College football: South Carolina stuns No. 3 Georgia; Oklahoma beats Texas; Alabama rolls
Israel Mukuamu returned the first of his three interceptions 53 yards for a touchdown, and South Carolina took advantage of Jake Fromm’s four turnovers to beat No. 3 Georgia 17-10 in double overtime Saturday in Athens, Ga.
Parker White’s 23-yard field goal in the second overtime proved to be enough when Georgia’s Rodrigo Blankenship was wide left on his attempt from 42 yards. Blankenship’s second miss of the game sent South Carolina players charging onto the field to celebrate the upset.
Georgia (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) suffered a big hit to its national championship hopes. The Bulldogs, favored by 24½ points, could not overcome three interceptions and a lost fumble by Fromm, the senior quarterback known for avoiding mistakes. Fromm did not throw an interception in the Bulldogs’ first five games.
“Not as clean as I want it to be,” Fromm said. “There were definitely some turnovers and some incompletions. We should have played more clean. That’s part of it, and you wish we had just executed better on offense.”
On the second play of overtime, Fromm’s pass glanced off the hands of receiver Tyler Simmons and was intercepted by Mukuamu. White’s 33-yard field-goal attempt missed wide right to keep the game alive.
Fromm led Georgia on a tying 96-yard touchdown drive capped by his six-yard scoring pass to Demetris Robertson with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.
White, who made a 49-yard field goal in the first half, missed a 57-yarder with 40 seconds remaining to give the Bulldogs one final possession in regulation.
Fromm moved the Bulldogs to the South Carolina 38, in possible position for Blankenship to attempt a game-winning field goal. But an illegal shift penalty pushed Georgia back five yards, ending the field-goal possibility as regulation ended.
South Carolina (3-3, 2-2) took its first win over a ranked opponent since beating No. 18 Tennessee in 2016. It was an important signature win for coach Will Muschamp over his alma mater.
”That was a great college football game, and you hate for anyone to lose in that situation, especially the way it happened,” Muschamp said, referring to Blankenship’s final miss. ”My heart goes out to him in losing in that fashion.”
The Gamecocks won despite losing quarterback Ryan Hilinski to an apparent knee injury. Hilinski completed 15 of 20 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game after a late hit in the third quarter. Georgia linebacker Adam Anderson was penalized for roughing the passer.
USC and Kedon Slovis made it close at the end, but the Trojans dug an early hole and were unable to stop Notre Dame’s running game in a 30-27 loss.
No. 6 Oklahoma 34, No. 11 Texas 27: Jalen Hurts threw three touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb, the Sooners’ defense sacked Sam Ehlinger nine times and Oklahoma never trailed during the Red River Showdown in Dallas.
A year after a 48-45 loss in the Red River rivalry that led to the firing of their defensive coordinator, the Sooners harassed Ehlinger into minus-nine yards rushing while holding the quarterback with the three highest total yardage outputs for Texas against Oklahoma almost 200 yards below that 387-yard average.
The Sooners (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) stayed on track for a third straight trip to the College Football Playoff and avenged last year’s loss in Cotton Bowl Stadium in the middle of the Texas state fair, a victory that came in a rematch of the Big 12 championship game.
The Longhorns (4-2, 2-1) are likely relegated to a spoiler role if there’s a second consecutive Big 12 title game between the rivals.
Both teams played under the threat of an ejection for unsportsmanlike conduct after referee Mike Defee flagged everyone 30 minutes before the game when clusters of players got too close at midfield while wrapping up warmups and started jawing at each other.
The only ejection was Texas defensive lineman Malcolm Roach, and it wasn’t for unsportsmanlike conduct. He was flagged for targeting while hitting Lamb helmet-first and late two plays before Lamb weaved through Texas defenders on a flea-flicker pass, going 51 yards for a touchdown.
No. 1 Alabama 47, No. 24 Texas A&M 28: Tua Tagovailoa threw for four touchdowns and Alabama’s offense kept rolling in the Crimson Tide’s first game at No. 1 this season with a victory over the Aggies in College Station, Texas.
Tagovailoa threw his first interception of the season but became Alabama’s career passing touchdowns leader with his first one of the game, breaking his tie with A.J. McCarron. The junior now has 81 for his career and leads the nation with 27 on the season.
Alabama (6-0, 3-0 SEC) trailed briefly in its first game this season against a ranked opponent when Texas A&M (3-3, 1-2) scored a touchdown on its first possession.
Tagovailoa then engineered four consecutive scoring drives, which included three touchdown passes that all came on third down, and the Tide were on cruise control against the best pass defense they had faced so far this season. The only blemish was the interception thrown in the Aggies’ end zone late in the second quarter.
at No. 2 Clemson 45, Florida State 14: Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdown passes, two to Justyn Ross, and the Tigers answered any lingering questions from its close call at North Carolina, winning their 21st straight game by pounding the Seminoles.
The Tigers and coach Dabo Swinney faced two weeks of questions about why the defending national champions needed a last-minute stop on a 2-point conversion to escape the Tar Heels with a 21-20 win. Everything from Lawrence’s health to Travis Etienne’s fumble-itis (he had a key one to keep North Carolina in the game) came under scrutiny as many wondered: What’s wrong with the Tigers?
Apparently, nothing.
Clemson (4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) started 6-0 for a fifth consecutive year and beat the Seminoles (3-3, 2-2) for the fifth straight year, also a program best.
Lawrence completed 17 of 25 passes for 170 yards, including 10- and eight-yard TD throws to Ross. Lawrence also ran for a touchdown, the 6-foot-6 sophomore extending full body to get over the goal line.
Etienne ran for 127 yards and caught one of Lawrence’s scoring throws.
Trojans coach Clay Helton kept his job but lost a shoe in a 30-27 loss to Notre Dame, though surely there are fans who wish that were the other way around.
at No. 8 Wisconsin 38, Michigan State 0: Jonathan Taylor rushed for two touchdowns, Wisconsin’s defense posted its fourth shutout of the season and the Badgers cruised to a win over the Spartans.
The Spartans’ defense held Taylor to 80 yards on 26 carries, marking the first time this season the Heisman Trophy hopeful was held under 100.
But Michigan State was held to 149 yards, 30 rushing, and couldn’t find any rhythm as the Badgers dominated time of possession 39:10 to 20:50.
Jack Coan completed his first seven passes for Wisconsin (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) and finished 18 of 21 for 180 yards and a touchdown to win his eighth straight start since last season.
The Spartans (4-3, 2-2) lost back-to-back games against AP top-10 Big Ten opponents. Michigan State lost at then-No. 4 Ohio State 34-10 last week.
No. 10 Penn State 17, at No. 17 Iowa 12: Noah Cain ran for a five-yard touchdown with 5:17 left, and the Nittany Lions held off the Hawkeyes for their first win over a ranked opponent this season.
Cain finished with 102 yards for Penn State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten), which extended its winning streak over Iowa (4-2, 1-2) to six games.
A matchup between two of the nation’s top defenses turned when Iowa’s Nate Stanley threw an interception near midfield with 9:22 remaining. Penn State drove 35 yards on a gassed Iowa defense, and the last of three straight runs by Cain made it 17-6.
Iowa pulled within 17-12 when Stanley found Brandon Smith for a 33-yard touchdown pass with 2:31 to go. The Hawkeyes’ two-point try failed though, and Cain converted a crucial third down that ensured that Iowa never saw the ball again.
at No. 14 Boise State 59, Hawaii 37: Chase Cord threw for 175 yards and three touchdowns in relief of injured starter Hank Bachmeier.
The Broncos (6-0, 3-0 Mountain West) remained perfect at home against the Rainbow Warriors in seven meetings, despite losing Bachmeier early in the second quarter when he was scrambling for a first down and spun to elude oncoming linebacker Kana’i Picanco.
Bachmeier absorbed a hit in his lower back and promptly fumbled. He walked gingerly off the field with the aid of staff trainers before going to the locker room. In the second half, he returned to the sidelines in street clothes.
The nature and extent of Bachmeier’s injury was not disclosed by the school.
Hawaii (4-2, 1-1), which entered the game with the Mountain West’s top passing offense and fourth nationally, fell behind early and never seemed to have an answer defensively for any of the three quarterbacks Boise State played.
No. 16 Michigan 42, at Illinois 25: Hassan Haskins ran for 125 yards and a touchdown, Zach Charbonnet added 116 yards rushing, and the Wolverines needed a late surge to put away the Illini.
Michigan (5-1, 3-1 Big Ten) built a 28-0 lead by halftime, but turnovers and ineffective offense helped Illlinois (2-4, 0-3) cut the lead to 28-25 with 12:50 left in the fourth quarter. Dre Brown ran in from a yard out and then converted a two-point conversion for the Illini.
Michigan responded with a long drive capped by Shea Patterson’s five-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones. Patterson ran for a score after Michigan forced a turnover at the Illini one to seal it for Michigan.
Louisville 62, at No. 19 Wake Forest 59: Evan Conley ran 41 yards for a critical touchdown with 2:15 remaining, and the Cardinals held off the Demon Deacons’ late rally to upset Wake Forest in the second-highest-scoring game in Atlantic Coast Conference history.
Conley also threw two touchdown passes to Dez Fitzpatrick and Hassan Hall returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score to help the Cardinals (4-2, 2-1) spoil Wake Forest’s first national ranking in 11 years.
The combined 121 points was second only to the 137 scored in Pittsburgh’s 76-61 victory over Syracuse in 2016. The teams combined for 1,188 total yards in this one.
Wake Forest (5-1, 1-1) trailed 52-31 with less than six minutes remaining before rallying, with backup Sam Hartman — the starter for most of 2018 — throwing two touchdown passes in 35 seconds. He hit Scotty Washington from 22 yards before his 21-yarder with 3:37 left to Jack Freudenthal — who recovered the onside kick that set up his scoring catch.
A look at what happened in Saturday’s college football action, highlighted by South Carolina’s double-overtime win at No. 3 Georgia.
at No. 22 Baylor 33, Texas Tech 30 ( 2OT): JaMycal Hasty scored on a five-yard touchdown run in the second overtime, and the Bears beat the Red Raiders in Baylor’s first game as a ranked team under coach Matt Rhule.
Baylor (6-0, 3-0 Big 12), which went the length of the field at the end of regulation just to get to overtime, won on Hasty’s run after Trey Wolff’s 35-yard field goal for Texas Tech opened the second extra period.
Charlie Brewer was 24-of-37 passing for 352 yards but threw his first three interceptions of the season. He ran for three touchdowns, including a one-yarder in the first overtime.
The Bears are tied with No. 6 Oklahoma for the Big 12 lead. They are the only two teams to win each of their first three Big 12 games.
Texas Tech (3-3, 1-2), playing its third consecutive Top 25 opponent, got to the second overtime when TJ Vasher made a diving two-yard catch on a nice lob throw by Jett Duffey for his only touchdown pass.
at Temple 30, No. 23 Memphis 28: Anthony Russo threw two touchdown passes, and the Owls (5-1, 2-0 American Athletic) took advantage of four turnovers by the Tigers (5-1, 2-1). Brady White passed for 355 yards and two scores for Memphis, which fell behind 16-0 as the Owls turned the Tigers’ mistakes into points.
The win was secured when an apparent diving catch for Tigers tight end Joey Magnifico to convert a fourth-and-11 play was overturned by instant replay with 1:50 to play in the fourth. It would have placed Memphis inside the Temple 30.
Jayden Daniels scored on a 17-yard scramble with 34 seconds left, lifting No. 18 Arizona State to a 38-34 comeback win over visiting Washington State.
No. 25 Cincinnati 38, at Houston 23: Desmond Ridder passed for 263 yards and three touchdowns, and the Bearcats held off the Cougars’ late surge to pick up the win.
The Bearcats (5-1, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) used a 21-point first half to pull away early, and Perry Young’s late two-yard interception return for a touchdown sealed their fourth straight win.
Ridder finished 14 of 24 for 263 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Ridder also had 11 carries for 50 yards and a score.
Trailing 21-10, Houston quarterback Clayton Tune re-energized the home crowd with a career-long 69-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Stevenson to start the second half.
The Cougars (2-4, 0-2) cut the lead to five with 9:09 left on Tune’s six-yard pass to Christian Trahan, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Houston’s first 0-2 start in conference play since joining the AAC.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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