CFB roundup: Ole Miss, Florida keep pace in SEC title chase

AUBURN, Ala. -- Laquon Treadwell caught a 21-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and No. 19 Mississippi kept its Southeastern Conference title hopes alive with a 27-19 victory Saturday over Auburn.

The Rebels (7-2, 4-1 SEC) made two straight defensive stands after grabbing the lead. Chad Kelly hit Treadwell in the end zone with just over 10 minutes left and the league’s leading receiver held onto it going down even with cornerback Carlton Davis draped all over him.

Treadwell’s 2014 season ended with a serious leg injury on a pivotal catch and fumble late in a loss to Auburn.

This time the Tigers couldn’t punch it into the end zone after a first down from the 3. Auburn drove across midfield again before failing to convert on fourth down and Ole Miss ran out most of the clock.

Auburn (4-4, 1-4) dropped its second straight after losing to Arkansas in four overtimes.

Treadwell said earlier in the week he wanted to make the Tigers feel some of his pain, and he did. Treadwell had seven catches for 114 yards and completed a 21-yard pass to set up Gary Wunderlich’s third quarter field goal to snap a 10-10 halftime tie.

The Rebels still control their own destiny in the SEC West. They’re the only team to beat No. 7 Alabama and still play No. 4 LSU; those two teams play next weekend.

The league’s leading offense put up big numbers again. Kelly completed 33 of 51 passes for 381 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions while also making plays on runs. Jaylen Walton ran for 78 yards on 20 carries against the league’s worst defense. He also had 47 yards on three catches.

A gimpy Sean White was 12 of 28 for 258 yards for Auburn, including the first touchdown pass of his career and an interception.

No. 3 Clemson 56, N.C. State 41

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Deshaun Watson accounted for six touchdowns to help the Tigers pull away after halftime.

Watson threw for 383 yards and five scores, and also ran for 54 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers (8-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who are closing in on an appearance in the ACC championship game and chasing a College Football Playoff berth.

The Tigers host No. 17 Florida State next week with a chance to wrap up the ACC’s Atlantic Division title.

Wayne Gallman ran for 172 yards and a touchdown for Clemson.

The Tigers led by 20 after halftime and finished with 623 total yards, spending the final quarter answering desperate scoring drives from the Wolfpack (5-3, 1-3) to remain in firm control.

No. 9 Notre Dame 24, No. 21 Temple 20

PHILADELPHIA -- DeShone Kizer hit Will Fuller with a 17-yard touchdown pass with 2:09 left, KeiVarae Russell picked off a pass to end the last threat, and Notre Dame escaped with a victory.

The Owls (7-1) pushed the Fighting Irish (7-1) to the brink and took the lead with 4:45 left on Austin Jones’ 36-yard field goal. But Kizer came right back with a long scoring drive.

Kizer finished with 299 yards passing and a 79-yard touchdown run.

No. 10 Iowa 31, Maryland 15

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Desmond King had an 88-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Hawkeyes’ eighth straight victory to start the season.

Akrum Wadley, LeShun Daniels and Derrick Mitchell had touchdown runs for the Hawkeyes (8-0, 4-0). They’ll enter November unbeaten for just the second time in 17 seasons under coach Kirk Ferentz.

Iowa used a touchdown late in the second quarter to lead 21-0 at halftime. The Hawkeyes defense took over from there, and King’s return put the Hawkeyes ahead 31-7 with 7:38 left.

Will Likely had a 100-yard kickoff return for the Terrapins (2-6, 0-4), who threw for just 74 yards.

No. 11 Florida 27, Georgia 3

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Kelvin Taylor ran for 121 yards and two touchdowns, Antonio Callaway delivered another huge play and the Gators moved a step closer to the Southeastern Conference championship game.

The Gators also were downright dominant defensively, shutting down Sony Michel, pressuring Faton Bauta and holding the Bulldogs to 223 total yards.

It was Florida’s second straight win in the storied series and 20th in the last 26 years.

This one left the Gators (7-1, 5-1) one conference victory from clinching the Eastern Division. They can wrap up the East by beating Vanderbilt next week. If that happens, Florida would earn its first trip to Atlanta since Tim Tebow’s senior year in 2009.

Georgia (5-3, 3-3) has few, if any, mathematical chances of winning the East. The loss surely will turn up the heat on longtime coach Mark Richt.

No. 12 Oklahoma State 70, Texas Tech 53

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Mason Rudolph and J.W. Walsh each threw for two touchdowns while Raymond Taylor scored two rushing TDs as the Cowboys came from behind to win and remain in the hunt for the Big 12 title.

The combined points are the third most involving a ranked team without playing overtime.

Walsh found James Washington twice in the fourth quarter, one for 75 yards and then for 73 yards to seal the win for the Cowboys (8-0, 5-0).

Raymond scored from 4 and 28 yards. His second TD put the Cowboys ahead for the first time.

Ramon Richards returned an interception 59 yards for a score with six seconds left in the game.

Texas Tech’s Jakeem Grant returned a kickoff 100 yards and had a 90-yard catch. Patrick Mahomes completed 38 of 55 passes for 480 yards and four touchdowns for the Red Raiders (5-4, 2-4).

No. 13 Utah 27, Oregon State 12

SALT LAKE CITY -- Devontae Booker rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown as the Utes handled the Beavers.

The Utes (7-1, 4-1) hold a game lead in the Pac-12 South over UCLA (6-2, 3-2) with four games remaining, including the Bruins on Nov. 21.

Utah jumped out to a 14-0 lead after its first two possessions of the game and cruised from there. Quarterback Travis Wilson completed 14 of 17 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown, and his 34th career start set a school record.

Wilson ran for 56 yards and a score while tying Alex Smith’s 21 wins as a starter for second place in school history. Oregon State (2-6, 0-5) was without starting quarterback Seth Collins, who didn’t make the trip after injuring his knee Thursday. Freshman Nick Mitchell started and threw for 204 yards and a touchdown. Victor Bolden had 45 yards rushing and 34 receiving yards with a touchdown.

No. 14 Oklahoma 62, Kansas 7

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Baker Mayfield completed 27 of 32 passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Sooners’ rout.

Sterling Shepard had 183 receiving yards and a touchdown on 11 catches. Samaje Perine added 90 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries for the Sooners (7-1, 4-1 Big 12).

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is now 11-0 against the Jayhawks in his career. Kansas (0-8, 0-5) has dropped 11 consecutive games dating back to last season.

The Sooners led 38-7 at halftime.

Oklahoma scored on its first drive of the second half when Sam Grant snagged a 1-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield. Kansas fumbled on the first play of the next drive, and Oklahoma quickly took a 52-7 lead after backup quarterback Trevor Knight finished a short drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.

No. 14 Memphis 41, Tulane 13

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Paxton Lynch threw for 343 yards and a touchdown and ran for 43 more as 16th-ranked Memphis routed Tulane.

The Tigers (8-0, 4-0 American Athletic Conference) trailed 13-0 before answering with 41 straight points. This is the fifth game Memphis has trailed by at least 10 points this season. Doroland Dorceus, Anthony Miller and Jarvis Cooper each ran for a TD, and Jake Elliott kicked three field goals as Memphis won its 15th straight game.

Only No. 1 Ohio State (21) and No. 5 TCU (16) have longer winning streaks than the Tigers.

Tulane (2-6, 1-4) lost its fourth straight overall and ninth in this series. The Green Wave jumped to a 13-0 lead within the first 16 minutes with redshirt senior Jordy Joseph making the first start of his career with Tanner Lee and Devin Powell both injured.

No. 15 Michigan 29, Minnesota 26

MINNEAPOLIS -- Wilton Speight came off the bench and threw a 12-yard touchdown to Jehu Chesson with less than 5 minutes to play and the Wolverines stopped Mitch Leidner on a sneak as time expired to escape with the win at Minnesota.

In his first game as interim head coach since Jerry Kill’s surprising retirement for health reasons, Minnesota interim coach Tracy Claeys elected to go for the win over a potential tying field goal with the ball on the 1 and 2 seconds to play. But Leidner’s plunge was stuffed by Ryan Glasgow and Joe Bolden, allowing Michigan (6-2, 3-1 Big Ten) to take back the Little Brown Jug after losing it in Ann Arbor last year.

Leidner was 16 for 33 for a career-high 317 yards and a touchdown for the Golden Gophers (4-4, 1-3).

No. 17 Florida State 45, Syracuse 21

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State showed no letdown from missing Everett Golson and Dalvin Cook, putting on one of its best offensive shows of the season in the win over Syracuse.

Sean Maguire, who was announced as the starting quarterback before kickoff, completed 23 of 35 passes for 348 yards and three touchdowns. All three touchdowns were caught by Travis Rudolph, who had five receptions for 191 yards.

Golson was held out of the game due to a concussion. Jacques Patrick got his first career start due to Cook’s ankle injury, had 24 carries for162 yards and three touchdowns. Eric Dungey had two touchdowns for Syracuse (3-5, 1-3 ACC), which has dropped five straight. Florida State improves to 7-1 and 5-1 in the ACC headed into a key showdown next Saturday at No. 3 Clemson.

No. 18 Houston 34, Vanderbilt 0

HOUSTON -- Greg Ward Jr. threw for a score and ran for another and No. 18 Houston’s defense forced four turnovers in a romp over Vanderbilt.

Ward rushed for a 5-yard score with three minutes left in the first and then found Demarcus Ayers for an 11-yard TD in the second quarter as the Cougars led 20-0 at the half. Ward finished 15 of 23 passing for 221 yards, as the Cougars reached 8-0 for the fourth time in school history and first time since 2011.

Kenneth Farrow carried 16 times for 82 yards and had a 15-yard rushing score near the end of the third quarter.

The Cougars outgained the Commodores 371-185, as Houston’s defense collected its first shutout since a 34-0 win over SMU on Nov. 29, 2013.

Miami 30, No. 22 Duke 27

DURHAM, N.C. -- Corn Elder took Miami’s eighth lateral of a wild final kickoff return and brought it back 75 yards for a touchdown that gave Miami a last-second win.

Thomas Sirk seemingly had given the Blue Devils the win by scoring on a sneak with 6 seconds left.

But in a final sequence reminiscent of California’s unforgettable run through the Stanford band, Elder caught the last of eight laterals, and zigged and zagged through the Duke coverage team for the score.

One problem: A penalty flag thrown on teammate Mark Walton for an illegal block in the back on Breon Borders at the Duke 25.

But after a lengthy review, the officials determined the block was to Borders’ side — not his back — and the touchdown stood.

No. 24 UCLA 35, Colorado 31

PASADENA -- Soso Jamabo rushed for the go-ahead touchdown with 8:28 to play, and UCLA blew an 18-point lead before escaping the Rose Bowl with a victory over Colorado.

Josh Rosen passed for 262 yards and a touchdown for the Bruins (6-2, 3-2 Pac-12), who avoided an embarrassing loss despite giving up 18 consecutive points in the second half and yielding 554 total yards to the Buffaloes (4-5, 1-4).

Patrick Carr rushed for 110 yards, and his TD run put Colorado ahead with 12:04 to play. The Bruins answered with Jamabo’s score before stopping the Buffaloes twice in UCLA territory.

Texas A&M 35, South Carolina 28

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Highly touted true freshman quarterback Kyler Murray ran for 156 yards and threw for 223 more in his first start for Texas A&M, and the Aggies ended a two-game slide with the victory.

Tra Carson added 122 yards rushing and a touchdown and Donovan Wilson had a 60-yard interception return for the Aggies (6-2, 3-2 SEC).

Brandon Wilds ran for 128 yards and two scores for the Gamecocks (3-5, 1-5).

Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin re-opened the competition for the starting quarterback job this week, and Murray was named the starter Friday. Murray completed 20 of 28 passes with a touchdown, and ran 20 times with the go-ahead score on a 1-yard keeper on fourth down after the game had been tied three times.

Less than 2 minutes later, Wilson’s pick-six put the Aggies up 35-21.

Penn State 39, Illinois 0

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Christian Hackenberg threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns as well as caught a scoring pass to lead the Nittany Lions.

Hackenberg was 21 of 29 and connected with Chris Godwin and Geno Lewis for 5- and 6-yard touchdowns in the first quarter. He caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Nick Scott in the third.

Saquon Barkley rushed for 84 yards on 20 carries and added another 58 yards receiving. He scored on a 7-yard run to give Penn State (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten) a 32-0 lead early in the fourth.

After two of his extra points were blocked and he sailed a kickoff out of bounds, Joey Julius was replaced by Tyler Davis who made 42- and 28-yard field goals. Mark Allen added a 20-yard touchdown run to cap the scoring.

The Fighting Illini (4-4, 1-3) managed just 167 yards and punted on 12 of their 15 possessions.

Wisconsin 48, Rutgers 10

MADISON, Wis. -- Corey Clement ran for three scores and 115 yards in his first game in eight weeks, powering Wisconsin to the win.

Clement had 11 carries, including a 21-yard scamper to the end zone after the junior burst through a narrow hole on the left side of the line for a 24-3 lead with 3:30 left in the second quarter.

It was a Halloween to remember for Clement following his eagerly-anticipated return from sports hernia surgery.

The Badgers (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten) overwhelmed the Scarlet Knights (3-5, 1-4) in their first trip to Madison.

Under constant pressure, quarterback Chris Laviano was just 4 of 14 for 31 yards with an interception. The offense mustered a season-low 165 yards.

Rutgers’ only touchdown came when freshman Blessaun Austin intercepted a poor pass by Wisconsin’s Joel Stave and returned it 50 yards for a score in the third quarter.

Navy 29, South Florida 17

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Keenan Reynolds scored twice in the fourth quarter to tie the NCAA record for career rushing touchdowns, and Navy set a school mark with three 100-yard rushers in the win.

Navy (6-1, 4-0 American Athletic Conference) never led until Reynolds bulled in from the 1 to make it 22-17 with 6:58 left. After South Florida (4-4, 2-2) fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Reynolds clinched it with another 1-yard touchdown run with 1:49 remaining.

Reynolds, a senior quarterback, has 77 career rushing TDs, tied with former Wisconsin running back Montee Ball (2009-12) for most in NCAA history.

Reynolds finished with 117 yards rushing, Dishan Romine had 115 and Chris Swain totaled 131 for Navy.

The victory made the Midshipmen bowl eligible for the 12th time in 13 years. Navy has ties to the Military Bowl but could go to more prestigious venue if it wins the AAC title game.