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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — D.J. Knox rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns, David Blough threw for three more scores and Purdue shook up the College Football Playoff chase with a 49-20 blowout of No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday night.
The Boilermakers (4-3, 3-1 Big Ten) won their fourth straight, their second in a row over a ranked team and pulled off their biggest upset since taking down then-No. 2 Ohio State 28-23 on Oct. 6, 1984. Purdue set a school record for points scored against the Buckeyes, besting the mark of 41 in 1967.
Mistake-prone Ohio State (7-1, 4-1) had its 12-game winning streak snapped, fell out of the Big Ten East lead behind rival Michigan and must fight away its way back into playoff position.
Blough outplayed Heisman Trophy candidate Dwayne Haskins Jr. on a night the Buckeyes didn't reach the end zone until early in the fourth quarter.
Blough went 25 of 43 with 378 yards and sealed the victory with a 43-yard pass to Rondale Moore with 3:37 to play. It was Blough's third straight 300-yard game and his fourth this season.
Haskins wound up 49 of 73, shattering the school records in both categories, and had 470 yards and two touchdowns and an interception. But he missed receivers down the field on a windy night and was nearly picked off a couple of times before Markus Bailey scored on a late 41-yard interception return. The Buckeyes were called for 10 penalties and faced their largest halftime deficit of the season, 14-3, before giving up four scoring plays of more than 40 yards in the fourth quarter.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 58, TENNESSEE 21
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa threw touchdown passes to four receivers and Alabama started fast again to overpower Tennessee.
Alabama had touchdowns on its first four possessions while outscoring Tennessee 28-0 and outgaining the Volunteers 217-6 in the opening period. Alabama has outscored opponents 165-31, and Tennessee has been outscored 69-16 in first quarters this season.
Tagovailoa went 19 of 29 for 306 yards before leaving midway through the third quarter with Alabama ahead 51-14. He took a big hit on his final play of the day, a 51-yard touchdown pass to Henry Ruggs III.
Earlier, Tagovailoa connected on touchdown passes to Jerry Jeudy, Jaylen Waddle and Irv Smith Jr. The Heisman Trophy contender has thrown 25 touchdown passes without an interception this season.
Alabama (8-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) beat Tennessee (3-4, 1-3) for the 12th straight year and had the highest points total either team has ever recorded in the 101-game history of the series. Alabama is scoring 54.1 points per game.
Tennessee quarterback Keller Chryst went 9 of 15 for 164 yards with two touchdown passes after replacing injured starter Jarrett Guarantano in the second quarter.
NO. 3 CLEMSON 41, NO. 16 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Trevor Lawrence threw for a career-high 308 yards, Travis Etienne rushed for three touchdowns and Clemson turned an expected Atlantic Coast Conference showdown into a rout.
The Tigers (7-0, 4-0) opened with seven straight wins for the third time in four seasons in topping the Wolfpack (5-1, 2-1) for the seventh consecutive season.
It was the ACC's first matchup of undefeated teams this deep in a season since 2013, a game that also took place in Death Valley. But unlike five years ago when the Tigers were pummeled by eventual national champ Florida State 51-14, Clemson who took control early and never gave the Wolfpack a chance to rally.
North Carolina State quarterback Ryan Finley came in leading the ACC at more than 324 yards passing a game. He managed just 156 yards passing with two interceptions and a fumble.
NO. 5 LSU 19, NO. 22 MISSISSIPPI STATE 3
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Michael Divinity Jr.'s interception set up Nick Brossette's short touchdown run, Cole Tracy kicked four field goals, and LSU beat Mississippi State.
Still, the Tiger Stadium crowd left angry after LSU's top linebacker, Devin White, was ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter, meaning he will not be eligible to play in the first half of the Tigers' upcoming showdown with unbeaten and top-ranked Alabama.
White appeared to lower his head as he leveled quarterback Nick Fitzgerald a moment after he released a pass that was intercepted by defensive back Kristian Fulton. The targeting penalty wiped out the turnover, and LSU's celebrations also drew two flags for unsportsmanlike conduct, resulting in 45 yards in penalties on one play. Safety John Battle's interception prevented Mississippi State (4-3, 1-3) from scoring on the drive and virtually sealed the result
Safety Grant Delpit came through with several drive-stalling plays for the Tigers (7-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference), including two interceptions and a fourth-down sack.
NO. 6 MICHIGAN 21, NO. 24 MICHIGAN STATE 7
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Shea Patterson threw two touchdown passes and Michigan snapped a streak of 17 consecutive losses to ranked teams on the road.
The game was delayed for 1 hour, 15 minutes in the first quarter because of lightning in the area.
The Wolverines (7-1, 5-0 Big Ten) had lost eight of 10 against their in-state rivals and those setbacks have led to them not winning a Big Ten title since 2004.
The Spartans (4-3, 2-2) struggled to move the ball, getting held to 94 yards and failing to convert any of its 12 third downs.
Patterson's 79-yard pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones put Michigan ahead late in the third quarter. He converted a fourth-and-2 from the Michigan State 41 early in the fourth, setting up Ben Mason's 5-yard run that gave the Wolverines a 21-7 lead.
The Ole Miss transfer was 14 of 25 for 212 yards. Michigan's Karan Higdon had 144 yards rushing on 33 carries against the nation's top-ranked rushing defense.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Kyler Murray threw four touchdown passes, Kennedy Brooks and Trey Sermon had 100-yard rushing games with scores and Oklahoma rebounded from its only loss this season to beat TCU for the third time in 11 months.
The Sooners (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) won their 18th consecutive true road game, never trailing after scoring touchdowns on each of their first four drives in their first game since losing to Texas two weeks ago.
Brooks ran for 168 yards on 18 carries with an early 21-yard TD. Sermon ran 17 times for 110 yards and scored twice before walking gingerly off the field after being tended to by trainers with about 8 1/2 minutes left. This was a rematch of the Big 12 Conference championship game last December, when Oklahoma won three weeks after beating TCU (3-4, 1-3) in the regular season.
NO. 10 UCF 37, EAST CAROLINA 10
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Darriel Mack Jr. stepped in for Heisman Trophy hopeful McKenzie Milton and rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown, and UCF forced five turnovers en route to its 20th straight victory.
Nate Evans returned a fumble 94 yards for a momentum-changing touchdown with 10:07 left, Greg McCrae added a 74-yard TD run and the Knights (7-0, 4-0 American Athletic) turned all those takeaways into 24 points. UCF — which was outgained 496-427 — went up 20-3 by scoring on four consecutive possessions in the second quarter, then made it a full-fledged rout with those late big plays.
Receiver Quadry Jones threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Adrian Killins on a trick play, and Matthew Wright kicked three field goals for the Knights.
With Milton sitting this one out while in full uniform from the sideline, Mack was 12 of 20 for 69 yards but was more dangerous with his legs, rushing 7 yards for an early touchdown.
The Pirates (2-5, 0-4) have lost three straight and four of five.
NO. 25 WASHINGTON STATE 34, NO. 12 OREGON 20
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Gardner Minshew threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Dezmon Patmon in the back of the end zone with 3:40 left and Washington State beat Oregon.
The Cougars (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) capped one of the biggest days in program history by taking control of the North Division race. Washington State hosted ESPN's "College Gameday" and later celebrated its fourth straight victory over Oregon (6-1, 3-1).
Minshew was 39 of 51 for 323 yards and four touchdowns.
Down 27-0 at the half, Oregon pulled to 27-20 on Adam Stack's 23-yard field goal with 6:38 left. The Cougars got a huge play on the next drive from Travell Harris when he stole a pass from Oregon's Jevon Holland for a 37-yard gain into Oregon territory. Minshew then hit Harris for 11 yards to convert fourth-and-6 and, two plays later, Minshew hit Patmon for the touchdown that finally put away the Ducks.
NO. 14 KENTUCKY 14, VANDERBILT 7
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Benny Snell Jr. rushed for 169 yards, including the go-ahead 7-yard run with 8:04 remaining that helped Kentucky pull away.
The Wildcats (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) clinched bowl eligibility for a third consecutive season and stayed in contention in the East division with their third straight victory over the Commodores (3-5, 0-4). But it took linebacker Kash Daniel's fourth-down forced fumble that Quinton Bohanna recovered at the 20 midway through the fourth quarter to jump-start Kentucky from game-long inconsistency.
Snell took control from there, rushing 10 times for 74 yards on the drive that ended with his ninth TD run. The junior rushed 32 times for his 16th career 100-yard game on a blustery night that Kentucky had to work hard to outgain Vanderbilt 298-284.
NO. 15 WASHINGTON 27, COLORADO 13
SEATTLE (AP) — Jake Browning threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Fuller on fourth down with less than four minutes remaining, and Washington held off Colorado.
Rather than trying for a long field goal, Browning and the offense stayed on the field. Facing a blitz, Browning found Fuller on a quick slant with nothing but the end zone ahead.
Salvon Ahmed and Kamari Pleasant both scored on touchdown runs in the first half for the Huskies (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12). They played without starting running back Myles Gaskin due to a shoulder injury. Washington linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven had 15 tackles and an interception.
Steven Montez threw for 144 yards for Colorado (5-2, 2-2).
NO. 18 PENN STATE 33, INDIANA 28
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Trace McSorley passed for 220 yards, ran for 107 and had a hand in three touchdowns in Penn State's victory over Indiana.
Penn State (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) rallied to snap a two-game losing streak after Indiana (4-4, 1-4) took a 21-20 lead in the third quarter on Steve Scott's 3-yard touchdown run.
Johnathan Thomas took the ensuing kickoff back to the Indiana 5, setting up McSorley for the go-ahead touchdown on the next play.
Brandon Wilson partially blocked the extra point, leaving Penn State's lead at 26-21. Indiana forced Penn State to punt on the Nittany Lions' next drive, but J-Shun Harris fumbled the punt return and turned the ball over. Five plays later, McSorley nearly walked into the end zone to make it 33-21 lead. Miles Sanders ran for 72 yards and a touchdown.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Nate Stanley threw for 86 yards and a touchdown for Iowa.
Anthony Nelson added a TD on a fumble recovery for the Hawkeyes (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten). They held the Terrapins (4-3, 2-2) to 115 yards and seven first downs on a day when wind gusts topped 40 mph.
After settling for a pair of short field goals, Iowa went into halftime ahead 13-0 after Stanley found Brandon Smith for a 10-yard TD grab — which Smith made with one hand — with eight seconds left in the second quarter. Nelson, a defensive end, made it 23-0 late in the third quarter by falling on a botched handoff from backup quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome in the end zone.
Ivory Kelly-Martin ran for 98 yards for Iowa.
TEMPLE 24, NO. 20 CINCINNATI 17, OT
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Anthony Russo threw a tying 20-yard touchdown pass with 49 second left to Brandon Mack, and then a 25-yarder to Isaiah Wright in overtime for Temple.
Russo was 20 for 41 for 237 yards and three touchdowns for the Owls (5-3, 4-0 American). He led a seven-play, 75-yard drive in the closing minutes to tie it.
Cincinnati (6-1, 2-1) got a first down on its first play of overtime, but an errant snap behind quarterback Desmond Ridder left the Bearcats with second-and-21 and a personal foul pushed them even farther back. Ridder's pass was intercepted by by Shaun Bradley on third-and-36 to end the game.
NO. 21 SOUTH FLORIDA 38, UCONN 30
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Johnny Ford rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns to help South Florida shrug off a slow start and remain unbeaten.
Ford scored on runs of 15, 15 and 43 yards. He also set up a second-half field goal with a 78-yard burst, helping the Bulls (7-0, 3-0 American Athletic) pull away from a 7-7 halftime tie and match the best start in school history.
Blake Barnett threw for one TD and ran for another for USF. Jordan Cronkite, the nation's third-leading rusher at 151.4 yards per game, finished with 103 yards on 16 attempts for his school record-tying fifth consecutive 100-yard game.
Kevin Mensah rushed for 120 yards and two TDs for UConn (1-6, 0-4), which also got 197 yards and two touchdowns on the ground from quarterback David Pindell.
USF, one of two remaining unbeaten teams in the AAC, has rallied from double-digit, fourth-quarter deficits to win three times this season.
NO. 23 WISCONSIN 49, ILLINOIS 20
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Jonathan Taylor rushed for 159 yards and Taiwan Deal ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns and Wisconsin took advantage of Illinois' five first-half turnovers.
Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) has won nine straight against Illinois (3-4, 1-3). The Badgers had three interceptions and recovered two fumbles on the way to building a 28-10 halftime lead. Alex Hornibrook threw three touchdown passes and two interceptions.
