College Football

College football top plays: Michigan, Texas, UCLA, USC victorious

Updated Oct. 8, 2022 11:30 p.m. ET

Week 6 of the college football season featured an action-packed slate, highlighted by UCLA's impressive victory over Utah in a top-25 showdown.

Kicking off the action, No. 4 Michigan outlasted Indiana, No. 17 TCU won a thriller on the road over No. 19 Kansas and No. 8 Tennessee topped No. 25 LSU. Elsewhere, one of college football's biggest rivalries — the Red River Showdown — got ugly as Texas went on the road and dominated Oklahoma.

Later on, No. 7 Oklahoma State narrowly escaped Texas Tech, while No. 6 USC topped Washington State to keep its perfect record alive.

Here are the top plays from Saturday's Week 6 slate.

No. 6 USC 30, Washington State 14

Bombs away!

The Trojans were first on the board with a monster 38-yard touchdown strike from QB Caleb Williams.

Trojans QB Caleb Williams throws a 38-yard dime vs. Cougars

USC grabbed an early 7-0 lead against the Washington State, thanks to Caleb Williams' TD pass to Mario Williams in the first quarter.

Roaring back

Washington State took the lead in the second quarter, thanks to back-to-back touchdown passes from QB Cameron Ward — the second of which had Trojans fans wondering what had unfolded.

Cameron Ward fools USC's defense to give the Cougars the lead

Cameron Ward's second-quarter TD pass gives Washington State a 14-10 lead.

Pulling away

The Trojans went on to score 20 unanswered points en route to an easy 30-14 victory over the Cougars.

USC's Mario Williams hauls in his second receiving TD vs. Cougars

Mario Williams' second TD helped USC grab a 24-14 lead over Washington State.

No. 18 UCLA 42, No. 11 Utah 32

Sideline surge

Bruins QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson snuck into the end zone to give UCLA the early lead over Utah, 7-0.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson heads to the pylon for the opening score

Dorian Thompson-Robinson kicks off the scoring between UCLA and Utah.

Double trouble

After picking up a score on the ground, Thompson-Robinson tossed a 7-yard touchdown to Jake Bobo to extend the Bruins' lead.

Jake Bobo hauls in the touchdown to push the UCLA lead to 14-3

QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson finds Jake Bobo for the 7-yard touchdown.

Utes make a move

Utah got in on the action just ahead of the break, making it a four-point game at the end of the first half.

Tavion Thomas' touchdown run caps off an eight play, 84-yard drive

Utah Utes RB Tavion Thomas' touchdown run caps off an eight play, 84-yard drive to cut into the UCLA Bruins lead, 14-10.

Heating up

Thompson-Robinson tossed his third touchdown of the day to keep the Bruins in the lead …

Dorian Thompson-Robinson delivers a strike to Kam Brown on the slant route

Dorian Thompson-Robinson delivers a strike to Kam Brown to push UCLA's lead to two scores.

… but Utah was never far behind. Utes QB Cameron Rising made it a one-possession game late in the third quarter after finding the end zone himself and following that up with a successful two-point conversion.

Cameron Rising cuts Utah's deficit to three points

Utah QB Cameron Rising takes the QB keeper into the end zone and converts the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to three vs. UCLA.

Wild finish

Three more touchdowns were scored on the next three consecutive drives, but things took a turn when Utah fumbled the ball early in the fourth quarter. UCLA was able to recover the ball and score, resulting in a double-digit lead. Just like that, the Bruins were able to pull off the win at home.

UCLA picked up the loose ball to go up 42-25

The Bruins picked up the loose ball and took it down to the 1-yard line, where Zach Charbonnet ran it in to break the game open.

No. 7 Oklahoma State 41, Texas Tech 31

Clicking early

Texas Tech started things off with a bang when QB Behren Morton connected with wideout Jerand Bradley for a 27-yard touchdown strike on the Red Raiders' opening drive.

Texas Tech takes an early 7-0 lead after Behren Morton finds Jerand Bradley for a 27-yard TD

The Texas Tech Red Raiders took an early 7-0 lead after Behren Morton connected with Jerand Bradley on a 27-yard TD pass.

Answering back

The Cowboys were able to tie things up on the following drive, thanks to QB Spencer Sanders' 32-yard score.

Spencer Sanders connects with Bryson Green on a 32-yard TD

Oklahoma State is tied with Texas Tech after a 32-yard TD from Bryson Green.

Ground game

Oklahoma State took a 14-7 lead after Sanders ran for a 14-yard score late in the first quarter.

Spencer Sanders takes it 14 yards to the house

Oklahoma State took a 14-7 lead after Spencer Sanders' 14-yard rushing score.

Neck and neck

The Red Raiders started the second quarter the same way they started the game — by scoring.

Just like that, Texas Tech was back in the driver's seat, 21-17.

QB Behren Morton completes a 5-yard TD to Xavier White

Texas Tech takes a 21-17 lead over Oklahoma State, thanks to Xavier White.

No quit

Both teams continued to battle as the second half got underway. Texas Tech's SaRodorick Thompson punched one in for the Red Raiders in the third quarter for a short-lived lead.

Oklahoma State preceded to score 18 unanswered points to secure the win, 41-31.

SaRodorick Thompson finds a hole in the defense for a 2-yard score

SaRodorick Thompson's fancy footwork gave Texas Tech a 31-23 lead.

No. 4 Michigan 31, Indiana 10

Early moves

Michigan's star running back Blake Corum broke tackles and juked Indiana defenders to get the Wolverines to the 1-yard line. One play later, Corum finished the job to put his team up 7-0.

Blake Corum runs it in for a 1-yard touchdown

Blake Corum's 1-yard score gives Michigan the early lead over Indiana, 7-0.

Tie game

The Hoosiers moved methodically down the field before Josh Henderson hauled in an 11-yard score to knot things up.

Connor Bazelak connects with Josh Henderson on an 11-yard TD

Connor Bazelak completed a dazzling 11-yard TD pass to Josh Henderson.

Blocked!

Michigan appeared ready to take a 13-10 lead, but the Wolverines' chip-shot field goal attempt was blocked to keep the score even. Then, Michigan returned the favor to keep the game tied ahead of the break.

Wolverines take the lead

After being in a stranglehold for much of game, Michigan took a 17-10 lead when J.J. McCarthy connected with Cornelius Johnson on a 29-yard touchdown pass. The play capped off a 98-yard drive for the Wolverines.

J.J. McCarthy connects with Cornelius Johnson for a 29-yard TD

J.J. McCarthy found Cornelius Johnson down the sideline for a 29-yard touchdown that gave Michigan a 17-10 lead over Indiana in the third quarter.

Insurance

After making a pair of impressive catches earlier in the drive, Luke Schoonmaker finished it off with a 9-yard touchdown grab to put the Wolverines up 24-10. It was a lead Michigan never lost en route to victory.

J.J. McCarthy finds Luke Shchoonmaker on a 9-yard TD

Luke Shchoonmaker extends Michigan's lead with a 9-yard touchdown catch.

No. 17 TCU 38, No. 19 Kansas 31

Coming up short

Kansas was just yards away from taking a 7-3 lead, but Jalon Daniels lost the ball when he tried to leap forward and TCU took control from its 1-yard line.

TCU drove all the way down to Kansas' 1-yard line. Unlike the Jayhawks, the Horned Frogs completed their drive when Kendre Miller punched one in for the short score to give TCU a 10-0 lead.

Kendre Miller finds the hole for the first TD of the game

Kendre Miller hands the TCU Horned Frods the lead over the Kansas Jayhawks.

Hawking the Horned Frogs

Despite falling into a 10-point hole, the Jayhawks stormed back to tie the game at the top of the third quarter.

Backup Kansas QB Jason Bean tosses TD to Mason Fairchild

Backup QB Jason Bean finishes the opening drive of the second half with a TD pass to Mason Fairchild for Kansas Jayhawks against the TCU Horned Frogs.

Wide open!

Jason Bean's scramble helped Luke Grimm get wide open in the back of the end zone to not only get the touchdown grab, but to also give the Jayhawks a 17-10 lead in the third quarter.

Luke Grimm finds himself wide open for the TD

Luke Grimm's touchdown gives Kansas the 17-10 lead over TCU.

Striking back

Derius Davis turned a screen pass from Max Duggan into a 51-yard touchdown to tie things up.

Derius Davis ties the game 17-17 for TCU

Derius Davis tip toes the sidelines and shows a burst of speed to tie the game vs. the Kansas Jayhawks 17-17 for the TCU Horned Frogs on a 51-yard touchdown.

Jayhawks punch back

Bean threw his third touchdown of the game when he connected with Quentin Skinner in the back corner of the end zone to tie the game at 24.

Jason Bean tosses his third TD of the quarter

Kansas Jayhawks backup QB Jason Bean tosses his third TD of the quarter, this one to Quentin Skinner to tie the game at 24 vs. the TCU Horned Frogs.

Wild third quarter

Taye Barber launched himself in the air to make the touchdown grab from Duggan and give TCU the lead back, 31-24. Both teams scored 21 points in the third quarter after combining for just 13 points in the first half.

Taye Barber Mosses the Kansas DB for an incredible touchdown catch to put TCU up 31-24

Taye Barber Mosses the Kansas Jayhawks DB for an incredible touchdown catch to put the TCU Horned Frogs up 31-24.

Staying in!

Somehow, Skinner was able to get a foot inbounds to complete the touchdown to even the game up at 31.

The Horned Frogs fought right back after the Jayhawks tied the game, going ahead 38-31 on a touchdown pass from Duggan to Quentin Johnston, who fought through a penalty to complete the grab.

Max Duggan fins Quentin Johnson on a perfect fade

Max Duggan fins Quentin Johnson on a perfect fade to take the lead back.

Texas 49, Oklahoma 0

Big score

Bijan Robinson put the Longhorns up 7-0 early in the Red River Showdown with this strong touchdown rush.

Quinn Ewers doubles up

In his first game back from injury, the Texas QB has already thrown two touchdowns to help give the Longhorns a 21-0 laced in his first Red River Showdown.

Ugly day for the Sooners

Oklahoma's attempt at trickery came back to hurt the Sooners. Running back Eric Gray's jump pass resulted in an interception for the Longhorns.

When it rains, it pours

Ewers threw for three touchdowns in the first half to give Texas a 28-0 lead. It was more of the same in the second half. The showdown was anything but that on Saturday, as the Longhorns pulled off the easy shutout.

No. 8 Tennessee 40, No. 25 LSU 13

The turnover and the TD

LSU fumbled the opening kickoff and Tennessee took advantage, as Jabari Small punched in a 1-yard score to go up 7-0.

Airing it out!

Tennessee extended its lead to 20-0 when Hendon Hooker launched a 45-yard dime to Jalin Hyatt.

Target practice

LSU finally got on the board right before halftime, cutting Tennessee's lead to 13, but it didn't take long for the Vols to answer back. Hooker and Hyatt linked up once again to open up the second half, as Tennessee extended its lead to 30-7 and cruised to an easy win on the road.