Oklahoma derails Nebraska
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Josh Heupel threw for 300 yards and a touchdown, and Derrick Strait returned an interception 32 yards for a score as No. 3 Oklahoma beat No. 1 Nebraska 31-14 on Saturday.
After falling behind 14-0 in the first seven minutes, Oklahoma roared back behind Heupel's passing and a smothering defense to derail Nebraska's run at the national championship.
Oklahoma (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) is poised to move into the No. 1 ranking in the AP poll, take over first place in the Bowl Championship Series standings and play in its first title game since losing to Miami in the 1988 Orange Bowl.
''I've said all along that I had a good feeling about who we are and what we've done,'' second-year coach Bob Stoops said. ''I think we've more than proven who we are.''
The Huskers (7-1, 4-1) still have a chance to get back in the title chase if they can win out and then beat the Sooners in a rematch in the Big 12 title game on Dec. 2.
''We played well at times,'' Huskers coach Frank Solich said. ''We put bits and pieces together but we really didn't get it done.''
In ending the Huskers' 13-game winning streak -- longest among major colleges -- the Sooners became just the third team to beat the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the same season. Two weeks ago, Oklahoma beat then-No. 2 Kansas State 41-31. The others schools to beat the top two teams in the same season were Notre Dame in 1988 and Southern California in 1964. Oklahoma also ended a seven-game losing streak against the Huskers.
No. 2 Virginia Tech 37, Pittsburgh 34
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -- Pittsburgh knocked out Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick, but Lee Suggs and Dave Meyer kept the Hokies in the national championship picture.
Vick, a leading contender for the Heisman Trophy, sprained his right ankle when he has sacked late in the first half.
Meyer replaced Vick and completed three straight passes for first downs on the final drive that led to Carter Warley's 27-yard field goal with 16 seconds left.
Suggs rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns for Virginia Tech (8-0, 6-0 Big East), which extended its regular-season winning streak to 19 games and won a record 14th straight conference game.
No. 4 Miami 42, Louisiana Tech 31
MIAMI (AP) -- James Jackson ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns and Santana Moss added 158 all-purpose yards and two scores.
Miami (6-1), which plays No. 2 Virginia Tech next Saturday, had four turnovers, committed 12 penalties and allowed the Bulldogs to gain 485 yards. Ken Dorsey, a sophomore who had thrown just two interceptions in his career, threw three.
Moss scored on a 69-yard punt return and a 43-yard end around. He touched the ball seven times, finishing with 43 yards rushing, 37 yards receiving and 78 yards on two punt returns.
Georgia Tech 31, No. 5 Clemson 28
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -- Kerry Watkins' one-handed touchdown catch with seven seconds to go lifted Georgia Tech past Clemson.
The 16-yard pass capped a career day for George Godsey, who was 35-for-57 for 454 yards and three touchdowns.
Clemson (8-1, 6-1 ACC) likely fell out of the national championship picture, but can still win the conference title if it beats Florida State next week. Tigers quarterback Woody Dantzler left at halftime after reinjuring his left ankle.
Georgia Tech is 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the ACC.
No. 6 Florida St. 58, No. 21 N.C. State 14
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Travis Minor had 92 of his season-high 129 yards in the first half and scored on two 2-yard runs.
Florida State (8-1, 6-0 ACC) won its 68th conference game in 70 tries, overpowering North Carolina State (5-2, 2-2) with a season-high 324 yards rushing on 54 carries.
N.C. State freshman Philip Rivers was intercepted three times in the first half, with Tay Cody returning one 52 yards for a touchdown 48 seconds before halftime.
No. 7 Oregon 56, Arizona St. 55, 2OT
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- Joey Harrington threw for 434 yards and tied a school record with six touchdown passes as Oregon staged an amazing fourth-quarter comeback.
The Ducks (7-1, 5-0 Pac-10) never led in regulation, but Harrington threw a pair of touchdown passes in the final 3:21 of the fourth quarter, the last with 27 seconds to go.
Allan Amundson ran 1 yard for the Ducks' touchdown on their second overtime possession.
Arizona State followed with a 21-yard TD pass from Jeff Krohn to Richard Williams, but Krohn threw an incomplete pass on a fake extra-point attempt.
No. 8 Florida 34, No. 13 Georgia 23
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Jesse Palmer and Rex Grossman provided the one-two quarterback punch and the defense saved the game as Florida beat Georgia.
Florida coach Steve Spurrier yanked Grossman late in the first half, only to put him back in after Palmer's comeback heroics were halted because of a badly sprained ankle late in the third quarter.
The game wasn't clinched until Alex Brown forced a late Georgia fumble, and Grossman completed a perfectly thrown 27-yard pass to Reche Caldwell that set up the final touchdown.
The victory put Florida (7-1, 5-1 SEC) in command for its eighth trip to the SEC title game and kept the Gators alive in the national-title picture. Georgia is 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the SEC.
No. 9 Washington 31, Stanford 28
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- Justin Robbins caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Marques Tuiasosopo with 17 seconds left as Washington blew an 18-point lead with six minutes to play and then drove 80 yards in the closing seconds to beat Stanford.
Playing in a driving rain, Tuiasosopo had 80 of his 216 yards passing on the final drive for the Huskies (7-1, 4-1 Pac-10).
The Cardinal put themselves in position to win by recovering three onside kicks -- one was negated by a penalty -- in the final minutes and scoring three late touchdowns.
Texas A&M 26, No. 10 Kansas St. 10
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Ja'Mar Toombs, Texas A&M's 275-pound fullback, plowed through Kansas State's defense for three touchdowns and 89 yards.
Texas A&M (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) jumped to a 19-0 lead, the first time in four years the Wildcats (7-2, 3-2) had been held scoreless in the first half. The loss ended Kansas State's string of 60 straight regular-season victories over unranked opponents.
No. 11 TCU 37, Rice 0
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 200 yards and two touchdowns as TCU extended its winning streak to 12 games, the longest among major colleges.
TCU (7-0, 4-0 WAC) limited Rice to just 186 yards and posted its second shutout in four games. The Owls only had 34 yards at halftime, when they trailed 20-0.
Tomlinson, the nation's leading rusher with 1,293 yards (184.7 ypg), finished with 41 carries. It was his ninth straight game with more than 100 yards and third this season with at least 200 yards.
No. 16 Purdue 31, No. 12 Ohio St. 27
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- Drew Brees passed for 455 yards and three fourth-quarter touchdowns to help Purdue close in on its first Rose Bowl berth in 34 years.
The Boilermakers (7-2, 5-1 Big Ten) trailed 27-24 with just over two minutes to go after Brees' fourth interception set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Jerry Westbrooks. But on the second play after the kickoff, Brees passed 64 yards to Seth Morales for the winning touchdown with 1:55 to go.
The Buckeyes (6-2, 3-2), who had not lost to Purdue since 1988, fumbled a bad snap on their next possession, and Purdue ran out the clock as fans poured onto the field to celebrate.
No. 14 Southern Miss 6, Houston 3
HOUSTON (AP) -- Brant Hanna's two field goals, including a 27-yarder early in the fourth quarter, were all the offense Southern Mississippi could muster in a brisk wind.
Hanna, who missed three field-goal attempts, kicked the game-winner with 9:27 remaining after Southern Mississippi (6-1, 4-0 Conference USA) briefly came to life offensively.
Tennessee 17, No. 17 South Carolina 14
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Travis Henry's 1-yard touchdown with 26 seconds left lifted Tennessee (4-3, 2-3 SEC) to its eighth straight victory over South Carolina (7-2, 5-2).
Henry carried 10 times for 35 yards on the winning drive, and Casey Clausen converted third-down passes of 4 and 23 yards. Henry finished with two touchdowns and 115 yards. Clausen was 19-of-31 for 152 yards in his second career start.
Ryan Brewer had a 78-yard TD catch for the Gamecocks.
No. 19 Notre Dame 34, Air Force 31, OT
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Glenn Earl blocked a field goal as time expired, and Joey Getherall scored his third TD of the game in overtime as Notre Dame beat Air Force.
Air Force scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to force the overtime, outgaining the Irish (5-3) 265 yards to 30 yards.
Getherall had four catches for 116 yards. Matt LoVecchio passed for three touchdowns, the fourth straight game the freshman has passed for at least two touchdowns.
No. 20 Mississippi St. 61, Mid Tennessee 35
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) -- Dicenzo Miller ran for 114 yards and Dontae Walker had 104 as Mississippi State (5-2) extended its home winning streak to 15 games, third longest in the nation.
Miller surpassed 100 yards rushing for the fourth straight game on just 12 carries and scored twice. Walker also scored two touchdowns, as Mississippi State ran for 270 yards and gained 530 yards overall.
No. 22 Texas 48, Baylor 14
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Major Applewhite threw for two touchdowns, ran for another and became Texas' career passing leader.
Applewhite was 18-of-42 for 297 yards to pass James Brown (1994-97) as the Longhorns' career yardage leader with 7,810. Applewhite also broke the record for completions with 564.
Kris Stockton kicked four field goals for Texas (6-2, 4-1 Big 12), which has won three straight since a 63-14 loss to Oklahoma.
No. 23 Northwestern 41, Minnesota 35
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Sam Simmons caught a desperation 45-yard touchdown pass that was tipped by a teammate as Northwestern beat Minnesota on the final play.
Zak Kustok threw deep to the right corner of the end zone, where Kunle Patrick tipped the ball to an open Simmons.
Damien Anderson became the first back in Northwestern history to run for more than 200 yards three times in a season. He gained 230 yards and scored two touchdowns on 34 carries.
Northwestern (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) remained in Rose Bowl contention and became eligible for its first bowl game since 1996.
UCLA 27, No. 24 Arizona 24
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Cory Paus scrambled 13 yards for a touchdown with 48 seconds left as UCLA rallied to beat Arizona.
After falling behind 21-14, the Bruins (5-3, 2-3 Pac-10) held Arizona (5-3, 3-2) to one field goal in the second half to snap their eight-game road losing streak.
Arizona's Clarence Farmer ran for 107 yards and two TDs, and quarterback Ortege Jenkins had a career-high 104 yards on 11 carries. Jenkins threw four interceptions.
No. 25 Auburn 21, Arkansas 19
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- Ben Leard passed for 240 yards, and Rudi Johnson ran for 114 yards and a touchdown.
The Tigers (7-2, 4-2 SEC) scored on a 13-yard lateral to Clifton Robinson late in the third quarter to make it 21-14. Johnson tied Bo Jackson's school record with his eighth 100-yard effort of the season.
CREDIT: AP Photo/J.Pat Carter
CAPTION:Oklahoma defensive back Michael Thompson breaks up a pass intended for Nebraska wing back Bobby Newcombe during a Big 12 game in Norman on Saturday. Oklahoma defeated Nebraska 31-14.
By The Associated Press
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Josh Heupel threw for 300 yards and a touchdown, and Derrick Strait returned an interception 32 yards for a score as No. 3 Oklahoma beat No. 1 Nebraska 31-14 on Saturday.
After falling behind 14-0 in the first seven minutes, Oklahoma roared back behind Heupel's passing and a smothering defense to derail Nebraska's run at the national championship.
Oklahoma (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) is poised to move into the No. 1 ranking in the AP poll, take over first place in the Bowl Championship Series standings and play in its first title game since losing to Miami in the 1988 Orange Bowl.
''I've said all along that I had a good feeling about who we are and what we've done,'' second-year coach Bob Stoops said. ''I think we've more than proven who we are.''
The Huskers (7-1, 4-1) still have a chance to get back in the title chase if they can win out and then beat the Sooners in a rematch in the Big 12 title game on Dec. 2.
''We played well at times,'' Huskers coach Frank Solich said. ''We put bits and pieces together but we really didn't get it done.''
In ending the Huskers' 13-game winning streak -- longest among major colleges -- the Sooners became just the third team to beat the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the same season. Two weeks ago, Oklahoma beat then-No. 2 Kansas State 41-31. The others schools to beat the top two teams in the same season were Notre Dame in 1988 and Southern California in 1964. Oklahoma also ended a seven-game losing streak against the Huskers.
No. 2 Virginia Tech 37, Pittsburgh 34
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -- Pittsburgh knocked out Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick, but Lee Suggs and Dave Meyer kept the Hokies in the national championship picture.
Vick, a leading contender for the Heisman Trophy, sprained his right ankle when he has sacked late in the first half.
Meyer replaced Vick and completed three straight passes for first downs on the final drive that led to Carter Warley's 27-yard field goal with 16 seconds left.
Suggs rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns for Virginia Tech (8-0, 6-0 Big East), which extended its regular-season winning streak to 19 games and won a record 14th straight conference game.
No. 4 Miami 42, Louisiana Tech 31
MIAMI (AP) -- James Jackson ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns and Santana Moss added 158 all-purpose yards and two scores.
Miami (6-1), which plays No. 2 Virginia Tech next Saturday, had four turnovers, committed 12 penalties and allowed the Bulldogs to gain 485 yards. Ken Dorsey, a sophomore who had thrown just two interceptions in his career, threw three.
Moss scored on a 69-yard punt return and a 43-yard end around. He touched the ball seven times, finishing with 43 yards rushing, 37 yards receiving and 78 yards on two punt returns.
Georgia Tech 31, No. 5 Clemson 28
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -- Kerry Watkins' one-handed touchdown catch with seven seconds to go lifted Georgia Tech past Clemson.
The 16-yard pass capped a career day for George Godsey, who was 35-for-57 for 454 yards and three touchdowns.
Clemson (8-1, 6-1 ACC) likely fell out of the national championship picture, but can still win the conference title if it beats Florida State next week. Tigers quarterback Woody Dantzler left at halftime after reinjuring his left ankle.
Georgia Tech is 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the ACC.
No. 6 Florida St. 58, No. 21 N.C. State 14
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Travis Minor had 92 of his season-high 129 yards in the first half and scored on two 2-yard runs.
Florida State (8-1, 6-0 ACC) won its 68th conference game in 70 tries, overpowering North Carolina State (5-2, 2-2) with a season-high 324 yards rushing on 54 carries.
N.C. State freshman Philip Rivers was intercepted three times in the first half, with Tay Cody returning one 52 yards for a touchdown 48 seconds before halftime.
No. 7 Oregon 56, Arizona St. 55, 2OT
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- Joey Harrington threw for 434 yards and tied a school record with six touchdown passes as Oregon staged an amazing fourth-quarter comeback.
The Ducks (7-1, 5-0 Pac-10) never led in regulation, but Harrington threw a pair of touchdown passes in the final 3:21 of the fourth quarter, the last with 27 seconds to go.
Allan Amundson ran 1 yard for the Ducks' touchdown on their second overtime possession.
Arizona State followed with a 21-yard TD pass from Jeff Krohn to Richard Williams, but Krohn threw an incomplete pass on a fake extra-point attempt.
No. 8 Florida 34, No. 13 Georgia 23
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Jesse Palmer and Rex Grossman provided the one-two quarterback punch and the defense saved the game as Florida beat Georgia.
Florida coach Steve Spurrier yanked Grossman late in the first half, only to put him back in after Palmer's comeback heroics were halted because of a badly sprained ankle late in the third quarter.
The game wasn't clinched until Alex Brown forced a late Georgia fumble, and Grossman completed a perfectly thrown 27-yard pass to Reche Caldwell that set up the final touchdown.
The victory put Florida (7-1, 5-1 SEC) in command for its eighth trip to the SEC title game and kept the Gators alive in the national-title picture. Georgia is 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the SEC.
No. 9 Washington 31, Stanford 28
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- Justin Robbins caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Marques Tuiasosopo with 17 seconds left as Washington blew an 18-point lead with six minutes to play and then drove 80 yards in the closing seconds to beat Stanford.
Playing in a driving rain, Tuiasosopo had 80 of his 216 yards passing on the final drive for the Huskies (7-1, 4-1 Pac-10).
The Cardinal put themselves in position to win by recovering three onside kicks -- one was negated by a penalty -- in the final minutes and scoring three late touchdowns.
Texas A&M 26, No. 10 Kansas St. 10
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Ja'Mar Toombs, Texas A&M's 275-pound fullback, plowed through Kansas State's defense for three touchdowns and 89 yards.
Texas A&M (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) jumped to a 19-0 lead, the first time in four years the Wildcats (7-2, 3-2) had been held scoreless in the first half. The loss ended Kansas State's string of 60 straight regular-season victories over unranked opponents.
No. 11 TCU 37, Rice 0
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 200 yards and two touchdowns as TCU extended its winning streak to 12 games, the longest among major colleges.
TCU (7-0, 4-0 WAC) limited Rice to just 186 yards and posted its second shutout in four games. The Owls only had 34 yards at halftime, when they trailed 20-0.
Tomlinson, the nation's leading rusher with 1,293 yards (184.7 ypg), finished with 41 carries. It was his ninth straight game with more than 100 yards and third this season with at least 200 yards.
No. 16 Purdue 31, No. 12 Ohio St. 27
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- Drew Brees passed for 455 yards and three fourth-quarter touchdowns to help Purdue close in on its first Rose Bowl berth in 34 years.
The Boilermakers (7-2, 5-1 Big Ten) trailed 27-24 with just over two minutes to go after Brees' fourth interception set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Jerry Westbrooks. But on the second play after the kickoff, Brees passed 64 yards to Seth Morales for the winning touchdown with 1:55 to go.
The Buckeyes (6-2, 3-2), who had not lost to Purdue since 1988, fumbled a bad snap on their next possession, and Purdue ran out the clock as fans poured onto the field to celebrate.
No. 14 Southern Miss 6, Houston 3
HOUSTON (AP) -- Brant Hanna's two field goals, including a 27-yarder early in the fourth quarter, were all the offense Southern Mississippi could muster in a brisk wind.
Hanna, who missed three field-goal attempts, kicked the game-winner with 9:27 remaining after Southern Mississippi (6-1, 4-0 Conference USA) briefly came to life offensively.
Tennessee 17, No. 17 South Carolina 14
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Travis Henry's 1-yard touchdown with 26 seconds left lifted Tennessee (4-3, 2-3 SEC) to its eighth straight victory over South Carolina (7-2, 5-2).
Henry carried 10 times for 35 yards on the winning drive, and Casey Clausen converted third-down passes of 4 and 23 yards. Henry finished with two touchdowns and 115 yards. Clausen was 19-of-31 for 152 yards in his second career start.
Ryan Brewer had a 78-yard TD catch for the Gamecocks.
No. 19 Notre Dame 34, Air Force 31, OT
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Glenn Earl blocked a field goal as time expired, and Joey Getherall scored his third TD of the game in overtime as Notre Dame beat Air Force.
Air Force scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to force the overtime, outgaining the Irish (5-3) 265 yards to 30 yards.
Getherall had four catches for 116 yards. Matt LoVecchio passed for three touchdowns, the fourth straight game the freshman has passed for at least two touchdowns.
No. 20 Mississippi St. 61, Mid Tennessee 35
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) -- Dicenzo Miller ran for 114 yards and Dontae Walker had 104 as Mississippi State (5-2) extended its home winning streak to 15 games, third longest in the nation.
Miller surpassed 100 yards rushing for the fourth straight game on just 12 carries and scored twice. Walker also scored two touchdowns, as Mississippi State ran for 270 yards and gained 530 yards overall.
No. 22 Texas 48, Baylor 14
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Major Applewhite threw for two touchdowns, ran for another and became Texas' career passing leader.
Applewhite was 18-of-42 for 297 yards to pass James Brown (1994-97) as the Longhorns' career yardage leader with 7,810. Applewhite also broke the record for completions with 564.
Kris Stockton kicked four field goals for Texas (6-2, 4-1 Big 12), which has won three straight since a 63-14 loss to Oklahoma.
No. 23 Northwestern 41, Minnesota 35
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Sam Simmons caught a desperation 45-yard touchdown pass that was tipped by a teammate as Northwestern beat Minnesota on the final play.
Zak Kustok threw deep to the right corner of the end zone, where Kunle Patrick tipped the ball to an open Simmons.
Damien Anderson became the first back in Northwestern history to run for more than 200 yards three times in a season. He gained 230 yards and scored two touchdowns on 34 carries.
Northwestern (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) remained in Rose Bowl contention and became eligible for its first bowl game since 1996.
UCLA 27, No. 24 Arizona 24
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Cory Paus scrambled 13 yards for a touchdown with 48 seconds left as UCLA rallied to beat Arizona.
After falling behind 21-14, the Bruins (5-3, 2-3 Pac-10) held Arizona (5-3, 3-2) to one field goal in the second half to snap their eight-game road losing streak.
Arizona's Clarence Farmer ran for 107 yards and two TDs, and quarterback Ortege Jenkins had a career-high 104 yards on 11 carries. Jenkins threw four interceptions.
No. 25 Auburn 21, Arkansas 19
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- Ben Leard passed for 240 yards, and Rudi Johnson ran for 114 yards and a touchdown.
The Tigers (7-2, 4-2 SEC) scored on a 13-yard lateral to Clifton Robinson late in the third quarter to make it 21-14. Johnson tied Bo Jackson's school record with his eighth 100-yard effort of the season.