touchdown. And senior linebacker Leon Jacobs came up big with a late save for the Badgers.
With Purdue posing a red-zone challenge on the 7-yard line, Jacobs picked off Elijah Sindelar with 8:14 left in the game. The pass was intended for freshman wide receiver Jackson Anthrop. Wisconsin held Purdue to 221 yards, including 155 passing.
LSU 27, No. 10 Auburn 23
BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU erased a 20-point first-half deficit and freshman kicker Connor Culp kicked two field goals in the final 2:36 to lift the Tigers to an upset victory against No. 10 Auburn.
LSU (5-2, 1-1 SEC) trailed by 20 midway through the second quarter, but the Tigers rallied by holding Auburn (5-2, 3-1), which had averaged 48 points in its last three games, scoreless over the final 32 minutes to beat a ranked team for the second consecutive week.
Trailing 23-21, LSU moved the ball to the Auburn 25, where on fourth-and-1, Culp came in and split the uprights on the go-ahead 42-yard kick. After stopping Auburn on its next possession, Culp hit a 36-yard field goal with 38 seconds left to make it 27-23.
No. 11 Miami 25, Georgia Tech 24
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Quarterback Malik Rosier found wide receiver Darrell Langham for a crucial 28-yard fourth-down completion to help set up kicker Michael Badgley’s 24-yard field goal as No. 11 Miami rallied for a victory over Georgia Tech.
Just a week after throwing the decisive touchdown pass to Langham in a 24-20 victory over Florida State, Rosier again found Langham down the right side. Langham appeared to catch the ball off his facemask as he tumbled to Georgia Tech’s 15-yard line with just 33 seconds remaining.
Three plays later, Badgley kicked the decisive field goal with just four seconds remaining
The win kept the Hurricanes (5-0, 3-0 ACC) unbeaten while the Yellow Jackets (3-2, 2-1) lost for the first time since their overtime defeat to Tennessee in the opener. Rosier finished the game 23 of 37 for 297 yards. Sophomore Travis Homer, subbing for an injured Mark Walton, rushed for 170 yards, scoring on a 27-yard run and a 17-yard reception.
No. 14 Oklahoma State 59, Baylor 16
STILLWATER, Okla. — No. 14 Oklahoma State piled up a school-record 747 yards of offense and seven players scored touchdowns in a rout of Baylor.
After a fast start and a 7-0 lead by the Bears, it was all Oklahoma State (5-1, 2-1 Big 12). Quarterback Mason Rudolph tied a school record with his seventh career 400-yard passing game, finishing with 459 yards and three touchdowns. Wideout James Washington tied another school mark with his third career 200-yard receiving game, going for 235 and a touchdown.
Marcell Ateman posted a 119-yard receiving day, with a score. And running back Justice Hill ran for 117 yards and a touchdown, giving the Cowboys a 400-yard passer, two 100-yard receivers and a 100-yard rusher for just the fourth time in program history.
Baylor fell to 0-6 for the first time since 1969, when it finished 0-10. The Bears are 0-3 in league play.
No. 17 Michigan 27, Indiana 20 (OT)
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Karan Higdon rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner, to lead No. 17 Michigan to an overtime victory against Indiana on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Indiana’s Griffin Oakes hit a 46-yard field goal as time expired in regulation to tie the game 20-20. On the first play in overtime, Higdon ran 25 yards for the touchdown, breaking around the left corner after Indiana appeared to have him bottled up as Michigan improved to 5-1 and 2-1 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers fell to 3-3, 0-3.
Leading 13-10 in the fourth quarter, Higdon broke loose for a 59-yard touchdown run to give the Wolverines a 20-10 lead with 10:25 to go. Hoosiers quarterback Peyton Ramsey completed 20 of 41 passes for 178 yards with two interceptions.
No. 20 North Carolina State 35, Pittsburgh 17
PITTSBURGH — Nyheim Hines was the difference-maker with two electric touchdowns as No. 20 North Carolina State overcame a slow start to beat Pittsburgh.
The Wolfpack (6-1, 4-0 ACC) failed to score on the opening drive of the game for just the second time this season and went into halftime tied at 14 with the Panthers (2-5, 0-3). After Pittsburgh started the scoring on a 33-yard pass from Ben DiNucci to receiver Jester Weah, Hines broke free two plays later for an 83-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
After a defensive stop by N.C. State, Hines then returned a Ryan Winslow punt 92 yards straight up the middle to give N.C. State the lead. Hines finished with 249 all-purpose yards.
West Virginia 46, No. 24 Texas Tech 35
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Will Grier threw five touchdown passes, including four unanswered during the second half when West Virginia climbed out of an 18-point hole to defeat No. 24 Texas Tech.
After suffering close losses to Virginia Tech and TCU, the Mountaineers (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) snapped a nine-game skid against Top 25 teams that dated back to 2014. Grier finished 32 of 41 passing for 352 yards, salvaging an offense that rushed for only 44 yards. The Big 12’s leading rusher, Justin Crawford, finish with 47 yards on 14 attempts.
David Sills caught three touchdowns, adding to his FBS lead, now at 12. Ka’Raun White scored twice in the fourth quarter, one on a leaping 32-yarder and again on a 17-yarder that gave West Virginia its first lead at 39-35. Nic Shimonek tossed four scores for Texas Tech (4-2, 1-2), which led 35-17 midway through the third quarter.
Memphis 30, No. 25 Navy 27
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis used five Navy turnovers to propel it to victory over the No. 25 Midshipmen.
The Tigers (5-1, 2-1 American Athletic Conference) got two interceptions from safety Austin Hall, the second of which clinched the win for Memphis with 1:42 to play.
The anticipated offensive show was dulled by an opportune Tiger defense, which gave up 314 rushing yards to Navy (5-1, 3-1), but that was an improvement over Memphis’ last two games against the Mids, both losses.
Riley Ferguson threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns for Memphis.
