College football: Oregon edges ASU, 61-55, in three overtimes

Bralon Addison scored on a 20-yard pass in the third overtime on a play upheld by review and Arrion Springs intercepted Mike Bercovici’s pass in the end zone, lifting Oregon to a wild 61-55 win over Arizona State on Thursday night in Tempe, Ariz.

Two teams clinging to hopes in their respective divisions, the Sun Devils and Ducks traded explosive plays in a game that featured 1,243 total yards.

It came down to a pair of plays in the third overtime.

Addison appeared to touch the back line on his TD catch, but the officials upheld the original call upon review. Oregon (5-3, 3-2 Pac-12) failed on the mandatory two-point conversion, but Springs sealed it by stepping in front of Bercovici’s intended receiver, sending the Ducks racing onto the field.

Oregon tied the game with 12 seconds left in regulation when Dwayne Stanford pulled down Vernon Adams’ fourth-down, desperation pass for an eight-yard touchdown.

No. 5 TCU tops West Virginia

Trevone Boykin passed for 388 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another 84 yards with a hurdling two-yard score to help fifth-ranked Texas Christian defeat West Virginia, 40-10, on Thursday night for its 16th straight victory.

Josh Doctson had 11 catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns for the Horned Frogs (8-0).

The Mountaineers (3-4) have lost all four of their Big 12 games — previously losing to No. 14 Oklahoma, No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 2 Baylor — all teams TCU has to play in November.

TCU and West Virginia entered the Big 12 together in 2012. Their previous three games had been decided by a combined five points.

Tar Heels win

Marquise Williams threw two long touchdown passes and North Carolina beat No. 23 Pittsburgh, 26-19, on Thursday night in a matchup of Atlantic Coast Conference upstarts, the seventh win in a row for the Tar Heels.

The unexpected ACC Coastal showdown was the first of a three-week round-robin that probably will determine the division title. The Tar Heels (7-1, 4-0) face No. 22 Duke next at home with a chance to put a vise grip on the program’s first trip to the ACC title game.

For the third straight season, Williams came up huge against Pitt (6-2, 3-1). The senior completed 14 for 23 passes for 270 yards and ran for 52. He has 1,020 total yards in three career victories against the Panthers.

Etc.

Florida State’s Dalvin Cook, second in the nation in rushing, will sit out against Syracuse on Saturday because of a left ankle injury. ... Nebraska junior quarterback Ryker Fyfe will make the first start of his career at Purdue on Saturday in place of Tommy Armstrong Jr., who has not practiced this week because of an injured right foot. Fyfe, a former walk-on from Grand Island, has appeared in nine games over three seasons. He played three series late in last month’s 48-9 win over South Alabama in his only appearance this season. ...

Illinois running back Josh Ferguson will sit out again against Penn State on Saturday because of a shoulder injury. ... Northern Illinois officials say a decision to sell beer at Huskie Stadium during football games is paying off monetarily and in public safety. University police Cmdr. Don Rodman said alcohol-related calls during games have dropped since beer sales began in the second week of the football season. Rodman and senior associate athletic director John Cheney believe the drop is due to fans not binge drinking before going into the stadium.