Top 25 Capsules
October 4, 2015
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) Ezekiel Elliott did everything he could to keep Ohio State's winning streak going. It still took a final goal-line stand for the top-ranked Buckeyes to hold off Indiana.
And now, Ohio State's grip on the No. 1 ranking could be slipping after its 34-27 victory over the Hoosiers on Saturday.
Elliott had an electrifying second half with touchdown runs of 55, 65 and 75 yards and finished with a career-best 274 yards to help the Buckeyes narrowly win their 18th in a row - the longest active streak in the FBS.
Nothing came easy for Ohio State (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten). Especially at the end, when Buckeyes cornerback Eli Apple batted away a desperation pass in the back of the end zone as time expired.
From the start, the game was full of surprises. Indiana (4-1, 0-1) gambled twice on fourth down in the first half - including a fake punt from its 16 that failed. Ohio State fumbled four times and wound up with three turnovers and eight major penalties.
The teams combined for four scoring runs - three from Elliott - that went for more than 50 yards during a 13-minute stretch in the second half.
The Buckeyes also extended their Big Ten regular-season record streak to 25 in a row - and could tie Oklahoma for the most weeks ranked No. 1 (101), if they can hold onto it.
Cardale Jones finished 18 of 27 with 245 yard with one TD and one interception.
NO. 25 FLORIDA 38, NO. 3 MISSISSIPPI 10
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Will Grier threw four touchdown passes to four receivers - all in the first half - and Florida upset Mississippi to give coach Jim McElwain a signature win in his first season in Gainesville.
The redshirt freshman battled a stomach virus for two days before the game - feeling so ill that the Gators (5-0, 3-0) thought there was a chance Treon Harris might get the nod - but Grier started anyway and was sharper than ever.
Grier was sick all right.
He was downright nasty against the Rebels (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference).
He completed 24 of 29 passes for 271 yards. He was poised in the pocket, precise with every throw and even closer to perfect than he was down the stretch against Tennessee last week.
McElwain, meanwhile, became the first Florida coach since Steve Spurrier in 1990 to open his first season 5-0.
NO. 12 CLEMSON 24, NO. 6 NOTRE DAME 22
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) - Deshaun Watson threw two touchdowns pass and ran for a score, and Clemson stopped DeShone Kizer on a tying 2-point conversion to help the Tigers hold off Notre Dame.
Tigers linebacker B.J. Goodson had an interception and a fumble recovery to halt two fourth-quarter drives by the Fighting Irish (4-1). But the biggest stop was by defensive tackle Carlos Watkins, who brought down Kizer short of the goal line with 7 seconds left.
Kizer rallied Notre Dame from 21-3 down in the second half with two touchdown passes, the last a 1-yard toss to Torii Hunter Jr.
Clemson secured Notre Dame's onside kick and closed out the victory, moving to 4-0 for fourth time in five years.
NO. 13 ALABAMA 38, NO. 8 GEORGIA 10
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Jake Coker ran the offense to perfection, the defense turned in a dominating performance, and No. 13 Alabama even got a touchdown from its special teams in a rout of Georgia that re-established the Crimson Tide as a force in the national race.
Coming of a home loss to Mississippi two weeks ago, Alabama (4-1, 1-1 Southeastern) jumped ahead 24-3 at halftime and iced the victory on Georgia's first offensive play of the second half. Eddie Jackson intercepted Brice Ramsey's pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown.
Coker, with an assist from Lane Kiffin's play-calling, completed 11 of 16 for 190 yards, passed for one touchdown, and ran for another. Derrick Henry rushed for 148 yards and scored on a 30-yard run that put Alabama ahead to stay midway through the second quarter.
Georgia (4-1, 2-1) yanked starting quarterback Greyson Lambert late in the first half, but it didn't matter. He even went back in after Ramsey threw his second interception.
ARIZONA STATE 38, NO. 7 UCLA 23
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - Mike Bercovici passed for 273 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score, and Arizona State got its season back on track with a victory over UCLA.
Tim White and D.J. Foster caught scoring passes for the Sun Devils (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12), who responded to their dire situation after two September losses with a solid effort in their second straight win at the Rose Bowl. Arizona State built a 29-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter and then hung on.
Thomas Duarte caught his second touchdown pass from Josh Rosen with 9:19 to play, trimming the Sun Devils' lead to 29-23. But after UCLA (4-1, 1-1) got stranded inside its 1 by Matt Haack's punt, the Bruins snapped the ball out of their own end zone with 4:16 left for their second safety of the night.
Kalen Ballage wrapped it up with a 23-yard TD run with 45 seconds to play, covering most of that distance with UCLA defenders hanging on him.
Arizona State's defense rebounded splendidly after giving up 42 points in a home loss to Southern California last week.
NO. 2 MICHIGAN STATE 24, PURDUE 21
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - LJ Scott ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns, and Michigan State held on through a lackluster second half.
The Spartans (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) led 21-0 at halftime, but Purdue had the ball near midfield with a chance to tie or take the lead before David Blough threw incomplete on fourth down with about a minute to play in the game. The Boilermakers (1-4, 0-1) turned the ball over three times in the first half.
Michigan State's Connor Cook went 13 of 19 for 139 yards and a touchdown, and became the school's career leader with his 28th victory as the starting quarterback. Kirk Cousins won 27 games.
Cook improved to 28-3 as the starter.
NO. 4 TCU 50, TEXAS 7
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Trevone Boykin threw five touchdown passes, including four to freshman KaVontae Turpin, and TCU rode a 30-point first quarter to a second straight rout of Texas.
Josh Doctson broke the TCU record for receiving TDs with a pair of scores and the Horned Frogs (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) won their 13th straight game, second nationally to Ohio State's 18-game run.
The Longhorns (1-4, 0-2), plagued by special teams mistakes for the third straight game, scored a late touchdown to avoid matching the second-worst shutout loss in school history - 50-0 to Oklahoma 107 years ago. They are off to their worst start since going 1-9 in 1956.
TCU beat Texas in consecutive years for the first time since 1958-59, outscoring the Longhorns 98-17.
Boykin threw for 332 yards without playing in the fourth quarter, and his 74 career TD passes are three more than Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton had from 2007-10.
NO. 5 BAYLOR 63, TEXAS TECH 35
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Seth Russell passed for 286 yards and four touchdowns and ran for two more scores, Shock Linwood ran for a career-high 221 yards and two touchdowns and Baylor began its pursuit of a third consecutive Big 12 championship with a victory over Texas Tech.
Baylor (4-0, 1-0) entered with the FBS' top offense in scoring (64.0 points per game), total offense (767.0 yards per game) and rushing yards (379.7 per game). The Bears gained 680 yards, 368 rushing.
Corey Coleman caught touchdown passes of 24, 16 and 16 yards.
Russell was 15 for 23 with one interception.
The Red Raiders (3-2, 0-2) dropped their second straight game after sweeping their nonconference opponents. They lost 55-52 to No. 4 TCU last week.
NO. 9 LSU 44, EASTERN MICHIGAN 22
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Leonard Fournette highlighted his third straight 200-yard game with a 75-yard touchdown run, and LSU beat Eastern Michigan.
Fournette had 233 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries to remain among the top contenders for the Heisman Trophy. He also became the first player in the history of the Southeastern Conference to rush for 200-plus yards in three straight games.
But some might have expected even more from the 6-foot-1, 230-pound sophomore against the Eagles (1-4), who came in allowing a nation's-worst 373.2 yards rushing per game.
The Eagles stacked their defense to stop the run, but the Tigers (4-0) struggled to cash in through the air. LSU quarterback Brandon Harris was 4 of 15 for 80 yards with one interception.
NO. 11 FLORIDA STATE 24, WAKE FOREST 16
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Dalvin Cook had a 94-yard touchdown run before leaving with a left leg injury, and Florida State held on to beat Wake Forest.
Johnathan Vickers added a 9-yard touchdown run and Everett Golson was 20 of 31 for 202 yards with a 5-yard scoring pass to Kermit Whitfield.
Roberto Aguayo added a 25-yard field goal for the Seminoles (4-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).Freshman Kendall Hinton was 27 of 42 for 215 yards against the nation's No. 4 pass defense with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Cam Serigne.
Mike Weaver kicked three field goals for the Demon Deacons (2-3, 0-2), including a 29-yarder with 3:34 left that pulled them within eight.
Wake Forest got the ball back with 1:42 left and reached the Florida State 20 before Hinton overthrew Serigne in the end zone and a diving Tyler Hunter intercepted it with 21 seconds left.
NO. 14 TEXAS A&M 30, NO. 21 MISSISSIPPI STATE 17
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Kyle Allen threw for 322 yards and two touchdowns to help Texas A&M remain undefeated with a victory over Mississippi State.
The Aggies (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) led by 14 at halftime. They didn't score a touchdown in the second half, but added two field goals to secure the victory.
Dak Prescott capped a 68-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run that got Mississippi State (3-2, 1-2) to 27-17 with about 12 1/2 minutes remaining.
A 30-yard field goal by Taylor Bertolet pushed the lead to 30-17 midway through the fourth quarter.
Allen threw touchdown passes of 1 and 29 yards in the first quarter and Tra Carson ran for a score in the second to help A&M to the win.
Prescott threw for 210 yards and ran for 96 more.
NO. 15 OKLAHOMA 44, NO. 23 WEST VIRGINIA 24
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Baker Mayfield passed for 320 yards and three touchdowns, and Oklahoma beat West Virginia in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Dede Westbrook caught five passes for a 107 yards and Durron Neal had 87 yards receiving for the Sooners (4-0).
Oklahoma linebacker Eric Striker had 13 tackles, including two sacks and three tackles for loss. He forced a fumble in the fourth quarter that Jordan Evans returned 41 yards for a touchdown. Jordan Thomas intercepted two passes for the Sooners.
The Sooners sacked West Virginia quarterback Skyler Howard seven times, and he lost two fumbles. West Virginia had committed just two turnovers in its first three games, but had five on Saturday. Wendell Smallwood ran for 111 yards for the Mountaineers (3-1).
NO. 16 NORTHWESTERN 27, MINNESOTA 0
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Clayton Thorson scored two touchdowns, Justin Jackson ran for 120 yards and the Northwestern defense turned in another dominant performance.
Thorson, a freshman quarterback, scored on runs of 5 and 1 yards to spark the offense for Northwestern (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten). The Wildcats defense, which has allowed only three touchdowns in five games, did the rest.
Northwestern defensive tackle Tyler Lancaster forced a fumble by Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner that inebacker Anthony Walker returned 13 yards for a touchdown that gave the Wildcats a 27-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Minnesota (3-2, 0-1) turned the ball over twice and finished with only 173 yards. The Golden Gophers also failed to convert on all three of their fourth-down conversion attempts.
NO. 18 STANFORD 55, ARIZONA 17
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Christian McCaffrey ran for 156 yards and a touchdown, Remound Wright scored three times and Stanford overwhelmed Arizona.
Kevin Hogan threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns to help the Cardinal (4-1, 3-0 Pac-12) win their fourth straight after an opening loss to Northwestern. Hogan also moved into fifth place on Stanford's career passing yardage list.
Barry Sanders added a 65-yard touchdown run for Stanford, which scored 40 or more points in third straight games for the first time in 14 years. The Cardinal have scored at least 37 points in five straight against the Wildcats.
Jerrard Randall passed for 178 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 67 yards for Arizona (3-2, 0-2). The Wildcats were coming off a 56-30 home loss to UCLA.
IOWA 10, NO. 19 WISCONSIN 6
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Jordan Canzeri ran for 125 yards and Iowa took advantage of four turnovers by Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave.
George Kittle caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from C.J. Beathard in the second quarter for the only touchdown and Iowa (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) beat a ranked opponent for the first time in its last 10 attempts.
Stave was intercepted twice by Desmond King and lost two fumbles, including midway through the fourth quarter on Iowa's 1. The Wisconsin quarterback tripped and lost the ball while attempting to hand off to freshman Taiwan Deal. Iowa's Faith Ekakitie recovered.
Wisconsin (3-2, 0-1) had its 10-game winning streak at Camp Randall Stadium snapped, and lost for only the eighth time in its last 79 home games dating to 2004.
NO. 20 OKLAHOMA STATE 36, KANSAS STATE 34
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Ben Grogan made a 37-yard field goal with 32 seconds remaining to lift Oklahoma State past Kansas State.
Grogan rebounded to make the winner after having an extra-point blocked. Last week, he made field goals from 41 and 40 yards in the final 1:33 to give the Cowboys (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) a 30-27 victory at Texas.
After the Wildcats (3-1, 0-1) built a 28-13 lead late in the second quarter, the Cowboys rallied to take a 33-28 lead on Mason Rudolph's 3-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Sheperd with 6:06 to go.
Joe Hubener scored on an 8-yard run to give K-State a 34-33 advantage with 3:01 left. The quarterback returned in the fourth quarter after spending most of the game on the sideline because of an apparent head injury.
NO. 22 MICHIGAN, MARYLAND 0
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Desmond Morgan led a dominating defensive performance by Michigan.
In winning its first Big Ten opener under Jim Harbaugh, Michigan (4-1, 1-0) picked off three passes and limited Maryland to 105 yards. It was the second straight shutout for the Wolverines, who have allowed a total of 14 points in their last four games.
Morgan, a senior inside linebacker, picked off a pass in the first quarter and was a major reason why the Terrapins (2-3, 0-1) finished with 29 yards rushing after averaging 196 in their first four games.
Michigan led by only 6-0 at halftime before pulling away with two third-quarter touchdowns. After Jake Rudock connected with Drake Johnson for a 31-yard score, wide receiver Jehu Chesson took an inside handoff and sprinted down the left sideline for a 66-yard TD.
Michigan pulled away with two long third-quarter touchdowns. Jake Rudock connected with Drake Johnson for a 31-yard score and wide receiver Jehu Chesson took an inside handoff and sprinted down the left sideline for a 66-yard scoring run.
NO. 24 CALIFORNIA 34, WASHINGTON STATE 28
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - Jared Goff got off to a shaky start and still threw for 390 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 24 California to a victory over Washington State in the Golden Bears' first game as a ranked team in six years.
Goff threw an early interception and was off target on a few throws before finding his groove. He threw two TD passes in a less than 2 minutes late in the third quarter surrounding a successful onside kick to erase an eight-point deficit and lead the Bears (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) to their best start since 2007.
Luke Falk threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score for the Cougars (2-2, 0-1). They have lost 28 of their past 29 games against ranked opponents.
