No. 3 Clemson needs OT to escape upset; No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Ohio State pick up wins

Deshaun Watson hit Artavis Scott with 10-yard touchdown pass in overtime and Marcus Edmond finished it with an interception in the end zone as No. 3 Clemson beat visiting North Carolina State, 24-17, on Saturday.

The Tigers (7-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) looked all but done in regulation, but Kyle Bambard’s 33-yard field-goal try as time expired was wide right.

Clemson took full advantage with Watson’s strike to Scott. Then Edmond reached high to grab a long throw down the middle from NC State’s Ryan Finley and Clemson had escaped with its path to the ACC title game and the College Football Playoff still all clear.

It wasn’t the prettiest game for Clemson, which gave up 397 yards and turned it over four times — including Watson’s first-ever pick six — to the Wolfpack (4-2, 1-1).

Clemson took a big hit early on when running back Wayne Gallman came out, looking woozy and out of it as he headed to the locker room. Gallman, the team’s leading rusher, did not return.

Receiver Hunter Renfrow, who had six catches in his first game since Sept. 10 because of a broken hand, was hurt in the fourth quarter and came out the rest of the way.

No. 1 Alabama 49, No. 9 Tennessee 10

Jalen Hurts and Bo Scarbrough each rushed for over 100 yards Saturday and the Crimson Tide again got points from its defense and special teams in the blowout at Knoxville, Tenn.

Alabama (7-0, 4-0 SEC) earned its 19th straight victory overall and its 10th consecutive win in this annual series. Tennessee (5-2, 2-2) has lost its last 13 games against Southeastern Conference Western Division schools.

It was the most lopsided victory by either team in this rivalry since a 51-0 Alabama victory in 1906.

Hurts, the Crimson Tide’s freshman quarterback, ran for 132 yards and three touchdowns as Alabama outrushed Tennessee, 438-32. Scarborough rushed for 109 yards on just five carries, including an 85-yard touchdown.

Alabama posted its highest single-game rushing total since running for 457 yards in a 56-28 victory over Tennessee in 1986.

No. 2 Ohio State 30, No. 8 Wisconsin 23 (OT)

J.T. Barrett threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to leaping receiver Noah Brown in overtime, and the Buckeyes finished off Badgers with a sack on fourth and goal from the four-yard line in Madison, Wis.

Barrett also ran for two touchdowns for the Buckeyes (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten).

The touchdown throw gave Barrett his 89th career touchdown passing or rushing, breaking the school record set by quarterback Braxton Miller.

The Buckeyes rushed the field after defensive end Tyquan Lewis sacked quarterback Alex Hornibrook to end the thriller. Just in time too, after school officials warned fans that severe weather was rolling through the area right before the final play.

The Buckeyes opened overtime with Barrett’s touch pass to Brown in the corner of the end zone.

Barrett finished 17 of 29 for 226 yards with one interception, and ran for 92 yards on 21 carries. Corey Clement ran for 164 yards on 25 carries for Wisconsin (4-2, 1-2).

No. 10 Nebraska 27, Indiana 22

Terrell Newby ran for one score and Tommy Armstrong Jr. hooked up with Stanley Morgan Jr. on a 72-yard touchdown pass with 9:57 left to play, helping the Cornhuskers hold off the Hoosier in Indianapolis.

The 10th-ranked Cornhuskers (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) won their seventh straight game overall and their fifth in a row in this series, last played in 1978. It’s also the first time since 2001 that Nebraska has won its first six.

But the improving Hoosiers (3-3, 1-2) sure didn’t make it easy as it tried to beat its first top 10 team since 1987.

After unveiling new uniforms that incorporated Indiana’s trademark candy stripes on their shoulders and a script Indiana on the pants, in hopes of changing course, it didn’t quite work.

No. 11 Baylor 49, Kansas 7

Seth Russell threw two touchdowns and ran for two more while playing only the first half, Ryan Reid returned the first of his two interceptions for a score and the Bears remained undefeated with the win in Waco, Texas.

Shock Linwood’s four-yard score on the first play after a Kansas fumble was his 36th career rushing touchdown and broke a tie with Alfred Anderson for the most in school history. Linwood was already the career rushing leader for the Bears (6-0, 3-0 Big 12).

Kansas (1-5, 0-3) had five turnovers that led to 21 points for the Bears. The Jayhawks have lost 15 Big 12 games in a row, and dropped 36 consecutive road games since winning at UTEP seven years ago.

No. 22 Arkansas 34, No. 12 Mississippi 30

Jared Cornelius scored on a six-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter and the Razorbacks held on in Fayetteville, Ark.

Austin Allen was 19-of-32 passing for 229 yards and three touchdowns for Arkansas (5-2, 1-2 Southeastern Confererence), giving the junior an SEC-best 18 touchdown passes for the season. Rawleigh Williams added a career-high 180 yards rushing on 27 carries.

Chad Kelly accounted for 342 yards of total offense for Ole Miss (3-3, 1-2), throwing for 253 yards and rushing for 89 more. The senior also threw for a touchdown and ran for two more.

Evan Engram led the Rebels with seven catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.

No. 13 Houston 38, Tulsa 31

Emeke Egbule returned a fumble 24 yards for a touchdown with 1:21 remaining to lift the Cougars to the win in Houston.

The game was tied at 31 when Garrett Davis knocked the ball out of the hands of quarterback Dane Evans. Egbule scooped it up and dashed into the end zone for the score.

Tulsa (4-2, 1-1 American) had a chance to tie it, but Jesse Brubaker was stopped just short of the goal line after a reception on the last play of the game.

It was a close call for the Cougars (6-1, 3-1) a week after Navy beat them 46-40 for their first loss of the season after a 5-0 start.

Tulsa never led, but had twice rallied from 14-point deficits to tie it. The second time came when James Flanders scored on a 3-yard run with 3:31 left.

No. 14 Florida State 17, Wake Forest 6

Travis Rudolph had a career-high 13 receptions for 238 yards while the Seminoles overcame three turnovers to beat the Demon Deacons in Tallahassee, Fla.

Rudolph, a junior, was expected to be the Seminoles’ top receiver at the beginning of the season. He had a strong start with 13 receptions for 179 yards and three touchdowns in wins over Mississippi and Charleston Southern but had been held to six catches for 80 yards in the past four.

Rudolph’s performance — which is the fourth-best receiving game in Florida State history — offset an ugly game as both teams combined for seven turnovers.

Deondre Francois accounted for both of FSU’s touchdowns. His two-yard run on a quarterback keeper with 3:16 remaining in the second quarter gave the Seminoles (5-2, 2-2 ACC) a 10-3 lead. The touchdown was set up after Wake Forest punter Dom Maggio fumbled the snap, which Amir Rasul recovered at the Wake 26.

Francois, who was 22 of 37 for 319 yards and an interception, also threw an 11-yard touchdown in the third quarter to extend it to 17-6. Dalvin Cook rushed for 115 yards on 25 carries but also fumbled twice. It was also the first game this season where he failed to catch a pass.

Wake Forest (5-2, 2-2) was held to 252 offensive yards. John Wolford was 16 of 34 for 184 yards and two interceptions while Cade Carney rushed for 33 yards.

No. 15 Boise State 28, Colorado State 23

Jeremy McNichols ran for 217 yards and two touchdowns and the Broncos withstood a late rally from the visiting Rams.

After the Broncos (6-0, 3-0 Mountain West) took a 28-3 lead early in the fourth quarter, Colorado State (3-4, 1-2) recovered two onside kicks in the final 6 minutes while scoring three straight TDs, cutting the deficit to five with 3:35 left.

The Broncos recovered Colorado State’s third onside kick and ran the clock down to 15 seconds before giving the Rams the ball at their own 27. Colorado State advanced to the 40 on a play with multiple laterals, but a review ruled that a forward lateral was made, resulting in a 10-second runoff that ended the game.

North Carolina 20, No. 16 Miami 13

Mitch Trubisky threw two touchdown passes and Malik Carney forced a turnover with 1:31 left to thwart the Hurricanes’ last chance at a rally as the Tar Heels pulled off the upset in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Ryan Switzer and Austin Proehl had scoring catches for the Tar Heels (5-2, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Bug Howard had 10 catches for 156 yards for North Carolina, which rebounded in a big way from last weekend’s blowout loss against Virginia Tech.

Trubisky completed 33 of 46 passes for 299 yards.

Mark Walton rushed for 82 yards and Joe Yearby ran for 74 more and a touchdown for Miami (4-2, 1-2), which lost its second straight game after last week’s 20-19 loss to Florida State.

Brad Kaaya completed 16 of 31 passes for 224 yards for Miami, but he was hit by a blitzing Carney and lost the ball late in the game to send fans streaming for the exits. North Carolina took over and ran out the clock, sealing the deal when Elijah Hood rumbled 13 yards for a first down with 1:02 left — the 14th conversion in 23 third-down opportunities for the Tar Heels.

Syracuse 31, No. 17 Virginia Tech 17

Eric Dungey accounted for 417 yards and two touchdowns and the Orange got its first victory over a ranked opponent since 2012 with the win in Syracuse, N.Y.

Fans stormed the field and carried off Dungey in celebration after he passed the 311 yards and ran for 106. He scored on a one-yard sneak to give the Orange (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) a 24-17 lead with 7:56 to go, and hit Erv Phillips on a 58-yard scoring play in the first quarter.

Held to their lowest offensive output of the season, the Hokies (4-2, 2-1) tied it at 17 with 13:53 to go in regulation on Jerod Evans’ 10-yard pass to Bucky Hodges and a 2-point conversion catch by Chris Cunningham, but Dungey took over after that.

Syracuse dominated the first half. The Orange had 347 yards of offense in the first half, 221 in the second quarter. The Hokies, ranked second nationally and first in the ACC in pass defense at 132.2 yards a game, yielded 310 yards passing in the first 30 minutes and 405 for the game.

No. 18 Florida 40, Missouri 14

Jalen Tabor and Quincy Wilson returned interceptions for touchdowns, helping the Gators to the victory in Gainesville, Fla., and a move into first place in the Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division.

The cornerback tandem provided nearly as many highlights as either offense and seemingly saved the Gators (5-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) from a fourth homecoming loss in the last seven years.

Tabor, widely considered a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft, squatted on a short pass by Drew Lock and went untouched for a 39-yard score in the second quarter. It was Tabor’s second Pick Six in as many years against the Tigers (2-4, 0-3). Not to be outdone, Wilson stepped in front of Sean Culkin on the ensuing possession, picked off Lock’s pass and went 78 yards the other way for his first career touchdown.

No. 19 Oklahoma 38, Kansas State 17

Baker Mayfield completed 25 of 31 passes for 346 yards and four touchdowns, Dede Westbrook contributed nine receptions for 184 yards and three touchdowns for the Sooners in Norman, Okla.

One week after Mayfield passed for 390 yards and Westbrook had a school-record 232 yards receiving, the duo was electric once again as Oklahoma (5-2, 3-0 Big 12) won its third straight game after starting out 1-2.

With Samaje Perine sidelined by an undisclosed injury in the first quarter, Joe Mixon stepped up for Oklahoma, rushing for 88 yards and catching three passes for 34 yards and a touchdown. Mixon also threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Westbrook in the second quarter, which put the Sooners ahead 21-7.

Kansas State (3-3, 1-2) had its own injury issues as starting quarterback Jesse Ertz left for good just after halftime with an apparent problem with his right throwing shoulder. He completed 8 of 14 passes for 68 yards and ended the game as the Wildcats’ leading rusher with 40 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.

Joe Hubener came in and threw for 157 yards on 12 of 23 passes, with a spectacular 54-yard touchdown to Dominique Heath early in the fourth quarter that pulled K-State to within 31-17. Heath ended up with seven receptions for 101 yards and the TD.

No. 20 West Virginia 48, Texas Tech 17

Skylar Howard ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to keep the Mountaineers unbeaten and in the hunt for the Big 12 title with the victory at Lubbock, Texas.

The Mountaineers (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) held Texas Tech (3-3, 1-2) to its lowest offensive output this season, just 379 yards, and harassed quarterback Patrick Mahomes most of the day. He threw for 305 yards, his second-lowest passing total of the season, and was replaced in the fourth quarter by Nic Shimonek.

A 14-point turnaround in the second quarter helped the Mountaineers gain momentum. Sean Walters’ interception at the West Virginia 11 led to a TD pass from Howard to Justin Crawford at the other end of the field to put the Mountaineers up 17-7.

Howard completed 21 of 31 passes for 318 yards. Rushel Shell, who finished with 104 yards rushing for West Virginia, scored two rushing TDs in the fourth quarter as the Mountaineers pulled away.

No. 21 Utah 19, Oregon State 14

Joe Williams came out of retirement and ran for a five-yard touchdown in the first quarter and the Utes went on to defeat the Beavers in wet and windy conditions in Corvallis, Ore.

Williams, who had left the team because of injuries following the second game of the season, finished with 179 yards rushing on 34 carries for the Utes (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12).

Trailing 12-7, Oregon State (2-4, 1-2) got as close as the Utah 9 with 8:25 left in the game, but couldn’t score and Garrett Owens’ 27-yard field goal attempt went wide left.

No. 24 Western Michigan 41, Akron 0

Jarvion Franklin rushed for a school-record 281 yards and Zach Terrell threw for two scores and ran for two more as the Broncos blanked the Zips in Akron, Ohio.

Wide receiver Corey Davis caught two touchdown passes to add to his career school record, finishing with eight catches for 63 yards. The Broncos amassed 585 yards of offense in a victory that capped one of the biggest weeks in the 100-year history of the program.

Franklin, whose previous career-high rushing game was 211 yards against Idaho two seasons ago, ran for a 2-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Terrell was 21 for 31 for 207 yards.

Western Michigan (7-0, 2-0 MAC) held Akron to 283 yards of offense and snuffed out their biggest threat in the second quarter when quarterback Tra’Von Chapman was intercepted by Broncos linebacker Casey Carson at the WMU 3-yard line.