College football: Feleipe Franks rallies No. 15 Florida to beat South Carolina; Oklahoma escapes rival; Alabama and Michigan roll

By Associated Press

Nov. 10, 2018 11:20 PM PT

Feleipe Franks silenced the home crowd twice after touchdown runs, seemingly sending a message after getting benched last week and booed earlier in the game, and No. 19 Florida rallied to beat South Carolina 35-31 Saturday and end a two-game losing streak.

Franks dived across the goal line on a fourth-down play from inside the 1-yard line with 4:09 to play, putting the Gators (7-3, 5-3 Southeastern Conference, No. 15 CFP) ahead for the first time and for good. Florida overcame a 17-point deficit in the second half.

C.J. Henderson ended the Gamecocks’ comeback attempt by picking off Jake Bentley.

But Franks was the player of the game, even if he thrived in a villain role. The sophomore put his fingers to his lips while celebrating with teammates, the kind of gesture usually seen from visitors.

Franks completed 15 of 21 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for two scores a week after getting pulled for the third time in two seasons.

at Tennessee 24, No. 11 Kentucky 7: Jarrett Guarantano threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Callaway on the final play of the first half and Darrell Taylor recorded four sacks as Tennessee trounced No. 11 Kentucky 24-7 on Saturday.

Taylor also forced and recovered a fumble to help Tennessee (5-5, 2-4 SEC) beat Kentucky (7-3, 5-3) at Neyland Stadium for a 17th straight time. Kentucky hasn’t earned a road victory in this annual series since a 17-12 triumph in 1984.

Tennessee has won 32 of the last 34 overall meetings, though the Wildcats won last year’s game 29-26 at Kentucky.

at No. 6 Oklahoma 48, Oklahoma State 47: Kyler Murray passed for 349 yards and ran for 66 and No. 6 Oklahoma survived a late two-point conversion attempt to beat Oklahoma State 48-47 on Saturday.

Taylor Cornelius connected with Tylan Wallace on a 24-yard touchdown pass to cut Oklahoma’s lead to one with 1:03 to play. Oklahoma State went for two, but Cornelius threw short and into coverage, and the pass fell incomplete. Oklahoma recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

Kennedy Brooks ran for 165 yards and three touchdowns, Trey Sermon ran for 120 yards and two scores and Marquise Brown caught eight passes for 142 yards and a score for the Sooners (9-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 6 CFP).

at No. 1 Alabama 24, No. 16 Mississippi 0: Josh Jacobs ran for a touchdown and caught a scoring pass and No. 1 Alabama had its second straight shutout in a 24-0 victory over No. 16 Mississippi State on Saturday.

With quarterback Tua Tagovailoa still battling a gimpy right knee, the Crimson Tide (10-0, 7-0 Southeastern Conference, No. 1 CFP) turned to defense for another vintage performance.

The offense raced to a fast start but mostly stalled from there against the Bulldogs (6-4, 2-4) and the nation’s No. 2 scoring defense.

No. 2 Clemson 27, at Boston College 7: Trevor Lawrence threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score and No. 2 Clemson knocked Boston College quarterback Anthony Brown out of the game early on the way to routing the 17th-ranked Eagles 27-7 on Saturday night.

The battle for first-place in the ACC Atlantic Division was not much of a fight. The Tigers (10-0, 7-0, No. 2 CFP) wrapped up a fourth straight trip to the Atlantic Coast Conference title game as division champions and kept rolling toward another trip to the College Football Playoff.

Boston College (7-3, 4-2) lost Brown on its first possession when the sophomore got off a third-and-9 pass, but was thrown to the turf by star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. Athletic trainers attended to Brown on the field and he walked to the sideline on his own. He wasn’t there long before heading to the locker room. In the second quarter, it was announced he would not return. His injury was not immediately known.

at No. 3 Notre Dame 42, Florida State 13: Brandon Wimbush threw three-first half touchdown passes, Dexter Williams ran for a career-high 202 yards and No. 3 Notre Dame took advantage of Florida State turnovers to rout Florida State 42-13 on a frosty Saturday night.

With the temperature at 27 degrees — the third-coldest game at Notre Dame Stadium since the 1980 season — the Irish (10-0, No. 3 CFP) wore green jerseys for the fourth time in Brian Kelly’s nine-year tenure at Notre Dame to honor their seniors.

Wimbush, who led the Irish to their first three victories, got the start in place of injured junior Ian Book, who suffered a rib injury last week against Northwestern.

No. 4 Michigan 42, at Rutgers 7: Shea Patterson threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns, Karan Higdon ran for a pair of 1-yard scores and No. 4 Michigan kept its national championship hopes intact with a 42-7 win over Rutgers on Saturday.

The Wolverines (9-1, 7-0 Big Ten, No. 4 CFP) have won nine straight and remain in first place in the conference’s East Division. They have a final tuneup against Indiana next week at the Big House before closing the regular season at No. 8 Ohio State. Michigan hasn’t lost since the season opener against No. 3 Notre Dame and would have to beat the Buckeyes for just the second time in 15 years to keep any hope at a national title alive.

at No. 5 Georgia 27, No. 24 Auburn 10: No. 5 Georgia struck for a pair of touchdowns late in the first half to take control and D’Andre Swift finished off No. 24 Auburn with a 77-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter to lead the Bulldogs to a 27-10 victory over their oldest rival Saturday night.

Swift rushed for 186 yards to power another big game by Georgia’s running attack, which finished with 303 yards.

Having already locked up a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game, the Bulldogs (9-1, 7-1, No. 5 CFP) couldn’t afford to slip up against the Tigers.

No. 7 Louisiana State 24, at Arkansas 17: Joe Burrow was 15 of 21 for 195 yards and a touchdown and the LSU defense dominated while leading the No. 9 Tigers to a 24-17 victory over Arkansas on Saturday night.

The win comes a week after LSU (8-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) was shut out in a loss to No. 1 Alabama, and it improves coach Ed Orgeron to 8-0 in games following a loss. The Tigers haven’t lost back-to-back games since dropping three straight in 2015.

Justin Jefferson had six catches for 117 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown for the game’s first score.

at No. 9 West Virginia 47, Texas Christian 10: Will Grier threw three touchdown passes and No. 7 West Virginia rolled to a 47-10 victory over TCU on Saturday.

West Virginia (8-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 9 CFP) had no trouble against the injury-riddled Horned Frogs (4-6, 2-5) as it pursues a possible berth in the conference championship game with two regular-season games left.

The Mountaineers scored three touchdowns in a 3:25 span of the second quarter to break open a tie game.

TCU (4-6, 2-5) was held to a season-low 222 yards of offense, the third time in four games it’s gained fewer than 300. The Horned Frogs are in jeopardy of missing a bowl for just the third time under coach Gary Patterson.

No. 19 Texas, at Texas Tech: Sam Ehlinger threw a 29-yarder touchdown pass to Lil’Jordan Humphrey with 21 seconds left and No. 15 Texas beat Texas Tech 41-34 after blowing a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter Saturday night.

The Longhorns (7-3, 5-2 Big 12) snapped a two-game skid that had cost them the Big 12 lead. They stayed a game behind co-leaders No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 7 West Virginia with two games left to determine who plays in the conference championship game Dec. 1. Next up for the Longhorns is No. 23 Iowa State, the team they are tied with for third place.

at No. 20 Penn State 22, Wisconsin 10: Trace McSorley tied Penn State’s record for wins by a quarterback with his 29th, and 21st-ranked Nittany Lions beat Wisconsin 22-10 on Saturday.

Miles Sanders ran for 159 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, and McSorley completed 19 of 25 passes for 160 yards and a TD while matching Todd Blackledge’s victory total from 1980-82.

DeAndre Thompkins caught a touchdown pass for Penn State (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten, No. 20 CFP), which held the Badgers (6-4, 4-3) to 125 yards in the second half and sacked backup quarterback Jack Coan five times

No. 10 Ohio State 26, at Michigan State 6: Drue Chrisman kept Michigan State pinned back with a sensational second half of punting, and eighth-ranked Ohio State eventually pulled away for a 26-6 victory over the 24th-ranked Spartans on Saturday.

In a tight defensive struggle, the Buckeyes (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten, No. 10 CFP) enjoyed a huge advantage in field position during the second half. Chrisman’s punts forced Michigan State (6-4, 4-3, No. 18) to start its first five drives after halftime from its own 5, 6, 3, 1 and 2-yard line.

On the fourth of those possessions, the Spartans had to punt from their own end zone. They took a safety that appeared intentional, giving Ohio State a 9-6 lead, but that did little to help flip the field position. The ensuing free kick went out of bounds, giving the Buckeyes the ball at the 50, and then Chrisman pinned Michigan State back again.

Ohio State capitalized on that punt when a shotgun snap by Michigan State hit the man in motion. Dre’Mont Jones recovered the fumble for the Buckeyes in the end zone, giving Ohio State a 16-6 advantage.

at No. 12 Central Florida 35, Navy 24: No. 12 UCF is becoming predictable as the Knights pursue another undefeated season.

The defending American Athletic Conference champions keep on winning while insisting they aren’t listening to chatter about whether they will be deserving of a berth in the College Football Playoff if they remain unbeaten when the four-team field is picked in December.

Now, coach Josh Heupel and his players say they’re turning their focus to No. 25 Cincinnati, which comes to Florida next week for a crucial AAC test.

A victory over the Bearcats will clinch a spot in the conference championship game.

No. 22 Iowa State 28, Baylor 14: Brock Purdy threw for a touchdown and ran for another score, and No. 22 Iowa State topped Baylor 28-14 on Saturday after a skirmish in the third quarter resulted in unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for each player on both teams.

Purdy threw for 230 yards as Iowa State (6-3, 5-2) won a fifth straight Big 12 game in the same season for the first time. Deshaunte Jones caught a TD pass and threw for a 2-point conversion.

Purdy’s 11-yard TD pass to Jones and his 2-yard touchdown run helped put Iowa State up 17-0 at halftime.

Other games:

- Kellen Mond threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to help Texas A&M end a two-game skid with a 38-24 win over Mississippi on Saturday. Mond threw TDs of 21, 10 and 5 yards and his touchdown run was a 1-yard scamper in the first quarter.

- Peyton Ramsey threw two touchdown passes, Logan Justus made the go-ahead field goal with 2:32 left and the Indiana Hoosiers recovered a fumble in the final minute to preserve a 34-32 victory over Maryland. The Hoosiers ended a four-game losing streak and kept their bowl hopes alive with the victory. Anthony McFarland rushed for a career-high 210 yards in relief of the injured Ty Johnson but the Terrapins postseason plans took a major hit with their third consecutive road loss.

- Daniel Jones accounted for 547 total yards and four touchdowns to help Duke beat rival North Carolina 42-35. Jones threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns for the Blue Devils. He also ran for 186 yards. UNC got a late touchdown to get within seven and had a final throw for the tie, but the Blue Devils knocked it down in the end zone to close the game.

- Adrian Martinez threw for 290 yards and accounted for four touchdowns and Devine Ozigbo ran for 162 yards and three scores to lead Nebraska past mistake-prone Illinois 54-35. Illinois committed turnovers on four of five full possessions spanning the halves and Nebraska converted them into 24 points.

- Qadree Ollison ran for 235 yards and three touchdowns, Darrin Hall added 186 yards rushing and a score of his own as Pittsburgh moved closer to its first ACC Coastal Division title with a dominant 52-22 victory over Virginia Tech. The Panthers (6-4, 5-1 ACC) rolled up a school record 654 total yards, 492 coming on the ground. Maurice Ffrench caught a 78-yard touchdown pass from Kenny Pickett and later scored on a 12-yard run off a jet sweep as Pitt jumped to a 31-7 halftime lead and cruised.

- Isaiah Bowser ran for 165 yards and a touchdown and Northwestern upset Iowa 14-10 to clinch a spot in the Big Ten Championship. The Wildcats will now await their opponent for the league title game in Indianapolis next month.

- TaQuon Marshall ran for 92 yards with two touchdowns and Georgia Tech scored 13 points off Miami’s three lost fumbles to beat the struggling Hurricanes 27-21. Georgia Tech has won three straight to become bowl-eligible while Miami has lost four straight.

Other scores:

at Arizona State 31, UCLA 28

California 15, at USC 14

at Stanford 48, Oregon State 17

at Utah 32, Oregon 25

Washington State 31, at Colorado 7

at Alabama Birmingham 26, Southern Mississippi 23 OT

at Air Force 42, New Mexico 24

Appalachian State 38, at Texas State 7

Arkansas State 44, at Coastal Carolina 16

at Army 31, Lafayette 13

Bowling Green 24, at Central Michigan 13