Ohio State Routs Northwestern

Troy Smith ran for two touchdowns and linebacker A.J. Hawk returned a blocked punt for another score to lead 10th-ranked Ohio State to a 48-7 victory over No. 25 Northwestern on Saturday at Columbus, Ohio, for the Buckeyes’ fifth consecutive win.

Ohio State, 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten, needs to win Saturday’s annual showdown with rival Michigan to clinch at least a share of the conference title.

The Buckeyes scored at least 35 points for the fifth game in a row -- a streak in which they’ve won by an average score of 42-15 -- but it was their defense that paved the way.

Brett Basanez came in averaging 316 yards passing a game -- fifth-best in the nation -- for Northwestern (6-4, 4-3) but was limited to 121 yards passing, completing 15 of 31 passes with one interception.

Meanwhile, Ohio State used a multifaceted offense to move the ball almost at will. Smith was seven for 12 for 77 yards with one interception and ran 11 times for 75 yards before he and most of the rest of the Buckeyes starters took the fourth quarter off. Antonio Pittman carried 18 times for 132 yards and had a four-yard touchdown after sitting out part of the first half because of a bruised hip and sore back.

Hawk, an All-American and Butkus Award finalist, had eight tackles and a sack as the Buckeyes limited Northwestern to 251 yards -- about half its average. After scoring on their first possession, the Wildcats were forced to punt six of the next eight times they had the ball -- turning it over on a fumble by Tyrell Sutton and a Basanez interception the other two times -- to fall behind, 38-7.

No. 2 Texas 66, Kansas 14 -- Vince Young became the career total offense leader for the Longhorns (10-0, 7-0) with 281 yards passing and a career-high four touchdown passes in a victory over the Jayhawks (5-5, 2-5) to clinch the Big 12 Conference South Division title at Austin, Texas.

Young had scoring passes of 45 yards and 64 yards to Limas Sweed and Quan Cosby, and Aaron Ross returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown as Texas built a 52-0 lead by halftime, tying the school record for most points in a half.

No. 3 Miami 47, Wake Forest 17 -- Kyle Wright tied a school record with five touchdown passes, Charlie Jones ran for two more scores and the Hurricanes (8-1, 5-1) stayed on track for a spot in the first Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a victory over the Demon Deacons (4-7, 3-5) at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wright finished 17 for 27 for 319 yards and Jones rushed for 90 more as Miami rolled up 515 yards in offense, even without injured tailback Tyrone Moss and return specialist Devin Hester.

No. 7 Notre Dame 42, Navy 21 -- Brady Quinn passed for four touchdowns, three to Maurice Stovall at South Bend, Ind., to lead the Fighting Irish (7-2) to their NCAA-record 42nd straight win over the Midshipmen (5-4).

Notre Dame broke the game open by scoring on all three of its second-quarter possessions, including a pair of touchdowns 1:28 apart late in the quarter by Darius Walker, who ran for 118 yards in 19 carries, and Anthony Fasano to take a 28-7 halftime lead.

Oklahoma State 24, No. 13 Texas Tech 17 -- Al Pena scored on a one-yard run with 23 seconds left to stave off a rally by the Red Raiders (8-2, 5-2) and give the Cowboys (4-5, 1-5) the Big 12 win at Stillwater, Okla.

Julius Crosslin did most of the work on the Cowboys’ last drive with runs of 12, 11, 10 and nine yards, putting Pena in position to break a 17-17 tie.

Clemson 35, No. 17 Florida State 14 -- Charlie Whitehurst threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Tigers (6-4, 4-4) over the Seminoles (7-3, 5-3) in an ACC game at Clemson, S.C., the second time in three meetings that Coach Tommy Bowden has beaten father Bobby.

Whitehurst completed 21 of 32 passes a week after resting his sore shoulder, and Chansi Stuckey had 11 catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns for Clemson.

No. 18 Texas Christian 51, Nevada Las Vegas 3 -- Quentily Harmon caught a touchdown pass and Cory Rodgers ran for another for the Horned Frogs (10-1, 8-0) before the Rebels (2-8, 1-6) gained a yard in a Mountain West Conference game at Fort Worth.

Freshman Aaron Brown ran for 105 yards and three touchdowns in 18 carries. Rodgers also caught a 55-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter from Jeff Ballard, who was 17 of 31 passing for 279 yards.

Iowa 20, No. 19 Wisconsin 10 -- Albert Young ran for 127 yards and the Hawkeyes (6-4, 4-3) ruined Barry Alvarez’s going-away party, beating the Badgers (8-3, 5-3) in the coach’s final home game at Madison, Wis.

No. 21 Michigan 41, Indiana 14 -- Chad Henne had three touchdown passes in the first half as the Wolverines (7-3, 5-2) built a huge lead and coasted to a victory over the Hoosiers (4-6, 1-6) in a Big Ten game at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Iowa State 30, No. 22 Colorado 16 -- Steve Paris returned a fumble 66 yards for a touchdown and defensive tackle Brent Curvey rumbled 66 yards for a score with an interception as the Cyclones (7-3, 4-3) beat the Buffaloes (7-3, 5-2) at Ames, Iowa.

Virginia 27, No. 24 Georgia Tech 17 -- Marques Hagans led the Cavaliers (6-3, 3-3) on two scoring drives after they blew a 17-point lead to beat the Yellow Jackets (6-3, 3-3) in an ACC game at Charlottesville, Va.

OTHER GAMES

John Wall rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns as Rice (1-8, 1-5) rolled up 392 yards on the ground and ended the nation’s longest losing streak at 14 games with a 42-34 victory over Tulane (2-7, 1-5) in a Conference USA game at Houston.... Jared Patterson ran for a touchdown and Buffalo (1-9, 1-6) ended a 10-game losing streak with a 10-6 win over Kent State (1-9, 0-7) in a Mid-American Conference game at Kent, Ohio.... Brad Smith ran for three touchdowns and became the first player in NCAA history to pass for 8,000 yards and rush for 4,000 in leading Missouri (6-4, 4-3) to a 31-6 victory over Baylor (4-6, 1-6) in a Big 12 game at Columbia, Mo.... Andre Hall rushed for 222 yards and three touchdowns, and South Florida (5-3, 3-1) rolled to a 27-0 victory over Syracuse (1-8, 0-6) in a Big East game at Syracuse, N.Y. to remain in the hunt for a BCS bowl bid.... Rick Clausen came off the bench and threw two touchdown passes, rallying Tennessee (4-5) to a 20-16 victory at Knoxville, Tenn., over Memphis (4-5), which was without leading rusher DeAngelo Williams.... Carroll College (Mont.) quarterback Tyler Emmert had 337 yards in total offense in a 66-13 win over Rocky Mountain College to break the NAIA career record of 12,907 yards held by Jon Kitna. Emmert has 12,920 yards.