No. 8 Michigan State rallies to beat No. 6 Michigan 37-33

October 31, 2021 GMT
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Michigan State players celebrate with the Paul Bunyan trophy defeating Michigan in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State won 37-33. (Jake May/The Flint Journal via AP)
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Michigan State players celebrate with the Paul Bunyan trophy defeating Michigan in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State won 37-33. (Jake May/The Flint Journal via AP)

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Kenneth Walker ran for 197 yards and five touchdowns, helping No. 8 Michigan State top No. 6 Michigan 37-33 in a thrilling comeback victory Saturday.

The Spartans (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) trailed by nine at halftime and 30-14 with 6:47 left in the third quarter before Walker boosted his chances of winning the Heisman Trophy.

Walker’s fifth touchdown — a 23-yard run — lifted the Spartans to a 37-33 lead with 5:08 remaining.

The Wolverines (7-1, 4-1) forced a final punt and had the ball at their 33 with 1:15 and no timeouts left.

After a roughing-the-passer penalty gave Michigan the ball at midfield, Michigan State cornerback Charles Brantley sealed the victory by picking off a floating pass from Cade McNamara.

McNamara threw for 383 yards and two touchdowns, but his interception was costly, as was freshman quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s lost fumble in the fourth quarter.

The rivals were on the same field with 7-0 or better records for the first time, matching up as top-10 teams for the first time since 1964.

NO. 1 GEORGIA 34,FLORIDA 7

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Georgia and its top-ranked defense dominated Florida, scoring three touchdowns off turnovers in a 12-play sequence that turned “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” into another lopsided affair.

Georgia (8-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) won its 12th consecutive game since getting steamrolled in Jacksonville a year ago. The Bulldogs’ injury-riddled defense allowed 571 yards in that one, the most in coach Kirby Smart’s six seasons.

Florida (4-4, 2-4) managed no points, 11 first downs and 214 yards through three quarters and looked like its decades-old, NCAA-record scoring streak might be in jeopardy down the stretch. But the Gators finally got on the scoreboard with 2:49 remaining, extending the streak to 418 games. They have scored in every outing since getting shut out by Auburn in 1988.

NO. 2 CINCINNATI 31, TULANE 12

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Desmond Ridder threw two touchdown pass to tight end Josh Whyle and Cincinnati beat Tulane to remain undefeated.

Jerome Ford rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown — his 14th this season — for Cincinnati (8-0, 4-0 American Athletic Conference). The Bearcats briefly trailed in the second quarter and led by just two points at halftime.

Ridder passed for 227 yards and three touchdowns to go with his 47 yards rushing, but also was sacked in the end zone for a safety and threw an intercepted. Whyle caught four passes for 79 yards.

Tulane (1-6, 0-4) played without starting quarterback Michael Pratt because of his concussion during last weeks loss at SMU. Running back Tyjae Spears, coming back from a knee injury that wiped out his 2020 season, rushed for 106 yards on 19 carries, highlighted by his 47-yard touchdown dash in the first half.

Third-string QB Kai Horton, a freshman, started for Tulane because backup Justin Ibieta also was hurt. He was 7 of 16 passes for 79 yards with two interceptions and four sacks.

NO. 4 OKLAHOMA 52, TEXAS TECH 21

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Caleb Williams threw for 402 yards and six touchdowns and Oklahoma finally put together a complete game, rolling past Texas Tech.

The true freshman quarterback tied Kyler Murray and Landry Jones for the second-most touchdown passes in a game in school history. Baker Mayfield threw seven against Texas Tech in 2016.

Marvin Mims caught four passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns, and Mario Williams had five receptions for 100 yards and a score to help the Sooners (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) extend their nation-leading winning streak to 17 games.

Donovan Smith passed for 192 yards for the Red Raiders (5-4, 2-4) in Sonny Cumbie’s first game as interim coach since Matt Wells was fired. Erik Ezukanma caught eight passes for 123 yards and a touchdown.

NO. 5 OHIO STATE 33, NO. 20 PENN STATE 23

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — TreVeyon Henderson ran for 152 yards and a touchdown and Ohio State made just enough long plays and short field goals to hold off Penn State.

Facing their first real challenge in a month and half, the Buckeyes (7-1, 5-0 Big Ten) finally finished off the Nittany Lions (5-3, 2-3) on Noah Ruggles’ fourth field goal, a 26-yarder with 2:41 left to make it a nine-point lead.

Coming off an ugly nine-overtime loss at home to Illinois, Penn State looked a lot like the team that had climbed into the top five before losing to Iowa in a game where quarterback Sean Clifford got hurt.

The senior looked sharp and healthy, going 35 for 52 for 361 yards and a touchdown after a tentative performance last week. Still, the Nittany Lions lost their third straight to fall out of contention in the Big Ten East.

NO. 7 OREGON 52, COLORADO 29

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Anthony Brown Jr. threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns and Oregon had a season-high 568 yards to rout Colorado.

Travis Dye ran for two touchdowns and caught a scoring pass to help Oregon (7-1, 6-1 Pac-12)extended its winning streak at Autzen Stadium to 17 games.

Brendon Lewis threw for 224 yards and three TDs for the Buffaloes (2-5, 1-4). Brenden Rice, son of former San Francisco 49ers great Jerry Rice, had 102 yards receiving and a touchdown.

WISCONSIN 27, NO. 9 IOWA 7

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Graham Mertz scored on two quarterback sneaks and threw a touchdown pass to help Wisconsin beat Iowa for its fourth consecutive victory.

Wisconsin (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) forced three turnovers, had six sacks and limited Iowa to 24 yards rushing on 30 carries. The Badgers maintained control of their destiny in the Big Ten West Division race and regained possession of the Heartland Trophy that goes to the winner of the annual matchup.

Iowa (6-2, 3-2) has been outscored 51-14 in its last two games after being ranked second in the nation just a couple of weeks ago. This was the Hawkeyes’ first game since a 24-7 home loss to Purdue on Oct. 16.

Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen rushed for 104 yards on 20 attempts The 17-year-old freshman has run for over 100 yards in four straight games after totaling just 12 carries in Wisconsin’s first four games.

NO. 18 AUBURN 31, NO, 10 MISSISSIPPI 20

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Bo Nix passed for 276 yards and a touchdown and ran for two more scores and Auburn’s defense made a number of big stops to hold off Mississippi,

The Tigers (6-2, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) remained the top challenger to No. 3 Alabama in the Western Division with Nix winning a quarterback duel with Heisman candidate Matt Corral.

The Rebels (6-2, 3-2) had their three-game winning streak end after squandering four second-half scoring chances, three with failed fourth down passes in field goal range. Plus Jaylin Simpson intercepted a pass in the end zone — only Corral’s second this season — midway through the fourth.

Nix completed 22 of 30 passes and ran for 30 yards. Tank Bigsby ran for 140 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers. Jahcour Pearson caught seven passes for 135 yards for the Rebels.

NO. 11 NOTRE DAME 44, NORTH CAROLINA 34

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Kyren Williams raced 91 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and Notre Dame held off Sam Howell and upset-minded North Carolina in a game that had over 1,000 yards in offense.

Williams ran for a career-high 199 yards on 22 carries to help the Fighting Irish improve to 7-1 with their third straight victory — and ruin the 400th collegiate game for North Carolina Hall of Fame coach Mack Brown.

The Irish won despite being outgained by the Tar Heels (4-4) in total yardage, 554-523. But the Irish outrushed the Tar Heels 293-223.

Howell, who became the Tar Heels’ first quarterback with over 10,000 passing yards, finished with 341 yards on 24-of-31 passing with one touchdown and one interception. He added another 101 yards on 18 carries, one a 31-yard touchdown run that kept the Tar Heels in it at 41-34 with 7:23 to play.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 31, NO. 12 KENTUCKY 17

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Dillon Johnson ran for two touchdowns and Mississippi State scored 14 points off of four Kentucky turnovers.

The Bulldogs (5-3, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) came up big with three interceptions of Will Levis and a fumble recovery. They turned a third-quarter fumble and pickoff into consecutive touchdowns to put the game out of reach.

Will Rogers set an SEC record for completion percentage with 30 or more attempts at 92%, going 36 of 39 for 344 yards and a touchdown.

The Wildcats (6-2, 4-2) managed just 66 yards rushing in being outgained 438-216.

NO. 13 WAKE FOREST 45, DUKE 7

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Sam Hartman continued his recent tear by accounting for five touchdowns to help Wake Forest beat Duke, giving the Demon Deacons their best start in program history.

Hartman threw for 402 yards and three touchdowns, including a 38-yarder to Jaquarii Roberson on the first possession. He also ran for 61 yards and two scores, including a 26-yarder, for the Demon Deacons (8-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).

It came a week after Hartman threw for five touchdowns and ran for a sixth score in a 70-56 victory over Army. That tied this year’s team for the best start in program history set in 1944, nine years before the formation of the ACC.

Christian Beal-Smith, Ke’Shawn Williams and Taylor Morin also had touchdowns for Wake Forest, which finished with 677 total yards while flirting with its first shutout in six years. Mataeo Durant ran for 103 yards for Duke (3-5, 0-4).

NO. 15 OKLAHOMA STATE 55, KANSAS 3

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Spencer Sanders threw for 157 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 53 yards and a score, all in the first half, in Oklahoma State’ romp over Kansas.

Jaylen Warren added 69 yards rushing on just nine carries and backup running back Dominic Richardson gained 79 yards and a touchdown on 11 rushes for Oklahoma State (7-1, 4-1 Big 12). After suffering their first loss, 24-21 to Iowa State, last week, the Cowboys dominated Kansas on both sides of the ball.

Kansas (1-7, 0-5) has lost seven in a row.

NO. 16 BAYLOR 31, TEXAS 24

WACO, Texas (AP) — Ben Sims had a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, Abram Smith spun away for a 32-yard scamper to the end zone and Baylor became the third team in a row to overcome a double-digit deficit to beat Texas.

The handoff to the sweeping Sims for a score with 12:48 left put the Bears (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) back ahead for the first time since the first quarter. Texas then had a failed fake punt attempt, setting up Smith’s nifty run three plays later when he took a quick pitch left, reversed field after spinning away from a defender.

Texas (4-4, 2-3) was coming off its open date, which followed consecutive losses to No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 15 Oklahoma State in which the Longhorns led by at least two touchdowns before halftime both times.

Big 12 rushing leader Bijan Robinson was limited to 43 yards on 17 carries, well below his 132 yards a game average with a 2.5 yard-per-carry that was the lowest in his career.

MIAMI 38, NO, 17 PITTSBURGH 34

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Miami freshman Tyler Van Dyke outdueled Kenny Pickett, throwing for 426 yards and three touchdowns in the Hurricanes; victory over Pittsburgh,

Van Dyke completed 31 of 41 passes to help Miami (4-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat a ranked opponent for the second straight week.

Pickett bolstered his Heisman resume by throwing for a school-record 519 yards and four touchdowns, but he also threw his second and third interceptions of the season, both of which led to huge momentum shifts.

Pitt (6-2, 3-1) remains in control of its destiny in the ACC Coastal Division but any remote shot at crashing the College Football Playoff is long gone.

HOUSTON 44, NO, 19 SMU 37

HOUSTON (AP) — Marcus Jones returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown with 17 seconds remaining to lift Houston past SMU for the Cougars’ seventh straight victory.

After the Mustangs (7-1, 3-1 American Athletic) tied it at 37 on a 45-yard field goal by Blake Mazza with 30 seconds left, Jones took the kickoff a the goal line and broke several tackles before breaking loose for the Cougars (7-1, 4-1).

Tanner Mordecai had one last chance to tie it in the final seconds, but his pass into the end zone was knocked down.

Houston’s Clayton Tune threw for a career-high 412 yards and four touchdowns, Nathaniel Dell caught nine passes for 165 yards and three scores and Jeremy Singleton had five catches for 93 yards. Tune threw touchdown passes of 7, 48 and 17 yards to Dell and had a 4-yard touchdown pass to KeSean Carter.

FRESNO STATE 30, NO. 21 SAN DIEGO STATE 20

CARSON, Calif. (AP) — Jake Haener passed for 306 yards and a touchdown, Jordan Mims rushed for a career-high 186 yards and two scores, and Fresno State handed San Diego State its first loss.

The Bulldogs (7-2, 4-1 Mountain West) raced out to a 20-0 second-quarter lead as they picked up their second win against a ranked team this season. Fresno State had 485 yards of total offense, ending San Diego State’s 29-game streak of holding opponents under 450 yards.

Haener completed 25 of 42 passes for his sixth 300-yard game this season. Mims had his second straight 100-yard game and became the first running back this season to hit the century mark against the Aztecs (7-1, 3-1), who came into the game second in the nation in third-down percentage defense, fourth against the run and fifth in total defense.

WEST VIRGINIA 38, NO. 22 IOWA STATE 31

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Jarret Doege threw three touchdown passes, Leddie Brown ran for two scores and West Virginia beat Iowa State.

West Virginia (4-4, 2-3 Big 12) came alive on offense after averaging 20 points in its first four conference games.

Iowa State (5-3, 3-2) was missing leading tackler Mike Rose because of an undisclosed injury and the league’s top defense gave up a season-high 492 yards. The linebacker had started all 45 previous games in his career.

Doege completed 30 of 46 passes for 370 yards. He threw two interceptions, one on a deflected pass. Breece Hall rushed for 167 yards, including a 70-yard scoring run on Iowa State’s third play from scrimmage.

NO. 25 BYU 66, VIRGINIA 49

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Tyler Allgeier rushed for a career-high 266 yards and five touchdowns, leading BYU over Virginia.

Jaren Hall threw for a career-high 349 yards and three touchdowns. Hall also ran for 42 yards and another score. The Cougars (7-2) pulled away after scoring 21 points off three turnovers.

Brennan Armstrong threw for 329 and four touchdowns to lead Virginia, and also tossed a pair of interceptions. Armstrong added 94 yards and two TDs on 11 carries. He left late in the fourth quarter after sustaining an apparent rib injury.

The loss snapped the Cavaliers’ (6-3, 4-2 ACC) four-game winning streak.

BYU and Virginia combined for 1,322 yards and 115 points.

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